Meatball Sauce

Well hello again! How's this for progress, two posts in one night! Now we're going to talk about meatball sauce. The hubby was just given an amazing Italian cookbook from 1962 and we've been wanting to try one of these recipes for a while. I'm telling you, this will blow any meatball recipe you have out of the water! Honestly, I wasn't sure about soaking the bread in water (not milk??) and no egg in the meatball (whaa?) but the meatballs were amazing, tender, and juicy. Be patient and check it out:

Start with two slices of white bread - soak them in one cup of water for a few minutes then mash them up with a fork. Get the bread nice and smooth, then press as much of the water out with the fork. You can also pat it with a paper towel to get the water out. Put the bread in a mixing bowl with 1/2 pound of ground beef, 1/2 pound of ground pork, two cloves of minced garlic (I microplaned it, if you don't have a microplane get one right now), 2 teaspoons of fresh basil, one teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and a 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese. Use your hands and mix everything together - be sure to take the time and really incorporate all of the ingredients. Roll the mixture into walnut sized balls, and preheat a large saute pan with three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Brown the meatballs lightly, then add 1/2 cup of minced onions, 2 cloves of garlic (again microplaned), one 28 ounce can of pureed tomatoes (you can used diced, I prefer pureed for the texture), one cup of water, one teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flake, and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir well (but carefully, don't rip the precious precious meatballs), then bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, then simmer this pot of delicious for 90 minutes. Yeah, I said it: 90 minutes. It's. So. Worth. It.

I served this amazing sauce with a pappardelle (long flat noodle that is wider than fettuccine), but you can use any pasta that you like. After the sauce cooks for 90 minutes, add a few tablespoons of chopped parsley. Serve over your pasta with the parsley and some grated parm.

In my humble opinion these may be the best meatballs I've ever made (sorry Tyler!). Honestly, the sauce was just delicious, and the meatballs plain old rad. Do try this, you won't be sorry!

BFF,

d

Lemon Chicken Under a Cast Iron Pan

Hi friends! It's been a long time, yadda yadda yadda, let's cook!

I've been wanting to try Chicken under a Brick for a while now, but as some of you might know the grill is not my favorite place to cook. Give me a gas stove and I'm a happy camper. So instead of finding a brick to make this delectable treat I took Mark Bittman's advice and used a cast iron skillet (well, two actually - one to cook in and one for the weight). This seriously is in my top five best chicken preparations ever. The skin get so crispy and amazing, and inside it's so juicy you won't believe it.

Start with one whole chicken that is 3-4 pounds (responsible dining, people! try to get organic, cage free birds). If you get it from a butcher, have them remove the backbone. If you're brave and have a very sharp knife, you can do that yourself. I got this recipe from Mark Bittman's "The Minimalist", and there are directions and pictures on how to remove the backbone. Or you can google it. Just remove the backbone. I've changed his recipe slightly for more lemon flavor.

In a large bowl or cake pan, mix together 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, and the juice of two lemons. Throw the husks of of the lemons in too, why not? Add S&P to taste (be liberal here, you want this chicken to have lots of flavor). Place your flattened chicken in the bowl and rub your lemon mixture all over, even putting some under the skin (without detaching the skin, be careful). Cover and marinate in your refrigerator for at least a half and hour and up to a day. Turn it over every now and then until you're ready to cook.

Which is now! Preheat the oven to 500 degrees, and preheat an ovenproof skillet that is at least 12 inches in diameter. I used my trusty cast iron skillet, and right before I put the chicken in I sprayed some non-stick spray (since there is already olive oil in the marinade). Put the chicken in the pan skin side down, along with the rest of the marinade. Weigh your chicken down with another (smaller) skillet or cast iron pan (or a brick wrapped in aluminum foil). Doing this will flatten your chicken to cook evenly - cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes, then move to the oven. Roast for 15 minutes (use the timer people!), then remove from the oven, remove the weight, and turn the chicken over (it should now be skin side up, der). Place the pan back in the oven and roast for 10 more minutes. And voila! This can be served hot or at room temp. Be sure to garnish with lemon slices for squeezing.

Serve with your favorite sides (I think we did rice pilaf and salad) - and enjoy! Let me know how it goes!