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More Savory, Less Sweet

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Bolognese…. for days

02/05/2020 by Laura 1 Comment

We were surprised when we didn’t find this recipe here on the blog, since it’s something we make a couple times a year. With a little searching, it turns out we had posted it “way back when”. It was not our best work…I hope you find this updated, refreshed post much more appealing!

This is a “go big, or go home” recipe. It’s a bit of work and is best when left to simmer all day. We’ve adapted it to our biggest stock pot*, by tripling the recipe. We like to stock our freezer with this sauce, for a quick meal or to make an extra special lasagna. Use the best ingredients you can afford, including imported Italian tomatoes…they do make a difference.

* Le Creuset #34, 13.25 quarts. Weight is 21 pounds. Not sure how many more years I’ll be able to toss this baby around the kitchen!

Bolognese Sauce

Adapted from Food & Wine, September 2003, 25 Favorite Classics, by Marcia Kiesel

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely diced

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 celery rib, finely diced

1 pound coarsely ground beef chuck

1 pound coarsely ground pork

1/4 pound mortadella, cut into 1/4-inch dice (optional)

1 small can tomato paste

1 cup dry white wine

Two 28-ounce can Italian whole tomatoes, chopped, juices reserved

1 1/2 cups beef stock

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons chopped basil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

In a medium enameled cast-iron casserole, melt the butter in the oil. Add the garlic, pancetta, carrot, onion and celery and cook over moderately low heat until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes.

Add the ground beef and pork and cook over moderate heat, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the mortadella and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juices, the stock, nutmeg and 1 tablespoon each of the parsley and basil and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until very thick.  I like to simmer this sauce at least 4 hours.

Reduce heat to very low, stir the cream and the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley and 1 tablespoon of basil into the meat sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

We like to serve this over pappadrelle or buccatini pasta, alongside a tossed salad and great Italian bread. Buon appetito.

Filed Under: Beef, Italian, Pasta, Pork Tagged With: basil, bolognese, parsley, pasta sauce, pork, tomatoes

Grilled Pesto Rubbed Chicken, Caprese Salad and Summer Squash

08/06/2014 by Laura 1 Comment

I love the emails I receive every Monday morning from Saveur with Simple Weeknight Meal suggestions.  This weeks Pesto-Rubbed Chicken grabbed my attention as I had both pesto and a chicken on hand.  It’s still too hot to cook inside so knowing I could make this dish on the grill was a huge bonus.  I did not make the Panzella salad suggested with the recipe, but I did throw together a quick Caprese salad with fresh garden tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella.  I grilled yellow summer squash and zucchini to serve alongside.  It was a quick and flavorful meal.  I will be turning the leftover chicken into amazing pesto chicken salad sandwiches.  Stay tuned!

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for the Pesto-Rubbed Grilled Chicken

1 whole chicken, 3-4 pounds – I chose to spatchcock it as it is so easy to grill that way!

4-6 ounces pesto, any flavor you like.  My recipe is here.

My pesto is traditional Pesto Genovese.  This preparation would be amazing with roasted red pepper pesto!

olive oil

salt and pepper

Loosen the skin on the chicken.  Add the pesto under the skin and spread evenly with your hand.  Work your way  around the chicken until all the meat under the skin  is covered with pesto.  Rub the both sides of the chicken with about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.  Season generously with freshly ground salt and pepper.  Rub the remaining pesto on the outside of the chicken.  Heat the grill to 450′.  Place the chicken on the grill skin side down.  Cook for about 20 minutes.  Turn and cook another 20 minutes.  Insert a thermometer to test for doneness.  It should be at least 165″ in thickest part.  Let chicken rest 10 minutes and then cut into serving pieces.

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for the Caprese Salad

fresh garden heirloom tomatoes, sliced into serving sizes

fresh mozzarella, sliced into serving slices

fresh garden basil, torn

fresh cracked pepper and coarsely ground salt

very good quality fruity olive oil.  My favorite is California Olive Ranch Arbequina

lettuce “cups” for serving

Layer the tomatoes, cheese and basil in the lettuce cups.  Drizzle with olive oil.  season with the salt and pepper.  I also make this with fresh burratta frequently throughout the summer.

for the Grilled Summer Squash and Zucchini

Slice the squash into thick slices.  Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Grill on each side about 5 minutes, being careful not to over cook.  Remove from grill, let rest.  Slice for serving.  Drizzle the squash with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar or glaze.  Season with salt and pepper.

We had an amazing visitor while we were grilling this meal.  A beautiful Peregrine Falcon decided to hang out for awhile in a cedar tree in our yard.  He was absolutely stunning!

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Filed Under: Poultry, Quick - Week Night Tagged With: basil, chicken, grilled, mozzarella, pesto, tomatoes, zuchinni

Grilled Tandori Style Chicken

07/29/2014 by Laura Leave a Comment

After a few days of drenching rain,*  we are back to our unusually hot temperatures in the mid eighties.  Needless to say, if anything is getting cooked, it is being cooked outside on the grill!  Our conversation, shortly after breakfast last Sunday, turned to what we would make for dinner.  It went something like this:

Dave: “Have you thought about your dinner?”

Me: “No, have you”? 

Dave: “No, not really”. 

Me: “What about salmon”?

Dave: “We just had that.  What about Chicken Parmesan”?

(We haven’t had salmon for weeks and Dave always wants chicken parmesan)

Me: “We just had spaghetti with Bolognese Sauce”.

Dave:  What about hot dogs”?

Me: “Eeeeuuuuuwwwwwhhhh”!

(Dave frequently suggests hot dogs.  I am happy with one or two a year, preferably at a baseball game with a very cold beer!)

And so it goes…  This conversation is typical of most days when we are trying to figure out what to make for dinner.*  My mom and I have said to each other, at least 100 hundred times, that coming up with what to cook, is harder than the actual cooking!

My current source of inspiration is the garden.  I had lots of cucumbers and tomatoes ready to be eaten.  That led me to tabouli (Lebanese) salad, which spring boarded me to tandoori (Indian) chicken and riata.  The bonus of this international meal would be leftovers for lunch all week!  A quick search on the internet for tandoori marinade led me to David Lebovitz Tandoori Chicken recipe.  My version is below.  Since it was late in the day, and since I had all the spices on hand in the “ground” version, I did not start with whole spices.  Toasting and grinding whole spices would definitely intensify the flavor of the dish.  We served the chicken with our version of raita,  tabouli salad and grilled naan.

Grilled Tandoori Chicken

for the Tandoori Chicken

6 whole chicken legs (that means the thighs are attached)

1 cup whole milk Greek yogurt

 1/4 t. saffron threads

1 T.  boiling water

3/4 t.  coarse salt

1 t.  ground cumin

1 t.  ground coriander

1 t.  ground cinnamon

1/2 t.  paprika

1 t.  turmeric

1/2 t.  garam masala

1 1/2 t. chili powder

1 t.  fresh ground black pepper

juice of one fresh lime

1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger – about a 2 inch piece

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced

Trim the excess fat from the chicken legs.  Score the legs and thighs by making 3 deep angular cuts into the meat.  (Most recipes call for skinless chicken.  I did not remove the skin.) Place the chicken in a large zip lock bag. Soak the saffron threads in the boiling water for a minute.  Place the yogurt in a small mixing bowl.  Add the saffron and water, the spices, ginger, garlic and lime to the yogurt.  Mix well.  Pour the mixture over the chicken.  Seal the bag and let marinate in the refrigerator a minimum of four hours, preferably overnight.  Remove the chicken from the bag and place on a very hot grill.  Cook until done, about 35-40 minutes, turning every 8-10 minutes.

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Laura and Dave’s “Raita” Cucumber Cooler

This may not be traditional raita but it is our version and we love it.

2-3 cucumbers, peeled, sliced in half, seeded and chopped

1 small, sweet onion, peeled sliced into fourths and then sliced thinly

1 cup whole milk Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon of salt

paprika for garnish

Please the cucumbers and onions in a bowl.  Add the salt and gently stir.  Let stand for about 15 minutes.  Drain the excess water.  Gently stir in the yogurt.  Garnish with paprika.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

for the Tabouli Salad

Since it was late in the day and I did not want to boil grains for 40 minutes in a hot kitchen, I used a tabouli salad mix.  I added lots of fresh, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and parsley from the garden.  I also added extra olive oil and fresh lemon juice.  I am anxious to make this salad with quinoa, a diversion from the traditional bulgur wheat.

*As always, I am grateful for the much-needed rain, a life with choices and plentiful food to eat. 

Filed Under: BBQ, Poultry, Quick - Week Night Tagged With: cucumbers, raita, tabouli, tandoori, tomatoes

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