Roasted Tomato Sauce

Carolyn and I attempted to make Strozzapreti (a type of pasta noodle) this evening, but failed.  Strozzapreti is a noodle that is made by placing the dough around a bamboo skewer.  I simply could not do it. In the spirit of making lemonade out of lemons, we decided to make tallerines, which are simply flat, wide noodles.  But the noodles turned out too tough.  Not inedible, but a bit more chewy that we wanted.  But there is a silver lining.  The tomato sauce recipe is a keeper!  It’s easy to make and it has a wonderful flavor.  It would go well with fusilli, although we will try making the Strozzapreti another time.

Update:  We made Strozzapreti (see the separate recipe post) the following evening.  Actually, we made it twice.  On the final try I increased the water and oil, and achieved good results. 

12 ounces (about 22) cherry tomatoes or 6 medium tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup finely grated pecorino cheese
1/4 cup, firmly packed, fresh basil leaves
salt & black pepper
hot pepper flakes, optional

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, 1 tablespoon oil and 4 minced garlic cloves. Toss well, then arrange tomatoes on a baking sheet, cut sides up.  Salt and pepper lightly. Roast until soft and collapsing, about 45 minutes; do not allow to dry or brown.

Combine remaining minced garlic, cheese, and basil in a food processor.  Process until very finely chopped.

When tomatoes are roasted, remove them from the oven, place on serving dishes and immediately sprinkle cheese-herb mixture on top and lightly mash with a spoon so cheese melts. Serve over pasta. Drizzle each serving with a tablespoon of olive oil.  

2 servings.

Before

After . . . right out of the oven.

Albondigas

Carolyn and I first enjoyed albondigas (Mexican meatballs) at a restaurant on Lincoln Avenue.  We went back again and were stunned to find that they removed them from the menu.  Big mistake.  Soon they went out of business.  This recipe is the result of gathering information from a half dozen different recipes, with the hope of recreating the albondigas we enjoyed on Lincoln Avenue.  I first prepared this recipe for a Cinco de Mayo office lunch in 2006. This batch made 39 meatballs and required three baking dishes; enough for 19 servings!  It's a lot of work, but the albondigas freeze nicely and are great to have on hand.  Of course, you can always make 1/3 or 1/2 of the recipe.

Meatballs:

3 lbs. ground beef
3 lbs. ground pork
3-4 medium onion, finely diced
3 medium zucchini, peeled and finely diced
3 tablespoon dried oregano
5 tablespoons minced garlic
3 cups plain, dried bread crumbs (I use a coarse variety)
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
6 large eggs
2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Sauce:

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 to 8 canned chipotle chiles in adobo (7 oz can), stemmed and seeded (I used 10 the first time: too hot!  I used 5 the second time plus 1 T. of the adobo sauce; too mild.)  note: Add the adobo sauce.
2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoon oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
1 can (28 oz.) tomato sauce
3 cups white rice (prepared makes about 6 cups)
1-1/4 cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 450 deg. F. and begin preparation of rice.

In large bowl, mix the first eight ingredients until well blended.   In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the cumin, salt and black pepper.  Add to the meat and mix well. 

With wet hands, shape meat into 2-1/2 inch balls and place into a 9” x 13” baking dish, spaced apart.  Bake until lightly browned; about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove seeds from the chipotle peppers and add to a blender or processor.  Add the crushed tomatoes, garlic, oregano and cumin.  Puree until smooth.  In a separate bowl, combine the puree, tomato sauce and rice.  Stir well.

When the meatballs are ready, spoon on the tomato-rice mixture, spreading it to fill the spaces between the meatballs.  Bake another 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and place meatballs, without the tomato-rice mixture, on warmed plates.  Add one cup of chicken broth to a baking dish and mix well.  Serve with the meatballs.

Dice the zucchini fine

Work in process . . . ready to combine with the sauce.

Forgot to defrost the butter? @&%$!

Okay, so you are a dupa (boludo, in Spanish, in Argentina), like I was, and forgot to remove the butter from the refrigerator (or freezer) to bring it to room temperature.  If you going to mix the butter for cake, there is a simple solution that will immediately bring your butter to room temperature:  Simply grate it.  Instant gratification!

Note: if you don’t have a grater, I imagine that a vegetable peeler would work too.

Crumb Bottom Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is a perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea. I have made it with blueberries, raspberries, and no berries at all. It keeps well, lightly covered with waxed paper, for nearly a week.

2 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp. of baking powder
1 cup of sugar
1/2 stick of butter, softened
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 egg
2 tsp. of vanilla extract
1/2 sour cream (or 1/2 cup of buttermilk or milk)
1 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries (optional)

Crumb bottom:
5 tbs. of cold butter, cubed
3/4 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of brown sugar
2 tsp. of cinnamon
1/4 tsp. of salt

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8×8 square pan or bundt pan with non stick spray (or even better, some butter!).

Use a hand mixer, starting out at low and gradually working up to medium speed. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes, until light in color and creamy. Add egg and vanilla and mix for an additional 2 minutes. Add salt, baking powder and flour. Add the sour cream and mix an additional 3-5 minutes. Batter will be quite thick. Carefully fold in fresh blueberries (or whatever) and spoon batter into the pan. Set aside.

Mix brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and cold butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add crumb topping mixture to the cake pan and gently press everything down, slightly pushing the crumb mixture into the batter.

Bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes. Remove from oven and let it sit for 10 minutes.. Invert onto a plate. Garnish with powdered sugar.

Couscous

This is a flavorful couscous.  I like the large “pearl couscous,” which seems difficult to find.  Fortunately, the Ziyad brand Maftoul couscous (see image of package below) is available at the Oakton Market in Skokie.  (Ignore the instruction on the package.)  I serve this with the Moroccan Style Chicken Tights, accompanied by lightly sautéed zucchini slices. 

جيد جدا  (which translates to “muy bien”)

1 cup couscous
Water (1-1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced (2 onions dices, if caramelized)
one (Knorr’s) vegetable bullion
¼ teaspoon (or more) of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 tablespoons butter
1 carrot, finely diced

Lightly brown couscous in 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet.  Add the remaining ingredients, except the carrots.  Cover and cook over low heat until couscous is tender, but with a slightly firm center, turning occasionally.  Add additional water if necessary.  Add the carrots shortly before the couscous is fully cooked.   Next, remove cover, increase heat to medium and sauté over moderately high heat until slightly browned, stirring often.

Note:  This recipe works perfectly well following the instruction above, however, I urge you to first caramelize two onions as follows:  Dice the onions.  Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to a 10 or 12-inch skillet, add the onions, add 2-3 tablespoons of water, and raise the heat to medium.  Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, occasionally stirring, until the onions are thoroughly limp and caramelizing.  Remove the cover and continue to cook, turning occasionally, until all liquid is evaporated and the onions are nicely caramelized.  Add these to the couscous for an even better dish.

 

Olive Oil Cake

 

8 to 10 servings. 

This coffee cake is very easy to make and lasts several days.  It’s terrific for breakfast, with some fruit. 

1-1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
2 large eggs
¾ cup whole milk (1% works fine too)
½ cup olive oil (mild flavor)
2 -3 teaspoons finely grated orange peel (I used 1 Mandarin orange)

Preheat oven to 325 deg. F.  Oil and flour a 9x5x3 inch metal loaf pan (i.e. bread pan).

Whisk together the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, olive oil and orange peel.  Gradually add egg mixture to dry ingredients, whisking continuously.  Whisk until well blended.  Pour into the loaf pan.

Bake cake 60 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove pan from oven and cool a rack for 20 minutes.  Use a cake knife or other tool to loosen cake edges from pan.  Invert pan to remove cake.  Place top side down on a serving dish and allow to cool completely.

Classic Potato Salad

Gluten free – serves 8

It’s takes a little bit of advance planning and work, but home made potato salad is so far superior to store-bought.  I encourage you to make this.  It keeps well for days, covered with plastic wrap.  (Potato salad accompanies ribs in the photo above).  First prepared 8-1-09 for a dinner with Catherine Severson and Chris Hurn.

8 medium red potatoes (~2.5” diameter), peeled, boiled, cooled (room temp) and diced
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (real mayo; not Miracle Whip)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 cup diced red onion
5 hard-boiled eggs, sliced and halved
Paprika

Place diced potatoes in large bowl.  Mix next 7 ingredients in another bowl, add to the potatoes, and mix.  Add celery and onions and mix well.  Stir in the eggs.  Sprinkle with paprika.

Tip:  Boil the potatoes in moderately hot water; not a violent boil, or the potatoes will crack open.  Once the potatoes are done (fork tender), pour out the hot water and replace with cold and two or three large handfuls of ice cubes.  This will cool the potatoes quickly.

Variations:  Although I have not tried any variations, yet, I have had potato salads with chopped gerkins, diced red peppers, crumbled bacon, capers, green beans (cooked), diced ham, chopped green onions, etc.  Experiment . . . that’s the joy of cooking!