Butter and Basil Sauce

I usually buy tomato sauce in batches of five or six jars at a time... Which is why I never expect to run out, and I am inevitably shocked to find that there are no jars left when I go to make a little ravioli. Chris and I buzz around the condo, checking out our creative hiding places that we have to utilize because I buy in bulk, and yet do not have the space for it. But sometimes, after checking all three upper cabinet areas, in the bedroom linen closet behind the dishwasher liquid, and under the bed -- I realize we really are out and I have to come up with something else.

Luckily, a little minced fresh garlic, some red pepper flakes, olive oil and butter will do the trick. And if you have some fresh basil and a little white wine to add at the end, so much the better. Tastes like you meant to give red sauce a break.

Arancini (Leftover Risotto)

It's the sequel you've been waiting for... arancini!

I posted about these things once before, when we went to eat at L'Appetito in Glenview. They are so named because they look like little oranges, which is the literal translation of the word in Italian or Sicilian. But appearances aside, it ain't health food.



Personally, though, I don't think they're so bad now and then. Because of the size, one is really a meal. We had ours with a green salad (which always takes the curse off a little). And veggies and cheese are good for you! Mangiare!

They were really easy to make. I had the prepared risotto in the fridge overnight. Then I shaped them into smallish orange-sizes in my hands. I had the beloved Siciliano egg-wash set up: one bowl with a couple beaten eggs, one with white flour, and one with Japanese (panko) breadcrumb -- though you can use regular (I just thought this might give a finer, crunchier consistency). I'd do it again. (It was crunch-arrific).

Before rolling, I poked a nice hunk of mozzarella cheese into the center of each ball and re-covered it. I used the shrink-wrapped cheese for this, because the fresh buffalo mozzarella in water tends to be too watery for this kind of thing... Then I rolled it in white flour, then egg, then breadcrumb. Then I dropped each into a few inches of olive oil that was plenty hot. I just turned them until they were golden brown on all sides. When we cut into them, the fork crunched through the center, and the cheese gooshed out.



Oh man. Look at that mesmerizing, hot puddle of cheese. Tell the truth -- if I told you to go slap your momma right now, you'd do it, wouldn't you?

When I was done with all the risotto I had, I was left with this hot oil and egg-wash setup, all willing and able. So I cut the rest of the cheese that I had into long strips, and breaded and fried that, too. When it came out and was draining on a paper towel, I salted it and seasoned it with a little Adobo seasoning and Italian seasoning mix. Oh lord. We may have enjoyed the cheese sticks most of all. And with the panko, you could hear the crunch next door, probably.



Just don't leave them in the oil too long -- the cheese gets very melty and may come right out of the breading.

All of this reheated very nicely in the oven the next day, too, although the arancini fared better than the cheese sticks at retaining their outer crunch and flavor. I would recommend making a pig of yourself on those the very first day when they are freshly fried. (Have some salad for a couple of days afterwards, and you'll be able to suppress those voices of regret pretty darn easily, I promise). I think the arancini may even freeze well, which I'll try the next time.

For any male in the house, of course fried balls provide an endless source of puns and comedy. I'm just warning you so that you're prepared for a lot of crassness and mugging.

Vegetable Risotto

One day not long ago I found myself with a great deal of mozzarella and fresh produce on hand, which not the worst position in which to find oneself. This risotto is a great way to get rid of a whole bunch of produce at once, if you're concerned about using it all before it goes bad... I diced up everything I had in the fridge: some garlic, onion, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, and red and yellow bell peppers. I sauteed the diced veggies in some olive oil with salt and pepper, in smaller chunks than I usually might have done, because I already had plans for the leftovers. (Wouldn't you like to know).

I then added all of the risotto that I had in the house, and stirred it all around until just toasty -- when the arborio rice starts to look a little translucent. Then you begin adding the liquid that is recommended on the box a bit at a time (if you are a box-reading sissy, that is), letting it cook down a bit before adding some more. Add, stir, add, stir. I used chicken stock, but you could use water or vegetable stock, too. Personally, I didn't measure anything. The best part about arborio rice is that it "tells" you when you are done adding liquid. You can taste it, and it should have a cooked rice texture instead of a crunch. Here it is before it is quite cooked:



When it is all said and done (maybe 20 minutes or so), I put the veggie risotto into individual crocks and broiled some good mozzarella cheese on top of each. Oh man. What's better than that? And it was so easy.



Chris and I each got our own little private casserole, which was cute. I think this would be a great way to get some veggies into veggie-proof kids, too, because it was all chopped fine and hidden beneath that blanket of mozzarella. If you think they'd pull the cheese off the top, then you could mix it up a little before giving it to them. That way, when they grow up, you can laugh and tell them how much smarter than them you used to be. It might make you feel better about the fact that they never call or write.



Stay tuned for the fate of the leftover risotto and mozzarella cheese...

Dad's Pasta Sauce

Okay, here it is -- the big one. Our dad's pasta sauce. Which he never would have called it. This is really Dad's "tomato gravy." Born to Sicilian parents on Long Island and raised in Queens, the word "pasta" was not really in Dad's lexicon. All pasta was called "macaroni," and the sauce was "red sauce" or "tomato gravy."

This is how his mother taught him to make sauce. As a side note, I'd like to address those who say that meatballs in sauce are not Italian. You don't know what you're talking about. The meatball is "native" to many European cultures, including Italy. You may not find Italians putting meatballs right on the pasta (it is more common for them to be served on the side), however, Sicilian-Americans definitely do. They (we) also tend to make meatballs larger than they do in the more northern regions, and we cook the meatballs (at least partially) right in the sauce. I've heard Alton Brown say that "he's never seen an Italian do that..." Well, he never came to our house I guess. Anyway, authentic native Italian food or not -- this is authentic Americano Siciliano food, you can believe that.



Dad's "gravy" is a vegetarian's worst nightmare. A veritable slaughterhouse buffet, the variety of meats contained in the sauce is the whole linchpin to the flavor. Without the meat, it is just runny red stuff. However, we didn't eat this stuff every day -- the way to do it is to freeze a few batches for later, or the arrival of last-minute company. Making this sauce is one of the only occasions on which I will buy red meat to prepare at home. And truly, it just has to be red meat. I've tried the sauce with all turkey-based products, and the outcome is nothing similar. So if you're gonna do it, go for it, and ask the animals' spirits to forgive you afterwards.

The sauce contains the Holy Meat Trinity: meatballs, Italian sausage, and short ribs. David prefers to use a leaner meat, like pork chops, instead of the short ribs (we argued about this once in the meat section of the grocery store). Well, Dad tended to use what was on sale. But for me, my memory is strongly attached to that tender short-rib meat falling off the bone after slow-cooking. You can fish the bones out before serving.

You prepare the meatballs, sausage, and short ribs as follows. Then you simmer them all in sauce, in a gigantic sauce pot or a couple of large standard pots, for half the day. That's pretty much it. So here are the ingredients, one at a time:

Meatballs:
I like to use about three pounds of meatloaf mixture, or a mix of beef, pork, and veal. (I usually do the beef and pork). Again, it is the mix of different types of meat that is really key here.

Add to that:

• about a half cup of Italian-seasoned breadcrumb


• one meduim, thinly diced yellow onion


• two or three cloves of minced garlic


• about 1/2 cup finely chopped parsely


• two eggs


• one cup of milk and a little water


• salt and pepper


• a couple of shots of worcheshire sauce

Hand-mix the meatball mixture. Start slowly with the breadcrumb -- too much will take away from the flavor of the meatballs, and cause your cantankerous Zia to complain that "those meatballs were just terrible... that's all I gotta say." Make sure that the mixture is still moist when you form the meatballs, but not too wet.

Dad used to brown the meatballs in oil. To me, this is a bit time-consuming, and adds a little more fat than you really need for flavor. I prefer to put the meatballs on tin foil atop a cookie sheet in a really hot oven while I brown the rest of the meat. You have to brown all the meat. You need that caramel-y flavor, and it seals the juices inside the meat. Trust me, I've skipped it before. Don't skip it. The meatballs, especially, will fall apart in the sauce if you skip this part. So -- 375-400 degrees, for ten to fifteen minutes. They just need to be brown on the outside, and they will still be raw on the inside. Note: Let the sauce simmer for about an hour-and-a-half before you add the meatballs, or else they will fall apart too early.

Sausage:
I use one package of sausage, but I will split one package of hot Italian sausage with one package sweet sausage, so that I have one package of half-and-half, and then save the other package for later in the freezer.

Brown the sausage in a skillet, and then place them in a large sauce pot. Again, the meat will be raw inside.

Short Ribs:
I use two packages. I like to trim some of the mega-fat off the ribs, but not all of it. I also trim off the membrane that's on the side. Then I sprinkle the meat with garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Then you brown the meat in a skillet, drain them a bit on paper towels, and put them each in the large pot with the sausage.

Sauce:
These proportions will make the one giant batch of sauce that dad used to make:

• Two large cans of tomato puree (I think it is 32 oz., but truthfully I don't even look anymore. There's one in the next picture.)


• Two small cans of tomato paste


• One of each empty can (one puree can, and one paste can), filled with mostly water and a little wine


• Three or four minced cloves of garlic


• Italian seasoning to taste -- about 1/8 to 1/4 cup (use minced fresh oregano and basil if ya got 'em)


• A sprinkle of red pepper flakes, to taste


• Salt (start with about 1/8 cup or a couple healthy pinches) and pepper

Making it:
This takes at least four hours. Five is better. Stir all the ingredients, starting slowly on all the seasonings. Then bring it to a boil, and lower it to a simmer. Every twenty minutes or so, use a tablespoon to skim off the deep red grease from the top. When you've skimmed it, stir it again. Wait and then skim, stir again. After an hour or two, add the meatballs and continue. If it needs more seasoning, add it. The sauce starts off very watery, but remember, it will reduce and thicken a lot with the lid off. If it thickens too much, you add more wine or more water.

My problem was that some of the meat always stuck and burned to the bottom, no matter how diligently I stirred it. I think this is because I can't shell out the dough for a decent stock pot (large ones with a non-stick base are expensive), and the metal on mine is very thin. Also, all that meat sinks and there is so much of it, it becomes very difficult to push it around without breaking it all apart.

So I came up with a solution. Now, I brown all my meat, lots and lots of it, and split it into smaller batches (still raw inside.) I put packets that each contain a few meatballs, a couple of sausages (halved so that they are easier to manage on a fork), and a couple of short ribs into the freezer in foil. Then, when I want sauce, I just unwrap one packet of frozen meat and put it into the crock pot (including the meatballs -- you can add them all at once this way). I add half of the amount of liquid in a normal batch: one can puree, one can paste, and about one can (of the puree) or the water and red wine. I season it, turn it on, put the lid on it, and walk away for five hours. Then I only skim it once or twice just before we eat it. Much easier, and no burning at the bottom.



I know it seems complicated, but really it is so simple, and you can feed an army with one batch. Or your family, four or five times if you freeze batches of the finished sauce.

And you gotta go all the way if you've come this far -- tons and tons of parmesano or romano, and real garlic bread to mop up what the pasta left behind.

Mangiare bene! E la ringrazia, il papa!

Tuna Salad Niçoise

This is a recipe that I made up, after being inspired by a tuna salad niçoise that I had ordered at a restaurant that had boiled potatoes in it. The tuna I ordered up was fresh tuna, done medium rare, but I used canned tuna... and it still tastes very fancy. Really, the traditional salad is served room temperature, but this modification is great ice cold out of the fridge for up to a week -- when all of the flavors have married together.



3/4 sack of Yukon Gold potatoes
1 large can albacore tuna, drained
large bunch fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
1/2 finely diced red onion
two handfuls rough chopped arugula
3 cloves minced garlic
handful minced fresh dill
1/2 bottle of champagne vinaigrette, or Newman's Light Honey Mustard dressing
juice of 1 lemon, plus plenty of grated lemon zest
plenty of salt, and pepper

Dice and boil the potatoes, steam the beans briefly and rinse all with cold water. Then just combine the rest to taste. I used some of that fancy champagne vinaigrette dressing the first time, but at 20 grams of fat per serving, I tried the Newman's light dressing (honey mustard) the second time, and I think I liked it even better. Also, if you don't want your salad to bite you back (although the flavors mellow a lot in the fridge) quite so much, you can use less garlic -- or substitute garlic powder. But I'm convinced that anything so potent has to have magical powers (and not just the power to make your date disappear,) so of course I'll stick with the raw garlic.

And I wouldn't skimp on the lemon or zest -- that's what makes this such a refreshingly crisp summer salad.

Happy Spring!

And very nearly summer... It was very warm up here today.

Just a pic of the flower cookies I made from the leftover cookie dough I had with the "Baby Teeth" cookies. I used the Christmas wreath cookie cutter and made a daisy pattern with the frosting that came in the kit. I had to transport these, so I dried the frosting for a few minutes on the cookies in an oven on the lowest temperature setting with the door open a crack for 15 minutes or so... Worked really well, since the frosting that came in the kit was a little more like cake frosting than the pure sugar frosting I had made myself.



Now go get some sun, run around and burn off those cookies!