Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

INGREDIENTS:

1 Yellow Onion
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 28 oz cans of Whole Tomatoes (Puree in blender or food processor)
2 6 oz cans of tomato paste
2 cups burgundy wine
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper (ground)
1 teaspoon anise seeds
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Italian Herbs (Spice Islands)
1 package of Lawrey’s Extra Thick and Zesty sauce mix
1 pound of ground chuck (Omit if making meatballs)
4 Italian Sausages (brown and cut into bite size pieces)

DIRECTIONS:

Fry chopped onion in olive oil over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Remove the onion from the pan and add ground chuck and brown in the same oil as used for the onions. If making meatballs omit adding additional ground chuck but brown the meatballs at this point. Remove the ground chuck or the meatballs and brown the Italian Sausage until cooked then cut into bite sized pieces.

Puree the whole tomatoes in a blender or food processor and place in a large pot. Add the tomato paste, wine, sugar, salt, pepper, bay leaf, anise seed, Italian Herbs and Lawrey’s sauce mix and stir well. Add the onions, browned ground chuck or meatballs and sausage to the sauce.

Simmer the sauce for three to four hours stirring frequently.

INGREDIENTS FOR MEATBALLS:

1 pound ground chuck
1 cup bread crumbs
½ cup grated parmesian cheese
1 sprig of parsley (chopped)
1 clove of garlic (chopped)
½ cup milk
2 well beaten eggs
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

DRIECTIONS FOR MEATBALLS:

Combine all of the ingredients listed above in a large work bowl and mix well. Form into meatballs. Brown the meatballs in olive oil as mentioned in the recipe for spaghetti sauce. Add to the spaghetti sauce and simmer for three to four hours.

Spaghetti Pot Roast

INGREDIENTS:
1 Yellow Onion (chopped)
1 Garlic Clove (Minced)
½ Green Pepper (Chopped)
2 15 oz. Cans of Tomato Sauce
1 Small Can of Tomato Paste
½ Cup Burgundy Wine
1 Bay Leaf
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Anise Seed
½ Teaspoon Pepper (ground/black)
1 Package of Lawry’s “Extra Thick and Zesty” Spaghetti Sauce Mix
4 Pound Round Bone Pot Roast
Pasta: Vermicelli or spaghetini

DIRECTIONS:
Brown the pot roast in olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Remove the pot roast to a plate after browning on all sides. In the same pan, sauté the onion and green pepper for a few minutes. When the onion is almost translucent reduce the heat and add the garlic and sauté briefly. Avoid burning the garlic. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir well. Return the pot roast to the pan and spoon the sauce over the meat. Cover and place in a 350 degree oven for 4 to 5 hours. Take care not to let the temperature of the oven go above 350 as the sauce could burn and discolor. Periodically spoon sauce over the meat as it cooks. When roast is finished, remove to a platter and separate into serving size pieces.

Cook pasta drain and serve with sauce. Remove oils from sauce before serving.

French-Style Potatoes

Adapted from: Cookery for Entertaining (Marlene Sorosky)

4 lbs White Rose Potatoes
Boiling salted water
3 Tablespoons butter or margarine
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons of chopped parsley (Optional)

Peel potatoes. Slice in half lengthwise. Cut into 1-inch slices to make pieces about 1" x 1" x 1 1/2"
Cut a thin strip of potato from corners, so edges are slightly rounded. To keep from discoloring, drop each slice as it is trimmed into a bowl of cold water; drain. In a large saucepan, cook potatoes in boiling salted water to cover for 5 minutes; drain. At this point, potatoes may be held at room temperature several hours or refrigerated overnight.

Before baking, preheat oven to 475. Place butter or margarine and oil in a 13" x 9" baking dish. Heat in oven until melted. Add potatoes and salt. Toss gently to coat thoroughly. Bake 50 minutes to one hour, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are golden brown. Place on a platter. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Makes 8 servings.

Chelsea's Pasta Sauce

Background: I threw this together one night to make a quick sauce for my daughter. I don't measure anything but will give approximate measurements. This has become one of her favorite dishes.

Ingredients:

14 oz can of chopped tomatoes with sauce. You can use any brand and I often use chopped tomatoes with added Italian seasoning. I have even substituted a 14 oz can of stewed tomatoes when that was all I had.

Olive oil (1/4 cup)
Sugar (1 tablespoon)
Salt ( 1 teaspoon)
Burgundy (1/2 cup)
Garlic (3-4 cloves) sliced
Italian seasonings (dry) (1 teaspoon)

Directions:

Drizzle olive oil into a sauce pan and heat over medium heat.
Slice garlic and add to olive oil. Simmer for a minute or so.
Open can of tomatoes and add to the sauce pan.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

Serve with bow tie pasta (Chelsea's favorite)

Chicken Marsala

From Cooks Illustrated May 2000:

INGREDIENTS

4	boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 5 ounces each)
1	cup unbleached all-purpose flour
	table salt
	ground black pepper
2	tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2	ounces pancetta (about 3 slices), cut into pieces 1 inch long and 1/8 inch wide
8	ounces white mushrooms , sliced (about 2 cups)
1	medium clove garlic , minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1	teaspoon tomato paste
1 1/2	cups marsala wine (sweet)
1 1/2	tablespoons lemon juice from 1 small lemon
4	tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces, softened
2	tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place large heatproof dinner plate on oven rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees. Heat 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until very hot (you can hold your hand 2 inches above pan surface for 3 to 4 seconds), about 3 minutes. Pat chicken breasts dry. Meanwhile, place flour in shallow baking dish or pie plate. Season both sides of chicken cutlets with salt and pepper; working one piece at a time, coat both sides with flour. Lift breast from tapered end and shake to remove excess flour; set aside. Add oil to hot skillet and heat until shimmering. Place floured cutlets in single layer in skillet and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip cutlets and cook on second side until golden brown and meat feels firm when pressed with finger, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to heated plate and return plate to oven.
2. Return skillet to low heat and add pancetta; sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits until pancetta is brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towel--lined plate. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium-high; sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom, until liquid released by mushrooms evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, and cooked pancetta; sauté while stirring until tomato paste begins to brown, about 1 minute. Off heat, add Marsala; return pan to high heat and simmer vigorously, scraping browned bits from pan bottom, until sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, about 5 minutes. Off heat, add lemon juice and any accumulated juices from chicken; whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in parsley. Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

Pork Loin Roast

Ingredients:

3-4 lb Center Cut Pork Loin

Pre Heat Oven to 350

Directions: Rub roast with the following spices: salt, pepper, oregano and garlic powder. Place in a roasting pan on a rack with the fat side up. Roast at 350 30 minutes per pound. Check temperature to make sure it does not over cook.

Approximately 30 minutes before the roast has finished cooking brush the top of the roast with current jelly that has been simmered with a bit of sherry or brandy.

Remove roast and cover with foil while making gravy.

Instructions for making approximately 3-4 cups of gravy:

Remove rack from roasting pan
Place roasting pan on stove and add 5 tablespoons of butter. Melt the butter over moderate heat stirring and scrapping drippings. Do not let the butter burn.

Remove the roasting pan from the heat and stir in 5 tablespoons of flour to create roux.

Place roasting pan over medium heat to cook the roux for a minute or two. You do not want to brown the roux too much.

Again, remove the pan from the heat and begin to add 2 cups of chicken stock or chicken broth. When the broth is incorporated the pan can be placed over medium heat and simmered until thickened. As the gravy is cooking add about 1/4 cup of sherry or brandy and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/2 cup of half and half and add a little kitchen bouquet if the gravy is too light.

Apple Pie Recipe

5-6 Granny Smith Apples

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Filling:

1 ¼ cup granulated sugar (247 grams)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ to ½ teaspoon nutmeg

2 Tablespoons flour

9 inch pie plate

Frozen Pie Dough or use the Martha Stewart pie crust recipe on this blog.

Directions:

• Measure all ingredients for the pie filling in a medium mixing bowl. Mix well and reserve ¼ cup of the filling

• Core and peel apples and slice into bite size pieces and add to mixing bowl with dry ingredients (remember to reserve ¼ cup of the filling). I usually mix the apple and the filling after each apple is cored and peeled to make sure the apples don’t brown.
• After all apples have been peeled and cored and are in the mixing bowl, give the apples a final mix to coat the apples with the filling.
• Remove the dough from the package and let sit at room temperature as described on the package. If using your own crust take the crust out of the refrigerator and let soften for 15-20 minutes then roll each piece into 12 inch round.
• Unroll one of the pieces of dough and place in the bottom of a 9 inch pie pan.
• Add the ¼ cup of reserved filling directly to the top of the bottom crust.
• Using a spatula, place the apples and any juices into the pie shell
• Dot a few slices of butter around the pie
• Unroll the second piece of dough and place on top of the pie. Tuck the dough under the bottom layer and crimp with a fork along the side of the pan to seal.
• Using a fork, poke a few holes on the top of the crust.
• Place in oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees
• Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for an additional 55 minutes.
• During the last 15 minutes lightly brush the top of the pie with milk.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle granulated sugar on the top.