A Life, Lived

Italian Pot Roast

The spring (well, so-called spring) weather we have been having has been full of ups and downs. As a result meals like pot roast have stayed on the menu rotation longer than normal. there is nothing like a hearty, one-pot dish cooking for hours in the oven as the perfect antidote to clod blustery weather.

This recipe is from Simply Recipes but is actually based upon a recipe for Stracotto di Manzo alla Fiorentina that she learned about in a cooking demonstration. When I saw it on her blog I knew it was something we would like.

It’s a simple and delicious recipe, much like a standard pot roast but with a soffritto base, the addition of tomatoes, and a whole bottle of wine.

Italian Pot Roast

3 1/2 to 4 pound rump or chuck beef roast
1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large carrot, diced (about 1 cup)
1 large celery stalk, diced (about 1 cup)
1 medium red onion, diced (1 to 1 1/2 cups)
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
3 cups medium-bodied Italian red wine (we used a Barbera)
1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, put through a food mill to remove the seeds

Trim some of the fat from the meat. Pat dry with paper towels. Season generously with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

When the oil is hot, shimmering but not smoking, add the roast and cook, turning it a few times, until it is nicely browned on all sides, 10-12 minutes.

Transfer the meat to a platter.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrot, celery, and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are golden brown and begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, 10-12 minutes.

Add the garlic, parsley, and sage, and stir until the herbs are lightly colored and fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add 1 cup of the wine and stir quickly, lifting up the richly browned caramelized vegetables that stick to the bottom of the pan. When the wine is almost all evaporated and thickly coats the vegetables, return the meat to the pan and turn it over a few times to coat it with the savory base.

Raise the heat to high, adding the remaining wine, the bay leaf, and the tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, turning and basting the meat every half hour or so, until the meat is very tender and flakes away when pierced with a fork, 3-4 hours.

Turn off the heat and let the roast sit in its juices for an hour. (You can also put the pot into a 300°F oven and turn the roast every hour.)

Remove the meat from the pot and place it on a cutting board, covered loosely with aluminum foil. If the sauce is too thin, bring it to a fast boil and reduce it until it has a medium-thick consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Cut the meat into thick slices (it will probably fall apart), and place on warm serving dishes. Spoon the sauce over the meat and serve hot. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or polenta.

Travel Tuesdays - San Gimignano

San Gimignano is an Italian hill town in Tuscany, southwest of Florence. Encircled by 13th-century walls, its old town centers on Piazza della Cisterna, a triangular square lined with medieval houses. Other medieval features include fountains and towers, such as the stone Torre Grossa. The Duomo di San Gimignano is a 12th-century church with frescoes by Ghirlandaio in its Santa Fina Chapel. we visited the town on our first trip to Italy.

 

Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

This post combines two separate recipes. The flank steak has a chimichurri marinade but no sauce to speak of. This was not going to work for me - I LOVE chimichurri sauce and wanted more of the delicious herby goodness to eat with my steak.

Lots of cultures have recipes for sauces similar to chimichurri sauce - salsa verde in Italy for instance. For those of you unfamiliar with this type of sauce - it is a green sauce used for grilled meat, originally from Argentina. It is generally made of finely-chopped parsley, minced garlic, vegetable oil, oregano, and white vinegar. This sauce recipe comes from Bon Appetit.

The grilled flank steak recipe is from the blog Add A Pinch found through the power of google. It was a great recipe producing an amazing steak. Make sure you give yourself some time because the steak should marinate 6 - 8 hours.

Now that the weather is finally nice throw some steak on the grill!

Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

1 (2 pound) flank steak
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Add flank steak to a glass or non-reactive flat dish or sealable bag. Whisk together Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, parsley and cilantro. Pour over flank steak, making sure well coated. Cover with plastic wrap or seal bag and store flat in the refrigerator for 6 - 8 hours to overnight.

About 30 minutes prior to grilling, remove flank steak from the refrigerator and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Meanwhile, preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Coat lightly with oil to prevent the flank steak from sticking. Once preheated, cook the flank steak for 3 minutes on one side, flip over with tongs and cook the other side for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the flank steak reaches 130º - 140º F, about 5 more minutes. Remove from grill, tent with foil and allow to rest on a cutting board for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Slice thinly and serve with chimichurri sauce.

For the Sauce:

1/2 red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more
3-4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or minced
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 Fresno chile or red jalapeño, finely chopped
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine vinegar, 1 tsp. salt, garlic, shallot, and chile in a medium bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro, parsley, and oregano. Using a fork, whisk in oil. Season with salt to taste.

Finally Spring

The weather has finally turned gorgeous here.

As usual we have gone from winter to summer in one leap. I'm sitting at my desk with the window listening to all of the sounds of life outside - birds chirping, kids playing, neighbor chatting to one another, and motorcycles revving . . .

Paul is working today - that sucks - being stuck inside on the first lovely Sunday of the year is a sad thing. Happily he finishes early so we should get outside for a walk.

After I dropped him off at work this morning I came home and did two hours of work in the garden - it is amazing how getting my hands dirty is relaxing even though it is work.

The pic above is the first flower in the garden - always a happy thing!

 

Photo Hunt - Pop

This week's Photo Hunt theme is 'pop'.

Imagine trying to pop the cork on that giant champagne bottle?

Then imagine drinking it. That is a happy dream. :-)

Prosecco Popsicles

Spring may start in March, but it starts to really feel official in April. And to herald the season, NYC's Loopy Doopy Rooftop Bar is bringing back its popular prosecco popsicles, a simple, yet brilliant, combination of prosecco and ice pops. 

They come in great flavor combinations, like the ever-popular raspberry basil smash — fresh raspberries, basil, white rum, organic sugar, and filtered water — "which pairs with prosecco unbelievably well," says Max Harris, the director of food and beverage for the Conrad New York. 

If you're nowhere near NYC and want to make these drinks for yourself all spring and summer long, you definitely can. All you need is some wine (prosecco, cava, champagne, sparkling rosé, etc.) and a fruity ice pop. Think summer fruits like peaches and berries. Cheers! 

Teacher Shortages?

Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

One of our favourite things to have with a roast is scalloped potatoes. This recipe is an adult version of those scalloped potatoes you remember from your childhood.

Leave it to the French, who call these dauphinois potatoes,  to create over a dozen variations of this dish which may include the use of eggs, egg yolks, a light bechamel sauce, different herbs and an assortment of different types of cheese so that you can distinguish one from the other. Au gratin potatoes tend to be on the richer side

I think the secret to success here is the infused sauce - it adds layers of deliciousness that you'll appreciate.

There is nothing low-fat about this dish - save it for a day you feel the need for a treat and enjoy!

Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

4 med-large size waxy potatoes
1 cup broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 cup cream
6 Tablespoons butter
S&P
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of thyme
Pinch of nutmeg
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ onion, grated with the juice
3 cups cheese (for example, fontina, asiago, parmesan, gruyere)

First peel the potatoes and slice lengthwise on a mandolin, this is important to get paper thin potatoes that will layer perfectly in your baking dish.

Add the broth and the cream into a medium sized pot and add in all of the other ingredients except the butter and cheese. Bring to a boil and then turn off and set aside to steep all of the flavors together. In the meantime, grease your baking pan with a pan spray, oil or butter. Then begin overlapping the potatoes lengthwise until you have covered the entire bottom of the pan.

Gently salt and pepper the first layer and spread out 1 cup of cheese over the entire layer, along with a few nobs of butter. In all, you will create 3 layers, so make sure to have enough butter and cheese for 3 layers. If you want to add some to the top, you can save a little extra for that. Repeat with the second layer, and then again with the third, but do not put the cheese on top of the final layer yet. Once you have everything completed, gently pour the liquid through a fine mesh sieve to catch all of the flavorful remnants we used to poach in the liquid. You can pour this into another container or directly onto the potatoes.

Cover this with a greased piece of foil, so that the top does not stick to the foil as it is baking. Depending on the thickness of your layers, this may take up to 1 1/2 hours to cook at 350°F. At the 1 hour mark, uncover the potatoes and use a knife to slide through to see if it meets with any resistance. By this time, all of the liquid will have boiled off and the potatoes are perfectly tender.  At this point, add the remaining cheese (if you like to have cheese on top) and continue to bake uncovered for another 30 minutes until golden brown on top. It is best to let it rest for about 5 minutes to let the  potato layers come before slicing. As the melted cheese throughout the dish cools, it helps cement the layers together.

Travel Tuesdays - California Art

I was searching for some pics the other day and came upon the collection of pictures I took when we went to the di Rosa art preserve in Sonoma.

It seemed like a good time to revisit that happy day . . .

Rigatoni Pie

This, ladies and gents, is high on the list of 'the best things I have eaten in 2016'. Admittedly it is early in the year but I believe this will stand the test of time nicely.

There are a few versions of this online but they tend to fall into two categories - with ricotta or without. I can't imagine why someone wouldn't want to take this to a higher level by adding ricotta but there you have it. With some of the recipes you make everything from scratch - all well and good but if you are pushed for time this version using jarred sauce comes together nicely.

Paul made this last week while I was delayed at work. I arrived home at 8:30 completely exhausted. When he put this on the table in front of me I suddenly was transformed into 'happy Jerry', if only for a wee spell.

Rigatoni Pie

• 1 pound Rigatoni
• 1 jar of your favourite pasta sauce (approximately 2.5 cups, give or take. If it's slightly more or less, just use it all)
• ½ cup of water
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound ground beef or ground pork
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 container cottage cheese (or ricotta cheese) DO NOT use cottage cheese unless you truly hate the people you are cooking for.
• 1 large egg
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese

 

Instructions

1. Cook the Rigatoni in a large pot of salted, boiling water. Make sure you use enough water because the rigatoni sucks up a lot. Cook it about 1 minute less than the package directions so it is still hard enough to stand up. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water.
2. Toss pasta with 1 Tablespoon of oil to prevent it from sticking. Then add the parmesan cheese and toss until the cheese is evenly distributed. Set aside.
3. In a large frying pan, brown the ground beef in 1 Tablespoon of oil. Drain away the fat once it's cooked.
4. Add the jar of pasta sauce and water and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for at least 20 minutes. The longer you simmer the better. Just make sure you add more water if it all boils off.
6. Remove from heat and let it cool for 10 minutes.
7. Mix together the container of cottage cheese and the egg. Set aside.
8. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Grease a 9 inch spring form pan.
10. Take the cooked rigatoni and stand each piece up on its end in the pan. Continue until the whole pan is tightly packed.
11. Pour the cottage cheese mixture over the rigatoni and spread evenly over all the noodles.
12. Pour the meat mixture over top and spread evenly over the noodles. Use your finger to poke the meat and cheese mixture down into the noodles. The more patience you have with this step, the better it will be.
13. Bake for 15 minutes at 400F.
14. Remove from the oven and top with the mozzarella cheese.
15. Bake for another 15 minutes at 400F.
16. Let stand for 10 minutes then run a knife around the edge of the pan to help remove the spring form pan.