Pasta with Cauliflower-Tomato Sauce (Slow Cooker Friendly) & Crunchy Bread Crumbs

Michele Scicolone, one of my favorite cookbook authors,  
posted a  Spicy Cauliflower Pasta Sauce made in 
the slower cooker on her Facebook page a few days ago ~ 
it sounded interesting and I had the small head 
of cauliflower on hand . . .  I'm sure you can guess the rest!

As usual, I was compelled to change it a little to suit my 
own taste, although you may like it just as Michele posted it.
It's healthful, low in fat and vegetarian friendly.
Plus it's easy on the budget.

I'll post Michele's way, plus my changes over on my

recipe blog so you can make it the way you like.  

Michele's original recipe calls for

a small head of cauliflower, a large can of crushed tomatoes,

water, olive oil, garlic, a little dried oregano, salt and red pepper flakes.

During the last few minutes I added some chopped, marinated

artichoke hearts, and some brined capers.  (I also had a bit

of Trader Joe's Artichoke Tapenade left over so I stirred

that in as well . . . you know, waste not - want not.)

Since we're not so keen on really spicy food any longer,

I cut the amount of red pepper flakes and only added

the tiniest pinch. Perfect!

For the crumb topping : 

Bread crumbs, a little olive oil, anchovy fillets, and

freshly ground black pepper. (Please don't let the

anchovies put you off ~  as they truly enhance this dish!)

If you don't have anchovies on hand (or cannot 

tolerate them), you can substitute fresh garlic and a little

sea or kosher salt instead. But I prefer the anchovies,

and I promise you, you'll barely notice their presence 

because they are cooked in a little olive oil until they nearly

dissolve and the flavor mellows, enhancing the oil, 

then added to the crumbs and sauteed gently until the

crumbs turn crisp and golden brown. Yum! 

This is an excellent condiment on other pasta dishes and

steamed/sauteed vegetables or grilled chicken/fish, too.

 I always make extra and store in an airtight container in

the fridge, ready to use and it keeps almost indefinitely

in the fridge, even longer in the freezer.

 

I think it would be safe to say that you and those you

 cook for would probably have to favor

rather assertive flavors to really enjoy this dish... 
Kraft Mac and Cheese® it's not.  ;)

I thought it was very good; quite low in fat

(but not lacking flavor.)

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe,
please jump on over to my recipe blog
right here.


Thank you for stopping today ~
I love your comments!

~Mari  :)

The Butcher's Pasta Sauce ~ From the Slow Cooker

There is no doubt that I love those quick pasta sauces that can be put together at a moments notice, especially in the warmer months when fresh produce is abundant.
However, when the temperatures drop I usually long for the deep flavors of a slow cooked sauce, the kind of sauce that can simmer on the stovetop for a couple of hours while the flavor develops. The kind mom and grandma used to make.
That's fine if you have a leisurely day to check on the sauce while it's cooking and give it a stir every so often,  adding more liquid if necessary.  
Sometimes we don't have that luxury of time --  that's what makes this recipe stand out; long simmered flavor without having to babysit it.



Slow Cookers ~ you may love them or not,  there is no doubt they are a convenience.  
In years past I could count on one hand the recipes I really loved  made in the slow cooker.   Too many times the food cooked in these units  tasted and looked like bad cafeteria food ~ left on the steam table for far too long  mushy, gray and not much in the way of flavor.

My slow cooker aversion took a turn around with the  introduction of the more modern slow cooker cookbooks, like this one from Michele Scicolone. 

Click image to learn more

"The Italian Slow Cooker"
Michele is a genius when it comes to what type of recipes really benefit from slow cooking. Instead of just dumping ingredients into the cooking vessel, sometimes a little prep takes place stovetop to get the recipes started. This one extra step makes all the difference in the world when it comes to a superior finished dish. So worth it!

I've had the book for a while ~I've shared  another favorite from book  a while back; "Spicy Tuscan-Style Sausage Ragu". Very, very good.)
The book covers everything from soups, sauces, risotto, polenta, grains, seafood, eggs, poultry, meats, veggies and beans, plus desserts. She offers special techniques that assure perfect results even with the most delicate ingredients like eggs, fish, and tender desserts.
The one I'm sharing today is The Butcher's Sauce, a recipe from Puglia. The unique thing about this recipe, and the reason for it's name ~ as Michele explains is that it is made of any kind of meat you happen to have, either fresh or in your freezer. (A good way to use up raw scraps of this and that such as a bit of raw ground beef, a pork chop, a sausage or a chicken breast.) Just chop the meat up in your food processor and proceed with the recipe. I have the basic recipe over on my recipe blog.

photo: Doris Italian Market
  Usually served with orecchiette, cavatelli or any chunky pasta.  I used perciatelli (pronounced: "pear-chuh-TELL-lee" as it is known in Naples.)  Almost everywhere else, the cut is refered to as bucatini. About twice as thick as spaghetti and hollow as you can see from the photo.

This one is a keeper, friends! And like most tomato based cooked sauces, it freezes very successfully ~ you can double batch easily if you have a very large slow cooker.





If you would like a printable copy of the recipe, you can find it over on my recipe blog HERE.
Please come see what's cooking for Foodie Friday!
Have a wonderful weekend!
~Mari xo

Those Fabulous Greek-Style Ribs

I've posted about these delicious ribs before  it one of my favorite recipes for baby back pork ribs. (I don't post pictures of them each time I make them because we do have them rather frequently.)  :0)

As I explained in my previous post about these succulent rib, I got the recipe from my friend Ann of Thibeault's Table --if you click the link you can get the recipe.



The method is quite simple ~ you make a rub of salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, olive oil and lemon zest, rub it into the baby back pork ribs and allow them to rest in the refrigerator. If I have planned ahead I do this the day before I am going to grill them, but if you only have a few hours, that will do.
Shortly before grilling, squeeze lemon juice over the ribs (don't do this part very far in advance or the acid in the lemon juice will alter the texture of the rib meat.)

Another thing that I always do to any ribs I am going to prepare is to remove the tough membrane from the bone side of the ribs. This allows the rub/marinade to penetrate the meat more throughly, and the membrane is not pleasant to eat anyway.


In this image I've already removed it ---  it can be stubborn, but if you begin at one edge and  get it started it usually will peel off in one sheet. (You can use a dry kitchen cloth or paper towel to assist in getting a good grip on the membrane.)


Then just grill as directed in the recipe~ you can also bake them in a 375º to 400º(F) oven. (I like them best when grilled, but in a pinch . . .)



This time I served them with a Greek-style pasta salad; Pasta, Feta cheese, Cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives,  orange bell pepper, roasted eggplant, cucumber, purple onion and parsley, tossed with a red wine vinegar vinaigrette. I can make a meal out of the salad alone (sometimes I add some grilled shrimp to the salad and serve it as a main course.)



I also made some Greek bread to go with the meal, very good. The kind that's usually served at the Greek Festivals I've attended. Soft, but not like 'bubble gum' bread. The sesame seeds are optional but I always make one loaf with, and one without. It's also good as sandwich bread and is marvelous toasted, too.   I'll share that recipe in the next few days.



The rub/marinade is also really good on prawns, fish and chicken, you only need to allow those to marinade for 20 minutes to an hour before adding the lemon juice.

Thanks for stopping by ~ Bon Appetit!
~~mari

"The Legend of The Villa della Luna" ~ by Jana Kolpen

Hello and welcome! Today I am joining the Novel Bakers as we take a look at the charming book "The Legend of The Villa della Luna", written and designed by Jana Kolpen and Mary Tiegreen.
(This is the second in the series, following "The Secrets of Pistoulet" which we visited two days ago.)


(Click the image to learn more)


Mlle. J has been invited from Paris to visit Italy ...

To give you a little background; from the back cover:

"Welcome to The Villa della Luna where the past embraces the future. Within our gates are doors to be opened, tastes to be savored, old legends to be traced, and new ones to be created."
"When Mademoiselle J. arrives at The Villa della Luna, she is searching for a way to open her heart. As she wanders through The Villa's ancient gardens and strolls along the rugged Italian coastline, she comes to learn the legend of the rose garden that blooms throughout the year, a memorial to a tragic accident that took one lover and left the other afraid to love again. Should Mlle J. approach this grieving man? Helping her to decide are three wise teachers and the fortitude of such recipes as Pasta Vivante, for those are are afraid of the passion of life, ant the Focaccia of Forgiveness and Release, for those who need to let go of an emotional burden."
~*~*~*~*~

The books are adult fairy tales, but with words and lessons of wisdom woven throughout.



"Before climbing into the oversized bed with many down pillows,  Mademoiselle filled the inviting claw-footed tub with warm water.  Attracted by a slender bottle of gardenia bath oil sitting on a glass shelf, she put several drops in her bath."
~~~


Of course, I am particularly drawn to the recipes of the books, so that is what I'll be focusing on in this post!
Very little verbiage needed as everything is fairly self explanatory ~ I hope you enjoy!

I had planned on having a small outdoor picnic, but the weather did not cooperate, so we're indoors for the day:





























"Afternoons were spent in the cucina with Rita ..."




"One one such afternoon, Rita was preparing a pasta sauce she calls 'Vivante'.  The aroma of tomatoes, [along with Pancetta, garlic and Porcini mushrooms] strong and exciting filled the air with joy."




We truly enjoyed this pasta sauce!



In fact, it was my favorite recipe in the book.




I'm sure you could surmise this as I shared so many pictures of it !  
Boring?  
I apologize, I couldn't help myself.  :o)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My second favorite recipe was for the Amaretti Cookies. 



They are so EASY to make, just ground almonds, sugar, egg whites, and almond extract.  (They are Fat-free and Gluten-free.)



Roll the dough into balls approximately "three fingers wide" balls*,   (instructed the recipe),  sift powdered sugar over the raw cookies, and let them rest for one hour before baking in a preheated 300º(F) oven  for about 25 minutes.

Note: My fingers are of average size; I hoped for average sized  Amaretti cookies so I made the balls about two-fingers wide, rather than three as the recipe suggests.   Hmmm, they spread more that I would have liked,  making larger cookies than I had hoped.  It could be that my hen eggs (the whites) were larger than those in the recipe.   That is one negative about the baked recipes in these books, they are entertaining, but rather vague, and if you're a baker you know that accurate  measurements are important. 
Not so important when it comes to cooking, but baked recipes require accuracy.  (My 2 cents.)  ;) Next time I would make the dough even thicker with more ground almonds,  or fewer egg whites, and form balls about the size of a small cherry tomato. The recipe is very good though, and if  anyone wants it, you can find it on my recipe blog.
Click here for Amaretti Cookie recipe.
* * *

After baking, cool them thoroughly and wrap in tissue paper . . .




 . . .  and put them on a pretty platter.




Preferably an Italian one. :-)
I've had this one for years and years . . . I'm not so much into acquiring new serving pieces at this stage of my life.  I know... BORING. 



PARTITO!




My cookies spread out to about 2 1/4-inches, a bit larger than I was aiming for ~ but no matter, they go very well with: 
 

(just a few roses left blooming, not many more until Autumn here...)




And a few hours later, after our feast, at bedtime,   it would be extra nice to place one of these:



Under your pillow for a calming and restful night.
buonanotte!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Thank you very much for coming to visit today, friends!

Please stop by to visit the other Novel Bakers today to see their gorgeous photos and interpretations of "The Legend of The Villa della Luna":

A Quiet Life
Home is Where the Boat Is
Rattlebridge Farm

Please check back Friday, when we'll meet up in Ireland with "Circle of Kindness", the third book in the series.

Have a wonderful day.



 

Chicken Meatballs with Mozzarella

Chicken Meatballs with Mozzarella Centers

Ouch.   I've long been guilty of subscribing to food/recipe oriented magazines, and with good intentions I read them and earmark recipes I'd like to try. Unfortunately too often time gets away from me and before I know it the next issue has arrived in my mail box.
This year I'm trying to improve this habit ~  For starters I've pared down the number of subscriptions and I'm making an effort to actually make at least one or two recipes that I've saved.
Maybe you've found, as I have, that with access to the  internet the number of great recipes available to us is seemingly endless. So if you're not a magazine subscriber or cookbook-collector there is no need to be concerned about finding great recipes when there are so many available  at the touch of our keypads.



These are also delicious served as an appetizer with marinara (skip the pasta) or served with cocktail picks and your favorite salsa.


This recipe is from a fall 2012 issue of Everyday Food.
The changes I made to the recipe:  
1.) I did not deep fry the meatballs before baking;  I shallow fried them in a skillet with about 1/2-inch of oil, then drained well before baking to finish cooking them through.  You can skip the frying step, but the meatballs will be a rather unappealing pale gray color, and they won't have the pleasing thin,  crisp coating.
2.) I made each meatball about 1 1/2-inch in diameter; 3 or 4 meatballs of this size (with pasta) seemed like a generous portion.  3.) I grind my own chicken (boned, trimmed and skinned thighs) with the  KitchenAid Food Grinder (attachment for KA stand mixers).
If you haven't tried grinding your own meat, I urge you to do so. You can control the grind that you prefer, you'll know just what goes into your ground meat, and the quality is far superior to that which you can buy.  It's a very simple process and only takes a few minutes for worthwhile results.


A nice melty surprise when the meatball is cut open. The meatballs above were cooked right after assembly.


These were frozen after shallow frying. (Cooled then frozen, to be baked later.)

I froze half of the meatballs after shallow frying, cooled (before baking), they freeze beautifully ~ I thawed them for about an hour before baking.  The only difference I noted is that the mozzarella chunk left an exact impression after baking.  The melted cheese is not quite gooey as those freshly  assembled then cooked immediately, but I doubt anyone but you will know the difference!  ;^)
Note: You can also make these using ground turkey.


If you try this method of preparing meatballs, I hope it will become a favorite.
Thank you for stopping by today!
xo~m.