Pasta Bolognese... A LABOR OF LOVE....

Last week I was watching the Food Network. There was a fairly new show on and I decided to check it out. It was Secrets of a Restaurant Chef with Ann Burrell.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/anne-burrell/index.html (scroll down and click on the Spagetti Bolognese box. Get ready to laugh!)

Within the first 5 minutes my mouth was open... pretty much saying "what the heck". This gal is a NUT! Between her hands flailing, her grunts, ALL of the salt that she uses etc., I couldn't wait to see more! This episode was about making Pasta Bolognese. Honestly, I've heard of Bolognese sauce but didn't know what it was. She had a lot of good tips throughout the show which made it easier to get past the weirdness.

I made the sauce yesterday. It took about 4 hours and I did everything step by step just as she said. I kept coming back online to check out the video to be sure I was doing everything right.

Scott came home around the 2 hour mark and said that the house smelled so good. When it was around the 3 1/2 hour mark he was caught drinking a cup of the sauce! (I think Scott is my biggest fan!)

Everyone (except poor Alyssa because she just got her tonsils out and couldn't eat it!) couldn't wait to dig in. Well !! Scott said it's probably the best sauce I've ever made. Chris and PJ really liked it to but they're not as openly complimentary as Scott is. This was definitely a KEEPER recipe!!
* The picture looks like there's a ton of grease around the edges but there wasn't. It's just the picture.
Pasta Bolognese
Prep Time:
45 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
4 hr 30 min
Level:
Intermediate
Serves:
6 to 8 servings

1 large onion or 2 small, cut into 1-inch dice

2 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice

3 ribs celery, cut into 1-inch dice

4 cloves garlic

Extra-virgin olive oil,

for the pan Kosher salt

3 pounds ground chuck, brisket or round or combination

2 cups tomato paste

3 cups hearty red wine

Water

3 bay leaves

1 bunch thyme, tied in a bundle

1 pound spaghetti

1/2 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano

High quality extra-virgin olive oil, for finishing


In a food processor, puree onion, carrots, celery, and garlic into a coarse paste. In a large pan over medium heat, coat pan with oil. Add the pureed veggies and season generously with salt. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat and cook until all the water has evaporated and they become nice and brown, stirring frequently, about 15 to 20 minutes. Be patient, this is where the big flavors develop.
Add the ground beef and season again generously with salt. BROWN THE BEEF! Brown food tastes good. Don't rush this step. Cook another 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and cook until brown about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the red wine. Cook until the wine has reduced by half, another 4 to 5 minutes.
Add water to the pan until the water is about 1 inch above the meat. Toss in the bay leaves and the bundle of thyme and stir to combine everything. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. As the water evaporates you will gradually need to add more, about 2 to 3 cups at a time. Don't be shy about adding water during the cooking process, you can always cook it out. This is a game of reduce and add more water. This is where big rich flavors develop. If you try to add all the water in the beginning you will have boiled meat sauce rather than a rich, thick meaty sauce. Stir and TASTE frequently. Season with salt, if needed (you probably will). Simmer for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
During the last 30 minutes of cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat to cook the spaghetti. Pasta water should ALWAYS be well salted. Salty as the ocean! TASTE IT! If your pasta water is under seasoned it doesn't matter how good your sauce is, your complete dish will always taste under seasoned. When the water is at a rolling boil add the spaghetti and cook for 1 minute less than it calls for on the package. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
While the pasta is cooking remove 1/2 of the ragu from the pot and reserve.
Drain the pasta and add to the pot with the remaining ragu. Stir or toss the pasta to coat with the sauce. Add some of the reserved sauce, if needed, to make it about an even ratio between pasta and sauce. Add the reserved pasta cooking water and cook the pasta and sauce together over a medium heat until the water has reduced. Turn off the heat and give a big sprinkle of Parmigiana and a generous drizzle of the high quality finishing olive oil. Toss or stir vigorously. Divide the pasta and sauce into serving bowls or 1 big pasta bowl. Top with remaining grated Parmigiana. Serve immediately.

Feliz Año Nuevo Estilo Mexicano

... in other words...

HAPPY NEW YEAR MEXICAN STYLE!

I wanted to ring in the new year with the memory of a nice meal. I decided that I would make one of our family's favorite Mexican dinner... Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatilla Salsa by my hero... Tyler Florence. I just love how authentic tasting this recipe is unlike what you get at some chain Mexican restaurants. Tomatillos aren't easy to find around here so when I see them, I grab them!
I also found a salsa recipe to serve with chips that I figured I'd try being that I had all of the ingredients.
There is never enough Enchiladas. I think I need to double this recipe even if it means leftovers. It will all be eaten by the middle of the night snackers in the house anyway! The salsa dip was good but I thought it needed something. Scott loved it, as did all of his friends!

The Dip:

CORN & AVOCADO SALSA

1 can white corn, drained

1 can black-eyed peas, drained

1/2 bunch green onion, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

4 med. tomatoes, chopped

3 avocados, chopped

1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian dressing mix

Mix together all ingredients and chill overnight.

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa

Directions:
Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa:
Ingredients:

1 pound tomatillos, husked
1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
4 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 lime, juiced

Enchiladas:

Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock, storebought
Chopped cilantro leaves
1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
10 large flour tortillas
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 cups sour cream
Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish
Guacamole, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the Salsa:
On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky. This can be made days ahead of time. Store in the refrigerator.

Enchiladas:
Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the flour tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato.

BIEROCKS TOTALLY ROCK!!!

On our last trip to Ithaca (Dec), we stopped at the Farmer's Market http://www.ithacamarket.com/home.php
to get a bite to eat before heading out to start our Holiday Shopping Spree at the Cayuga Lake wineries. The Farmer's Market has an array of different ethnic food vendors so there's a lot to choose from. While walking down the isle I noticed a sign on a warming/steaming pot... HOT STUFFED BUNS $1.50 each!

Well, that hit the spot. It was a cold and windy day. This is just what we need. They had a choice of 3 kinds but I only remember 2 of them because those are the ones that we bought. We got one that was onion and bacon and the other was spinach, feta and garlic. And YES, I took pictures of them as we were driving!

They look like softballs. They were DELICIOUS!!! We couldn't stop talking about them. We were disecting the insides with every bite!

After we got home I posted the question, on my favorite web site, of what these buns were actually called because I wanted to make them. I found out that they were called Bierocks, sometimes referred to as Runza. They are German and often made with cabbage and ground beef.

I went on http://www.allrecipes.com/ and found a recipe that got good reviews. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pams-Bierocks/Detail.aspx

I used that recipe for the dough and then made our version of the fillings as we remembered them from our trip. The recipe made 18. I thought there would be a lot left over for another dinner. WRONG!!! All 18 were eaten! I didn't stuff the ones with the onions and bacon enough but the flavor was still there! We will be making these quite often.

Pam's Bierocks
SUBMITTED BY: PUSHKEMAA PHOTO BY: Michelle S "A German dish, these sweet dinner rolls are stuffed with ground beef, onion, and cabbage. A great alternative to the Finnish pasty!"

PREP TIME
50 Min
COOK TIME
25 Min
READY IN
1 Hr 30 Min
Original recipe yield 20 stuffed rolls

INGREDIENTS

2 cups warm water
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup margarine, softened
1 egg
2 teaspoons salt
7 cups all-purpose flour

I didn't make this filling but this was part of the recipe
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
6 cups shredded cabbage
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup melted butter

**The fillings that I used are:

-I defrosted a box of frozen chopped spinach and squeezed out the water. I then mixed it with crumbled up Feta Cheese and chopped garlic. There were no measurements. I just added until I liked the flavor.

-I sauteed chopped onions and chopped smokey bacon that we got from Oscar's Smoke House in Warrensburgh., NY. http://www.oscarssmokedmeats.com/

I'll miss going there being that it was a must stop on the way home from Plattsburgh.

And that's it. Replace those filling recipes in place of the filling part below *.

DIRECTIONS
Prepare dough: In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Mix in sugar, margarine, egg, salt and 1/2 of the flour. Beat until smooth; add remaining flour until dough pulls together. Place in oiled bowl. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, OR let it rise for 1 hour.
*In a large heavy skillet, brown meat. Add onion, cabbage, salt and simmer 30 minutes. Cool until lukewarm. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Coat a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.
Punch down dough and divide into 20 pieces. Spread each piece of dough out on an un-floured surface and fill with approximately 2 tablespoons filling. fold dough over and seal edges. Place on prepared cookie sheet and let rise for 1 hour.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with butter and serve.

UNCLE STAN'S ROLLS....YUM!!!!

Every year, just before Thanksgiving and Christmas, Uncle Stan comes to our house to bake his famous crescent rolls. This recipe was from Grammy (PJ and Stan's Grandmother) so it must be a very old recipe. He has been making these rolls for at least 3o years, probably closer to 40+.

My fondest memory of these rolls is when we had dinner at Gran's house, Stan would always pack up extra rolls for us to take home. We would all get in our car and start to pull out of the driveway but BEFORE we even would get out of the driveway... the kids would have the bag of rolls open and they'd sit there stuffing their faces! It happened EVERY time! Now that Grans house is no longer, Stan comes here to bake them. We always mail some down to Brooke to enjoy. She even started making them for her friends!So Saturday Uncle Stan came over to make his rolls for Christmas. We thought it would be nice for him to help us decorate our Christmas tree in between the risings of the dough. Scott and Alyssa got into their 'silly' moods and played a trick on us. I put the margarine in the microwave to soften it. Stan asked where the mixer was. I said that I put it on the counter for him. It was no where to be found! I asked S & A if they saw it and they said no. I then went into the microwave to get the margarine and Scott yelled that I'm loosing my mind if I'm looking for the mixer in the microwave! (He thinks he's funny). Where did the stinking mixer go??? We found it. Of all places, they hung it from a hook on the beam by the ceiling!! Leave it to them! Uncle Stan thought it was so funny!

A & S holding Brooke's ornament from the day she was born.

The rolls took a long time to make this year. The dough just wasn't rising. Also, I put them back in the oven in the morning because they were under baked. Much better now.
I hope the tradition of having these rolls for the holidays will carry on with the kids. It's a nice tradition.

SUPERB GOLDEN CRESCENTS

aka...

UNCLE STAN'S ROLLS

Mix together:

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of milk

1ts. salt

2 eggs

1 stick of margarine (melted)

Mix:

1/2 cup of warm water (closer to room temp) and 2 pkgs of dry yeast. Add to the above mixture. Mix all together then add 3 1/2 - 4 cups of flour. When mixed, leave in mixing bowl and put a dampened dishtowel (CLEAN) over the bowl. Put it in a draft free and warm area and let the dough rish until double.

Turn dough out, cut in half. Roll/flatten out into 2 circles; cut into 8 triangle pieces. Roll up into a crescent and lay out on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover with the dampened dish towel. Let rise until double. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Yield: approx 16 rolls

BBQ GLAZED HOMEMADE MEATBALLS

I made these meatballs a few nights ago. PJ called and asked what was for dinner and I told him "some sort of meatballs, rice and a vegetable". He sounded so sad. I asked him what he'd rather have, even though I already knew what he was going to say, and he said spagetti. He needs comfort food in other words! So I ended up baking these in the oven until they were a little golden in color. I put 1/2 aside to add to spagetti sauce and then made the sause for the BBQ ones. These were so good. They reminded us of the Cocktail Meatballs in Dunky Sauce that my mother used to make for parties some 35 or so years ago! These were bigger and used as part of the main meal though. Scott and PJ gobbled these up and even put them with the spagetti and mixed the sauce in too. I made a lot (I used 3 lbs of chop meat so I doubled everything) and we had leftovers for another meal. The next morning I noticed that there weren't ANY left for another meal! Scott and Chris ate them during the night! I guess I should be glad that the family enjoys leftovers!

BBQ Glazed Homemade Meatballs

PREP TIME
15 Min
COOK TIME
1 Hr
READY IN
1 Hr 15 Min
Original recipe yield 25 meatballs
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup quick cooking oats
6 1/2 ounces evaporated milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup ketchup
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.
In a bowl, mix beef, egg, oats, evaporated milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, and 1/2 cup onion. Form into 1 1/2 inch balls and arrange in a single layer in the baking dish.
In a separate bowl, mix ketchup, garlic, sugar, 1/4 cup onion, and liquid smoke. Pour evenly over the meatballs.
Bake uncovered 1 hour in the preheated oven, until the minimum internal temperature of a meatball reaches 160 degrees F (72 degrees C).

Lynn's Version of CRAB AND CORN SOUP... SURPRISINGLY PRETTY GOOD!!!

Today is the 31st anniversary of PJ and my first date!!! (9-9-77) Normally he says Happy Anniversary first but this time I remembered first! I called him at work and he was very surprised that it was already the 9th! He was taking 1/2 a day today to take care of legal things with his mother so I decided to surprise him with a nice lunch. He brought tomatoes home from Saratoga the other day that need to be used so I made BLT sandwiches with them. BUT to make it extra special, I made my version of Crab & Corn Soup, one of our favorites. I had the ingredient list from Maxie's Supper Club in Ithaca (they won't give you the actual recipe). So I decided to wing it. We had 3 ears of corn left over from last nights dinner that I roasted on the grill so they had a nice smokey flavor. They would be perfect for this. I don't have a recipe for this soup. It's a little of this and a little of that all thrown together.

I started by cooking some bacon for the sandwiches and saving a little for the soup, including a few TBS of the grease to add to the oil and butter. Then I diced 2 ribs of celery and 2 shallots. I put 1/2 of a stick of butter in the pan, with a little veg oil so the butter doesn't burn on medium heat. I threw in the celery and onions and cooked them for about 10 minutes, making sure not to burn them. This brings out the sweetness in the onions. I added the leaves (chopped up) of about 3 sprigs of Thyme from my garden. Then, and I think this is what made it taste so good, I added about 1/4 of a cup of JOE'S SEASONINGS. This is from the New Orleans Cooking School. http://shopping.nosoc.com/

It's a low salt, no MSG, no preservatives all purpose seasoning, so really I guess any will do, but low salt would be best.

I stirred this through and cooked for a couple of minutes more. I added some flour, probably about 1/3 of a cup, and kept stirring for a few minutes more. I had about a quart of water that I froze from when I made corn in a pan so it has that delicious corn flavor. I dumped that in and kept stirring. I then added about 2 cups of 2% milk and kept cooking and stirring occasionally for about 10 more minutes. I then went to the fridge to get the 3 ears of corn. They were no where to be found! Chris must have eaten them in the middle of the night! I ended up finding some frozen corn, throwing that in and I even added a can of creamed corn! I cooked it for about 10 more minutes and it was basically finished. I spooned it into bowls and added chopped scallions and a little more Thyme to the top. DELICIOUS!

PJ was so impressed! He had the sandwich and soup and went back for a second bowl of soup!

"It ain't da seafood dat makes ya fat anyway -- it's da batta!"

New Orleans is the most interesting city if you're into different cultures and foods. There are so many cultures from so many different countries and it's all blended together to create some really GREAT food!

"it is an indisputable fact that no place loves its food quite as sincerely – or as indulgently – as New Orleans. Some people eat to live, but New Orleanians live to eat. As a result, the city offers one of the most incredible – and incredibly diverse – concentrations of exceptional dining and unforgettable cuisine in the world. "

We make sure we try different things and Scott seems to be the better one for doing that!

We learned to cook Gumbo, Jambalya, Bread Pudding and Pralines at the New Orleans School of Cooking. Note: When you cook Onions, Peppers and Celery together, it's called Trinity. See pic at top!

My pictures make everything look they are the same color but believe me, they weren't!

GUMBO

Jambalya

Bread Pudding

PRALINES

Scott had some Alligator Sausage made into a Po Boy

We had great smokey Ribs...

The Gumbo Shop was recomended to us as a place that the 'locals' love. It's not a chain and a little out of the way. It was good! http://www.gumboshop.com/

PJ and I both had the
CRAWFISH AND PASTA IN TASSO CREAM Penne pasta, crawfish tails and tasso, tossed in a reduced cream sauce

Scott had a BLACKENED CATFISH PO-BOY

All you want after the 3rd day after eating N.O.'s food is a nice bowl of

LIGHT SALAD!!!