Pasta with Fresh Tomato and Basil Sauce ToTry

Posted on by June 7, 2024

This recipe came to The Times in 2003 from the chef Scott Conant, who was then cooking at his restaurant L’Impero in Manhattan. It is simple, classic Italian fare that makes the most of summer’s tomatoes.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/8663-spaghetti-with-fresh-tomato-and-basil-sauce

INGREDIENTS

3 pounds fresh plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and quartered
3 ounces olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound dry spaghetti
2 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
6 leaves fresh basil, shredded
2 tablespoons freshly grated
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

PREPARATION

Step 1 – Blanch the tomatoes and remove the skins. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Cut the tomatoes crosswise. Set aside in a bowl.

Step 2 – Heat 3 ounces olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat until it smokes slightly. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Since the tomatoes will reduce and the salt will be concentrated, it is better to season initially with a lighter hand.

Step 3 – Chop the tomatoes with a potato masher until they are in fine chunks and all their liquid is released. Be sure they are chopped and crushed fine, for a semi-chunky sauce. [And alternate in the comments was to small chop after seeding.]Simmer for 25 minutes over medium heat.

Step 4 – While the sauce simmers, heat the water for the pasta. Cook the spaghetti in salted water about half of the way cooked. Drain, reserving some of the water.

Step 5 – Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add the pasta to the sauce and cook over medium-high heat until all the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is al dente. If the sauce is over-reduced, use the pasta cooking liquid to adjust it.

Step 6 – At the last moment, remove the pan from the heat; add the extra virgin olive oil, butter, basil, and cheese. Mix thoroughly until the pasta is an orangy color. Taste again and adjust the salt if necessary. Remove to a platter. Serve.

Dirty Rice ToTry

Posted on by December 2, 2018

Dirty Rice Recipe • Rouses Supermarkets
https://www.rouses.com/cooking/recipes/dirty-rice

INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound chicken giblets
1/2 pound chicken livers
1/2 pound pork sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced bell pepper
2 tablespoon diced garlic
1 cup chicken stock
2 bay leaves
6 cups cooked rice, chilled
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small saucepan, poach chicken giblets in lightly salted water until tender,
approximately 45 minutes. Once cooked, remove them from water and cool.
Using a sharp paring knife, chop the giblets into tiny pieces, removing all tough
membrane. Set aside and reserve poaching liquid.

2. In a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan, heat butter over medium-high heat. Sauté
chicken livers and pork sausage until the meat is browned, approximately 6
minutes. Remove chicken livers from sauté pan and place on a chopping board
to cool.

3. Into the same sauté pan, add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté until
vegetables are wilted, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Once vegetables are done,
coarsely chop chicken livers and return them, along with giblets, to the sauté
pan. Add chicken stock and bay leaves, bring to a low boil and cook until volume
of liquid is reduced to approximately 1/4 cup.

4. Add cooked white rice, blending well into the meat mixture. Remove from the
heat and remove the bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with green
onions and parsley.

Dirty Rice by Chef Paul

Posted on by December 2, 2018

12/1/2018 – This cook was inspired by the recipe on page 224 of our copy of Chef Paul Prudhomme’s book Louisiana Kitchen. Our note in the book is dated 6/5/2004 and reads  “Used cajun sausage (12″) with one liver, 4 hearts & broth. Very Good. No ground pork & only one gizzard.”

We followed the recipe fairly closely other than using turkey broth rather than chicken. We also made a double batch as we had twice the meat needed for a single. It turned out:

  • tasty but a bit too spicy from the cayenne;
  • mushy as it did not have the flakey rice texture. Adding the diced or ground mushy livers after the veggies were cooked surely contributed to the mushy texture.
  • The meat to rice ratio seemed too high.
  • next time do not use long grain rice; less cayenne; cook the livers with the pork or just after the pork so they are firm bits.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons chicken fat (or olive or vegetable oil)
1/2 lb ground pork
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup onion (finely chopped)
1/2 cup celery (finely chopped)
1/2 cup bell pepper (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups chicken turkey stock
1/3 lb ground chicken livers chopped fine
3/4 cups rice (uncooked)

SEASONING MIX

2 teaspoons ground red pepper (cayenne) [this much made it VERY spicy]
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine seasoning mix in a small bowl and set aside.
  2. Melt chicken fat in a large skillet over medium high heat and sauté pork and bay leaves until meat is browned, about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken livers and cook for 2 minutes. [the 12/1/18 cook turned out mushy and an odd flavor that was likely due to the livers being boiled with the rice. So, this addition was moved to this earlier step in the process.]
  3. Reduce heat to medium and add seasoning mix, onions, celery, peppers, and garlic and cook until onion starts to become translucent about 5-7 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent too much sticking.
  4. Add stock and loosen all of the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add chicken livers and cook for 2 minutes.
  5. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for 10 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let rice sit, covered, for another 5-10 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
  6. Remove bay leaves and serve.

 

Sauerkraut

Posted on by November 29, 2018

11/29/2018 – Made this a little different from the formula we have been using. It has a little more salt and juniper berries. The cabbage came from Rouses. The table below came from the spreadsheet in DropBox.

grams
Cabbage 1842.0
0.2% caraway seed = 3.7
0.5% yellow mustard = 9.2
0.7% juniper berries = 1.3 ~3.0
1.4% canning salt = 25.8 1.6%=29 gm

 

Panini Turkey Sandwiches

Posted on by November 24, 2018

Kelley, with help from Mary, made this following a recipe on her telephone and improvisions while I was working on Turkey and Sausage Gumbo for later. It is included here so one day we can remember how she and Mary made them.

  1. Spread cajun spicy mustard on Jewish Rye bread
  2. Placed three thickish 1″x1.5″ slices of Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese on each slice of bread so there would be cheese on both sides of the meat.
  3. Added turkey breast meat and put the other bread slice with cheese over it.
  4. On mine they smeared on leftover turkey dressing and on theirs they put the dressing plus Mary’s Ina-Cognac gravey.
  5. Buttered both sides with melted butter
  6. Grilled each sandwich separately in the panini press until they were lightly toasted. The cheese had also melted and the whole thing was much thinner.

Tasted good while reminding me of a grilled cheese sandwich. The turkey flavor was lost in the flavors of the cheese, rye bread and butter. Mary and Kelley really like their creation.

Our 1st Thanksgiving at the Farm

Posted on by November 25, 2018

This was our first holiday since moving to Sundown Farms from Houston. It was also the first time in 8 years the family had gotten together for Thanksgiving as we did for many years. Along with the turkey, asparagus casserole, dressing, shrimp dip, and other sides, Mary fixed Texas Pecan Pie Pound Cake, a pumpkin cake with pecans topped with fresh whipped cream and ___. Continue reading →

Cornmeal Yeast Rolls

Posted on by November 21, 2018

CORNMEAL YEAST ROLLS from the Old Farmer’s Almanac here.

INGREDIENTS
1-1/4 cups cornmeal
1 cup boiling water
1 package (1 tablespoon) dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup scalded milk, cooled to lukewarm
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup sugar
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons salt
4 to 5 cups flour

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the cornmeal and boiling water in a large bowl. Stir well and let stand for about 10 minutes. In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add the milk, butter, sugar, egg yolks, and salt to the cornmeal; blend well. Gradually add the yeast mixture to the cornmeal mixture, stirring well. Slowly add enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°F) for 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk. Punch the dough down and shape into 12 round rolls. Place on a greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 30 to 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

YIELD:
Makes 1 dozen rolls.

Pecans Roasted

Posted on by November 19, 2018

11/18/2018 – Roasted these to use in the high fiber trail mix for the kids 2018 Thanksgiving visit.

Honey Roasted Pecans – This easy recipe with just those two ingredients was inspired by Kelly@TrialandEater. She advised the  rough proportions to be 1 tablespoon honey for each 1 cup pecan pieces.

What we did was as follows.

  1. Preheated oven, set for convection, to 350°F. Lined a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a small bowl mixed in warmed dark Texas honey with the whole halves and pieces until evenly coated.
  3. Convection baked for about 15 minutes.
  4. Let cool

To see if we like this we did 1C of pecans and measured about 1T of the dark thick honey. It was hard to get it evenly mixed in so zapped it about 15 seconds to warm up and then the honey could be distributed. Baked it 10 minutes and they were not sticky and seemed to be roasted. They were good so we fixed the large 4C batch for the trail mix.

We did not measure the honey for the 4C batch and added more than the first batch. Probably 2T/cup and after 10 minutes in the oven they were still sticky. Put them back in for 5 more minutes and they were still sticky but not as much when they cooled. Added they to the trail mix and they broke up well and lost the sticky. Nice addition to the trail mix.