Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions

Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions
Adapted from Marcela Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking

Says Deb:
Another thing that blew my mind about this sauce: I, for one, am a grated parmesan junkie. I not only sprinkle it over my bowl of pasta, I like to have additional nearby, to apply a fresh coat to the layers of pasta that follow. So you can imagine my shock to find that I liked this dish even more without the parmesan. The flavor of the sauce is so delicate, fresh and sweet that it needed nothing at all.

Serves 4 as a main course; makes enough sauce to lightly coat most of a pound of spaghetti

28 ounces (800 grams) whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them)*
5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan (it fit just right in a 3-quart) over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste (you might find, as I did, that your tomatoes came salted and that you didn’t need to add more) and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Serve with spaghetti, with or without grated parmesan cheese to pass.

* I liked this enough to make us more the next day, but I only had a can of tomato puree. It also worked well, despite having slightly less texture. You will need a little less simmering time as the tomatoes are already broken down.

Taken from Smitten Kitchen

Cabbage Salad with Apples and Walnuts

Cabbage Salad with Apples and Walnuts
Adapted from Chez Panisse Fruit, via Cookstr

This salad is great as it is, but I am already itching to hack the recipe. I’d imagine that some snipped chives or perhaps a pinch of fresh dill would be great, or maybe some diced celery or maybe even a tablespoon of creamy horseradish swapped for the creme fraiche. This recipe is infinitely tweakable.

Serves 6

1 small savoy cabbage
1/3 cup walnuts
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons creme fraiche or heavy cream (we used sour cream)
2 apples (any crisp, tasty eating variety, such as Sierra Beauty, Granny Smith, or Fuji)
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Tear off and discard the tough outer leaves of the cabbage. Cut it in half and cut out its core. Slice the halves crosswise into a fine chiffonade.

Toast the walnuts in the oven for 8 minutes. While they are still warm, first rub them in a clean dishtowel to remove some of the skins, then chop or coarsely crumble them.

To prepare the dressing, mix the vinegar with the lemon juice, some salt, and a generous amount of pepper.

Whisk in the olive oil and then the creme fraiche or cream. Taste and adjust the acid and salt as desired.

Quarter, peel, and core the apples. Slice the quarters lengthwise fairly thin and cut these slices lengthwise into a julienne. Toss the cabbage, apples, and walnuts (and blue cheese, if you’re using it) with the dressing and an extra pinch of salt. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes, taste again, adjust the seasoning as needed, and serve.

Taken from Smitten Kitchen

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Pumpkin Bread
Makes approximately 12 muffins, 3 small loaves, or 1 large loaf
1 3/4 cup (1 15 oz. can) pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3 eggs
3-4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups chopped walnuts or chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, butter, and eggs and mix until creamy. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients except the nuts or chocolate chips. Mix 3 cups of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then add as much of the 4th cup as necessary to achieve the proper consistency (moist, but thick enough to stand a spoon in). Add the nuts or chocolate chips and stir in.

Pour or spoon the batter into greased muffin tins or bread pans. Bake on the center rack until a toothpick poked into the center comes out dry. At sea level, muffins should take between 20 and 25 minutes to bake, small loaves between 25 and 30 minutes, and full sized loaves between 50 minutes and 1 hour.

Taken from The Fresh Loaf

Curried Udon Noodle Stir-Fry

I have to say, this was a bit stressful in the kitchen, strong words came forth from my mouth while making the roux. Otherwise, it was pretty good. I have never made a roux-based curry before. I switched out the udon for soba noodles, b/c the master of the house likes it that way, and I want to keep him happy. I left out the hot chili, also on the master's orders (and for the sake of the 3yo master) and I switched out the seitan for tofu, b/c I couldn't find seitan. (Also, I am not a huge fan of it anyway).

Curried Udon Noodle Stir-Fry
Serves 4
Time: 35 Minutes

This saucy noodle dish is inspired by the slightly sweet, mellow curries that are hugely popular in Japan for lunch and dinner, or so we hear. A simple roux-based curry sauce is prepared first, then stirred into udon, bits of sautéed seitan, and crips veggies. Experiment - change the vegetables, use tofu in place of seitan, try different brands of curry powder - the variations are endless.

1/2 pound fresh udon noodles or dried udon noodles

Curry roux sauce:
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flower
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 teaspoons sugar

Udon noodle stir-fry:
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced into thin strips
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1 hot red chile pepper, sliced very thinly (optional)
2 seitan cutlets, panfried and sliced into thin strips
1/2 pound broccoli florets, sliced into bite-sized chunks
1/4 cup vegetable broth
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)

Prepare the udon first: Cook the udon according to the package directions, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse well with cold water.

In the meantime, prepare the curry roux sauce:
Combine the flour and 2 tablespoons peanut oil in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture browns to the color of rich caramel and smells toasty, about 10 minutes or less. Stir in curry powder and garam masala, and cook for another minute while stirring constantly. Switch to using a wire whisk, then pour in the vegetable broth in a steady stream. Whisk in the sugar and cook the roux, stirring constantly, until a thick sauce forms, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

To prepare the stir-fry:
Heat the 2 tablespoons of peanut oil in a large (at least 11-inch) nonstick skillet or a wok and cook the sliced onion for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and translucent. Add the ginger, red bell pepper, hot chile, and seitan, and stir-fry for another 5 minutes, until the pepper starts to soften. Add the broccoli and stir-fry for 4 to 5 minutes, until it turns bright green.

Return to the udon noodles - if they're sticking together, rinse briefly in warm water and drain. Add the udon to the stir-fried vegetables, sprinkle with soy sauce, and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. It may help to use two large spatulas or extra-large chopsticks (the ones that come with some wok kits) while doing this.

Whisk 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth into the curry roux sauce in the saucepan. Pour the sauce over the udon stir-fry and stir to coat everything completely with the sauce. Stir and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce is simmering and the noodles are warm. Remove from the heat and serve.

From TheKitchn

Leek and Lemon Soup

Leek and Lemon Soup
about 4 servings

2 large leeks, well-washed
6 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons butter
2 lemons, zested and juiced - about 1/4 cup juice
4 cups good chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
Salt and pepper to taste

Wash the leeks well and slice into thin half moons. Also slice the green tops. Smash the garlic roughly. Heat the butter until foaming over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the leeks and garlic and cook, stirring often, until soft - about 10 minutes.

Add the zest and lemon juice, broth, and white wine or vermouth. Reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour or until everything is very soft.

Puree with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. Return to pot and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Taken from TheKitchn

Green Onion Slaw

Green Onion Slaw
Bobby Flay

From Deb:

"My only eensy concern about this dressing below is that the next day, it looked a bit gritty. It certainly tasted as good as the first day, but didn’t look as pretty, thus if appearance is a primary concern, I’d just make the dressing right when you need it.

One more slaw suggestion: I always store my chopped cabbage and vegetables and dressing separately, mixing them a few minutes before I serve it so they don’t get watery or soggy."

I thought this was great, didn't have the grittiness issue mentioned above. I did not include the serrano chiles, because I am a baby. Well, correct that, I am married to a spicy-averse man, which then makes me a spice-averse lady.

1 cup green onions, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 serrano chiles
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup pure olive oil
1 head purple cabbage, finely shredded
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Blend green onions, vinegar, chiles, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and oil in a blender until emulsified. Place cabbage and red onions in a bowl, add the dressing and stir until combined. Fold in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Taken from Smitten Kitchen

Southwestern Pulled Brisket

Southwestern Pulled Brisket
Adapted from The Food Network.

Serves 4, says the recipe; I’d say you can stretch it a bit further if you go taco-style with fixings

3 pounds beef brisket
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices
1 to 2 whole canned chipotle chiles en adobo [Read: 1 or 2 from a can, not one or two cans, m'kay? Many misread this amount!] (I used one pepper; two will give it a real kick)
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup molasses

For serving:
If sandwiches, soft sandwich buns. If tacos, small soft tortillas. For both, I suggest some slaw, pickled onions and/or pickled jalapeños.

Season the beef generously with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat just until beginning to smoke. Add the meat and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the meat to the slow cooker; leave the skillet on the heat.

Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to drippings in the skillet and stir until fragrant, about one minute. Add vinegar and boil until it’s almost gone (and seriously, get your head out of the way of the steam; inhaling vinegar is no fun!), scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in water and pour the mixture over the brisket. Crush the tomatoes through your fingers into the slow cooker; add the tomato juices, chipotles, bay leaves, and molasses. Cover the cooker, set it on LOW, and cook the brisket until it pulls apart easily with a fork, about 8 to 10 hours. (The original recipe suggests 8 hours, but my mother-in-law, who makes wonderful brisket, says she cooks hers for 10. So I went with 10 and it was lovely, but feel free to check in on yours at 8 hours to determine if it needs more tenderizing.)

To serve, you’ve got two options: Leave the meat in the slow cooker and use two forks to pull it apart and stir it evenly into the sauce; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove and discard bay leaves. This is obviously the simplest route.

Your second option is to do as I did, just a little more work. I strained the sauce (to remove the cooked-until-dead vegetables and bay leaves), chilled it so the fat would be easy to remove, then reheated and reseasoned it well, simmering it down (to about 2/3 the volume) to thicken it a bit. We poured it back over the brisket as we pulled it, and then, when we got where we were going, reheated the whole pan on low. (You could also thicken the sauce without skimming the excess fat — there was actually not as much as I’d anticipated.)

Either way, I suspect you will be making this again sooner that you’d anticipated.

Don’t have a slow cooker? Fear not. Mr. Pearson kindly informed me that he has made this recipe in a Dutch oven in the oven at 350°F for 3 hours. I have not tested it this way but it sounds more than all right by me.

Taken from Smitten Kitchen