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Pappardelle with Carmelized Onions

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 14, 2015| 1 Comment »

Pappardelle with Caramelized Onions

Pappardelle with Caramelized Onions

 This was supposed to be yesterday’s Friday meatless pasta but yesterday was spent cleaning the house and prepping for a small dinner party.  Just in case you were wondering  what I served and I hope you are, I made Chicken with Lemon and Olives and Rigatoni with Roasted Vegetables and Arugula.  I will post the chicken dish sometime soon. 

Back to today’s pasta – This dish is not a quick weeknight meal BUT certainly if you have about an hour and half  you will be rewarded with one delicious pasta dish.  We have to caramelize the onions first, so let’s start there with the Caramelized Onions.

INGREDIENTS:

6 TBS unsalted butter

15 medium yellow onions (about 6 lb), halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 tsp coarse salt or 1 tsp table salt

1 TBS sugar

DIRECTIONS:

In a 8 quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt butter over medium-high.  Add onions and salt.  Cook, stirring often, until softened and just beginning to brown, 35 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium.  Add sugar and cook, stirring often to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of pot, 35 -40 minutes (lower heat if bottom of pot begins to scorch).

When done, onions should be deep golden brown and have a jam-like consistency.  Remove from heat; season with salt.  Let cool completely.  (To store, refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 2 weeks)

INGREDIENTS:

Coarse salt and ground pepper

9 oz pappardelle or wide egg noodles

2 TBS EV olive oil

1 cup Caramelized Onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

1/2 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente.  While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet (braising pan) over medium-high.  Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is fragrant, 1 minute.

Remove 1 1/2 cups pasta water from pot and to skillet.  Drain pasta and add to skillet.  Cook, tossing occasionally, until liquid reduces to create a sauce that coats pasta, 3 minutes.  Add lemon juice and toss.  Serve pasta topped with parsley.

Recipe from Martha Stewart EveryDay Food

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SUNDAY SAUCE – THE MACARONI MARATHON

Posted in FAMILY & FRIENDS, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Sunday sauce

Sunday sauce (Photo credit: letouj)

This past weekend, I decided to make Sunday Sauce.  It is so tasty, so delicious and even though it takes a long time to cook down, it is well worth it.  Pick an afternoon you’ll be home and soon your home will be filled with the aroma of simmering tomato sauce.  I thought I could make it in my crock pot BUT my crock pot was not big enough.  Using a crock pot would make the whole process easier since you could just let it simmer away for hours.

I started with a large stockpot but then thought, “Oh why not use the crock pot?”   I filled the crock pot and still had a lot of sauce in the braising pan so now I had to make a decision;  I took half of the meat out of the crock pot and put it in the braising pan and cooked the sauce in both.  I tell you all this so you won’t make the same mistakes I made which made a fairly simple recipe into a complicated process.  Mangia!

SUNDAY SAUCE

(but you can call it Gravy!)

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1.5 lb of boneless country spare ribs ( I used bone-in)

6 links of Hot Italian Pork Sausage (I used Hot Poultry Sausage)

2 cups (16 oz) chopped onions

8 TBSP of minced garlic (from jar) OR 20 cloves minced

2 cans of tomato paste

4 cups of water

6 cans of coarsely ground Italian tomatoes

4 TBSP dried basil (I used 2 TBS and basil from my yard)

16 meatballs (cooked)

Salt and Pepper to taste

You’ll need a large braising pan and a 16 Qt stockpot

Heat olive oil in large braising pan on MEDIUM HIGH; add ribs and sausage.  Cook, turning 2-5 min, until meats are browned on all sides.  Transfer meats to stockpot.

Reduce heat to LOW.  Add onions and garlic to braising pan; cook, stirring, 10 minutes, until veggies are translucent.

Raise heat to MEDIUM; add tomato paste.  Cook, stirring, 3-4 minutes, until paste just begins to brown.  Add water, stirring to loosen browned bits on bottom of pan.  Bring to simmer.

Transfer tomato paste/water mixture to stockpot. Stir in canned tomatoes and basil.  Bring to simmer on MEDIUM.  Reduce heat to LOW.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 hours.  Add cooked meatballs.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.

Carefully transfer meats to serving platter; cut meats into manageable pieces. Transfer sauce to serving bowl.

** Cutting the ingredients in half would make this sauce much more manageable to prepare.

Recipe from Wegman’s MENU magazine

I originally posted this blog in November 2013 but am giving it an encore performance because it is truly a STAR recipe and deserves the spotlight it was given back in the good old days when Sunday dinner was a heart-warming affair often at Nonni’s!!  Tradition!!!!

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Speedy Fish Chowder – Warming Up From The Inside Out

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , on November 12, 2014| 2 Comments »

Today was exactly the kind of day, this hearty soup would be an excellent choice.  Yesterday it was 61 degrees in New York City and this morning it was gray and foggy.  By noon the sun was full out  shining brightly and the temperature zoomed up to the mid-60’s BUT by the time I walked home around 6pm, the temperature was dipping into the 40’s  – And that’s why you’ll want to make this Fish Chowder!

Speedy and Smokey Fish Chowder

Speedy and Smokey Fish Chowder

This is one of those recipes that calls for you to use your own judgement as to how much of each item to use.  We start with just a bit less than a pound of fish and then you’re on your own but don’t worry, I think the familiarity of the ingredients will dictate the amount to use.  It’s a matter of personal preference and taste.

Dice some bacon if you’re a meat eater, or melt some butter if you are not (or both if you are reckless), and sauté some onions, carrots and diced potatoes in the fat and meat until the onions have gone translucent. Hit the mixture with some salt and pepper and a flash of smoked paprika if you have it. Some of the ears of tiny chowder-corn that are in some farmers’ markets would be a fine addition, so too would be a cup of frozen corn.

Do you have any fish stock? No? White wine? Surely you have water. Add enough that the potatoes are almost swimming, then a bay leaf, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow the chowder to bubble along until the liquid has reduced by a third and the potatoes are tender. Add a splash or two of milk or cream and allow it to heat and thicken slightly.

Now cut the fillets into chunks and stir them in gently. Five minutes later: chowder. Serve with crusty bread.

I found this recipe in the NY Times Cooking Newsletter

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Planning To Go GREEN Early This Year!

Posted in Everyday Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 16, 2014| 1 Comment »

English: Irish dinner

Irish dinner (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ha, ha, ha, I bet you thought I meant I was going to recycle more, use rags instead of paper towels, refuse to buy strawberries in March because in order to arrive here, they left a HUGE carbon footprint.  Sorry to disappoint my readers and dash their expectations that I might be looking at the world with a more global view to saving the earth for the next generation – oh no that’s not what I meant at all!!

This sunny but cold Sunday, the day before St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I would attempt, yes attempt to make my first Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner.  My husband is not sure why I’m thinking of doing this and now 3 days later, after I’ve bought the corned beef, the cabbage and the potatoes and carrots, I’m thinking the same thing!  If we were in NYC we might go out for our annual Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner as we have for the past umpteen years but we are not in NYC.  Actually we will be back in time to catch some of the world’s best and longest St. Patrick’s Day parade. However Monday holds a sacred place in my heart.  Everyone who knows me, knows that Monday night is Mah Jongg night and since there isn’t a Colleen in the group, no one other than me seemed to think St. Patrick’s Day deserved any special consideration.  Well that settled that.  No Irish supper for Peter and I on Monday!

I did consider taking advantage of the considerable Irish-American population at the Jersey Shore and thought we might dine tonight at Clancy’s Tavern,  The thought of enjoying a meal served and cleaned-up by someone else as well as the camaraderie of fellow diners and congenial drinkers certainly held its allure. BUT then I remembered how crazy Clancy’s can be; noisy, boisterous, and so loud, it’s hard to talk to your dinner partner!  It’s really more bar than restaurant, Irish to its core so I started thinking that probably a good portion of the population might take advantage of an extended St. Patrick’s Day celebration by starting early in the weekend, only to continue right through to Monday night!  AND then I remembered that on Sunday night a couple of my favorite TV shows are on, not to mention one of those rare occasions when I am in total control of the remote.  How could I think of missing The Amazing Race, 60 Minutes and especially The Good Wife.  I could DVR the shows but then I wouldn’t have the time to watch them because they would be on the TV in NJ and I’ll be heading back to NYC.  

So now that I’ve settled that in my mind, I took my crockpot out and am hoping the corned beef will cook to its fall-apart texture this afternoon while I’m out and about.  The packaging said to bring it to a boil and then cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours and add the vegetable an hour before meat is done. That flies in the face of most of the recipes I’ve read so I’m thinking 4 hours in the crockpot with the potatoes, carrots and onion on the bottom, topped with the corned beef will do the trick. I do hope it gets to bubbling point and then about an hour before I’ll toss in the cabbage.  carrots.  I happened to be on the phone with my cousin, Marian this morning, and she too was attempting a first time Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner.  However, she called her niece who writes a cooking blog and was told to put it in the slow cooker for 8 hours AND she put the cabbage, carrots and potatoes in with the meat right from the get go!  I advised her to at least remove the cabbage otherwise I think she would end up with cellulose and mashed potatoes.  We’ll compare notes later this evening, probably during the commercials!

Uh oh, I just took a good look at the photo I put in this post and see that the little red potatoes should have been left whole; I halved and even quartered some – I guess I will be the one with mashed potatoes!  Oh well, ERIN GO BRAUGH…

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VEGAN or VEGETARIAN?? Either way it was a darn delicious meal!

Posted in Everyday Food, Friends, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 29, 2012| 1 Comment »

English: "V" icon as as symbol for v...

English: “V” icon as as symbol for vegetarianism/veganism. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m not a Vegan or a Vegetarian however sometimes I make an entire meal from garden-fresh vegetables!  This weekend turned out to be one of those inspirational meal-making events.  I found a vegan recipe for Sicilian Chickpeas with Escarole and Carmalized Onions.  Sounded intriguing and decided it would be a great side dish.  After all it had a green vegetable and also chick peas which provided the carb factor.  Of course if we were real vegans that would have been the main dish, maybe the only dish and I would be a thinner person!  But I know my husband and he might say something like “is this the whole meal” ?  So I made him two salmon burgers and myself two veggie burgers.  Not vegan and in most eyes, not even vegetarian – it was those salmon burgers that did us in….

Saturday night turned into a different kind of culinary adventure.  We were at the shore battening down the hatches so to speak as were our friends, Joe and Michael.  Hurricane Sandy was on her way to the Jersey Shore and Governor Christie declared a State of Emergency that morning so we had a lot of work to do putting furniture away, tying down covers, securing everything and anything that might become a missile!  Joe called and offered to help us in any way, good neighbor and friend.  I suggested we might meet up for breakfast on Sunday morning.  Joe said how about a pasta dinner since he had a lot of gravy.  He’s Italian and I’m Italian and if you’re Italian you know what we’re talking about.  Sounded like a plan to me BUT I had my own ideas about the kind of pasta I was going to make.

I mentioned that I thought I would make a Pancetta and Fennel Pasta, a very delicious and elegant dish.  There was a notable silence at the other end of the phone and then I heard the words, ” I don’t like pancetta, what is fennel”?  REALLY?  After a bit of back and forth and some input from Michael in the background, it was agreed that I would make the pasta, they would bring some wine and dessert!  I still wasn’t sure that Joe would like this dish and he did mention Classico sauce SO I decided to make two pasta dishes; my own Pancetta and Fennel and also a bowl of penne and pomodoro sauce.  Add an arugula, grape tomato and red onion salad and a loaf of semolina bread and we were in business.  Turns out that Joe really was kinda, sorta kidding about the Classico sauce (he claims he doesn’t really  like it).  Well, he dug right into the Pancetta and Fennel and after a couple of  helpings, he  said it was delicious!  See I told you it was good!

The recipe for the Pancetta and Fennel dish can be found in a previous blog: https://pbenjay.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/pancetta-and-fennel-pasta/

Before I give you the Sicilian Escarole recipe, I have to tell you about the bonanza of desserts.  In true Jersey fashion, we had a dozen of Dunkin’ Donuts, many festively decorated for Halloween.  I will admit to eating a Boston Creme and at least half of a jelly doughnut.  AND then we had apple cake from Freedman’s Bakery in Belmar which was SOoooo good.  Thanks guys!

Sicilian Chickpeas with Escarole and Carmalized Onions

1  large escarole (1 1/2  lbs) I used a large bag chopped escarole

1/4 cup olive oil

2 medium onions halved and sliced thinly. I used 1  large Vidalia onion thinly sliced.

2 tsp sugar –  I used 1 tsp.

1/4 cup dark raisins

3 cups drained chickpeas – reserve 1/3 cup bean liquid

Heat oil over medium heat in large  saute pan.  Add onions and stir often till golden – about 15 minutes.  Add sugar and cook another 5 minutes till dark golden brown.

Add raisins and escarole.  Stir occasionally till leaves are tender, about 6 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper

Add chickpeas and their liquid.  Simmer till flavors have blended, about 3 minutes.  Adjust seasonings.

 

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