Marinara!

So, I've been looking for a long time for a good marinara sauce. I love the sauce that comes with the mozzarella sticks, and often I use the sticks just to get more sauce. It looks so simple, yet tastes like it was simmered all day in a vat of deliciousness. Depth, richness, and totally tomato.

So I looked up a recipe, and saw such variations that it made my mind hurt just contemplating the variances. So I gathered what I had, and I gave it the ol college try! I was missing a few of the "absolutely vital" ingredients, but I strove ahead anyways. What is exploration without a little chance right? So we strive ahead readers!

I started with about 3 Tbsp Olive Oil, and half of a diced Onion.

DICED! Your move!

I sweat the onion in the heated oil for about 2 minutes. We're not looking for carmelization, just sweating and translucence. Add some minced Garlic and let it mingle.

Onion + garlic = mingle heaven!

Once the Onion and Garlic have mingled together in the oil, it's time to bring some crushed Tomato to the party, and some SPICES!

Feel the mingling, FEEL IT!

Once the Tomato has been incorporated, turn the heat down and let it simmer. Small, slow bubbles are good, large rapid bubbles, not so much. Let everything mingle together. HEY! Consider it to be a slow dance. The Tomato has got to get to know the Onion and Garlic.

One the sauce is finished, I placed the Meatballs from the previous recipe into the Marinara sauce. Honestly, I had a picture of it, but it was so delicious that... I ate the picture too!

3 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 medium Onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Salt
1 Bay Leaf
1 heavy pinch black Pepper
1 can crushed Tomato
1 Roma Tomato, diced

Heat Olive Oil over medium heat, add diced Onion and Garlic. Sweat for 3 minutes. Add crushed Tomato, Bay Leaf. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes.

From here you can add some Rosemary, Thyme, Basil or more Garlic. This sauce is really flexible, so put what you want in it. This is great with Meatballs, regular pasta, Mozzarella sticks, you name it!

That's a spicy meatball!

Well, not really spicy persay, but tasty? In the words of Mr. T. : I pity the foo (that doesn't like these meatballs)!

I always wanted to make meatballs. Before we'd always just put ground beef in the sauce and it was quite good, but I wanted something that stood out. I'd never made meatballs, but I'd had them before. Some were good, most were old "family recipies" that just fell too short in the taste area, tasting like cooked meat without spice. So I wanted to make my own, and I did last week!

I took 1 cup Bread Crumbs, 2 Eggs, 1.5 lbs ground Beef, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Garlic powder, 1/2 tsp Pepper.

So after combining the ingredients, I started to work with the greatest tool ever invented for food preperation: the Hand. From there, I combined, by hand, the ingredients until they were all integrated equally. While this was a bit dry, I did add in bits of beef stock as needed, about 1/2 cup or so, it depends on how much moisture your meatballs desire. You're looking for all the bread crumbs to get worked into the meatballs. If you still have some crumbs hanging out in the bowl, use a bit more stock/water until it's worked together.

Once everything is integrated, it's time to roll by hand. I took a decent chunk, about a golfball in size or so and rolled it in my palms until it was roughly round. From there I placed the meatballs in a greased pan. You can use some olive oil, or merely nonstick spray.

I left a decent space between each meatball so they could cook on all sides. I used 2 pans here, as I ran out of room in the first.

Once each pan was lined up, I popped these babys into a preheated oven @ 350 for about 25 minutes.

They came out beautifully, nice and firm on the bottom with a slight crust, fully cooked all the way through. Don't worry, I'll show you next post what I did with them the following day (OMG Yes I waited till the next day to eat them, I still don't know how I resisted!).

1.5 lbs 85/15 Ground Beef (you can use 90/10, I chose a slightly higher fat content for moisture)

1 cup Bread Crumbs 

1/2 cup Beef Stock (varies on how much you'll need)

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Pepper

2 Eggs, beaten

The Meatballs your grandmother made were delicious because of the amount of bread crumbs she used. Meat was a scarcer resource back in the day. Breadcrumbs hold onto moisture, making Meatballs more tender, so don't skimp on the crumbs and add more meat in. 

Combine all above ingredients into a large bowl. Add Beef Stock in at bit at a time until all the bread crumbs are thoroughly mixed in with the meat. This will take about 2-3 minutes of constant kneading and adding stock. You can add more pepper/garlic as your tastes permit. Once combined, pull of about a golf ball sized bit of mix, and roll between your palms. Place in a greased pan with 1/2 inch between each Meatball. Bake in an oven @ 350 for 25 minutes. Don't stir the meatballs! They'll develop a delicious crust on the bottom of the Meatball.

From there the applications are great. Add to a tomato sauce for Meatball subs, add to pasta for mega Meatball pasta. Drizzle with an Alfredo sauce for creamy goodness. I'll show you later how I applied it to a marinara sauce I stumbled into. Enjoy!

Lasagna!

Ohhh man! One of my favorites! My mom used to cook this for us on special occasions, and we'd eat till we were about to burst! I was intimidated in making this at first due to the time commitment. Once I got used to the process it was easy.

First, some of the ingredients!

That's pretty much all the ingredients as far as spices, except for the wine. You can try just about any red, but I've found a Lambrusco to be the best. Merlot and Pino don't seem to give the depth I'm looking for. For this recipie I chose to use turkey. I'd add a little bit of oil if it's super lean, which turkey usually is. It will burn quickly if you're not diligent, so the 1tsp or so of oil will help buffer that.

After that are the noodles. I use a 9X13 pan, so it's usually 3 strips per layer. Think of how many layers you want and cook the noodles in a tall stock pot with salted water.

Next I prep the ricotta cheese. I use part skim. To me I can't tell a flavor difference. I add an egg to the ricotta and mix it together. It helps bind the cheese and sets it up better when you bake it. While melty cheese is great, runny cheese is not. if you have trouble spreading the ricotta, I recommend heating it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds (before you add the egg).

Once the meat is cooked, add the tomato sauce, paste, garlic, salt, and some wine. How much is up to you, I like to use 1/2 a cup for a single batch. Don't worry, the alcohol will steam off after a few minutes and it unlocks flavors in the garlic and tomato that can only be unleashed with the assistance of alcohol. If you're tempted, a glass for yourself wouldn't be a bad idea!

Folks sometimes ask me about the bottom of their lasagna burning. Just spoon some of the sauce onto the clean pan BEFORE you start doing any layering. It helps the noodles not squirm around, and keeps the noodles from sticking/burning to the bottom of the pan.

Soon to be delicious!

I add a layer of noodles, then ricotta cheese, then meat. Repeat! Hey that kinda rhymed....

Soon, you should have a multi layered beast just begging to be eaten! Don't worry, we'll bake this into even further destinations of NOMS! Make sure to cover the last layer with meat sauce completely. If any noodles are exposed without sauce on it.... well I hope you like blackened crispy noodles. Bake @ 425 for 30-45 minutes. Cheese is optional. YES OPTIONAL!

Noms! SOON YOU SHALL BE MINE!

SWEET VICTORY!

Notes: I'd cook this for 30 minutes at the minimum, 45 at max. If you go for less the flavors won't mingle as much, and the layers will fall apart and look sloppy. You don't want all your effort to slide across the plate onto the floor! Unless you're the dog, then you might.

1 lb meat

1 tsp salt (to taste)

1 tbsp garlic powder (to taste)

1/2 cup wine

1 can tomato paste

1 can tomato sauce

9-12 lasagna noodles

1 egg

1 container ricotta cheese (if you like a lot, get a larger tub, if not, the 1 pint tub should do fine)

cheese (optional, if you want it use mozzarella)

Brown meat. Add tomato sauce, paste, garlic powder, wine. Simmer for 10-20 minutes.
Boil lasagna noodles until tender (10-15 minutes)
Mix ricotta and egg together.

Layer the noodles, ricotta, and meat in thin layers. This should fit perfectly in a 9X13 pan. If you're cooking for more than 4, consider either a second pan, or a slightly larger one and measure your noodles accordingly.

Bake @ 425F for 30 minutes. If you're adding cheese, add it on in the last 5 minutes. The cheese should be bubbly, and hopefully slightly browned in places. Let the dish cool for at least 5 minutes before serving, as this is like molten lava if you try to eat it immediately. Enjoy!