Entrees

BREAD AND MOTHER

The Basics for a Delicious Life

Shack's Secret Sauce

(Written by guest blogger Sharon Ackerson )

A friend of mine has a spaghetti sauce recipe SO secret that you, literally, have to marry into the family to get a copy. Hardcore, man!

On the other end of the spectrum, I recently had the pleasure of preparing “Sunday Gravy” with my “former” mother in law. She is Sicilian Italian, a truly amazing cook, and apparently believes: Family is Family…no matter what…..Life is long!

Her Sunday Gravy is a scrumptious, herby marinara sauce and highly versatile. I decided one cold, wintry day to try it again on my own but to play with it by adding a hearty meat mixture and calling it a ragout.

When I sent her a text and photo of my attempt she asked for my recipe. UHHHHH, sure….okay! Busted! I had to make the sauce again and carefully craft a recipe by measuring so I could have a step-by-step process to share with her. Suffice it to say, those cookbook authors work hard! It was more tedious a job than I had anticipated. (Note: I am not a good baker….I tend to go off the grid when cooking!)

So here is my official “not so secret” recipe for Shack’s Ragout! Deepest thanks to my former MIL for the amazing home base gravy recipe that I have forever committed to muscle memory and my heart. I hope you enjoy this blended family version.

Shack’s Ragout

This recipe is created in parts…..a vegetable/herb component and a meat mixture…..it gets mixed together to low simmer…….

Vegetable/Tomato/Herb Part One

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

2 Stalks of Celery diced

2 large Carrots diced

½ Medium Onion Diced

5 Cloves of Garlic/Minced

2 Tablespoons of Italian Parsley (Fresh) Chopped

2 Tablespoons of Fresh Basil Chopped

½ Teaspoon Granulated Garlic

½ Teaspoon of Dried Oregano

½ Teaspoon of Fennel Seed

½ Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper

½ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

¼ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

Kosher Salt and Pepper to Taste

TWO Tablespoons of Tomato Paste

One Large Can of Crushed Tomatoes

½ Cup of Red Dry Wine

½ Teaspoon of Sugar or Agave

Swirl TWO tablespoons of Olive Oil in a HOT PAN………add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic…..let cook for 5-7 minutes sweat it out…..add parsley, basil, granulated garlic, oregano, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel seed, salt and pepper……add TWO Tablespoons TOMATO PASTE to the middle of the pan and fry the paste into the vegetable/herb mixture……1 minute…….it will be clumpy……add ½ cup dry RED WINE to the mixture and stir……..Add a 16 ounce can of CRUSHED Tomatoes…….add ½ Teaspoon of Sugar

Cook this mixture for 13-17 minutes….and then blend it in a blender until it has a texture that is similar to ground meat…..not too much blending…you want it to mirror the texture of browned ground meat…….

Once the vegetable mixture is blended……..add one ¼ cup of milk or half and half and a nice RIND of Parmesan Cheese…..let is simmer on VERY LOW HEAT while you prepare the MEAT MIXTURE.

MEAT MIXTURE – Part Two

¼ pound of GROUND VEAL

¼ pound of GROUND Sirloin BEEF

¼ pound of GROUND Sweet Italian Sausage

¼ pound Ground Pork

Swirl a hot pan with olive oil…..put in some crushed fresh, minced garlic…..1 teaspoon…….put in some dried herbs……oregano, sweet basil, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper…….brown the meat together……………once the MEAT is incorporated with the dried herbs…..and fully cooked………..DRAIN ALL THE FAT OFF OF THE MEAT MIXTURE.

Take the meat mixture and pour it into the vegetable mixture……………Add 1 cup of LOW SODIUM BEEF BROTH……Let simmer on LOW…………………Serve over PASTA.

Giving Thanks Caveman Style

I’m reading a book called ‘Sapiens’ right now and it’s basically about our evolution from hunter/foragers over 10,000 years ago to farmers and then IT experts. That’s pretty much the Reader’s Digest version anyway. The reason I bring this up on Thanksgiving is that we always focus on the pilgrims and Native Americans on this holiday which is appropriate given that’s supposedly how this celebration began. But, as I’m reading about our fore-fathers and mothers (the really hairy big-browed ones, not the founders of this country) I’m struck by how easy all this Thanksgiving prep is compared to meals being served up 10,000 years ago.

As I shop for all the traditional Thanksgiving food stuff in the grocery store I hear folks complaining about ingredients they can’t find or how long the lines are at the checkout. Friends tell me they’re stressed out over food preparations and the work involved in making all those pies, potatoes, rolls - you fill in the blank. Okay, I may have whined about the lack of an extra fridge or oven at this time of the year when my own refrigerator is bursting with ingredients and pyrex dishes full of green beans, stuffing and mashed potatoes are lined up on the counter waiting to go in the oven like planes circling the airport waiting to land. I may have even been one of those ‘folks’ complaining about ingredients I couldn’t find at the store (dry mustard). Whatever. Holidays are stressful... I mean WONDERFUL!

So, as I was fretting over the lack of dry mustard and my lack of extra appliances I suddenly stopped and thought of going out to eat at a restaurant for Thanksgiving. Just kidding! I thought of my ancient - I mean ancient - ancestors. The ones who had to run down their food and gather their greens and berries and grains every day. Those guys and gals. The ones with pronounced brows, shaggy bodies and strong hearts. And I wondered if they complained about the holidays because we know they held big feasts back then.
In fact, we have ample evidence of ancient feasts going as far back as 10,000 years ago when our ancestors built pits and other cooking installations where fossilized bits of bone and ashes have been found. Successfully taking down a mastadon was undoubtedly cause for celebration although I don’t believe ancient sapiens were making wishes over that breastbone. Anyway, thinking of my great, great, great, great, great grandsapiens made me realize how easy all this holiday prep really is. How thankful I am that I don’t have to go out and slay a mastadon (they have the most beautiful brown eyes and long lashes) and how grateful I am that, other than driving in the parking lot at Wegmans, my life is not in danger as I make these preparations.

Minor irritations aside (although seriously how hard is it to stock dry mustard?) I felt my grinch heart grow three sizes that day as I sat and pondered these lucky facts. And then I took up my spatula with a grateful and light heart and I began to make my green bean casserole...without dry mustard. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Fresh No-cook Cranberry Relish

NOTE: Given all the trouble I went to finding dry mustard to make the green bean casserole you might think I’d put up a recipe for the casserole instead of cranberry relish. I thought about it but unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the casserole so we’re doing the relish recipe instead. Although, now that I think of it I don’t have a photo of that either so you’re getting a relish recipe with photos of a turkey and a pie which we made and which were absolutely delicious by the way. It looks more Thanksgiving-ish than a pic of the relish anyway.

1 bag fresh cranberries
1 orange
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon brandy
Pinch of salt

Place all ingredients into a blender and puree. It’s that caveman simple and deliciously fresh! Something needs to be fast and easy on Thanksgiving...just another thing to be grateful for.

Hot Pie Pot Pie

You can edit text on your website by double clicking on a text box on your website.
Temps have been dipping below 60 degrees most mornings and evenings here in the South and fall has me in a frenzy whipping up all my favorite cold-weather meals. Pot Pie is undoubtedly one of my favorite comfort foods, and apparently one of my fiance's too. This recipe yielded two pies and one was already gone the first night I served it. With two pies, you can serve one for dinner and freeze the other for the next cold night.

Hot Pie Pot Pie
2 lb chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2 cup chicken broth (or enough to cover chicken breasts)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 cup half and half
3 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables, thawed (I used green beans, corn, carrots, and peas)
2 medium potatoes, cooked and cubed (or one small can white potatoes, cubed)
1 Tbsp parsley freshly chopped
1/2 tsp thyme, dried
2 pie pastry shells (typically frozen in desert section in grocery store)
2 pie crust covers (usually with the refridgerated buscuits and dough in grocery store)
1 egg, lightly beaten

Rustic Onion Tart

“Rustic” is usually the word I use when I make pies or tarts because it means I don’t have to roll out my crusts in perfect circles. In fact, my pie crusts roll out more like trapezoids but they taste just as good. All this to say, don’t let geometry hold you back from making your own pie crusts. Simply roll your dough into whatever shape you can muster, place it in a pie or tart pan and press the rest into place. Trust me it will taste just as good as the homemade perfect circle crust and way better than the store bought.

This week’s recipe is a lovely rustic onion tart. I adore onions and all their relatives - the leeks, the scallions, the shallots and the chives and the distant relative garlic - the whole big stinkin’ family. And while I love nothing more than a thick slice of raw red onion on a juicy burger it’s true that’s not exactly nature’s breath freshener. But when you cook onions they lose most of their oniony pungence and actually turn sweet and mild. Long, slow cooking tames the onion’s bite turning it into the most delicate, flavorful bulb.
And, as an added bonus, sauteeing onions makes your home smell just heavenly. While you’ve probably never seen an air freshener labeled “slow cooked onions” I think I may have to bring that idea to Shark Tank because it’s genius. The scent of simmering onions wafting through the house is the aromatherapy equivalent of a blinking Vegas billboard advertising “deliciousness coming soon!”

So dust off that old tart pan (or pie tin) and grab your swim googles (good for slicing onions) and let’s get started on the Rustic Onion Tart!

Rustic Onion Tart

Crust

(makes two 8 inch pie or tarts)
3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks very cold butter cut into cubes
7 tablespoons very cold water (more as needed)

Onions

41/2 tablespoons butter
3 large onions sliced thin
11/2 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ cup parmesan cheese (divided)

Butter two 8-inch pie or tart pans

Place 3 cups of flour into large bowl and add salt. Drop cubed butter into flour and salt and begin combining the ingredients with your hands squeezing the cold butter cubes until most are incorporated into the flour resembling a coarse sand. Add the cold water gradually working the dough until it forms a ball. You may need to add a couple more tablespoons of water if the dough is very dry and crumbly. You do not want a wet dough though. Don’t overwork the dough but when it comes together into a ball you can wrap it in plastic wrap and place in the fridge while you make the onion filling.

In a large saute pan melt the butter and then add the sliced onions. Saute on medium low heat for 15 minutes until onions are wilted and transparent. Add the salt and pepper and thyme. Stir in the cup of cream and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Remove cover and simmer 15 more minutes until cream has mostly evaporated.

Let the onion mixture cool while you remove crust from fridge and let it rest for 15 minutes on the counter. Using a rolling pin just whack the dough a few times while it’s still in the plastic wrap to get it into a thinner disc. Unwrap and cut the dough in half. Take on of the halves and continue whacking until the dough is about an inch in thickness. Use the rolling pin to begin rolling the dough out until it forms a shape about one quarter inch thick. Transfer crust to pie or tart pan and press into the pan until desired shape is formed. Don’t worry if there’s not enough dough to go all the way up the sides of the pie tin and use and cut off any overlapping pieces and use to patch wherever more crust is needed.

Once you’ve got your crust in your buttered pie or tart pans you can scoop the onion mixture into each crust placing one half the mixture in one and one half into the other. Take the ½ cup of grated parma and sprinkle half over each tart or ¼ cup over each tart (more if you’re a cheesy tart like me).

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until bubbly and browned. Allow to cool and set before slicing. Serve with a green salad, a glass of prosecco and light those candles on your table - this tasty tart deserves some ambiance!

World's Best Chili

I don’t know what it is that inspires such fierce competition with chili recipes but it’s a real thing and it’s kind of scary. Pizza recipes, stew recipes, lasagna recipes - everyone has got one but none bring out the “mine is the world’s BEST” superlatives quite like chili. Sure, there’s pride in your mother’s angel food cake recipe and a sense of achievement in a well crafted enchilada but they don’t have “competitions” to determine which is the world’s BEST. No, competitions are reserved for chili and if you’ve ever attended one of these high stakes events you’ll know that it is deadly serious and frankly just a tad nervous-making. Having someone (typically the cook of said chili) stare you down while you sample his or her “world’s BEST” chili kind of sucks the joy out of eating and certainly lends itself to a killer case of heartburn.

And, everyone has that certain “secret ingredient” designed to elevate their chili to the Pantheon of all chili recipes. From beer to chocolate to cinamon and chipotle - serious chili cooks will tell you they have discovered the key to a really delicious chili that makes it stand out from all the rest...the world’s BEST! So, because I’m not one to quibble with experts (especially when they are staring me down holding a sharp chopping knife) and because I subscribe to the ‘more is more’ theory, I have incorporated ALL the “secret ingredients” into my world’s BEST chili recipe. Well, almost all of them. I did leave out fish sauce, peanut butter and flaming hot cheetos. Seriously folks, there are people out there putting fish sauce and peanut butter in your chili. (I kind of get the flaming hot cheetos but I think I might try them as a topping).

Anyhoo, my chili recipe is called “Kitchen Sink Chili” for obvious reasons. And, while I don’t think it’s going to win any world competition, I do think it’s pretty good chili. My secret ingredient? Just enjoying the aroma of simmering chili while you kick back with the leftover beer from the recipe. Why do you think they call it “Chill - i?” Chill out everybody it’s not a competition….

Kitchen Sink Chili

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion chopped
½ red pepper chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ tablespoon chipotle powder
1 teaspoon cumin
couple of shakes of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
½ bottle of beer (stout or anything on hand)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
3 chipotle peppers from a can (chopped)
1 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes with their sauce
1 14 oz can black beans
1 teaspoon corn meal (for thickening)

Saute onions, peppers and garlic in two tablespoons of olive oil for about two minutes. Add ground beef and saute til no longer pink. Add spices - chili, chipotle, cumin, salt, cocoa and red pepper flakes. Continue stirring until combined. Add can of tomatoes (I like the fire roasted but you can use regular) and the beer. Add chopped chipotle peppers. Simmer for an hour to an hour and a half. Add black beans about a half an hour before you finish cooking the chili so they don’t get too mushy. You can add the cornmeal at the same time as the beans to promote thickening.

You can serve the chili alone or over rice and garnish with fresh cilantro, sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, scallions, black olives and of course, chopped flaming cheetos.

Food Tastes Better at the Beach

Seriously. Maybe it’s the fresh summer beach produce - those juicy red globes of deliciousness known as beach tomatoes - or maybe it’s the sun and salt air but it’s a fact...food just tastes better at the beach.

I’m not talking about the slapdash picnic folks lug out to the beach in coolers - that’s usually just chips and sodas and beer and sandy sandwiches. No, I’m talking about those dinners after a long day on the beach, after you’ve showered off the salt and sand and you’re sporting that sun-kissed glowy look (because you used SPF 15 instead of waterproof 75). When you’re kicked back on the porch with a cold margatini and a squeeze of fresh lime and the wafting curls of smoke from coals on the grill are like the promise of good things to come.

Beach life. It’s why we spend hours and hours in traffic to get there and why the sound of waves crashing are tonic to our souls. It’s a primitive need and probably comes from when we all began our evolutionary lives as fish. Whatever the reason, sitting down to a meal served on an old weather-worn picnic table outside on the deck on a warm summer evening as the sun is dipping down, and someone has just thoughtfully refreshed your margatini, is just about one of the most wonderful eating experiences you can have.

And, because you’re at the beach you’re probably on vacation (unless of course you’re lucky enough to actually live at the beach) and so no one expects you to spend alot of time cooking over a hot stove. Some of my favorite beach meals are the simplest - a fresh salad, grilled burgers and - of course - corn on the cob. Another great beach treat is just plain white bread - that marshmellowy white bread like Wonder - with a generous smear of good mayo and a thick slice of a beach tomato with some sea salt and cracked pepper. Nothing could be easier or more delightful. Simple ingredients, simple prep with delicious results.

Of course, no discussion about beach meals would be complete without talking about Mother Nature’s ultimate grocery store - the ocean - and all the edible wonders to be found there. I’ve enjoyed many beach meals of fresh grilled fish, steamed lobster and clams but my favorite are the crabs and while I understand the allure of steamed crabs with Old Bay seasoning I prefer mine already cracked and served up as fresh crab cakes.
The key to a perfect crab cake is not to overwork the crab meat when you mix the ingredients. You want those beautiful hunks of delicate crab meat to be bound together with the barest amount of fresh ingredients to spotlight nature’s perfect crustacean. And do yourself a favor, make a little fresh tartar sauce to go with those magnificent cakes. Just a little good mayo with a couple of stirs of sweet pickle relish, a squirt of siracha and a little salt and pepper and you’ve got the perfect accompaniment.
So maybe the secret of these tasty beach meals isn’t the beach at all. Maybe the real secret is just about keeping it simple and local and fresh. Which just means that ‘Life’s a Beach’ wherever you are!

Crab Cakes with Fresh Tartar Sauce

1 lb fresh lump crab meat (expensive but it’s worth it!)
½ cup ground ritz crackers or panko bread crumbs
¼ cup diced celery
¼ cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
3 tablespoons good mayo
1 egg lightly beaten
couple of dashs worstershire sauce
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the egg and mayo together and add the other ingredients. Add the crab last and mix til just combined. If the cakes don’t hold together you can add a bit more crumbs but don’t add too much or you’ll lose the crabby goodness! Make 8 to 10 crab cakes and place on a cookie sheet and place in the refridgerator for about an hour so they hold their shapes. You can lightly flour the crab cakes and then place a couple of tablespoons of butter and a couple of tablespoons of canola oil in a sautee pan. Heat the butter and oil and fry the crab cakes until nicely browned.

Fresh Tartar Sauce

3 tablespoons of good mayo (Dukes or Hellmans)
1 tablespoon of sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon siracha sauce (or ketchup)
salt and pepper