SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

How to make the sauce

2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup butter
Basil bunch
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
Parsley
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil


Sauté the onions and garlic in oil until soft.
Add the tomatoes and let simmer 15 minutes
Add the butter, basil and parsley.

Meatballs

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup Parmesan
2 eggs
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
Parsley

Mix all ingredients together  and form small balls, do not over mix.
Sauté the meatballs on medium high heat until browned.

KALE AND PORTUGUESE SAUSAGE SOUP

A hearty winter soup that can be made thick like a stew or thinned with additional stock for a soupier consistency.

1-2 bunches of kale (dinosaur or cavolo nero is best) or swiss chard, washed and chopped.
1 package of Portuguese Lenguiza (lenguica) or a spicy Italian sausage
1 box chicken stock, unless you have some home made.
1 can cannelloni beans
1 potato, diced
1 onion, chopped
1-2 minced garlic
1/4 cup white wine, vermouth, or sherry

Remove casing from sausage and chop into bite sized pieces.

Saute in a soup pot with a little olive oil.  When the sausage has rendered out it fat and begun to crisp, remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

Saute onion and garlic in the sausage fat until softened.  Add some salt and pepper, but remember the stock and sausage are already seasoned, so go light. Deglaze the pan with the wine (I like to use sherry) and scrape up the brown bits.

Add the chopped kale and chicken stock.  Let the kale cook down into the stock.

Add the beans, potatoes,and reserved sausage.

Let simmer 30 minutes until kale has softened and the flavors have melded.  Adjust seasoning.

Serve with garlic bread.

SEA BASS WITH LEMON AND FRESH HERBS

Fast and easy weekday meal - stuffed with lemon slices and mediterranean herbs.
Serve with artichokes and roasted potatoes, or make a salad out of the thinly sliced fennel bulb.

2-4 mediterranean sea bass, gutted, with head and tail on
2 lemons, sliced thinly
olive oil
butter
2 garlic cloves
fresh thyme
fresh parsley
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 fennel bulb, with fronds
1 shallot
white wine
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 350°.
Finely mince parsley, garlic, pepper flakes, and a small bunch of fennel fronds with olive oil to form a paste.
Make several vertical cuts in the skin of the fish and rub inside and out with salt and pepper.  Rub with herb paste. Stuff the inside with lemon slices, thyme, and fennel fronds.

Heat large ovenproof sauté pan.  Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter.
Add fish and cook 5-6 minutes, until skin is crisp and releases easily from pan.  Flip over and finish cooking in the oven, approx. 15 minutes.

Remove fish from pan to rest, and place pan back on stovetop.  Sauté chopped shallots a few minutes until softened. Add 1/2 cup white wine, squeeze of lemon, and reduce by half. Remove from heat and mount 1 tablespoon butter into sauce.  Spoon over fish and serve.

TURKEY MEATLOAF

OK, so not normally something that I would make, but I'm trying to lose a few pounds and "lighten" it up a little in the kitchen.  This meatloaf is tender and juicy - not the typical dry and bland flavors usually associated with ground turkey.  It also makes great turkey burgers.  I made it twice this week already!

1 lb ground white meat turkey
1 lb ground dark meat turkey
(Whole Foods sells both.  If you can't find it, just use 2 lbs of ground turkey)
2 eggs
2 celery stalks, chopped fine
1 or 2 shallots, chopped fine
1 apple, chopped small dice
1 tablespoon  fresh thyme leaves
small bunch of parsley, chopped
zest and juice of one lemon
dash cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon mango chutney
2 cups panko bread crumbs
2 slices of bacon (optional)

Turn on oven to 350°

Saute the shallots, celery, apple, and thyme over medium heat with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper until softened. Remove from heat and let it cool a bit.

In a large bowl, add turkey meat, breaking it up with a fork. Add eggs, mango chutney, parsley, lemon zest and juice, cayenne pepper, and the celery, shallot, apple mixture. Add more salt and pepper if needed.  Mix lightly to combine.
Add the panko bread crumbs, mixing in gently.  Don't overwork the mixture.

Pat into a loaf pan... and if you're not on a diet, top with 2 strips of bacon.
Bake 40-50 minutes, until firm and cooked through.
Broil at 500° 5-6 minute until the top is browned and the bacon is crispy.
Let cool and slice.

Alternately, make mixture into patties and grill or fry in a pan for turkey burgers.

Great with avocado!

 I found that frying the leftover slices the next day in a nonstick pan with a bit of olive oil makes the slices nicely browned and crispy.  If your feeling piggy, serve on some white bread with mayo, lettuce and tomato and a bit more chutney for a yummy meatloaf sandwich. (And forget about your diet that day!)

PORTUGUESE (INSPIRED) SHELLFISH STEW WITH ROASTED TOMATOES

It's cold and rainy and I didn't want to leave the house today, so I came up with this from stuff we had in the (very well stocked) pantry.  I loved it. I used frozen shrimp and clams, but you could use fresh.  You could make this with any white fish, calamari, mussels, etc...
So good with hot crusty french bread.

1 lb shrimp, tails on
1 lb frozen clams
(I got these at a Korean grocery store on Wilshire - they have an awesome variety of fish.)
1 can of clams, with juice
6 cups of fish stock
(I use this concentrated fish fumet from Surfas and add water - I love this stuff!)

1 24 oz can whole tomatoes, crushed
2 cans of cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
3-4 jarred roasted peppers, chopped
1 smoked pork sausage link, casing removed, and sliced or cubed
10-12 baby gold potatoes, halved
10-12 kale leaves, stalks removed and leaves sliced thinly

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
4-6 garlic cloves (I didn't have any and used garlic powder)
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon saffron threads
2 teaspoons herbs de Provence
3 anchovy fillets
1 tablespoon harissa (optional)
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 cup chopped parsley

Add a small amount of olive oil to a dutch oven and saute the sausage on medium heat, rendering out the fat until the edges are crisp. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
Add potatoes to pan, adding more olive oil if needed. Add 1 tsp salt and cover, letting the potatoes roast and steam 5-8 minutes, shaking the pot occasionally. they should be slightly undercooked and lightly browned.
Add diced onions, spices, shallots, and garlic to the pan.  Cook together with the potatoes uncovered, until onions are translucent.  it should smell pretty good by now!
Add anchovies and harissa, if using.
Add the chopped peppers.
Return the sausage to the pan, and add sherry, stirring to deglaze and scrape up all the browned bits.
Add the beans, kale and canned tomatoes.
Add the fish stock, and bring to a boil.
Check the broth for salt and seasoning.
Add the shrimp and clams, the lemon zest and juice and the fresh parsley.
Reduce heat and let simmer 4-5 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked though.

Top with the roasted cherry tomatoes and garlic, drizzling in the accumulated olive oil and sauce.


SMOKY ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES

2 cups cherry tomatoes
6 garlic cloves, peeled
olive oil
small bunch of thyme sprigs
smoked salt

Preheat oven to 400°.
Toss everything together in a heavy skillet. sprinkle generously with smoked salt and pepper.
roast for 30 minutes.  let cool.

THANKSGIVING PIES!

Thanksgiving is at Roz's this year and I was assigned dessert.
Apple, Pecan, and a CherryAlmond Tart.
I've been working on the apple for a while now and I think I have got it down...

The Perfect Apple Pie

I love using 4-5 different varieties of apples.  For this pie, I used a couple of Arkansas Blacks, which are great for baking, a couple Granny Smith, a Green Dragon, a Pinata (my fave!) and a Braeburn. The different textures and flavors make for extra appley-flavor.

Reducing the apple liquid helps to keep the pie from being too runny...I hate a runny pie.  The chinese five spice powder imparts a deep, spicy note... If you think it sounds weird, just leave it out, but you should try it once!

For the crust:
I use the vodka pie crust recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated. You can find the recipe below on my coconut cream pie post, but I replaced half the butter with pork lard... extra flakiness!

Roll out the bottom crust and place in pie pan. Return to the refrigerator to chill. It's important to let your crust relax after putting it in the pie pan or it will shrink.

For the filling:
7-8 apples
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chinese five spice powder
A slosh of apple brandy or cognac (optional)
1 tablespoon tapioca powder
2 tablespoons flour


Peel and thinly slice the apples. Some of the softer apples I cut chunkier for textural variety. Add the lemon juice to keep apples from browning.
Toss with sugar, cinnamon, five spice powder, and liquor.


Let rest at least 3 hours in the refrigerator.


Drain off liquid and reserve.  Place reserved liquid in a small pan and reduce over medium high heat until liquid is thick and syrupy. Let it cool down a bit before returning it to the apple mixture.  Add the tapioca starch and flour, tossing until all the apples are well coated. 


Roll out the top crust, fill the apple mixture then crimp the edges together.  Cut small steam vents in the top, brush with a beaten egg, and sprinkle with sanding sugar.


Bake at 400° 50-60 minutes, or until browned and the juices are bubbling.  If the edge is getting too brown after 30 minutes, cover with a strip of aluminum foil (This is kind of a pain, but it really helps!).

PECAN PIE
This is a Texas tradition and a must at any Thanksgiving I'm gonna be at! Try to use real Texas pecans - it makes a difference.
I like it classic - no chocolate, maple syrup, molasses, etc...
It is really super simple to make.

Again, I'm using the foolproof vodka pie crust, rolled out into the pie pan and re-chilled in the refrigerator.

Filling:

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven 375°.

Spread pecans in chilled pie shell.

Mix remaining ingredients and pour over pecans.
Decorate the top with whole pecans if desired.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until filling is set.
So simple.

WILD CURRANT JELLY

So I went on a hike last weekend with some wild food foragers and we picked tons of wild currants.  Who knew there was so much edible food growing in the park??
I made some currant jelly and it turned out awesome!

This is the mashed currants cooking down with a couple star anise pods...it looks like blood!

The jelly turned out the most beautiful blackish purple.  I think April and I are going to go back on Saturday and pick more.  Next month the elderberries will be ripe... Elderberry wine?