Spagetti, but from two recipes with a little modification.

Both recipes from my favorite chef, Ina Garten, but both are from two different books, and i modified the meatballs a smidge.

The meatball recipe i took from her book "How easy is that?". It's listed under "Spicy Turkey Meatballs and Spaghetti."



The sauce is from her "Barefoot Contessa Family Style," book, and the recipe is under, (you could probably have guessed this,) "Spaghetti and Meatballs."

So lets get to it! First you make the spicy meatballs.

Ingredients:
3 cups bread crumbs from round rustic bread, crusts removed, cut into 1” pieces (or you can do what i did, which was buy the bread crumbs from the store. If this is the case, use WAY less. I would say 1 cup of already fine ground bread crumbs. My reasoning being they fill the cup more densely.)
2/3 cup whole milk (I used 2%)
2 lb/900g ground turkey (I bought the extra lean ground beef instead. Next time i might just go for lean so its not as dry.)
8oz/226g Italian sausage, casings removed (I used hot Italian sausages, about 4 of them.)
4oz/114g thinly sliced prosciutto, finely chopped (i bought pancetta instead, and kept it aside to use in the actual spaghetti sauce.)
1 cup Asiago cheese, grated (I used regular parmesan cheese because my market did not have any Asiago and i was to lazy to go to another store.)
½ cup fresh Italian/flat leaf parsley, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp crushed red chili pepper flakes
3 tbsp good olive oil, plus some for brushing the meatballs
2 extra large eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Line a lipped baking sheet with parchment paper or foil (foil is better for easy clean up and is what i used).

2. Place bread in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until the bread is in medium crumbs. Transfer crumbs to a small bowl and add the milk. Toss and set aside for 5 minutes. (OR poor 1 cup of the box/can breadcrumbs into a bowl, add the milk, stir, it gets kinda clumpy.)

3. In a large bowl, the turkey (or beef), sausage, prosciutto (or pancetta), bread mixture, Asiago (or parmesan), parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes and lightly combine with your hands. Add 3 tbsp olive oil and eggs, stir lightly with a fork to combine. (Or like me, remove rings and mush together with your hands.)

4. Lightly roll the mixture with your hands into 2” round meatballs and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Brush with olive oil and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the tops are browned and the centers completely cooked. (I did not brush mine with the olive oil and they turned out lovely and crispy on the outside.) I cooked mine at 350-375 (since my oven is crapping out and i'm not getting a new one until we move...) for about 30-40 min.

They are delicious! You will seriously eat them right out of the oven. Yum! I doubt i'll ever pan fry my meatballs again.

Now into the sauce!
Remember the pancetta??? Now is the time to use it!

(Pancetta, 4oz)
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a pan. (I used my deep sauce pan.) Add the pancetta, cook until well, it looks like half cooked bacon. Add in the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper. At this point i added in an extra half cup of red wine.

I let mine simmer for about 2 hours at a very low heat. Barely bubbling.

Cook your pasta, then add in your meatballs to your sauce to reheat them. (I added 4 meatballs per person into the sauce and i wrapped up the left over meatballs for the next day.)

I love De Cecco pasta so that is what we tend to cook around here. If you want some garlic bread, i usually take one clove, cut it, rub it over the bread, butter, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and stick it into a 375 oven till lightly browned. Delicious!

Cookies you will not want to give away.

I love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. However, a lot of the recipes i have been using left me with nasty crunchy, hard, burnt edged cookies. I hate that! Such a waste of chocolate. We had Chef At Home playing on the tv the other day. I do enjoy watching him cook, everything looks like it would be tasty. He made these cookies and PROMISED me chewy results. *Rolls up sleeves*

Alright, so they were good fantastic. Chewy, lots of chocolate bits and buttery. Want the recipe? Ok, I'll share, but please drop some off when you make them.

Ingredients:
* 1 stick butter (about 1/2 a cup for those of you who hate to figure that out.)
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 tablespoon molasses (DO IT. It makes the recipe. Then you store the rest of the container in your cupboard. Not the fridge. Molasses helps to brown the cookie quicker so its not as dried out.)
* 1 cup flour
* 1 cup oats
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon vanilla
* 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F.

2. Cream the butter, sugar and molasses together in a stand mixer. Beat until well combined and ‘creamy’. If you don’t have a stand mixer beat vigorously by hand in a large mixing bowl. Meanwhile whisk the flour, oats, salt, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl.

3. Add the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture and continue beating until well combined. Scrape down the bowl and gradually add the flour mix, beating just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. You may try using ground oats if you prefer a smoother cookie texture.

4. Using a tablespoon scoop out a ball of the dough and drop onto a lightly greased cookie tray.
Flatten slightly. Repeat leaving lots of room in between the balls for the cookies to expand. Bake for twelve to fifteen minutes. Cool for two minutes then remove from the tray and try to eat only one!

Beef Bourguignon

Om nom nom nom. That about sums up this recipe.

Remember those few chilly days we had awhile back? While neither do i. I do remember it was cool enough for me to feel like making a delicious stew. So i leafed through my Barefoot Contessa cookbook "Barefoot in Paris".


I would rate this recipe a pain if you hate cooking, and a JOY if you enjoy it. I like to set up my laptop in the kitchen with a favorite movie (or Pretty Little Liars, if you have been following the series...) usually my hubby is kind enough to take the baby, or i start this once Henry is down for the night. This recipe cannot be finished in the time it takes my dear little one to nap. So get comfy.

Ingredients:

* 1 tablespoon good olive oil
* 8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced (I used regular bacon.)
* 2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes (I used boeuf bourguignon cubes, they are just cleaned up nicer then stewing meat which is what i usually buy because its cheaper.)
* Kosher salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
* 2 yellow onions, sliced
* 2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
* 1/2 cup Cognac ( I totally did not use this, i did not have any one hand.)
* 1 (750 ml.) bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir (I used a Pinot Noir i already had, that was a homemade wine. Don't ever cook with a wine you would not drink by the glass while sober.)
* 1 can (2 cups) beef broth
* 1 tablespoon tomato paste
* 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried) (I used more, like 1tsp or a bit more.)
* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 pound frozen whole onions (I did not use these as i cannot find them. I just added extra chopped up onions.)
* 1 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced

For serving:

* Country bread or Sour Dough, toasted or grilled and rubbed with garlic clove
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.

Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.

Toss the carrots, and onions (here i added maybe one small onion extra), 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. (I used half a cup of wine here instead.)

Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine plus (I just used what was left in the bottle,) enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork. (I left mine simmering on the stove top. Just watch that is does not burn, so i stirred it on commericals. I also threw in a bay leaf.)

Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

To serve, toast the bread in the toaster or oven. Rub each slice on 1 side with a cut clove of garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley.

So very, very delicious. I think i would eat it all the time. I am looking forward to fall, and to making it again. It is even better the second day reheated on the stove top.

And....I'm back!

So sorry for the lasp! We've been not sleeping very tired busy around here. Lots of changes going on, like getting ready to return to work after a lovely, and long maternity leave. Also, some more good news, we've bought our first house! So everything seems a little topsy turvey, and posting unfortunately took a back seat. Not to worry though, I've still been cooking, without the pictures, but i will remedy that in the posts to come, and i will still post the recipes.

As you can see cross stitching has taken a back seat to crocheting, and today, to painting. (Yes! I finally figured our what to make next for Henry's room!) Pictures will of course, follow.

Anyways, off i go to get these recipes up!

Melody's Baby Blanket

Melody's Baby Blanket
for her 1st birthday!
Completed July 18 2011

You can find the pattern here and my Ravelry info on it here.

Cheesecake

Delish cheesecake! Barefoot Contessa does it again! Want the recipe? Check out food network! The only difference was that i topped my cheesecake with a thin layer of sour cream, strawberry jelly (melted like she recommends) and then with the raspberry coulis from her Eton Mess recipe. (Which you can view from one of my earlier posts, here.)

Homemade Mac and Cheese

I love Mac and Cheese, but sometimes i feel like it takes forever to make. This one i was able to pop into the oven within 30 min. Delish!

Start out by melting butter. I used 1/4 cup.
Add your flour. I add it by the tbsp till i get the desired consistency. (All over med low heat.) Mix mix mix mix mix! Cook and stir till it turns into a lovely light golden color, cause you want to cook off the flour taste.
Add your milk, i added it in about 2 cups, then by eye till the sauce was as thick as i like it. Add in your pepper, and some salt.
Here is where i added in the cheese. Normally i chop up half a block of velveeta into small cubes, then i grate half of a 900g block, throw it all in. I also had half a block of cream cheese i threw in this time, cut up in cubes. (Feel free to use whatever cheese you have on hand!)
Stir and stir and stir until all the cheese melts. Then i boiled up some macaroni noodles, (a whole box.) Drain them, and then add them to the cheese sauce. I switched to a wooden spoon at this point to gently fold in the noodles.
Pour it into a baking dish, and cook at 350 degrees until the top is golden and bubbly.
As you can see the finished result was gone before i could get a picture of it. Just imagine the top pic all golden and bubbly. Sometimes i throw more cheese on top, sometimes i throw breadcrumbs. Sometimes i throw in a can of diced tomatoes and cooked ground beef to make a more hearty meal.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

With a small child in the house, the breakfast for adults usually gets put on the back burner. Last night i decided we needed something, quick, easy, and delicious in the mornings to go with our coffee. I flipped through one of my favorite cookbook authors, (Ina Garten,) for a muffin recipe.

(Image courtey Foodnetwork.com)

I was very pleased with the results, fluffy, light cake like in texture, and the blueberries just added the right amount of fruit. Delicious! The recipe was very easy to follow, and quick!

For the full recipe, head on over to the Foodnetwork or just click on the link below to buy the whole book, including the recipe.

We're blog rolling it this morning!

I totally get it. A heat wave has hit us out here, and yet after stumbling across this blog with a delicious hot and sour soup, i can't help but want to make it too!

It's done in the slow cooker, literally throwing all the ingredients into the pot! How easy is that?

Check out Mrs. H over at My Happily Ever After for this awesome soup!

It's almost June! You know what that means, end of the year teacher appreciation gift. What to do?

Well, over at Fake It Frugal she has the right idea for a low cost, very thoughtful gift.
Check it out!

Eton Mess by the Barefoot Contessa

Honestly the majority of my favorite recipes come from the Barefoot Contessa collection. I do own them all, and i love to go through them. Not only does she have fantastic, easy, fresh recipes, but also many, many tips on food, flowers, entertaining and hosting.

One thing i have always wanted to make, but been very weary of creating, is meringues. So when i came across a recipe on how to make a very easy version of Eton Mess, (mounds of whip cream, crunchy bits of meringues drizzled with a fresh raspberry coulis...It really does not get any better then that!)

The easy Eton Mess recipe came out of my new book below!


I started out making a very easy coulis, basically i bought a 500g container of frozen raspberries. Divide them in half. One half into a pot over medium heat, to which i added 1 & 1/2 cup sugar (although my little two cents, i prefer a tart fruit coulis, so next time i will only add 1 cup.) Bring to a boil over medium heat, crush the raspberries with a fork. (I used my stirring thing-a-ma-bob.) Turn heat down to simmer for another few minutes until it is syrupy. Throw in the rest of the berries, and stir. Pop it into the fridge to chill.



Now, Barefoot says you can buy your meringues pre-made at a bakery, and she is right! Whip up your cream with a tsp vanilla, and 3 tbsp sugar (for 500g of cream.) Layer the meringues with whip and syrup over and over in a decorative glass, or a bowl. As you can see the end picture is missing. There was no time. It was too delicious. If you look closely at the cover of her book, that is what they look like. It is my new favorite dessert.

And now, if you are adventurous, and would like to make your own meringues, i got the recipe out of her book, Barefoot in Paris.



I think it called for five egg whites, some sugar and 1/4tsp cream of tartar. I used my kitchen aid and was so impressed by the beautiful, silken and cloud like texture. I was kind of in a rush to get the meringues fluff into my pastry bag that i did not really take a before picture. This is an after picture.

My first time piping, it totally could of been worse, but whatever, i was impressed, and not to forget, your going to BREAK them up!

A close up. (For a trick, trace a cup with a pencil over the parchment paper, then turn the paper over and use that for your circle outline.)


I popped them into the oven at 225 degrees for two hours, then left them in the oven with the heat off for four hours. Delicious! I really suggest trying it! What out for those humid days, they get all sticky!

The best bread ever, my BBA challenge #2

Yes, seriously! Casateillo, a bread with salami and cheese. Delish!
The recipe is from a Bread Bakers Apprentice. (FYI, the best bread book i have ever baked from.)

Ok, here we go! I've read through the recipe a few times, everything seems to make sense!

Take 3/4c butter out of the fridge to get to room temp. I did this the night before.

Make your sponge,

1/2c bread flour
1tbsp instant yeast
1c buttermilk or whole milk which should be 90-100 degrees.

(i made my own buttermilk by using 1% milk and a tbsp of lemon juice. Also, i threw in a tsp of sugar into the sponge.)

Mix with wooden spoon. Cover with plastic wrap, then a dish towel, and forget about it for 1hr. (It will look like bubbly pancake batter.)

Now take

4 ounces dry cut up cured salami (or other cured meat, or sausage, or whatever you like to nom. I use mild salami.)
Cook it till its crispy. Drain it. Try not to eat all of it while making the bread.

Now mix together in your kitchen aid:

3 1/2c bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

in another bowl lightly whisk:

2 eggs.

Use paddle attachment and mix in the sponge (make sure you let it get fluffy for an hour!) and the eggs until you have a coarse ball. If there is loose flour dribble in some water or milk.

Now turn it all off and wait 10 minute.

Now you need the

3/4c butter room temp. Cut it into four pieces.

(i switched to a dough hook at this point.)

Mix at medium speed, adding in one piece of butter at a time. It looks like a tacky mess but it will be ok. This will take about 12 min of mixing. (Don't forget to scrape down your bowl.) If after 12 min its not a ball, sprinkle in some flour until it just comes off the sides of the bowl.

When the dough is smooth kneed in the meat. Then kneed in

6 ounces of cheese. ( I used 3 oz provolone, and 3 ounce med. gouda.)

Lightly oil a LARGE bowl and rub your ball of dough around in the oil. Now cover it with saran wrap, then a towel, and leave it alone for 90 minutes. (Or until it has risen 1 1/2 times.)

Now i took it out, cut it in half, and make two rectangles no bigger in length then my bread pans. Then i rolled them up and popped them down into the pans. (The pans that you greased up with oil, or butter, or whatever it needed.) Cover with saran. Cover with towel. Leave it alone for another 90 min. ( I know, by now you just want to eat it, but alas, it needs to rise AGAIN. It will be worth it!)

Let them puff! (or rise...)
Now preheat your oven to 350. Cook them for 20 min. Turn them 180 degrees. Cook them for another 20 min.

Now take them out of the tins. Onto a wire rack.

Stare at them for 1 hour. (We could only wait 35 min.)



Ok. Now you can cut into them.

Further directions include noming and not sharing.

*A little note of my own, next time i am gonna cut up my cheese into small chunks instead of grating it. Or maybe half and half. Delicious.

David's Tea

I'm in love with tea. All different kinds. My favorite lately seems to be one i stumbled upon at David's Tea. It seems slightly citrus, with a strong cinnamon flavor. I just adore it. Cinnamon Rooibos Chai.

It looks very pretty too. I've served it several times to friends, and everyone seems to really like it. I think the most delicious part of this tea is the fact that it reminds me of cinnamon cookies. In fact, i think i'm off to make some now.