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Archive for the ‘Comfort food’ Category

Excellent Meatballs

Posted in Beef, Comfort food, Italien, Main course, Pork, tagged , , , , , on July 25, 2010| 8 Comments »

Excellent Meatballs

Excellent Meatballs

I have been trying and trying for years to make a tender and tasty meatball but they always came out too firm. I want my meatballs to easily fall apart when you dig into it with a fork. So what was different this time you ask me ? Well, I think the most important part is that I got equal parts veal, pork and beef directly from the butcher instead of using one of those “meatball” ground meat packages from the grocery store that supposedly have equal parts of all three meats in it. Also, the meatballs get browned and then baked plus I like to let them simmer in the sauce for at least 1 hour. These meatballs are so tasty and Anne Burrell also mentions another really important point and that is to test taste (why didn’t I think of that) a mini meatball before cooking them all up. Adjust the salt if needed! Now finally I got myself a tender meatball that I’ll be confident in serving for my guests.

Ingredients:

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

pinch of crushed red pepper

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground veal

2 large eggs

1 cup grated Parmigiano

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 cup water

Directions:Coat a large pan with olive oil, add the onions and bring to a medium-high heat. Season the onions generously with salt and cook for 5-7 minutes. The onions should be translucent but have no color. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl combine the meats, eggs, Parmigiano, parsley, bread crumbs and onions. Season well with salt. Mix using your hands squishing the mixture. Add water and do one final squish. The mixture should be quite wet. Test the seasoning of the mix by making a mini hamburger size patty and cooking it. The patty should taste really good.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Shape the meat into desired size. I prefer them slightly larger than a golf ball. Coat a large pan with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Place them on a cookies sheet and bake them in oven for 15 minutes or until cooked all the way through. If using right away, add meatballs to your favorite marinara sauce. If not, cool and freeze.

Source:  Anne Burrell

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Best Marinara Sauce

Posted in Comfort food, Italien, Main course, pasta, tagged , , , , , on July 23, 2010| 7 Comments »

Best Marinara Sauce

Best Marinara Sauce

I love love love tomatoes and Marinara sauce. I would eat it 7 days a week if they let me. But they won’t let me. Actually, truth be told, I eat a tomato every day for lunch and my coworkers love to point it out to me and so I never hear the end of it. 🙂 But I can’t help myself, lunch just dosn’t seem right without my shiny little red friend. Sorry, got a little sidetracked there.

Now for the Marinara sauce. This is without a doubt the very best Marinara sauce that I have tried out so far. This has become a favorite in our house and I’m happy to report that even my son likes it (and that’s saying a lot because he is used to only the best from his grandmother who makes a mean pasta and meatball). If you have a food mill this is a breeze to make, if not, it’s a little more work but well worth the effort. This sauce freezes really well so I always make a big batch and keep it in the freezer for easy use. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 pound diced pancetta

2 large Spanish onions, diced

Kosher salt

4 large garlic cloves, minced

4 (28 ounce) cans Italian diced or plum San Marzano tomatoes

Directions:

Coat a large sauce pot with olive oil and add diced pancetta. Bring the pot to a medium-high heat and cook pancetta for 4 to 5 minutes. Add onion and season generously with salt, stir to coat with olive oil. Cook the onions for 6 to 7 minutes stirring frequently. The onions should become soft and translucent but have no color. Add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes stirring frequently.

Pass the tomatoes through a food mill or if you don’t have a food mill simply just pulse the tomatoes in a food processor to break them up and then press the tomatoes through a sieve. Make sure to press until you have a dry paste left in the sieve. This part can be a little bit of a workout. Make sure to scrape all the delicious pulp off the bottom of the sieve or the food mill. Add the tomatoes to the pot and rinse out 1 of the empty cans with water and add the water to the pot (about 2-3 cups). Season generously with salt (season in baby steps) and taste it to make sure it is seasoned enough. Let the sauce simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally and tasting frequently.

Serve sauce right away or cool down and then freeze.

Source: Anne Burrell

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Chicken Chili

Posted in Chicken, Comfort food, Main course, tagged , , , , , , , on May 4, 2010|

Chicken Chili

Chicken Chili

My husband belongs to a Blacksmith Guild and periodically they get together at each others Forges to bust on each other oh I mean to do serious demos. I had made this Chicken Chili before, and it’s by far the best Chili I have ever had. I figured this would be a good choice for those big manly Blacksmiths, and it was. The Chicken Chili was a success. The way I made it here, it’s plenty spicy for me, but you can certainly add more red chili flakes, chipotle or the original recipe called for cayenne pepper. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper

1 1/2 large chopped yellow onions

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 chopped bell peppers (I used 3/4 orange, 3/4 yellow and 3/4 green)

2 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 chipotle in Adobo sauce, finely diced

2 tsp. kosher salt

2 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes (I recommend San Marzano tomatoes if you can find them)

1 (16oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place the chicken breasts on the foil, and season both sides with salt and pepper. Fold the foil over the chicken breasts to make a “packet”. Roast 30-40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Allow to cool enough to handle, then shred or chop into bite-sized pieces.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Saute’ the onions 10-15 minutes, or until tender and translucent. Add the garlic to the pot and saute’ just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Mix in the chopped bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, oregano, chipotle and kosher salt. Cook 5 minutes more. Place the canned tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 4-5 times to get a slightly smoother texture. Omit this step if you like it chunky. Add the tomatoes to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the shredded chicken and the rinsed beans, and allow to simmer for another 20 minutes.

Source: adapted from Annie’s Eats, originally from Barefoot Contessa Parties.

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