Spaghetti al Pomodoro (Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce)

from The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces by Diane Seed

1 lb. spaghetti
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 14-ounce cans Italian plum tomatoes
1 sugar lump (1 teaspoon)
salt and black pepper
1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil and gently fry the chopped onion and garlic until softened.  Cover the pan to prevent browning if necessary.  Add the tomatoes with their juice, sugar, salt and pepper to taste, and cook over high heat, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When the sauce is reduced and thick, check the seasoning, then pass the sauce through the medium disc of a food mill (or use a blender or food processor as I did, though the cookbook author says that's "not authentic").
Cook the pasta, following the directions on the packet very carefully to avoid overcooking.  Drain the pasta and add half the freshly grated cheese, stirring thoroughly.  Then add the sauce.  Stir well, add the rest of the cheese, and serve.

If you've been reading this blog off and on since 2013 started, you may remember this "Year of Food" thing that's going on here.  A little refresher: last Christmas, my gift to the Mister was a year of cooking international cuisine in three-month chunks.  We ate a lot of Indian food from January to March, ate crepes and sprinkled herbes de Provence on everything from April to July for the French block, took August off (we were travelling, after all), and made a few beans-and-rice dishes in September and called it Ethiopian (that was a little bit of a failure.  I need to do more research next time).

Which brings us to October, where we are finishing the year with Italian food.

Already, I can tell I am really, really going to like this fourth quarter.

I did a little internet search for an Italian market near me, and I found this gem: D and D Market, in South Hartford.  I walked in, and immediately saw a giant display of tomatoes.  I'm naive, I know, but that started this place on the path of authenticity for me.

I rounded a corner of the market with my cart (and two kids) and I almost took out someone's dear old nona (who couldn't have weighed more than 85 pounds, and had a sweet kerchief).  Again, call me crazy, but this place was really feeling legit.

Two of the four walls were taken up by deli displays - one of cured meats and all kinds of cheeses with more "c"s and "i"s than I know what to do with, and the other with fresh sausages and meats.  Of course (because this has to be the case), one of the three butchers had a thick accent.

Also, there was a lot of frozen ravioli and tortellini.

And did you know that Romano cheese can come grated in three different ways?  Apparently it can.  That cheese alone took up a quarter of the dairy case.

I'm off to a roaring start thanks to these two cookbooks - Sicilian American Pasta by John Penza and Tony Corsi, and The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces by Diane Seed.  I figure that I need to work on my basics here (sauces and dishes using short lists of fresh ingredients) before going big.

Do you have any tips for me?  What cookbooks (websites/chefs) do you reference when making Italian food?

Buon appetito!

Braised Herb Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Carrots

Braised Herb Chicken Thighs

2 Tbsp. flour

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. black pepper

8 chicken thighs, skinned (or other chicken pieces, skinned)

1 large onion, cut into wedges

1 1/2 c. carrot slices

1 1/2 c. chicken broth + 1/2 c. dry white wine OR 2 c. chicken broth 

1 1/2 c. quartered small red potatoes

Combine first 6 ingredients in a bag.  Add chicken, seal the bag, and shake to coat.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a dutch oven over medium heat.  Add chicken and remaining flour mixture to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side.  Add carrots and onions and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  

Add broth + wine (or just broth) and potatoes; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 35 minutes or until chicken is done and vegetables are tender.

If the sauce is a little thin, you can thicken it up a little bit right at the end like this: Stir together 1 tablespoon of corn starch or flour with 1/2 cup of water until it's smooth.  Pour into the simmering broth and stir.  Sauce should thicken as it continues boiling, within a couple of minutes.  Repeat if necessary.

Potatoes, carrots, and onions

Ready to simmer

I got this recipe a LOOOOONG time ago from a friend in Virginia (who, ironically enough, had been a coworker friend of mine in North Carolina, had moved away, and then moved to Virginia the same month we did and lived a mile away from us).  I still remember how she and her husband prepared this dish for us when they had us over, and I though it was so fancy and delicious that I couldn't wait to try it myself.  

I know the first picture doesn't do it justice.  But you can trust me on this.  This is a go-to recipe.  

Yes, the taste makes me think it's fancy and difficult to execute, but as it turns out, it's really straightforward!  The "braised" part of the title is just the first couple of steps - seasoning the meat, browning it (but not fully cooking it), and then adding some liquid so that the meat cooks and tenderizes while at the same time flavoring the sauce.  

Braising is a handy skill to transfer to other recipes that call for meat cooked in liquid (like soups and stews) because it adds another layer of flavor to the meat.

That's about it.  Time to catch up on all the stuff laying around the house that needs to somehow find its rightful place!

Zucchini Four Ways

Are you finding yourself with tons of zucchini these days?

We are.

We are hanging out with some friends who have had a rather prolific garden zucchini season - so prolific, in fact, that they've shared multiple 12-pound zucchinis the size of baseball bats (I'm not kidding) that suddenly showed up in their garden.

Do you see the muscle strain?
This 'chini is no joke.

Just for some perspective.  That is not a mini bottle of wine.

So, what should we do with such garden abundance?  Why, serve it four different ways!

Zucchini Tarts

Zucchini Tart: we used this recipe for a Zucchini Quiche, but layered it in little tart pans instead.  A double recipe made 12 4-inch tarts.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Here is the recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread from the Rhymes With Smile archives.  We have been referring to it as Chocolate Vegetables around here, so that we can eat it whenever.

Grilled Zucchini

Easy grilled zucchini: sliced in 1/4-inch rounds, brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and black pepper, then grilled over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side.

Cheesy Zucchini Rice

Cheesy Zucchini Rice: a recipe I found on Pinterest.  In a nutshell, cook some rice with a little more water or broth than usual.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in 1 pound of shredded zucchini, 8 ounces shredded cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.  Cover with lid and let sit for 5-10 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.  This was really delicious!

So ... what do you do when faced with lots and lots of zucchini?

The Go-To Grill Marinade And Method

A third installment in the "Menus for When People Come to Visit" series - we typically grill out when visitors come to stay, and this is our current favorite!

1 2-pound boneless pork loin, cut into 8 1-inch steaks
olive oil
freshly ground sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Lay pork steaks in a large glass dish in a single layer.  Drizzle olive oil lightly on each pork steak and turn to coat, drizzling more oil if necessary to coat all sides.  Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over steaks and press in.  Turn steaks and repeat.  Let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Marinade:
8 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 medium or 2 small tomatoes, cut into chunks
2 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard (dijon or yellow also works)
4-6 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Puree garlic, tomatoes, mustard, and olive oil with a stick blender (immersion blender) or in a small blender or food processor until thoroughly combined.  Add a little more oil to reach the consistency of mustard if needed.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

I am no grill expert, but thankfully you probably already know how to grill (the Mister takes care of all things grill-related here.  I'm not sure I even know how to turn it on).  Grill the meat over medium-high heat until done (use a meat thermometer to test doneness).  Then, use a brush to coat marinade on both sides of the pork steaks.  Serve immediately.

Here's something we've learned about grilling and marinades: if your marinade has any kind of sugar in it - including the fruit sugar in tomatoes - it will burn and turn into crispy chunks if you put it on the meat too early.  So we - I mean, the Mister - has started rubbing the meat with just oil, salt, and pepper for grilling.  THEN he applies the marinade just before taking the meat off the grill.  It's our current favorite meat dressing.  We also like to do chicken thighs and legs this way.

The bonus is that the marinade can also double as a salad dressing (since no raw meat juices touched the marinade).  One recipe, two uses ... perfect to maximize time with houseguests!

Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches

This is the second installment of the "Menus for When People Come To Visit" series. 
Serves 10-12

For the Pork:
6 Tbsp. paprika
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
3 Tbsp. coarsely ground pepper
1 10- to 12-lb boneless pork shoulder or Boston butt, rinsed and dried
8 to 12 soft hamburger buns

Mix the paprika, sugar, and onion powder in a bowl.  Transfer 3 tablespoons seasoning to another bowl, add 2 tablespoons salt and 3 tablespoons pepper, and sprinkle onto the pork.  Place the pork in the crock pot and cook on high for 8 hours.  When pork is ready it should pull apart easily.  Shred and then cover with remaining dry rub.

For the Barbecue Sauce:
2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar

Combine sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring, then reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

To serve, pour sauce over shredded pork and stir to coat.  Serve pork on hamburger buns with cole slaw if desired.

I'm pretty sure I've shared this recipe before, but since it's another go-to for company I am posting it again.  Barbecue is one of those things that is so intensely delicious, that I wonder why I don't eat it every day.

I somewhat stated my criteria for great company food in my last post, but let me re-hash it here ... this recipe makes the cut for three reasons:

(1) It's easy.  Rub stuff on pork, put in crock pot, make sauce (or buy bbq sauce), and serve on buns.  Done.  Make slaw if you're feeling fancy; serve chips if you're not.
(2) It's do-ahead.  Literally ... everything can be done before anyone walks through your door.
and (3) it makes a ton.  You might be thinking, "We don't need 12 pounds of barbecue sitting around our house.  I'll get an 8-pound shoulder."  STOP.  DO NOT THINK THAT.  Get the biggest piece of meat you can find, and cook all of it.  You can eat leftovers on sandwiches (if there are buns), in tortillas as barbecue tacos, or on pizza (it pairs nicely with carmelized onions and bleu cheese).  Or, fry it up with eggs and hash browns for breakfast.  Your guests will appreciate it.

If you haven't had the chance yet, check out the first set of recipes in the "Menus for When People Come To Visit" series: Pollo con Chile Rojo, Poblano Pinto Beans, and Mexican Red Rice.

Mexican Red Rice

Yield: 3 cups (6-8 side dish servings)
I serve this dish with Poblano Pinto Beans and Pollo Con Chile Rojo, and offer all sorts of taco toppings ranging from guacamole and salsa to pickled jalapenos and spicy slaw.

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground ancho chile pepper
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. long grain rice, uncooked
1 (14 ounce) can reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
3/4 c. salsa
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. finely snipped fresh cilantro

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion, garlic, ground ancho chile pepper, and salt; cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in uncooked rice; cook and stir for 1 minute.  Add broth, salsa, and the water.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or until rice is tender.

Remove pan from heat.  Remove lid.  Cover pan with a clean kitchen towel; replace lid.  Let stand for 5 minutes to let the towel absorb any excess moisture.  Remove lid and towel.  Add cilantro; fluff rice with a fork.

Poblano Pinto Beans

Yield: 4 cups (8 side-dish servings)

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 fresh poblano chile peppers OR 1 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 c. reduced sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano or regular oregano
2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained (or 3 c. cooked pinto beans)
3 Tbsp. lime juice

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and chile peppers; cook and stir for 1 minute.  Add broth, salt, and oregano.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat.  Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.  Stir in beans; cover and cook 15 minutes more.  Remove from heat and stir in lime juice.

These beans, along with Pollo Con Chile Rojo and Mexican Red Rice, are the current Go-To Trifecta Of Rhymes With Smile's Homemade Mexican Food.  I literally can't get enough of them.  Sometimes I make more than I know we'll need, just so I can eat leftovers for days.

I've substituted black beans for pintos - I like the taste (remember, we eat a lot of beans around here), but I think I still prefer the pinto beans.

Pollo con Chile Rojo (Chicken with Red Chile Sauce)

This is the first installment of my "Menus for when People Come to Visit" series.  Stay tuned for more in the series!

Yield: 3 1/2 cups (about 6 servings)

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 c. onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. ancho chili powder
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 c. reduced sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano or regular oregano
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs, trimmed of fat, patted dry, and cut in half

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large ovenproof skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlic; cook and stir for 2 minutes.  Stir in ancho chili powder, paprika, and cumin; cook and stir for 1 minute more (if necessary, reduce heat to prevent spices from burning).

Add tomato sauce, broth, and oregano to skillet; bring mixture to boiling.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on all sides of chicken; nestle chicken in the tomato mixture.  Cover skillet with lid; place skillet in the oven.

Bake chicken for 30-40 minutes or until tender, turning chicken pieces once halfway through baking time (alternatively, if you don't have an ovenproof skillet, you can reduce the heat on the stovetop until the mixture is just simmering, cover your pot, and cook for about 30 minutes).  Remove chicken from tomato mixture; set aside to cool slightly.

Place skillet with tomato mixture on range top over medium heat.  Simmer tomato mixture, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally (mixture may splatter as it thickens; reduce heat as necessary).  Remove pan from heat.

Cut chicken into bite-sized strips or shred it.  Return chicken to tomato mixture, stirring to coat.

Do you have a standby dinner plan for when folks come to visit?  Something that you pretty much know by heart, always have the ingredients for, and can easily double for LOTS of people at your house?  This is it for me.  We love Mexican-inspired cuisine, and with all the recent opportunities we've enjoyed to have family and friends in town, I've made up a batch of this chicken in sauce a number of times.

So yes, I am admitting that I pretty much always fix the same thing when preparing dinner for friends and family.  Now you know my secret.  But please don't tell everyone.

I serve it with Mexican Red Rice and Poblano Pinto Beans (recipes coming).  Then I also have corn or flour tortillas (these homemade tortillas if I have time, though more likely storebought), sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese, chopped lettuce, chopped onion, cilantro, and sometimes chips for a build-your-own soft taco dinner.  If I'm feeling really adventurous (or if I know my guests will be up for it), I also prepare these Spicy Sweet Potatoes.

Let me tell you why this is a go-to for company:
1. there is a lot of convenient ingredient overlap in the recipes - chicken broth, onions, garlic, spices - and the other condiments require no preparation.  Sometimes, I even serve the sour cream right out of the plastic tub - another secret that I'd prefer you not broadcast.
2. all three dishes can be made ahead of time and kept warm in a crock pot or oven (so that I don't have to keep my eye on the stove while helping my visitors settle in.  In other words, I won't be quite as likely to burn dinner)
3. they are just really delicious, and leftovers are great
4. who doesn't like Mexican food?
5. it is an extremely versatile menu when I find myself cooking for those with food sensitivities.  Dinner can be dairy-free, gluten-free, low-carb, or vegetarian, depending on what combinations of foods my guests put on their plate.  And I only had to cook once to achieve all of that!

With family in town last week, we soaked up special time together and spent our mealtimes discussing what we'd be eating at the next meal, and if we should do anything productive in between!  Ha - just kidding.  We did squeeze in some great sightseeing, a drive-by of a beautiful rose garden after a rain, lunch downtown, a picnic in the park followed by swinging, walks around the neighborhood, grilled burgers and homemade ice cream, and a round of putt-putt.  Not bad for two days of visits!

Mediterranean Farro Salad

Serves 6; recipe is adapted from the back of the package of Bob's Red Mill Farro

2 c. cooked and cooled farro (can substitute other grains such as barley, orzo pasta, brown rice, quinoa, etc)

Farro salad

1 c. cubed eggplant, fresh or fried*
1/2 c. diced red onion
1 c. halved grape tomatoes
1 c. diced red bell pepper
1 1/2 c. diced cucumber
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
1/4 c. chopped fresh mint
1/4 c. chopped fresh dill

In a large bowl, toss farro with vegetables, lemon juice, olive oil, and herbs.  Serve chilled or at room temperature.

*to make fried eggplant cubes: cut eggplant into 1/2-inch cubes.  Spread on paper towels and lightly salt.  Let sit for 15 minutes to extract excess water.  Blot cubes dry.  Heat 1/2 inch of oil over medium high heat in a heavy skillet.  Fry eggplant in batches, stirring often to brown all sides.  When dark brown, remove from oil and drain on paper towels.  Season with salt.

It's yummy, hearty, cold, summery, and fresh!  Just what I'd been hoping for.  I've been on the lookout for something along the lines of a marinated grain salad, and this dish fit the bill.

And since I took it to a 4th of July potluck, I split the ingredients and mixed half of them (pictured above) while the other half I arranged in a casserole dish, like so:

Cheesy, I know.  You all probably could guess that I'm not the overwhelmingly patriotic type, but I do like a good salad.  And I'm working on my food presentation.  And something about having kids makes me feel like I should really "do" holidays.

And for my next trick, I will show you how you can take a normal breakfast and make it patriotic:

Ta-da!

Not Cookies

Not Cookies

Makes 18-24 cookies

2-3 mashed bananas
1/3 c. applesauce
2 c. old-fashioned oats
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. raisins
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 tsp. cinnamon, to taste

Combine all ingredients until thoroughly mixed (I used a stand mixer, but mixing by hand would be fine too).  Shape into ping-pong ball sized balls and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.  Store in the refrigerator once cooled.

A dear friend passed this recipe along to me, and I gave it a shot - after all, most of these ingredients are usually hanging out in my kitchen anyway.  Best case scenario happened - they turned out great, we ate them for as a special treat after dinner, and the leftovers have been shared with neighbors and consumed for snacks.  You know what else is great?  I get to see this friend soon!  It's been over a year, so I'm pretty pumped.

Have you ever tried baked oatmeal?  These are like baked oatmeal, only in hold-in-your-hand form.  I believe that they could easily be turned into gluten-free cookies if you were to use oats from a gluten-free mill.  I think they could also be dairy-free (and vegan) cookies by substituting something (avocado?  coconut oil?  peanut butter? plus some water) for the milk.  I say all this, but what do I really know about altering recipes for specific diets.  You tell me how to make them dairy-free if you try it, and I'll post an update giving you kudos!

Viva la not cookie!

Berry season

A sweet friend came into town for a few days, and her one request during the visit was that we find somewhere to pick fruit (an appropriate activitiy, given that foraging was one of the ways we got to know each other and continued to spend time together).

The strawberry season is coming to a close up here in New England, but that didn't keep us from finding a fabulous farm about 20 minutes away and picking for over an hour (we probably would've stayed longer had the kiddos not been flaking on us).

With an unfortunately cranky non-napper and the Little Helper on our team, we managed to pick close to 10 pounds of strawberries!  It was Little Helper's first real picking experience, and she was so proud of her basket!

So, what to do with 10 pounds of strawberries?

I put a bunch in the freezer, ready for smoothies and winter baking (when winter sadness creeps in, there's nothing like foraged fruit to remind me that summer will come back).

My friend showed me a wonderful website called Elana's Pantry that is a great resource for gluten-free baking.  We made a Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake from there and added 1/2 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips to the batter.

Given the gigantic heat wave that powered through, we had to cool off with some Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles.   I have this recipe for a Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart on deck, suggested by a friend who has a bunch of strawberries in her garden.  And, with a recent fresh lemonade kick, I decided to tweak this Strawberry Basil Lemonade recipe by substituting mint for the basil (because we have mint out the wazoo in our backyard).

We took one final strawberry fling and made up some of this vinaigrette dressing with mint, and soaked sliced strawberries in it.  It made for a delicious salad when we poured the whole thing on some mixed greens!

Beyond strawberries, we managed to squeeze in a trip to the beach, Big Sis took a tumble down the concrete steps (giving her a nice red smear up her face), we drove by a circus under a big striped canopy, and we found ourselves eating way too much ice cream at the UConn Dairy Bar in Storrs.

A few more bean favorites

I'm on a little bit of a bean kick.  So I thought I'd dredge up a few more recipes from the rhymes with smile archives that use beans.

If you haven't yet had the chance to learn how to cook dried beans, there's no time like the present ...

Black Bean Chili (uses black beans)
Kitchen Sink Nachos (uses black or pinto beans)
Southwest Pork in Black Bean Sauce (uses black beans)
Chipotle Lime Chicken (no, the recipe doesn't call for beans.  But I recall that the last time I prepared this dish, I dumped in a couple cups of cooked beans.  It works with the meal!)
Hunter's Minestrone (uses cannelloni beans)