The Best Tomato Sauce in the World!

So, apparently I am the among the last people on the planet to find out about this incredibly amazing, incredibly easy tomato sauce.  When I think of all the many years of my life that have gone by without having this sauce, it makes me want to hide under the covers.  But as they say, better late than never, and now I get to make up for lost time. Silver lining!

If you, like me, haven't heard of this great great great sauce, here are the key things to know.

First, it tastes AMAZING.  I might have mentioned that.  Second, it only involves three ingredients and less than an hour of cooking.   Ingredient number one: tomatoes.  You can use fresh (which is how I made it) or you can use canned.  Which means you can make it all year round.  Which I plan to do.

Second ingredient: an onion.  You peel it and cut it in half and let it simmer in the sauce...but then you take it out at the end, so you are just getting a subtle taste of it.

Third ingredient?  BUTTER.  Because everything is better with butter.

Not THIS much butter, but this was the picture I had of butter, so I thought what the heck.  It gets the point across.

So there you have it - tomato, onion, butter.  Simmer for 45 minutes, then take the onion out and toss it.  If you like your sauce chunky you are ready to roll.  If you like it a little smoother, you can do what I did and give it a whirl with the immersion blender.  Boil up some pasta and ladle it on.  You can sprinkle on some parmesan cheese and fresh pepper if you want, but you don't have to.  Honestly, you almost don't even need the pasta.

So, with thanks to the amazing Marcella Hazan, here's the world's best tomato sauce.  Get ready to rock your pasta.

The Best Tomato Sauce in the World! by Marcella Hazan via Food 52

• 2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped*, or 2 cups canned imported Italian tomatoes, cut up, with their juice


• 5 tablespoons butter


• 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half


• Salt to taste

1. Put either the prepared fresh tomatoes or the canned in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until it is thickened to your liking and the fat floats free from the tomato.


2. Stir from time to time, mashing up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon.


3. Taste and correct for salt. Discard the onion before tossing with pasta. Serve with freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese for the table.

*Peel fresh tomatoes by cutting a shallow X in the bottom of each tomato, plunging them into boiling water for one minute, scooping them out with a slotted spoon and then peeling with a paring knife when cool enough to handle.

Print this!

Linguine in Herbed Artichoke Sauce

This recipe dates WAY back to the days when the Southern husband and I were young and carefree, spending our Saturdays browsing around antique shops and street fairs and used bookstores.  We would wander here and there with our string shopping bags and not a care in the world, picking up this and that, and me being me, a lot of what we picked up were interesting cookbooks, often ones that were stacked in corners of little bookstores.  This particular recipe comes from one of those books - a terrific cookbook called SIMPLY ELEGANT COUNTRY FOODS.  The price is still there, written in pencil on the inside front cover.

Let's take a closer look at that price, shall we?

Now THAT'S what I call a bargain.  About five minutes ago when I started writing this post, I made a bet with the Southern husband about whether you would even be able to find this cookbook anywhere, lo these 20 years later.  He said no way.  I said absolutely yes.

Simply Elegant Country Foods : Downhome Goes Uptown

All I will say about THIS is that he is a gracious loser, and I am a nyah-nyah-nyah-ha-ha-ha-told-you-so type of winner.  And that I just LOVE being right.

Meanwhile, back at the recipe, it is every bit as easy and simple and elegant and delicious as it was all those years ago, and as an added bonus, it involves one of my very, very favorite vegetables.  (This picture may look familiar to my beloved frequent readers.  I love you guys.)

And before you worry, you can and should use frozen artichoke hearts - you don't have to mess with stripping and prepping fresh artichokes.  I just had this artichoke picture hanging around and I love looking at artichokes whenever possible.  Anyway,  besides the artichokes, the rest of the dish is a fast and simple concoction of onions, garlic, white wine, a teeny bit of tomato paste and heavy cream, and some herbs and spices, all tossed around with linguine.  Perfect, simple, delicious and you get to have artichokes.  Life is good.

Linguine in Herbed Artichoke Sauce, adapted from Simply Elegant Country Foods : Downhome Goes Uptown 

• One pound linguine
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil, or one teaspoon dried
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 ten ounce package frozen quartered artichoke hearts, thawed
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Heat butter and oil in skillet and add onions and garlic.  Saute for 3 minutes.

2. Raise heat and add wine and broth.  Stir until boiling, then stir in herbs and tomato paste.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Add artichoke hearts and simmer for 2-3 more minutes.

4. Meanwhile, cook pasta and drain.  Return to pot.

5. Stir cream into the sauce, heat to almost boiling and then pour sauce over pasta and toss.

6. Grind fresh pepper over top and serve.

Click here for printable recipe.

Pasta Amatriciana

I have no idea what "Amatraciana" actually means in real life, but in my house it means "the pasta dish that the Southern husband loves above all others". Maybe because it is just a little bit tangy/spicy because it slow cooks with a lot of chopped onion and smashed garlic. Maybe because it includes a LOT of chopped Canadian bacon. Maybe because you simmer the whole thing in a deliriously amazing mixture of red wine and plum tomatoes with just a dash of sugar to take the edge off all the tangy stuff.

Well, whatever it is, I try and make it for him every once in a while just to show my undying love and devotion, and I always use the recipe from the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook, because if you are going to make someone's favorite pasta dish you should go right to the heart of cookbook heaven.

This is not to say others in the house don't appreciate my efforts to make suppertime a significant experience as well, just for the record.

Meanwhile, back at the Pasta Amatriciana, this recipe is simple but perfect, and here's my best advice for this one: San Marzano canned plum tomatoes, and Jones Canadian Bacon. Trust me. That and a handful of really, really food fresh grated Parmesan cheese, and all is right with the world. The Silver Palate says "this is a splendid meal for the heartiest of appetites," and I really couldn't have said it better myself. Make it for suppertime for someone you love very soon.

Pasta Amatriciana, adapted from THE SILVER PALATE GOOD TIMES COOKBOOK

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 4 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
• 8 ounces Canadian bacon, chopped into one inch squares
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 cups drained canned plum tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 cup red wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound cooked pasta (I used ziti, but your choice!)
• Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add onions and saute for 10 minutes. Stir in bacon and garlic and saute for 5 minutes more.

2. Stir in tomatoes, sugar and wine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with cooked pasta of your choice, sprinkled generously with Parmesan.

Click here for printable recipe

French Onion Soup

Okay, so first of all, this recipe is a major exception to my "must be able to be cooked in 30 minutes or less" rule.  But every once in a while I break that rule to make something I really, really love and really, really want to try making, just for the thrill of it all.  So one Sunday afternoon I settled in to my kitchen with a load of onions, my Dutch oven and the Cooks Illustrated recipe for French Onion Soup.  Because if you are going to spend HOURS on end cooking something, you don't want heartbreak at the end when it doesn't work out, and Cooks Illustrated is as close as any girl can get to a money-back guarantee, recipe-wise.

Now, this would be a good time to confess that those hours are mainly spent lounging around watching Netflix movies while this soup cooks slowly and langorously in the oven and then the stovetop, before you get all worried about me slaving away or anything.  The single hardest part of all of this is not sobbing while cutting up all those onions.  After that, it's pretty much smooth sailing.  Don't get worried when your onions are very dark brown or even blackened in spots.  That is supposed to happen, and it's all essential to the rich onion taste you are going to be spooning up very very soon.  Right after you finish watching Gone with the Wind for the millionth time.  As always, I highly recommend either the Imagine or Pacific brands of broth - the kind that comes in the box right next to the canned broths.  They are SO much better.

Happy French Onion Soup, everyone!

French Onion Soup, from Cooks Illustrated

3	tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
6	large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices
	Table salt
2	cups water, plus extra for deglazing
1/2	cup dry sherry
4	cups low-sodium chicken broth
2	cups beef broth
6	sprigs fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine
1	bay leaf
	Ground black pepper
1	small baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices
8	ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)

1. For the soup: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.

2. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.) Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

4. For the croutons: While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

5. To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Frito Chili Pie

Before I get into what this dish is all about, I would like to go on record as saying I have served my family the following in the past:

Quinoa.

Edamame.

Tuna salad with no mayonnaise whatsover.

So please forgive me for the meal I am about to describe to you.

Yes, I made my beloved family an entree that featured this as one of the two major ingredients:

And this as the second one:

I would like to point out that the Fritos have ZERO, and I mean ZERO trans fats. (Keep in mind that I have no idea what trans fats are, but I'm thinking this is a good thing). As for the chili...I have no decent excuse for that one.

However, you can't go through your entire life without having this completely ridiculous salty extravaganza at least one. There is an even more outrageous version of this that involves opening a single serve bag of Fritos, pouring some chili on top of that, nuking it and eating the whole contraption out of the bag...at least I put this in lovely dishes. And I added a vegetable.

That counts, right?

The cheese in this dish really should be one of those neon-orange varieties of cheddar, but since what I always have on hand is the lovely white Vermont cheddar that is what I used. If cheddar cheese could talk it would probably be hollering "Get me out of here, stat!!" However, it does all come together to be a pretty rocking good taste sensation at the end of the day.

I will now be heading directly to the treadmill, so please excuse me.

Frito Chili Pie

• 2 cans chili
• 1 8 ounce bag of Fritos
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 cups shredded cheddar

1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 2 quart casserole

2. Layer ingredients in casserole in this order: half of the Fritos, then all of the onion, then one cup cheese, then all of the chili, then the rest of the Fritos, then the rest of the cheese.

3. Bake until bubbly, 15-20 minutes.

4. Go to confession and sin no more.

Click here for printable recipe

Shredded Pot Roast

This is another one of those AWESOME recipes from the Pioneer Woman (go buy her cookbook! Runrunrun!!) that takes something you think you already know how to make pretty well -- in this case, pot roast -- and shakes it up just enough to make it the best version of pot roast you have ever made. All the usual players are here in this recipe -- the beef roast, the carrots, the onions, etc. This version does not cook the usual potatoes in with the roast, but calls for serving the pot roast with mashed potatoes on the side. As far as I am concerned, anything tastes better with mashed potatoes on the side, so I was good with that.

But that's not the game-changer here. The two things that put this pot roast over the top for me were first that you cook it with just enough fresh herbs (fresh thyme and rosemary) to infuse it with a gorgeous, herby flavor. About one hour into this my kitchen smelled like...I don't know how to describe it. I could have bottled and sold that aroma. Eau du Pot Roast With Herbs -- it was crazy.

The second thing was the shredding. The meat comes out of the pot so tender that it almost falls apart anyway, but I took it to the next step and shredded it, and then dunked the shredded meat back into the pot roast juices until it was thoroughly soaked through with the herb-infused liquid. On to the plate with some of the carrots it cooked with on one side, some mashed potatoes on the other. Oh my. You know you have hit a pot roast home run when the dinner table is completely quiet because any talking would interfere with the EATING.

From now on, I think I will shred everything we eat.

SHREDDED POT ROAST, adapted from The Pioneer Woman

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 5 pound chuck roast
• 2 onions, peeled and halved
• 6 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup red wine
• 2-3 cups beef broth
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1. Generously salt and pepper the chuck roast.

2. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat and add the olive oil. When it is very hot, add the onions and brown them on both sides. Remove to plate. Add the carrots and toss them around for a minute until they are browned, and then remove.

3. Place the meat in the pan, adding more oil if needed, and sear on all sides until brown, about a minute per side. Remove the roast.

4. With the heat still on high, add the red wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom to get all the browned bits off. Place the roast back in the pan, add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway and add the carrots and the onions. Toss in the fresh herbs, tucking them around the meat.

5. Put the lid on the pot and put in 275 oven for one hour per pound -- so 5 hours for a 5 pound roast, 3 hours for a three pound roast, etc.

6. When the roast is fork-tender, remove it from the pan and shred it with two forks. Dunk the shreds back in the pan juice until they are soaked through, and then put on plate with carrots, onions, and mashed potatoes.

Click here for printable recipe

Cheddar Cheese Soup

If this isn't soup season I don't know what is. I know I have been all about the snow the last few days, but when your driveway looks like this...

...it's hard to discuss anything else. So now is the time to break out the warm and comforting soup recipes, and this one is one of my old favorites. It is a creamy, cheesy soup that is spiced up just a little bit by shaking some paprika and a little bit of Worcestershire sauce on top. As usual, I highly recommend Cabot Vermont cheddar, and for me, the sharper the better...but you decide how sharp you want to go.

Some warm crusty bread, a glass of red wine, some cheddar cheese soup, and we all might just make it through to spring.

Here's the recipe!

CHEDDAR CHEESE SOUP

• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 2 1/2 cups grated cheddar
• Worcestershire sauce

1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium high heat and add onions, celery and garlic. Saute until tender, about 5 minutes.

2. Mix in flour and spices and stir. Stir in broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Strain solids out and return liquid to pot.

3. Add half and half to soup and bring to simmer. Add cheese in handfuls and stir until each addtion is melted. Season to take with salt and pepper. Serve with Worcestershire sauce drizzled on top.

Click here for printable recipe

Indoor Clambake!

Right now, at this very moment, this is what my mailbox looks like:

I mention this because it is usually right at this time of year that I start getting this deep yearning for a clambake. Not in the middle of July and August, when a clambake is a reasonable thing to yearn for. No, not me, I am a "need to have a clambake in February" kind of girl. I know, I know. But where there's a will, there's a way, and so....

INDOOR CLAMBAKE!!!

Honestly, it's one of the easiest dinners you can make, assuming you can handle the trauma of putting the lobster in the pot. (I can't. I tried. But as usual, I ran out of the kitchen like the coward that I am and left that part to the Southern husband.) Here's what you need: Lobsters. Clams. Mussels. Baby red potatoes. Sausage - I like andouille sausage, but keilbasa or any other hearty, good-sized sausage will do. Corn on the cob, if you can find it. A couple of onions. Garlic. Lemons. A really, really, really big pot. Some Jimmy Buffett music. Ready?

OK, take that big old pot and layer (in order) the onions, the garlic, the lobsters, the clams, the mussels, the potatoes, the corn and the sausage. At this point the lobster will start waving at you from the pot and you will need to run out of the kitchen while braver people settle them back in there where they belong. If you are me. Then add about 5 inches or so of water or chicken broth. Cover the pot and turn the heat on high. Check it after 20 minutes or so, and if the lobsters are bright red and the clams and mussels are open, you're done! Melt some butter, cut up some lemon wedges, line your table with newspaper and you are ready to roll. I usually put the whole lot into one big bowl, scatter some lobster crackers around, and let the games begin. If you use a pretty thick layer of newspaper you can just let folks drop the shells right onto the table, and then clean-up is as easy as rolling up the paper with the shells inside.

It's almost like summer.



Only four months to go....in the meantime, recipe below.

INDOOR CLAMBAKE!

• 3 onions, peeled and quartered
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• 4 lobsters
• 2 dozen clams, cleaned
• 2 pounds mussels, scrubbed
• 16 small red potatoes, halved
• 4 ears corn, husked
• 1 pound cooked sausage, cut into chunks
• Melted butter for dipping
• Lemon wedges for serving

1. In a very large pot, layer from bottom to top: onions, garlic, lobsters, clams, mussels, potatoes, corn, sausage.

2. Add 5-6 inches of water or chicken stock

3. Cover and cook over high heat for 20-30 minutes until lobster is red, clams and mussels are open and potatoes are tender. Serve with butter and lemon.

Click here for printable recipe

Cincinnati Chili

So, those of you who follow me on Facebook know that pretty much every morning I post what I am making for dinner as my Facebook status. (This started when I first got my Facebook page and I wasn't posting any status at all. The teenager was aghast, and told me I HAD to post my status and change it every day, and dinner was the only thing I could think of that changed radically every day. That, my friends, is the scintillating life that I lead. Not that I am complaining.)

Anyway. Most days the Dinner Status gets a comment or two, or someone hits the "Like" button, especially if there is bacon involved. Then came the day that I changed my status to "making three-way Cincinnati Chili."

Oh my goodness. I think it is currently up to 19 comments and STILL going on, and that was a week ago. Everyone from my friend H, who is an AMAZING food writer and editor (and if you are looking for one of those, click here), to my friends C and D who are from or who are married to Ohio natives and so have first-hand knowledge of Cincinnati chili, to various folks just want to know what it IS. It was a Facebook/Chili free-for-all, and I loved it. Who knew chili was such a conversation-starter? But obviously this one is, so let me break it down for you.

1. Cincinnati chili is served on spaghetti. Not rice, spaghetti, and very well-cooked spaghetti. This is not the time for al dente.

2. Cincinnati chili does NOT have beans in it, unless you are having Five-Way chili. More on that later. It's complicated.

3. Cincinnati chili includes, among various other flavors and seasonings: CHOCOLATE. (I'm starting to understand the passion now.)

Now that we have covered that, let me explain the various ways you can have this particular chili.

THREE WAY: Chili, shredded cheese, spaghetti.
FOUR WAY: Chili, shredded cheese, spaghetti, chopped onions
FIVE WAY: Chili, shredded cheese, spaghetti, chopped onions, beans

My Ohio sources tell me that there is a variation on the FOUR WAY where you can swap out the beans for the onions. And that it is often served with oyster crackers. That is the sum total of what I know about this variation of chili, other that the fact that it is flat-out scrumptious, and if you let it mellow in the fridge overnight and have some the next day, it is even better.

So there you have it, Cincinnati chili, and all you Ohioans out there? Let me know if I got anything wrong, okay?

January 29 ADDENDUM!!

In my first-ever correction to a post, thanks to everyone who in various ways told me I was a big old skimper on the CHEESE. Here is a link to a chili advertisement that shows the correct amount of cheese. I promise to never, ever be a cheese miser again...

Skyline Chili

It takes a village...thanks, guys. :--)

CINCINNATI CHILI, from allrecipes.com

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 pounds ground beef 1/4 cup chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 bay leaf 1/2 (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate 2 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1.	Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 6 minutes.
2.	Add beef, in batches if necessary, and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned.
3.	Add chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, chocolate, beef broth, tomato sauce, cider vinegar, and red pepper. Stir to mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
4.	It is the best if you now refrigerate overnight.
5.	Remove the bay leaf. Reheat gently over medium heat. Serve over hot, drained spaghetti. Top with shredded cheddar cheese for three way, add some chopped onions for four way, add some drained heated kidney beans for five way. Click here for printable recipe

Italian Wedding Soup

Oh, I love and adore this soup. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, til death do us part, I love this soup, and true love lasts forever. For me, this soup is all about the adorable little meatballs, which cook right in the soup. You make them nice and tiny so they fit right on your spoon. Use a really nice prepared chicken broth for the soup base -- these days I am liking Imagine free range chicken broth, which comes in a box and has a smooth and rich chicken broth flavor (some of the canned chicken broths taste a little tinny and watery to me). The broth is enhanced with some chopped sauteed veggies, some pasta, some fresh baby spinach...and of course those wonderful teeny meatballs.

I like to make a nice big batch of this soup on a Sunday afternoon -- it makes a perfect Sunday supper, especially served with some crusty French bread and butter, or even grilled cheese sandwiches if you have an especially hungry crew on your hands. The leftovers save just beautifully and will give you a warm and fuzzy feeling when you look into your fridge wondering what's for lunch and see the container of wedding soup.

Ah, Italian Wedding Soup. Make it for your true love today.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped fine
• 2 ribs celery, chopped fine
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound ground pork/veal/beef combined
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cup dried pasta (I use tiny shells, but your choice)
• 1 pound fresh baby spinach

1. Heat oil in a deep large saucepan over medium heat and add carrots, celery, onion and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, cover pot and cook veggies for 5 minutes, stirring now and then.

2. While the veggies cook, combine meat, egg, garlic, cheese, crumbs and nutmeg.

3. Uncover pot and add broth and water and bring to a boil. When soup boils, reduce heat a bit and start rolling the meat mixture into very small meatballs, dropping them in the soup as you go.

4. When you are done with the meatballs, add the pasta, stir, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. When pasta is tender, stir in spinach. When spinach is wilted, the soup is ready. Taste, adjust seasonings, light some romantic candles and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Roasted Garlic and Brie Soup

First of all, check out the ADORABLE little crock that the soup is in. That is part of a set of La Crueset crocks from my indispensable, wonderful, beautiful assistant, who is the most upbeat and efficient person I know, and who cheerfully tries all the many and varied and sometimes strange samples I cook up and leave on her desk. Aren't these little serving dishes great? Get used to them, they are my new favorites, and today they are home to one of my new favorite soups: roasted garlic and Brie soup.

This one is super easy and super delicious, and except for the roasting-of-the-garlic part, pretty time efficient as soups go. Don't be frightened by the fact that this recipe calls for two entire heads of garlic. When you roast garlic the way we are going to do, it takes the sharp edge off of the garlic taste, and we are left with smooth, buttery, gentle garlicky goodness. Promise.

The rest of the this soup is a mixture of minced veggies, chicken broth, herbs and Brie cheese. The softer the Brie, the more it will melt into the soup. I used a medium soft Brie, which meant that I had a few soft chunks of cheese left in mine, which was a-ok with me and the Southern husband, but if you like a smoother soup just use a really soft Brie and it will melt into perfect smoothness. You can't miss either way.

So here you go, the perfect marriage of garlic and Brie, all in one easy soup. Give it a try!

ROASTED GARLIC AND BRIE SOUP, adapted from Cooking Light

• 2 large heads of garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 7 ounces Brie, rind removed and chopped
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, finelly chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup flour
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper

1. Peel the outer white skin from the garlic. Cut off the top 1/3 of each garlic head and place, cut side up, on a foil lined cooking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and bake for 1 hour at 350. Remove, cool 10 minutes and squeeze the pulp from each clove. (This will not take anywhere NEAR as long as it sounds, don't worry.) Set aside.

2. Cook celery, onion and carrot in remaining olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

3. Add flour and stir until smooth. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring often.

4. Put garlic pulp and one cup soup mixture in food processor and process until smooth. Returm processed mixture to pot and add all of thyme and 1 tablespoon parsley. Bring to a simmer.

5. Add cheese and stir until melted. Season to taste, and serve at once, garnished with the rest of the parsley.

Click here for printable recipe

Best Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce Ever!

This recipe, along with my beef barley soup and a chocolate pudding cake that I am going to make for you guys one of these days, is the reason I adore my slow cooker. Yes, it is a huge, old-fashioned, clunky appliance that only does one thing. But MAN! it does that one thing really well, and I promise you that if you will just drag yours out of the attic or basement or garage or wherever you have it and make this sauce, you will be a believer! Trust me on this one, will you? I won't let you down.

Now with most things that have to do with my slow cooking, this recipe makes way too much to eat in one sitting, unless you are feeding an entire Boy Scout troop.

But that is why they invented those disposable Gladware containers - just scoop the leftovers into those babies, pop them in the freezer, and so long as you have spaghetti in the house somewhere you will be all set for future dinners when you are faced with a ravenous family and your mind is a blank.

In the meantime, this is a fantastic, rich, meaty sauce that cooks away all day long in the slow cooker and makes your kitchen smell like an Italian paradise. There is just the tiniest bit of prep involved (browning the meat), and then the whole shebang gets dropped in the reliable old slow cooker, and your work is done for the day. Some pasta, a little fresh grated Parmesan cheese, and you are in dinner heaven.

Go find that slow cooker now. I know you have one somewhere.

BEST SLOW COOKER BOLOGNESE SAUCE EVER

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 14 oz cans chopped tomatoes, drained
• 2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
• 2 6 oz cans tomato paste
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Cook beef in large skillet until browned.

2. Transfer to 5 quart slow cooker. Stir in all remaining ingredients, mix well.

3. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

4. Serve over your favorite pasta. Happy sigh.

Click here for printable recipe

Mussels Ravigote!

I am always SO excited when I go to a restaurant and see the following item on the menu:

"Moules Frite"

Because the translation of that is "mussels with french fries," and I adore mussels with french fries. I adore mussels in general, as you know if you have read this, and this, and this. So when you add french fries to the mix...well, you have me at hello.

This recipe goes a teeny tiny bit over my "done in 30 minutes or less or the Jacksons don't eat it" rule, but that is only because the fries need to cook for about 25 minutes to get to that wonderful crispy golden state of done-ness. And while they are cooking you can leisurely go about tossing together the super-simple mussels part of the recipe, which involves steaming them in a bath of white wine and clam juice, and putting together a mixture of onion, chopped pickles, herbs and mustard that gets tossed with the mussels once they were done. The Southern husband couldn't stop talking about how great the pickles were with the mussels. It's that whole salty seafood thing...it's fabulous.

And then of course you have the fries on the side as an extra added bonus. Baked in olive oil, tossed with coarse salt and parsley and parmesan cheese...need I go on? I guess so, since you are probably now wanting the recipe, if you are a mussel maniac like me. Here you go...

MUSSELS RAVIGOTE with PARMESAN FRITE, adapted from Cooking Light

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon
1/4 cup sliced cornichons
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons capers
1 1/2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
48 mussels (about 2 pounds), scrubbed and debearded
2 baking potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch strips with skin left on
Olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper



1. Preheat oven to 500.
2. Toss potato strips with olive oil and lay on greased baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes, remove and toss, bake for another 15 minutes or until golden.
3. Meanwhile, combine first 9 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.
4. Bring wine and clam juice to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add mussels; cover and cook 2 minutes or until shells open. Remove mussels from pan with a slotted spoon; discard any unopened shells. Keep warm.
5. Bring wine mixture to a boil over high heat; cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 15 minutes). Pour liquid over mussels. Add the cornichon mixture; toss.
6. Serve with parmesan frites and a bowl on the table for the empty shells.

Click here for printable recipe

Chipolte Chicken Salad

I love this salad. It's right up there for me with my favorite taco salad -- one of those "chop up a bunch of those things that you like, toss them all together and voila! a scrumptious dinner" type of recipes. I will be perfectly honest and say that the original recipe for this dish, which I found in my new favorite Cooking Light cookbook, called for black beans, and if you like black beans you should feel perfectly free to throw them on in there. But in my house, I am sorry to tell you that black beans are the enemy, along with: mushrooms, eggplant, lima beans and cilantro. I wish I could like all that stuff, and so does my mother, who keeps getting me to "just try them." But I have, and I don't, and I gotta be me.

But everything else in this recipe was A-okay with me -- chicken, corn, tomato, avocado, lettuce, all tossed with a spicy sour cream dressing and served with some nice tortilla chips on the side. Which leads me to ask you about one of the great searches of my life: the quest for the perfect tortilla chip. I am looking for suggestions, folks...I still haven't landed on a brand that makes me stop and sing. So if you have, please share in the comments section? And in the meantime, here is my black-bean-less version of this nifty chicken salad. Yum.

CHIPOLTE CHICKEN SALAD, adapted from The Essential Dinner Tonight Cookbook

Dressing:

• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 4 teaspoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons minced chipolte chile in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:

• 4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 peeled and diced avocado
• 1/3 cup sliced red onion
• 1 cup corn

1. Combine all dressing ingredients and mix well.
2. Combine all salad ingredients and toss. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss again. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips...whatever they are.

Click here for printable recipe

Tilapia Tacos with Peach Salsa

I'll admit, I am not a big fish person. I do love most shellfish (ah, lobster!!), but when it comes to fish fish, I tread very carefully. Even though I know it is oh, so good for you. But over the years I have found some types of fish that I really do like, and one of them is tilapia. It's light and mild, so mild in fact that it needs to be paired with something that can dress it up and give it some pizzazz...and this great little taco dish is just the ticket.

The tilapia itself is cut up into strips, breaded and popped into the oven for a a few minutes just to cook it up and brown the bread crumbs. The real prep for this dish is the fabulous peach salsa that goes with it. Chopped peaches, red onion, lime juice, jalapeno...sweet and spicy and wonderful! You tuck the tilapia strips into a nice warm tortilla, spoon some peach salsa over the top, and you are in fish taco heaven.

Now, naturally I did not decide to make this until it was completely not peach season...not even my beloved Fairway had any fresh peaches. But happily, they did have frozen peach slices which in the long run actually turned out to be better. They defrosted into already peeled slices, and all I had to do was chop them up. Way easier than battling with a fresh peach...I don't know about you, but I still haven't learned the easy secret way of getting a peach pit OUT of the peach without completely mangling it. (I do know the avocado pit trick). I'm sure there absolutely is a peach pit trick and one day I will learn it. One day. You have to have goals in life, right?

Meantime, here's the taco recipe, adapted from Cooking Light.

TILAPIA TACOS WITH PEACH SALSA

Salsa:

• 2 cups chopped peaches
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (wear gloves!!)
• 1 minced garlic clove

Fish and tacos:

• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (panko crumbs are great)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
• 1 pound tilapia, cut into 2 inch strips
• 8 corn tortillas

1. Combine all salsa ingredients and let stand at room temp for 3o minutes
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375. Combine crumbs, salt and pepper in medium bowl. Add fish strips and toss to coat.
3. Bake fish strips on greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes, turning once during cooking.
4. Heat tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds. Divide fish among tortillas, and spoon salsa over the top.

Click here for printable recipe

Roasted Butternut Dip

It's October, and you know what that means, right?

(I can hear both my dad and my Southern husband yelling in unison, "IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!")

Well, yes it is. And with football season come football snacks. Because if you are going to hunker down at 1pm and not come up for air until 7pm, you need some sustenance to keep you going. I am certainly not beyond dumping the Family Size bag of nacho cheese Doritos into a bowl and calling it a day, but amid all the salty/cheesy/Day-Glo-colored stuff I do like to sneak in something modestly healthy every once in a while that can hold its own with the other snacks.

This delicious dip is one of those things, and I promise you, the hardest part of the whole thing is cutting open the dang butternut. Those things are tough, and it would be really convenient to have a linebacker on call to cut the squash in half for you, but maybe you can convince whomever is watching the football in your house to chop it open for you before kick-off. Unless that person is you, in which case...grab your most serious knife and go for it!

In my case, I totally lucked out this weekend because my beloved market, Fairway, had butternut squash already cut in half, seeded and peeled for me and packaged up in adorable half-butternut bundles. How great is that? The rest of the ingredients for this super-simple dip were already in my pantry -- onion, garlic, a little sour cream (okay, that was in the fridge, before you start worrying about me), nutmeg and red pepper. I picked up some Stacy's Pita Chips (LOVE those. Try them if you haven't already.) and I was ready to roll. An hour later: warm, spicy, creamy, delicious and actually HEALTHY football game snacking was going on in my family room.

Okay, sports fans and those who love them, over to you. And remember, it isn't whether you win or lose...oh, wait a minute.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT DIP

1 (2-pound) butternut squash

1 onion, peeled and cut into quarters

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

3 tablespoons sour cream

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds.

2. Brush cut sides of squash halves, cut sides of onion quarters, and garlic cloves with oil. Arrange squash halves, cut sides down, on a jelly-roll pan. Put onion quarters and garlic cloves on pan. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly.

3. Scoop the cooked squash out of the peel and put in food processor with onions. Squeeze garlic cloves so that pulp goes into food processor and blend until smooth.

4. Add sour cream and remaining ingredients and pulse to combine. Serve warm with pita chips. Whatever you do, don't block the tv screen.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Mussel Bisque

Remember the great mussel with blue cheese recipe from a couple of weeks ago?

Mussels with Blue Cheese Sauce

Well, when I originally got those mussels (or, I should say when the helpful Southern husband went and got those mussels) they were supposed to be made into a mussel bisque. I had been meaning to make the mussel bisque recipe from the SILVER PALATE cookbook for the past 100 years or so, but never seemed to get around to it. But I was bound and determined this time, and picked up all the ingredients...but broke one of my golden rules, which is the Always Read The Recipe Carefully First To See How Much Time It Takes To Make Rule. And so when I got home from work in the rain that Friday night and finally read the dang thing, I realized that this was not a weekday quick dish, but a weekend leisurely dish.

Oops.

So THOSE mussels went into the speedy blue cheese recipe, but I was prepared for the next batch, and so last Sunday I finally made the bisque. I should warn you that while it is not hard at all to make, it DOES involve steaming the mussels and then taking each and every one of those little puppies out of the shell. Not hard, but this is the sort of thing that one likes to come to grips with beforehand. Anyway, the soup is a gorgeous, rich concoction of mussel broth, white wine, cream, tomatoes, basil and a load of tender mussels. I served it up with a salad and some fresh bread and a nice merlot, and voila! the perfect Sunday supper. Thanks for the umpteenth time to the SILVER PALATE.

MUSSEL BISQUE, adapted from SILVER PALATE GOOD TIMES COOKBOOK

Serves about 6-8 as main course

• 2 cups water
• 3 cups dry white wine
• 3 pounds mussels, rinsed and bearded
• 1 stick butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large leek, white part and 2/3 green part, cleaned and minced
• 2 carrots, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 cups light cream
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Pour water and one cup wine into large pan. Add mussels, cover pan and steam until mussels are open, about 3-5 minutes. Discard any mussels that do not open and cool. When cool enough to handle, remove mussel meat from shell and set aside. Save 3 cups of cooking liquid and set aside.

2. Melt butter in large stock pot over high heat and add onion, leek, carrots and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes, reduce heat to low, cover pot and and cook for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.

3. Add tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes. Add remaining wine to mussel cooking liquid, add to pot and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

4. Add herbs, then creams, then mussel meats. Season to taste with salt and pepper and heat just until soup is heated through. Serve with salad and nice crusty bread.

Click here for printable recipe