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Northern Italian Meat Sauce Recipe

3 slices bacon, cut up

1 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground veal or ground pork

1 28-ounce can tomatoes, cut up

1 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup finely chopped carrot

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 cup snipped parsley

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup dry white wine

Hot cooked spaghetti

How to make Northern Italian Meat Sauce

In large saucepan or Dutch oven cook bacon till crisp. Add ground beef and ground veal or ground pork; cook till meat is browned.
Drain off fat.If desired, press undrained tomatoes through sieve. Add undrained tomatoes, onion, carrot, celery, parsley, tomato paste, bouillon granules, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to meat mixture. Stir in wine and 1/4 cup water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, for 45 to 60 minutes or till desired consistency, stirring occasionally.
Just before serving, stir 1/3 cup light cream or milk into the hot sauce, if desired.

I have been studying the Northern Italian region lately in an attempt to acclimate myself for my upcoming trip to Italy. That said, I wanted to see what the “big deal” was for Northern Vs. Southern food. I’m learning quickly that they are a much leaner and more vegetable based than the South. There seems to be a lack of the heavy feeling that the Southern food takes on. Being an aficionado of fettuccine alfredo myself, I still find that I don’t miss the richness in this recipe. In fact the bacon gives it that, forgive me for saying it, hint of grease, that makes this dish great.

I personally made the pasta myself when making this dish. It’s a formidable experience to do so, but well worth the effort when you want to learn something new. I think making the pasta brought a lovely lesson in and of itself. I think next time I will try ravioli with meat inside along with this sauce. The carrot and celery provided a lovely “beef stew” kind of feel to it, it’s definitely more home-style feeling than the spaghetti sauces I ‘ve had before. I used ground pork this time, enjoy yours with the veal option as well.

and the great part? you have a glass of wine while it simmers. Molto bene!

Getting A Regular Meal

I went to Luby’s  last night. I’ve gone to Luby’s since I can remember. The other thing I can remember…since I can remember…is eating the exact same meal. Since I can recollect teeth and the ability to chew I have eaten the LuAnn platter of fried fish (with tartar sauce), corn and macaroni and cheese. I remember later adding two small side cups of pico de gallo, which I think subliminally makes me feel like I’m getting vegetables in this very monochromatic meal.

Sometimes a salad. Sometimes not. Usually a dinner roll. No butter. Sometimes dessert – home to the best tapioca pudding out there.  Now, I’m usually a mix it up kind of girl – who gets something new at the same place. Not here. I’ve had bites of mom or dad’s liver and onions, chopped sirloin, things like that. But nothing comes near the perfection that this trifecta holds.

 

I know. I know you’re wondering, why the big deal over such a meal that costs less than the amount of change I can find in my couch? I don’t know. The nostalgia? The idea that I’m “so old” at the ripe age of 31 that I still remember when they used to have the drink cart lady with the silver coffee pot who used to serve my parents coffee. This place used to be “uptown” – at least in my head.

I remember my sister getting the two bowls of macaroni and cheese and then the blue or green jello. That was dinner. I’m assuming at this point my parents were really seeking respite and didn’t mind for one night what we ingested. I remember as a small child wearing a mink stole (something that my dad had brought home I believe) to dinner. With my best dress. and getting a rash from the heat, but the mink stole was elevating the experience for me. I wore it anyway. I remember my mom pinning my hair up nicely even. I knew that fine dining had to be in my future.

It’s odd that Luby’s is a southern favorite as I wasn’t exposed to Southern Food there the way that I know it now, but that said, it was my childhood memory that continues to keep me loving it there. and I’ll continue to eat the same thing and hopefully my kid will too.

Luby’s – various locations – www.lubys.com

Rating: Spoon & Fork : it’s not overwhelming, it’s nostalgia

Picnic Fare

Mom’s Macaroni Salad
Mix Together:

16 oz macaroni, cooked
6 boiled eggs, sliced
4 T diced onion
1 T red vinegar
1 T white vinegar
1 T relsih
1 ½ t mustard
¼ C green pepper
½ C celery
½ pickle spear, chopped
1 T pickle jiuice
2 T oil

I know this isn’t your basic set of ingredients, and some of them seem to overlap a little. Trust me, this stuff is macaroni salad at it’s vintage best. For a twist, peel and boil 6 large baking potatoes, forget the mac – you’ve got my mom’s potato salad now too!

Naysayers Unite: Diet Dish….with Bacon?

Macaroni with Bacon and Tomato Sauce

4 slices of bacon, diced

1 onion, chopped coarsely

1 yellow pepper, diced

2 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes

4 cups of cooked macaroni

28 oz can of diced tomatoes

Salt & Pepper to taste

Brown bacon in pan until halfway cooked, adding in onion and yellow pepper until cooked through.

Season with garlic, red pepper, salt and pepper. Cook for another two minutes.

Pour in some juice from tomato sauce, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan. Add rest of tomatoes. Cook through. Stir in pasta.

This runs about 350 calories per serving and it serves four. I couldn’t help myself! :)

Turning up the Heat

Cajun Shrimp Pasta
16 oz penne pasta
1 yellow pepper, seeded and ribbed and cut into pieces
1 red pepper, seeded and ribbed and cut into pieces
1/2 of a red onion, sliced and cut into pieces
1 lb of shrimp - cleaned, deveined and tails off
2 Tbsp. Garlic
1/2 C olive oil
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
Tony Cacheres Seasoning, Salt & Pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions. Saute shrimp and garlic in half of the butter until cooked. Set aside. Add remaining butter to the pan and saute peppers and onion in butter until cooked through. Add in tony cacheres to desired taste, salt & pepper. Toss with pasta.

I enjoy this with a good green salad and crackers with butter. It's a nice twist on having garlic bread and stays true to the cajun food. If you need a good ending to this dish, try a little strawberries and cream - takes the heat right off.

You Taste It. You Like it Eh?

Beef Stroganoff

1 lb round steak, cubed
1/2 stick of butter
1 onion, chopped
1 package of wide egg noodles, cooked
1 can of mushroom stems and pieces 4oz
16oz sour cream

Saute onion and steak until cooked through. Add remaining ingredients - stir to combine.

This is another Mom recipe. I can't remember the sides for this though. It varied. I remember my dad putting alot of salt and pepper on it. It was always in this huge pot on the table with her ladle. I have the plates that she served it on (I'm a huge plate shopping fiend) and have fond memories of smelling it cook.

Haluski

1 package bacon
1 whole head of cabbage, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 package of wide egg noodles, boiled and drained
1 stick of butter

Cut bacon into small pieces and fry in a large frying pan. Add butter and onion. Fry until onion is soft. Add cabbage and continue to cook until cooked through. Toss with noodles. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This is Polish food. My parents hail from a small town south of Pittsburgh, PA. My dad is Polish and my mom is Czech and this recipe, while not either sides family version, is a typical Polish food - starch plus fat and if you can, cabbage of some sort.

I truly like this dish next to a plate of fried or grilled chicken. It looks heavy at first (that's what bacon fat and butter will do to you) but it's really actually quite sweet and goes well with a lighter meat. Add some green beans or peas in on the side and it's quite a nice home style meal. Think macaroni and cheese for the Polish soul.

Base Sauce

Alfredo Sauce

1 Pint of Sour Cream (full fat only)
1 stick of butter (or margarine)
1/2 onion, minced/grated
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bar of Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan.


Melt butter and saute onion and garlic until onion is clear. Break up cream cheese and stir until melted and combined. Add sour cream and parmesan. Serve over hot pasta.

This is the beginning sauce for alot of things. You can add cajun hot sauce or seasoning, a little shrimp, green & red bell pepper and it's fantastic over linguine. Add chicken and broccoli for another dish. I've used it over top of shrimp and scallops on shell pasta for a seafood alfredo. I've added it to tortellini with bacon and peas.

Because of the fat content, it tends to break up if you keep it overnight in the fridge, so always make it the day of. Margarine is perfectly fine in this dish, just salt it a bit less as butter is delicate and can take the salt.

Sides? Just about anything here. I throw it with garlic bread and salad on the table. Be wary, this stuff is pretty rich, it's diet unfriendly as all get out. But it's worth it, don't do the jar any more, it's too easy to turn this out in 30 minutes.

Oh my my....Spasketti Pie

New York Spaghetti Pie

8 oz Spaghetti
2 eggs
1/4c grated Parmesan Cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2c chopped green bell pepper
1/3c chopped onion
1 lb. Italian Bulk Sausage
1 6oz can of Tomato Paste
1 c Water
4 oz sliced mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Break spaghetti in half and cook in salted water until barely tender. Beat eggs, add parmesan, toss with spaghetti. Put the spaghetti mixture in greasted 10-inch pie pan. Melt butter or margarine in a medium skillet; add green pepper and onion, saute for 5-7 minutes. Do not brown. Add sour cream to vegetables, mix and spoon over spaghetti. Cook sausage; drain off grease. Add tomato paste mixed with water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Spoon tomato sauce over sour cream mixture. Bake for 25 minutes. Cut cheese in strips and arrange over top. Return to oven for 3 to 4 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Note: Make two and freeze one.

*Cook spaghetti now or use spaghetti you have prepared and frozen.
Serves 6

Another Mom recipe. The picture this time is the actual page of the book that my mother has been cooking out of for years. I've already put dibs on this piece of literature when she dies. It's a nameless cookbook, but several of her dishes come from this book.

I have a fond memory of my mother putting taco seasoning into this dish on accident. I never read the recipe, but I don't even know why should would have been doing that. I remember there being a spatula and lots of giggling involved in the process. and her trademark "Ohhh, Lesley...look what I didddddd". Messing up recipes counts as cooking, the memories are classics for me.

No set sides for this one, we didn't have it a ton, as you can see it required quite a bit of prep. But if it were mine now, I'd say salad and bread. It's fantastically vintage housewife food - everything fits nicely into the pie and you can get yourself together just in your best dress prior to hubby getting home! ;)

My Ultimate Comfort Food

Homemade Mac & Cheese

4 Cups Cheddar Cheese
1 Stick of Margarine or Butter
1 Can of Evaporated Milk
1 bag of pasta (small shells preferred)
Splash of Milk

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Turn heat to simmer and add in butter, milk and then stir in cheese until it melts. Toss pasta on top and continue to stir and add milk to adjust until desired consistency is achieved.

That's it. You can read about 1,000 other recipes for macaroni and cheese. You can make bechamel sauce bases until your hearts content. You can stir and whisk and add breadcrumbs and make. Not for me, nope, nuh-uh, ain't gonna do it. This is the easiest version I have come up with entirely on my own, and it works.

This is my go-t0 food. Stressed? Here's comfort in a bowl. For those of you who follow me personally, after the apartment fire, we were at the table eating this and corn dogs. I add pepper to this and on a winter's day with a good movie and a puppy beside me, I can't ask for a better time to relax. It takes minutes and impresses every time.

As an FFG (Former Fat Girl), I used to consume this in quantities that I'm a bit embarrassed to admit to. On the cheat days that I do allow myself, this would be at the top of the list. It's far from dietetic, but it can be leaps and bounds above the blue box stuff.

It's also extremely flexible. I've added bacon, carmelized onions and blue cheese. I've put in artichokes and sundried tomatoes. You like swiss? Try it. I try to keep the cheddar to "other cheese" ratio to half and half, most cheeses just don't melt as nicely. Gruyere is good, a smack of brie, try it. You can't hurt it badly by adding, just make sure that you don't take away the other fats.

Unfortunately this doesn't keep as well. As with anything with this much "love" (known to non-foodies as butters, creams and cheeses) in it, it tends to congeal up into a mess. Will I eat it the next day ? Yes! It makes alot, so assemble a crowd. It's great for Thanksgiving with some of those "fancy breadcrumbs" thrown on top - no one will know you didn't take all day. Roux schmoo, this is easy stuff.

Papri-what?

Chicken Paprikash

2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 T. flour
3 cups of sour cream
1 stick of butter or margarine
2 T. garlic, minced
1 whole chicken
1 large can of whole tomatoes (32 oz)
1 package of spiral noodles, cooked
salt, pepper, paprika

Boil entire chicken until it's cooked through. Remove all meat and discard carcass. Saute garlic, bell peppers and onions in butter. Add flour to thicken. Add tomatoes with juice, breaking up with spoon. Add sour cream, salt, pepper and about a tablespoon of paprika. Stir until combined and add noodles. Serve hot!

It's said Chicken...Pop-Ree-Kosh. It's another recipe from mum, and my favorite go-to for a crowd pleaser that isn't your basic spaghetti or chili. Everyone tends to love it - hello sour cream and butter - and it's easy on the wallet as well. If you want to make it easier, grab a rotisserie chicken or even just grill up some chicken breasts. Get canned diced tomatoes instead of whole. They also sell chopped onions and green bell peppers in your freezer section, so at some point this entire dish becomes dump into pot, stir, cook, eat.

Out of respect for mum, I'm going to give you the recipe as it should be...and then tell you how I might make it easier now. I have come to appreciate very much the long handed method of cooking certain dishes, but when applicable, the fast method is just easier, you might lose some pride, but it's on the table and still fabulous.

This dish doesn't really have a side dish to it, we throw a little bread and salad on the table and call it an evening. But it does highlight one of my mom's favorite qualities about a dish - the one pot use. I am a big pot user - okay Clintonites, calm it down - I love dishes that require a little bit of a stove challenge. This is relatively easy if you do the footwork (or the easy route!) on the chicken and noodles and set it aside and then make the sauce.

This dish reminds me of the coming of fall, it's fabulously warm and rich. Don't expect to eat tons of it, and honestly, it's not a great leftover item. The sour cream and butter tend to separate. It's not terrible, but don't expect the same product to come out. It's sorta like heated up boxed macaroni and cheese the next day - not the same. Okay, so it's rare that I want to save that stuff, but every now and again....