Spaghetti and Meatballs

My sister is on bedrest in the final stages of her pregnancy, so for the past 2 weekends, I've brought over some meals for her to make foraging for food a bit easier. This past weekend, I figured it would be easier if I just invaded her kitchen and made the food there rather than trying to find some way of transporting gallons of sauce and meatballs.

When I was driving there, for some reason, I had that line from the old Alka-Seltzer commercial running through my head "That's a spicy meatball!"

Anyone else remember that gem from the 1970s?

However, for some reason, I kept hearing the line in Father Guido Sarducci's voice, remember him? Another gem from the 1970s/early-1980s.

So there you go, a little glimpse of the craziness inside my head. :)

I make spaghetti and meatballs fairly regularly now. My kids are thankfully past the picky-pasta phase. When they were younger, the only way they would accept spaghetti was coated with butter and parm cheese. They were vehemently anti-tomato sauce, which mystifies me. Tomatoes are one of my favorite foods in all of its forms, sauce, dried, fresh and raw. A thick sauce, perfectly seasoned is a joy all on its own. I have, in fact, been known to skip the pasta and just eat a bowl of sauce, with garlic bread to sop up the remainders, of course!

This recipe is double what I usually make, so feel free to halve it if you feeding fewer hungry mouths.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Makes approximately 30 meatballs and 12 cups of sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 slices stale sandwich bread
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup bread soft crumbs (NOT panko style)
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped fine
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parm
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley (also called Italian parsley), chopped
• 5 leaves of fresh basil, chopped (about 2 T, loosely packed)
• 1 t granulated garlic
• 2 t sea salt, kosher salt or other large-crystal salt
• 1 t black pepper
• 2-1/2 lb. of ground meat - I like 1 lb. of straight ground chuck and about 1-1/2 lb. of what they call a "meatloaf mix" here, which is a combination of beef, pork and veal; sometimes I use ground turkey
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parm
• 1 T Italian seasoning
• 12 cups of marinara sauce
• spaghetti, cooked

Directions:

1. Tear the bread into very small pieces or grate it with a box grater and soak it in the milk for about 10 minutes. 
2. Add the bread crumbs and stir well. 
3. Add the onion, garlic, grated parm, parsley, basil, granulated garlic, salt and pepper and mix well.
4. Add the meat and - here's the fun part - squish it all together with your very clean hands. Be sure to mix everything very well.
5. Add the 2 beaten eggs and squish some more until it is all one huge gloppy mess.
6. Mix together 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/4 cup grated parm and 1 T Italian seasoning in a bowl.
7. Grab a piece of meat mixture and roll into a golfball-sized ball. Take a little bit of the crumb mixture in the palm of your hand and roll the meatball in it. You don't want these meatballs coated so that they're breaded, but you want a bit of a dusting on them.
8. Place the shaped meatball on a large plate.
9. Repeat about 30 more times.
10. Cover the meatballs with plastic wrap and put in the fridge to sit for 1 hour. 
11. You can bake them in a preheated 400-degree oven for 15 minutes or saute them in olive oil until browned.
12. Once they're browned, add them to the pot of simmering sauce and let cook for another 45 minutes.
13. Serve over spaghetti.

Marinara Sauce

makes about 12 cups of sauce

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1 cup coarsely chopped onion
• 6 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 T minced sundried tomato (I prefer the oil-packed ones)
• 4 T tomato paste  
• 4 (28 oz) cans of whole roma/plum tomatoes in juice 
• Granulated garlic  
• Italian seasoning
• Dried basil
• salt and pepper
• pinch of sugar 
• Fresh basil for garnish

Directions:

1. In a large pot heat about 2 T olive oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
2. Add the onion and saute until it is soft and translucent.
3. Toss in the chopped garlic and minced sundried tomato and cook until the garlic is fragrant, not burned, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the tomato paste and stir really well together, breaking down the clump of tomato paste as best you can.
5. Pour in the 4 cans of whole tomatoes, juice and all and with the flat end of a spatula or your trusty wooden spoon, mash down the tomatoes a little bit. 
6. Cover, reduce the heat to low and let cook for about an hour. Stir it occasionally to make sure that the tomatoes aren't sticking and burning to the bottom of the pot.
7. Add some seasoning. At this point I start with 1 T of dried Italian seasoning, 2 t dried basil, a pinch to 1/2 t of sugar, 1 t salt, a few grindings of cracked black pepper and 1 t granulated garlic (my new favorite seasoning agent ). 
8. Stir thoroughly, let cook covered another 10 minutes and taste again and season until it's about where you want it.
9. Cover and let cook another hour, stirring occasionally.
10. After it has cooked for about 2 hours, puree it, either with your handy-dandy stick blender or in small batches in a blender or a food processor. If I had to choose between those two, I'd say go for the blender.
11. Once the sauce is all pureed, it'll be nice and thick. Taste again for the final seasoning adjustment and if you are not using it for meatballs, let the sauce cook another hour and then serve.
12. If you are using this sauce for the spaghetti and meatballs recipe, now is when you'd add the browned meatballs.

Notes:

• This sauce is phenomenal with pasta, on pizza, over spaghetti squash or in a lasagna. Half of this recipe (6 cups) works well in my lasagna, cooked in a 9 x 13 in. pan. (recipe to come)
• This recipe does freeze very well, if you do make the full amount.
• This recipe halves and even quarters very well for smaller meals.

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Fettuccine Alfredo

Pasta is another classic comfort food, and although my favorite pasta dishes number in, oh, probably all of them, fettuccine alfredo is pretty near the top of the list for me. The thing about alfredo is that it is almost always a disappointment when I go out to eat and order it.

I really am not a fan of the Olive Garden. I think that their food is overpriced and mediocre, although I will admit I love their butter-drenched breadsticks. The times I've gone there, I've usually ordered the alfredo and when it came, it was already a mess of separating sauce and overdone pasta, or it was a pile of pasta absolutely drowning in sauce. I prefer a lighter touch with the sauce, with the fettuccine barely moistened by the sauce, but that's just me. Another great thing about making it yourself is that you can add as little or as much of the sauce as you like.

The thing is, it is so easy to make you'll never go out for alfredo again. Alfredo should be devoured eaten almost as soon as it hits your bowl. You may curse me when you try this for yourself and see how easy it is.You can suit just about anyone's taste for ingredients and the amount of sauce, too, so it is totally win-win.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. whole wheat fettucine
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 T salted butter, cut into 1/2 T slices
• 1/2 cup freshly grated  parmesan or romano
• granulated garlic
• salt 
• pepper
• parsley

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta until it's al dente, still firm when you bite into it, not mushy, but not still crunchy. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the cream in a skillet until it starts to bubble at the edges. Add the butter, a smidge (oh, a pinch, less than 1/8 t) of granulated garlic, salt and pepper and let cook until the butter melts into the cream. Taste it to check for seasoning.
3. Add  1/3 cup of the cheese and stir well until it melts into the sauce.
4. Toss the pasta into the skillet and mix well, serve, topped with fresh herbs like parsley or basil, plus additional grated cheese and eat immediately.

Notes:

• You can mix in all sorts of things: shrimp, chicken, vegetables, but I like it plain with just the peas and really good-quality cheese.
• I used some locatelli pecorino romano which I usually use in risotto, but man, it works nicely in this too.
• I used whole wheat fettuccine, which is why it looks a bit dark in the photo. I usually try to make the dish a little less of a perilous assault on my blood sugar levels.
• If you like a lot more sauce with your fettuccine than you see in the photo, you can easily adjust the amount of pasta.
• This recipe easily doubles or quadruples to feed more people or people with enormous appetites.

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Stovetop Mac and Cheese

As the title of the blog indicates, I am big into comfort foods. As much as I love elaborate meals with fancy ingredients, there is nothing quite so comforting as a nice bowl of super-cheesy mac and cheese. This is my standard stovetop mac and cheese recipe which has completely replaced the boxed stuff in our house. Just like with the boxed variety, the longest prep time for this recipe is waiting for the water to boil, so this is a fairly quick and, once you know how to make a white sauce from a roux, very easy recipe.

I usually double this recipe and bake it in a casserole dish, but for those times when we need a quick side dish, or God help me, fast main dish, this works for us. If this is a main course, I'll try to add some vegetables or leftover ham to add something nutritional to it, though I'll admit we sometimes jut eat a bowl of this and call it dinner.

Stovetop Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. dried macaroni (half a standard box)
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk - I usually use 2%
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• salt and pepper
• nutmeg
• whole grain mustard (optional)
• mustard powder (optional)
• garlic powder (optional)

Directions:

1. Put the water on to boil in a large pot.

2. Cook the pasta according to directions.

3. While the pasta is cooking, melt butter over medium-high heat in a sturdy saucepan and warm the milk in the microwave.

4. When it is melted and foamy, whisk in the flour.

5. Keep stirring when the roux is golden colored, add the warmed milk and whisk constantly, making sure there are no clumps.

6. Raise the heat to medium-high, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly and let thicken. Add the nutmeg.

7. Add the grated parm and the cheddar and stir well until the cheeses have melted.

8. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Now you can add mustard, garlic powder of whatever other spice you like to taste. Sometimes I add a dash of hot sauce.

9. Dump the cooked, drained pasta into the pot and mix well.

10. Serve.

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Seafood Lasagna

We tasted this some weeks ago at a family gathering. My kids, in fact, all of the kids there, absolutely devoured this dish. Every one of them went back for no less than thirds of this dish. If they had been allowed to sit on the kitchen floor in a ravenous huddle around the baking dish and scrape it clean with their graspy fingers, they would have. It amused the adults greatly.

Needless to say, I told my SIL that I would need that recipe. I am thankful that my kids are growing out of their pickiness. They have been gamely trying out new things I foist on them, but when I see that there is something that they seem to inhale off their plate and then request seconds of, well, I have to add it to my repertoire.

I won't lie to you: This is rich, with 4 cups of a cheese sauce, ricotta and seafood, but my goodness, is it tasty.

Seafood Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick or 1/4-pound)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth (I used Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Base)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 t Old Bay
• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1/2 pound shrimp - I used frozen, cooked shrimp
  
• 1/2 pound scallops - I used frozen scallops
• 1/2 cup grated parm
  

Directions:

1. Thaw the seafood according to the package.
   


2. Preheat the oven to 350.
   


3. Saute the chopped onion in butter. Set aside once they are soft and translucent.
   


4. Over low heat, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Once the butter is foamy, add the garlic and cook for a few minutes.
   


5. Whisk in the flour and cook until the paste is golden and bubbly.
   


6. Add the milk and broth, stirring constantly.
   


7. Bring to a boil and then let boil for 1 minute, keep stirring.
   


8. Lower heat and add the mozzarella, Old Bay and sauteed onions.
   


9. Cook until the cheese has all melted.
   


10. In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta and the grated parm.
    


11. In another small bowl, mix together the shrimp and scallops.
    


12. In an ungreased 9 x 13 baking dish, spread 1 cup of the cheese sauce on the bottom. Cover with 4 of the uncooked noodles, then spread more of the sauce on the noodles. Spread it out so that all of the noodles are lightly covered with the sauce.
    


13. Spread half of the ricotta-parm mixture over the noodles, and then top with half of the seafood. Then ladle out more of the cheese sauce and top with 4 more noodles.
    


14. Repeat one more time until all of the ricotta and seafood are layered in, top with sauce and then 4 more noodles and pour the remaining cheese sauce over the top. Let the excess sauce run down into the layers below.
    


15. Top with extra grated parm and sprinkle a bit more Old Bay on top, then bake, uncovered for 40 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes, then cut into pieces. If it seems soupy, put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes, then serve, with fresh shredded parm on top.
    

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Grown-up Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese just might be the epitome of comfort food, and by "mac and cheese," I don't mean some boxed crap with a cheese sauce made from a fluorescent orange powder of unknown provenance - Velveeta, whether in block form or dehydrated into a powder is not cheese. No, I mean a real, baked in the oven, stick to your ribs, look-Mom-I-made-a-cheese-sauce-from-a-roux, luscious, creamy, totally decadent mac and cheese.

Be a pretentious fool if you want to be and call it pasta e formaggio. This is mac and cheese for grown-ups... and discerning kids. My kids love this stuff now that I have finally weaned them off the boxed variety. Now when they request mac and cheese, this is what they want, from the non-orange cheese sauce to the crunchy crumb topping.

Grown-up Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces elbow macaroni
• butter
  
• 2 vidalia onions
• 1 shallot
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup white wine
  
• 1 clove garlic
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small vidalia onion
• 2 t whole grain mustard
• hot sauce (I've been using Cholula lately)
  
• 1 package (5.2 ounces) Boursin cheese with shallot and chive
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (you should have about 2 cups tightly packed cheese)
  
• 1/4 cup shredded parmigianno cheese
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• extra shredded cheddar for topping
  
• paprika
  

Directions:

1. Coat a 2- to 2 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
   


2. Heat oven to 350°.
   


3. Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water, under-cooking slightly, otherwise the end result of the casserole will yield mushy, overcooked pasta. Not good. So, if the pasta is supposed to cook for 8 minutes, I'll cook it for about 6 and a half minutes.
   


4. Drain and rinse the macaroni with cold water; set aside and let drain some more.
   


5. Cut the vidalias in half and slice into thin strips. Slice the shallot thinly.


6. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Toss in the sliced onions and shallots, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring to coat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let cook slowly until nicely browned, slightly caramelized.
   


7. Pour in the white wine and let cook down. Add the chopped garlic and season with salt and pepper. Once the liquid has all been absorbed, remove from the heat and set aside.
   


8. Peel a small vidalia onion and cut in half, removing the root.
   


9. Pour the milk and cream into a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup. Add the bay leaf and the halved onion and scald in the microwave) about 2-3 minutes on high). Remove the onion and bay leaf.
   


10. In a large saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir until well blended and bubbly. Season with a bit of salt and pepper, and them pour in the milk and cream mixture, whisking constantly.
    


11. Cook, stirring, until thickened. Add the mustard and hot sauce, stirring well and tasting to check the seasoning.
    


12. Fold in the boursin cheese, and cheddar. Cook, stirring, until cheeses have melted.
    


13. Dump the drained macaroni into the prepared baking dish. Add the caramelized onions and mix well.
    


14. Pour in the cheese sauce and stir to make sure everything is evenly distributed and coated.
    


15. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the casserole and top with grated cheddar and parm. Sprinkle with paprika.
    


16. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cheese sauce is bubbly and topping is lightly browned.
    

Notes:

• About the onion and shallot mixture, take your time cooking it down. We want them browned and slightly sticky with that warm sweet taste of caramel, not blackened and crispy with that awful, ashy taste of carbon.

See? Creamy and delicious.

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Chicken Tetrazzini

When I was growing up, our school hot lunch menu boasted chicken or turkey tetrazzini every week. I remember trying it once and nearly gagging at the overly-salty thick sauce and the texture of the mushy peas and limp slivered almonds. I swore never to eat anything tetrazzini ever again.

Then, a few years ago, I hosted Christmas for the first time and despite having a houseful of dinner guests, I found myself staring at a plate of leftover turkey meat piled high. There was no way, I thought, that we could possibly get through all of that meat just by eating turkey sandwiches, so I delved into my then-new copy of The Joy of Cooking, desperate for recipes for leftover turkey.

I recall shuddering when I turned the page and glanced down at "Chicken or Turkey Tetrazzini," but as my eyes strolled over the ingredients I thought that it didn't sound half-bad. Why not, right? After all, even though the school lunch pizzas were among the worst I have ever had, I certainly do not shun pizza. Perhaps I had just never had good tetrazzini.

Well, it was delicious, but really, with a luscious sauce made from heavy cream, milk, broth and freshly grated parm, how could it be otherwise?


I make this quite often after I have made a roast chicken, and I have made some adjustments to suit the palates of my kids:

• no almonds - they are not fans of random nuts in their main dishes;
  


• rotini instead of spaghetti or fettucine - if it si a baked pasta dish, they prefer elbows, penne or twisty pasta shapes
  


• individual dishes - this goes straight back to Hell's Kitchen. They are mightily impressed by individual baking dishes; they said that it looks fancier and fancier is usually better. :)
  

Chicken Tetrazzini

Ingredients:

• Cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
• butter
• olive oil
• 4 oz. cremini mushrooms (baby bellas/Italian brown mushrooms), sliced
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• fresh thyme
• sherry
• 2 T flour
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• salt
• pepper
• nutmeg
• cooked pasta (I cooked up 1/2 of a 1-lb box)
• green peas (cooked)
  
• freshly grated parm
• panko
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
   


2. Melt 1 T butter and 2 T olive oil in a large skillet. Saute the mushrooms over medium-high heat until the mushroom liquid evaporates, about 8 minutes.
   


3. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another 2 minutes,
   


4. Add the sherry and stir well until the liquid reduces. Turn off the heat and add the shredded, cooked chicken to the skillet, mixing to coat well. Fold in the peas, set aside.
   


5. In a sauce pan, melt 1 1/2 T butter over medium high heat. Add about 3 tablespoons of flour to make a roux. Add the broth, milk, cream, nutmeg salt and pepper, cover and bring to a near-boil. Uncover and reduce heat to low and simmer until thick, about 10 minutes.
   


6. Add 1/2 cup grated parm and stir well.
   


7. Divide the chicken and mushroom mixture into 4 mini casserole dishes, and ladle the sauce over the mixture. Top with panko and more grated parm.
   


8. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the top starts to brown.
   

If you double this recipe, it should fit into a 2-quart casserole dish and serve 6 quite nicely.

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Spaghetti Bolognese

Ok, actually this recipe is not a traditional ragu alla bolognese with its rich, milk-simmered cut of beef and pancetta, but it is more than simply "Spaghetti with Meat Sauce."

This recipe churns out such a lovely, thick succulent sauce of meat, herbs and tomatoes that it is almost chili-like. In fact, when I am avoiding carbs, I will eat just a bowl of this and call it "Italian Chili." I bet if I tossed in some white cannellini beans this would be over-the-top good.

You might say that nothing is worth waiting the hours it takes to cook, but in fact you would be wrong. I usually let this simmer on the stove for a few hours, letting all that collagen in the meat break down into gelatin, though it can be ready about 3 hours after you start.

Topped with some freshly grated parmigiano reggiano and a chiffonade of fresh basil, you have a satisfying and sublime dish.

See? I ate this last night with no pasta, just a bowl full of sauce. It was insanely delicious.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 large onions, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• pounds lean ground beef
• 1 cup beef broth
• 2 (14 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes, juice reserved
  
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 T dried basil
• 1 T minced sundried tomato and garlic* (See Notes)
  
• ½ cup red wine
• 1 T minced sundried tomato and garlic
  

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until onions are tender. Stir in red bell pepper and saute 2 minutes.
   


2. Place ground beef in the skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Stir in beef broth, diced tomatoes (without the juice), wine and tomato paste. Bring to a boil and add celery, bay leaves and Italian seasoning.
   


3. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, or until sauce thickens. Check from time to time and stir, making sure that it is not sticking and burning. You don't want this to scorch.
   


4. Add 1 tablespoon of the minced sundried tomato and garlic, 1 T of basil and let simmer for another hour.
   


5. Remove the bay leaves, add ½ cup of red wine, the reserved tomato juice and the final tablespoon of minced sundried tomato and garlic, raise the heat slightly, uncover and let cook down if necessary.
   


6. Serve over pasta.
   

Even better the next day.

Notes:

• About the sundried tomatoes and garlic - I often buy California brand minced sun-dried tomato with garlic, but if I can't find that, I will substitute jarred sun-dried tomato pesto.
  
  Barring that, I make my own mixture by dumping 1/4 cup of sun-dried tomatoes into a bowl and covering them with really hot, near-boiling water and let them sit and rehydrate.
  
  Then I chop them finely and add minced garlic and a wee bit of olive oil and let them sit for about 30 minutes.
  


• Be sure to use your largest skillet or good-sized dutch oven, because this makes a ton of sauce.
  

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