I'm a good italian-american in every sense of the word...except my marinara sauce sucks.
Maybe sucks is too strong, its passable, but sucks in comparison to my dad's, my mom's and my grandpa's and no matter how much I try and watch them I still can't get it right. Their sauce has a spicy, finger-licking, eat-it-with a spoon quality that I can't match. It's the kind of thing you can use to top pasta and call it a night, nothing else needed. The amazing thing is it cooks for very little time. In order for mine to get that same "bite" to it I need to cook it to a gravy with meat for hours, but anything tastes good when cooked with meat for hours.
Made a breakthrough today. I tweaked the recipe a bit and although it has a few more ingredients, I got it to what I want so there.
My quick and tasty marinara sauce:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion
1 large clove garlic
1/4 tsp celery seed (my addition to original recipe)
1 large can whole, peeled tomatoes (imported from italy preferably)
5, count them, 5 no frills, cheap, green olives from a jar (my addition to original)
Basil, pepper, oregano to taste
milk-optional
Chop onion and brown in olive oil. Add celery seed when onion browns on edges, cook for 5 minutes. Slice garlic and add to olive oil for a few more minutes. While all this is cooking slice your green olives. When the onion is brown and garlic is cooked, add the canned tomatoes and olives. Blend using stick blender until slightly chunky. Its okay if there are pieces of tomato and olive floating around, they make nice conversation starters. Simmer for 1/2 hour, add basil, oregano, pepper to taste. In 1/2 I had a sauce that could stand on its own. If your tomatoes were slightly acidic, or you just want to round out the flavor for a bit, add a drop of milk. I use 1% but it really doesn't matter.
This sauce on al dente fettucine makes me smile.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
La Campagna-Morristown, NJ
I met my parents for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Morristown, NJ called La Campagna. It was very nice, a few notches above casual. Prices were high and portions were small, but they tried very hard on quality. I don't think it came through quite enough though.
The bread was delicious, two types of focaccia and then a rustic, hearth baked one that stole the show. Big air bubbles and a crispy crust left no doubt that it was made either at the restaurant or by a local baker who knew what he was doing.
We ordered two appetizers for the three of us and the waiter brought out a small antipasto of Parimiggiano Reggiano, thinly sliced fried zucchini, and bruschetta. The fried zucchini were think little coins, thinner than potato chips. Very lightly breaded and fried to a crisp. They would make a great garnish on anything and were delicious.
Other appetizers were grilled shrimp and asparagus over a baked polenta and a portobello mushroom cap, marinated in something tangy with a nut crush. The shrimp were cooked perfectly, lightly charred, crunchy, and sweet. The polenta was not seasoned much and it allowed the flavor of the cornmeal to come through. Great texture. I need to try making some polenta. The mushroom was very tiny and the two bites of it were nice, but when I think of a portobello I want something substanial.
Three entrees were a cappellini with seafood (lobster, crab, scallops) chicken scarpiello, and my dish, a grilled chicken over warm spinach salad with gorgonzola, shitake mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes. Mine came out a bit odd. I don't care for gorgonzola much and I though it would be crumbled on and I could take it off. Instead, the whole dish was dressed in this gorgonzola and balsamic puree. All in all the dressing did not add anything because the gorgonzola and acidy was overpowering to the more delicate spinach and shitakes. All I tasted was gorgonzola and vinegar. THe seafood dish was the best. Generous lobster claws and tails, a spicy marinara sauce, and perfectly cooked, al dente capellini. I'd stick with the pasta anyday.
I had an espresso to finish out the meal and my dad had a giant slab of ricotta cheesecake. He said it was some of the best he ever had.
I would have preferred a more rustic place, but at least they tried. My dish was by far the worst. For the price, I would not go back.
The bread was delicious, two types of focaccia and then a rustic, hearth baked one that stole the show. Big air bubbles and a crispy crust left no doubt that it was made either at the restaurant or by a local baker who knew what he was doing.
We ordered two appetizers for the three of us and the waiter brought out a small antipasto of Parimiggiano Reggiano, thinly sliced fried zucchini, and bruschetta. The fried zucchini were think little coins, thinner than potato chips. Very lightly breaded and fried to a crisp. They would make a great garnish on anything and were delicious.
Other appetizers were grilled shrimp and asparagus over a baked polenta and a portobello mushroom cap, marinated in something tangy with a nut crush. The shrimp were cooked perfectly, lightly charred, crunchy, and sweet. The polenta was not seasoned much and it allowed the flavor of the cornmeal to come through. Great texture. I need to try making some polenta. The mushroom was very tiny and the two bites of it were nice, but when I think of a portobello I want something substanial.
Three entrees were a cappellini with seafood (lobster, crab, scallops) chicken scarpiello, and my dish, a grilled chicken over warm spinach salad with gorgonzola, shitake mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes. Mine came out a bit odd. I don't care for gorgonzola much and I though it would be crumbled on and I could take it off. Instead, the whole dish was dressed in this gorgonzola and balsamic puree. All in all the dressing did not add anything because the gorgonzola and acidy was overpowering to the more delicate spinach and shitakes. All I tasted was gorgonzola and vinegar. THe seafood dish was the best. Generous lobster claws and tails, a spicy marinara sauce, and perfectly cooked, al dente capellini. I'd stick with the pasta anyday.
I had an espresso to finish out the meal and my dad had a giant slab of ricotta cheesecake. He said it was some of the best he ever had.
I would have preferred a more rustic place, but at least they tried. My dish was by far the worst. For the price, I would not go back.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Flavored Vodka Results
I made two vodkas so far: ginger and black pepper.
Both recipes infused quickly, within a week.
750ml vodka + either 1Tbsp ginger or 2Tbsp coarsely ground black peppercorns. Give them a shake every day. After a week, strain through a coffee filter.
The ginger made an excellent mixer with pinapple and mango juice plus a few cubes of candied ginger in the bottom.
Black pepper vodka can be a shooter for the bravest souls (although not nearly as bad as a chili pepper infusion I once had. The chemical that makes black pepper hot is less "sticky" than capsaicin so the burn doesn't linger and doesn't travel all the way down.) It also works very well in a bloody mary.
Both recipes infused quickly, within a week.
750ml vodka + either 1Tbsp ginger or 2Tbsp coarsely ground black peppercorns. Give them a shake every day. After a week, strain through a coffee filter.
The ginger made an excellent mixer with pinapple and mango juice plus a few cubes of candied ginger in the bottom.
Black pepper vodka can be a shooter for the bravest souls (although not nearly as bad as a chili pepper infusion I once had. The chemical that makes black pepper hot is less "sticky" than capsaicin so the burn doesn't linger and doesn't travel all the way down.) It also works very well in a bloody mary.
White Bean and Pesto Soup
Over the winter I was at Alice's Tea Cup in New York City. Excellent little place. Highly recommend the walnut and stilton scone. I got a bowl of this white bean and pesto soup that was very creamy and warming on a cold day. It was a basic, rustic tuscan white bean, blended and served with a dollop of pesto on top. It was great, don't get me wrong, but I wanted more pesto so I came up with this:
56oz White Beans (1 40oz can, 1 16oz)
3c water
2 bay leaves
1 large onion
5 cloves garlic
1c basil leaves
1/3c pine nuts
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/4c grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
pepper to taste
Roughly chop the onion and brown in olive oil. While this is going, spread pine nuts on your toaster tray and put them in at 350. Give them a few shakes throughout so they get golden brown on all sides. When the onion is almost brown add 4 of the 5 cloves. Cook all together for a few minutes and remove from heat. Drain excess oil into a cup--you'll need this. Add beans, water, bayleaves and get it to a simmer.
Now for the pesto. This pesto recipe is very heavy on the pine nuts because they create like a "pine nut butter" that thickens the soup very nicely. Put the roasted nuts in the food processor and blend till they can't be blended anymore. Gradually add the olive oil in that you saved from the onions and garlic. Add the basil and cheese and pulse until everything is together. This whole mixture goes into your pot of beans along with the black pepper, red pepper, and last clove of garlic. Simmer for 30 mins stirring occasionally. Remove bayleaves. Blend the soup using a stick blender until homogeneous and creamy.
The resulting soup was delicious with a slightly nutty taste to it from the pine nuts. They add a good amount of body. I can't wait to make this over the summer with fresh basil from my garden. I have to say the packaged stuff at Giant was a little disappointing. Serve this hearty soup up with some garlicky, toasted peasant bread and you have a meal that will stick for a while.
56oz White Beans (1 40oz can, 1 16oz)
3c water
2 bay leaves
1 large onion
5 cloves garlic
1c basil leaves
1/3c pine nuts
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/4c grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
pepper to taste
Roughly chop the onion and brown in olive oil. While this is going, spread pine nuts on your toaster tray and put them in at 350. Give them a few shakes throughout so they get golden brown on all sides. When the onion is almost brown add 4 of the 5 cloves. Cook all together for a few minutes and remove from heat. Drain excess oil into a cup--you'll need this. Add beans, water, bayleaves and get it to a simmer.
Now for the pesto. This pesto recipe is very heavy on the pine nuts because they create like a "pine nut butter" that thickens the soup very nicely. Put the roasted nuts in the food processor and blend till they can't be blended anymore. Gradually add the olive oil in that you saved from the onions and garlic. Add the basil and cheese and pulse until everything is together. This whole mixture goes into your pot of beans along with the black pepper, red pepper, and last clove of garlic. Simmer for 30 mins stirring occasionally. Remove bayleaves. Blend the soup using a stick blender until homogeneous and creamy.
The resulting soup was delicious with a slightly nutty taste to it from the pine nuts. They add a good amount of body. I can't wait to make this over the summer with fresh basil from my garden. I have to say the packaged stuff at Giant was a little disappointing. Serve this hearty soup up with some garlicky, toasted peasant bread and you have a meal that will stick for a while.
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