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Slow Cooked Bolognese Sauce…..

Posted by on October 26, 2011

Bolognese sauce is one of my absolute favorite sauces for spaghetti and there is something elegant how it rolls off the tongue, isn’t there?  This takes a bit more cooking time than most of my sauces.   Don’t be turned off by the fact that there are chicken livers in the sauce.  They add a deep and rich flavor and they will literally disintigrate while cooking.  I would recommend doubling or tripling the recipe and freezing the extra sauce to enjoy later.

I used my food processor to finely chop the ham and the vegetables that go into the recipe.  I love the texture of the ground meat and the richness of the sauce.  I subbed out turkey ham for the ham.  Either way, you get amazing flavor from the smoked meat.

When cooking the pasta for the sauce,  under cook it by a couple of minutes.  Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.  Put the pasta back into the cooking pot and add a few ladels of the bolognese sauce with some of the pasta cooking water.  Cook the pasta the rest of the way in the sauce.  That way the pasta will actually absorb the flavor of the sauce.  SO GOOD!  Serve with my simple Garlic Bread aTop with fresh grated parmesan cheese and some

Homemade Bolognese Sauce

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 lb chicken livers, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup smoked ham, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons fresh garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 pinch of ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

1 lb. pasta

1)  Coarsely chop the chicken livers.  Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Cook the chicken livers for about 5 minutes or until they’re done.
2)  Add the olive oil, ham, onion, carrots and celery.  Cook for about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic, cook for one minute.
3)  Add the ground beef and cook through breaking up large clumps of meat with your mixing spoon.   Add the tomato paste and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
4)  Add the wine and beef stock.  Reduce the heat to low and partially cover with the pot lid.  Simmer for 2 1/2-3 hours, stirring every 15-20 minutes.  Add a little more stock or water if the sauce is too thick.
5)  Add the heavy cream and nutmeg.  Stir well and give it a taste.  Add salt and pepper to your taste.  Serves 6.

Filed Under: Meats, Pasta | Tagged: Tagged With: , ,

Marinara Sauce…..

Posted by on March 29, 2011

Everyone should have a “go to” marinara recipe.  Here you go.  Love this over pasta with fresh grated parmesan cheese.  Add a simple salad and you have dinner.   If you’d like to kick it up a notch, serve it with my homemade garlic bread.  (you’ll find the recipe in breads category)  Why not double the recipe and keep a stash in your freezer for later, always a great idea!  Also makes an excellent meatless lasagna…will share that with you soon.

Here we go….

We  begin with a large heavy pot over medium heat and some nice olive oil.

And lots of onions…two cups.  Cook for about 5 minutes.

We’ll add some seasonings now.  The olive oil will absorb the flavors.  We have crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Add the seasonings all at once….

And garlic, we need lots of garlic:-)  Cook for a couple of minutes.

Of course, we need tomatoes.  I like using crushed tomatoes for a little texture, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.  Sugar is added to reduce the acidity.

Add the tomato paste.  Cook this in the pan for a few minutes, the tomato paste will start to caramelize and all of the flavors will come together.

Add the crushed tomatoes, the tomato sauce, and a little water.

Finally, the sugar.  Simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes.  Quick and easy!

Marinara Sauce
(no meat)

 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
¼ cup fresh garlic, minced (about 5 large cloves)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 28 ounce can tomato sauce + ½ can water
1 ½ tablespoons sugar

 1)  Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.  Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes, cook another couple of minutes.

2)  Add tomato paste and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring often.  Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and sugar.  Simmer for about 20 minutes. 

*add additional water if you’d like a thinner sauce.

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Homemade Pizza Sauce…..

Posted by on July 28, 2010

It is totally worth making your own pizza sauce.  No unpronounceable ingredients or high fructose corn syrup in this sauce!  Label and freeze any leftovers for another time.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced finely
2 large cloves garlic, diced finely
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 pinches thyme
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
2 -6 ounce cans tomato paste
3 6 ounce cans water

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add olive oil. Add onions when heated and sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic, cook about one minute. Add oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt and sugar. Cook about one minute, add tomato paste. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning. This will caramelize the tomato paste. Add water, mix well, simmer about 5 minutes partially covered. Remove from heat. Makes 4 cups.

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Tequila Lime Marinated Flank Steak with Chimichurri, my version….

Posted by on May 5, 2010
This is an incredibly delicious combination of heat, sweet and savory.  The steak is juicy and is very much complimented by the spicy chimichurri sauce.  The cool cucumber simple salad is slightly sweet and the roasted yuca is a very nice understated starchy vegetable.  Enjoy with a salted rimmed margarita on the rocks with fresh lime….mmmmm good!

Marinade:

2 large cloves fresh garlic
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons tequila
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice or bottled
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 ½ lb. flank steak

Place all ingredients in a blender; blend until smooth.  Place flank steak in a large zip bag, pour marinade over steak.  Marinate in refrigerator for several hours or overnight.  Discard marinade, preheat grill, cook over medium-high heat medium to medium rare.  For one inch thickness, cook 7-9 minutes per side.  Cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.  Slice thinly across the grain or on a diagonal.  Serve with chimichurri.

Chimichurri

3  tablespoons fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
½ medium sweet onion, coarsely chopped
½ medium sweet red pepper, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil
2 large cloves fresh garlic
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 jalepeno pepper, (or seranno pepper for more heat), seeds included
½ teaspoon cumin

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator, allow to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.  Serve a generous portion over the grilled flank steak. Delish!

Cool cucumber salad

2-3 cucumbers, washed and thinly sliced
2-3 thin slices of red onion
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Slice cucumbers and  onion into a serving bowl.  Mix the vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl, stir often to dissolve salt and sugar.  Pour over cucumbers just before serving.

Filed Under: Grilling, Homemade Sauces, Meats | Tagged: Tagged With: , , ,

Simple Bechamel Sauce…..

Posted by on February 16, 2010

This is a very simple white sauce that is essential in basic cooking.  Once you master this simple and elegant sauce, you can make things like macaroni and cheese, creamed soups, scalloped potatoes, just to name a few. 

Béchamel Sauce
(Basic White Sauce)

4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups milk, warm in microwave for 2 minutes, stir
1 teaspoon salt

1) In medium size sauce pan add butter to melt over medium heat. When butter is melted, add flour. Cook for two minutes over heat stirring constantly.
2) Add warm milk, whisking vigorously to avoid lumps. Stir constantly until it starts to bubble, continue to cook for 2 minutes.

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Shrimp Cocktail

Posted by on December 7, 2009

RECIPE:
1- 2 lb. package frozen cooked & peeled shrimp

1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons brown sugar

To thaw shrimp, place into a large bowl in sink and allow water to slowly run into bowl, stir frequently.  Drain well.

Sauce:
Mix well, refrigerate.  Serve with cooked & peeled shrimp.  Garnish with fresh parsley and fresh lemon wedges or slices.

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