So what do you do when you have 27” of snow out your door and expect to receive another 9” before it ends, you cook. Jim used the snow blower before we went to bed last night and has been out most of the morning doing our driveway and two neighbors. While he was out I made him oatmeal and blueberry muffins. The muffins are from Fine Cooking and are called good-for-you blueberry muffins from Ellie Krieger. They are indescribably delicious, no saturated fat and low in sugar. I didn’t have any applesauce, but cut up 2 apples and cooked them in apple cider. When soft, it all went into the blender and I had the required cup of applesauce.
It yields 12 muffins. I actually got 12 full size muffins and 12 more mini muffins
Non-stick cooking spray
1C all-purpose flour
1C whole-wheat flour
2 t baking powder
½ t table salt
¼ t baking soda
2 large eggs
¾ C granulated sugar
¼ C canola oil
1 C natural unsweetened applesauce
1 ½ t finely grated lemon zest
1 t pure vanilla extract
¾ C low-fat buttermilk (I have powdered buttermilk on hand all the time)
1 ½ C fresh blueberries
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the center. In a small bowl mix both flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl mix the eggs, sugar and oil until pale and frothy. Whisk in the applesauce, lemon zest and vanilla. I added the blueberries to the flour before I added the flour and buttermilk to the egg mixture. I read somewhere that if you do this it keeps your blueberries from ending up all on the bottom and indeed mine are throughout the muffin. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Mine were done in 22 minutes. Cool on a rack and enjoy. Also you can wrap them individually and freeze.
I started the dishwasher and our power keeps going on and off. I just realized that each time the power goes off the dishwasher starts all over again. These are going to be the cleanest dishes in town. Tonight’s party was postponed until spring. That is about how long it will take for us to dig out. So I now have to decide what I want to fix for dinner. I have ingredients for several options.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Chicken Pad Thai
Tonight’s meal comes from the Flat Belly Diet cookbook. I make a lot of recipes out of this and the original book, as I really have never had something I did not like. I love Pad Thai, but it can be high in oil. This one is not and just divine tasting. They say the lime wedges are optional; I do not think so. Also, if true to the diet itself, as I found out at the last minute that Jim had eaten all the peanuts, I used dry roasted sunflower kernels. Technically I should have doubled the sunflower seeds. I did not. To tell the truth, I thought the Sunflower seeds were better than the peanuts would have been.
4 oz. flat rice noodles
4T ketchup
1 T fish sauce
1 t sugar
1 T peanut oil, divided
1 egg, beaten
12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves cut in 1 ½ long strips
2 cloves garlic
3 scallions cut in 1” pieces
1 c bean sprouts
½ cup peanuts (or the sunflower seeds I mentioned)
Lime wedges
This is a stir fry. With any Chinese meal, read ahead and chop and assemble all ingredients before starting. First I put on a kettle of water for the noodles. I salted the water.
Next I mixed the ketchup, fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl. I then broke an egg and beat it in another small bowl. Plus I got out a small plate to put the finished omelet on. Next I cut the chicken breast crosswise in slices and cut each one in 1/3 slices to give the long strips. I then cut the scallions and minced the garlic.
Add the noodles to the boiling water. Mine cooked for 8 minutes and I drained. Next heat the wok with ½ the oil. Toss in the egg and cook like an omelet. Put the omelet on the small plate and cut in strips. Add the remaining oil to the wok and add the chicken strips. Cook about 4-5 minutes and add the garlic. Stir a couple of times and then add in the cooked noodles. Cook about a minute and add in the ketchup mixture. Toss for a minute and add in the scallions and the egg slices. Remove from heat and sprinkle with the bean sprouts and in my case the sunflower seeds.
The recipe serves 4 or in our house, Jim and me; there is none left. Sitting down to dinner Jim said, “Aside from the worm looking things (bean sprouts), what else is in it?” Lord help me!
We had a 2008 Fairvalley Chardonnay from South Africa which complemented the dinner. We ate with chop sticks. Fun evening.
4 oz. flat rice noodles
4T ketchup
1 T fish sauce
1 t sugar
1 T peanut oil, divided
1 egg, beaten
12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves cut in 1 ½ long strips
2 cloves garlic
3 scallions cut in 1” pieces
1 c bean sprouts
½ cup peanuts (or the sunflower seeds I mentioned)
Lime wedges
This is a stir fry. With any Chinese meal, read ahead and chop and assemble all ingredients before starting. First I put on a kettle of water for the noodles. I salted the water.
Next I mixed the ketchup, fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl. I then broke an egg and beat it in another small bowl. Plus I got out a small plate to put the finished omelet on. Next I cut the chicken breast crosswise in slices and cut each one in 1/3 slices to give the long strips. I then cut the scallions and minced the garlic.
Add the noodles to the boiling water. Mine cooked for 8 minutes and I drained. Next heat the wok with ½ the oil. Toss in the egg and cook like an omelet. Put the omelet on the small plate and cut in strips. Add the remaining oil to the wok and add the chicken strips. Cook about 4-5 minutes and add the garlic. Stir a couple of times and then add in the cooked noodles. Cook about a minute and add in the ketchup mixture. Toss for a minute and add in the scallions and the egg slices. Remove from heat and sprinkle with the bean sprouts and in my case the sunflower seeds.
The recipe serves 4 or in our house, Jim and me; there is none left. Sitting down to dinner Jim said, “Aside from the worm looking things (bean sprouts), what else is in it?” Lord help me!
We had a 2008 Fairvalley Chardonnay from South Africa which complemented the dinner. We ate with chop sticks. Fun evening.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Crock pot night
It’s been cold and today was a class day, so I decided to do Sandra Lee’s Caribbean Nights Dinner from her Slow Cooker Recipes 2. I will start this blog by saying I did not like it. I thought it was very dull. Jim did like it, but it had beef, what can say. As this involved a crock pot that I could set up before leaving for class it seemed ideal. When I arrived home it smelled wonderful.
3 plantains, peeled and sliced ¼ “thick
1 c chopped onion, red and green pepper. This is where you have to be careful with Sandra Lee recipes. She does a show called Semi Homemade. I spent hours in Wegman’s looking for Pictsweet frozen seasoning blend. Came home looked on the internet and found out it was equal amounts of onion, green and red pepper. Took less time to shop than I spent looking.
2 -15 oz cans of black beans, drained.
1 ½ # flank steak, patted dry and sprinkled with salt and pepper
3 t Jamaican Jerk blend. I used Penzeys
1-8 oz can crushed pineapple in juice
1 c beef broth
In my case, chop the onion and peppers and add with the cut up plantains and black beans to the slow cooker. Season the flank steak with salt, pepper and 1 t of seasoning and place the flank steak over the beans. In a bowl mix the pineapple, beef broth and remaining seasoning. Pour over the steak. Set the slow cooker on low for 6 hours.
Jim served a 2006 El Felino Malbec by Vina Cobos of Argentina. Unfined and unfiltered, it was a big, luscious red with lots of flavor.
My flank steak virtually fell apart, but we tried to cut it across the grain. I have never tasted plantains before and found them dry and tasteless, kind of like dried up old potatoes. Could be the distance they travel to our stores. In the Caribbean they could have a whole different taste. There is nothing in this dish that Max cannot have. Bon Appetite, the leftovers, Max.
3 plantains, peeled and sliced ¼ “thick
1 c chopped onion, red and green pepper. This is where you have to be careful with Sandra Lee recipes. She does a show called Semi Homemade. I spent hours in Wegman’s looking for Pictsweet frozen seasoning blend. Came home looked on the internet and found out it was equal amounts of onion, green and red pepper. Took less time to shop than I spent looking.
2 -15 oz cans of black beans, drained.
1 ½ # flank steak, patted dry and sprinkled with salt and pepper
3 t Jamaican Jerk blend. I used Penzeys
1-8 oz can crushed pineapple in juice
1 c beef broth
In my case, chop the onion and peppers and add with the cut up plantains and black beans to the slow cooker. Season the flank steak with salt, pepper and 1 t of seasoning and place the flank steak over the beans. In a bowl mix the pineapple, beef broth and remaining seasoning. Pour over the steak. Set the slow cooker on low for 6 hours.
Jim served a 2006 El Felino Malbec by Vina Cobos of Argentina. Unfined and unfiltered, it was a big, luscious red with lots of flavor.
My flank steak virtually fell apart, but we tried to cut it across the grain. I have never tasted plantains before and found them dry and tasteless, kind of like dried up old potatoes. Could be the distance they travel to our stores. In the Caribbean they could have a whole different taste. There is nothing in this dish that Max cannot have. Bon Appetite, the leftovers, Max.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Busy Monday and More Snow
I was very busy today working on my latest pastel, so I decided to make Savory Barley Soup, partially due to the snow. Jim started the day without breakfast as we had snow all night, and he went out with the snow blower to do our space as well as for the two ladies in the next two houses. We were awakened early by other neighbors that don’t have a life, but feel they need to get rid of the snow very early. I knew we had Aidells Chicken Apple Sausage in the freezer so I decided to have a big breakfast ready when he came in. We bought the sausages at Costco, and I had not divided them before freezing, so we had more than needed and decided that they would be a good accompaniment to the dinner soup.
Here is the recipe from again Eat Well:
Dried porcini mushrooms, ½ oz
Dry white wine, ½ c
Shallots, ½ c chopped
Garlic, 2 cloves minced
Fresh cremini mushrooms, 8 oz.
Thyme, ½ t dried
Salt and pepper to taste
Chicken broth 3 c.
Pearled barley ¾ c
Tomato paste, 1 T
Lemon juice 2 t
Jim called this a good hardy soup to have on a snow day. I called it a little dull. Anyway here is how you make it.
Rinse the dry porcinis to remove any grit. I used the microwave to heat the wine one minute and added the mushrooms to soak 15 minutes, drain and reserve the wine. In the mean time, I chopped the shallots and garlic. They also wanted the cremini mushrooms chopped but I missed that part and added them sliced, as purchased, but not chopped. Heat the oil and add the shallots and garlic. Cook 3-5 minutes. Add cremini, thyme, ¼ t salt and ¼ t pepper. Cook stirring constantly until the cremini release their juices and begin to brown. Four to five minutes was about right as stated in the recipe. Add the reserved wine and boil 1 minute. Add the broth, barley, tomato paste, 3 c water and the chopped porcini. Cover and simmer about 45 -50 minutes. Remove 1 cup and put in the blender, puree until smooth. Add it and the lemon juice to the soup. It really does need additional salt and pepper in my opinion. Serve.
We had the additional Aidells sausages with the soup.
Jim served a 2006 Black Mountain Zinfandel from CA, available at Trader Joe’s.
In the cook book they say that barley helps to regulate cholesterol.
Here is the recipe from again Eat Well:
Dried porcini mushrooms, ½ oz
Dry white wine, ½ c
Shallots, ½ c chopped
Garlic, 2 cloves minced
Fresh cremini mushrooms, 8 oz.
Thyme, ½ t dried
Salt and pepper to taste
Chicken broth 3 c.
Pearled barley ¾ c
Tomato paste, 1 T
Lemon juice 2 t
Jim called this a good hardy soup to have on a snow day. I called it a little dull. Anyway here is how you make it.
Rinse the dry porcinis to remove any grit. I used the microwave to heat the wine one minute and added the mushrooms to soak 15 minutes, drain and reserve the wine. In the mean time, I chopped the shallots and garlic. They also wanted the cremini mushrooms chopped but I missed that part and added them sliced, as purchased, but not chopped. Heat the oil and add the shallots and garlic. Cook 3-5 minutes. Add cremini, thyme, ¼ t salt and ¼ t pepper. Cook stirring constantly until the cremini release their juices and begin to brown. Four to five minutes was about right as stated in the recipe. Add the reserved wine and boil 1 minute. Add the broth, barley, tomato paste, 3 c water and the chopped porcini. Cover and simmer about 45 -50 minutes. Remove 1 cup and put in the blender, puree until smooth. Add it and the lemon juice to the soup. It really does need additional salt and pepper in my opinion. Serve.
We had the additional Aidells sausages with the soup.
Jim served a 2006 Black Mountain Zinfandel from CA, available at Trader Joe’s.
In the cook book they say that barley helps to regulate cholesterol.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Tuesday, Tuesday, snow day
If you ever want to buy a cookbook that is fool-proof and easy to follow, make sure it is written by Jacques Pepin. He has written two fast food cookbooks, and I have them both and about a dozen more. No not everyone in France spends the whole day cooking. On TV, he claims that most of these recipes are his Mother’s. Tonight’s meal was all from More Fast Food My Way.
We had fish, broccoli and squash.
Onion-crusted fish with Anchovy Butter
Anchovy Butter
2oz. anchovy in oil
1 large garlic clove
4T butter
¼ t pepper
1T dry white wine (when I need small amounts like this, I use dry vermouth)
Just put it all in the food processor until smooth, then put it in a bowl in the refrigerator.
Of the three items, the squash was going to take the most time, so I did it first.
Butternut squash Sauté
1 1/2 # butternut squash (I bought mine pealed and trimmed)
1 C diced onion, ( ½ onion)
1T canola oil
3T butter
¾ t salt
½ t sugar
1c apple cider
2 t cider vinegar
2 T chopped fresh parsley (garnish)
Put everything in a pot with a lid, cover and boil for 6 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking and stirring occasionally until the squash looks caramelized. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve. I just turned down the heat and kept watching it while I attended to the broccoli and fish.
Skillet Broccoli (I made ½, remember Jim thinks he is allergic to all veg.)
1 1/4 # broccoli
¼ cup water
2T olive oil
½ t salt
Cut the broccoli in florets and peel any skin on stems. Put everything in a skillet with a lid, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the cover and cook on high for about 2 more minutes until the water is gone. I then recovered and held it until the fish was done.
Onion –Crusted Fish
2 large eggs
4 fillets of a white fish about 6 oz each. I used catfish
½ t salt
6oz. can of French fried onions
3 T canola oil
1 lemon, quartered
Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl until well combined. Pat the fillets dry and sprinkle with salt. Put the onions in the food processor and process until powdery. Mine did not get powdery. In fact they got a little gummy. So I took them out of the processor and spread them out on a plate. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet. Dip the fish in the egg and then the ground onion. Cook the fish about 2 minutes each side. The catfish was a little thick so I did 3 minutes a side. Serve with the Anchovy butter and a wedge of lemon.
Jim really liked this meal. He even used the anchovy butter. Usually, if it looks like a sauce or topping, he skips it. But he even put on more after he first tasted it. I don’t think I have ever had better broccoli. I bet even George Bush Sr. would eat his broccoli if his chef had cooked it this way. The squash was divine.
Jim served a 2008 Terrazze della Luna Pinot Grigio (Trentino, Italy). I’m lying low writing this blog until the kitchen is clean. You wouldn’t believe the amount of dishes and mess this meal created. One great thing about being head chef, you don’t do dishes!
We had fish, broccoli and squash.
Onion-crusted fish with Anchovy Butter
Anchovy Butter
2oz. anchovy in oil
1 large garlic clove
4T butter
¼ t pepper
1T dry white wine (when I need small amounts like this, I use dry vermouth)
Just put it all in the food processor until smooth, then put it in a bowl in the refrigerator.
Of the three items, the squash was going to take the most time, so I did it first.
Butternut squash Sauté
1 1/2 # butternut squash (I bought mine pealed and trimmed)
1 C diced onion, ( ½ onion)
1T canola oil
3T butter
¾ t salt
½ t sugar
1c apple cider
2 t cider vinegar
2 T chopped fresh parsley (garnish)
Put everything in a pot with a lid, cover and boil for 6 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking and stirring occasionally until the squash looks caramelized. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve. I just turned down the heat and kept watching it while I attended to the broccoli and fish.
Skillet Broccoli (I made ½, remember Jim thinks he is allergic to all veg.)
1 1/4 # broccoli
¼ cup water
2T olive oil
½ t salt
Cut the broccoli in florets and peel any skin on stems. Put everything in a skillet with a lid, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the cover and cook on high for about 2 more minutes until the water is gone. I then recovered and held it until the fish was done.
Onion –Crusted Fish
2 large eggs
4 fillets of a white fish about 6 oz each. I used catfish
½ t salt
6oz. can of French fried onions
3 T canola oil
1 lemon, quartered
Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl until well combined. Pat the fillets dry and sprinkle with salt. Put the onions in the food processor and process until powdery. Mine did not get powdery. In fact they got a little gummy. So I took them out of the processor and spread them out on a plate. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet. Dip the fish in the egg and then the ground onion. Cook the fish about 2 minutes each side. The catfish was a little thick so I did 3 minutes a side. Serve with the Anchovy butter and a wedge of lemon.
Jim really liked this meal. He even used the anchovy butter. Usually, if it looks like a sauce or topping, he skips it. But he even put on more after he first tasted it. I don’t think I have ever had better broccoli. I bet even George Bush Sr. would eat his broccoli if his chef had cooked it this way. The squash was divine.
Jim served a 2008 Terrazze della Luna Pinot Grigio (Trentino, Italy). I’m lying low writing this blog until the kitchen is clean. You wouldn’t believe the amount of dishes and mess this meal created. One great thing about being head chef, you don’t do dishes!
Monday, February 1, 2010
McDonald's Monday
If you have been reading my blog, just want you to know that I have added my 1978 photo of Paul Bocuse and me to my profile. I’d like it to show up each day; working on that. Is anybody reading my blog? No one comments. Tonight is our equivalent of going to McDonald’s. We started the day taking Max to the Vet for his annual checkup. Our regular Vet is on maternity leave and the new Vet was astounded at not only my feeding regime, but how great his teeth look for an 8 year old dog. So he got an A- as he has gained 5 pounds since his last visit. However, we looked at his weight history and he consistently has weighed 5# more in the winter than in the summer. Also, I thought he was looking really thin around Christmas so I had increased his breakfast. I guess Max is going back to just 2 scoops in the AM and fewer treats. We are going to have one unhappy puppy.
Back to dinner, I started by getting out my bread machine. I have a very old cookbook called Electric Bread. I have the original bread machine that was only available at Sharper Image at the time. I put the ingredients in for light Rye, my favorite. I set it on dough only. The ingredients are
¾ c water
1 ½c white bread flour
½ c rye flour
1 ½ T sugar
¾ t salt
1T butter
2 t cornmeal
1 T Charnushka
1 ¼ t fast rise yeast
After the bread machine finished making my dough, I punched down the dough and divided into 4 pieces. I shaped them into rounds and set on a cookie sheet covered with non-stick aluminum foil. I think I let them rise for 2 hours, but since I was also paying bills and doing the wash, who knows.
You are probably asking what is Charnushka and where in the world do I get it. I actually call it black caraway seed and like it better than the regular caraway seed especially in bread. But if you are interested in it and want to order it from Penzeys, you have to know this name. When we lived in CA, there was an Indian grocery store on my way home that carried it. You can definitely get it in India food specialty shops.
So after they rose, I baked them at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
Our burgers tonight were made out of two 6 oz. Buffalo steaks which I ground in the Cuisinart. Cut the meat in squares and pulse about 8 times. It is very lean and I like the taste grilled medium rare, about 8 minutes. I sprinkled it with Chicago steak seasoning also from Penzeys. I was excited to see that Wegman’s carries Buffalo meat. I used to have to order it. This makes 2 burgers.
Our fries were “fried” in the oven. For this I am using Rachael Ray’s Oven Fries with Herbes de Provence. Herbes de Provence is one of my favorite herbs. I just have 2 potatoes and adjusted accordingly. Here is her recipe exactly that serves 4. Don’t cut the potatoes too thin or they will burn.
3 all purpose potatoes, scrubbed and dried
2 T EVOO
1T +1t Herbes de Provence
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Cut potatoes into thin wedges and place on a cookie sheet. Coat potatoes with EVOO and sprinkle very liberally with the herbs. Toss to coat evenly. Roast for about 25 minutes but keep your eye on them, as it depends on the size you cut them as to when they will look crisp and golden at the edges. Remove and sprinkle with salt.
I also made a salad using small mixed greens, spinach, artichokes and tomatoes left over from yesterday and “horrors,” store bought light dressing.
Jim served a 1998 Chateau Labory de Tayac, a Grand Vin from Margaux.
Everything was delicious. It sure beats going to a restaurant for burgers and fries.
Back to dinner, I started by getting out my bread machine. I have a very old cookbook called Electric Bread. I have the original bread machine that was only available at Sharper Image at the time. I put the ingredients in for light Rye, my favorite. I set it on dough only. The ingredients are
¾ c water
1 ½c white bread flour
½ c rye flour
1 ½ T sugar
¾ t salt
1T butter
2 t cornmeal
1 T Charnushka
1 ¼ t fast rise yeast
After the bread machine finished making my dough, I punched down the dough and divided into 4 pieces. I shaped them into rounds and set on a cookie sheet covered with non-stick aluminum foil. I think I let them rise for 2 hours, but since I was also paying bills and doing the wash, who knows.
You are probably asking what is Charnushka and where in the world do I get it. I actually call it black caraway seed and like it better than the regular caraway seed especially in bread. But if you are interested in it and want to order it from Penzeys, you have to know this name. When we lived in CA, there was an Indian grocery store on my way home that carried it. You can definitely get it in India food specialty shops.
So after they rose, I baked them at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
Our burgers tonight were made out of two 6 oz. Buffalo steaks which I ground in the Cuisinart. Cut the meat in squares and pulse about 8 times. It is very lean and I like the taste grilled medium rare, about 8 minutes. I sprinkled it with Chicago steak seasoning also from Penzeys. I was excited to see that Wegman’s carries Buffalo meat. I used to have to order it. This makes 2 burgers.
Our fries were “fried” in the oven. For this I am using Rachael Ray’s Oven Fries with Herbes de Provence. Herbes de Provence is one of my favorite herbs. I just have 2 potatoes and adjusted accordingly. Here is her recipe exactly that serves 4. Don’t cut the potatoes too thin or they will burn.
3 all purpose potatoes, scrubbed and dried
2 T EVOO
1T +1t Herbes de Provence
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Cut potatoes into thin wedges and place on a cookie sheet. Coat potatoes with EVOO and sprinkle very liberally with the herbs. Toss to coat evenly. Roast for about 25 minutes but keep your eye on them, as it depends on the size you cut them as to when they will look crisp and golden at the edges. Remove and sprinkle with salt.
I also made a salad using small mixed greens, spinach, artichokes and tomatoes left over from yesterday and “horrors,” store bought light dressing.
Jim served a 1998 Chateau Labory de Tayac, a Grand Vin from Margaux.
Everything was delicious. It sure beats going to a restaurant for burgers and fries.
Sunday, Finely we had Spaghetti and meatballs
We were supposed to have company Saturday evening; the weatherman announced at least 2 “ of snow. I started dinner which was on the cover of this month’s Bon Appétit, i.e., Spaghetti and Meatballs All’Amatriciana. This was an interesting way to make Sauce and Meatballs and it smelled divine. This is one dish that you can hold or freeze, as the flavors will just get better and better. After making the meatballs (50) I looked at the serving amount and discovered it serves 8. No problem; whatever we have left, I will freeze for a class night or when my trainer works me to death.
Meatballs:
6oz. uncured apple wood-smoked bacon, diced
2 large garlic cloves
2# ground beef. I never use ground beef from the store anymore. If you want to know why, rent the movie Food Inc. I bought rib-eye steak and ground it myself.
2/3 c chopped, drained roasted red pepper from a jar.
2/3 c panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 large eggs
½ cup coarsely grated onion (I used ½ onion)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1T minced fresh marjoram
2t dried crushed red pepper
½ t kosher salt
½ t black pepper
If you noticed, the roasted peppers, onions, bacon all have you chopping and dicing. I put my meat grinder attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer and ran it all through with the beef I was grinding. So now all the beef, onion, pepper and bacon, is in a big bowl to which I add the remaining ingredients. There is no way to combine all this without using your hands. For this I get out a pair of throw away sterile latex gloves that I buy in the drug store. Don the gloves and mix, toss the gloves. The recipe says let sit for 15 minutes. During this time I cleaned up the mess I had made and put 2 cans of diced tomato with 2 large garlic cloves in the blender and turned it on to puree as needed for the sauce. After 15 minutes you are to make meatballs of approximately 2 T or 1- 1/2” dia. Now if I was Martha, I would have a 1 ½“ ice cream scoop that would make this a lot easier. Since I am not, I just took a large spoon out of the drawer and eyeballed it. I also donned a new set of latex gloves as I had to shape the 2 T of meat into 1- ½” dia. meatballs. I ended up with 50 meat balls. These were placed on a large cookie sheet that I covered in plastic wrap.
Next you take another 6 ounces of the bacon, cut in strips cross wise and cook in a large pot until crisp. I used a 14” skillet. Remove the bacon to a small plate or bowl. To the bacon fat add 1T of olive oil and start cooking the meatballs. I am not sure what size pan the BA cooks had, but with my huge 14 “skillet, I had to cook in 4 batches. Remember, Julia says do not crowd the pan. Each batch was 9 minutes at a fairly low setting. You do not want to burn the outside and have the inside raw. The idea is to cook them through.
Sauce:
After you finish cooking all the meatballs, you place them on a second tray that I lined with stick proof aluminum foil. Then I added 3 c of diced onions and 1 ½ t of dried crushed red pepper to the pan and cooked for 6 minutes. To this add 2 c of white wine and boil for 8 minutes. Make sure the white wine you use is drinkable. This was indeed drinkable; I personally attest to that. Next add the puréed tomato/garlic mixture and 1 T diced fresh marjoram to the pan. Boil for 8 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and add back the bacon.
This was Saturday, and at this point I stopped as our guests were not coming because of the increasing snow storm and icy roads. We cooled it all and refrigerated it. We ended up with 6 to 8 “of snow depending where you lived.
Our guests came today, Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 4:30 PM. I put about 1/3 of the meatballs in the freezer and cooked 1# of organic whole wheat pasta for the sauce with another T of marjoram and salt added to the water. We started with antipasto of 2 different Italian sausages, Snow White Goat cheddar cheese and Ricotta Salata. Also included in the hors d’ oeuvres were Nicoise olives, artichokes, and Viansa tomato basil spread. Un-Italian, but we had pate with black peppercorns also. This was all served on butter garlic crostini from Wegman’s. Jim offered a 2003 Grosso Sanese Chianti Classico and a 2003 Viansa Thalia (Sangiovese) to accompany the antipasto.
We ate family style. I cut wedges of ice berg lettuce. I made Green Goddess Dressing using a mix from Penzey’s Spices and Greek yoghurt. I chopped Campari tomatoes to sprinkle over the dressing. I made large crostini with garlic and olive oil to accompany the spaghetti.
Both Mike and Jim said that the meatballs and spaghetti were very spicy hot. I thought it was fine, but if you are subject to hot, reduce the amount of dried hot pepper. However, keep in mind that I make my crushed dried hot pepper from whole hot peppers that I buy in the Chinese grocery. I thought of cutting back but felt the quantity of product could handle it. I had no problem with the hotness, but the others thought it was too hot. This recipe indeed feeds 8, especially as we had hors d’oeuvres and a salad. We have 2 servings leftover for us on a weeknight and additional meatballs. So if you are only having 4 and one of the 4 is Jim, you will be ok to cut this recipe in half. Jim served a 2001 Aglieta Brunello di Montalcino with this course.
For dessert I coated half of each biscotti that I bought at Wegman’s with homemade fudge sauce. I should have made the Biscotti; Wegman’s were crumbly. We served this with chocolate Ice cream and a 2003 Apollonio Copertino (70% Negroamaro, 15% Montepulciano, 15% Black Malvasia). Jim likes red wine with his chocolate.
Meatballs:
6oz. uncured apple wood-smoked bacon, diced
2 large garlic cloves
2# ground beef. I never use ground beef from the store anymore. If you want to know why, rent the movie Food Inc. I bought rib-eye steak and ground it myself.
2/3 c chopped, drained roasted red pepper from a jar.
2/3 c panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 large eggs
½ cup coarsely grated onion (I used ½ onion)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1T minced fresh marjoram
2t dried crushed red pepper
½ t kosher salt
½ t black pepper
If you noticed, the roasted peppers, onions, bacon all have you chopping and dicing. I put my meat grinder attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer and ran it all through with the beef I was grinding. So now all the beef, onion, pepper and bacon, is in a big bowl to which I add the remaining ingredients. There is no way to combine all this without using your hands. For this I get out a pair of throw away sterile latex gloves that I buy in the drug store. Don the gloves and mix, toss the gloves. The recipe says let sit for 15 minutes. During this time I cleaned up the mess I had made and put 2 cans of diced tomato with 2 large garlic cloves in the blender and turned it on to puree as needed for the sauce. After 15 minutes you are to make meatballs of approximately 2 T or 1- 1/2” dia. Now if I was Martha, I would have a 1 ½“ ice cream scoop that would make this a lot easier. Since I am not, I just took a large spoon out of the drawer and eyeballed it. I also donned a new set of latex gloves as I had to shape the 2 T of meat into 1- ½” dia. meatballs. I ended up with 50 meat balls. These were placed on a large cookie sheet that I covered in plastic wrap.
Next you take another 6 ounces of the bacon, cut in strips cross wise and cook in a large pot until crisp. I used a 14” skillet. Remove the bacon to a small plate or bowl. To the bacon fat add 1T of olive oil and start cooking the meatballs. I am not sure what size pan the BA cooks had, but with my huge 14 “skillet, I had to cook in 4 batches. Remember, Julia says do not crowd the pan. Each batch was 9 minutes at a fairly low setting. You do not want to burn the outside and have the inside raw. The idea is to cook them through.
Sauce:
After you finish cooking all the meatballs, you place them on a second tray that I lined with stick proof aluminum foil. Then I added 3 c of diced onions and 1 ½ t of dried crushed red pepper to the pan and cooked for 6 minutes. To this add 2 c of white wine and boil for 8 minutes. Make sure the white wine you use is drinkable. This was indeed drinkable; I personally attest to that. Next add the puréed tomato/garlic mixture and 1 T diced fresh marjoram to the pan. Boil for 8 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and add back the bacon.
This was Saturday, and at this point I stopped as our guests were not coming because of the increasing snow storm and icy roads. We cooled it all and refrigerated it. We ended up with 6 to 8 “of snow depending where you lived.
Our guests came today, Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 4:30 PM. I put about 1/3 of the meatballs in the freezer and cooked 1# of organic whole wheat pasta for the sauce with another T of marjoram and salt added to the water. We started with antipasto of 2 different Italian sausages, Snow White Goat cheddar cheese and Ricotta Salata. Also included in the hors d’ oeuvres were Nicoise olives, artichokes, and Viansa tomato basil spread. Un-Italian, but we had pate with black peppercorns also. This was all served on butter garlic crostini from Wegman’s. Jim offered a 2003 Grosso Sanese Chianti Classico and a 2003 Viansa Thalia (Sangiovese) to accompany the antipasto.
We ate family style. I cut wedges of ice berg lettuce. I made Green Goddess Dressing using a mix from Penzey’s Spices and Greek yoghurt. I chopped Campari tomatoes to sprinkle over the dressing. I made large crostini with garlic and olive oil to accompany the spaghetti.
Both Mike and Jim said that the meatballs and spaghetti were very spicy hot. I thought it was fine, but if you are subject to hot, reduce the amount of dried hot pepper. However, keep in mind that I make my crushed dried hot pepper from whole hot peppers that I buy in the Chinese grocery. I thought of cutting back but felt the quantity of product could handle it. I had no problem with the hotness, but the others thought it was too hot. This recipe indeed feeds 8, especially as we had hors d’oeuvres and a salad. We have 2 servings leftover for us on a weeknight and additional meatballs. So if you are only having 4 and one of the 4 is Jim, you will be ok to cut this recipe in half. Jim served a 2001 Aglieta Brunello di Montalcino with this course.
For dessert I coated half of each biscotti that I bought at Wegman’s with homemade fudge sauce. I should have made the Biscotti; Wegman’s were crumbly. We served this with chocolate Ice cream and a 2003 Apollonio Copertino (70% Negroamaro, 15% Montepulciano, 15% Black Malvasia). Jim likes red wine with his chocolate.
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