We’re making Marinara sauce tonight.  Marinara is the perfect tomato sauce, because it is easy to make; incredibly tasty; and very, very versatile.  There is, however, a catch (of course, what else would you expect from Cheffy?  The catch is, only fresh ingredients.  I will accept nothing less.  Okay, okay, I didn’t grow the olives, sugar cane, pepper pods or mine the salt, but you get the idea.  But I’m going to suggest one thing to you that you may not have considered:  San Marzano tomatoes. You can get San Marzano seeds from a heritage seed project, and these are the best tomatoes to use in a Marinara sauce.  If you can’t get San Marzano’s, make sure to use a really good, solid Italian plum tomato. If you grow tomatoes, grow lots, and keep them.  Either put them up in jars or roast them (45 minutes at 350 degrees F. brushed with GOOD olive oil), pick out the skins, and freeze them in quart-size freezer bags.  If you haven’t used these tomatoes for sauce, you have missed the absolute secret of authentic tomato gravy.  Google “San Marzano tomatoes” and read all about them.  You haven’t lived until you have tried these babies.
Try this.  If it isn’t better than your sauce, give me your recipe.

Marinara Sauce

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, smashed on a cutting board, but NOT CHOPPED UP!
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 ib, San Marzano tomatoes
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil  — Please, PLEASE, don’t use dried basil.
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf (NOT CURLY LEAF) parsley – Ditto.
salt and pepper to taste.  Taste while you’re cooking.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. add the garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden,  about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add the tomatoes with their juices,  stir in the sugar, add the basil and parsley, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer the sauce  over very low heat (just barely bubbling), stirring occasionally, until it thickens and is reduced to 3 cups, about  30 minutes. Season again with salt and pepper.

This marinara sauce is perfect for pasta.  If you want a majorly good  lasagna sauce, double everything, substitute  one grated carrot for the sugar, bring to a simmering boil, reduce the heat to very low (again, just barely bubbling), and simmer, covered for two hours, stirring frequently (give it a slosh about every ten minutes). Then reduce the
sauce uncovered, until it is reduced to about three cups.

Enough for one pound of pasta.  Double the recipe for one lasagna, and save the leftover sauce.

NOTES:
*    Don’t you dare skimp on the olive oil, either in amount or quality of the oil.  This is Italian gravy, for gosh sake!
*    About the tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes can be found in 28-oz. cans (usually at Italian markets), and they are an acceptable substitute for fresh tomatoes, but they are the only canned tomatoes to use for authentic marinara.   If you use these, add one fresh tomato from your kitchen, but remove the skin.  Also, if you are buying cans, buy the whole tomatoes and break them up with your hands in a bowl.  If you do use canned San Marzano’s, make sure to taste as you go.  They are canned without salt–the only canned tomatoes that are canned without salt.
*     Also, I have recently discovered San Marzano’s in more than one garden store.  Hooray!  Here’s what I do: I grow a couple of San Marzano vines in my garden like any other tomato, and freeze them.  Simply harvest when they are ready, and when you have enough to fill a heavy 9×13 roasting pan, rinse them thoroughly, place them stem-side down in the pan, cut an X on the up side, spray them with a bit of olive oil spray, and roast on the grill for 45 minutes.  Cover the tomatoes with brown paper and allow them to cool completely. Then peel off the skins and make 1-pound bags of quart-size freezer-safe zip bags and freeze them.  You ought to get three or four bags from a roasting pan.  If you keep doing this all summer as the tomatoes ripen, you will have enough to get you through a cold, hard winter full of sauces and stews.

We have made this dish for Sunday evening company dinners, whenever we are invited to someone else’s house or to a pot-luck dinner when we are expected to bring a dish.  My wonderful spouse introduced me to this dish, and I was astounded.  It is a completely different presentation, an unexpected one, and very, VERY good.  Try this sometime for a surprise treat.  Great brunch with coffee, too.

Savory Florentine Cheesecake
Ingredients:
2 cups dry bread crumbs, preferably from your own bread.
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
1 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, all liquid pressed out
3 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened (I use Neuchaftel, to cut down on the fat calories-lol)
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp prepared Dijon mustanrd
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup freshly grated Gruyere cheese (about 4 oz)
1/4 cup freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese (I will only allow Reggiano Parmesano in my house)
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp fine-ground cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chopped scallions

Procedure:
1.     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2.     Combine bread crumbs and butter and press onto the bottom and sides of a buttered 9-inch springform pan, bake for 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool
3.     In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, cream, salt, and mustard until smooth.
4.     Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition.
5.     Add Spinach, grated cheeses, paprika, cayenne, and scallions.  Mix until well combined.
6.     Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan and bake for approximately 1 hour, until the crust is set and well browned.  Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack.

Serve with fresh-sliced fruit and a green salad with a vinaigrette dressing.

Serves 12

I got this recipe from my grandmother, an immigrant from Kiev, Russia, and an Orthodox Jew who kept Kosher until the day she died, and beat us over the head with it after we stopped doing the same.  It was a staple in our house every Rosh Hashana, and for months after, while good apples were still available.  She would only buy apples at the market in South Philadelphia (like they grew apples in South Philadelphia), and swore that they were the freshest.  My father’s family lived on a small family farm west of Philadelphia, and grew apples in a small orchard.  They weren’t nearly as fresh as the ones Esther could buy in the market in South Philadelphia.  According to her.

Grandma Esther’s Jewish Apple Cake
Ingredients:
5 large apples
5 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. sugar
3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 c. corn oil (or canola or safflower oil–corn is what Esther used)
4 lg. eggs
1/2 c. orange juice
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preparation:
1.     Peel, core and slice apples; mix cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar together; add sliced apples and let sit.
2.     Combine all other ingredients in another bowl and beat to make a smooth batter (about 3 to 4 minutes).
3.     Pour half the batter into a greased and floured tube pan; layer half the apple slices on the batter; add remaining batter, then top with the rest of the apples.
4.     Pour any remaining sugar and cinnamon mixture on top.
5.     Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until done.

Here is the best quick bread I have ever eaten.  I love the 
recipe, the simplicity of it, and the flavor, toasted with 
cream cheese, is to die for.  Try it and let me know what 
you think... 
            
       2 c  Whole wheat flour
       1 tsp Baking powder
       1 tsp Baking soda
       1 tsp Kosher Salt
       1 lg Egg
       2 c  Buttermilk
       1 1/2 tb unsalted butter, melted
       1/2 c  Walnuts; chopped
       3 tb Light molasses 
       1/2 c  Dried cranberries
       1 cup grocery-store orange juice
 
Grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.  Heat oven to 400 degrees. 
Soak the cranberries for a half hour in orange juice, then 
drain.  Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
Beat egg in a large bowl. Stir in buttermilk, molasses 
and butter. Stir in flour mixture. Mix in walnuts and 
cranberries.  Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake 50-60
minutes, or until bread is well browned. Test with a 
toothpick--it should come out dry.  Remove from oven 
and place on a wire rack to cool. Makes 1 loaf.

Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 2 1/2 inch muffin pan cups.Whisk wet ingredients together in medium bowl. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Stir wet ingredients just until combined. Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups filling each about 3/4 full. Bake 20-22 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove and serve warm

…because I just know it will weaken a woman’s knees…

Ingredients:

6 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar, or to taste
pinch of salt
1/2 cup Marsala wine or other wine or spirit (eg. sherry, Madeira, vermouth,
sparkling or dessert wine) or combine wine with a spirit such as bourbon,
rum, or Calvados, or other brandy, or add a favorite liqueur such as praline
or Frangelico.  Citrus juice and zest, vanilla, or ground ginger or other
spices may be added along with the wine.

*  But if you really want to make it right, use the Marsala  *

Procedure:
In a round-bottomed copper zabaglione pan or the top pan of a double boiler,
combine the egg yolks, sugar and salt.  Using a wire whisk or hand-held
mixer, beat until the eggs are pale and creamy, about 3 minutes.  Slowly
whisk in the wine.

Place over gently simmering (not boiling) water.  Continue to beat
constantly until the custard is thick and doubled in volume, 5 to 8 minutes;
it should just hold its shape.  Spoon into stemmed glasses or pour into
custard cups and serve warm.

Hey all, I got this emailed to me from a friend, and it looks really good (the friend called it “kick-ass,” and I thoroughly agree.  Here’s her story:

“A friend of mine was having a bunch of people over to watch some game or other. The idea was to have party-type food. I needed something quick and easy that I could make with ingredients I already had on hand. One of the most typical things for such occasions is chicken wings. Buffalo wings are cool, but have been done to death. I was in experiment mode, and this is what I came up with. (This got me a couple of wedding proposals, and one very indecent proposal that night).”

Apricot-Ginger Chicken Wings

4 lbs of separated chicken wings (tips removed)
salt and pepper (to taste)
2 cups flour for dredging
vegetable oil for frying
1/4 cup chopped scallions (green portion only)
1-2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Sauce:
1 cup apricot preserves
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1 clove of garlic
2 tsp fresh ginger

*Tip: A garlic press works well if you have one. I like to grate both the garlic clove and the ginger using a citrus zester. Both ginger and garlic have intense flavors. The zester gives each a fine grate that allows them to disintegrate into the sauce, so you get the flavor, without the overpowering “mouth feel” of texture.

1. Wash and drain the chicken. Over medium-high heat, preheat the vegetable oil in a frying pan. While the oil is             heating, season the chicken wings with salt and pepper. Coat the chicken wings in flour, shaking off any excess.         (You only want a light crust on the wings, so an egg wash isn’t necessary).
2. Cook until the edges begin to lightly brown, and turn the chicken over.  (Approximately 5-7 minutes on each side,         depending on the size of the pieces).  Drain well on paper towels.
3. Set aside the sesame seeds and scallions. To make the sauce, combine all remaining ingredients in a medium         sauce pan over low heat. Stir constantly until the preserves break down and all ingredients are blended. Bring to a     low boil, continuing to stir. Remove from heat. The sauce should have a syrupy consistency.

*Tip: This sauce has very high sugar content and can burn easily. Keep the ingredients moving constantly so nothing settles in the bottom of the pan, prevent sticking and burning!) If the sauce begins to overheat, remove from heat, but keep stirring. The sauce will thicken as it heats up. If it heats too fast it may become too thick. To thin it out a little, add 1/2 tsp rice vinegar and add water 1 Tbsp at a time as you need it.

Remove from heat and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the wings to the bowl and toss. Sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds, and toss once more to evenly coat.

I got a request for this dish, one I made years ago when I was single and cooking for a date, and the result was exquisite.  It is the classic Italian recipe. There are several different ways to prepare this dish, but this preparation is the way it is done in Milan, where it originated.  The Joy Of Cooking suggests 2 tablespoons rinsed capers (salted, not pickled) instead of prosciutto and olive oil instead of butter.  That is the Americanization of the dish, originally done by Italian restaurants in the U.S. because of the cost of proper prosciutto, and because restaurateurs  discovered that American palettes were generally not sophisticated enough to appreciate and enjoy the salty and aromatic nature of the Italian ham vis-a-vis a dish that evolved into a gently flavorful Amer-Italian favorite.  Made with good capers it is a finely flavored dish.  Made with prosciutto it is extraordinary.   In another American innovation, thin cutlets of chicken or turkey are sometimes used to replace fine veal to good results, but they are not to be confused with the real thing.  Please try to make it this way at least once.  I give you:

PICCATA di VITELLO AL PREZZEMOLO

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 pound (450 g) thinly sliced veal
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
* 1/3 cup unsalted butter
* 2 fairly thick (1/8 inch, or 3 mm) slices prosciutto
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* The juice of a half a lemon
* 1/2 cup (125 ml) beef broth (or bouillon)
* Salt & pepper
* A slice of lemon and a sprig of parsley

PREPARATION:
Slice the prosciutto slices widthwise to obtain match-stick sized pieces. Mince the parsley.

Wet a broad-bladed knife with cold water and gently pound the slices to thin them, taking care not to punch through them. Put the flour, a healthy pinch of salt and a grind of pepper in a paper bag. Pat the cutlets dry, put them into the bag (one at a time) and shake the bag to flour them.

Melt 1/4 cup of the butter in a skillet and sauté the prosciutto slivers for about five minutes. Turn the heat to high and add the veal, turning the slices as soon as their undersides are done (you want to cook them rapidly, before they give off a great flood of water). As soon as the slices are done, remove them to a serving dish and keep them warm. Return the pan to the fire, add the broth, and stir up the drippings that have stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Let the juices cook down a little, then remove the pan from the fire and stir in the remaining butter, the lemon juice, and the minced parsley. Pour the sauce over the meat and serve, with the lemon and parsley as garnish.

We’re always on the hunt for cool ways to use hummus, which both Ellen and I make, differently but to the same great effect. She likes roasted red peppers and garlic, while I like to experiment with different flavors. My current favorite mix is garlic, scallions, a bit of ginger and a drizzle of sesame seed oil.

The other night, I went the way of her recipe, and used the wonderful ingredient as the basis for a stuffing for chicken breasts. I am here to report that this recipe is restaurant-good, and is absolutely worth the time and energy. It is so good, even, that store-bought hummus will turn this into a rousing and beautiful supper. Please take the time to do this. It is a three-pan batter dip recipe, but worth the trouble. Make this one for company. It is a terrific presentation, but a lot of work and a lot of ingredients for two people. This is a six- to eight-person do, and will garner ooohs and aaahs. Guaranteed. One of the ingredients is panko, a Japanese bread crumb. Please go to the trouble to find this. Substitution of regular bread crumbs for panko will alter the final product, and not to its advantage. The texture of the panko is incredible. Try it:

 Hummus-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and wrung out

2/3 cup hummus

¼ cup lightly-toasted pine nuts

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

salt and pepper

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, butterflied* and pounded to ½ inch thick

½ cup whole-wheat flour (you can use all-purpose, but whole wheat tastes waaay better)

2 large eggs

1 ½ cups panko

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• your butcher will butterfly chicken breasts for you if you don’t know how, but it is really simple—just hold them firmly on a cutting board and slice them lengthwise (horizontally) from the thick side to the thin side, stopping about a half-inch from cutting all the way through

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Set up three shallow dipping pans, one with flour, salt and pepper; one with beaten eggs; and one with panko.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the spinach, hummus, pine nuts and nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and place a dollop (1/6^th of the total amount) of the hummus mixture on one side of each breast. Fold the breast over the stuffing and pin the open side with two toothpicks.
5. Coat the stuffed chicken breasts with flour, shaking off any excess. Then dip them in egg, then coat the breasts with panko.
6. In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over meduim-high heat until the butter stops foaming. Add two chicken breasts two at a time, and cook, turning once, four minutes on the first side, three minutes on the second side. Adjust the heat so that the chicken browns but doesn’t burn. Transfer the sautee’d breasts to a foil-lined baking sheet, and bake them for ten minutes. Remove from oven, cover with foil, and allow to rest for five minutes. Discard the toothpicks and slice each breast crossways on plates to serve.

I served the chicken breasts with a zucchini-Parmesan risotto and roasted asparagus. This is a dinner-party presentation. Folks, the work is worth the effort.

This incredible dessert was presented as a Mother’s Day treat to the one I love.  And her family.This dessert is absolutely sick.
It worked.

Drizzling syrup:

1/3 cup Guinness Stout

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I like Droste’s)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Cake:

2/3 cup Guinness Stout (measured after foam has subsided

2/3 cup currants

1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 3/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp sugar

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Cooking spray

2/3 cups butter, softened

4 eggs

1 ½ tsp pure vanilla

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ cup red currant jelly, warmed

1 cup chopped walnuts

Bittersweet Icing:

1 ½ cups heavy cream

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

4 ½ Tbsp confectioner’s sugar

4 ½ Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

ONE DAY AHEAD:

Bring cream to a boil.  Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl, pour boiling cream over it, and whisk until chocolate melts and is thoroughly combined.  Cover tightly and chill overnight.  Chill beaters from a hand mixer at the same time.

UP TO 3 HOURS BEFORE SERVING:

Whip chocolate mixture with the hand mixer with chilled beaters.  When soft peaks form, sift in confectioner’s sugar and cocoa, and then add vanilla and salt.  Continue whipping until combined.

Drizzling Syrup:

Combine all ingredients in a small heavy saucepan, whisking until smooth.  Heaat over medium heat until sugar disolves and syrup is smooth.  Set aside.

Cake:

1.                  Pour Stout over currants; cover and soak until the currants are plump.

2.                  Drain currants, reserving Stout.

3.                  Add stout to a small saucepan.  Whisk in 1/3 cup cocoa and bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat.  Add semisweet chocolate, stirring until chocolate melts.  Cool  slightly.  Stir in buttermilk.

4.                  Preheat oven to 350 F

5.                  Combine 2 Tbsp cocoa, 2 Tbsp sugar and 2 Tbsp flour.  Coat 2 8- or 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray; dust with cocoa mixture.

6.                  Beat butter with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.  Gradually beat in 1 ¾  cups sugar until well blended.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Beat in vanilla.

7.                  Combine 2 cups flour with baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with chocolate mixture until blended (batter may look curdled).  Stir in currants.

8.                  Divide batter between pans.  Bake 25 – 30 minutes, until a wooden pick comes out clean.  Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes, then invert onto the rack.

9.                  Poke tops of cake with a skewer or toothpick.  Spoon drizzling syrup over tops of both layers.

10.             Place 1 layer on a platter.  Spread warmed jelly over layer on the platter. Chill 30 minutes.  Cover jelly with ¼ of Bittersweet Icing.  Place second layer on top.

11.              Frost top and sides with the remaining icing.  Press nuts into the sides of the cake.  Serves 16