Pappardelle with Ragu

Pappardelle is a very broad noodle suited for rich meaty sauces like ragu. Its fun to make, and tastes way better than any you can buy. I made these with both all purpose and whole wheat flour. It and the ragu made a great sunday night supper.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 eggs
2 teaspoons olive oil



Stir together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and salt in a medium bowl, or on a clean board. Make a hollow in the center, and pour in the olive oil. Break eggs into it while mixing quickly with a fork until the dough is wet enough to come together. Knead on a lightly floured surface until the dough is stiff and elastic.
 

 

Cover, and let stand for 30 minutes to relax.

Roll out dough using a pasta machine to thickness of six on the machine.

 

Cut into noodles 3/4 to 1 inch in width. Allow the pasta to air dry for at least 15 minutes to avoid having it clump together.

Fresh pasta cooks VERY quickly. One minute in a large pot of salted boiling water and its done.Cook a third of the noodles at a time, dip them out and add more.

Add a little sauce to the noodles when they come out of the pot to keep them from sticking together.

Serve with ragu, fresh parmesan and a little crushed red pepper.

Print this Recipe

Ragu

There is nothing quite like fresh pasta and a robust ragu.  Ragu is a meat sauce from  Northern Italy. Its contains tomatoes, onions, carrots, and often wild game, like rabbit.  Sorry to say, Peter Cottontail was not to be found today, so I made this one from ground beef, turkey and lamb.  The lamb is very important to this dish.....it won't be the same without it.

One large onion, diced.
2 carrots, diced
4 clove garlic, diced
1 lb 85/15 ground beef
1 lb ground turkey
1 lb ground lamb
1 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp pepper
1 1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup cream
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 lg can tomato paste

Saute onion, garlic and carrotsover high heat, in olive oil, in large enameled cast iron pot. Remove vegetables from pot. Brown the beef, then remove it too. Brown the lamb and turkey. Put all the meats and vegetables back in the pot and add salt and pepper. Add the wine. Stir frequently. Get all the frond off the bottom of the pan....you know, that stuff that sticks to the pot when you are browning stuff. When the wine has pretty much all cooked off, add the cream, and cook on high heat until it has cooked off too. Then, add the crushed tomatoes and chicken stock. When the pot starts to simmer, cover and put in 275  degree oven, and cook for 3 hours. Stir occasionally. When you are about ready to serve, remove from the oven and stir in the tomato paste. Correct seasonings (salt and pepper). Its good then, and will be better the next day, if any is left.

Print this Recipe

Pimiento Cheese

I never ate pimiento cheese when I was growing up, although my brother Bubba did. He was also fond of canned sardines in mustard, and  vienna sausages.....I wonder if they have ever seen any of those in Vienna??? Sorry, I digress.  Anyway, when I read in Frank Stitt's cookbook, Southern Table, about Miss Verba's pimiento cheese, I had to try it.  Its a world apart from any I had tried before. It makes a great hors d'oeuvre and pairs nicely with a variety of white wines.

Miss Verba's Pimiento Cheese

1 lb sharp cheddar

1/4 lb cream cheese, softened

1 tsp freshly ground white pepper

3 large red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp sugar

Splash of Tabasco

1/8 tsp cayene (optional)

Grate the cheddar. Add all the other ingredients and stir together.

Refrigerate and served chilled.

Print this Recipe

Steak au Poivre

A classic filet mignon, crusted in crushed black pepper, with cognac cream sauce. Recipe is for 4.

4 Tenderloin filets, 1 1/2 inches thick
4 Tablespoons black peppercorns
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup cognac
1 cup of heavy cream

Remove the steaks from the refrigerator for at least 30  prior to cooking. Sprinkle with salt.

Coarsely crush the peppercorns with  the bottom of a cast iron skillet. Spread the peppercorns evenly onto a plate. Press the fillets, on both sides, into the pepper until it coats the surface. Set aside.

In a cast iron  skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter and olive oil. As soon as the butter and oil begin to turn golden and smoke, gently place the steaks in the pan. Cook until brown, 4-5 minutes, then flip and cook the other side. If you want the rare, they are done. For medium, put them on a cookie sheet  in 375 degree oven for a few minutes, start checking them at 5 minutes, remove before the are medium as they will continue to cook after they come out of the oven.  Add cognac and cream to skillet, off heat, and stir. Reduce until sauce has thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Spoon sauce over steaks and serve.

Print this Recipe

Potatoes au Gratin

This recipe is a "little" decadent, with cream and cheese.....but its worth it.

4 lbs russet potatoes, pelled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 clove crushed garlic

1 tbsp butter

Fresh Reggiano Parmesan and Gruyere cheeses

Microplane grater

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Slice potatoes and put in a bowl of water to prevent browning as you assemble the gratin. Rub the garlic all over bottom and sides of the gratin dish. Allow to dry for 10 minutes, then rub dish with butter. Arrange a layer of potatoes, drained and patted dry, in the bottom of the dish. Slightly overlap the potatoes, Grate a thin layer of parmesan  onto the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Another layer of potatoes, and alayer of both cheeses. One more layer of potatoes, and  a top with a grating of gruyere only. Gently pour in the cream around the edges, careful not to wash all the cheese away. Bake on top rack of a preheated oven at 350 degrees until the top is golden brown....about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Print this Recipe

Dinner with Carmen and George

It was our pleasure to share a meal with our longtime friends Carmen and George last evening. We have a long cooking history with them, having gone to a couple of cooking "schools" with them in Italy in the 90's. They are both great cooks and great people.  Dinner last night...

Hors d'oeuvres...pimento cheese and crackers

Entree.....Steak au Poivre, au gratin potatoes, sugar snap peas

Desert....homemade rolls, fig jam, honey and butter

Simple, but very satisfying.....

Mexican Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion chopped

8 oz can tomato sauce

28 oz can whole tomatoes with juice

¾ cup distilled white vinegar

¼ cup dark brown sugar

2 tbl. Spoons molasses

1 tbl spoon sweet paprika

1 tbl spoon chili powder

2 teaspoons liquid smoke (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

¼ cup orange juice

Cook onion in hot oil until golden brown (7-10 min.). Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to the lowest setting and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, unlit thickened, 2 to 2 ½ hours.

Puree the sauce in a blender or food processor. Let cool. Use or store in fridge.

For BARBACOA…

Add 1.5 teaspoons ground cumin, 1.5 teaspoons chili powder, 6 tablespoons lime juice, 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves into the finished sauce…

Print this Recipe

Cooking for the Girls

We invited friends over last night. For one reason or another, the guys were busy, and since I had been working on the brisket all day, we had dinner with out them. Brisket tacos, queso, pico de gallo, molcajete salsa.  As you can tell, it was not a bland evening.

Brisket Tacos

There is a taco joint just down the road from us. They serve several different tacos, all good. My favorite is called barbacoa. Now, true barbacoa is made by cooking a cow's head.  I think they are using brisket for theirs, and frankly, I like that better than a cow's head. This is a pretty close copy of what they are serving.

Trim a brisket of ALL the fat.

 Rub liberally with Worchestershire and then with Frank's Hot sauce (or Crystal). Then apply a generous coating of  Matt's Rub. Do both sides.

Cook over indirect heat ( I use Big Green Egg with an inverted platesetter ) at 180 degrees for 4 hours. Apply another coat of Worchestershire, wrap tightly in aluminum foil, and cook another 4 hours at 180 degrees.  Remove from heat and let rest for 20 minutes before slicing.  Its great brisket just like that..

For tacos, chop the meat  and mix with Mexican Barbecue Sauce.  Serve with corn tortillas, chopped onion and cilantro......

Print this Recipe

Molcajete salsa

True molcajete is made with a mortar and pestle. A smoky, fiery hot salsa, it is a far cry from the watered down, bottled salsas so common today. My simplifed version uses a food processor, and thus is a bit easier than the classic.

Grill 3 lbs of tomatoes and 1 lb of serano peppers( stems removed) until mildly charred.. Use less seranos if you want it milder....Combine with one bunch of cilantro and 3 cloves of garlic in blender or food processor. Process.  Salt to taste. It's done! Very Spicy!!!

Print this Recipe

Mashed Potatoes

4 lbs of  potatoes (baking potatoes)
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1 cup cream
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper

Peel potatoes. Cut into 3/4 inch thick slices. Boil in salted water 20 to 30 minutes, until pierced easily with a fork. Strain. Rice potatoes with a ricer, back into the pot used to boil them in. Add butter and cream, and stir. Add salt and pepper. They will stay warm for several minutes, if covered.
Print this Recipe

Rub

This rub seems to work well on everything, chicken, beef, pork....even fish.

• 1 cup sea salt (coarse....if table salt is used,it will be too salty)
• 1.5  cups black pepper ( whole peppercorns ground in a coffee grinder)
   1/2 cup paprika
• ½ cup granulated garlic

• ½ cup ground chile (penderys has a great online store for chiles...try Bull Canyon)
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 2 tbsp ground cayenne

Mix well. Since there is no sugar in it, it handles high heat without burning so much.
Print this Recipe

Salmon with oxtails.

My nephew Dustin and his friend Jenni stayed with us last night.  I wanted to do something a little different....fish that would pair with red wine.  So, we had a little piece of salmon, coated with my rub, then grilled. It sat atop a mound of mashed potatoes and a few slices of pan fried artichoke hearts. A few pieces of fried okra for garnish.   An oxtail reduction for sauce, and the dish paired up nicely with DuMol Pinot Noir. It was great to have Dustin, Jenni, and the Thompsons as our guests last night.

Garlic Cheese Grits

1 cup grits ( not instant)
4 cups water
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter
6 oz. grated cheddar cheese
2 cloves minced garlic
1 egg slightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
2tsp hot sauce ( Franks or Crystal )
Extra grated cheese

Slowly stir grits into boiling salted water. Reduce heat, cover cook 7-10 minutes, stirring often.Add garlic.  Remove from heat and stir in butter, then cheese.  Mix together egg, milk, hot sauce and add to grits. Stir well. Pour into buttered casserole. Top with grated cheese. Bake one hour at 350 degrees. Let rest 20 minutes
Print this Recipe

Pork Tenderloin

Trim fasciae from tenderloin.
Rub on all sides with Matt's Rub.
Coat with olive oil...about 2 tbsp.
Grill over medium heat until done ....25 to 30 minutes
Allow to rest 7 to 10 min. before slicing
Print this Recipe

Lloyd's birthday dinner

I cooked dinner for my father in law's 90th birthday last night.

Pork tenderloin,rubbed and grilled . 
Garlic cheese grits.
Fried okra.
Garlic bread.
Fruit salad.
German chocolate ice cream.
Vanilla ice cream.
Pound cake.

Played bocce ball after dinner. Great time.