Sunday Meat Sauce

There is something deeply satisfying about having a giant vat of tomato sauce bubbling away on the stove, especially at this time of year, I guess it is the Italian in me.  And let me tell you, this is a giant vat of sauce, consider yourself warned.  The first time I made this I had to switch pots in the middle because, silly me, I thought six servings of tomato sauce would fit in the dutch oven.  They did not.  I have yet to meet the six people who can polish off the whole pot in one go.  This is another Food Network Magazine recipe, and can be found here.  It is delicious, but not very photogenic, and I got caught up in getting it all together and forgot to take pictures, so you will have to excuse the lack of pics and just imagine the pile of sausages and such.  I did tweak the recipe a bit, as usual.  I used only sweet italian sausages instead of half sweet and half hot, I omitted the beef shin and I baked the meatballs because it is so much easier than browning them in batches and makes for a less greasy sauce.  The first time I made this I browned the meatballs in batches and they were falling apart  and it took me FOREVER and it brought me to the edge of a nervous breakdown, causing me to proclaim that everyone had better savor the sauce that we had because I would never be making it again, ever.  It was so good though that I reconsidered that proclamation by the end of the meal.

Start out by making the meatballs, I really like these meatballs, but you could always substitute your favorites.  Also, the recipe tells you to make 16, which I feel is ridiculous, so I made 50 about the size of walnuts, much better than 16 softball sized meatballs.  Then brown then in the pot or bake them, which is so much easier.  Next brown the sausages, which I do in the pot, and set aside.

Next you take the onion and garlic, which are just quartered and smashed respectively (you cook the sauce for long enough that they basically fall apart anyways, so there is no need to chop) and cook it until it softens.

Then you basically toss everything in the giant pot, the tomatoes and tomato paste, the various meats, some water and a bunch of bay leaves and let it simmer, preferably all day long.  I am of the school where the longer it cooks the better with regards to tomato sauce, the melding of flavors and whatnot and serve it over pasta with some nice crusty bread to soak up all the sauce.  

Sunday Shrimp Sister Pasta

Sunday night dinners have always been an event at our house. My dad always makes something delicious that no one would want to tackle during the week, like stew or pot roast or chicken paprika. This past sunday, in honor of his birthday my sister and I took over sunday night dinner. My dad gave us a category of food (italian) and we made this decadent shrimp alfredo (although not as decadent as it could have been, some people use an entire stick of butter and heavy cream in the sauce). We sort of made it up as we went along and combined recipes and didn't measure anything, which explains why the recipe is not very exact, but it was fun to cook with my sister. This recipe is a good one to make with someone, I took care of the alfredo sauce while Caitlin was in charge of the shrimp and veggies. Next time we want to make a spanish dish with white wine and garlic and shrimp, yummy!

For the shrimp and veggie portion of the meal, heat up about a tablespoon of butter and a clove of chopped garlic in a big skillet. Add the red peppers, then the mushrooms.

Meanwhile, start a roux with about 2 tablespoons of butter and an equal amount of flour but also add some grated garlic, about half a clove.

Now it's time to add the cream, we used light cream because we are o so healthy here, clearly. Whisk the cream in slowly, it helps to have one person pour and one whisk, or to be less spastic than I am and able to do the two different things with two different hands. We ended up using about half a quart. Then cheese time, I love cheese. And wine, we added some of that too, just a bit from Caitlin's glass.

At this point, the veggies should be pretty tender and you can add the shrimp, and also start cooking the pasta. It looks like a lot of shrimp because it is, we used a lot, we happened to have a lot on hand, but you don't have to use quite that much.

When the shrimp is just about done add the spinach, an entire bag. Cook until it's nicely wilted down. There was a lot of liquid in the bottom of the pan, which we removed, wouldn't want shrimp/spinach juice diluting our sauce. Add the shrimp and veggie mix to the pasta.

Take the alfredo sauce, which at this point should be nice and thick and cheesy and salted and peppered.....

....and pour it over everything. Toss and enjoy.

Shrimp and Veggie Alfredo

1 1/2 cloves of garlic, one chopped, 1/2 grated

3 tablespoon butter, divided

about 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

1 red pepper, in small strips

1 lb. shrimp, peeled

1 bag of spinach

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 quart light cream

4 oz. parmesan cheese, grated

Splash white wine

Saute the clove of chopped garlic in a tablespoon of butter. Add the red pepper, then a few minutes later add the mushrooms. When tender, add the shrimp and cook until done, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach at the very end and let it cook, it will not take very long at all. Drain excess liquid.

Meanwhile, melt the rest of the butter and add the grated garlic. Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes until lightly golden. Whisk in the cream slowly to make a smooth sauce. Add a splash of white wine. Grate in the parmesan cheese, stopping to whisk it in occasionally, if your cheese is already grated, add it in several additions. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook a box of fettuccine or linguine (although in a pinch you could use any pasta you have on hand). Top the pasta with the shrimp and veggie mixture and pour the alfredo over everything. Toss together and serve hot.