Re-Purpose this!

I secretly hid some of the leftover frozen meatballs from the Mother's Day tea that I did earlier in the month, and was craving some good old fashioned spaghetti and meatballs. I update the recipe a little so the sauce has a more contemporary character, but still very easy.

Following the "use what's leftover" philosophy that I (and my purse) are so fond of, I dug out from my fridge, sweet pepper, basil, and from the pantry, canned tomatoes, of course!

I pureed the sauce to give it a nice thick consistency, so you could keep it in the fridge and use it as a dip, or even thin it out and use it as a soup. I love recipes that can multi-task like that!



Red Spaghetti Sauce

Makes 1 quart
1/2 ea Yellow Onion, diced
3 cloves Garlic, sliced
1 ea Red Pepper, but yellow or orange works too
1 can Fire roasted tomatoes
1 cup Basil, chiffonade
2 tbs Olive Oil


1. Heat the oil in a saute pan and saute the onions until lightly browned
2. Add the Garlic, and cook till lightly browned
3. Add the Red pepper and saute for another 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and basil
4. Cook for another 10 minutes, then puree mixture in blender
5. Bring red sauce back to a boil, and lower to a simmer until desired consistency is reached
6. Season with salt and pepper

Leave to cool then store in an airtight container in the fridge

If serving with meatballs, add the frozen meatballs, cover pan, and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through
Toss with spaghetti, and top with parmesan cheese

To serve as a soup, thin out sauce with an equal portion of chicken stock

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Did a Mother's Day lunch for a special family over the weekend, and as usual, everything was fabulous, but I got the most props on my famous meatballs, so I'm posting it here!

The secret to making great tasting meatballs? Just use ingredients that you're familiar with, and always, always, do a taste test before you roll them out! If you can let the flavors marinate overnight before rolling them out, even better.

The other great thing about this is that it freezes really well, and you can always have a stash for a quick appetizer, or something to throw into a red pasta sauce for spaghetti & meatballs; but that's only if it lasts that long!

Enjoy ~


Chef Laura's OMG Meatballs
Makes 36, 1 oz meatballs

1/2 lb Ground Beef
1/2 lb Sweet Italian Sausage
1/2 each Onion, sliced into half moons
1/4 cup Sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Feta, Crumbled
2 Tbs Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbs Breadcrumbs
1 tsp Paprika

2 Tbs Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a heavy saute pan
2. Add the onion slices, and caramelize on medium until golden brown, about 20 minutes (keep stirring or this burns)
3. Remove from heat, and let cool; chop into a rough paste
4. Combine all the remaining ingredients in a bowl
5. Use your hands to mix well, season with salt & pepper
6. Do a taste test by frying up a small portion of the mixture
7. Divide mixture into 1 oz portions, and roll into balls
8. Arrange meatballs on metal tray and freeze
9. Once frozen, store in airtight container or zip lock bags for up to 3 months
10. When ready to use, arrange meatballs in a single layer on a baking sheet at bake at 400F for 10 minutes


Spinach Yogurt Sauce

2 cups Spinach leaves
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 cup Greek Yogurt
2 cloves Garlic, sliced

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a saute pan, and cook the spinach until wilted
2. Using a food processor, combine all ingredients, and pulse till spinach is finely chopped
3. Store in an airtight container overnight before using, this allows the flavor to develop

Seasons of Spring

Been missing the blog recently since things have been hectic in the other (under?) world, but so far April has seen come pretty culinary colors, with my favorite season for produce!



First, there was a tea party with the girls up in San Francisco, and I'm not sure how other people do tea, but we do it with lamb riblets, a cheese selection, and Chef Laura's all-time famous scones. I'm not sure where the tea was at tea, but there was some pretty good wine!





Not to mention Easter, where I contributed with an unforgettable marinade of green onion and fennel for the roasted lamb, and my signature Mediterranean quinoa salad with sundried tomatoes, green onion, squash, feta and a host of other delicious stuff.

Where would we be without contributions to the pasta book? New pasta creations include an Applewood smoked bacon and peas cappellini with poached eggs, a creamy Vegetarian peas and spinach risotto (c'mon, risotto falls under the the pasta category too), Gnocchi with bacon and spinach carbonara style (recipe below), and a special treat of red Italian sausage penne, where I didn't have to cook at all (Yes, I am still adding it to the book and claiming credit)!









A special friend came in from Portland, and I tried my best to align the menu with their health conscious goals. You can't have a special dinner without an appetizer or dessert, so a tomato and roasted garlic soup served up with some crunchy bread and creme brulee were a prelude and postlude to the entree of delicious slow roasted salmon, spicy corn salad, and a chile verde sauce.







Speaking of chile verde, Gigya had a chile competition to celebrate our Q1 close, and instead of Texas chile, I spiced it up with my contribution of oxtail chile verde, served up with some queso fresco, sour cream and corn bread, and I won!



More to come I'm sure - the rest of Spring awaits!

Carbonara Gnocchi

Serves 2

4 oz Bacon, diced
3 cups Spinach (anything except baby)
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 cup White Wine or vermouth
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
2 ea Egg Yolks

Salt and pepper to taste

Gnocchi for 2

Heat a heavy saute pan and add the bacon
Cook till browned and cripsy
Add the minced garlic and spinach, and saute till spinach wilts
Add the White wine and reduce by half
Add the heavy cream, and cook on high until sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes
Season to taste
Temper the egg yolks with the hot sauce, and then gradually combine the yolk mixture and bacon spinach cream sauce
Toss with freshly cooked gnocchi

Gigya's Winning Chile Verde Recipe

To celebrate the close of an extremely successful Q1, Gigya held a Chili Cookoff in conjunction with poker night. I might have lost all my money at poker, but I did win a $100 with my award winning Chile Verde. I promised to post the recipe if I won, so here it is!



Although chile verde is usually made with pork, (and you can definitely use that meat if you prefer), I used oxtail for this one because it's a slightly richer meat that's not often found in restaurants.

The chile verde sauce also works really well as a side sauce for meats and fish, if you're using it that way, omit the onion, and add 1/2 cup of olive oil.

Good luck!

Gigya's Oxtail Chile Verde

Serves 8

5 lbs Oxtail
4 cups Chile Verde
2 Tbs Oil

Chicken broth
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan, and sear the oxtail on all sides, until nicely browned
To this in batches as necessary
Add the chile verde sauce, and enough chicken broth to cover the oxtail
Cover pot and braise in a 320F oven for about 2.5 hrs or until meat falls off the bone
Pick the meat off the bone and serve hot
Season to taste

Optional Garnish: Sour cream, queso fresca, cilantro

Chile Verde Sauce

Makes about 4 cups

4 ea Poblano Chilies
3 ea Jalapeno Chilies
8 ea Anaheim Chilies
6 ea Tomatillos
4 ea Green Onions
1 ea Green Pepper

3 ea Limes, juiced
1 ea Yellow onion
4 cloves Garlic
1 bu Cilantro

Salt to taste

Roast the peppers and tomatillos until skin is charred
Leave to cool, then peel peppers
Combine all ingredients in a blender
Season to taste

To serve as a sauce, omit the yellow onion, and add 1/2 cup olive oil when processing

Going for the Green Goodness

After an intense heart-stopping weekend of eating fried stuff and meat, I decided that enough was enough, and that I would go on a strict veggie/grain diet for a week after. I felt so much better with my home cooked meals, and gave myself cheese and egg allowances to feed that Umami cravings.

One of the best meals that I whipped up for the week was a quinoa over broccoli pesto, topped with coddled eggs (my favorite way to eat eggs!). The broccoli pesto was a breeze to make, and I used the leftovers to stir into my pasta, spread on bread to toast, or just put spoonfuls of it into my mouth for a quick tasting high protein snack!

Here's the recipe. I used frozen broccoli because it was cheaper and easier, but you could definitely substitute for fresh. The trick to cooking the broccoli is to steam it quick and dirty, or until the broccoli is just tender. Let the veggie cool to room temperature before buzzing in the processor.

Here's the recipe.

Broccoli Pesto
makes 1 pint

12 oz Frozen Broccoli
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan/Pecorino
3 cloves Garlic
1/2 cup Basil Leaves, Packed
2/3 cup Roasted Slivered Almonds
1/2 cup Olive Oil

Juice of 1 lemon
Salt & black pepper to taste

1. Bring 2 tbs of water to a boil in a saucepan
2. Add the broccoli and cover the pan
3. Cook till broccoli is just tender, about 5 minutes, strain any remaining liquid out
4. Reserve 2/3 cups broccoli for Quinoa
5. When the remaining broccoli has cooled, add to food processor
6. Add all the other ingredients, and process till fine
7. Add additional olive oil if necessary to maintain desired consistency (I like mine more pasty, instead of liquid)

Quinoa on Broccoli Pesto with Egg
serves 2

1/2 cup Broccoli Pesto
1 cup Cooked Quinoa (1/2 cup uncooked Quinoa with 1 cup liquid)
2/3 cup Cooked Broccoli (reserved from recipe above)
2 ea Eggs
2 Tbs Olive Oil

Salt & pepper to taste

1. Bring eggs to room temperature in warm water
2. Boil water in a sauce pot and remove from heat. Add the eggs, and let stand for 2 mins
3. Toss the quinoa, cooked broccoli, and olive oil together
4. Season the quinoa salad with salt & Pepper
5. Spread the broccoli pesto on the bottom of the plate
6. Top with the quinoa salad
7. Crack the soft cooked eggs on top of the quinoa & serve immediately

Light Bites at Night

I first came across Panzanella when I was at Masa's. We up-scaled it by using tomato water gelee and micro basil, then served it as an amuse bouche. Although yummy, I don't think it carried off the "Rustic Bread Salad" feel quite as well. My kitchen has recently been stocked full with piles of bread - it seems that I've kind of developed a liking to it, especially when drenched in fat and oven baked till crunchy (OMG, am I eating crunchy food now too?). I hadn't thought about Panzanella in a long while, but with this surplus of bread, I thought it best to make the most of out it.

Traditionally, Panzanella was made with bread, tomatoes, olive oil, and flavored with basil and salt & pepper. Leftover ingredients were commonly thrown into the salad, making it somewhat of a peasant dish when there was not a lot of surplus. Same idea here, I thought I would stick to the bread, tomatoes & basil, but instead of using only bread as a base, I sliced some thick chiffonade (ribbons) of Basil to bulk the salad up, and it made for a really interesting lettuce stand in.

I also remember that when I staged at Jardinaire, we served a similar (more rustic) bread salad, with a farmer's cheese that was soft & chewy, marinated in olive oil and balsamic - integrating some great texture into the salad. I wanted to replicate that as well, and chose to use Burrata, a fresh Italian cheese similar to buffalo mozzarella, but with cream on the inside. You could also use Buffalo Mozzerella, but I liked the creamy insides that soaked into the crunchy bread, preventing it from becoming too dry.

Another twist on the salad included it being served warm, instead of cold (reserved for summer nights), and I did this my roasting the tomatoes in a pan, which also gave me the opportunity to infuse flavor into the salad by warming garlic slices. It's an absolute winner for lite bites at night!



Here's the recipe!

Panzanella

Serves 2

5 slices Good thick Bread, cut into 1/4" cubes
2 Tbs Olive Oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F. Season bread well with salt & pepper and toss with olive oil. Bake in a single layer in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown

1 cup Cherry or Grape tomatoes, halved
5 ea Garlic Cloves, sliced thin
2 Tbs Olive Oil

While the bread is baking, heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the garlic cloves and gently cook until slices start to soften, but not brown. Increase heat to high and add tomato halves. Roaste tomatoes until skin starts to brown. Remove from heat


2 cup Loosely packed Basil Leaves from thick stalks, chopped into 1/8" ribbons
2 balls Burrata or Buffalo Mozzerella balls, halved, then sliced into rings

Toss the bread, warm tomatoes & garlic mixture, basil and cheese together. Serve immediately and with a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper.

What's left is always right

Palo Alto weather has been kind of whacky of late, cold, rainy, and then a glorious day with sunshine and warmth, much like the one we had when the city's power went out (God is fair). I suppose it's "normal" for February, but I'm longing for spring already, even though I still have one more snowboarding trip to get in before the season completely changes.

The sun came out for a little bit yesterday, but just when I thought we'd get another nice day of sunshine, it started raining and got cold, making me long for something to warm me up from the inside. I also love making use of what's left in the fridge, and found two half bunches of celery, one from weeks (literally) ago when I used it for Mirepoix and another from Chinese New Year, when stir fried some fresh celery slices.

I'm not quite sure what came over me or where I'd even conjured up the idea, but braising the celery into a warm veggie stew just sounded like such a great idea. Plus, it gave me the option of folding laundry for an hour or two without having to tend to the stovetop.

To start, I used a combination of butter and olive oil, and sauteed some shallots (pantry staple) until they were nice and translucent. Then, not wanting to waste the tops and leaves of the celery stalks, and I chopped them up and threw them in the pan to bring the flavor out. Alcohol is a necessity whenever a stew is in the making, and it was a toss up between sake and vermouth, and since it was a "western" style stew, I opted for the vermouth instead. The vermouth glazed down into a really nice finish, and I added some chicken stock for a really nice broth, and poured it over the portioned celery stalks in my famous red Le Creuset pot.

Two hours later when I came back, the celery had really cooked down so that it was tender, and while raw celery is kind of neutral in taste, cooking it up really brings out it's unique flavor. Plus, it had time to slowly absorb the complexity of the broth, making it extra mouthwatering. I olive-oiled a couple slices of bread and toasted them in the oven for that crouton-ey crunch, and it was absolutely the perfect pairing to dip the bread into all that delicious soup.

It was so delicious I didn't even stop to take pictures!

I thought about it afterwards, and the idea of serving it up like a french onion soup came up - with a crouton on the top of the soup, and smothered in Gruyere cheese that's bubbling under the broiler. It sounds absolutely fantastic in my mind, and I think it will be back on the dinner menu very very soon; Preferably before spring is here.

Braised Celery Soup

1 head Celery, stalks sliced into 2-3 batons, tops and leaves roughly chopped
1 ea Shallot, sliced
1 cup Vermouth
2 cup Chicken Broth
1 oz Butter
2 tbs Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to Taste

1. Preheat the oven to 320F
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a saute pan
3. Add the shallots and saute until translucent and lightly browned
4. Add the celery tops and leaves and saute further until fragrant
5. Add the vermouth and cook down until a glaze
6. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil
7. Season the broth with salt and pepper to taste
8. Layer the celery in an oven proof pot, and pour the broth over, adding a little more water if necessary to cover all the celery
9. Cover the pot and braise for about 1.5 - 2 hrs, depending on how tender you like your celery

Serve with crunchy bread (Well oiled, and baked at 400F for about 10 minutes, until browned)

For a "frenched" style soup, slice the celery stalks on the bias before braising. Top with the crunchy bread and smother with grated Gruyere cheese. Broil uncovered until cheese browns and is bubbling.