Tag Archives: recipes

The Godmother’s Italian Wedding Soup

20 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by in Food for Thought, Nostalgia, Relationships and Family Life

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I was not at a wedding the first time I ever tasted Italian Wedding Soup. My recollection is surprisingly sharp, given I could not have been more than eight-years old. My mother, who was of Sicilian descent, had cousins in Warren, Michigan. My father drove the three of us up from Elyria, Ohio—a nearly three-hour trip—for a day visit, the purpose of which eludes me (here my memory is as dense as a cumulonimbus cloud). We gathered for a delicious dinner in the cousins’ formal dining room. I suspect there are two reasons why I remember any of this at all: First, we never traveled anywhere as a family, and second, I had never seen soup with what looked like cooked lettuce in it. It wasn’t lettuce at all, of course, but rather escarole. (I had no idea what that was, so the distinction was lost on me at the time.) All I knew was that the concoction was wonderful, punctuated by the most charming little meatballs I’d ever seen outside of a plate of spaghetti. This sense memory has stayed with me for years.

The name comes from the Italian word for soup, minestra, and the fact that the flavors “marry” well (maritata); hence, wedding soup. This recipe comes from my godmother Fannie, an excellent cook. You’ll remember meeting her in my story “Marlo & Me—Act I.” Aunt Fannie, thank you for sharing this recipe with me, and for allowing me to include it in the blog.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP
Serves 4

FOR THE MEATBALLS:
2 pounds ground chuck or round steak
3/4 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
3 eggs, whipped with a whisk
1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder, or 1 minced clove of garlic
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil, for frying

Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature for one and one-half hours.

Roll the meat into 1/2-inch balls. Brown in olive oil and drain on paper towels. (At this point the meatballs can be frozen for later use.)

THE SOUP:
One-half batch browned meatballs for 2 quarts broth. Freeze the rest of the meatballs for the next time. (If you wish to use the entire batch of meatballs, double the following quantities):

1 bunch escarole (fresh spinach can be substituted)
2 quarts chicken stock (I had homemade stock in my freezer)
Two eggs, beaten
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Wash, trim, and cut the escarole (or spinach) into small pieces. Place in a pot of boiling water for about eight minutes (five minutes if using spinach). Drain well.

Bring chicken broth to a boil, season with salt and pepper to taste, and reduce heat to simmer. Add the meatballs and escarole (or spinach) and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, allowing the flavors of the meatballs to infuse the broth. Add the beaten eggs and cheese. Serve immediately, with extra cheese at the table.

Simple Poached Salmon

08 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Food for Thought

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If you got married in the 1970s, chances are one of your shower gifts was a “Crock Pot,” now more commonly known as a slow cooker. The outer shell of mine was in the popular color of the day—avocado. (Don’t you agree that styles and color trends often change for the better?)

That particular Crock-Pot, shaped rather like a pickle barrel without the center bulge, was more upright than roaster-shaped, which is to say you couldn’t fit in all that much. I recall making exactly one dish in it—kielbasa sausage and sauerkraut. I recall not making it very often. Relegated towards the back of a cupboard, the Crock-Pot eventually made some unknown bargain hunter quite happy at a garage sale.

Flash forward to this millenium, and an article that caught my eye in the January 29, 2003 edition of the New York Times. Noted cookbook author Mark Bittman’s “Low and Slow is the Way to Go” made me rethink my antiquated notions of slow cooker cooking. (His recipe for short ribs with Chinese flavors is off-the-hook delicious. I haven’t made it in a while but I should move it up in the rotation. Just re-reading this article made me want it.)

Reading his article for the first time made me covet the kind of slow cooker he was using. Unfortunately, the photo isn’t included in the online version of the story, but you can see it in my mise en place photo for today’s recipe. With its gleaming stainless steel shell and spacious oval shape, it’s one of my favorite pieces of kitchen equipment. I bought it nearly 10 years ago. I’m still using it. I love it. (But not as much as I love John.)

This recipe for poached salmon is delectable. I never prepared fish all that much back in Ohio; even though we lived near Lake Erie, I never made fried perch. I’m just not a huge fan of fried food. I also didn’t live near a good seafood store. I know people who rave about the seafood at Costco, but I prefer a small shop where they truck the fish in fresh daily, and everybody knows your name. Since moving to Richmond, I shop at Yellow Umbrella, where they truck their fish in two or three times a day. (I love Yellow Umbrella as much as I love my slow cooker.)

I bought a one-pound fillet of organically raised, low-density New Zealand salmon for this—it’s one of our favorites. The recipe comes from volume two of Lynn Alley’s wonderful book, The Gourmet Slow Cooker: Regional Comfort-Food Classics, published by Ten Speed Press. My thanks to Lynn for giving me permission to include her recipe in TMSW!

Copyright © 2006 by Lynn Alley. All rights reserved. Used with permission of the author.

Simple Poached Salmon

—Serves 4

1 cup water
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 yellow onion slice (I typically use 2)
1 lemon slice (I typically use about 3 slices)
1 sprig dill (If seasonal and the bunch is large. If using a packaged herb, I use about 4-5 sprigs…and I always buy organic)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use Kosher)
4 (6-ounch salmon fillets…for two people I buy a one-pound fillet)

Combine the water and wine in the slow cooker and heat on high for 20 to 30 minutes. Add the onion, lemon, dill, salt, and salmon.

Cover and cook on high for about 20 minutes, until the salmon is opaque and cooked through according to taste. (Since I didn’t portion out the fillet, what you see below actually took longer than 20 minutes to cook—closer to 45 minutes.) Serve hot or cold.

From Lynn Alley’s notes to the recipe:

Poaching salmon, or any fish for that matter, in the slow cooker is a no-brainer. Although it isn’t a traditional dish for long, slow cooking, it is one of the things that the low, even temperatures of the slow cooker does well with. Poached salmon, needing no oil to cook, makes a light lunch paired with lemon rice. steamed vegetables, and salad, or a sumptuous dinner with herbed mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables. SUGGESTED BEVERAGE: Salmon, a classic Pacific Northwest ingredient, generally fits like a glove with pinot noir, Oregon’s most beloved grape.

My notes:

I serve this hot with rice pilaf and either roasted asparagus or sautéed spinach. Our wine that evening was James River Cellars’ Chardonel. 

Baked Kibbee (With a Memory Side Trip to Sittoo’s Kitchen)

01 Wednesday Feb 2012

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It’s time for equity in ethnic cooking here at The Midlife Second Wife. Regular readers of the blog know that I’m half Sicilian and half Lebanese, and that I’m proud of both aspects of my heritage. But yesterday, when I was compiling an index to the recipes, which you can find at the top of the site, I was struck by an egregious oversight: Italy and Sicily are represented, but Lebanon has nary an olive or a slice of pita bread to acknowledge its treasured place in my lineage. That changes today. I’m proud to share with you two recipes that, when combined, create a whole that is deliciously greater than the sum of its parts. I’m talking about Kibbee Bis-Sayniyyi, or Baked Kibbee.

My Grandmother Abookire prepared kibbee regularly, along with other wonderful dishes such as tabouli, homus, stuffed grape leaves, and kousa. I also have sublime memories of her baking, in her basement summer kitchen, what we now call pita bread, but which she called Syrian bread. The aroma filled the old, American Foursquare house. Sittoo (Arabic for Grandmother) employed an assembly line technique: the small, round discs of dough, having adequately risen, waited beneath kitchen towels on a long folding table for their turn in her antique Magic Chef gas oven. Using a worn, long-handled bread paddle, she pulled the piping hot loaves out of the oven and set them on a separate table. At this point I’d make my move: I’d grab a hot loaf with a spare towel, carry it upstairs to the main kitchen, slather it with butter, and settle on the front porch glider. There, in a carbohydrate-comfort food-stupor, I’d watch the summer traffic roll by on Route 20.

After Sittoo and Jiddu, my grandfather, moved from Ohio to Southern California, she would write to my mother and me regularly n her spidery, upward-slanted hand—often including some of her recipes. Her command of English was remarkable; she and my grandfather had been born and raised in Lebanon, but she was educated at American Christian schools. Nevertheless, I found it difficult to decipher her instructions. To compensate, over the years I’ve acquired substitute recipes that are just as delicious. (In truth, the ingredients and methodology are fairly universal.) I do believe, though, that watching her cook during those impressionable early years left their imprint on the way I squeeze water out of bulgur and use my hands to assemble tabouli. Or maybe all of this is simply embedded in my DNA.

These recipes are from a wonderful cookbook compiled by members of St. Anthony’s Maronite Catholic Church in Glen Allen, Virginia. I purchased the cookbook at their annual Lebanese Food Festival, held each May on the church grounds. In fact, the festival was the first place John took me during my first “official” visit to Richmond. If I  was thrilled to discover that a thriving Lebanese community existed in what would soon be my new hometown, imagine my delight when I tasted the food! If you live in or near Richmond (or plan to visit), mark these dates on your calendar: the 28th Annual Lebanese Food Festival takes place May 18 through 20, 2012. You can visit the church’s website for more information. My thanks to Father George for giving me permission to include these cooking instructions, ever-so-slightly adapted, from Timeless Lebanese Recipes.

Kibbee Bis-Sayniyyi
(Baked Kibbee)
Serves 8-10

To make this recipe, you actually have to make two other recipes first:

1 basic kibbee recipe
1 basic hashwee recipe
Canola oil

Let’s do that now, beginning with

Hashweh
(Meat and Pine Nut Filling)

1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound ground lamb or beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
salt and pepper to taste (I use Kosher salt)

Brown the pine nuts in butter until golden. Then add meat, onion, and spices. Sauté for 10 to 12 minutes. Recipe may be increased if more filling is needed.

After preparing this, I keep it in the refrigerator, in a covered bowl, until I’m ready to use it later that day.

Kibbee
(Basic Recipe)

1 and 1/2 cups bulgur #1 (if you’re using lamb, add an additional 1/2 cup)
1 large onion, pureed in blender
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional…I’d never dream of omitting this!)
1 teaspoon allspice
2 pounds (4 cups) extra lean lamb or beef (I prefer using lamb)

Cover bulgur (wheat) with cold water. Rinse three times. Drain and press between palms of hands to remove excess water. Work onions and spice together with fingers. Knead meat and spices thoroughly. Add crushed wheat and continue kneading. Dip hands in ice water while kneading in order to soften kibbee. (Ingredients must be kept cold.)

Optional: Run the kneaded mixture through a meat grinder, if available, for a finer consistency. (I don’t own a meat grinder, but I remember my grandmother had one permanently affixed to her kitchen table.)

Now, with both recipes prepared, it’s time to make the baked kibbee:

Cover the bottom of a 9 x 12 cape pan or glass Pyrex dish with canola oil. Spread a half-inch layer of kibbee on the bottom of the pan. (It is easier to take several large balls, pat them flat, and place them in the pan, piecing the kibbee to form an even layer on the bottom of the pan.) Then, go over the kibbee with your hand and smooth it evenly.* Spread the hashwee stuffing evenly over the kibbee layer. Place the remaining kibbee over the hashwee, using the same method. (The top layer should be thicker than the bottom.)

With a sharp knife, score the top layer 1/2 inch deep in a diamond-shaped design 1 inch apart. Pour a bit of canola oil across the top. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 25 minutes. Lower the heat to 300-degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes more. The baked kibbee should be golden brown. When serving, cut along the diamond-shaped wedges.

*Important: When smoothing the layers of kibbee by hand, keep dipping your hands in cold water so the kibbee will not stick to your hands. Smooth well.

I like to serve this with rice pilaf and tabouli. (I’ll share my recipe for tabouli with you at a future date.) Don’t forget the pita bread. Sadly, I’ve never tried to bake my own. I should; there’s a recipe for it in the church’s Timeless Lebanese Recipes! If I do, you can be certain I’ll let you know.

Bil-hanā’ wa ash-shifā’!*

*Bon appétit!

Greek Penne Pasta

27 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in Food for Thought

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Do I love pasta? Of course I do—I’m half Sicilian! But this recipe, with its decidedly Greek flavors, is one of my favorite ways to prepare it. It’s quite simple to make, with only nine ingredients. (Remember the block of frozen spinach I disparaged in one recent recipe? It makes an important appearance here. Sometimes frozen works just fine.)

Because this dish has so few ingredients, each is essential to its success; this is not the time to skimp. Pine nuts are expensive right now, but you’ll only need two tablespoons’ worth for this—buy a small package, keep them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator, and they’ll last you for months. The feta cheese should be the best you can find; Ellwood Thompson’s, in Richmond, has a Bulgarian feta made from sheep’s milk. It lends just the right bite. Don’t substitute canned tomatoes for fresh; if tomatoes aren’t in season—or you can’t find good quality plum tomatoes in the produce section—wait until summer to make this. Serve it warm, as soon as it’s ready, but know that it keeps beautifully for several days in the refrigerator, and also tastes delicious cold.

Greek Penne Pasta

—Serves 6

12 ounces penne
5-1/2 teaspoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
4 large plum tomatoes, chopped (about 8 ounces)
8 ounces feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain and set aside. If necessary, cover to keep warm.

Heat a large non-stick skillet with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, then add 3 teaspoons more to the skillet; heat the oil over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and garlic. Cook and stir about 5 minutes, or until the pine nuts are lightly golden. Then stir in the spinach (be sure it’s well-drained—I squeeze it in my hands to get rid of any excess moisture) and tomatoes. Cook about 3 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

 

Meanwhile, using a pastry blender, crumble the feta in a medium-size bowl and set aside.

To serve, place half of the hot pasta in a large bowl and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the remaining olive oil. Gently toss until coated. Add the remaining pasta, drizzle with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil and gently toss. Then add the spinach mixture and toss. Finally add the feta cheese, additional salt and pepper to taste, and toss until well combined.

Adapted from Healthy Homestyle Cooking by Evelyn Tribole (Rodale Press 1994)

One Skillet, Three Power Foods (Hint: One of Them is Spinach)

15 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in Food for Thought, The Healthy Life

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Before …

While there are certain vegetables that leave me cold no matter how they’re prepared (can you say Brussels sprouts?), I have always loved spinach. I’ve gone on the record before about the excellence of my mother’s cooking and baking. Nevertheless, the cooking going on in her kitchen circa 1950s and 1960s often gave preference to the convenience factor; her method of preparing spinach, for example, consisted of thawing a block of Birdseye. To her credit, she did spritz the cooked green mush with fresh lemon. How many nutrients we ended up with I cannot say.

When I began to cook, I reached back a generation for my Sicilian grandmother’s approach to cooking the leafy green vegetable: sautéed with garlic in olive oil.

This recipe—such a nice, bright accompaniment to grilled fish or meat—is so simple and swift as to be laughable. And exactly how good is it for you? Let’s take the three ingredients one by one, shall we?

Spinach

  • Rich in minerals such as potassium, manganese, zinc, magnesium,  iron, and calcium
  • Source of such vitamins as folate, niacin, Vitamin A, B6, and C
  • Packed with thiamine and riboflavin, and such beta carotene and lutein
  • Low in fat

Translated, this means that spinach is good for your eyesight, as it protects you from age-related macular degeneration and cataracts; it’s good for your blood pressure and helps prevent atherosclerosis and heart attack; it strengthens your muscles and helps with bone mineralization; and it includes other neurological, antiulcerative, and anti-cancerous benefits.

Garlic

  • Boosts our natural supply of hydrogen sulfide, which acts as an antioxidant, relaxing blood vessels and increasing blood flow
  • A garlic rich diet appears to protect against various cancers, including breast, prostate, and colon cancer

Olive Oil

Yes, olive oil is a fat. But it’s a good fat, just like Glinda in The Wizard of Oz is a good witch. The reason the fat in olive oil is healthy is because it is a monounsaturated fatty acid, which helps to lower your total cholesterol.

… and After

As for simple and swift, you’ll have this prepared in under 10 minutes. Don’t believe me? Go ahead, time it.

Sicilian Sautéed Spinach

—Serves 4

1 bunch of fresh (preferably organic) spinach
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt to taste

Wash and rinse spinach, remove stems, and tear into medium-size pieces

Preheat your non-stick skillet over medium heat for about 30 seconds, then add olive oil. Increase the heat to medium-high and heat the oil for about 30 seconds more.

Add garlic to hot oil, stirring quickly. Don’t let it burn or brown.

When garlic looks translucent, add a handful or two of spinach, stirring quickly with tongs. The spinach will cook down quickly; add the rest in batches until it’s all cooked down and bright green. Sprinkle kosher salt, to taste, to bring out the flavors. Serve.

Republican Fudge Even a Democrat Could Love!

27 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in Food for Thought, Indulgences

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Having already established my feelings about chocolate in this venue, I won’t restate them other than to add an important point I neglected to make at the time: I am a bipartisan chocolate lover. When it comes to chocolate, I suffer no compunctions about crossing the aisle. Indeed, I so appreciate the essential characteristics of milk as well as dark chocolate, that I sometimes combine both in a baking recipe. Perhaps it’s best not to tell anyone. Especially Fox News.

Today’s recipe is vintage—so old that I suspect it’s in the public domain. I saved this recipe for “Mamie Eisenhower’s Million Dollar Fudge” ages ago, and I have the yellowing newspaper clipping to prove it. (I hope that the estate of Mamie Eisenhower does not sue me for copyright infringement. If they do, I’ll offer to settle the case by shipping the Eisenhower descendents batches of their matriarch’s incredibly decadent fudge.) Christmas might be over, but you can still sneak this in before your New Year’s resolution has you abstaining from sweets. You’re welcome.

Mamie Eisenhower’s Million Dollar Fudge

—Makes about 2 pounds

4 and 1/2 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips (My preference is for Ghirardelli‘s)
3 4-ounce packages German sweet chocolate (I used Baker’s brand)
2 7-ounce jars marshmallow cream
2 cups chopped nuts (I had pecans in the freezer so that’s what I used for this recipe)

Boil the sugar, salt, butter and milk in a large, heavy saucepan for 6 minutes.

Put the chocolate chips, German chocolate, marshmallow cream and nuts in a large bowl (I used the bowl of my KitchenAid mixer.) Very carefully, pour the boiling syrup on top and beat until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a greased 9-by 13-inch pan. Let stand a few hours before cutting. Store in an airtight tin. (I find that the fudge keeps best if I leave it in the pan—covered with foil and kept in the refrigerator—and simply cut into squares what I need for serving or gifting.) Even if I do store it in a tin, it’s best to keep this refrigerated.

The Casserole Queens’ Chicken Pot Pie

19 Monday Dec 2011

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Not your mother's chicken pot pie. Not frozen, either.

Except for the rare occasions when I would order it in a restaurant, the only chicken pot pie I’ve ever known was my mother’s. It was of the variety found in the freezer case at the supermarket. Mom was an excellent cook and a wonderful baker, but she rarely attempted pastry pie crusts, which is why, I suspect, she never made a chicken pot pie from scratch.

I inherited my mother’s cooking and baking genes. Unfortunately, another dominant trait is the trepidation gene, the one that kicks in when faced with the prospect of a pastry crust. Now look: I can whip up a graham cracker crust that’ll knock your socks off. (Someday I’ll share my recipe for peanut butter pie.) But I’ve always found the act of rolling out pastry dough and trying to fit it neatly in a pie pan as intimidating as trying to drive a stick shift. I’ve determined that I have a sort of spatial dyslexia. I also invariably cut off way too much gift paper when I’m wrapping presents. So… to make me feel better about myself when I think about these shortcomings, I resort to comfort food. Ironically, the one comfort food I’ve craved the most and haven’t been able to satisfy has been chicken pot pie. Until, that is, I met the Casserole Queens at an author signing at Richmond’s Fountain Books.

Crystal Cook, left, and Sandy Pollock: The Casserole Queens

You’ll recall that I shared their recipe for sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving. And I promised to return with their chicken pot pie recipe. Luckily, I roasted two chickens the other week, so I just happened to have the main ingredient for this on hand.

I was also ready to face my fears.

I needn’t have worried. This recipe replaces homemade crust with a sheet of frozen puff pastry. (One and one-half or so sheets, if the brand you’re using is too small for a 9×13 dish. And of course you’ll thaw them first.) While it could be said that I’m still repeating a pattern begun in my mother’s kitchen, I justify this cheat by reminding myself of all the other from-scratch aspects of this recipe. I then feel positively awash in culinary nobility.

This recipe, incidentally, is the one that caught the eye of Bobby Flay; he featured  Crystal and Sandy on Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, his Food Network show. Surprisingly, they didn’t win.

They did as far as John and I are concerned. We loved every morsel. The recipe made enough for us to enjoy leftovers for several days and still share a serving with our neighbor. If you have a crowd coming over for the holidays, this ought to keep them satisfied.

World’s Greatest Chicken Pot Pie

—Makes 8 servings

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (3-pound) roasted chicken, boned and shredded
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried tarragon, crushed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup dry white wine
1-1/2 cups fresh peas, blanched*
1-1/2 cups carrots, diced and blanched
2 russet potatoes, diced and blanched
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed**
Egg wash (lightly whisk together 1 whole egg and 1 teaspoon water)

* I used frozen peas and they were perfectly wonderful. I did take the time, however, to blanch the carrots and the potatoes (separately). Took some extra time, but it was worth it to preserve their distinct flavors.


**Depending on the brand you use, you might need more than 1 sheet. I did.

1. Preheat the oven to 425oF.

2. In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the chicken, bell pepper, and shallots, and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, salt,
tarragon, and black pepper. Add the milk and cream, and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thick and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Add the wine, peas, carrots, and potatoes and stir until heated thoroughly, about 5 minutes.

3. Transfer the hot chicken mixture to a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. Place the puff pastry over the top of the casserole dish. Brush the edges of the puff pastry with the egg wash and press against the side of the casserole dish, then cut slits in the pastry to allow steam to escape. Brush the top of the puff pastry with egg wash—this will help the puff pastry brown evenly. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Copyright © 2011 by Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

— Photos by Marci Rich for The Midlife Second Wife

Mimi’s Marinara Sauce With Meatballs and Sausage

29 Tuesday Nov 2011

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This recipe for marinara sauce with meatballs and sausage, a family favorite, has been in my cooking repertoire since the Carter Administration, which is to say a very long time. I’ve made a number of adjustments and refinements to the original recipe over the years, chief among them the addition of dry red wine. I love cooking with wine—it’s such a generous thing to do for your dinner guests! The Clemenza cooking scene in The Godfather provided the inspiration for this enhancement—after the movie was released on video I had a chance to study his method—so I suppose we ought to thank Francis Ford Coppola. (He produces his own wine, too.) You’ll notice, however, that I don’t precook the meatballs or the sausage before adding them to the pot; they get cooked along with everything else, since the sauce simmers at least four hours on the stove. I tried precooking the meat only once, and found that the sauce took on an entirely different flavor. I prefer my method, since it retains the tenderness of the meat and prevents it from drying out, but by all means, adjust this recipe to your own tastes. You might also wish to substitute turkey sausage and turkey meatballs for the red meats shown here. As my Grandma Monia used to say: Mangia!

MIMI’S MARINARA SAUCE WITH MEATBALLS AND SAUSAGE*

1 large (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes (I prefer San Marzano Italian plum tomatoes)
3 12-ounce cans tomato paste
water
salt, freshly-ground pepper, and garlic salt to taste
one-quarter cup sugar
one-half to 1 cup dry red wine, such as Chianti or Cabernet Sauvignon
one-half cup grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste**
1 and one-half pounds hot Italian sausage, cut into 4-inch sections
1 and one-half pounds sweet Italian sausage, cut into 4-inch sections
2 pounds ground chuck
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
6 eggs
4 cups (approximate) seasoned Italian bread crumbs
1 cup (approximate) grated Parmesan cheese**
salt and freshly-ground pepper

I begin by making the meatballs so that they’re ready to add to the simmering sauce.

In increments, so that everything is blended well, combine ground chuck, garlic, chopped parsley, eggs, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. (If you prefer, substitute garlic salt for the garlic in the meatballs.) Keeping a small bowl of water nearby, wet your hands and break off the meat into about 2-inch pieces, rolling into meatballs. Continue the process, wetting your hands as you go. (Take a look at the picture above; the meatball simmering in the pot is the size you’re going for. And take care not to overdo it with the breadcrumbs; you want the meatballs to adhere, but you don’t want them to be dry.) When all of the meatballs have been made, set aside in the refrigerator in a covered bowl.

Chop the canned tomatoes and put them in a large pot, adding one can of water and three cans of tomato paste. Stir well to combine, then add water to the pot until you’ve filled the pot slightly halfway. (Too much water and your sauce will be thin and, well, watery. Plus, when you add your meat and the sauce begins to boil and then simmer, too much water will make the sauce boil over. Trust me: you don’t want that.)

Over medium heat, begin bringing this mixture to the boil, adding salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste along with the sugar before it gets to the boiling point. (Let your taste preferences be your guide in terms of how much seasoning to use. I sprinkle everything fairly liberally to begin with, stir and simmer, and then check my seasonings a couple of times throughout the cooking process.) Add the wine and the Parmesan cheese to the sauce, and stir well, bringing to a boil.

Add the sausage to the sauce.

Add the meatballs to the sauce.

Return everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer slowly for four hours. Continue to stir the pot, using a wooden spoon, and scrape up from the bottom in case you’ve let the heat get too high and the sauce starts to burn. The secret here is a SLOW, STEADY SIMMER. If your dinner is delayed for some reason, one of the beautiful aspects of this recipe is that you can keep this pot of sauce simmering for an extra hour. Make sure that you cook it for the full four hours, though, because you want to make sure that your meat is done. Check the sausage before serving; if it’s pink inside, keep simmering it, and the sauce, until done.

This is a hearty sauce, so serve it over a substantial pasta like rigatoni, rather than a delicate angel hair pasta. Toss together a green salad, add a loaf of crusty Italian bread, and mangia!

*Mimi is John’s nickname for me.

** A word about the Parmesan cheese. If I’m economizing (and aren’t nearly all of us economizing?) I’ll use Kraft grated Parm. But on the rare occasions when we’re splurging, I’ll grate fresh Parmigiano-Reggianno cheese for this recipe; I firmly believe in using the freshest, best ingredients that one can afford, and there’s nothing like the real thing.

P.S. Your entire house will smell amazing while you’re cooking this sauce!

The Casserole Queens’ Sweet Potato Casserole

20 Sunday Nov 2011

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Ordinarily I only share recipes that I’ve kitchen-tested, but with Thanksgiving a few days away, you might be in desperate need of a side dish, and I’m not cooking this year’s holiday meal. (More on that in a separate post.) But if I were laying out my usual spread, believe me, I’d make room on my menu for this casserole—oven unseen—courtesy of the Casserole Queens.

(Actually, if you ask any of my previous guests over the years, they’ll tell you that many’s the time I’ve experimented with new recipes when having them over for dinner. I’m just a gal with a Santoku knife and a sense of adventure.)

John and I met Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock a few weeks ago, when they came to Richmond for an author signing at Fountain Bookstore. Even if you didn’t know they hail from Austin, Texas, where they run a food-delivery service, you’d guess it right off: their down-home, friendly hospitality gives it away. You want to bask in the light of their warmth. You want them to invite you to dinner.

Crystal Cook, left, and Sandy Pollock: The Casserole Queens

Crystal and Sandy came to culinary prominence with their recipe for Chicken Pot Pie, which caught the eye of Bobby Flay. He featured them, and their recipe, in an episode of the Food Network’s Throwdown! with Bobby Flay. The Casserole Queens Cookbook, published this year by Clarkson Potter, made the New York Times’ best-seller list. Their book tour included a stop in New York City, where they cooked with Al Roker on the Today Show.

Casseroles represent the ultimate in comfort food, especially for us baby-boomers, who cut our teeth on macaroni and cheese and tuna noodle casserole. A patron at the bookstore called this type of cooking “emotionally significant,” and the phrase is perfect. Mid-lifers, I’m talking to you now. Weren’t casseroles some of your favorite meals from childhood? Don’t you feel a flush of warm memories just thinking about them? Now imagine those meals crafted with a 21st-century point-of-view. Sandy trained at the French Culinary Institute; together with Crystal she has given these time-honored recipes a sophisticated twist. The staff at Fountain Books had prepared Chicken Pot Pie, Mandarin Meatloaf, and Lemon Bars for us to sample. Delicious. Toothsome. May I please wrap some up in a napkin to take home with me? And yes, emotionally significant. As soon as I get my writing deadlines under control, I intend to cook my way through their entire book.

In honor of Thanksgiving, here is a recipe for sweet potatoes that puts a spin on that old chestnut. If you make it, by all means—please leave a note in the comment section and tell us how it was! When I get back into the kitchen, I’ll report on my own attempt at Chicken Pot Pie.

My thanks to Crystal and Sandy for giving me permission to share this recipe with you!

Sweet Potato Casserole

—Makes 6 to 8 servings

8 large sweet potatoes
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup pecans, toasted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the casserole dish
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 large egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 400-degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Wash the sweet potatoes, dry well, and put on a baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hour or until soft. Remove the potatoes from the oven.

3. Reduce the oven temperature to 375-degrees.

4. Put the brown sugar, pecans, flour, and 5 tablespoons butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until crumbly. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and put in the refrigerator until ready to use.

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cream, maple syrup, egg, vanilla, and salt. Peel the baked sweet potatoes, and add the flesh to the bowl. Beat the sweet potato mixture on medium-high speed until smooth.

6. Grease a 9 x 13-casserole dish with some butter. Pour the sweet potato mixture into the dish and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the pecan topping evenly over the dish. Bake for 40 minutes or until heated through and the top has browned.

Copyright © 2011 by Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Marinated Flank Steak

17 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by in Food for Thought

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Mise en place for this recipe

Be honest. Are you growing just a bit weary of the holiday recipes that are flooding your inbox? Are you tired of seeing glossy, garnished turkeys gleaming out at you from the covers of the food magazines in the grocery check-out line? Or is your Thanksgiving menu all set, but you’re at a loss for what to cook tomorrow night?

I thought so.

Grilling season might be over in many parts of the U.S., but for those of us who like some char with our meat, there’s no time like the present.

This recipe is so easy that I almost hesitate to share it, lest you think I’m coasting. It yields such a delicious meal, however, that it seems a shame to keep it from you. You can serve this with any number of sides; I like to kick it old-school, with baked potatoes and a salad or green vegetable. My thanks to an old friend, Anne Morse of Hudson, Ohio, for giving me this recipe back in the 1970s.

For great tips on grilling the perfect flank steak, I’ve included a link. And meat should be at room temperature before throwing it on the flames, so remember to take your marinated steak out of the refrigerator at least an hour before you’re ready to grill.

Enjoy!

Marinade for Flank Steak

—From the kitchen of Anne Morse

One-half cup soy sauce
One-half cup sesame oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Freshly-ground pepper
2 medium cloves garlic, crushed

Mix together the first four ingredients. Add the garlic. Pour over flank steak and marinate for 24 hours, turning occasionally.