recipephile

Roasted Cherry Tomato, Caramelized Onion and Sizzling Bacon Pasta Sauce

No cooking for me this Thanksgiving.  Actually, I made the cole slaw and am now sipping pomegranate mimosas while my friends swirl around the kitchen in a frenzy of turkey, potatoes, cranberries and other holiday treat.

For the last week I have been staying in Sonoma at my friend's house and since I was not cooking dinner on this thankful day, they put me in charge of preparing meals.  My friends at Graton Ridge Cellars had also asked me to create a recipe that would pair well with their 2007 Russian River Valley Chardonnay.  

I had been wanting to prepare a sauce using the roasted tomatoes in a bruschetta recipe that I love. Barb at Graton Ridge thought that the wine would pair well with a red sauce and after touring the aisles of the grocery I decided on mixing the tomatoes with caramelized onions and some crispy bacon.

The result was incredible and I highly recommend giving this a try.

This recipe makes enough sauce for 1 lb. of pasta.

- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 pints of cherry tomatoes
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3-5 rosemary sprigs with leaves removed (discard the stems)
- 2 medium yellow onions, skin removed and cut in half and then cut into 1/8 inch thick half moons
- 1/2 cup of Graton Ridge 2007 Russian River Valley Chardonnay
- 1/2 lb. bacon, chopped into bite size chunks
- 1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce
- 1 cup of parsley, chopped
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Grated Asiago for garnishing
- 1 lb. Strozzapreti or Penne pasta

Start by preparing the roasted cherry tomatoes.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Place 2 tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes, minced garlic and rosemary sprigs into a bowl.  Add about 1 tsp of salt and some freshly ground black pepper (I like a lot of pepper and use about 2-3 tsp). Mix well, spread out onto a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes.  Check them often and stir them around.  Note that they will crack and open up to release the juices.  This is okay, but If they start to brown remove from the oven.

While the tomatoes are roasting you can begin caramelizing the onions.  Add the remaining oil to a large sauce pot and turn on the heat to medium.  Add the onions and cook, stirring constantly.  After about 15-20 minutes your onions will begin to brown.  Crank the heat up to high, let the pot get very hot and then pour in a 1/4 cup of the wine.  Let this cook down while continuing to cook your onions for another 10-15 minutes.  Remove the onions and let rest.

Add the bacon to the sauce pan and cook until slightly crispy.  Place the onions back into the pan and stir well. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and add them to the sauce pot.  Add the tomato sauce and stir well.  Let cook over very low heat for 5-8 minutes.

Add the parsley and lemon zest and then stir, taste and add more Kosher salt or freshly ground black pepper if needed.

This can be served with Strozzapreti ("priest choker" in Italian), a pasta that is looks like an elongated form of cavatelli. You can also use Penne pasta for this dish.  Make sure to top the pasta and sauce with some grated Asiago cheese.

We finished off the remaining bottle of Graton Ridge 2007 Russian River Valley Chardonnay, a perfect combination for this dish.

FINN CRISPS - Fiber-o-Rama

The other day I headed over to Prospect Park to cook up some yummy food for my bedridden friend Jessica.  Jessica is pregnant with her first child and is taking precautions to ensure that she has an easy pregnancy and a healthy and happy baby.

Her mother, Raina, and I have been taking turns heading over and making food for she and her husband to help ease the burden associated with preparing meals.  At times we will go over and prepare enough food for a week, which ends up being a huge relief to Jessica and her husband Tommy. 

So on this trip I decided I would prepare a pot of sauce and meatballs. Tommy is really watching his carbs so I wanted to make sure that whatever I made could be eaten with or without pasta.

I decided however that I needed my carbs and stopped off at D'Agastinos on my way to Brooklyn to find some yummy crackers that I would serve with my Roasted Cherry Tomatoes appetizer.  As I strolled the aisles I discovered FINN CRISP.  A Finnish cracker that is low fat and packed with fiber.

When I removed them from the package they looked like piece of sandpaper to me. But the flavor was great and a wonderful accompaniment to the roasted cherry tomatoes.

Next time you are in search of a healthy cracker you may want to check these out.

The Limeless Island - B-Rad's Margatinis

There must have been more than a million lime trees on the island of Molokai'i and yet our group successfully stripped them of just about every single lime we could possibly get our hands on.  The new name for Molkai'i is the limeless island.  If you plan on visiting in the next month or so you probably won't find many limes if any at all.  I'd suggest waiting until the new crop is ripe and ready. Give it a year.

It all started when Therese and I headed to the farmer's market on our first full day on the island. Brad and Judy hollered to us as we scurried out the door excited about the food adventure awaiting us, "Make sure you get limes, lots and lots of limes." Therese hollered from the car window as we sped away "For what?" "You'll see," we heard, as their voices disappeared behind us.

The first stop on our journey was the farmer's market and amidst the huge avocados, mini sweet peppers, pineapples, guava and other exotic Hawaiian fruits and veggies we found the limes.  Lots and lots of limes. Some were large, but the majority of the limes we found were rather small.  Everyone on the trip soon learned that these were the best, not only for their amazing amount of juice, but also their bitter sweet taste.

Although we were only gone for about three hours, you would have thought it had been days.  A house filled with anxious drinkers awaited us and as we began to unload the car Brad grabbed the bags of limes, headed to the kitchen and began the juicing process. Judy helped us with the rest of the groceries and began telling us the tale of Brad's famous B-Rad's Margatini's.  One of the best margaritas I have ever had, the B-Rad is prepared with the finest of liquors and is PO-TENT.  Hence, Judy explained, the B-Rad Margatini should be shaken and strained into a martini glass.  That is of course unless you want to get really hammered.  If so, use a tumbler and pour liberally.

We drank these just about every day while lounging in the pool and ended up depleting the Molokai'ins of their precious supply of limes.  We felt bad, for about a second, when we left the island, but did so knowing that this incredible drink kept us happy and at many times a little wobbly during our incredible vacation.

Thanks to Brad and Judy for sharing the secret behind this incredible drink.

To make the tasty B-Rad Margatini use:

- 1 part good tequila
- 1 part fresh lime juice
- 1 part simple syrup (1:1 mixture sugar dissolved in water)
- 1/2 part Cointreau
- 1/2 part Grand Marnier

Shake, strain and serve in a salted martini glass OR tumbler with lots of ice.

Canned Marinara and The Urban Artisans

The other day I was watching the news and reporter Wendy Tokuda from one of San Francisco's local TV stations appeared on the screen with a daily tip on how to be more "green".  Her segments last about 15-20 seconds and in that short time span she inspired me.  She talked about canning and how it can be used to preserve everything from fruits and veggies to prepared sauces and jellies.  As usual, my brain wandered and the inspiration was lost in the sea of ever changing thoughts that consume my brain.

Then Jeffrey sent me an email about a new foodie organization in San Francisco called 18 Reasons and my inspiration reappeared with a vengeance. 18 Reasons is a non-profit community space focused largely on foodie events. Next Thursday Jeffrey and I will be attending a gathering of other food fanatics for and event called Jam It. 

Here is the description...Are you Pickle Proud and Jam Joyous? Cheese Cheery and Salumi Slaphappy? Bring a taste of your favorite kitchen projects and meet other food crafting enthusiasts. Join us for our 2nd gathering of the DIY food crafting community. This will be our very first opportunity to publicly unveil a new concept we have been talking about for almost a year now. 

Jeffrey and I consider ourselves artists when it comes to preparing foods in our small kitchens in a city (and region for that matter) that is filled with the freshest ingredients. For a while we jokingly called ourselves the urban artisans, but recently decided to capitalize the U and the A and make it our brand and namesake. Urban Artisans, once a concept, now a very very very small foodie brand with what we think could have a bright future is our very very very small line of delicious sweet and savory foods made by hand.  For now, Jeffrey is all about the sweet side of Urban Artisans and I the savory (fitting eh).  We have no pricing strategy and right now our distribution strategy consists of us showing up at friend's houses with canned gifts in hand, but what fun to dream.

For our first 18 Reasons event Jeffrey and I decided that he would bring something that he made by hand and canned and I would bring something that I made by hand and canned.  Now... don't expect us to give away all of our trade secrets (we have so many right?), but we decided to share with you the recipe for the marinara sauce that I prepared and canned in my very own kitchen. 

It has been a while since I've canned and what I found most interesting about this experience was the cost, in terms of savings.  The jars that I purchased (16 oz. Ball Jars bought at Cliff Variety in the Castro) cost me about $14.00 for 12 ($1.16 per jar) and the ingredients cost about $14.00 as well.  I spent $28 and got 8 jars of homemade marinara sauce.  That's a cost of $3.50 per jar for something outrageously delicious that can be saved on the shelves and used at a moment's notice.  What's more is that the jars can be reused so your cost will go down each time you make a new batch.  A 16 oz jar is the perfect amount for 1 lb, of pasta, which should feed 4 hungry people.  Add in a salad and a loaf of bread and you have the makings of one incredible meal.

Keep in mind that you can reduce your costs even further if you purchase your tomatoes and other ingredients from a bulk food store like Costco or better yet, grow your own tomatoes, parsley, garlic and sweet onions.

One of the marvelous things about canning is that homemade foods that last for a long time make great last minute gifts.

To make 8 16 oz. jars of marinara sauce you will need:

- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 8 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 large sweet onions
- 1 cup of vermouth
- 1 tbsp black pepper (I counted and learned that with my pepper grinder it takes 45 turns to make 1 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp Kosher salt
- 3 28 oz cans of whole tomatoes.
- 1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
- 1.5 cups of finely chopped parsley
- 1 tsp lemon zest (this is equal to the amount of zest on 1 medium sized lemon)

And of course 8 16 oz. canning jars.

Open the cans of tomatoes, place in a large bowl. Using a hand blender (you can also use a regular blender) blend until slightly smooth/chunky.  

Place the olive oil and garlic into a large stock pot and simmer on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly while making sure the garlic does not burn.  Add the onions, stir well and continue to saute until the onions are translucent.  Crank the heat up to high and continue sautéing the onions.  Add the vermouth and let cook down for 5 minutes. 

Add the salt and pepper and let simmer with the onions, garlic and vermouth for a minute or two.  Pour in the tomatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Toss in the parsley and lemon zest and let simmer again for another 5-10 minutes.  Taste and add more salt and pepper to taste.

Follow the instructions for canning tomato sauce here or you can freeze the sauce in separate containers and use for later.

Jeffrey Chimes In - Easy Bulgur Salad

Thanks to Jeffrey for this great post.

While Michael was preparing our not-so-Halal 7-Spice pork chops last night (our Lebanese take on "shake and bake"), I put together the following side dish. It's great for many reasons: it's simple, healthful, delicious, and functions as a salad and a starch. It's akin to a tabbouleh, only without tabbouleh's obscene quantity of parsley.

Popular in Turkish, middle-eastern, Mediterranean and Indian cooking, bulgur is now readily available in American groceries. It is a tiny pasta that has been par-boiled and dried. Because of its size and the fact that it's been cooked already, it's very easy to prepare. Most popular bulgurs have been debranned, but one can find whole-grain varieties as well. We used a bag from Lebanon which Michael's friend Rudy had included in the care package Michael received yesterday.

Bulgur Salad

-1 cup bulgar
-3 cups water or broth
-2 lemons, juiced
-1 small red onion
-1 cucumber
-3 Roma tomatoes
-6 oz. feta cheese
-3 Tbsp. mint, finely chopped
-salt and pepper to taste

Bring 3 cups water or broth to a boil and remove from heat. Add 1/2 of your lemon juice to the water or broth and soak the bulgur in this liquid for 30 minutes. Afterward, strain out any excess liquid and chill the bulgur.

While the bulgur is chilling, dice onion into 1/4" pieces. Seed cucumber and dice it into 1/4" pieces. Core tomatoes and dice them into 1/4" pieces. Dice feta into 1/4" pieces.

Combine the onion, cucumber, tomato, feta and mint. Fluff the chilled bulgar with a fork and then fold it gently into the diced vegetables. Season to taste and drizzle with remaining lemon juice. Serve and enjoy.

Recipe Update - Finally Rudy Sends His Tabbouleh Recipe

Here it is folks.  Rudy's much anticipated Tabbouleh recipe. By the way... that is Rudy to the left picking parsley in the fields of Kumu Farms.

If you read the last posting it tells the story of how Rudy, Beth and I had the opportunity to pick parsley and learn all about the fresh produce grown on Kumu Farms.

The story is interesting and one I recommend reading before you try this recipe.  It will make you want to try it even more!

Tabbouleh

- 3 large bunches of Italian flat leaf parsley.
- 3 bunches green onions.
- 8 Roma tomatoes.
- 1/2 cup of bulgur wheat size No: 1
- Extra virgin olive oil.
- 4 medium lemons.
- 3-4 sprigs fresh mint.
- salt to taste.
- pinch ground white pepper.

Soak and wash the parsley several times to remove all grit and dirt. Trim stems and dry well by rolling into paper towel or spinning in a salad spinner. Set aside.

Dice Roma tomatoes.
Chop green onions.
Squeeze 4 lemons.

Once the parsley is dry, finely chop by hand and place in large bowl. Do not use food processor to chop parsley as Italian parsley will bruise easily and become water logged. Add chopped onions and mint. Add diced tomatoes and dry burghul. Do not soak or wash burghul. Mixed tabbouleh dry. Add the juice of 4 lemons and mix again. Do not add oil first as the lemon juice will simply slide to the bottom of the bowl and you will end up with a heavily oiled tabbouleh. Add salt and pepper and adjust for taste. Add about 1/3 cup of olive oil, mix well and taste. Adjust for salt and lemon juice. Burghul will seem crunchy at first but will soak up the lemon, tomato juice, and oil quickly.

You can also use curley leaf parsley. You must also wash it and dry it thoroughly. You can place the dried curly leaf parsley in the food processor.

Picking Parsley For Tabbouleh at Kumu Farms

My very good friend Christian turned 40 recently and for his birthday a group of us (13 in all) gathered in Molokai'i Hawaii for a week of relaxation, cooking, hiking and fun. We decided before going on the trip that everyone would participate in the cooking. Prior to going on the trip I was admittedly nervous.  I had never met the majority of the people going, but somehow I knew we would all meld well. It was in the kitchen that this melding took place and over the next few posting I will be telling stories and sharing recipes from everyone that traveled to Molokai'i to celebrate Christian.

One of the couples on the trip, Rudy and Beth, immediately became good friends.  Rudy is from Lebanon and loves to cook.  Beth is from the U.S. of A. and is also a lover of great food. On the day that they were scheduled to cook Rudy and Beth asked me to join them on their search for local ingredients for the Mediterranean meal that they were planning on making that evening.

Our journey took us to Kumu Farms, which we almost missed out on had it not been for Beth's insistence that we "go there now because we may forget on the way home".  It was some of the best advice I have ever taken and I think Rudy feels the same.

When we got out of the car and approached the farm stand we were greeted by a lovely Italian woman named Emanuela. "Manu", as many call her, moved from Italy to the USA. She and her husband had been living and working in California and decided one day to drop everything and move to the islands. Manu began managing the farm and teaching Italian to people on the island.

Manu walked us around the little shop and talked about the farm. She told us that crews have worked the land at Kumu Farms on Moloka'i for almost 30 years. The operation now yields 20,000 pounds of Papayas each week as well as 4,000 pounds of Basil, 500 pounds of other fresh Herbs (Sage, Thyme, Parsley, Rosemary, Dill...) and many specialty crops. Rudy, Beth and I listened and followed Manu around as though she was a god. Her accent mixed with her love of food made us immediate fans.

Rudy explained that we would be making Tabbouleh as part of our meal. He needed flat leaf Italian parsley and good tomatoes.  It had been challenging to find tasty fresh tomatoes on the island, but Manu came through with delicious Romas that were grown right on the farm. 

Then she grabbed scissors and knives and took us into the fields where we actually harvested the parsley we were going to be using that evening. We were in heaven as we realized what a rare gem we had stumbled upon.

Manu continued to chat about the farm as we filled up bags of parsley under the hot Hawaiin sun. As usual, I was wet from head to toe, but the perspiration was well worth the incredible experience.

I encourage anyone visiting Molokai'i to stop by and spend some time with Manu at Kumu Farms.

Rudy is sending me his recipe for Tabbouleh and when he does I will post it so you too can taste one of the many dishes he prepared that evening.

Back To Writing Soon

Hello Everyone

We have been offline for the past ten days on a much needed vacation.  Please stay tuned for stories from trip to the islands of Molokai'i and Maui. My friends and I discovered local produce, amazing fish and other epicurean treats.

New posts will be up beginning this weekend.

Thanks

Michael