Sunday Gravy By Any Other Name

Over the years I have shared memories and recipes about and for Sunday Gravy. Some call it Sauce, some call it Gravy,it is by definition a Ragu (not referring to the stuff in the jar here). I am Italian through and through and when it comes to this delicious staple, whatever you call it, another little pinch is always good.

This adventure involves lamb, possibly my favorite meat. I grew up eating lamb almost every week. It was always in the form of Lamb Chops; not the dainty Loin morsels, but the shoulder and round bone ones that were boulder in flavor and texture. My Mother broiled them with just a sprinkle of garlic salt and served them with pride. My father and I ate them with gusto. Mom did, too.

Now, I eat lamb in many other forms, although, I still love those chops of my youth. I have been known to throw a butterflied leg of lamb on the grill on occasion and I am very happy that Lamb Burgers are having their day on many restaurant menus. I make them at home from time to time and have even gotten Papa D to enjoy them. So, why not use some ground lamb in a Ragu?

This ragu features Ground Lamb combined with an equal amount of Italian Sausage. The base was onions, garlic, and carrots (I don’t do celery, it’s personal). Some pancetta and red pepper flakes were in there as well. Tomato Paste was added and allowed to cook out. Then some dry red wine went in for deglazing and flavor. San Marzano Tomatoes were added after they were hand crushed (it is so satisfying).

This glorious mixture simmered for an hour or so, perfuming the house exquisitely. Fresh woody herbs were added with some salt and the simmering went on for another hour. Finally the tender and dried herbs came into play. A bit longer on the stove and it was ready to spend the night in the refrigerator. It is my belief that Sunday Gravy is always better on Monday. And it was.

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Lamb and Sausage Ragu

This meat based tomato sauce is the perfect partner for any cut or wide pasta. Gravy, Sauce, Ragu, whatever you call it, is delicious on Sunday or any other day of the week. It also freezes very well.

Servings: 8 or more
Author: Mama D
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 1 Large Onion Chopped
  • 4-6 Cloves Garlic Finely chopped
  • 1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Carrot
  • 2-3 Oz. Pancetta Chopped
  • 1/2 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes More or less to taste
  • 1 Pound Ground Lamb
  • 1 Pound Italian Sausage Hot or mild as you like it
  • 1/4 Cup Tomato Paste
  • 1 Cup Dry Red Wine
  • 2 Cans San Marzano Tomatoes 28 ounce size
  • 2-3 Tbsp. Fresh Chopped Woody Herbs Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, etc.
  • 1 Tbsp. Dried Herbs An Italian blend works well
  • 1 Tsp. Salt More or less to taste
  • 1/3 Cup Chopped Fresh Basil
Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the the onions, carrots, garlic, pancetta, and red pepper flakes. Allow to cook for 3-5 minutes until everything begins to soften and become fragrant.

  2. Crumble the sausage and lamb into the pot and stir to combine it with the vegetables. Cook until the meat has lost its pink color. This takes 8-10 minutes

  3. Mix in the tomato paste and let it cook out for at least 5 minutes. Add the wine and stir to loosen any browned bits. Continue to cook until the wine is almost evaporated.

  4. Crush the tomatoes and add them to the meat mixture. Bring the mixture just to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and allow to simmer partially covered for at least an 1 hour or so. You can add some stock if it seems to be getting too thick.

  5. Add the woody herbs and simmer for 30- 45 minutes. Add the salt and dry herbs and simmer for 30 minutes more. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add the chopped basil and cook for a few more minutes.

  6. If you can, refrigerate the ragu overnight.while it will be very tasty the day you make it, it will be even better the next day. Serve over a thick long pasta like tagliatelle or bucatini or a cut pasta like rigatoni.

Flatbread and Winery Dogs

This is going to be about my flatbread adventures but first, I want to share the recent winery adventure that inspired these tasty meals.

We recently spent some quality time in Springfield, Illinois. Our long weekend was filled with soaking up history, all things Lincoln, and discovering a Frank Lloyd Wright gem. All of this was very enjoyable but, midway through we decided we needed a break from all this wonderfully nerdy stuff.

We love wineries and the bottled fruits of their labors. We decided that the perfect way to wind down would be to head out in search of some wine and country air. Yes, there are wineries in Central Illinois and many of them are quite good. Danenberger Family Vineyard is an excellent example. We left Springfield for our afternoon in the country ready for adventure. And an adventure it was. Urban streets gave way to two lane blacktop and finally a mostly gravel road. Just when we thought we were lost, the dust cleared and we came upon a massive compound surrounded by corn fields. This was DFV.

There was something about this place that brought us back to our days in California. Driving up to wineries that were more like farms with the exception that their fields were vineyards. Friendly folks who were happy to share their wine with us. Then there were the dogs. They were always a part of the whole experience and a welcome diversion for our sons. Winery dogs are like no other group of canines. They reign as monarchs of their kingdom. Free to run, free to just curl up in a corner and wait for a visitor. Winery dogs don’t know what a stranger is. Every new visitor is a chance for some attention and they welcome you with a smile.

We entered the cozy tasting room and sampled some of the wines. They were very nice. Beyond the tasting room there was a restaurant, Sapori Italia. The restaurant had a long counter looking out on open airy seating. Its open kitchen was small but was equipped with a custom brick pizza oven and the menu board featured some very interesting flatbreads. This was the best cue for lunch, ever. What is lunch at a winery without wine? We had tasted several very nice ones and decided to have the 2018 edition of their “Stilettos in the Vineyard” Rose. We ordered our flatbreads, took our pager, and went out to find a shady table on the West Terrace. One of the winery dogs came with us, a Great Pyrenees pup named Sully. He made himself comfortable under our table. While we enjoyed our wine,And Sully and his buddy enjoyed our company.When our pager went off Sully got up and looked at us, checking to make sure we heard it. We all headed into the restaurant to retrieve our pizzas ( by this time we were officially a table for 4). We all returned, two of us ready to eat and two of us hoping the other ones were messy enough to drop something. Note: No begging occurred only camaraderie and a winsome glance or two. The flatbreads were wonderful. Our favorite was a Caprese with Heirloom Tomatoes and Fried Basil. These lovely pizzas were the inspiration for the recipes at the end of this post. Before we get there, I want to share the rest of this amazing place.

We experienced the wines, we ate the food, we enjoyed the dogs. We thought our afternoon was complete. Then we heard music. This wasn’t being piped in overhead, it was live and it was close by. We followed it back through the restaurant and through another door into what I can only describe as a large metal barn that had been transformed into a music venue. Yes, live music was also available here (and on a Saturday afternoon).There were tables, chairs, and sofas. Guitars and other musical memorabilia decorated some of the walls. One corner even sported a graffiti wall.Pretty amazing for a winery in the middle of a corn field, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of Illinois. Thank you Danenberger Family Vineyard, you and your wine rock.

Now for a few words about my inspired flatbreads. I used Nan for my base. It is sturdy enough to hold a lot of toppings (my guilty pleasure) and is easy to find. Even Aldi carries it. The first creation was a bit of a riff on the Caprese we had at DFV. I mixed pesto with ricotta for base. Once that was slathered on, I added some Chicken and Zucchini meatballs (another story, another time) and some chopped Roma tomatoes. My cheese of choice was a garlic and herb goat cheese. Once it was baked I topped it with chopped basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Traditional but quick and very tasty.

The second creation was a bit more adventurous and more time consuming (worth every extra minute). I made a mustard aioli (which was really just grainy mustard and mayonnaise) for my base, I lightly caramelized some onions and did the same with  sliced portobellos. Grilled skirt steak joined in as well. Finally I added a few sun dried tomatoes and finished it off with blue cheese. Once it was baked, I sprinkled on some scallions. Wonderful once again.

These are my personal adventures. I hope they inspire you to create your own. I wrote up a general recipe to guide you through the process. Consider it an open ended blueprint.

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Flatbread

Nan Pizzas that you can top with whatever your imagination desires. Bake in the oven or on the grill. these are the basic components.

Servings: 2
Ingredients
  • 2 Nan Bread
Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees or heat the grill to Medium High. Lightly toast the Nan for 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from the oven/grill and top.

  2. Choose a spreadable topping. Sauces like tomato, salsa, pesto, ricotta, aioli all work...there are many more.

  3. Choose a Protein. Any cooked meat, fish, or poultry, sausage, prosciutto, mushrooms, breadfruit...again, anything goes.

  4. Choose other toppings. Vegetables such as onions, squash, mushrooms, woody herbs, another protein, or whatever you have on hand.

  5. Top with cheese. Fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, feta, blue cheese, brie...the choice is your.

  6. Bake the pizza. Bake in the oven 10 minutes or so. You want the cheese to melt everything to be bubbly. Watch carefully as the edges burn quickly. If you are gilling the same rules apply and you will need to cover the grill.

  7. Gilt the Lily. Once the pizza is out of the oven, you can add anything else you would like. Soft herbs, olive oil, pepper flakes, grated cheese, greens tossed with a bit of olive oil and lemon. you can also choose to let it bask unadorned. Serve.

What’s On Hand Pasta

The dog days of summer seem to have arrived a bit early this year. It is hot and humid and the occasional showers make it all the more hot and humid. Being out in this kind of weather no longer thrills me. At times I find myself “Summer Hibernating.”  Sometimes that means that I won’t leave the house, even for groceries, and that means that I have to delve into my freezer, fridge, and pantry to make dinner. Here’s what happened a few nights ago.

First stop was the freezer. It was time to get all those bags of vegetable scraps out of the cold and into the pot to make some vegetable stock. Click on this link to learn what that’s all about. I also found two links of Turkey Italian Sausage while I was rearranging things. Pasta came to mind because I knew it would make Papa D’s heart sing to dig into a bowl of pasta no matter what it was mixed with. I decided to use my soon to be wonderful vegetable stock for the base of a lighter sauce, it being summer and all. Now I needed to round out the flavors.

In the pantry I found a started bag of fancy fettuccini, more than enough for two. I also came upon a jar of Artichoke Salad. I bought it on a whim one day and knew that I could use it for something eventually. If you haven’t seen this before; it is marinated artichoke hearts with roasted red peppers, olives, and some fairly decent seasonings. Quick sauce in a jar. Of course I couldn’t just leave it at that. Onions and garlic had to come along, and I added a few more marinated artichokes (also in the pantry) to fill in the spaces a bit.

A thorough search of the fridge turned up two grilled chicken thighs topped with pesto and a small container of mozzarella pearls and of course my trusty wedge of Pecorino Romano. I looked at them and thought…Why not? Let the creative process begin!

I used some of the marinade to saute the sausage and once it was cooked, I added the onions and garlic and let everything get acquainted for a few minutes. I drained the artichoke salad well and added it to the pan. Around the same time I sliced up the chicken thighs and added them in as well. Once everything was getting some color, I added about a cup of vegetable stock. The mozzarella pearls went in next. This required a lot of stirring but they finally kind of melted leaving just a few intriguing stringy ribbons that I think added some texture and interest to the sauce (sticking to that story).

While all of this was happening in the skillet, the pasta was boiling up to al fente perfection in a pot nearby. Finally the kitchen planets aligned and it was time to put everything together. A few more minutes and it was show time.

This qualifies as a “Non-Recipe, Recipe” that will most likely never be exactly the same each time it is prepared, it all depends on what’s “On Hand.” Here are a few guidelines based on how I did it this time:

  1. I used about 8 ounces of pasta which was enough for two servings with a lunch portion left over. I used fettuccini but it would be just as good with a cut pasta…maybe better.
  2. I used a 12 ounce jar of Artichoke Salad and maybe a quarter of a jar of Marinated Artichoke Hearts. Everything was drained well and I did use about 1 tablespoon of the marinade to get things going in the skillet.
  3. I removed the casings from the sausages and browned it in the skillet. I used cooked chicken, but you could use more sausage or all chicken or something else.
  4. Onions and garlic were added because this is Mama D’s Kitchen after all. Add any other veggies you would like. Mushrooms and/or zucchini would be good.
  5. Use vegetable or chicken stock as you wish. About a cup is enough. You will also want to add a good ladle of the water from the pot before you drain the pasta.
  6. Cheese is up to the cook. I used Mozz, but it wasn’t easy. Provolone, Asiago, or Fontina would work or just go with a generous grating of the Romano.
  7. Serve it up and enjoy.

 

 

Smoked Shrimp Tacos

Well, here in the Midwest we are anxiously awaiting something that resembles Summer. We have had a few brief interludes which have then been followed by rain, wind, and other assorted weather mayhem. I honestly don’t remember the last day that it didn’t rain at some point. However, neither rain, nor wind, nor other mayhem will keep a Midwestern Griller from grilling.

I love shrimp, and I declare that my favorite way to prepare these little crustaceans is on the “barbie.” Because they cook in a matter of minutes, weather is not a problem. Grilling gives them wonderful flavor that works well in many dishes. Pasta is always at the top of my list followed by serving them on their own as a scrumptious finger food. For something entirely different this time, we decided to have them in tacos. Then, because we were feeling a little adventurous, we thought that having them spend  some time in the Smoking Cloche would be an interesting touch.

A Smoking Cloche is  exactly what the name intends. It is a smoke gun that is attached to a clear glass cloche. The smoke is created by lighting a pinch of fine wood chips, in this case Mesquite, on the smoke gun. This creates a smoking chamber that is ideal for drinks, cheese, and other small items. Here’s what it looks like in action.

Yes, there peeking out of the swirling smoke, are our lovely grilled shrimp.

This is a cold smoking process that takes about 5 -8 minutes. The result is a subtle smokiness that adds just enough flavor to make anything a little more interesting. Shrimp were no exception. I did give them a little help by marinating them in a mixture of garlic, chili flakes, smoked paprika, cumin, and a touch of lime.

Tacos always need something else inside to create a handful of flavor. I wanted to keep it simple so that the shrimp would truly be the star attraction. I opted for pickled red onions for some acidic kick and perfectly ripe avocado chunks for a creamy component. The finishing touch was a drizzle of Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. I would have no objections to adding hot sauce, salsa, or pico de gallo.

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Smoked Shrimp Tacos
Course: Main Course
Servings: 2
Author: Mama D
Ingredients
  • 1 Pound Jumbo Shrimp Peeled & deveined
  • 2 Tbsp. Canola Oil
  • 1 Tsp. Smoked Paprika
  • 1/2 Tsp. Chili Flakes
  • 1 Tsp. Ground Cumin
  • 1 Tbsp. Chopped Cilantro
  • 2-3 Cloves Garlic Chopped
  • Juice of 1 Lime
  • 1/2 Tsp. Salt Or to taste
  • 6 Corn Tortillas 6 inch
Instructions

  1. Combine the shrimp with all the ingredients, except the tortillas. Marinate for 4-6 hours.

  2. Grill the shrimp over medium heat using a grill basket, tossing occasionally until the shrimp are just turning pink. About 5 -7 minutes.

  3. Use a Smoke Gun (or cloche) if available or desired.

  4. Soften the tortillas over low heat and place on serving plates. Divide the shrimp between the tortillas.

  5. Top with pickled onions and avocado (or whatever toppings you enjoy).

    Drizzle with Ranch Dressing or the sauce of your choice and serve.

A quick ( pretty much open and dump) Black Bean and Corn Salsa rounded out the plate.  

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Quick Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Author: Mama D
Ingredients
  • 1 Can Black Beans Drained and rinsed
  • 1 Cup Corn Kernels Thawed if frozen
  • 1/2 Cup Chopped Red Onions
  • 1 Cup Pico De Gallo
  • 1/4 Cup Chopped Cilantro More or less to taste
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 1/2 Tsp. Chili Powder or Cayenne To taste.
  • 1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder To Taste
Instructions

  1. Combine all of the ingredients. Refrigerate Covered for at least 1 hour. The longer the better

These were wonderful! We ate every last bite and we will have them again in the very near future.

 

 

 

Cauliflower Mac & Cheese, Again.

Disclaimer: I confess that I have shared various recipes for Cauliflower Mac & Cheese over the years. That is because I really, really like it. This, as with the other versions, takes a slightly different path. You can check these and lots of other recipes out on my website: mamadskitchen.net.

Even though spring is here, a casserole of comfort food love is a welcome weeknight supper once in a while.  Nothing says comfort food love like homemade Macaroni and Cheese, full of comfort and unfortunately, fat and calories. This is my attempt to take away some of the bad and keep most of the good intact.

Enter everyone’s (well, most everyone’s) favorite chameleon vegetable, cauliflower. Cauliflower is everywhere these days, often under the radar, in pizza crust, mashed potatoes, and of course as the low carb rice substitute.

One of the best things about cauliflower is how well it plays with others. That’s how it came to have a starring role in this dish. Cut into florets and cooked to al dente, it blends with cut pasta seamlessly. This dish is equal parts of cauliflower and pasta. Since cauliflower shrinks and pasta grows when cooked, I measured accordingly.

We all know that a delicious Mac & Cheese is only as good as the cheese used, so I chose a combination of Aged Cheddar and Smoked Gouda. They both provide big flavor, and that means that you need less to get that big cheese bang for the buck. Any cheese(s) that you love will work, however.

I used 2% milk because I think it gives enough creaminess without as much fat as cream, half & half, or whole milk would.  Smoked paprika and cayenne add a bit of heat and color, but you could add whatever flavors you would like.

Now, about the prosciutto. It added a saltiness and texture the dish. You could substitute ham or bacon or leave the pork products out completely. Remember this is going to be your recipe.

Finally, a word about the topping. French Fried Onions out of the can are one of my guilty pleasures. They are delicious on a green bean casserole, as a crunchy salad topping, or all by themselves as a crunchy salty snack.

So here is your Cauliflower Mac & Cheese springboard waiting for you to take the plunge.

Cauliflower Mac & Cheese
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Cauliflower Mac & Cheese
Print Recipe
Servings
4
Servings
4
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until just al dente. Add the cauliflower and cook 2 minutes more. Drain and set aside.
  2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the shallots and cook until they begin to soften. Add the flour and stir to form a roux. Cook for 2 minutes.
  3. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. continue to cook stirring constantly until the sauce comes to a gentle bubble and thickens.
  4. Remove from the heat and add in the cheese, stirring until it is melted. Add the paprika and cayenne and taste for seasoning. Add what it needs.
  5. Combine the cheese sauce with the pasta, cauliflower, and prosciutto (if using). Pour into a 2 quart casserole that has been lightly coated with cooking spray.
  6. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.
  7. Sprinkle with the fried onions and bake uncovered another 5 - 7 minutes until the onions are golden brown. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.
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