Italian Spaghetti Sauce

When I was a child growing up in the 1960's and 70's, this spaghetti sauce recipe was a big hit in my house. The original recipe served 50 people! I have cut the recipe in half to post here. Even cut in half, there is still enough to make 3 large meals and have leftovers for the following day. My Mom said she could never get 50 servings out of the original recipe because the 7 of us were never satisfied with just one helping.

Why such a large recipe? Each summer when I was a child, my family along with 13 other families would caravan to Allegheny State Park in New York. We would spend a week in a rustic cabin at Camp 12. This summer event was repeated for 7 years in a row. During the week of camp, 2 families would take one day to cook meals for the rest of the camper's. This way we had 6 days to relax and have fun. My Mother and Mrs. H. would prepare this spaghetti sauce at home and freeze it in empty milk cartons to take to camp each year. Spaghetti night was always a big hit with the campers.

3 cups chopped onion

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 lbs. ground beef

2 (28 ounces) cans tomato puree

1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste

4 cups water

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2-1/2 Tbsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground cloves

1-1/2 tsp oregano

1-1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Saute onion in oil until tender. Add ground beef and brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add rest of ingredients and simmer for 2 hours.

Use this sauce over your favorite pasta or make lasagna with it. Serve with a side salad and garlic bread.

Enjoy!

Warm Mocha Truffle Tart

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

My husband Keith, gave me a single red rose and took me out to dinner tonight. For 2 whole hours we sipped wine and dined on Salmon stuffed with crab and a divine chicken and mushroom dish. We actually had an adult conversation! For 2GoodBoys were happy to stay home and play guitar hero with the sitter. It's very rare that we get to go out to dinner....just the two of us.

Earlier in the day, I made this incredibly decadent dessert to show him how much I love him. We were happy to skip the dessert tray at the restaurant because we knew we had this waiting at home for us.

This homemade tart has a modest filling, but its taste is truly rich, and chocolaty.

Love is definately sweet.

CRUST

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

FILLING

5 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 cup whipping cream

1-1/4 tsp instant espresso coffee powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg, lightly beaten

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt 1/2 cup butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 cup sugar, 3/4 tsp vanilla and 1/8 tsp salt. Stir in flour just until well combined. Dough will be very soft.

Press dough in bottom and up sides of 9-1/2 inch tart pan with removable bottom. Place pan on baking sheet. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until deep golden brown.

Meanwhile, melt 5 Tbsp butter in same medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa and 1 cup cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and small bubbles begin to form around edges. Remove from heat; stir in coffee powder and 1/2 tsp vanilla.

Just before crust is done baking, temper the egg by adding a little of the hot chocolate mixture to the egg in the bowl and whisking thoroughly. Then pour the egg and chocolate mixture into the hot chocolate mixture in saucepan. Whisk thoroughly. Remove crust from oven; pour filling into hot crust. Return to oven; bake 10 to 12 minutes or until barely set. Filling will quiver slightly when tapped as side. Cool in pan on wire rack 25 minutes. Serve Tart warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Enjoy!

Hearty Beef Barley Soup

This recipe reminds me of the soup that I use to get from a quaint, diner style retaurant near where I grew up. It is loaded with big chunks of tender beef, carrots, celery, tomatoes and onions. Makes sure you use a dark, rich flavorful beef broth in this recipe. It will give this soup that gourmet taste to please and satisfy any appetite.

2 Tbsp olive oil

1-1/2 lbs boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes

Salt and pepper

3 large stalks of celery, chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large onion, chopped

4 - 6 garlic cloves, chopped

1-1/2 tsp of chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1-1/2 tsp dried oregano

6 cups rich, flavorful Beef stock

1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes in juice

1-1/2 cup barley

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Season beef cubes with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy pot, brown beef cubes over medium-high heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a bowl. Add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, rosemary and oregano to the pot. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Return the beef cubes and any juices from the bowl to the pot. Add the beef stock and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the meat is just tender, Stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Add the barley. Cover and simmer until the barley is tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in Parsley.

Serve with crusty rye bread and a side salad.

Enjoy!

Psssst....I will let you in on a secret....

If you're pressed for time, try using this:

It's fully cooked and all you have to do is cut it into cubes and add to the pot with the rest of the ingredients. You can get Morton's Pot Roast at Costco.

Chicken Drumsticks... Asian Style

Simply Delicious....and sticky! Have plenty of napkins on hand.

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup honey

2 Tbsp soy sauce

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp ginger

12 chicken drumsticks

2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Mix the hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce, garlic and ginger together in a large bowl. Add the chicken to the marinade and toss to coat. Cover abd refrigerated at least 1 hour but preferably overnight.

Position your oven rack in the middle of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Transfer the chicken and marinade to the baking sheet and spread out in a single layer. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour, turning every 15 minutes. Then, turn the broiler on high. Broil the chicken for 10 - 15 minutes more, turning often and watching closely until the chicken is cooked through and the marinade glazes the chicken.

Transfer chicken to a platter, pour the remaining marinade on the baking sheet over the tope of the drumsticks and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Tzatziki - Greek Yogurt Dip

We recently had the opportunity to take in the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, MI. While we were in Downtown Detroit, we decided to have lunch in Greektown. They have many nice restaurants there. My favorite is Pegasus Taverna. To the sounds of "OPA!", we dined on Saganaki, Gyros, and this delicious Greek dip....Tzatziki.

I love the fresh cucumber and garlic flavor in this dip. Serve with fresh baked bread and a platter of fresh Crudités. This dip goes great on Greek Lamb or Chicken too.

2 cups Plain, Greek Yogurt

4 - 10 cloves Garlic*, minced

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded and grated

2 tsp of lemon juice

Dill or mint (optional)

Prepare all ingredients in advanced.

If you don't have real Greek yogurt, you can make your yogurt thick by placing a coffee filter in a strainer above a bowl. Pour the plain yogurt in the filter lined strainer and let it sit for about an hour in the refrigerator. This will allow the liquid to drain from the yogurt, thus making it thicker in consistency.

After dicing or grating the cucumer, pat it dry with absorbent toweling to remove excess moisture.

Combine lemon juice with yogurt in a medium mixing bowl. Add Garlic, to taste and the cucumber. Stir until completely mixed.

Slight variations include adding Dill or Mint. I used dried dill in my recipe and it was delicious.

* The longer the tzatziki is refrigerated before serving, the more intense the garlic taste will become. I put in 4 cloves of garlic and it is pretty strong for us. Certainly if you like strong garlic flavor, add more.

Enjoy!