We have a tradition in our house of making a huge batch of meat sauce in the fall and freezing it for use all year. The recipe is a combination of the recipes we grew up with, both of which have a tomato base. My mother’s recipe involves a combination of beef, pork, and lamb; along with garlic, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives, red wine and Italian spice blend. My mother-in-law’s recipe is similar but uses only beef, no bell pepper or olives, no wine, and dried basil instead of Italian blend. I have merged these two recipes to form my own – I use a combination of beef, pork, and veal (which can be found in stores already mixed as “meatloaf mix”); yes on bell pepper and wine; no on mushrooms and black olives (Jasper doesn’t like them); and I use both dried basil and Italian seasoning blend.
My sauce is American style, tried and true, and best served on spaghetti with Parmesan. But this month when the hankering for pasta came on, I decided to try some new things and see what would happen. (more…)
I saw this recipe on the Food Network while getting my nails done and immediately wanted to make it. We didn’t have any plans for Halloween night, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity. It turned out to be a pretty fortunate decision, because Jasper came up with the idea to invite some friends over to play a horror board game at the last minute (read 5PM Halloween night). I had already started making the chili and I knew it would be great for a crowd. Funny thing was, we hadn’t seen each other in so long that we wound up talking all night and never getting to the board game! (more…)
Last fall, my friend Melissa brought my attention to a butternut squash galette recipe on Smitten Kitchen. I didn’t get around to making it and sorely regretted it all year. So this year I determined to make it as soon as it started to get chilly out. Boy, am I glad I did! A sweet and creamy filling wrapped up in a flaky, buttery crust – there is nothing better.
I was browsing through blogs and found a series of recipes on Alexandra’s Kitchen involving homemade ricotta cheese that looked perfect for the end of summer. The recipes all looked really great but I questioned whether or not making ricotta versus buying it would make that much of a difference. I decided to go ahead and try it since it didn’t look all that difficult.
All you have to do is boil milk and cream, and add vinegar to curdle the milk.
Fall for us means lots of hearty meat dishes and stews, especially after a summer bursting with vegetables and salads. Pulled pork is one of Jasper’s most requested dishes and I was more than happy to make it for him. It’s actually a pretty versatile dish – we prefer to eat it in sandwiches, but it’s also great in tacos, over rice or mashed potatoes, and as the base for a stew when you are getting bored towards the end of the leftovers. (more…)
When I don’t plan ahead for a week of meals, it can get a bit random and haphazard in the kitchen. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. Here is a sampling of what I threw together recently during a hectic week.
Sandwiches don’t have to be boring, I threw together a gourmet panini with ingredients that I happened to have hanging around already: turkey, arugula, fig jam, and taleggio cheese. The pungent cheese, rich and sweet jam, and spicy arugula are perfect for turning turkey into something special.
I revisited a recipe that I demoed in a technique class at Williams Sonoma back in February. This Peruvian dish, called Aji de Gallina, uses aji pepper paste for flavor (but not necessarily for spice) and evaporated milk and ground walnuts for creaminess and texture. The original recipe (which you can find here) called for poaching a whole chicken. Instead, I used rotisserie chicken from the store to save me time and effort and it worked just as well. I actually had leftover steamed rice from PF Changs on hand, so I re-steamed it in the microwave (sprinkle water over the rice and cover with a damp paper towel) and served it with the chicken. Using those shortcuts made it easy to put this hearty dish together on a weeknight. I also added a soft-boiled egg (a traditional addition to the dish), but decided I would have liked it closer to a medium boil – the flavor of the raw yolk got lost and overpowered by the flavor of the aji paste.
Ramen noodles may not seem like anything special, but you can definitely add ingredients to make them more exciting. I love to poach an egg in the soup (you can see one peeking out in the left side of the bowl in the photo) and top it off with scallions. Using less water and topping the noodles with breaded chicken or pork is another great option.
Lastly, I made some brisket. Smoking a brisket can be quite a process, but there is definitely an easier way to cook it. I just throw it in my slow cooker with some starter sauce and onions and leave it alone all day! The brisket comes out tender and the braised onions are ridiculously good. I served it up with some mashed potatoes and steamed green beans topped with butter and lemon juice. Let me tell you, after all those vegetable heavy meals over the summer, Jasper was so happy to get some meat and potatoes!
I recently went on a trip for a little over a week and needed to make something would last Jasper for about as long. I knew that left to his own devices it would be mac-n-cheese or Chipotle for every meal, and I just couldn’t have that. So I decided to make him a big ol’ pot of chili. Funnily enough, even though it is one of Jasper’s favorite foods, I had never made chili before. I literally googled “best chili recipe” and came up with this one, which turned out great!
Ground beef and pork – ready for browning!
The spice mix – chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, coriander, sugar, and unsweetened cocoa (which I was really excited about, it added a nice richness and depth of flavor).
A rainbow of vegetables – I used red onions and assorted bell peppers from the CSA (the bell peppers were not in the original recipe, I added them to bulk it up with some healthier ingredients)
Beer and beef bouillon provide the liquid component.
Lastly, I added some red beans to the recipe (healthy bulk, again) and let it slow simmer away. Jasper had a nice surprise when he came home from work!
2 1/2 lbs lean chuck, ground
1 lb lean pork, ground
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
8 oz tomato sauce
2 bottles beer (recc. Sam Adams)
3 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp instant beef bouillon (or 6 cubes)
2 tbsp cumin, ground
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp oregano leaves
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp coriander, ground
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp cornmeal
1 tsp flour
1 tsp warm water
2 cans red or white beans, rinsed and drained
In a large dutch oven, brown the ground meat. Add the garlic, onion, and bell pepper, cook and stir until tender. Add the tomato sauce, beer, chili powder, bouillon, cumin, paprika, oregano, sugar, coriander, and cocoa. Mix well. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered , for 2 hours
In a small bowl, stir together the cornmeal and flour, then add the warm water and mix well. Stir into chili. Add the beans and cook, covered, for an additional 20 minutes.
This was our last week of the CSA – I’m sad that it is over, but at the same time it’s nice to have a break from the constant rush to cook and eat all that produce before it goes bad each week. I’m glad we did it this way for our first time, it really pushed me out of my cooking comfort zone and forced me to use ingredients that I wouldn’t normally buy. I’m really grateful for the learning experience, but next year I think we will do a half-share.
In the share:
Green beans
Kale
Onions
Bell peppers
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Corn
Jalapenos
Apples
Peaches (more…)
