Pasta alla Genovese

We saw a recipe for Pasta alla Genovese by Mark Bittman in the New York Times.

We made it a really liked it. My father wouldn't have liked it, it has no tomatoes! That makes it perfect for winter time. The 4-½ pounds of Red Onions makes the sauce a little sweet. It is a winner. This is a recipe we will make again. Try it!

INGREDIENTS

4 ¼ pounds red onions

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 celery rib, trimmed and roughly chopped

¼ pound bacon or pancetta, chopped

2 ¼ pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup dry white wine, plus more if desired

1 pound dried pasta, like ziti, tortiglioni or rigatoni

Finely grated Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION

1.   Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the onions in the boiling water, and cook, covered, 15 minutes. Drain the onions, and let cool a bit, then slice very thinly.

2.   Heat half the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat; stir in the carrots, celery and bacon, and cook for 4 minutes. Add the beef, then cover with the onions. Pour the remaining oil over the onions, then sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover, bring to a simmer and cook gently until the beef is tender, about 2 hours; the onions will release a good deal of liquid.

3.   Uncover the pot and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring more frequently as the liquid reduces and lowering the heat as necessary to prevent scorching, until the meat has fallen apart and the sauce is creamy, about 45 minutes. Stir in the wine and taste, adding more wine if desired. Reduce the heat to low, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is glossy and quite thick, about 15 minutes more.

4.   Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and toss with the sauce. Stir in Parmesan to taste, then serve.

Polpettone with Spinach and Provolone

Arrange the Mortadella over the combined meats

Cover the Mortadella with Spinach

Add Provolone Cheese

Add Hardboiled Egg

Roll into a log and seal ends and seam

Top with bread crumbs and Bake

Slice and serve with mashed potatoes

We saw a recipe in the New York Times for Polpettone with Spinach and Provolone and we had to make it. We were proud of our end result. The log held together and there was a treat inside when you sliced the Polpettone. It reheated well, and I made sandwiches over the next few days.

We served mashed potatoes with it. We used the recipe for Garlic Mashed Potato recipe in TheBalthazar Cookbook by McNally, Nasr, Hanson. This is a fantastic recipe - it is super-rich! You can find the recipe on our blog of: November 12, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.

By the way, we learned a super trick from ChiSpacca about reheating mashed potatoes. Put them in a pan on the top of the stove. Add a lot of cream and stir constantly until hot. The mashed potatoes will reconstitute to perfection. I never knew reheated mashed potatoes could be as good (or better) than fresh mashed potatoes. They are!

Polpettone with Spinach and Provolone

New York Times

INGREDIENTS

1 cup cubed day-old bread, crusts removed

1 cup heavy cream

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork

1 pound ground veal or turkey

1 tablespoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Pinch of cayenne

¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon chopped rosemary

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

2 teaspoons chopped sage

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

3 ounces grated Parmesan, about 1/2 cup

2 eggs, lightly beaten, plus 3 (8-minute) hard-boiled eggs, peeled, for filling

¼ pound thinly sliced mortadella or prosciutto

1 pound spinach, briefly blanched, roughly chopped and squeezed dry

3 ounces provolone or caciocavallo, sliced 1/8-inch thick

1 cup fine dry bread crumbs, preferably homemade

PREPARATION

1.   Put bread cubes in a small bowl, cover with cream and set aside to soak until softened, about 10 minutes.

2.   Put beef, pork and veal in a mixing bowl. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley. Add Parmesan and, using hands, knead seasoning into meat. Combine soaked bread (and any remaining cream) with beaten eggs, then pour mixture over seasoned meat and knead until well combined.

3.   Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-by-18-inch baking sheet with parchment or foil. Press ground meat mixture evenly over parchment to make a flat rectangle slightly smaller than the baking sheet. Top with slices of mortadella. Scatter cooked spinach evenly over mortadella. Break provolone slices into rough pieces and distribute over surface. Finish with hard-cooked egg chopped into chunks.

4.   Using parchment to help, roll the meat into a long cylinder with filling on the inside. With the long side facing you, first lift parchment and use it to roll meat to the center, pressing down to keep it in place. Then lift parchment on the opposite long side, bringing meat just past the center to overlap itself slightly. Pinch the “seam” of the meat together to keep filling in place. Sprinkle with half the dry crumbs. You will now have a cylinder approximately 15 inches long. Twist ends of parchment to firm the mixture, then transfer to a deep-sided baking dish or roasting pan, and place it seam-side down. Carefully remove and discard parchment. With hands, press firmly to form cylinder into a long loaf with rounded ends. Dust top and sides with remaining bread crumbs. (The polpettone may be prepared to this point several hours, or up to 24 hours, in advance; keep refrigerated and bring to room temperature before baking.)

5.   Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until internal temperature is 140 degrees. Let rest for 10 minutes and cut into 1-inch-thick slices and serve. (Alternatively, cool to room temperature and refrigerate for up to 3 days. If serving cold, cut thinner slices.)

Baked Ziti With Vegetable Sauce

A delicious vegetarian pasta is Baked Ziti With Vegetable Sauce. The recipe is from America Masala by Suvir Saran. We love this dish and it gives lots of leftovers. You can get the recipe on our blog of: Oct. 21, 2014. Click the date to get the recipe. It is Yummy!

Rotisserie Pork

Scott and Tom joined us for Rotisserie Pork. We love this dish. We started with Bucatini All’amatriciana pasta as a small appetizer plate. It made for a great appetizer. You can get the recipe on our blog of: Sept. 6, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe. We served Polenta under the pork. Bea, Robert and Jamie stopped by for a drink. We invited them to join us but they were just coming from dinner. Tom and Scott brought an outrageous dessert. 

Rotisserie Chicken

We love cooking on our rotisserie. It is so forgiving, just watch it spin till the skin is crispy! The Potatoes are placed under the chicken to catch the drippings while cooking. 

Cathy stuffed the two chickens using the recipe for Roast Chicken for Two and from The Balthhazar Cookbook by Keith McNally, Riad Nasr & Lee Hansen. This is a great recipe that keeps the chicken very moist. You can find the recipe on our blog of: June 23, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.