La Mamma said there'd be days like this: Lazy Day Bolognese Sauce

So as all Italians and many enlightened Americans know, a true Bolognese sauce is a matter of love. You gotta love it, because for a real honest to goodness sauce, you are talking hours of simmering. And while I do love me some authentic Bolognese (and my recipe is pretty excellent if I don't mind sayin so myself - but we will save it for another post) sometimes I'm just ...what's the word...well, lazy. Sometimes I really just don't have 4 hours to sit around to watch a pot boil. This casalinga* sometimes has got some DOLLA DOLLA BILZ to make.  

*Casalinga = Italian for housewife

Or in my case Euros ... which is techically way cooler considering the exchange rate blows.... but still Euros doesn't sound nearly as cool as DOLLA DOLLA BILLZ. And those Euros, they slip out of your fingers. My theory is that they are so colorful and pretty it makes it feel like Monopoly money. And how are you supposed to "Make It Rain" with the Euro coin anyways? You gotta take out some bigger denominations (sucks) or risk taking the stripper's eye out/invoke a biblical stoning to punish her for her slutacious ways...

DOLLA DOLLA BILLZ! =

Cooler than

:(

 Anyways....... clearly got waaaay sidetracked here. What was I talking about? Oh yes, Bolognese sauce. So, sometimes you don't have the time or patience for an authenthic sauce. So I developed a little "highlights reel" recipe for ya. Got the basic flavors, but ready in 1/4 the time. So without further ado, my recipe for ... 

LAZY DAY BOLOGNESE

INGREDIENTS:

6 ounces (150 g) ground beef - not too lean or the sugo will be too dry

4 ounces (100 g) ground Italian sausage - if you can only find it in a casing make sure to squeeze out and mash up yourself

1 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil

1/4 of a medium sized onion, minced or 2 shallots, minced

half a carrot, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

a pinch of nutmeg

a pinch of cinnamon

1/2 cup dry red wine, preferably Chianti

2 small or 1 large can of whole peeled tomatoes- San Marzano variety preferably if you can find them

1/2 a cup of milk (preferably whole, at least 2%, leave the skim for your cereal please)

2 tablespoons butter

Pinch of salt

1. Mince you onion/shallots, carrot, and garlic. In a large sauce pot, heat the olive oil and add the onion and carrot and heat until onion starts to caramelize (about 5-7 minutes). Then add in the beef and sausage and heat until all the meat is browned. Add the pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg to the meat. Finally after the meat is browned add in the garlic, and simmer for an additional 3 minutes until the garlic looks browned but not burned.

2. Add the 1/2 cup of red wine to the meat and reduce liquid by half.

3. Now add your can/cans of tomatoes, crushing the whole tomatoes by hand and dropping them into the sauce, as well as adding the tomato liquid from the rest of the jar.

4. On medium heat, let sauce simmer for about 30-45 minutes or longer if you have the time. The sauce should look thick and meaty as the tomato liquid has boiled down significantly, this is key.

5. Add in the 1/2 cup of milk and 2 Tablespoons butter, stir, and let simmer for another 5 minutes.

And there ya have it! A quick (relatively) Bolognese ready to pair with your favorite pasta. A personal favorite of mine is Bucatini (It's like spaghetti with a hole in the middle), as I paired it with here in the photo.

Baby It's Cold Outside!: BRASATO AL BAROLO (Red Wine Braised Short Ribs)

Still pretty cold out there folks.... times like these you crave one of those stick to your bone type meals. Well I've got the recipe for you, a revamped Italian staple: 

BRASATO AL BAROLO 

(Short Ribs braised in Red Wine and herbs)

It looks complicated and plates gorgeous .... but it is surprisingly easy to make! Just assemble and pop in the oven. While you are waiting you can run some errands .... or watch a few episodes of The Real Housewives of (Insert Obnoxious City Here) Marathon that runs on neverending loop on Bravo. 

Now traditionally this recipe calls for beef chuck roast, which you can use of course, but I find short ribs a much tastier cut of meat when braised. Also adding a bit of Horseradish to the Gremolata topping... while not exactly 'Italian' adds a bit of kick to the beef. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4):

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

4 16-ounce beef short ribs (or mix of bigger an smaller ribs equal to 16 oz each person)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 celery stalks, roughly chopped

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 16-ounce can of peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand with their juices (Italian San Marzano highly preferred) 

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup chicken stock

½ bunch thyme

½ bunch rosemary

½ bunch oregano

2 cups Barolo, or other full-bodied dry red wine such as Ripasso Valpolicella, Gigondas, Côtes du Rhône, or Zinfandel  

* A HIGH QUALITY red wine is KEY to this dish. If you plan on using some 5 buck chuck from the supermarket you might as well scrap the whole recipe because it will taste beyond mediocre. The wine is the star of the dish. So step up and shell out for some good stuff ... but hey it's only 2 cups. You can drink and enjoy the rest!  

For Horseradish Gremolata:

Leaves from 1 bunch of flat leaf parsley 

Zest of two large lemons

¼ pound fresh horseradish, grated

For Polenta:

3/4 cup Quick Cooking Polenta

1/2 cup Marscapone Cheese

1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano (grated or shreded)

1/2 stick of butter 

2 1/4 cup water 

Salt/Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over high heat until smoking. Season the ribs with salt and pepper.

 2. Cook them over high heat until deep brown all on sides, about 15 minutes total. Remove the short ribs to a plate and set aside.

3. Add onion, carrot, and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, oregano, and rosemary and sauté, stirring, untilgarlic begins to soften and turn golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil until liquid is reduced by about half, about 5 minutes.

4. Add broth and bring to a simmer, then return meat along with any juices accumulated on plate to pot. (Making sure the ribs are covered in liquid). Cover pot with lid or heavy duty foil and transfer to oven. Braise until meat is very tender, 2 to 3 hours.

5. Meanwhile, while you are waiting grate the lemon zest and horseradish. 

6. Chop parsley and mix together with lemon zest and horseradish and set aside until plating. 

7. When ribs are done, take out of the oven and uncover. Transfer meat to cutting board/plate. Skim fat from the surface of the sauce. Then return pot to stovetop and boil sauce until reduced until about 1/3, about 5-10 minutes. Return meat to sauce to coat. 

8. About 10 minutes before the ribs/sauce are ready. Boil the water for the polenta. When water comes to a rolling boil, lower heat and add polenta in a slow steady stream stirring constantly with wooden spoon until it starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Then add in cheeses and butter, and continue to stir. 

* Note: If Polenta is made too early before plating it will thicken significantly as it cools. 

9. Plate by dividing polenta into 4 plates. Top with 1-3 ribs (depending on size) and a scoop a ladelful of sauce. Top by sprinkling the Gremolata and drink with a glass of the same wine (preferably, or if not available an equally heavy bodied red). Voila! 

BUON APPETITO!

Sophia is smarter than Sarah... shocking: Pasta with Mussels and Saffron "In Cartoccio"

Mmm wanna know how to make this? I bet you do. Don't try to resist.

Before I tell you, I wanna get something straight. To clarify so all you 4 pound biatches and yo-yo dieters actually ENJOY the dish when you make it. We all know in this country .... pasta has received a pretty bad wrap. It's all about low carb, no carb, white flour is the devil incarnate etc. etc. etc. This is just BS.

Pasta CAN be healthy. There is this whole country of generally not-fat people who eat pasta every day called "Italy" to prove that point. Sure, when you put 12-lbs of butter and cream on it a la Fettuccini Alfredo .... yeah .... you might as well just go eat a box of Twinkies while you are at it. But, if use some fresh and healthy ingredients, then a little pasta is good for you. In the words of the eternal hottie, Sophia Loren:

"Everything you see I owe to spaghetti."

And if THAT BODY is wrong.... well then I don't wanna be right. 

Allora....

BRING ON THE PASTA!

FUSILLI COL BUCO CON COZZE E ZAFFERANO IN CARTOCCIO

Pasta with Mussels and Saffron baked in a foil pouch

(Sound better in Italian doesn't it)

SERVES 3-4 

350g dried long pasta (I used Fusilli col buco, any long dried pasta such as spaghetti, linguine, etc. will do)

1 28 oz can San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes

1 1/2 handfuls fresh cherry tomatoes

pinch of saffron

1 cup dry white whine

1 1/2 lb. mussels

2 cloves of garlic

1 shallot

red pepper flakes

salt

heavy duty aluminum foil

* To see any of the photos enlarged just click on them!

1. Chop the garlic, shallots, and parsley. In a large flat pot heat 1 cup of white wine, add garlic, shallot, and a dash of red pepper flakes to the pot and simmer over medium-high heat until the wine starts to gently boil.

2. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350F and boil salted water for pasta. Add a pinch of saffron to the water. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Cooking the pasta in the saffron water should give the pasta a nice golden color and will add a hint of saffron taste to the pasta itself. Reserve a 1/2 cup of pasta water after the pasta is finished cooking.

3. Go back to the wine pot and add fresh mussels. Put the lid on the pot but leave open slight so steam can release. Steam until the mussels open. Remove mussels from pan but leave the liquid.

4. Drain and transfer pasta into pan with the wine. Add the 1/2 cup of reserved saffron pasta water. Turn up heat and bring liquid to a soft boil. Open the can of tomatoes, hand crush the tomatoes and drop into the pan. Then add in the fresh cherry tomatoes.

*I mix the tomatoes canned and fresh because Italian San Marzano's (even when canned) are much more flavorful than American tomatoes. You can use all fresh if you want, but you will have a stronger flavor if you can find some imported San Marzano's to add in. 

5. Add back in the mussels and parsley. Mix together and cook for 2 minutes while gently tossing ingredients.

6. Set out a deep baking sheet. Take a large piece of heavy-duty foil and cover the baking sheet and fold up the corner to make a large rectangular "bag" of sorts. Pour the contents of the pot into the bag. Then take another large piece of foil and cover, sealing the corners. Pop the baking sheet into the oven for 6-7 minutes.

7. Plate the pasta making sure there are at least 6+ mussels for each person..... and VOILA!

Yummy AND good for you! Carbs, Veggies, Lean Protein. Fresh and clean. Perfectly balanced meal. Channel your inner Sophia and make yourself something tasty for dinner tonight! Buon Appetito!

Kendallina's Father's Day Gift Guide

Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.  -- Bill Cosby

Cut your kids some slack Bill. What do you get a Dad who has everything? ... and by everything I mean a lifetime supply of Jell-O pudding pops

So Father's Day is around the corner (June 20th) .... and most of us know that men are notoriously hard to buy for. For those of you without a clue what do get Dad this year ... here are a few ideas, with plenty of time for them to get to you before the holiday! Just click on the image (even in the collage's) to view the retailer/price. 


Or if you have a stellar gift idea, leave a comment and let us all know! :P


Cater to those frosty libations that strike his fancy... 

               

 Fresh Beer from the Tap                         Wine Chilled 
                                                     to the Perfect Temperature 

Or channel his inner Anchorman with a fancy Scotch/Brandy Decanter 

Make him KING OF THE TAILGATE with the ultimate VULCAN BBQ/COOLER-All-In-One: Insulated Waterpoof Cooler Section, 3 Piece Stainless Steel BBQ tool set, and a portable Propane BBQ grill with lid..... This is so cool I EVEN want one 

Speaking of the Manly Domain of Grilling ... what about some fancy tools to decorate his Summer Kingdom:

Grilling Tools at Chefs
Cooking Tools at Chefs

A BBQ pit top and Rotisserie Kit, A Non-Stick Rib Rack for the perfect Finger-lickin Ribs, A Corn Griller Basket for those many summer time ears he'll be cookin up, And the ultimate in Grilling luxury: A Stainless Steel BBQ set

Or if he might need a manual to get the Kingdom up and running.....

Cookbooks at Chefs
Cookbooks by Mario Batali

Everything from Grillmaster Bobby Flay, to Famous No-Nonsense/A$$hole of Hell's Kitchen Gordon Ramsay, to Morton's Steakhouse Bible for perfect Steaks, to Just when you think you have heard of everything ..... Italian Guru Mario Batalli's GUIDE TO TAILGATING NASCAR STYLE ... Really? But hey ... I'd still eat it. 


Then there's always the classic "Tie he wouldn't buy for himself" :)

More Brooks Brothers...

And if worse comes to worse .... Remember everyone loves a Jell-O Pudding Pop

Mmm Chocolatey Pudding Goodness .... Cosby was on to something I'm tellin ya..