Polpette Perfetti

Okay so, aside from Marinara Sauce (recipe below) a recipe that people always want to learn is a good meatball. Let’s talk about what makes a good meatball. Well, first it has to be soft, almost too soft. If you throw it against the wall, they should splat all over and not bounce back to you! Second, they should be small. A real Italian meatball isn’t what you find in “Italian” restaurants that look like baseballs. WRONG!! Third, it has to taste good, of course. Here’s a great recipe below that totally qualifies. Please be aware that pork is an essential ingredient. You don’t necessarily need beef (or veal for that matter). But you do need pork. Remember: It’s good to get beefed, but it’s better to get porked.

1          lb.        Ground Beef (about 90% lean but no more)

1          lb.        Ground Pork

2          Tblsp.  Chopped Fresh Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley

½         tsp.       Salt

¼         tsp.       Fresh Ground Black Pepper

¼         tsp.       Granulated Garlic

1          cup       Plain Bread Crumbs-God knows what’s in the pre-seasoned ones. Schifo!

1 ¼      cup      Grated Cheese (Parmigiano, Romano, etc…)

2                      Eggs

1 1/3    cups     Room-Temperature Water

Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly.

Fill a frying pan about 1” with Olive Oil. Add a healthy scoop of lard to the oil and melt it. Allow the oil about 3 minutes to get hot. With wet hands, roll the meatballs (about as big as a golf ball) one at a time and carefully drop them into the hot oil. Fry them until they are nice and brown on both sides. Place them onto a plate lined with paper towels.

At this point you can either freeze them or cook them in Marinara Sauce (recipe below) for about 30 minutes.

Makes about 30-35 meatballs.

Buon Appetito!

Stuffed Peppers

I write you tonight from in front of my computer eating a dish of lentils that I made the other day using a little pork fat left over from sausage making. They're delicious, thanks to the addition of one of God's greatest culinary gifts...pork.

Which brings me to my point. Pork. The reason why I chose January to talk about pork is because in Italy, the month of January is when each family slaughters a pig to create such great delights as dried Italian Sausage, Sopressata, Capicolla, and good ol' pork lard.

But let's start out slow. We'll eeeease into things like pork fat. Let's start with a great old fashioned recipe using ground pork....and maybe a little lard.

Stuffed Peppers

4                        Large Green and/or Red peppers
2         lbs.         Ground Pork (a mix of course and fine would be nice)
6         slices      Wheat or White bread, torn-up by hand and soaked in enough milk to cover the bread
1                        Egg
1 1/2   tsp.         Salt
1/2      tsp.         Pepper
1/2      tsp.         Granulated Garlic
1 1/2   cup         Cooked White Rice
3/4      cup         Finely Chopped Onion sauteed until lightly brown

Sauce
1                        Large Can Ground Tomatoes
1          tsp.        Salt
1/2       tsp.        Pepper
1          Tbl.       Chopped Fresh Parsley
1          Tbl.       Melted Lard

Okay so, take the core out of each pepper and cut them in half from top to bottom. Set them aside into a baking dish. Mix all the ingredients together and set aside. Season the inside of each pepper half with some salt, pepper, and granulated garlic. Put a generous amount of filling into each pepper half and put the pepper halves back into the dish.

For the sauce, mix together all of the sauce ingredients with the addition of 1/2 can (tomato can) of water and pour the sauce over the peppers.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour & 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and serve.

I'll be back next week with another great pork dish and remember: It's good to get beefed, but it's better to get porked!

BUON APPETITO!!

Watch for it!!!

Okay, I know it has been a while since I last posted, but, nonetheless, January 2011 I will start posting regularly again. January will be filled with recipes, tips, and stories about one of my favorites animals...PORK! We will start Monday, January 3rd. But here's some food for thought until then....

"It's good to get beefed, but it's better to get porked."

Cappellini with Sun Dried Tomatoes

Yes I have been a little lazy about this for the past week or two but, nonetheless, I'm back, and with a great recipe for everyone to try. Here is a sure-to-become classic in your house. It's easy and delicious. Yes I did use my homemade dried tomatoes for this but you could absolutely purchase them at any sepcialty shoppe. Give this one a try and post your comments....

1              lb.                           Angel Hair Pasta

1              cup                         Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4                                              Garlic Cloves, minced

2              handfuls              Sun Dried Tomatoes, cut into strips

1              glass                      Red Wine

5-6                                          Basil Leaves

1              tsp.                        Fresh Ground Black Pepper

PLENTY OF GRATED CHEESE (I use Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano)

Put the Oil and the Garlic into a large skillet and place over medium heat and allow the Garlic to begin to sweat. Once the Garlic is sautéing nicely, add the Sun-Dried Tomatoes and continue sautéing. At this point you can start to boil the Pasta according to the packages instructions in PLENTY of boiling salted water.

Add the Glass of Wine to the skillet (I never used to use wine in this but I happened to be drinking a glass when I made this and decided to throw some in the pan, worked-out wonderfully) and cook for a few minutes. Then, you can add your Basil Leaves. Make sure you tear them a few times before adding them. At this point, when the Pasta is done, drain it well and add it to the skillet. Mix the Pasta in the sauce in the pan and add the Black Pepper.

Serve with lots of your favorite grated cheese!!

Buon Appetito!!

Pastina!!

Okay so, we all took the Holiday Weekend to relax, now it's back to the old bump-and-grind and that means, back to blogging!

I had a request from a friend to write something about Pastina and I thought that, since this is the first Pasta that most (okay ALL) Italian kids eat, it would be most fitting. So, here goes...

After talking to my Grandmother, I learned that she used to boil the Pastina, then mix it with an egg and some grated cheese and the heat from the pasta would cook the egg. I know that for myself, I have done butter and cheese. Big surprise, huh? Also there's the old stand-by, just tomato sauce and cheese. Pastina is also a great addition to any soup. Although, I recomend boiling it separate and adding it to the soup after it's done.

Of course, like everything else, name brands count! Especially with pasta!

How do you like your Pastina?

Oven-Dried Tomatoes

Ciao Amici!

Well, to close out the month of Tomatoes, August (yes, I know it's September 2nd), I'd like to share with you how I did my "Oven-Dried Tomatoes". First off, if you prefer, you can call them "Sun-Dried Tomatoes". I don't think anyone will know, or care.

First, I made sure to choose small to medium sized ripe plum tomatoes. I took the core out with the point of a sharp knife and sliced them in half from top to bottom. Next, I laid them on a sheet-pan (cookie sheet) with the inside of the tomato facing UP. I lightly salted the open part of the tomato halves and put them into the oven. The lowest setting on my oven is 170 degrees, this proved to be too low. So, my official decision is to dry them at 200 degrees until they are completely dry. For me, this took about 24 hours. I did 2, 12 hour increments and yes, I allowed the oven to stay on while I slept during the night. I have to say, I woke up to a wonderfully-smelling house the next morning.

After they dried, I allowed them to sit out for a half-day or so to finish drying. They're REALLY dry! (If they're not totally dry they can mold in the jars and of course you don't want that.) After that, I packed them very firmly into small jars with leaves of basil and filled the jars with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Now I'll store them in the cupboard or even on the kitchen counter per bellezza (for looks) as long as I need them.

Buon Appetito!

Now let's start September!!

PASTA E' BASTA!!!!

Pasta and that's all!!

The Perfect Tomato Sauce

In the spirit of the subject, tomatoes, and, realizing that so few people will actually preserve their own, I put together a little recipe that should work wonderfully! Always remember, the quality of the ingredients you use will have a direct result on your final product. So, name brands people, name brands!! Always!


Tomato Basil Sauce (Marinara)


½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I use Colavita)

1 Small Onion, chopped very finely

3 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 6 oz. can Good Tomato Paste (I like Rienzi, Contadina, or Pagliacci)

2 -1lb 12oz. cans Good Crushed Tomatoes (I like 6 in 1, 7/11 or Tomato Magic)

1 bunch FRESH Basil Leaves

Salt and pepper to taste.

In a large sauce pot, put half of the Olive Oil and the Onions and cook over medium heat until the onions become translucent. Then, add the garlic and continue to sauté until the edges of the onions barely start to become golden brown. At this point, add the Tomato Paste and stir with a wooden spoon (preferably the one your Mother or Nonna hit you with as a kid) and “fry” the paste a little to bring-out its sweetness, about 3 minutes. Then, fill the paste can with some water, scraping the sides of the can and add the water to the pot and stir.

Then you can add the Crushed Tomatoes and use about 1 cup of water to rinse the cans and empty the contents into the pot. Stir to combine. Add the salt and pepper to taste.


Now here’s a technique I like to use for the Basil. Place the basil leaves on the top of the sauce and heat the other half of E.V.O.O. (by the way, I was using the initials E.V.O.O. way before anyone knew who Rachel Ray was) in a pan over high heat until it’s very hot. Then, gently pour the hot oil over the Basil. The leaves will sizzle and spatter a bit, but this will help to bring-out the essential oils of the basil and make it very aromatic. Or you could just stir-in the Basil as is.

Simmer the sauce until the acidity of the tomatoes has been cooked out, usually about 30 minutes to 1 hour and you will have a perfect, REAL ITALIAN “Marinara”.

Buon Appetito!!!