Marinara with Homegrown Tomatos and Herbs

This year my tomato plants have been plentiful.  So plentiful that Tony and I had to figure out what to do with them since the two of us could never eat that many!  Last year it was tomato soup.  This year Marinara Sauce!

So, we pulled out the good ol' Betty Crocker Cookbook and followed the instructions:

2 cans (28 oz. each) crushed tomatoes with basil, undrained
1 16 oz can tomato paste
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
2 tsp. sugar
1 1/4 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp salt.

Stir all ingredients in a 3-quart saucepan until will blended.  Heat to boiling, reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer 30 minutes to blend flavors.

Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 weeks, or freeze up to a year.

Notes:

*  We used fresh tomatoes from our garden that I stewed in the Crockpot over night and cooled in the refrigerator.  Then, when we were putting them in the pot, the skins slid right off.

*  We used a blend of fresh basil and dried basil.  The plants in my garden are not very large so much.

*  We used a lot more garlic, and left out the salt.

*  We added fresh parsley.

*  We added about 1/2 cup of red wine.

*  I forgot to adapt the tomato paste to match the amount of stewed tomatoes, and, therefore, only bought one can.  It probably should've had two following the recipe.

*  We let it cook for about two hours.  You do have to be careful or the bottom will burn.  If this happens, do not scrape it or you will add the burned flavor to the sauce.  Just take out another pot and transfer it to the clean pot.

 

Rating:

We will have to edit this one and let you know.  Tomorrow night's dinner is spaghetti with meat sauce and mushrooms using our marinara.  It smelled like a pizzeria in the house when it was cooking, so I have high hopes.

Cost:

Fortunately, I am able to have a garden and it produces a good amount of food and herbs.  So, any of the fresh herbs and the tomatoes were the by product of a little work and a lot of watering.  Then, as we keep a well stocked kitchen, we had the olive oil, sugar, pepper, and dried herbs.  All in all, this was a pretty cheap dish to make, and it made a lot!
Onion - .69 a pound
Tomato paste:  $1.20

'Til next time!

Sandy

Tibby's New Orleans Kitchen

This week's Food Adventure is a little bit different.  This time, we took my Dad out for a Father's Day dinner, and, boy, did we feast!  Tibby's New Orleans Kitchen in Altamonte Springs offers a menu so filled with Cajun delights that you will have a hard time deciding which one you want to try.  We ordered three schooners of beer and a water, and took our time going over the menu, changing our minds again and again.  Finally, we had to decide.  So, we started with some Maw's Fries - a plateful of French fries smothered in debris gravy and sprinkled with cheese.  I'm not usually much of a French fries person, but I found myself glad to have gotten a second serving!  Then, once all the fries were gone, everyone kept scooping up spoonfuls of debris gravy and downing them like soup!

We all ordered different items, and everyone seemed to enjoy the food quite a bit.  Some portions do seem to be larger than others - the whole muffuletta is gianormous.  I ordered the "Who-dat" cajun blackened chicken (pictured above).  Roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts, Cajun seasoning and lemon butter sauce over Boudin grit cakes and topped with blackened chicken. As with everything I've had from this place, I wanted to lick the plate, and might've tried if the restaurant hadn't been so busy.  I like blackened food and seldom do restaurants do it right, laying claim to New Orleans as home, Tibby's had better get it right, and they do.  The chicken is juicy, and spicy.  The grit cakes have a nice crunch with a creamy middle.  And, the lemon butter sauce was amazing.

Tony ordered the whole muffuletta, and we brought half of it home.  We split that half for lunch today, and had plenty.  My father had been wanting some crawfish pie, and there was a combo on the menu with that, jambalaya and chicken file gumbo.  He cleaned his plate.  His girlfriend ordered the shrimp and andouille cheddar grits.  It was another dish with a large serving, and she took half home.

I had to take a look at the dessert menu and, once I did, I couldn't resist.  I ordered the bread pudding with brandy cream sauce and was, oh, so glad I did.  It is a very large slice of very flavorful, very dense bread pudding, but that is not the star of the show.  The brandy cream sauce they pour over the warmed bread pudding is incredible.  It was like a warm vanilla cream, and, again, I had to refrain from licking the plate, even though we brought half of it home.  Tony and my father ordered single servings of beignets (3 each), and they were perfect.

Good food at reasonable prices. Great sounds of New Orleans playing while you eat. And, interesting walls to examine while you wait.  This is my new favorite restaurant.  The only downside is that it gets loud when it is busy, making conversation difficult.

Potato Gnocchi with Creamy Vodka Sauce and Italian Sausage

This week's Food Adventure we have an assistant. Corrie has returned for our bountiful feast. For dinner tonight we're having Potato Gnocchi with Creamy Vodka Sauce and Italian Sausage, then we're drinking the vodka. Here we go!

 Potato gnocchi is so easy to make. It's basically mashed potatoes with flour and eggs added to make it dough-like. So, get that water boiling for your potatoes. Here's what you're going to need.

2 medium potatoes
1 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs
2 cups of all purpose flour

Once your potatoes are done, mash 'em up and add the other ingredients.  Mash with your hands until the dough is good and blended. Add more flour, if necessary, until dough is firm. Roll the dough into a little ball; the smaller the better, because they do swell when you cook 'em. To shape the gnocchi, make ridges by pulling the tines of the fork over each ball. We had an awesome time chatting and rolling our balls. It was a bonding experience. When your gnocchi are ready, put them in boiling water like you would any pasta. When gnocchi floats, it's ready.

Now, time to make the sauce. Things we will need:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 small onion
2 gloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 cups of homegrown tomatoes from the garden
1/2 cup of Vodka
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
8 oz of heavy whipping cream

Heat 10-inch skillet to medium-high heat and roast your garlic in the olive oil, as always. =)  Next, add your veggies. Then, the Italian sausage followed by your Vodka, heavy whipping cream, and the rest of your ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Now that it's done, we mix our sauce and our pasta, top with shredded mozzarella, and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown. Looks awesome!!! Lets eat!

Corrie's Rating: 10 Stars. I don't know what the scale is. It was comforting and nice and the sausage was not over powering. It's good, so good. I liked how creamy it was. It was almost like an alfredo or stroganoff.

Sandy's rating:  4.5

It was very creamy and good.  It would be good with shrimp and bacon in it as well.  Gnocchi were very good.  It was a lot like eating dumplings in a creamy and meaty sauce.

Huge success tonight. Kick ass good time. The sauce was very unique and easy peasy. We ate too much and drank way too much and I have to meet a client in the morning. But we do have a lot to celebrate. You must enjoy life no? Until next time my friends. All men must dine! ~Tony

White BBQ Sauce

This is an Alabama favorite.   White barbecue sauce.  There are a few variations of a recipe out for this, and this one, sent to me by a friend a few weeks ago, is really good.  

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. fresh, cracked black pepper

2 Tbsp. white wine worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients.  Apply liberally to chicken on a hot grill until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Enjoy!  We served ours with mustard greens and red beans with pork.

Notes:

*  I like my barbecue sauce with a little more heat than the recipe calls for, so I substituted a couple of tablespoons of cayenne pepper.  It added a nice degree of heat without being overbearing.

*  I wasn't able to locate the white wine worcestshire sauce, so I used the regular stuff.  I don't know the difference, so I can't speak to how this changes the flavor.

*  We use it on chicken most often, but I'm thinking of using the leftover on some grilled shrimp sometime soon!

Sandy's rating:  4.5 stars

This takes me back to my childhood.  The same creamy barbecue flavor that you just don't find in anything else.  I will definitely be making this again.

Tony's rating:  4.0 stars

I was surprised at how much it tasted like barbecue sauce for being so light.  I was surprised at how tangy and sweet it was.  Most of the time when you do that, you can taste the cayenne and the vinegar is way more prominent.  It truly was white barbecue sauce.  I can't wait to try it on shrimp.