Recipe: Homemade Bolognese Pasta Sauce

We made our first batch of homemade pasta sauce using fresh San Marzano and Roma tomatoes from our garden. We fell in love with this simple recipe from Marcella Hazan and tweaked it with our own little flourishes. It was delicious — enjoy!

Recipe: Homemade Bolognese Sauce

3 pounds of fresh tomatoes (we used a mix of San Marzano and Roma tomatoes)

5 tablespoons of butter (we used Plugra European butter)

1 medium yellow onion, sliced in quarters

1 pound of ground beef

1 tablespoon of chili flakes

1 sprig of basil

1. Plunge the tomatoes in boiling water for a minute or less. Drain and place in cold ice water bath, skin and cut into coarse pieces.

2. Place tomatoes, butter, onion and chili flakes in a sauce pan and cook uncovered at a slow, steady simmer for 1 hour, or until thickened to your liking.

3. While the sauce is simmering, cook ground beef in a skillet under med-high heat. Drain and set aside.

5. After tomato sauce is thickened to your liking, stir in the ground beef and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

6. Serve with al dente pasta and top with fresh basil. 

Don't These Look Good? Do'Nuggets

Recipe:

1 package of store bought biscuits (Trader Joe's or Pillsbury)

Vegetable oil

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons finely crushed peanuts

Directions:

Divide each  biscuit into 4 pieces, roll into balls. Add to hot oil and fry and until golden. After frying remove place the nuggets on paper towels to soak up the extra oil. Mix sugar and crushed peanuts. Roll the fried nuggets until evenly coated. Serve immediately. 

Cooking More

I used to love cooking — until I moved to NYC. Now that we're back in California, getting back into the habit of cooking has been a challenge. Until today. Franny's Simple Seasonal Italian cookbook just inspired me to cook for the first time in over six months!The recipes written by Andrew Feinberg and Francine Stephens – the famous husband-and-wife duo behind the much-loved Franny's eatery in Brooklyn — are simple, delicious and easy to recreate. We made the Farro Spaghetti with Anchovies and it was really tasty. Nutty, fresh and perfect for a cold winter day.

Recipe: Farro Spaghetti with Anchovies, Chilies and Garlic Serves 4

Ingredients: 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed 10 anchovy fillets 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes 1 pound farro spaghetti (or use whole wheat) 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper Juice of 1/2 lemon 1 to 3 tablespoons finely grated Percorino Romano

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Stir in garlic and anchovies until the anchovies are dissolved, 2 to 3 mins. Add the chili flake and cook for another 30 seconds. Take off heat and add 2 tablespoons water to the pan.

Cook pasta according to package instructions, taking out two minutes shy of al dente; drain.

Toss spaghetti into the skillet with the garlic-anchovy mixture, parsley and cracked pepper. Cook over medium heat for 1 to 2 mins. Stir in lemon juice and a little more water if pasta is dry.

Divide the pasta into bowls and finish each serving with a sprinkle of finely grated Percorino Romano and a drizzle of olive oil.

Chicken Pot Pie Doesn't Get Enough Cred.

Making savory pot pies from scratch can be a little intimidating and time consuming, so over the holiday break, my sister and I decided to tweak Ina Garten's famous chicken pot pie recipe so it's a lot easier to make — but just as DELICIOUS! Our secret? Instead of cooking the chicken and pie dough from scratch, we bought a rotisserie chicken from the deli and purchased a high-quality puff pastry dough from our local grocery store. Here's the recipe, enjoy!

1 rotisserie chicken (roughly shredded) Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 5 cups chicken stock, --> Imagine Foods Organic Free Range Chicken Broth Low Sodium 2 chicken bouillon cubes --> Better Than Bouillon Organic chicken base 3/4 stick of butter 1 cup of shallots; 1 cup of chopped celery 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup heavy cream 2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups) 1 cup of fingerling potatoes 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

for the pastry: high-quality store bought pastry dough (like Dufour) 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper (to sprinkle on top of the pie crust)

*makes six individual pot pies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well.

Divide the filling equally among 6 ovenproof ramekin bowls. Divide the pre-made dough into six 8 inch circles. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

Taste: Meatball Marvel

She: After devouring tasty balls of goodness at the Meatball Shop on the Lower East Side, we ventured out to make our own meatballs. We scoured around and found the recipe for The Meatball Shop's original beef balls and off we went! Besides having to make our own breadcrumbs (by hand, because we thought we had a food processor — but we didn't), the recipe was fairly easy. The results were quite tasty and now we have enough meatballs for the rest of the week! Next time, we plan on adding basil to the mix, and perhaps a little more ricotta. Yummy!

Him: It's so satisfying to cook with each other, especially when the results taste this good! Baking in large quantities means we won't have to cook tomorrow (LEFTOVERS = Meatball sandwiches!) I plan on adding a little ground sausage and a dash of Frank's Hot Sauce to the mix next time. Spicy and zesty, just like her.

recipe:

2 pounds 80% lean beef, ground 2 teaspoons salt ¼ teaspoon chili flakes ½ teaspoon fennel seed, ground ½ cup breadcrumbs ¼ cup parsley, chopped 1 tablespoon oregano, chopped 1 cup fresh ricotta cheese 2 eggs 2 tablespoons olive oil