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Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Pasta Sauce I
New Italian Recipes Presents:
Homemade Italian Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, crushed with flat of knife and sliced thinly
1/2 to 1 cup diced, fresh basil. (It's your call. We usually use close to a cup)
1/2 cup red wine. (Good enough quality to drink)
1 T turbinado (raw) sugar (or Splenda)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 28 oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes.
1 t lemon juice (optional)
3 T brandy (optional)
If you have good fresh tomatoes, blanch them in boiling water until the skins are loose and wrinkled. Cool in cold water and remove skins before dicing. If you squeeze through strainer with mesh small enough to catch the seeds, the removal of the seeds will make the sauce a little less bitter. We usually don't remove the seeds. We can't tell that it makes enough difference to go to the trouble)
Preparation:
Sauté onions in olive oil over low heat, covered, for 10-12 minutes.
Add garlic and basil, re-cover, for another 5 minutes or so.
Uncover and add wine. Reduce by about half.
Add tomatoes and S & P and simmer for 15 minutes. You can reduce the sauce further and intensify the flavor. We like to add the brandy and lemon juice about 3-4 minutes before finishing.
If you want to turn this sauce into Neapolitan Sauce, add 10-12 sliced ripe olives, and 1 1/2 T capers just before finishing.
Fresh Italian Parsley can be added at the end if you like it.
For a nice twist, add 3-5 crushed and chopped anchovies. You talk about kicking something up a notch! Especially good in fish stew (Cioppino). Yum!!!
Write it down and star it, pupils: This tangy tomato sauce can be used virtually anytime when you would like a juiced-up alternative to a can of tomatoes called for in a recipe. It's worth the effort!
Note: You can double this easily, but adding 3-5 more cloves of garlic is not necessary unless you are a garlic hound like us. (If you can believe it, we've actually heard there are some people who do not like garlic! Hard to believe, but I guess it's true. Pity for them!) Obviously, these people are "not" Italian, even at heart!
So, make a large batch of sauce and use what you need for the recipe you are preparing, then freeze the rest in batches for future recipes. You can thaw it out in the microwave or in warm water in no time. Restaurant chefs do it all the time, DOD can vouch for that. Why not you?
Homemade Italian Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, crushed with flat of knife and sliced thinly
1/2 to 1 cup diced, fresh basil. (It's your call. We usually use close to a cup)
1/2 cup red wine. (Good enough quality to drink)
1 T turbinado (raw) sugar (or Splenda)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 28 oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes.
1 t lemon juice (optional)
3 T brandy (optional)
If you have good fresh tomatoes, blanch them in boiling water until the skins are loose and wrinkled. Cool in cold water and remove skins before dicing. If you squeeze through strainer with mesh small enough to catch the seeds, the removal of the seeds will make the sauce a little less bitter. We usually don't remove the seeds. We can't tell that it makes enough difference to go to the trouble)
Preparation:
Sauté onions in olive oil over low heat, covered, for 10-12 minutes.
Add garlic and basil, re-cover, for another 5 minutes or so.
Uncover and add wine. Reduce by about half.
Add tomatoes and S & P and simmer for 15 minutes. You can reduce the sauce further and intensify the flavor. We like to add the brandy and lemon juice about 3-4 minutes before finishing.
If you want to turn this sauce into Neapolitan Sauce, add 10-12 sliced ripe olives, and 1 1/2 T capers just before finishing.
Fresh Italian Parsley can be added at the end if you like it.
For a nice twist, add 3-5 crushed and chopped anchovies. You talk about kicking something up a notch! Especially good in fish stew (Cioppino). Yum!!!
Write it down and star it, pupils: This tangy tomato sauce can be used virtually anytime when you would like a juiced-up alternative to a can of tomatoes called for in a recipe. It's worth the effort!
Note: You can double this easily, but adding 3-5 more cloves of garlic is not necessary unless you are a garlic hound like us. (If you can believe it, we've actually heard there are some people who do not like garlic! Hard to believe, but I guess it's true. Pity for them!) Obviously, these people are "not" Italian, even at heart!
So, make a large batch of sauce and use what you need for the recipe you are preparing, then freeze the rest in batches for future recipes. You can thaw it out in the microwave or in warm water in no time. Restaurant chefs do it all the time, DOD can vouch for that. Why not you?
Meatball Recipe
3 lbs hamburger (90% -92% Ground Sirloin is best)
1 cup chopped onion – Sauté with garlic and Olive Oil before adding to meat
3 – 4 Cloves Garlic - Sauté with onion and Olive Oil before adding to meat
1 Cup Bread Crumbs
Parmesan Cheese – mix in with bread crumbs
1/3 cup milk – mix into bread crumbs evenly. Than mix into hamburger
¼ cup Red Wine
Oregano
Italian Seasonings
Basil & rosemary (optional to mood and taste)
2 – 3 eggs – mix into meatballs
Salt & Pepper
Make meatballs 1 – 1 ½ “ and place in glass cooking pan
350 (375) degrees 25 minutes, than boil in sauce 15-20 minutes
1 cup chopped onion – Sauté with garlic and Olive Oil before adding to meat
3 – 4 Cloves Garlic - Sauté with onion and Olive Oil before adding to meat
1 Cup Bread Crumbs
Parmesan Cheese – mix in with bread crumbs
1/3 cup milk – mix into bread crumbs evenly. Than mix into hamburger
¼ cup Red Wine
Oregano
Italian Seasonings
Basil & rosemary (optional to mood and taste)
2 – 3 eggs – mix into meatballs
Salt & Pepper
Make meatballs 1 – 1 ½ “ and place in glass cooking pan
350 (375) degrees 25 minutes, than boil in sauce 15-20 minutes
porcini mushrooms and NY Strip Steak
This makes plenty of sauce for a 1 1/2 pound hanger steak for two—and it doesn’t have to be hanger (onglet) steak at all; I’m just being de rigeur.
1/3 cup of dried porcini mushrooms,
rinsed and broken into fairly uniform pieces
1/2 cup Madeira wine
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 large shallots, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream (or creme fraiche, if you’ve got it lying around)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (or less)
salt and pepper to taste
In a glass measuring cup, pour Madeira wine over dried mushrooms just to cover. Microwave on high for a minute or just until boiling. Set aside to cool for a few minutes, then stir in sherry and lemon juice. Let soak for a half-hour, then remove the mushroom pieces and strain the liquid through a fine sieve to remove any grit.
After a high-heat saute of steaks in a large cast-iron pan, remove steaks and, if necessary, drain all but about 2 tablespoons of fat. Keep the steaks warm with an aluminum foil tent.
Over medium heat, carefully add the mushrooms and their marinade into the hot pan and stir vigorously for 2 minutes.
Add shallots, and stir just until they begin to color.
Off heat, stir in cream and balsamic. Taste. Adjust seasonings. Pour over steaks. Yum.
Yield: Plenty for two portions; easy to double
1/3 cup of dried porcini mushrooms,
rinsed and broken into fairly uniform pieces
1/2 cup Madeira wine
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 large shallots, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream (or creme fraiche, if you’ve got it lying around)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (or less)
salt and pepper to taste
In a glass measuring cup, pour Madeira wine over dried mushrooms just to cover. Microwave on high for a minute or just until boiling. Set aside to cool for a few minutes, then stir in sherry and lemon juice. Let soak for a half-hour, then remove the mushroom pieces and strain the liquid through a fine sieve to remove any grit.
After a high-heat saute of steaks in a large cast-iron pan, remove steaks and, if necessary, drain all but about 2 tablespoons of fat. Keep the steaks warm with an aluminum foil tent.
Over medium heat, carefully add the mushrooms and their marinade into the hot pan and stir vigorously for 2 minutes.
Add shallots, and stir just until they begin to color.
Off heat, stir in cream and balsamic. Taste. Adjust seasonings. Pour over steaks. Yum.
Yield: Plenty for two portions; easy to double
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