Joey's Hearty Bowties with Tomatoes and Peppers

 Ok, so, when I started this dish, I had originally intended to go in a different direction. I was planning on doctoring up some leftovers (as I often do), but then this just sort of happened. Actually, for a while, it kind of seemed like I was making a pot of soup, but then everything came together and I LOVE the way it all turned out. It's a nice change from the usual marinara sauce and it feeds a crowd. Serve it up with some nice crusty bread and/or a fresh crisp iceberg wedge salad and you're good to go!

a few glugs of olive oil
1 large onion
2 large green bell peppers
2 or 3 large cloves of garlic
big pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
a few shakes EACH dried basil and dried thyme leaves
1 28 oz can sliced stewed tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
1 lb bow tie pasta
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Parmesan Cheese

Place oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Roughly chop the onions, peppers, and garlic. Saute in oil until they begin to soften. Add sugar, salt and pepper, basil and thyme. Saute for a few minutes more. Add the tomatoes. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add the chicken broth and the dry uncooked pasta right out of the box into the pot. Bring to a boil, give it a good stir, then reduce heat and simmer until the pasta is cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Add the bread crumbs and give it a good stir. Serve in large pasta bowls topped with Parmesan cheese.

Tips:
The key to this dish is the dried basil and thyme. They really give a nice depth of flavor. Don't forget them! The other key is the addition of bread crumbs. It might seem a little weird to add them, but they give the sauce a little body (so it's more than just a broth) without making it too heavy.
If you'd like a little heat, go ahead and add a few shakes of crushed red pepper flakes along with the dried herbs. Add as much as you like!

New England Clam Chowder

 This is one of those recipes that I thought I posted long ago, and then when I went looking for it, I thought, wait....did I ever post that??? Nope, I didn't! So here it is now. It's not complicated, it's creamy and comforting, and it's ready in about a half hour. Yes, yes, I'm sure there are much more sophisticated recipes that involve fresh clams, etc, but this one works just fine for me. It's the perfect thing for a crisp autumn night. Serve it with buttered fresh bakery rolls and you're good to go. You don't even need anything else, except maybe a crisp salad. SO delicious and warm and flavorful, and easy enough for the cooking novice.
You should try it!

4 slices super thick bacon, diced

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 1/2 cups water

4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

ground black pepper to taste

3 cups half-and-half

4 tablespoons butter

2 (10 ounce) cans minced clams

Place diced bacon in large stock pot over medium-high heat. Cook until almost crisp; add onions, and cook 5 minutes. Stir in water and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Pour in half-and-half, and add butter. Drain clams, reserving clam liquid; stir clams and 1 cup of the clam liquid into the soup. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until heated through. Do not allow to boil. Tip: If you'd like it to be very thick, just let some of the water evaporate before you add the half and half. You could also add a little bit of heavy cream.

Joey's German Red Cabbage

 When my brother, Chris, asked me to choose a German menu for our weekly Sunday dinner, he requested red cabbage to go with our meal. Always striving for the authentic traditional recipes, I launched into research mode, looking for the perfect recipe. Well, it seems that everyone in creation has a German Oma who used to make this for every holiday. There are a MILLION versions of this! Well, ok, maybe not a million. But definitely a hundred thousand. And since I couldn't decide which recipe was the right one for me, I decided to take components from several different recipes (as I often do) and make my own! So there. I hope you like it as much as I do. Hopefully, it's as good as your grandma used to make!

3 slices of bacon, diced
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
4 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

 Place the bacon in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Slowly render the fat. Add the apples and onions. Saute until they become soft. Now add the cabbage and let it cook down for a few minutes. In a small bowl, mix remaining ingredients until well combined. Add to the pot and give everything a good stir. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours. Serve with pork or sausages, and a side of mashed potatoes or potato dumplings.

Tips:
To make it all shiny and glossy and rich, you can add a pat or two of butter on top as you bring it to the table and let it melt right in. 
If you like a lot of bacon, or apples, or onions, add a lot! Add as much as you like!

Spaetzle

 
 Have you ever had spaetzle? It's a German egg noodle that you make by dropping the dough into boiling water. It's SUPER simple to make and is ready in literally less than 10 minutes! Well, wait...actually, that's not necessarily true....
 If you make it the old fashioned way (by using a knife to scrape the dough off the cutting board into the pot), it takes a while and probably requires LOTS of practice and German grandmother to teach you.
 It CAN be ready in as little as 10 minutes, though, if you have a spaetzle maker! It's a simple kitchen gadget that kind of looks like a flat cheese grater with a container that sits on top. When you slide the container back and forth, the dough gets pushed through the holes into the pot of boiling water and creates noodles. How fun is that? So simple, yet so brilliant. They're extremely inexpensive too! (You can also get them for as little as $10.00 on Amazon.com!)
 So buy yourself a handy dandy little spaetzle maker and give this recipe a try. I promise you, once you try it, you'll be making it all the time!

4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup of milk
2 teaspoons of salt
2 cups of all-purpose flour

Mix together with a wire whisk in the order listed. Dough will be sticky, almost like a thick batter. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Spray spaetzle maker with nonstick cooking spray. Place spaetzle maker over pot and pour dough inside the holder on top. Slide back and forth over boiling water. The dough will be pushed through the holes and fall into the pot creating noodles. The spaetzle is ready when it floats. Give it an extra stir, just to make sure ll of the noodles are cooked. Remove with slotted spoon, drain. Toss with melted butter and a sprinkle of fresh parsley, if desired. Serve with sauerbraten or pork and sauerkraut.

Tip:
Instead of tossing with butter, you can chop up some bacon in a pan over medium heat to render the fat, then add the cooked spaetzle and give everything a good toss.  So good!

 Oh, and one other thing....
Everyone seems to have a different way of saying it. Do you say it like SPATE-zul? Or like SHPET-zul? Or combine the two, and say SPET-zul? Anyone? anyone?

Joey's Sauerbraten

 Many many years ago, my fabulous friend, Jessie, invited me to have dinner with her family. Her mother, Jody, and I seemed to be kindred spirits in many ways, especially when it came to cooking, so it was really nice to be invited to their home. Jodie cooked up a scrumptious German feast and I remember bringing the dessert (a cherry torte that had Kirsch in it, which is a cherry flavored German brandy). I must confess that I had never tasted sauerbraten until that night, but I was an immediate fan. If you're not familiar with it, it's a German pot roast that is marinated for a really long time in red wine and vinegar and spices. It's so delicious and rich and flavorful! I remember being amazed that she added crushed gingersnaps to thicken the gravy instead of flour because I had never heard of such a thing. Yes, Gingersnaps! Crazy, right? Whodathunk it? But honestly, that's the traditional thing! I think that's now one of my favorite parts of the whole recipe. And the sweetness of the cookies balances with the sour of the vinegar and the spices all work together perfectly.
 Since then, I've often thought about making it, but never seemed to have my act together far enough in advance. Well, that is, until now! Ever since Chris and Claire have been coming over for Sunday dinner, we've been trying exciting and different cuisines. Chris requested something German for an Oktoberfest sort of a vibe, and so I figured this was the perfect time to FINALLY make sauerbraten! This recipe is my own and it's sort of a combination of many recipes all smushed together. I hope you like it. And thanx again to Jessie and Jody and The Carey Family for the fabulous dinner and fond memories!!

Marinade:
2 cups red wine
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 cups water
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbs cracked black peppercorns
2 tbs pickling spice
12 juniper berries (or 2 tbs gin)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves

ROASTING/ SAUCE INGREDIENTS:
3 strips thick cut bacon, cut into small strips
1 large onion, cut into large chunks
2 or 3 carrots, roughly chopped
3 ribs celery, roughly chopped
1/4 cup sugar
12-15 old fashioned gingersnap cookies, crushed

Place all marinade ingredients in a small sauce pot and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Place roast in a non metal (glass or ceraminc) bowl. Pour the marinade over the roast.  Cover and keep in the fridge for 3 days, turning at least once a day.
 
Remove meat from marinade and pat completely dry with paper towels. Strain the marinade through a fine sieve and reserve the liquid. Discard spices and onions.
In heavy, 5-quart dutch oven, over medium heat, cook the bacon to render the fat. Remove bacon. Set aside. Add the beef roast and brown on all sides. Transfer to platter and set aside.
Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pot. Cook over moderate heat until soft and light brown (5-8 minutes). Add meat along with the sugar to the pot. Pour in 2 cups of the reserved marinade and 1/2 cup of water. Cover tightly. Bake in 350 degree oven for 3 hours.
Transfer the roast to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm while sauce is made.
Strain the solids from the cooking liquid and skim away any fat. You will need at least 2 1/2 cups for the sauce. If additional liquid is needed, add some more of the reserved marinade.
Pour the liquid back into the pot and add the gingersnap crumbs. Cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently for approx. 10 minutes, allowing the cookie crumbs to dissolve completely and thicken the sauce to the desired consistency. Depending upon the amount of liquid, you may need to add additional cookie crumbs. Serve with dumplings, boiled potatoes, or spaetzle, and red cabbage.

Tips:
Ok ok, I know what you're gonna say.. 3 DAYS? Yes. That's correct, 3 days! Some recipes even go so far as to marinate it for up to TEN days, but I think 2-3 is just fine. Basically, if you want a more sour sauerbraten, let it marinate longer.
Be sure to turn the roast in the marinade several times throughout the marinating process. If the meat is completely submerged, then you don't have to do it as often. If you don't have the right size bowl, you can put the roast and marinade in a large oven bag and then turn it a couple times a day.
You can use a sauerbraten spice blend instead of the pickling spice, but frankly, I couldn't find any, and many recipes called for pickling spice, so I went with it.
This is traditionally served as a holiday dinner, but why wait until then???

Macaroni and Cheese, Indian Style

 Since I get so many requests for Indian recipes, I figured I've give this recipe a try. Yes, it's mac n cheese, so you know it's all about comfort, but the addition all the warm Indian spices is a delicious twist that makes it into a whole new mac n cheese experience. It's just as easy to throw together and it's delicious! So if you like Indian flavors, you absolutely MUST make this. It's SO rich and warm and it's the perfect thing for a chilly night. Chris and Claire are always talking about how much they love Indian cuisine, and they LOVED it when I made it for one of our Sunday dinners. So, big thanx go out to the Spice Goddess, Bal Arneson, for contributing another delicious recipe to my growing collection of Indian recipes! Try it!


3 tablespoons butter
Salt
4 cups dried macaroni 
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
A pinch of pepper
3 cups milk
4 cups grated white Cheddar 
1/4 cup breadcrumbs 

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch-by-13-inch ovenproof dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter.
Fill a large pot with water and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a rolling boil and season with some salt. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but still firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Then add the ginger, garlic and onions. Stir and cook until the onions are just beginning to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garam masala, cumin, turmeric, paprika, cardamom, chili powder and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and pepper and stir for about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk and continue to stir as it thickens. Cook until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 15 to 20 minutes. Add 3 cups of the cheese and stir until melted.
Add the drained macaroni to the baking dish, and then pour over the cheese sauce and stir as it settles and coats all the macaroni. Sprinkle the top with the rest of the grated cheese and the breadcrumbs and bake until the top is golden and the macaroni is hot and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Tips:
One of my favorite things about this recipe was is the addition of diced tomatoes. Usually when I make mac n cheese, I serve it with stewed tomatoes on the side, but this has the tomatoes right in the casserole. FABULOUS. I remember Chris saying he found himself searching for more chunks of tomato as he was eating. I think maybe next time I'll add a bit more. If you like a lot, add a lot!!

Steamed Clams in White Wine Sauce

Now that the weather is becoming cooler, you'd think I'd be looking forward to lots of hearty soups and stews, but frankly, I'm just not quite ready to let go of summer just yet. So, I decided to do a pot of steamers. It was JUST the thing for a sunny breezy Sunday afternoon.
 It's ready in a snap, it's super easy, and OMG it's SO delicious! Be sure to serve it with some nice warm crusty bread for sopping up the rich flavorful broth. It's heaven in a bowl! And your friends will think you went to a LOT of trouble when they taste this one. So, give it a try, and have a taste of summer no matter how cold it is outside!

4 tbs butter
4 larges cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 shallots (or one small onion), finely minced
1/2 cup dry white wine or dry Vermouth
2 pounds of clams (Littlenecks or Manilla), rinsed and cleaned
 2-3 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1 or 2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 small lemon cut into wedges (optional)

Melt butter in a medium pot over medium-low heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until shallots are soft and garlic is fragrant but not burned. Add wine and increase heat to medium-high until wine is brought to a simmering boil. Add clams and cook covered for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until clams have opened. Discard any clams that are still closed. Add parsley and pepper flakes (if using) and give the pot a quick stir. Transfer clams and broth to a large serving bowl, serving with lemon wedges on the side.

Tips:
-Before you start, make sure you really clean the clams. Since the shells will be cooking right in the broth, you really need to scrub each one on all sides with a scrub brush under cold running water. Yes, I know it's a little tedious, but it's SO worth it! And seriously, it's better than having sand in your bowl. Also, if any of the clams are open, give them a little tap with your finger. If they don't close right up, that means game over and you need to discard them.
-Btw, the ingredient amounts are just guidelines. If you like more butter, go for it. If you like tons of garlic, have at it. If you'd like a little less onion, no worries. It's whatever you like!
-And remember to always use a wine that you would drink, and never ever use anything labeled "cooking wine".  It's basically laden with sodium and food coloring and is not very good, especially in a dish where wine is one of the main components of the recipe.