Sautéed Chicken and Pearl Onions tossed with Roasted Red Bell Pepper Fettuccine in a White Wine Butter Sauce.

Note: It is important to realize that these recipes are merely guidelines to follow. They'll taste great as they are, but I encourage you to play with them and make the recipes your own.

Note: It is good practice to read the entire recipe, while paying particular attention to the "Notes", before you try to make the dish, as there are often subtleties that can be easily overlooked, which sometimes, can make all the difference in the world for the outcome. 

Serves 2

Skill Level: Intermediate

Prep time about 30 minutes.

Pasta rest time at least 1 hour.

Cook Time about 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken Thighs
• 1/3 Jar of roasted red bell peppers
• Basil (dry or fresh)
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 Tlbs Small diced leeks
• 1 cup perl onions
• ½ cup chicken stock
• ¼ cup white wine
• 4 Tbls butter, cut into slices, cold
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• Kosher Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Extra virgin olive oil

Tools Needed:

• Food Processor
• Chefs knife
• Paring Knife
• Sauté pan
• Sautoir pot
• Pasta Machine, Hand Cranked or Electric
• Cutting Board

Note: For the pasta recipe, see http://goldenislescooks.blogspot.com/2013/07/roasted-red-bell-pepper-open-face.html

Note: You will have pasta leftover. It will keep, refrigerated for about 5 days, so you can make other dishes, such as the above salmon ravioli. 

Once you have made and rested your pasta, you can run it through your pasta machine to cut the fettuccine.

Note: Fist use the rollers, or a rolling pin, to make the pasta the desired thickness. Then switch to the cutter blades to slice the pasta noodles. 

Note: You can had cut the pasta. If you do, make it easy on yourself and make pappardelle, which is nothing more than 1" wide fettuccine.

You can lightly dust your cut pasta with some flour to ensure it doesn't stick to itself.

To debone the chicken thighs, cut along each side of the femur bone.

Cut around the hip joint to release the bone. Do the same for the tibia bone.

When both bones are released from the meat, pull them back together so that you can cut around the joint to remove the two bones all together.

Try not to cut into the cartilage, as it can make into the dish by accident, making for an unpleasant when bitten into.

Remove the skin and any cartilage that may be left behind.

Large dice the chicken. Then salt and pepper the meat.








In a small Sauteuse, commonly known as a sauté pan, on low heat, begin slow cooking your leaks in olive oil. Leave the garlic whole and pull them out at the end, just prior to serving.



In a Sautoir pan, brown your chicken, in olive oil then add the perl onions. Once the onions have sweated down, add the slow cooked garlic and leeks. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, then add your chicken stock. Reduce by ¾'s. Add the cold butter while constantly tossing the pasta. At the very end, when the butter is 100% incorporated, toss in most of the Parmesan, leaving some for a topping. 

Adjust the flavor of the pasta with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley and Parmesan. 

Serve immediately. 

Enjoy.

How to make Meatballs - Part 2 - Sauce, Spaghetti, and Parmesan-Garlic Bread

Now that we have our meatballs made, it is time to make the sauce. Since we spent so much time making the meatballs from scratch, it would be sacrilegious to put them in bottled spaghetti sauce, so I recommend making the sauce yourself. You don't have to start from fresh tomatoes to prepare a sauce far superior to the factory made stuff, because you can put an ingredient in your sauce a factory simply can't, and that ingredient is love, which some argue is the most important of all. So lets get started and plate this baby up, I'm starving.




Note: It is important to realize that these recipes are merely guidelines to follow. They'll taste great as they are, but I encourage you to play with them and make the recipes your own.

Note: It is good practice to read the entire recipe, while paying particular attention to the "Notes", before you try to make the dish, as there are often subtleties that can be easily overlooked, which sometimes, can make all the difference in the world for the outcome. 

Serves 4

Skill Level: Beginner

Prep time about 45 minutes.

Cook Time about 3 hours.

Ingredients: 

• Condensed crushed tomatoes
• Red wine, Chianti would be preferable, but Merlot or Pino will do fine. (Note: the better the wine you use, the better the sauce. A good rule of thumb is, "If you won't drink it, don't cook with it." I used a bottle of cheap grocery store cooking wine. It was given to me and I preach "Use whatever is on hand" so I used used the wine I had on hand. With grocery store "cooking wine", salt has been added, so it really limits the amount of wine you can add to a given dish and you CANNOT reduce it that much, as it will become too salty.)
• 1 cup small diced carrots
• ¾ cup small diced yellow onion
• 4-6 whole cloves of garlic
• 1 tlb Dried basil
• ½ tlb Dried oregano
• Dried parsley
• 1 tsp sugar
• Parmesan cheese
• ½ loaf Italian bread
• Melted or Clarified Butter (I will show how to make clarified butter in a future post)
• Olive Oil
• Vegetable oil
• 1 Box of spaghetti
• Kosher salt
• Pepper (Note: preferably fresh cracked from a mill)

Tools Needed:

• 1 Stock pot
• 1 Sautoir Pan
• Wooden Spatula
• Chef's Knife
• Immersion blender or food processor
• Pan, Tray, or Cookie Sheet

Small dice your carrots and onions, then mince the garlic, pruning it as we did in Meatball Recipe - Part 1.

Put a few table spoons of olive oil in a Sautoir Pan, heat and add the carrots, seasoning them with salt and pepper. 

Cook the carrots on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.

Add the onions and season them with salt and pepper.

Sweat the onions, with the carrots, for about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper.

Note: Each time you season, you just add enough salt and pepper for the new ingredient. You are not seasoning the whole mixture each time. You should practice this seasoning method on all foods you cook, as natural foods do not come pre-seasoned from the market. 

Cook for another 5-7 minutes on medium-low heat.

Note: during this process, you want to be stirring the carrots, onions, and garlic around so they do not burn or over brown on any given side.

Deglaze the pan with about ½ cup of red wine and reduce for about 5 minutes.

Add 2 ½ cups of condensed crushed tomatoes, the basil, the oregano, and the sugar. Lightly season the tomatoes with salt and pepper.

Note: If you don't have "condensed crushed tomatoes" and your using regular "crushed tomatoes", you will have to add 3 ½ cups and reduce (simmer) the sauce for about an hour, or until you have about 2 ½ cups remaining, before moving to the next step.

Add one cup of chicken stock and 12 meatballs to the tomato sauce.

Note: Recipe for meatballs can be found here:

http://goldenislescooks.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-to-make-meatballs-part-1.html

Cover and simmer on low heat for between 2-3 hours. The longer you let them cook, the better they are.

About every 10-15 minutes, check to see that you have your heat in the sweet spot for a slow simmer. Once there, check every 20-30 minutes, and give the sauce and stir. 

Note: if your sauce does become to thick to soon, simply thin down with a little water. Don't add to much, or you'll be 'back at square one' with reducing the sauce.

Since I used a bulk sized can of condensed crushed tomatoes, I thought I'd show how to deal with it once you've opened such a large can.

Place 2 ½ cups of condensed crushed tomatoes in appropriately sized freezer bags, removing as much air as possible, and freeze until needed.

Note: I freeze 2 ½ cups, because most recipes I'll be making will use about that amount. So you will choose a portion size that matches your personal needs.

When the sauce is just about done, carefully remove the meatballs and use an immersion blender to puree the sauce smooth. Then return the meatballs and continue cooking.


Note: At this point, it is a good idea to preheat your oven to 350 degrees for the bread and put a stock pot full of water on the stove on high heat.

In a stock pot, bring 2 quarts of water to a hard rolling boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt.

Measure out your pasta.

1 ¾ inches in diameter is 4 servings, or 8.1 oz.

Note: I am making only 3 servings of spaghetti, as my wife prefers angel hair for her pasta. About 2 oz of angel hair makes a single serving.

Note: While learning to portion out pasta, you can select an amount of pasta, place the pasta perpendicular to a sheet of paper and trace around it. Then see how many portions the diameter you traced made for your family. Keep the paper and the next time you make pasta, you can compare and adjust the amount accordingly. In just a bit, you could have a paper with portion templates to feed any number of people hanging on your fridge. Very handy.

Drop pasta in boiling water.

Immediately stir to make sure the pasta doesn't stick together.








When the pasta is done, pour into a strainer and add oil and mix well, as to coat all the pasta.

Note: Use vegetable oil, as olive oil will sour the pasta faster if you plan to keep it a few days. 

Note: DO NOT run cold water over the pasta, as the pasta is still hot and will absorb water. If you do this you run the risk of over cooking your pasta.








Place pasta on a cookie sheet to cool.

Note: To see why the pasta has been twisted into nests for cooling, refer to "How to Cook Pasta" in the table of contents or click the following link: http://goldenislescooks.blogspot.com/search/label/How%20to%20Cook%20Pasta

Now for the bread.

Half the loaf of bread lengthwise and liberally brush on melted or clarified butter.

Cover the bread with garlic salt, parmesan cheese, and parsley. Place on a sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees until golden and crispy.

When the bread and pasta is ready, cut into 2 inch wide strips.














When the pasta and bread is ready, your meatballs are ready, I mean they should be, they've been cooking nearly 3 hours at this point, it is time to plate the meal.

Serve any way you like.

Enjoy!

Sweet Italian Sausage Lasagna

Lasagna has been one of my favorite meals since I was a child. I was first introduced to the concept of Lasagna by the comic strip Garfield, and as a child, I ordered it at every restaurant I was taken. Over the years I have prepared many recipes, from my mothers own, to friends and coworkers and there were some really great ones and some not so great. Luckily, all had something interesting going on and these things I made note of, thus, this recipe is an conglomeration of all the best elements of each lasagna that I have tired and enjoyed. The thing I think I love most about this dish, is you are rewarded for you hard work by not having to cook for a few days, as there are always tons of leftovers and, as always, it tastes better the nest day.

The next lasagna I make will be a white lasagna with chicken, so be looking for it in the near future. 

Note: It is important to realize that these recipes are merely guidelines to follow. They'll taste great as they are, but I encourage you to play with them and make the recipes your own.

Note: It is good practice to read the entire recipe, while paying particular attention to the "Notes", before you try to make the dish, as there are often subtleties that can be easily overlooked, which sometimes, can make all the difference in the world for the outcome. 

Makes 8-12 servings, depending on portion size.

Skill Level: Beginner

Prep time about 45 minutes.

Cook Time about 40-50 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 box lasagna noodles
• 1 block of whole milk mozzarella
• Ricotta cheese
• Cream cheese (Pull out 1st and allow to come to room temperature)
• 3 cans condensed crushed tomatoes
• 6 eggs
• ground beef
• 1 pack of Sweet Italian sausage
• Thick cut bacon or bacon ends and pieces
• White Wine (not necessary)
• Chicken Stick (Or bouillon/base mixed with water)
• 6-8 whole cloves of garlic
• Sugar
• Dried basil
• Dried oregano
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Vegetable Oil (Not Pictured, for the cooked pasta. See the "How to Cook Pasta", under the table of contents section on the home page, for more details)
• Kosher salt
• Pepper (Note: preferably fresh cracked from a mill)

Tools Needed:

• Large Stock Pot
• 1 medium Sauce Pot (to boil eggs: see 'How to Hard Boil Eggs' under the table of contents section on the home page, for more details)
• 1 Sautoir Pan
• Lasagna pan, glass or metal
• Pan, Tray, or Cookie Sheet
• Wooden spatula
• Whisk
• Birds beak, petty, or regular paring knife
• Small Ziploc bag.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

You can get uncased Italian sausage, but this week, the cased sausage was a better deal and it is very easy to remove the casing.

Simply use your paring knife and split the casing from top to bottom.

Then peel the casing off and discard.

Note: if you made the Scaloppini of Pork recipe, you'll have a bag of pork trimmings in your freezer for stock, you can add the casings to that bag.

Take the package of ground beef and carefully undo the plastic wrap from the bottom, in such a way, that it is possible to wrap it back closed. 

Note: it is important to realize that most of the bacteria that spoils food is transferred there by your hands. Thus, it is VERY important that you wash your hands before hanging highly perishable items, like ground beef. 

So, wash up before you peel the plastic back on your hamburger, unless of course, you are going to use 100% of the package.

You want the sausage and ground beef ratio about 50/50

After you take the amount of hamburger that you need, take a chef's knife and cut the unused foam tray off. 

 Now you can wrap the beef back up and place in your fridge. 

Note: The least amount of time out of the refrigerator, the better. This goes for seafood, meats, and some produces.

Cut the thick bacon into lardons (Like a fat short julienne with pork belly or bacon) and fry golden.

Add the beef and sausage to the pan with the lardons. Salt and pepper the beef only, as the sausage comes seasoned. Brown while string often.

Add the lasagna pasta to water at a hard rolling boil, which has been salted.

Stir the pasta gently for a few minutes to make sure the noodles do not stick together.

Use your wooden spatula to break the meat up into evenly sized chunks. You want decent sized chunks of meat, not fine ground.

When meat is about 75% browned, add the garlic and finish caramelizing the meat.

Add about a cup of chicken stock to deglaze the pan. If you have some white wine handy, add about ¼ cup. Reduce by half.

Add the concentrated crushed tomatoes and 2 heaping table spoons of sugar, 1 tlb dried basil and 1 tsp dried oregano. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until thick.

Note: If you get it too thick, simply thin down with some water, until desired thickness, then adjust flavor with salt and pepper if necessary.

In a bowl, add the ricotta, 2 large eggs, 1 tsp dry oregano, 1 tsp dry basil, 2 heaping tablespoons of sugar, 1 tsp garlic salt, and kosher salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

Add room temperature cream cheese and mix well.

Note: See the "How to Cook Pasta", under the table of contents on the home page, for detailed pasta cooking directions.

Oil and place pasta on ½ sheet pan to cool.

Grate the mozzarella cheese. 

Note: Do not let sit out at room temperature, as the cheese has a very low melt temperature and will clump together. If need be, place in fridge until needed.

Note: Use the wooden spatula to remove the whole garlic cloves. If you have cooked the sauce long enough, the garlic should have a nice roasted smell. Discard or spread over french bread to accompany the meal.

Shingle the lasagna pan with a row of noodles, from side to side, making sure your noodles have extra length, as we are going to use it later.

 Add a layer of meat sauce, then use a serving spoon to place large dollops of the ricotta/cream cheese mixture. Use ½ the cheese mixture.

Note: there is no need to spread the cheese out. Just leave in clumps.

Now run a row of noodles lengthwise.

Add another layer of the meat sauce, the second ½ of the cheese and 2-4 large diced hard boiled eggs.

Note: I like 4 eggs, my wife likes 2 eggs in the recipe. So use as many or as few as suits your tastes.

Now take the extra lengths of the bottom layer pasta noodles and tuck them around.

Run another layer of pasta sheets lengthwise.

Note: In this recipe, I'm leaving the top layer naked of sauce, because I like the top to be a little crispy.  If you don't want it crispy, when you are making your meat sauce, add an extra can of condensed crushed tomatoes

Note: I cooked a whole box of lasagna noodles and had 3 noodles left over. I am going to save them and use them later. I'll cut them into strips and toss with a little butter and salt for an easy afternoon snack.

Top evenly with grated mozzarella, making sure not to leave any of the pasta, not even the edges, exposed. 

Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, or until golden brown.

Note: Let stand 10-20 minutes before cutting.

Lasagna freezes particularly well, but must be packaged so it doesn't freezer burn.

Note: Reheat by placing on a microwave safe plate, then wrapping plate in food service wrap. You want an airtight seal. You can now microwave for 3-4 minutes without burning or drying out the lasagna. To avoid getting a steam burn, let stand for a few minutes to allow the steam to subside. You will know that this has happened when the food service wrap goes from being inflated like a ballon to being vacuumed down on to the food. Most any food can benefit from being wrapped when microwaved.




Enjoy.