Recipe: Traditional Red Pizza Sauce

As I shared in my basic pizza dough recipe post, my mom wanted me to help make homemade pizza for a Super Bowl party she's hosting, and I worked off of a recipe from Food.com to create a delicious red sauce. This sauce has a TON of ingredients, which all blend together to create a rich, flavorful sauce perfect for pizza, or even as a pasta sauce. It's easy to pull together and the flavors deepen when you allow the sauce to simmer for a while. Now, because I had to make up a big batch (enough to cover at least four pizzas), and was editing the original recipe as I went along, the amounts listed here are measured for a larger amount and I have not done the math to edit it to work for a single pizza—I trust you can figure this out. This sauce freezes well, and can be stored for a few months, so you can easily make this recipe as is and freeze the excess for future pizzas or for other uses (pasta, dipping sauce for mozzarella sticks or fried eggplant, etc.; we still had left over after making about five or six pizzas).

Yields: Approx. 3.5 quarts
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30-60 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Blender, food processor, or immersion/stick blender

Ingredients

• 6-8 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tbsp. butter
• Approx. 2 cups onions, chopped (I used 4 small-to-medium onions)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Approx. 45 oz. tomato sauce (I used a 29 oz. can, and then added a 15 oz. can when I realized I needed more)
• 1, 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 2, 6 oz. cans tomato paste
• 6-8 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 3-4 tsp. dried basil
• 3-4 tsp. dried oregano
• 3-4 tsp. dried fennel seeds
• 1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
• 3 whole bay leaves (remove these from sauce before pureeing)
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• Approx. 1 tsp. black pepper
• Approx. 2 tsp. salt
• Approx. 2 tsp. sugar

Directions

In a large pot, heat the butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and slightly transparent. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste and stir to combine (the paste is thick, so be sure you stir it vigorously to break it down in the sauce). Add in the remaining ingredients (the cheese, herbs, spices, sugar, and salt) and stir to combine. Briefly bring the sauce to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pot with a lid, and let it simmer for 30-60 minutes (I cooked it for 30 minutes; the longer you cook it, the more the flavors can blend). Remove the bay leaves from the sauce. 

To blend: If using an immersion/stick blender (this is what I did, because it's the easiest and creates the least amount of dishes to wash), immerse the blender into the sauce in the pot and pulse to blend, stirring as you pulse, until the bigger chunks (onion, diced tomatoes, garlic) are broken up and blended into the sauce and the sauce is smooth. If using a blender or a food processor, pour as much as the sauce as possible (without overloading) into the holder on the unit and blend/pulse until smooth. Pour the smooth sauce into a clean bowl. Repeat this process with the remaining sauce until it's all blended and smooth. Sauce can be kept in the fridge for a few days or frozen for a few months. 

This sauce is a little sweet, a little spicy, a little tangy, and oh-so-good. Fennel and oregano are classic pizza sauce flavors, and the combination of the remaining flavorings is just right. Allowing the sauce to simmer for a while gives it a great depth of flavor, making it the perfect addition to any pizza, pasta, or other Italian-esque dish.

Recipe: Sour Cream Garlic Sauce with Chives

This creamy sauce, made with a little chicken broth, sour cream, garlic, chives, and a handful of other ingredients, is meant to go with the potato and cheese pierogi with kielbasa, but it could easily be served over potatoes, as a pasta sauce, or as a dip for chicken. It's really easy to pull together and it's incredibly flavorful.

Yields: About 2 cups
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1 and 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup chives, fresh or dried

Directions
Heat the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally and watching to make sure it doesn't brown. When fragrant and slightly soft, add the flour and continue to stir until it is well-incorporated into the butter and the mixture is golden yellow and no longer has a floury taste. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, whisking the mixture until it is well-blended, creamy, and slightly thick. Add the salt and pepper, then whisk in the sour cream until well-blended. Add in the chives, then serve.

This sauce is salty, buttery, and creamy, and almost has a slight bacon taste to it (not sure why though, but it's good!). It was absolutely perfect on the pierogi and kielbasa and it could easily be used as a sort of alfredo sauce alternative on pasta or as a creamy gravy for potatoes or rice.

Recipe: Spaghetti al Melone

Hopefully I don't sound like a broken record, but once again, I made a Giada De Laurentiis recipe tonight: Spaghetti al Melone. Sometimes I think I should just follow in the footsteps of the blogger that inspired the Julie and Julia movie and work my way through all of Giada's cookbooks—Haha! Anywho, a few days ago on her show, Giada at Home, Giada and her aunt pulled some recipes from her grandmother's cookbook and made them for a sort of "comfort food/blast from the past" meal (original recipe can be found here). The recipe I'm sharing tonight caught my eye because it was so different from other pasta-with-sauce dishes that I've seen and made. The sauce is made with cantaloupe, which may seem a little odd, but the saltiness of that particular melon makes it perfect for certain savory dishes. I remember having melon wrapped in prosciutto as an appetizer during my homestay in Italy in high school, when I traveled with People to People International, and the combination of sweet and salty was perfect. Though the recipe doesn't call for it, I used that Italian appetizer as an inspiration and added crispy crumbles of prosciutto to the dish and the meal turned out great.

Serves: 4-6
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 lb. spaghetti pasta
• 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan
• 1 (2 lb.) cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces (if you're feeling lazy, just buy a few packs of already-sliced cantaloupe)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 stick (4 tbsp.) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup whiskey
• 2 tbsp. fresh or bottled lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4-6 slices of prosciutto, chopped into small pieces

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente (8-10 minutes). Drain and return it to the pot. Add the Parmesan and toss well. In the meantime, place the melon in a food processor and blend until chunky, then set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat the heavy cream and butter over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the butter melts and the mixture is smooth (about 2 minutes). Add the melon, lemon juice, and whiskey to the cream and butter mixture. Simmer until the mixture thickens (about 10 minutes; it did not thicken much when I made it, but it worked out just fine). Stir in the salt and pepper. Pour the melon sauce over the pasta and toss until it's coated. In another medium saucepan, sauté the prosciutto pieces in a little butter or olive oil until slightly crispy. Plate the pasta and top it with a sprinkle of crispy prosciutto and grated Parmesan cheese, and serve.

I absolutely LOVED this meal—by far my favorite dish of all the new dishes I've made in the past few weeks. It's light, buttery, creamy, salty, and so delicious! The melon adds a slight sweetness to the dish, while the Parmesan brings out the saltiness of the melon. Crispy prosciutto and a little extra Parmesan on top make this dish perfect. Giada's grandmother had the right idea when she decided to mix melon and pasta!

Recipe: Prosciutto and Spinach Ravioli

I made this recipe for my dad and myself a few weeks ago, while my mother was on vacation at the beach with her mother, and we both loved it. My mom heated up some of the leftovers when she got home a day or so later and really enjoyed the ravioli too, so she asked if I'd make the recipe again, and that's what was on the menu tonight. This recipe comes from my Giada De Laurentiis Everday Pasta cookbook (recipe is originally called Prosciutto Ravioli; I've made slight changes) and what I love about it is that you don't have to make fresh pasta to make the ravioli—wonton wrappers take the place of pasta sheets and they are perfectly tender when you bite into them. They cook quickly too!

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: Approx. 4 minutes per batch
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 (15 oz.) container whole-milk ricotta (I use a lite/skim ricotta to make the meal a little less fattening)
• 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 4 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 48 square wonton wrappers
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (I use a little less to make the dish a little healthier)
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil

Directions
Whisk or stir the spinach, prosciutto, ricotta, egg yolks, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend. Place approx. 1 tbsp. of the mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper. Brush the edge of the wrapper lightly with water, then fold the wrapper in half, point to point, closing the wrapper completely and forming a triangle. Pinch the edges together to seal, then transfer the ravioli to a baking sheet. Repeat until all the wrappers and/or filling is gone, placing each ravioli on the baking sheet as you go along.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, cook ravioli until tender (about 4 minutes per batch), stirring occasionally. Place cooked ravioli in a large shallow dish. Drizzle them with a little olive oil and toss them gently every so often to keep them from sticking to each other. Cover the dish as you go along adding to it so the ravioli stays warm.
Melt the stick of butter in a small skillet over medium heat, then add the oregano, stirring to blend. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the mixture over the ravioli and toss them gently so they're all coated. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

These ravioli are packed with flavor and very filling! The wonton wrappers are tender, the prosciutto adds a delicious saltiness to the dish, and the oregano-butter sauce is light and doesn't overpower the other flavors in the dish. The ravioli reheats wonderfully and you could easily substitute in beef, chicken, or other meat (though you'll need to cook it a little first) in place of the prosciutto and try a different sauce, like pesto or marinara.

Recipe: Rotini with Walnut Sauce

I started yesterday with a bowl of Kashi Heart-to-Heart cereal and a lemon bar and spent the afternoon up in the mountains with my best friend, lounging on a couch while watching The Patriot. At 4:00PM, still clad in pajamas, I headed home, my thoughts revolving around my rumbling tummy and the question of what to make for dinner. Since I had such a light breakfast and nothing else to eat that day, I felt I could get away with a more calorie-dense dinner, so I made a Giada De Laurentiis recipe (from her Everyday Pasta cookbook) that I'd pulled out to try earlier: Rotelli with Walnut Sauce. The meal was incredibly rich and creamy, so I paired it with a side salad of baby greens with a pomegranate vinaigrette and a glass of white wine. Perfect!

Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 8-10 minutes (for the pasta), no cooking necessary for the sauce
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 pound rotelli, fusilli, or rotini (corkscrew pasta)
• 1.5 cups toasted walnuts (see instructions for toasting nuts below)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
To toast the walnuts: Preheat oven to 350* F. Spread the walnuts out evenly on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until fragrant and golden brown. Stir them a few times while toasting and watch closely to make sure they don't burn. 
Bring a large pot of slated water to a boil. Add the pasta until cooked al dente (about 8 to 10 minutes). Drain the pasta and reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water.
In the meantime, combine the toasted walnuts, butter, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Pulse to combine the ingredients, then, with the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and stir in the Parmesan cheese, then the heavy cream.
When the pasta is done, stir in the walnut sauce and add a little bit of the reserved cooking water, then stir gently until the sauce completely coats the pasta. Sprinkle with parsley and a little Parmesan cheese and serve.

This dish is very decadent and incredibly filling, so you may want to halve the recipe or reserve some of the walnut sauce and use it later in the week. I recommend serving it with a salad or crisp vegetables to add some lightness to the meal.

Recipe: Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Berry Sauce...or as I made it: Rosemary Chicken and Polenta with Blueberry Sauce

I love love love Italian food. I love eating it, I love cooking it, I love going to restaurants that serve nothing but it. During the past week and a half, I've made swordfish and spaghetti with a citrus pesto, Italian mac&cheese (I used some sort of fancy macaroni noodle with frills on the edge that was oh-so-fun), prosciutto-ricotta-spinach ravioli in wonton wrappers, and bruschetta chicken and pasta. All very Italian and all very delicious. But tonight, I wanted to cook something a little different. I also didn't want to buy groceries. Thus, rosemary chicken and polenta with blueberry sauce was born. I had blueberries in the fridge and a request from my dad to make a sauce with them, so I searched online and found a recipe from SimpleRecipes.com for Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Berry Sauce. Now, both my mother and my uncle have said "Always follow the recipe exactly as it is the first time, then tweak it as you will if you want to when you make it again." Well, I didn't have the blackberries, apple cider vinegar, and red currant jelly needed for the sauce, and I didn't want to grill, so I threw caution to the wind and substituted in blueberries, red wine vinegar, and strawberry-rhubarb jam, and sauteed instead. Success! The recipe didn't include a side dish, so I made a simple rosemary polenta and it went fabulously with the berry sauce. Below is my version of this recipe.

Serves: 2-4
Prep. time: 1 hour, 10 minutes (hour is for the marinade)
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I only used two; my mom and I split one and my dad ate the other)
• 2 tablespoons of chopped, fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup of dry white wine or vermouth (I used vermouth)
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

For the sauce:

• 1 and 3/4 cups of fresh blueberries
• 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of berry jam (I used strawberry-rhubarb jam)
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

For the polenta:

• 1/2 lb. of polenta (I used an instant polenta mix. It tastes just fine and it's easy to make)
• 4 cups of chicken broth (instant polenta usually says to use water, but chicken broth gives it better flavor)
• A dash of salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary (I also sprinkled in a little dried rosemary at the last minute because it has a stronger flavor)

Directions

Place the chicken breasts in a bowl. Add the wine/vermouth, olive oil, rosemary, and pepper to the bowl. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator to marinate for approx. 1 hour.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and set aside, reserving the marinade. To make the sauce, pour the marinade into a sauce pan and add the berries. Simmer gently until the berries are soft. Press the mixture through a strainer and discard the berry pulp. Return the mixture to the sauce pan and add the vinegar, jam, and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until it's reached a syrup-like consistency.To keep it warm, place it over the lowest heat, uncovered.
In the meantime, heat oil in a sauce pan and saute the chicken until both sides are golden brown and the insides are no longer pink. In a pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil and follow the directions on the polenta box (slowly whisk in polenta and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens and easily pulls away from the sides of the pot). Add in the fresh rosemary and sprinkle in salt and pepper, to taste.
Plate the chicken and polenta and spoon the berry sauce over each.

This recipe was delicious and perfect for warm summer weather! The blueberry sauce was sweet and tangy, and the rosemary in both the chicken and polenta brought the two together. A vegetable would be a great addition to the dish—asparagus would work very well. All in all, a delicious dish! I know that sweet berries in a savory dish might seem a little odd, but it's a wonderful combination. And for me, it was a step away from pasta, marinara, and parmesan cheese.