On Top of Spaghetti, All Covered in Sauce

Otherwise known as: Mmmmeatballs!

In addition to an immersion blender, Santa also brought me the meat grinder and pasta maker attachments for our Kitchen Aid mixer. I've wanted to try making my own ground meat for a while, especially after reading this post from one of my favorite bloggers: Elaine at The Italian Dish.

After speaking with a butcher, I left the store with a chuck roast. That's the same cut of beef that Elaine recommended, so I was confident it would be delicious.  Boy, was I right!

I ground the meat twice - again, a recommendation of the butcher. I wish I had had a small amount of store-ground beef to be able to show you the difference between it and the freshly ground.  They didn't even look like the same ingredient. While store-bought ground meat is dense and ropey, freshly ground chuck is...fluffy. I was especially careful when I mixed and formed the meatballs to make sure the meat stayed as light as it was when it was first ground.

I also put the onion through the meat grinder, to ensure we had all the flavor of the onion, but no large, sharp-tasting chunks. The onion "juice" also added a nice moisture to the meatballs.

In a word, they were perfect.  They held their shape perfectly, but were incredibly tender - practically melted in your mouth! They had a distinctively beefy flavor, but you could taste every other ingredient as well. The meatballs went perfectly with the simple tomato sauce we made - I wanted something that would really highlight the beef, not compete with it.

We served these with freshly made fettuccine from the whole wheat pasta recipe that came with the pasta attachment. The pasta was very hearty - almost too much for the sauce and meatballs. I have a few other recipes I'd like to try, and will post the best one here.

Mmmmballs

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef chuck, freshly twice-ground
• 1 medium onion, freshly ground
• 3 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 TBL Worcestershire sauce
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for serving)
• 1/2 - 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400. Generously spray rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray.
2. Grind the beef and onion into a mixing bowl. Season with salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes, and Worcestershire sauce; mix to combine, but do not overmix. 
3. Add the milk and Parmesan cheese, and enough bread crumbs to just hold together. Mix lightly until evenly blended
4. Form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs, and place onto the baking sheet.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.
6. If making ahead, store in the fridge, then warm in the pot of sauce until ready to serve.

Basic Marinara

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 medium onion, medium diced
• 2 (16 ounce) cans San Marzano roasted whole tomatoes
• 2 cups red wine
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 12 leaves fresh basil leaves, torn (plus more, for garnishing)

Method

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over low heat and saute onion until softened but not browned. Add garlic and saute until soft; be careful not to burn. Just as the garlic begins to turn brown, remove pan from heat.
2. Allow pan to cool, and add tomatoes, wine, and salt. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil.
4. Blend with immersion blender until desired texture.

Roasted Tomato Soup

I was fortunate to have a very culinary-themed Lawson Christmas, receiving a pasta maker and meat grinder for our Kitchen Aid mixer (more on those soon) as well as an immersion blender. All are long-coveted tools and I love having them to learn and experiment with.

This past weekend was blustery on Plum Island, perfect for this roasted tomato soup and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.

Up next: roasted butternut squash soup.

Up soon enough: fruity umbrella drinks.  One can dream...

Roasted Tomato Soup
Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 small yellow onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Method:

1. Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray.Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until caramelized.
3. Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven. Remove skins from tomato halves, then transfer roasted veggies to a large stock pot. Add 3/4 of the chicken stock, bay leaves, and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.
4. Wash and dry basil leaves and add to the pot. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Return soup to low heat, add cream and adjust consistency with remaining chicken stock, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

It's All Greek to Me: Moussaka

I've never had moussaka, the lamb and eggplant dish sometimes referred to as Greek lasagna.

I don't care for eggplant.

Alas, I've never cooked eggplant.

But here we are.....making moussaka!  We were trying to come up with a surprise for Sue, and knowing how much she likes this dish and how unlikely she'd be to make it for herself, we decided to give it a try.

I found this recipe by Bobby Flay that got good reviews: the reviewers made it as stated with much success.  Many steps, but easy enough.  Sounded good to me.

My only stumbling block? The eggplant!

I couldn't in good conscience cook them in the 1 1/2 C oil the recipe called for, so I tried using just a couple of tablespoons per batch (it took 3 batches to do all the eggplant).  They seemed very soggy when I was done, even after draining on paper towels for a while afterwards.

The lamb mixture smelled amazing, and the bechamel was silky smooth.  Two layers out of three aren't bad....right??!!

Once it was in the oven, I went looking for tips. Too late for this time, but would be helpful in the next attempt, I thought.  I found this advice and that. I found many posts that said that olive oil isn't the right oil for frying eggplant, given its low smoking temperature, and that eggplant should be cut lengthwise not crosswise. Some said to peel, some said not. Others insisted it be salted and rinced, others made no mention of that.

So, I was no better off after my research than I was when I'd slid my casserole into the oven.  All I could do was flip back and forth between the Pats and the Yankess, sip a glass of wine, and wait with baited breath for the buzzer to go off.

The verdict?  Success!  It was really tasty. There are some big flavors in this dish...lemon, oregano, lamb.  But they all go so well together. We served it with a salad and garlic bread. It was a little more greasy than I would prefer, but my post-cooking research today will come in handy when next - and there will be a next time! - I make it.

Ingredients
Lamb:
1/4 C Greek olive oil, divided
1 lb. ground lamb
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t ground allspice
1/8 t cayenne
Salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 T tomato paste
1 C red wine
1 28-oz. can plum tomatoes, pureed until smooth with their juices
1/4C chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
1 T Italian seasoning
1 T honey

Eggplant:
about 1 C olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/4 in. thick slices

Bechamel sauce:
6 T unsalted butter
1/2 C flour
2 1/2 C milk
1 bay leaf
1/8 t grated nutmeg
3 egg yolks
1/2 C soft goat cheese
1 lemon, zested
1 C grated Parmesan

Method:

Lamb:

1. Heat 1 T oil in a large sauce pan over high heat. Add the lamb and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until browned - about 5 minutes.
2. Transfer the lamb to a large strainer set over a bowl and drain; discard any liquid left in the pan.
3. Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining 3 T olive oil and heat. Add the onions and the bell pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the jalepeno, garlic, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cayenne, and salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
6. Return the lamb to the pan, add the wine, and cook, stirring occassionally, until almost complete evaporated, about 5 minutes.
7. Add the tomato puree and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes.
8. Stir in the parsley and Italian seasoning, season with salt and pepper and  honey - stir well. Remove from the heat.

Eggplant:

1. Heat 2 T oil in 12-in. skillet over medium high heat.
2. Season the eggplant slices with salt and pepper.
3. Working in batches, add the eggplant slices to the pan and fry until tender and lightly golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes.
4. Transfer the eggplant slices to paper towels.

Bechamel:

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until pale and smooth, 2 minutes.
3. Still whisking constantly, add the milk and bay leaf and cook until thickened.
4. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and discard bay leaf.
5. Let the sauce cool for 5 minutes.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, goat cheese, and lemon zest.
7. Whisk the egg and cheese mixture into the bechamel until smooth.

Assembly & Baking:

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Butter a 3Q baking dish or casserole dish.
3. Put half the eggplant slices in the dish and cover with half the meat sauce.
4. Top the sauce with the remaining eggplant and then the remaining meat sauce.
5. Pour the bechamel over the top of the meat sauce and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.
6. Sprinkle Parmasan evenly over the top, place the dish on a baking sheet, and bake until browned and bubbly, 45 to 50 minutes.
7. Top with more chopped parsely, if desired.
8. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Lazy Day Lasagna

Lasagna is one of my favorite meals. So much so that when I was a little girl, I always picked lasagna for my birthday dinner. My dad's birthday was just four days before mine, so we often celebrated our birthday dinner  together with lasagna and carrot cake, a memory I am so grateful for.

I never really learned how my mom made her lasagna, but do remember it involved cottage cheese....which sounds unappealing, but the end result was amazing. 

My brother Eric makes the best lasagna now, and any time I make it myself, his is the recipe I try to replicate.

While it's not difficult to make, lasagna takes some time. I am so thankful Sue found this recipe and to now have it my own recipe collection. Quick, easy, and really really good.  Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 1/2 (26 oz. each) jars marinara sauce
3 (13. oz.) packages frozen ravioli
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 oz. grated mozzarella
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Spread a thin layer of sauce in a 9-by-13 in. baking pan.
3. Arrange ravioli in a single layer, then add half the spinach, half the marinara, and half the mozzarella.
4. Repeat layers. Top with Parmesan cheese.
5. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
6. Uncover and cook an additional 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and pasta is cooked.
7. Place under broiler for 2 minutes to brown cheese.
8. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

My blogger friend Kim recently posted a similar recipe, hers made in a crock pot.  That's even easier - can't wait to try that, too!

Thyme Flies

Hard to believe it's been over a year since my very first blog post. I had had a food blog in mind for a long time, and had known for months that when I finally did it, it would be called Thyme Well Spent.


When I finally decided to give it a go, I sat down one Sunday morning and was surprised to find how easy it was to create a blog. Certainly, I was at no loss for material, given how much we like to go out, eat out, and cook in.

What I grossly underestimated was how hard it would be to come home after eight to 10 hours of sitting in front of a computer at work and finding the motivation to blog in the evening. I also had no idea how much fun it would be to read my friends' and family's comments, nor did I have any inclination that my most frequent commenter would be our friend Jim.

I'm way, way behind on posting. It's been over a month since my last message, and there are a number of recipes, restaurants, plays, and weather disasters worthy of writing about. I'll start with a terrific Crock Pot Jambalaya and promise to get caught up before too much more time goes by.

Thank you for reading - and for commenting!!

Crock Pot Jambalaya

• 1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 lb. andouille sausage, diced
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, reserved 
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cups cooked rice

Method:

1. In a slow cooker, combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and celery. Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, bay leaves, and thyme.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours.
3. Add in reserved chicken stock as necessary, to reach the consistency you desire.
4. Discard bay leaves and spoon mixture over cooked rice.

I started with this recipe, but because we had no shrimp on hand, upped the amount of chicken and sausage. I also drained the tomatoes a little, fearing it would be too thin. Next time, I would drain even more liquid, as it was a little more soup-y than we'd like. The flavor was perfect, though!