Best Kiddie Sauce Ever!

I admit being skeptical about a sauce that everyone was raving about with just three overly simple ingredients. How can tomatoes, one onion and some butter be that great? Well, I stand corrected. This sauce is fantastic and the real story is that it is the magical combination that will get any difficult food you want into your little tike's mouth. Seriously, my little man is gobbling this stuff up like he has never eaten before in his life. Simply opening the fridge to take the leftovers out for dinner triggers a bouncing around in the chair reaction. Of course, then he devours it in about three minutes and I have my silent time for the night. Yes, three whole minutes is what I have these days and you know what, I will take it and say thank you very much!

So, about the taste. It is very subtle and light, yet inexplicably addictive. I think the best way to say this is that the simplified ingredient list really allows the tomatoes to shine through and pop in your mouth. The onion adds a delicate undertone and the butter provides some depth and heartiness to the tomato/onion combination. This is almost the peanut butter and jelly of the sauce world, uncomplicated, robust yet smooth and wonderfully comforting in it's unadorned form. Enjoy!

Adapted from Marcela Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano)
5 tablespoons salted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Kosher salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 1 hour, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add Kosher salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta. If there are chunks of tomato still floating around, use an immersion blender to smooth out the rough spots. A big piece of tomato in a little unsuspecting mouth could cause a choking situation so please be cognizant of that.

Serve with noodles or in the case of these pictures for little mouths, bite size shells or elbows.

Walnut Pesto Pasta

I am watching Chicago and having a few glasses of wine. If this post contains poor sentence structure, mis-spellings or questionable grammar, my apologies.

How many ways can pesto be used? In my opinion, in about as many savory ways as something like Nutella can be used in sweet ways. Pesto should never just be relegated to pasta dishes and I believe it should be set free to roam among the surfs, turfs and salads of the world. So besides pasta, here are a few ideas:

1. Topping for green peas or incorporate the peas into the pesto and add that as a topping on a meat dish
2. Spread on a turkey sandwich
3. Spread on a hamburger
4. Topping on a salad instead of dressing
5. Topping a steak
6. Awesome on roast beef sandwiches

This list is obviously not exhaustive but I think you get the idea. For the picture, I put the pesto with pasta, a handful of walnuts, green peas and a diced chicken breast. Bliss!


Recipe:

1 cup tight-packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup tight-packed basil leaves
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Method:

1. Make the pesto: Place parsley, basil, walnuts, cheeses, garlic, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until well combined. Add the olive oil to parsley/basil mixture in a slow stream, pulsing to combine. Taste and season to taste.

Serve immediately on top of warm pasta and peas and sprinkle whole walnuts and parmesan on top or freeze (see Step 2).

2. Freeze the pesto: Divide pesto into preferred serving sizes and place in small resealable plastic bags or small plastic containers with airtight lids. Force excess air out of the container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Fettuccine Alfredo

This is not your typical Fettuccine Alfredo. I must confess that unlike every other red blooded human being on earth, I have never liked the typical Fettuccine that is served in restaurants. I always thought it was just a big pile of cream, butter and cheese that never really popped in my mouth. Anyone who knows me knows that my quest for “pop” is relentless and unforgiving. If I am going to ingest calories that will take away from the allotted amount of calories I allow myself on a daily basis, they sure as hell better be great calories. So with that, my modification includes taking the typical Fettuccine recipe and adding in cream cheese and sour cream. I know, totally weird but the taste is totally pop-worthy.

Warning: I ran out of Fettuccine noodles so I used the shells. Sorry but my life is crazy and sometimes I have to use substitutes…just use your imagination on this one.

Recipe:

1 pound fettuccine noodles or 1 pound shells
1 stick salted butter
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups grated parmesan
1/4 pecorino romano
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream

Cook noodles according to package directions in salted water.

Melt butter, cream, cream cheese and sour cream in large pan. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add cooked pasta to cream mixture and stir to combine. Add in all of the shredded cheese and stir until melted and combined.

Serve immediately.

Mac n' Cheese with Pancetta, Sweet Ham and Parmesan Crisps

I was about to go on and on about how I couldn’t stop eating this when it came out of the oven. Now, a day later, I am going to have to talk about how amazing the flavor is after sitting in the fridge for 24 hours.

I took the dish out of the fridge this evening and warmed a little bowl of it up. This is a family blog so I am going to put a warning on this next part and tell you that this gets a little racy. I tasted the mound of warm noodles drenched in cheese with bits of salty and sweet ham and a slight buttery crunch from the panko and groaned with absolute, unbridled ecstasy. Too much information? Too bad. I know what love is and this dish is it. I highly recommend making this immediately and eating it with unadulterated and reckless abandon. Bon Appetit! AJ

Recipe:
4 cups dried macaroni
1/4 cup (1/2 stick salted butter)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup half & half
3 heaping teaspoons dry mustard
pinch of nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated (I use parmigiano reggiano)
1/3 cup pecorino romano cheese grated
3 tablespoons pancetta diced
1 cup ham with a sweet crust, cubed small
1 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste

Optional:
parmesan crisps (recipe/method follows)

Preheat the oven to 380 degrees.

Cook the macaroni in salted water to very al dente. It should be a little too firm to eat right away.

Beat the egg and set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, add the chopped pancetta and stir for 2 minutes. Add in the chopped ham and cook for 3 more minutes. Set aside.

In a large pot, melt the butter and then add in the flour all at once whisking vigorously over medium heat for a few minutes or until smooth. Pour in milk, half & half, mustard, nutmeg and a big pinch of salt and pepper (few twists of the pepper mill). Continue to whisk for about five minutes over medium high heat until mixture is thick. Turn heat to low and take about 1/4 cup of the milk mixture and whisk it in with the egg until smooth. Pour the egg mixture back into the milk mixture and whisk until smooth. Work quickly to avoid ending up with scrambled eggs.

Taste the sauce and add in salt and pepper if needed. Pour in cooked and drained macaroni, cooked pancetta and ham and stir to combine. Add in all of the cheeses and stir to combine. Again taste for salt and pepper and season if necessary. Pour entire mixture into a buttered baking dish, top with extra sharp cheddar shredded and the panko bread crumbs spread evenly over the entire dish. Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

Parmesan Crisps – Recipe and Method

1 cup parmesan cheese finely shredded

Pre-heat broiler.

On a baking sheet with parchment paper, mound 1/2 cup of the cheese on the paper in a circle about the size of the bottom of the measuring cup and repeat with the other 1/2 cup on a separate spot on the paper. Put the baking sheet with the cheese under the broiler and watch closely until all of the cheese is melted, slightly bubbly and turning brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. With a thin spatula, gently lift one cracker at a time off the parchment and bend into a slight cylinder until it holds that shape on it’s own. Insert the crackers on the edge of the Mac n’ Cheese prior to serving.

Memories of Firenze Spaghetti and Meatballs

I grew up on spaghetti with Prego on top and I had no idea there were any alternatives to what I thought was a pretty good meal. Fast forward to college when my parents shipped me off to Florence, Italy for a few weeks and I felt like I had dropped into an alternate food universe. I had never tasted pasta, calzones, salads, gelato, cappuccino, fish and sauces that tasted so fresh and full of flavor. I remember walking along the cobblestone street soaking in the sun one afternoon with the Florence street vendors hocking everything from leather handbags to $1 straw hats in the shape of ice cream cones. Everyday those vendors get out there and make an art of bartering. While I walked along the street, I spotted a street vendor selling calzones and in my famished state I purchased one for under $5.00. I took a bite and I think the heavens opened up. The inside was warm with fresh mozzarella oozing out and a tomato sauce that tasted like the tomatoes had just come off the vine. The outside dough had a light caramel color, it was soft and moist and melted in my mouth along with the sauce and the cheese. I don't think I had ever tasted anything that heavenly in my young life. Couple that meal with the ambiance of the warm sun on my neck, the beautiful architecture of Firenze with the miles of white and pink stone towering above me and the beautiful Italian men and women passing me left and right adamantly speaking their beautiful language with their arms flailing about. It is an experience that everyone should have once in their life as it is one that you will not find anywhere else.

This dish makes me feel like I am back in one of the little restaurants that speckle the streets of Florence. It is the comfort food to top all comfort foods and well worth the time it takes to make it.

Recipe:
Meatballs First
1/2 pound ground pork
1 1/2 pound ground beef
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs sans crusts
1/4 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 handfull chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg beaten

Sauce Second
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup red wine (I used Chianti)
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Spaghetti Last
1 1/2 pounds spaghetti cooked al dente

Place all ingredients under "meatballs" with 3/4 cup warm water in a large bowl. With clean hands, mush it all together until well mixed. Form the mixture into 2-inch balls. You will have approximately 15 meatballs.

Pour part vegetable oil and olive oil in a large skillet to a depth of 1/4 inch and heat the oil. In batches of about 5, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them on all sides. If they brown too quickly, the oil is too hot, too slowly and the oil is not hot enough. You will also need to move the meatballs around constantly for about 10 minutes per batch. Remove the meatballs to a plate with a lot of paper towels. When all the meatballs are complete, discard the oil but don't wipe or clean the pan.

Place the pan back on the stove with heat and pour in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion and cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the wine over high heat and scrape up all of the brown bits from the meatballs. Let the wine cook until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, salt and pepper and stir together. Let cook for 5 minutes and add the meatballs back into the sauce. Stir, cover the pot and allow to cook on the lowest heat for 45 minutes.

Stir in the cooked spaghetti along with 1/2 cup of the water that the spaghetti was boiled in. Only serve this (with parmesan) to someone who is nice and considerate of your time and feelings.

Cheers!