End of the Week Pasta

Tonight for dinner I used up a few things that we had leftover and made a most delicious dinner. Chris commented that it was quite good.

I started off sauteeing some sausage. When that was cooked I added zucchini, sliced in 1/2 moons. Next, I added a little white wine and cooked that down. I had leftover sausage and peppers in that delicious Marcella Hazan sauce. That was stirred into the pan. The seasonings were adjusted, a little salt and pepper. 

Meanwhile, the pasta was boiling...

When the pasta was done I added it to the saute pan along with a knob of butter and a little pasta water. I served the pasta with a little bit of burrata cheese on top.

Just delicious! And only 2 pans to wash! Perfect start to the weekend.

Homemade Fettuccini with That Sauce

Homemade Fettuccini, recipe from Tide and Thyme, the only recipe I will ever use and the sauce is Marcella Hazan's Tomato, Onion and Butter Sauce. It does not get better than that.

On Sunday I made a pot of "the Sauce." Have a couple of containers in the freezer. With the abundance of amazingly delicious tomatoes, it seemed like the right thing to do.

It was a damn good dinner. I had to force myself not to go back for seconds.

Nothing better than freezer food.

Stuffed Tomatoes

August. Tomato time!
I found a recipe for Baked Stuffed Tomatoes online and altered it a bit. This dinner was quite the hit.  The tomatoes were from Cole's Farm Market.

I cut off the tops and removed all the seeds and the pulp from the tomatoes. I saved the pulp for the pan of Marcella Hazan's Tomato, Onion and Butter Sauce I was making.

I turned the tomatoes upside down and placed them on wire racks over a baking sheet so they would drain off any liquid.

While the tomatoes were draining, I sauteed some sausage.

I added a little of the Marcella Hazan's Tomato, Onion and Butter Sauce and some bread. Seasonings were the usual suspects, oregano, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese.

I carefully stuffed each tomato hoping we would have no cracks. There was only one but it was not too bad.

These were heated up in the oven for 20 minutes at 350˚.

Delicious!!!

Pepperoni and Onion Sauce with Potato Gnocchi

I have to tell you that the first time I walked into the Three Girls Vegan Creamery I felt like I walked into my Mom's kitchen. My Mom was far from vegan. It was more of a portion thing. I walked in the Three Girls Vegan Creamery hoping to try a couple of menu items and I walked out with a week's worth of food!

The Three Girls Vegan Creamery recently opened a new store with more hours (!!!) and I stopped in this past Sunday to pick up some food for our first week of Lent. Pepperoni and some Lasagna.

Back to tonight's dinner. Ash Wednesday. I got my ashes at an Ashes to Go stop at the Madison train station. Seemed very convenient. For dinner, I amped it up a bit. Lidia Bastianich's Basic Potato Gnocchi with Marcella Hazan's Onion and Butter Tomato Sauce with some of Three Girls Vegan Creamery Pepperoni.

Yeah, it was very good. Not a bad start for Lent.

My Perfect Vacation Day

Yeah, vacation day! And it was cool out. Not what you are usually looking for in a vacation day. But I was able to make bread, pasta, and sauce. All three were part of very delicious dinner.

The bread was the No Knead French Bread. The recipe can be found on the Noshtalgia website. It is an amazing dough to work with.

The pasta was from Tide and Thyme. The only pasta recipe I use. I had more than enough for tonight's dinner and I was able to put some in the freezer.
 

The sauce was, of course, the Marcella Hazan Onion, Butter and Tomato Sauce. This time I diced the onion after it had cooked for almost an hour. I sauteed some Pancetta cubes and cubed zucchini and added that to the sauce. Wow!!!

Homemade Pasta with Chorizo Sauce

Homemade pasta + homemade sauce + homemade bread = Delicious!

The pasta recipe is from Tide and Thyme. Once you find a recipe that works for you stick with it. I love this recipe. I have tried others but this is still my favorite.

Homemade Pasta-
Ingredients-  
1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surfaces
1½ cups semolina flour
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon water, plus more as needed

Method-

Combine the flours and salt in a bowl or on a work surface, creating a well in the center.  Crack the eggs into the well.  Using a mixer or by hand, slowly mix, incorporating the flour into the egg mixture a little bit at a time.  Once you have a dry, shaggy dough, mix in the olive oil and water and knead by hand until the dough is fairly smooth and homogeneous.  Divide the dough into four portions and cover with a damp towel.  Let rest for 20 minutes.  At this point, proceed with thinning and cutting as desired, depending on equipment available.

To cook, cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes or until al dente.  Drain well and serve immediately.

The sauce, well do you have to ask? Marcella Hazan's Tomato, Onion, and Butter Sauce. I sauteed some chopped up Chorizo Sausage and added it to the sauce after I blended the sauce. I hate the idea of throwing out the onions. The sauce was perfect. Just enough spice to make you want one more bite.

Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter-
Ingredients-
2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes, prepared as described below, or 2 cups canned imported Italian tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
5 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
Salt to taste

Method-
Put either the prepared fresh tomatoes or the canned in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until it is thickened to your liking and the fat floats free from the tomato.
Stir from time to time, mashing up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon.
Taste and correct for salt. Before tossing with pasta, you may remove the onion (as Hazan recommended) and save for another use, but many opt to leave it in. Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for the table. 

The bread was in the freezer from my Monday vacation day when we had a little snow and I baked four loaves of bread. Okay, I really like carbs! The recipe is from Noshtalgia. I have not made this recipe in a while, not sure why.  It is a perfect bread, the no-knead variety.

No Knead French Bread
Ingredients-
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. soft shortening
4 c. sifted all purpose flour


Method-
Measure flour into a bowl, add water, then yeast. Let yeast dissolve thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Let set 10 minutes, then cut through dough with a wooden spoon. Do this 5 times at 10-minute intervals. Turn dough out onto a floured board and divide in half. Let rest for 10 minutes, then roll each ball into a loaf. Make several diagonal slashes across each loaf. Let rise double. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

There's No Crying In Baseball And No Meat in Pasta e Fagioli*

I think I may have finally found my favorite Pasta e Fagioli recipe. The best part is that was not from a recipe. I had cooked cannellini beans in the freezer along with some cooked pasta. All I needed was the sauce. And you know what sauce I made. Yes, that sauce. The Marcella Hazan Tomato, Onion and Butter Sauce. Oh, this was the perfect sauce for this and the flavor was spot on.  After I made the sauce I added the thawed pasta and beans. Seasonings were added, a little oregano and crushed red pepper. We had it with the bread that I made this weekend. True comfort food.

*Quote from Chris Borzillo, August 24, 2016.

There's No Crying In Baseball And No Meat in Pasta e Fagioli*

I think I may have finally found my favorite Pasta e Fagioli recipe. The best part is that was not from a recipe. I had cooked cannellini beans in the freezer along with some cooked pasta. All I needed was the sauce. And you know what sauce I made. Yes, that sauce. The Marcella Hazan Tomato, Onion and Butter Sauce. Oh, this was the perfect sauce for this and the flavor was spot on. We had it with the bread that I made this weekend. True comfort food.

*Quote from Chris Borzillo, August 24, 2016.

Eggs in Purgatory With That Sauce

This is a So What Are You Making For Dinner favorite recipe. I love poached eggs in sauce. When you put poached eggs in the Marcella Hazan Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter you have reached a point of bliss. As we were eating this Chris commented that he could have eaten just the sauce alone.

Spaghetti Squash Chicken Parmesan

This was the second time I have made this for dinner. I did not post it the first time. We both loved this and Archie is happy whenever we have chicken. I cut the Spaghetti Squash in half. I had to pierce the shell a few times and microwave the squash for 4 minutes because the shell was so hard to cut. Once it cooled I cut it in half and removed the seeds. I brushed the inside with olive oil and sprinkled it with salt and pepper. The squash was placed on a baking sheet, flesh side down and put in a 375˚ oven for 45 minutes, or until the shell can be pierced with a fork.

The sauce was Marcella Hazan's Tomato, Onion and Butter Sauce and I had the breaded chicken cutlets in the freezer.

Once the squash was cool enough to handle I shredded the inside of each squash half so that the spaghetti strands were loosened. Then I mixed in a little of the sauce and some Parmesan. The cutlets were sliced and put on top of the squash. More sauce over that along with some Mozzarella and Parmesan. Some basil and oregano sprinkled on top and back in the oven for about 20 minutes. Delicious!

And it is starting to look like spring at our house!

Chorizo Meatballs with Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

For Christmas I received Cooking Like A Master Chef by Graham Elliot. As I flipped through the book the first recipe that jumped out at me was Chorizo Meatballs. The recipe included a Spicy Tomato Sauce but I knew what sauce I wanted to use, Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter. 

 

I had some pasta that I had ordered from Borgatti's in the Bronx. Spaghetti alla Chitarra. It was the prefect pasta for the sauce and the meatballs.

I did make a couple of adjustments to the meatball recipe. The original recipe called for chives. I did not have any. It called for 2 Chorizo Sauasages. One was plenty. It called for 2 eggs. I went with one and the meatball mix was prefect to handle. The recipe also called for sumac and cayenne pepper. Didn't add it. And it called for lemon zest. Last year Chris got me another cookbook that called for lemon in their meatball recipe. I added it and we did not like it. So I left out the too.

My version of Chorizo Meatballs-

Ingredients-
3 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 small onion, diced
 8 oz. ground pork shoulder
 8 oz. lean ground beef
1 Spanish chorizo sausages, casings removed, sausage meat minced
1 eggs
2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 c.)
1/2 c. dried breadcrumbs
1/4 c. red wine
1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt

Method-

In a large skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. When hot, saute onion and garlic until onion is translucent and softened. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl, mix pork, beef, sausage, egg, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, wine, parsley,  and a little salt. Add cooled onion and garlic. Using your hands, work mixture until ingredients are well mixed. 

Season with salt. Roll meat between your palms to make 20 small meatballs, about the size of walnuts.

In another large skillet, spread remaining oil (you only need a film of oil to coat the skillet) and heat. Brown meatballs on all sides and transfer to baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through.

And I made scones for breakfast today. I found this recipe on Local Kitchen Blog. These were delicious!

Ginger Orange Scones from Local Kitchen Blog-

Ingredients-

2 cups (9 oz) whole grain all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2 tbsp (4.5 oz) whole wheat pastry flour
2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup turbinado sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
Zest from 2 medium oranges (about 2 tbsp)
6 oz (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, frozen for at least 30 minutes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger
3/4  cup chilled  milk, plus extra for glazing

Method-

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (375 F convection).

In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; whisk for approximately 1 minute until well blended.  Transfer flour mixture to the bowl of a food processor.  Add butter cubes and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Mix orange zest and chopped ginger into flour mixture.

Gradually add the liquid, tossing with a fork until moist clumps form.  Stop adding liquid when it seems the dough will stay together; if the dough is too sticky, the scones will lose their shape upon cooking. If the dough seems crumbly and will not hold a shape, add more liquid 1 tbsp at a time.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  Knead briefly to bind the dough; about 4 turns should be enough.  Cut the dough in half, and form each portion into a 1- to 2-inch thick round.  Cut the round into 8 triangular pieces with a sharp knife or pastry cutter. Transfer wedges to a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet, spacing approximately 2 inches apart. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough.

Using a pastry brush, glaze the tops of each wedge with the extra milk. Sprinkle a small amount of turbinado sugar on top for added crunch.

Bake for 10 minutes (8 minutes convection), then turn pans in oven 180 degrees.  Continue to bake for 10-15 minutes (7-12 minutes convection), until the tops of the scones are golden brown and they feel somewhat firm to the touch.

Transfer to wire racks to cool.  Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Polpette Di Pane

When you have the world's best tomato sauce and then add fried bread meatballs you end up with an amazingly delicious dinner. Being the day before pay day this could be classified under cucina prover, "cuisine of the poor." The bread was from leftover loaves that I had frozen. No waste in this kitchen!

Polpette Di Pane (Bread Balls in Tomato Sauce)

2 cups canned imported Italian tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
5 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
Salt to taste
4 large eggs, beaten
1 tbsp. grated pecorino
1 tbsp Basil
About 6 oz. stale bread (not too soft, not too hard: about 2 days old, grated)
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt

Put the tomatoes in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until it is thickened to your liking and the fat floats free from the tomato.

Stir from time to time, mashing up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon.

Taste and correct for salt. Using an immersion blender, puree the sauce and onion. Season to taste.

Mix the eggs in a bowl with salt, cheese and the basil. Add the bread and work together to form a soft dough. Make the dough into balls, then flatten them. Heat the olive in a pan and saute the bread balls until golden. Drain on paper towels then add them to the tomato sauce. Cook for 10 minutes at low heat.

Cianfotta Faicchiana - Vegetable Stew

The other day I noticed someone from Naples Italy had visited my blog. They visited a post from 2010. I looked at the post and decided to make that recipe. It was delicious... after I made a couple of revisions to the recipe.

Ingredients-
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 zucchini, cubed
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 1/2 cups cubed eggplant, tossed with salt an allowed to drain of its juices
2 zucchini, cubed
2 cups Marcella Hazan Tomato Sauce

Method-
Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a pan. Add the zucchini, potatoes and eggplant and cook until golden.
Next, add the Marcella Hazan Sauce and cook, covered for about 30 minutes.
When the cooking is almost completed take off the cover, turn up the heat, and cook until the liquid evaporates. Serve at room temperature.

I picked up half a loaf of pepperoni bread to serve with the stew. Good call.

That Rice Casserole

This recipe is from Every Night Italian by Giuliano Hazan. It is what I refer to as a no brainer recipe. Yes, you have to make a sauce and make the rice but it freezes perfectly. I made this a couple of weeks ago and of course made enough for 2 dinners. Tonight's was from the freezer. We defrosted it and it baked for about 30 minutes. And I served it with Marcella Hazan's Sauce, also from the freezer.

Ingredients
Salt
1 1/2 cups Arborio Rice
4 tbsp butter, plus more for the rice and the baking dish
2 cups milk
1/4  cup all-purpose flour
Freshly ground pepper
6 oz. boiled ham, sliced fairly thin and chopped
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
6 oz. fresh mozzarella

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Fill a pot with at least 3 quarts water and bring to a boil. Add 2 tsp salt and the rice and stir well. Cook covered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked but still firm to the bite. Drain and transfer to a mixing bowl. Toss the rice with a bit of butter to prevent the grains from sticking together.
While the rice is cooking, make a béchamel sauce. Heat the milk until you can see steam rising, being careful not to let it come to a boil. Melt the 4 tbsp butter in a heavy sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Add the hot milk, a few tablespoons at a time at first, whisking until the mixture is smooth before adding more milk. Do not be alarmed if the béchamel becomes very thick at first. It will get thinner as you whisk in more milk. Once it has become quite thin, you can pour the milk in more rapidly. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat until the sauce thickly coats the whisk. Season with salt and pepper before removing from the heat.
Pour the béchamel over the rice, reserving a few spoonfuls for the top of the casserole. Add the ham and all but 2 tbsp of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Mix well and taste for salt and pepper.
Butter the bottom and sides of a 2 1/2 quart baking that is about 3 inches deep. Pour in half of the rice mixture. Slice the mozzarella about 1/8 inch thick and layer the slices over the rice. Add the remaining rice mixture and smooth the surface with a spoon. Spread the remaining béchamel over the top and sprinkle with the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Bake for 15 minutes. If after 15 minutes the top is not speckled with brown, place the casserole under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the top beings to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to settle for about 5 minutes before serving.

Calzones

Happy Earth Day! We have a few Daffodils that the squirrels left us.

Tonight we had Calzones. I had a Broccoli and Cheese
and Chris had Bacon and Onion. Delicious!

The pizza dough was from the Jim Lahey book,
My Bread: The Revolutionary No Knead Bread Method.

 The sauce was the Marcella Hazan 's recipe, of course!

Stuffed Peppers

I love when red peppers are on sale. Two reasons. First I love red peppers. The green pepper for some reason do agree with me. The second reason I love when red peppers are on sale is that they remind me of my Dad. He always said that when they were on sale he could not resist them.

Tonight we had Stuffed Peppers. They were stuffed with Aborio Rice and Sausage. I served them with the Marcella Hazan Sauce. I made stuffed the peppers this weekend and it was the perfect meal to reheat after work.

Cheesy Stuffed Meatball Subs

Let's make this a short post tonight. I have to get ready for a little trip I am taking this weekend. Tonight we had Meatballs Stuffed with Fontina Cheese. 

Yes, stuffed with Fontina Cheese. You can see it oozing out of the meatballs in this photo. They were browned in the oven and than finished in a pan with Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter.

And we made sandwiches out of the meatballs with spreadable Parmesan cheese and Provolone cheese on sliced Italian bread. The meatballs, the sauce, the bread, the cheeses all added up to meal that was so delicious.

Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

Of course our first home cooked dinner after our vacation had to be pasta. This dinner came together in 60 minutes. Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter is the perfect "quick" pasta sauce. The aroma was delicious as was the dinner. Below is the recipe as I make it. My changes are in italics.

Ingredients-
28 Oz canned imported Italian tomatoes, cut up, with their juice (I also added a 14 Oz can of diced tomatoes. I like having enough sauce to add more to each dish. Trust me, this sauce is that good.)
5 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
Salt to taste

Method-
Put the tomatoes in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until it is thickened to your liking and the fat floats free from the tomato.
Stir from time to time, mashing up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon.
Taste and correct for salt. Before tossing with pasta, you may remove the onion (as Hazan recommended) and save for another use, but I opt to leave it in. I blend the tomatoes and onion using an immersion blender.
Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for the table.

I saw this bottle of wine today and loved the label. Not a bad bottle for $8.99, I follow the Jacques Pepin rule about buying wine.

Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

Note to self- take photos before you put food on the table. So this was so good it was gone before I could snap a photo. A few weeks ago, my sister appeared at my door with a few tomatoes. They were perfectly ripe. I made Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter. I blended the onion into the sauce with an immersion blender. The sauce went into the freezer until tonight. Oh My God. It could have been that we have not had home made sauce with spaghetti for quite some time but there were no leftovers. That bit of sauce in the pan disappeared with the last of the Italian bread.

One Large Butternut Squash and Some Tomatoes

It was not hot out today. It was autumn like. Wow, I got so much cooking done today. But let's just focus on dinner for right now. Meatloaf. Yes the grill is perhaps getting ready for hibernation. So the oven is back on. The Meatloaf was delicious. I sauteed chopped onions and shredded carrots. They were added to the ground beef along with some horseradish dressing, ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce. I was going to add some breadcrumbs or chopped Italian bread but did not. I brushed the top of the meatloaf with ketchup and put crushed fried onions on top. It was in the oven for over an hour, until the internal temperature was 160 degrees. Did I mention it was delicious?

 

Now about the Butternut Squash and the tomatoes. I saw my sister yesterday and she presented me with 2 Butternut Squash from their garden. Earlier in the week she sent a photo of the harvest and I said yes.

I had a couple of things planned for the squash. I was not expecting them to be quite so large. One was over 4 pounds and the other was over 5 pounds. I used the larger one today to make a large pan, 8 servings, of Butternut Squash Soup. I also made a Butternut Squash and Pasta Casserole. So we got 5 meals from one squash, and probably a couple of lunches too! And the other squash will be taken care of next weekend.

The tomatoes were perfect. I have wanted to make the Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter recipe for a while. Oh, it came out so good. The recipe said to remove the onion, but I was reading some comments and a few people kept it in and so I blended it with an immersion blender. That went into the freezer for another night. Can't wait.