Marinara Sauce

11 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Freezer, Lunch, Main Dish, Side Dish, Thaw/Reheat & Serve Tags: , , ,

This is my go-to marinara sauce. I make it in large batches at a time and freeze a few ziplock bags and/or containers with about 3 cups or 1 quart capacity. It’s a great base sauce in which to add meat, veggies, herbs etc.. to make it different each time or it’s great on it’s own with pasta, in dishes like lasagna or my eggplant parmesan.

Many people put carrots in their marinara but I don’t. If you prefer to add it by all means do so.  I also only use San Marzano tomatoes. Some argue that the taste is no better than other tomatoes but hey, it’s my sauce and I do taste a difference so I use them:)  If you don’t want to you don’t have to but I ask you to try it at least once-and make sure you get the San Marzanos from Italy. Those famous cans with the white backgrounds and purple and/or red tomatoes on the outside aren’t from Italy-they’re from Jersey. Read the labels.  Spend a little extra for the best quality that you can get.

      marinara 

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 small yellow onions, finely chopped
  • 6 medium sized garlic cloves
  • 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 28-32oz cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes (or peeled and crush with a potato masher)
  • 4 bay leaves

Instructions

  1. In a large stock pot over medium heat add the olive oil. When it’s hot add the onion and garlic and saute until they’re translucent, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add the celery and saute until they’re soft, about another 10 minutes.
  3. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves and salt and pepper and stir to combine.
  4. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered for between 1 and 3 hours.

If you’re going to package up the sauce for use at another time leave it out to cool. 

Note: if you’re using peeled plum tomatoes you can crush them with the potato masher after you’ve added them to the pot.  Crush as much or as little as you like.

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Sauteed Spinach with Garlic

21 Jan 2013 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Side Dish Tags: ,

MMMMMMM spinach. A lot of people aren’t fans but I am.  This is such an easy, super super fast recipe it’s not even funny.  No kidding-about 5 minutes from start to finish and the spinach at the end is delicious-garlicy, lemony, spinachy. Pefect side dish!!

Note: since it was just me I was cooking for when I made this it’s just one serving-about 1 cup give or take was the ending amount. You can easily multiply it up for more servings.

Spinach

Sauteed Spinach with Garlic

  • 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6 oz spinach, washed and left damp
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

 Instructions

  1. Heat 1 tsp of the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering in a heavy bottomed pot large enough to hold all of the spinach. Add the spinach, cover, and cook stirring occasionally until the spinach is completely wilted-just a few minutes. Transfer the spinach to a colander and squeeze out as much liquid as possible using tongs.
  2. Add the remaining oil, garlic and the salt to the pot and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the spinach and toss to coat. Off the heat stir in the lemon juice season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.

Cauliflower-Onion Linguine

18 Jan 2013 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Side Dish Tags:

I pulled this recipe out of the Food Network Magazine back in November of 2010.  It sounded kind of different and good.  I’ll be honest-the dish as a pasta dish didn’t live up to the expectation I had for it HOWEVER as a cauliflower dish it would be absolutely delicious!! So next time I will omit any part of the recipe for pasta and just make cauliflower with panko and onions. I suggest you do the same. After all who doesn’t need a new way to cook cauliflower? Toasty and garlicky panko and french fried onion pieces with crispy cauliflower pieces-what’s not to love? Skip the pasta part.

PAsta

Cauliflower-Onion Linguine

  •  Kosher Salt
  • 12 ozs linguine
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¼ cup Panko
  • ½ cup fried onions, chopped
  • 4 cups fresh cauliflower florets, roughly chopped
  • ½ to 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus more for topping

 Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta.  When pasta is done reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, drain it and return it to the pan and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil. Set aside.
  •  Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add the panko and onion and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate, wipe pan clean.
  • Heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cauliflower and cook until the edges brown, about 4 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and toast 30 seconds. Add the reserved pasta water and cook until the liquid is reduced by half and the cauliflower is crisp-tender.
  • Add the pasta, onion mixture and parmesan to the skillet and toss. Season with salt and more parmesan.

 Adapted from Food Network Magazine November 2010.

Sauteed Green Beans

17 Jan 2013 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Side Dish Tags:

Green Beans are so versatile aren’t they? Sauteeing them is easy and they stay crisp and delicious.  I made this as a side to my Cauliflower and Onion Linguine but it would also go great with chicken, beef or just about anything else.

Greenbeans1

Sauteed Green Beans

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and cut on the bias into 2 inch lengths
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • Freshly grated parmesan cheese

 Instructions

  1. Heat 2 tsp of oil in a 12 inch non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add the beans and ¼ tsp salt and cook until spotty brown, 4 to 6 minutes.
  2. Clear the center of the skillet and add the remaining tsp oil and garlic.  Cook, mashing the mixture into the pan, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir into the beans.
  3. Add the water, cover, and cook until the beans are bright green and still crisp, about 2 minutes.  Uncover, increase the heat to high and cook until the water evaporates and the beans are crisp-tender and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. 
  4. Remove pan from the heat, add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and serve.
  5. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired.

 From America’s Test Kitchen: Healthy Family Cookbook http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8302722-the-america-s-test-kitchen-healthy-family-cookbook

And sprinkled with parmesan.

GreenBeans

Oven Fries

16 Jan 2013 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Appetizer, Side Dish

I came across this recipe in the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook that I ordered from Amazon recently (brand new but technically ‘used’. $7).  Anyway I felt like having fries with the Tuscan Onion Soup that I was making. These came out pretty good really.  Soaking the potatoes did make a huge difference.  It was my own fault that they came out a bit darker than I intended them to-I will take them out of the oven earlier next time.

Fries

Oven Fries

Ingredients

  • 3 russet potatoes (about 8oz each), scrubbed and cut into 10-12 even wedges
  • ¼ cup plus 1 tsp canola oil
  • Sea Salt and pepper
  • Ketchup for serving
  • Mayonnaise for serving
  • Freshly-grated parmesan for serving

 Instructions

  1.  Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat to 475 degrees.
  2.  Place cut potatoes into a bowl and cover them with hot water and let soak for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile coat a large non-warping baking sheet with ¼ cup of the oil and sprinkle evenly with ½ tsp both salt and pepper.
  3.  Drain potatoes and pat them thoroughly dry with paper towels. Toss the potatoes with the remaining oil and arrange them in a single layer on the baking sheet. Cover it tightly with foil and bake for 5 minutes then remove the foil and continue to bake for 15 to 20 minutes-rotate the pan after 10 minutes-until the underside of them are spotty brown.
  4. Flip each potato over with tongs, keep them in a single layer, and continue to bake for 7-10 minutes longer.  Drain briefly on paper towels then season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Remember-they will continue cooking for a bit after you remove them from the oven. I forgot this and they got significantly more well done than I intended-but they were still delicious!! I served them with katsup, mayonnaise and sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

 Notes from ATK; you may either leave the peel on or peel the potatoes. To cut the potatoes into even wedges first cut it in half evenly length wise, then cut that half in half evenly and so on. The soaking of the potatoes is vital to remove excess starch and so the potatoes can absorb some water to avoid being dried out while cooking.

 From America’s Test Kitchen: Healthy Family Cookbook http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8302722-the-america-s-test-kitchen-healthy-family-cookbook

 

 

Stuffed Bell Peppers

11 Jan 2013 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Appetizer, Lunch, Main Dish, Side Dish Tags:

Stuffed peppers is one of my Husband’s favorites so when I came across the recipe for Classic Stuffed Bell Peppers  I decided to make them. I guess I’ve never made stuffed peppers before.  Anyway-while there were a few different steps to this recipe it was easy overall and the end product was really, really good.  I did end up with stuffing left over so I could have made probably 2 more peppers with it.

pepper

Stuffed Bell Peppers

4 medium red, yellow or orange bell peppers (about 6 oz each). 1/2 inch trimmed off of the top, cores and seeds removed.

1/2 cup long-grain white rice

1.5 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)

12 ozs lean ground beef

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, drained, 1/4 cup liquid reserved

6ozs Monterey Jack cheese, freshly grated (not pre-grated bagged)

1/4 cup ketchup

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and pre-heat to 350.

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tbsp salt and bell peppers. Cook until peppers just begin to soften-about 3 minutes (make sure the peppers are covered with water). Using a slotted spoon remove peppers, draining any excess water back into the pot, and place on paper towels.

Return water in the pot to a boil, add rice and boil it until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain rice and place it in a large bowl.

Heat oil in a 12 inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown-about 5 minutes.  Add the beef and cook, breaking beef into small pieces with spoon, until no longer pink.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the mixture to the bowl with the rice, stir in tomatoes, 1 cup cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir together ketchup and reserved tomato juice in a small bowl.

Place peppers cut-sides up in a 9in. square baking dish.  Using a small spoon fill each pepper evenly with the beef and rice mixture, pressing it down inside the peppers so that you can get the most possible filling inside.  Spoon 2 tablespoons ketchup mixture into the top of each filled pepper and then sprinkle each with 1 tbsp cheese. 

Bake until cheese is browned and filling is heated through 25-30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Slightly adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24464.Here_in_America_s_Test_Kitchen

 

Delicious Roasted Broccoli

08 Jan 2013 1 Comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Side Dish Tags: ,

I love broccoli. I always have. I especially like the stems.  Small heads of broccoli were on sale at my supermarket this past weekend.  Ususally I steam them but I decided to roast it this time-so easy and super delicious.  I love that the little parts on the top get a bit singed and crunchy.

Broc2 

Delicious Roasted Broccoli

One head fresh broccoli, florets cut into bite-sized pieces

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Honestly this couldn’t be any easier. Preheat oven to 400.  Line a cookie sheet with foil.  Lay  broccoli on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Give the broccoli a few swishes around to cover them lightly with oil. Sprinkle the broccoli with salt and pepper and put them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Watch it carefully-they burn easily. Remove when they reach the desired done-ness.

Freshly grated parmesan cheese would also be spectacular sprinkled on these after they’re done cooking.

Broc1

Roasted Root Veggies

14 Dec 2012 3 Comments

by sparksfromthekitchen in Appetizer, Side Dish Tags:

Carrots, Parsnips and White Sweet Potato all roasty. Yum.  I don’t cook with Parsnip often, or White Sweet Potato for that matter, but the combination of them with Carrots was perfect for a fall side dish. Super easy and the only time involved is the peeling and chopping of the veggies.  Next time I make these I will add some peppers or green veggies. It needed some color and some texture difference but all around they were pretty tasty. The original recipe called for a regular sweet potato but, since I’d never had a white one and my grocery store had some I figured I’d use that instead.

root

Roasted Root Veggies

  • 1 large carrott (1/2 lb) chopped
  • 1 large parsnip (1/2 lb) chopped
  • 1 white sweet potato, peeled (or leave the peel on, it’s up to you)
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley minced or 1 tsp dried parsley

Preheat the oven to 400. Chop veggies into similar sized pieces-I cut mine into 1/4 inch rounds.  Arrange the veggies on a foil lined cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Roast for about 20 minutes or to desired done-ness, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with parsley and additional salt and pepper if needed and serve warm.

Slightly adapted from this recipe from Simple Gourmet Cooking, who cites it from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics.

Thanks to Sarah from http://tasteofhomecooking.blogspot.com for organizing the swap!!

 



Twice Baked Potatoes

12 Dec 2012 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Side Dish Tags:

I love potatoes and don’t make them often enough. I found the original recipie for these in a great book by America’s Test Kitchen and tweaked it to taste. I omitted the Pepper Jack Cheese that the recipe called for and used cheddar instead because, in my opinion, nothing goes better with bacon than cheddar. These potatoes came out great-crispy skin, great textured filling-and the taste was really great.

 

Baked

Ingredients

  • 4 russet potatoes (7 to 8 ounces each), scrubbed, dried, and rubbed lightly with vegetable oil
  • 8 strips bacon cut cross-wise into 1/4-inch pieces
  • 4 ounces Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded (about 1 cup) **don’t use pre-shredded**
  • 1/2 cup fat free sour cream
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup of chives, chopped small
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • Ground black pepper

For garnish: extra sour cream, extra chives, extra bacon and extra shredded cheese.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400.

Place potatoes on a microwave safe dish, poked many times with a fork, and microwave on high until a fork inserted into the thickest part goes into the flesh easily and they feel soft. Set them aside and let sit until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.

Fry bacon in medium skillet over medium heat until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove bacon to paper towel-lined plate to drain; set aside.

Following illustration below, using an oven mitt or folded kitchen towel to handle hot potatoes, cut each potato in half so that blunt sides will rest on work surface. Using a small dinner spoon, scoop flesh from each half into medium bowl, leaving a 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thickness of flesh in each shell. Arrange shells on foil lined baking sheet and place them in the oven until dry and slightly crisped, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mash potato flesh with fork until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients, including bacon and pepper to taste, until well combined.

Remove shells from oven and change oven setting to broil. Holding shells steady on pan with oven mitt or towel-protected hand, spoon mixture into crisped shells, mounding slightly at the center, and return to oven. Broil until spotty brown and crisp on top, 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Notes from ATC:

The Right Slice

Most potatoes have two relatively flat, blunt sides and two curved sides. Halve the baked potatoes lengthwise so the blunt sides are down once the shells are stuffed, making them much more stable on the pan during the final baking.

Why this recipe works:

We had a head start on our twice-baked potato recipe, having already developed a recipe for the Best Baked Potato. Starting there, we let the baked potatoes cool slightly before slicing them open and removing the flesh. We found that we could keep the skins from turning soggy and flabby by keeping them in the oven while making the filling. And for the filling we found it best to combine the potato with a tangy dairy ingredient like sour cream or yogurt, a small amount of butter, and ingredients with strong flavors like cheddar cheese, bacon, or chipotle peppers. For a perfect finish, we placed the filled potatoes under the broiler, where they turned brown and crisp.

Quiche Lorraine

03 Dec 2012 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Appetizer, Breakfast, Lunch, Main Dish, Side Dish Tags: , ,

I’ve always loved quiche. My Mom makes a delicious spinach quiche and that’s what got me to love them when I was little.  I haven’t made a quiche in a while but over this past weekend I made this Quiche Lorraine. I used Cooks Illustrated’s recipe and adjusted it a bit.

Give yourself time to make the crust.  A homemade crust makes all the difference in quiche and, while the instructions are long for the crust, it’s really really easy-just time it out right. I rolled it between the 2 sheets of plastic wrap and it saved me from making a huge mess with flouring the board etc.. I used 2 sheets of plastic for the top and 2 for the bottom and overlapped them to allow for the correct size of the crust.  The dough can be made up to 2 days in advance.

Quiche1

Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients

For the Dough  

  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for rolling out the dough
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
  • 4 – 5 tablespoons ice water

For the Filling  

  • 8 ounces pancetta (cut to thickness of regular bacon) cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 7 ounces Gruyère cheese grated 

Instructions

FOR THE DOUGH 
Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat with flour. Cut butter into flour with five 1-second pulses. Add shortening and continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter bits no larger than small peas, about four more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl. Note: you can cube the butter ahead of time and then put it back in the fridge to get cool again.

Sprinkle 4 tablespoons ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber spatula, using folding motion to mix. Press down on mixture with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if it will not come together. Shape dough into ball, squeezing two or three times with hands until cohesive, then flatten into 4-inch-wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days, before rolling.

 Remove dough from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature to soften slightly, about 10 minutes if dough has chilled for 30 minutes or 20 minutes if it has chilled overnight. (The dough should be pliable. Use your hands to squeeze the dough; if you can squeeze it without applying too much pressure, it is ready to roll.) Roll dough on lightly floured work surface or between two sheets plastic wrap to a 12-inch disk about 1/8-inch thick. Fold dough in quarters, then place dough point in center of pie pan. Unfold dough. Alternatively, roll dough in 2-gallon zipper-lock bag to a 12-inch disk about 1/8-inch thick. Cut away top of bag. Grasping bottom, flip dough into pie pan and peel off bag bottom.

 Working around circumference of pan, press dough carefully into pan corners by gently lifting dough edges with one hand while pressing around pan bottom with other hand . Trim edge to 1/2-inch beyond pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough underneath itself so that folded edge is about 1/4-inch beyond pan lip; flute dough in your own fashion. For quiche or tart pans, lift the edge of the dough, allowing the extra dough to flop over the sides. Then run the rolling pin over the top of the pan to remove excess dough. Next use your forefinger and thumb, press the dough evenly up the sides from the bottom to increase the height of the rim. Refrigerate pie shell for 40 minutes and then freeze for 20 minutes.

 Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Press doubled 12-inch square of aluminum foil inside dough shell; evenly distribute 1 cup or 12 ounces ceramic or metal pie weights over foil. Bake, leaving foil and weights in place, until dough dries out, about 17 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights by gathering sides of foil and pulling up and out. For partially baked crust, continue baking until lightly golden brown, about 9 minutes more; for fully baked crust, continue baking until deep golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

FOR THE FILLING
Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Fry bacon in skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to paper towel-lined plate. Meanwhile, whisk all remaining ingredients except cheese in medium bowl.

Spread cheese and bacon evenly over bottom of warm pie shell and set shell on oven rack. Pour in custard mixture to 1/2-inch below crust rim. Bake until lightly golden brown and a knife blade inserted about one inch from the edge comes out clean, and center feels set but soft like gelatin, 32 to 35 minutes. Transfer quiche to rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Helpful notes from Cooks Illustrated:

Published September 1, 1997. 

The center of the quiche will be surprisingly soft when it comes out of the oven, but the filling will continue to set (and sink somewhat) as it cools. If the pie shell has been previously baked and cooled, place it in the preheating oven for about five minutes to warm it, taking care that it does not burn. Because ingredients in the variations that follow are bulkier, the amount of custard mixture has been reduced to prevent overflowing the crust.

Quiche2

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