Marinara Sauce

This recipe is so simple you will be tempted to add extra ingredients...don't.  The simplicity helps to create an incredibly delicious and fresh tasting dish.  We first discovered this recipe in The Sopranos Family Cookbook.


Ingredients

• 2 large garlic cloves, lightly smashed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 lbs. ripe plum tomatoes, diced
• Salt
• 8-10 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

Directions

In a large skillet, cook the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat, pressing occasionally with the back of a spoon, until golden.  Add the tomatoes and salt to taste.  Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until the sauce is thick.  Stir in the basil leaves.  Serve with warm pasta.

Two Minute Calamari: Sicilian Lifeguard Style

I first tried this dish on a tasting menu at the B&B Ristorante in Vegas and was immediately converted to a Mario Batali fan.  Before tasting this I was convinced that he was a television personality with mediocre cooking skills; sometimes it's fun to be wrong.  The flavors are intense, unique, and work perfectly together.  The recipe below is verbatim from Mario, but I would recommend keeping the tomato sauce thin and scaling back on the Calamari. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup Israeli couscous
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons currants
• 1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup caperberries
• 2 cups basic tomato sauce*
• 1 1/2 pounds cleaned calamari: tubes cut into 1/4 inch rounds, tentacles halved
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. bring 3 quarts of water to a boil, set up an ice bath
2. cook the couscous in the boiling water for 2 minutes
3. drain and immediately plunge in the ice bath.  Once cooled, remove to dry on a plate
4. in a 12 to 14 inch sauté pan heat oil until just smoking
5. add the pine nuts, currants, and red pepper flakes and sauté until the nuts are just golden brown (about 2 minutes)
6. add the caperberries, tomato sauce, and couscous; bring to a boil
7. add the calamari and simmer until just cooked and completely opaque
8. season with salt and pepper to taste
9. pour into large bowl, sprinkle with scallions, and serve immediately

*Basic Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tablespoon dried)
• 1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
• 2 28-ounce cans peeled whole tomatoes
• salt 

Directions

1. in a 3 quart saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat
2. add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and and light golden brown (8 to 10 minutes)
3. add the thyme and carrot and cook for 5 minutes more
4. hand crush the tomatoes and add them with their juices
5. bring to a boil, stirring often
6. lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes

Grandma Louise's Spaghetti and Meatballs

My grandmother was the best cook I've had the fortune of meeting.  She would type all her recipes on index cards and keep them in a box in the kitchen, and I was always particularly excited when this one came out.  The star here is the meatballs.  These aren't the dry mounds of flavorless beef that often get passed off as meatballs.  These suckers are delicious and bursting with flavor.  The trick she used to tell me is not to try to cook the meatball in the fat, you just want to give it a crispy shell and allow the meat to cook through in the sauce.  I've never succeeded in making this taste the way she did, but this is the standard by which I judge all spaghetti dishes and it has yet to be beaten.

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fat (olive oil can be substituted...if you are willing to sacrifice a little flavor)
• 1 can (2 1/2 cups) tomatoes
• 2 six ounce cans tomato paste
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 bay leaf

For the Meatballs:

• 3/4 pound ground beef
• 1/4 pound ground pork (beef can be substituted)
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 sprig parsley, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 well beaten eggs
• salt and pepper

Directions

Brown onion in hot fat.  Add: tomatoes, tomato paste, water, and seasonings.  Cook slowly 1 hour.  Combine remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Form in small balls and brown in hot fat.  Add to sauce and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.