New York Style Pizza Sauce (Adapted from Serious Eats)

I adapted the recipe below from the Serious Eats New York Style Pizza Sauce recipe.

Ingredients:

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 medium cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Kosher salt
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and split in half

1 teaspoon sugar*

Instructions:

Blend tomatoes in a blender until slightly chunky.  Set aside.

Combine butter and oil in medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add garlic, oregano, and large pinch salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, onion halves, and sugar*. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to lowest setting (bubbles should barely be breaking the surface), and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by 1/2, about 1 hour. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool and store in covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.


* I did not need the sugar in my sauce as the tomatoes were not that acidic but some tomatoes may need it.

Pizza Dough - from Ratio by Michael Ruhlman

I have found that the Ratio cookbook's recipe is the best for me.  It requires a scale to make it as that is the whole point of the cookbook.  I would like to make it more multigrain but that will be a future project.

Ingredients:

20 ounces bread flour

12 ounces water

1 ounce olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon active or instant yeast

Instructions:

Set your mixing bowl on a scale, zero the scale and pour the flour in.  Zero the scale again and add the water.  Zero the scale again and add the oil.  Add the salt.  Sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the water to allow it to dissolve. Fit the bowl into the mixer and, using the dough hook, mix on medium speed until the dough comes together.  Continue mixing until your dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.  To test your dough, pull off a chunk and stretch it into a square.  If it's elastic enough to sallow you to achieve a translucent sheet of dough, it's ready.  If it tears before you can do this, continue mixing, either in the mixer or by hand, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Remove the mixing bowl from the machine, cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise to twice its size.  Push a finger into the dough.  The dough should give some resistance, but not spring back.  If it springs back, let it rest longer.  If you let your dough rise for too long, it will feel flabby and loose when you press a finger into it and will be less eager to rise when you bake it.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it to expel excess gas and redistribute the yeast.  Cover with a dish towel and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.  Shape the dough into a square for cutting into small pieces (see below for more information).  Cover the dough with a dish towel and allow to rise, or proof, for about an hour.  Or cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to a day; allow the bread to rise at room temperature for at least 1 1/2 hours before baking.

Bolognese Sauce (at least 3 hours)

Adapted from Lidia Bastianich's recipe in Lidia's Family Table

Note that I halved the recipe and we had it for dinner two nights, two lunches and froze some!!  The recipe below is the halved version.  Also, I used my food processor for all of the processing and it is a huge timesaver for this recipe.

Interesting side note: I work with a guy from Italy.  He told me that in Naples it's said that Bolognese is the perfect meal for doormen to cook as they have nothing else to do but sit and stir.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 cup dry white wine
3 oz bacon
3 garlic cloves
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced in a food processor or finely chopped
1 celery stalk, minced in a food processor or finely chopped
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 t salt, plus more to taste
1 cup dry red wine
1 T tomato paste
1 cup canned tomatoes and juices, crushed
4 to 6 cups chicken broth

Directions:
Put all 2 lbs of ground meat in a large mixing bowl.  Pour the white wine over it and mix it with your hands.  Next, make the pestata - cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces and put them in the bowl of the food processor with the peeled garlic.  Process them into a fine paste.

Pour the olive oil into a heavy saucepan (I used my big Le Creuset pot) and scrape in all of the pestata. Set the pan over medium-high heat.  Break up the pestata and stir it around the pan bottom to start rendering the fat.  Cook for at least 3 minutes, stirring often, until the bacon and garlic are sizzling and aromatic.

Stir the minced onions into the fat and cook for a couple of minutes, until sizzling and starting to sweat.  Stir in the celery and carrot, and cook the vegetables until wilted and golden, stirring frequently and thoroughly over medium-high heat, at least 5 minutes.

Turn the heat up a notch, push the vegetables off to the side and put all of the meat into the pan.  Add the salt.  Give the meat on the pan bottom a few moments to brown, then stir, spread and toss with a sturdy spoon, mixing the meat into the vegetables and making sure every bit of meat browns and begins releasing fat and juices.  Soon the meat liquid will almost cover the meat itself.  Cook at high heat, stirring often, until all of that liquid has disappeared, even in the bottom of the pan.  This will take 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the heat and the width of the pan.  Stir occasionally, and as the liquid level diminishes, lower the heat too, so the meat does not burn.

When all of the meat liquid as has been cooked off, pour in the 1 cup of red wine.  Raise the heat if you've lowered it, and stir the meat as the wine comes to a boil.  Cook until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 5 minutes.  Now drop the 1 tablespoon of tomato paste into a clear space on the pan bottom.  Toast a minute in the hot spot., then stir with the meat and let caramelize for 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in the crushed tomatoes.  Bring the liquid to a boil, stirring the meat and let the liquid almost boil off, 5 minutes more.

Pour in 2 cups of hot broth, stir well, and add more if needed to cover the meat.  Bring it to an active simmer, cover the pan and adjust the heat to maintain slow, steady cooking with small bubbles perking all over the surface of the sauce.

From this point, the Bolognese should cook for 2-3 hours.  Check the pot every 20 minutes and add hot broth as needed to cover the meat.  The liquid level should be reducing by 1 1/2 to 2 cups between additions;  if it's falling much faster and it takes more than 2 cups to cover the meat, lower the heat to slow the evaporation.  If the sauce level drops slowly or not at all, raise the heat and set the cover ajar to speed concentration.  Stir well at every addition.

During the final cooking interval, you want to reduce the level of the liquid.  At the end, the meat should no longer be covered but appear suspended in a thick flowing sauce.  If the meat is still submerged in a lot of liquid, remove the cover completed to cook off moisture quickly.

A few minutes before the end of cooking, taste a bit of meat and sauce and add salt if you want.

Note that you'll want to spoon off the fat before serving.

Salmon Rillettes

Adapted from two different Epicurious recipes
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salmon-Rillettes-236907
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salmon-Rillettes-11853

Ingredients:
1 celery stalk, sliced thin
1 onion, sliced thin
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 cup white wine
1 lemon, halved
6 oz salmon filet
sour cream
Dijon mustard
extra virgin olive oil
capers (were not in the initial round of rillettes)
salt and pepper
bread and/or saltines

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to simmer.  Add the celery, onion, peppercorns, bay leaf, wine and lemon.  Simmer for 25 minutes.

Add the salmon, cover the pot and remove from the heat.  Let it stand for 10 minutes.

Remove the salmon from the pot and chill it in the refrigerator.  Discard the vegetables and the water.

By hand with a fork, mix the salmon with the sour cream, Dijon mustard, olive oil, lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste.  Keep chilled until you're ready to serve.

I wanted to add capers as well but didn't have them on hand when I first made the rillettes.  I bought some the next day and added them to the leftovers.  I highly recommend using capers in your recipe.

How to Cook Everything

I used this cookbook to make 4 different things last weekend!

1. Beef stroganoff - a very easy recipe that took less than 30 minutes. LTH (my son) loved the noodles. He doesn't seem to like the texture of beef yet but he must like the flavor.
2. Olive oil salt bread - a simple quick bread that I think will become a go to recipe. The basic recipe does not have much flavor. But, you just add spices or other mix ins that will match the rest of the meal and voila, you have a great side dish.
3. Cinnamon rolls - this recipe is a yeast bread. They turned out ok. I was not crazy about the glaze he recommended. Next time, I'll use my Mom's.
4. Chicken pot pie - I started with a whole chicken and made my own broth. There was so much chicken that I made chicken stir fry later in the week and there's still enough chicken and broth in the freezer to make 2 more pies!

Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew

We had this stew for dinner last night with some warmed corn tortillas and steamed broccoli sauteed with garlic and red pepper.

Adapted from Cooking Light. Original recipe here.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons ancho chile powder
• 1 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound boneless pork chops, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1/2 onion, chopped
  
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (20-ounce) can hominy, drained
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

Preparation

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; set 3/4 teaspoon spice mixture aside. Add pork to remaining spice mixture in bowl, tossing well to coat.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove pork from pan; set aside. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and continue to saute for 2 more minutes or until you smell the garlic. Return pork to pan. Add reserved 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture, broth, hominy, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes.

Loubieh Bi Zeit (Lebanese Green Beans)

MTH and I had take out from The Phoenician a few weeks ago. There were some leftover Loubieh Bi Zeit. I thought that DS may like them. He LOVED them! Given that he previously was not as enamoured of green beans, I decided I needed to figure out how to make them. Here's a recipe that I adapted from http://homemade-recipes.blogspot.com. Here is the link to the original recipe.

Ingredients:

olive oil
onions, chopped
garlic, chopped
1 can of green beans (I used half sodium)
1/2 can of tomato sauce
1/2 half lemon, juiced
2 cups of chicken broth or you can use chicken bouillon
Pepper

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan.
   
2. Add onions and saute until translucent.
3. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (no more than 2 minutes).
   
4. Add green beans, tomato sauce, lemon juice, chicken broth and pepper.
5. Cover and cook on low heat for 45 minutes. You can probably cook less and it will be fine.
   

Italian Veggie Tofu Pasta Salad

We've decided to eat more tofu. For one thing, we actually like it but also it's good for us and it's cheap compared to meat.

Ingredients:
whole wheat penne pasta, cooked
olive oil
extra firm tofu, cut into 1/4 inch squares
zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch squares
bell pepper, coarsely diced
blue cheese
Italian vinaigrette
fresh ground black pepper
red pepper
salt

Instructions:
Marinade the tofu in the vinaigrette for a few minutes. Heat some olive oil in a saute pan. Add the tofu and zucchini. Cook for a few minutes and then add the bell pepper. Add the black and red pepper and the salt. Cook until browned to your liking. Mix the cooked vegetables with the pasta, blue cheese and vinaigrette to your taste.

Grilled Potato Salad

If you've discussed grilling with me, then you know I've made grilled potato salad in the past. Well, I've found a better way. Slice the potatoes instead of chunks.

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Mustard
Olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes
White wine vinegar

Directions:
Peel or wash the potatoes well. Slice as consistently as possible (about 1/4 inch). Parboil for about 5 minutes. Dry the potatoes thoroughly. In a bowl big enough to hold the potatoes, mix the last 5 ingredients to make a sauce (use the amounts that will coat the number of potatoes you have). On a preheated grill, grill the potatoes until they are browned on both sides. Return them to the bowl with the sauce and mix with the remains. Enjoy!

Beef and Veggie Potpie (About 45 minutes)

I made this one a few weeks back. Again, I got the idea from the www.myrecipes.com daily emails. But, as per usual, I didn't follow the recipe word for word. Here's what I made:

olive oil
3/4 pound ground sirloin
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped carrot
dried thyme, to taste
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup tomato paste
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
7 oz fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain. Wipe drippings from pan with a paper towel. Heat more olive oil in pan. Add zucchini and next 5 ingredients (through garlic); sauté 7 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Return beef to pan. Stir in wine, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and broth. Bring to a boil; cook 3 minutes. Combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl; stir with a fork to get rid of the lumps. Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Bake a batch of homemade or canned biscuits while the beef mixture is cooking. Serve the beef mixture over one or two biscuits. It's an all in one meal with your meat and vegetable!

Almost Whole Wheat Pita Bread (About 9 1/2 hours with rising)

I found this recipe in the Washington Post on Sunday and decided I wanted to have homemade pita bread to go with store bought hummus (I'll make that from scratch when I get a food processor one day). The recipe said that it could be made with whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour. I've found that breads made only with whole wheat are very heavy so I decided to try it out with half whole wheat and half bread flour. I thought the bread flour would make a better pita as well - more gluten. That's what makes your bread chewy. Also, I didn't feel like baking these on Sunday night when I made the dough so I set them to rise in the refrigerator and baked them the next morning. Here's my recipe adapted from "The Arab Table" by May S. Bsisu.

Ingredients
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees)
1 ¼ teaspoons sugar
2 3/4 cups bread flour,plus extra for kneading
2 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons olive oil

Method
Combine yeast, 1 cup of the warm water and sugar in a small bowl and stir to dissolve. Set aside until mixture is foamy and doubled in size, about 10 minutes.

Sift flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Using your stand mixer and the dough hook, mix ingredients until dough pulls away form sides of the bowl, forming a ball.

Transfer dough to a floured work surface. Sprinkling as little flour on the dough and your hands as possible, knead the dough -- push, fold and turn -- about five minutes, until dough is smooth, elastic and doesn't stick to your fingers.

Coat a large bowl with remaining olive oil and place dough inside, turning to coat with the oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and set in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight.

Meanwhile, lightly dust a baking sheet and a kitchen towel with flour.

Punch dough and transfer to a floured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Divide dough into equal pieces (depends on the size pita you want), roll each one into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet. Working with 1 ball of dough at a time, flatten gently, using a rolling pin or your hands. Roll dough out until about ¼-inch thick. Lay loaves on floured towel, sprinkle flour on top, cover with a second towel, and let rest about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Preheat pizza stone* 10 minutes before ready to bake.
Arrange as many loaves as you can on pizza stone, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Bake until they puff up, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool; repeat.

Can be frozen in plastic zip bag and thawed in refrigerator. Reheat at 300 degrees for 10 minutes.

* If you don't have a pizza stone, a cookie sheet should be fine instead but I would definitely preheat it just like the pizza stone.