Marinara Sauce

One of my friends asked for a tomato sauce for her mom to use in lasagna. I realized I have never written down my recipe, I always just wing it whenever I make a simple tomato sauce. I have been making marinara sauce for years. Back when I was single, I would make a big batch of it and eat it with pasta for a week. At one of my first dinner parties ever, I served baked ziti with homemade sauce, I remember being so impressed with myself. If you don't want to add the carrots to the sauce, add a tablespoon or two of brown sugar instead.

Marinara Sauce

½ onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
½ cup red wine
1 can (6 ounce) tomato paste
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
2 cans (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes

In a small food processor, process the onions and carrots to a fine mince. In a large sauté pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add the carrot and onion mixture, sauté until soft, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds more. Deglaze the pan with the wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the tomato paste, basil and oregano, stir it in to incorporate and cook for 3 minutes more. Add the diced tomatoes, bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

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Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parm is one of C's fav when we go to Collina's, substituting fettuccine alfredo for marinara. Too bad making alfredo AND chicken parmesan is just too much for me. I think I dirty every dish in the house when I make it. So I just went with thin spaghetti with the leftover marinara for the parm. Much easier and much better for you, too.








Chicken Parmesan

Sauce:
2 14.5 ounce cans of tomatoes, diced
1 can of tomato paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 of an onion
1 carrot
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon brown sugar
splash of red wine, if you have one open
salt and pepper

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Process onion and carrot in a mini food processor. Saute onion and carrot in the oil until tender. Add the garlic, oregano and basil. Saute for 1 minute more. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, brown suger and wine (if using). Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer, stirring occassionally. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

Chicken:
1/8 cup flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I use the pre Italian seasoned kind)
2 breasts of chicken
1/4-1/3 shredded mozzerella cheese
1 tablespoon of shredded parmesan cheese

Pound out chicken breasts between two sheets of wax paper. Dip each in flour, then egg whisked with water and then finally in the breadcrumbs. Saute in oil about 3 minutes per side to get a nice crisp crust. Drain on paper towels.

Preheat oven to 450. Place the chicken in a glass baking dish, top each with generous spoonfuls of the marinara sauce. Sprinkle 1/8 cup of mozzerella and parmesan cheese on top of each breast. Bake for 15 minutes.

Serve remaining sauce with whatever pasta you choose.

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Baked Ziti

Tonight I made baked ziti to take to a friend who recently had twins. I have been making this ever since college, it is comfort food to me.











Baked Ziti

1/2 lb ziti, cooked and drained
28 ounce can whole tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb spicy italian sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/3 cup red wine
1.5 cups shredded mozzerella cheese

Saute onion and sausage in olive oil over medium high heat until sausage is cooked through. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds more. Add tomatoes, wine, brown sugar and tomato paste, stir to break up tomatoes. Add basil and oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup of the mozzerella cheese and pasta. Pour mixture into a greased 9x9 pan. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Cook covered at 350 for 30 minutes, uncover and cook 5 to 10 minutes more, until cheese is brown and bubbly.

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Calzones

So last night I decided to put the free Pillsbury pizza crust in a can to good use. I made calzones. They were super easy and I could cater them to each of our tastes. C’s had pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms and green pepper in it, while mine had green pepper, artichokes, mushrooms and garlic.

Calzones

1 can of refrigerated Pillsbury pizza dough, cut into two squares
1 can of crushed tomatoes
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese

Fillings:
Sausage, pepperoni, ham, artichokes, onions, mushrooms, green peppers, garlic, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, sun dried tomatoes, jalapeno, olives, or anything else you would like on a pizza

Preheat oven to 400. In a small pan, simmer crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil and crushed red pepper for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken the sauce. Lay out the pizza crust on a large baking sheet. Mince up whatever fillings you want and mound them in one corner of the square crust. Pour two tablespoons of sauce over each pile of fillings, then top each with half of the shredded cheese. Fold over the pizza crust and roll to seal. Sprinkle half of the parmesan cheese over each calzone. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, top with remaining sauce.

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Spinach Fettucine Alfredo

I still have yet to master the perfect Alfredo sauce. I gave it another attempt tonight, it was tasty, but not as thick and creamy as I would prefer it to be. If anyone has any tips, I would love to hear them! The spinach worked very nicely in the pasta, my only issue was that it remained in clumps when I tried to incorporate it all together. I served two grilled chicken breasts along with the pasta. I also made some garlic bread, C picked off the garlic and whined for some garlic salt...sigh.






Spinach Fettucine Alfredo

12 ounces fettucine
10 ounces frozen spinach
1 stick of butter
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup parmesan, plus more for sprinkling

Cook fettuccine in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain pasta. Cook spinach in 1/2 cup boiling water, drain.

Meanwhile, bring cream and butter to a simmer in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-low heat, adding 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Add fettuccine, spinach, 1/4 cup reserved water, and cheese to sauce and toss. Add more cooking water if necessary.

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