Spaghetti with Sopressata Sauce and Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients:
for the meatballs:
1 lb ground chicken
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, grated
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon minced basil
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 egg
salt
pepper

for the sauce:
1 onion, chopped
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 oz finely chopped thin cut sopressata
30 oz canned diced tomatoes
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
1 tablespoon minced basil
1 tablespoon minced oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt
pepper

to serve:
1 lb spaghetti, cooked to package instructions

Directions:
Start the sauce first. Heat the olive oil in a medium sized saucepan. Add the sopressata, shallot, onion and garlic. Saute until the onions are softened. Add the remaining sauce ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally.

In a medium sized bowl, add all of the meatball ingredients. With a gentle hand, combine all ingredients and form into 1 to 2 inch meatballs. Place on a (oiled or nonstick) broiler pan and broil for about 5 minutes or until just starting to brown. Add to the sauce. Continue to cook until the meatballs are fully cooked and most of the liquid has been cooked out of the sauce. Serve over hot spaghetti.

My thoughts:

My husband has a tendency to go a little crazy at our local Italian shop. For some reason, every time he picks up ingredients for panini, he overbuys the sopressata. It is a pretty strongly flavored sausage so you only need a couple of slices on a sandwich so we always end up with lots leftover. Sopressata is generally served in sandwiches or on crackers but we had so much of it, I didn't see any reason not to use in a pasta sauce. I hate to waste food and couldn't really see the point in buying new Italian meats to accompany it on still more sandwiches when I had some good Italian canned tomatoes and pasta in the cabinet. I noticed I had a pound of ground chicken in the fridge that was nearing the expiry date so the idea of a sopressata-tomato sauce with meatballs was born. I really liked how it came out; the sauce was rich and spicy. Chicken meatballs, while generally tasty, aren't always the most exciting thing in the world but when mixed with this sauce they really come alive. Using chicken also kept the dish from being overwhelmingly heavy despite the bits of sausage in the sauce. Beef would have been pushing it over the edge I think.

The leftovers were exceptional, both the pasta and the meatballs absorb some of the sauce and the whole thing reheats really well. I let it sit out about 15 minutes before reheating so the meatballs weren't quite so cold going in. Is there anything worse than mushy pasta and meatballs that are still cold inside?

Spaghetti with clams / Spaghetti aux clovisses

I ate this dish last week in a restaurant in Bouzigues, Brasserie Julie, and it was so delicious I had to try to make it at home. It is very different from the Italian dish spaghetti alle vongole, which is also delicious.

J�ai mang� ce plat la semaine derni�re dans un restaurant � Bouzigues, Brasserie Julie, et c'�tait si delicieux que j'ai d� l'essayer chez moi. C'est different du plat italien, spaghetti alle vongole, qui est aussi delicieux.

For 4 / pour 4 personnes

1 kg clams / clovisses (ou palourdes)

200 gm cr�me fraiche

50 gm pine nuts / pignons de pin

4 cloves garlic, chopped / gousses d�ail, hach�es

1 small glass white wine / petit verre de vin blanc

olive oil, ground pepper / huile d�olive, poivre

500 gm spaghetti

Clean the clams and cook them in a little olive oil and the white wine until they open. / Nettoyer les clovisses et les faire cuire dans un peu d�huile d�olive et le vin blanc jusqu'� elles soient ouvertes.

At the same time toast the pine nuts in a heavy pan, add the cr�me fraiche and the garlic and heat through gently. Add some of the cooking liquid from the clams. / Au m�me temps, faire dorer les pignons, ajouter la cr�me fraiche et l�ail et rechauffer doucement. Ajouter du bouillon des clovisses.

Cook the spaghetti. / Faire cuire les spaghetti.

Add the clams to the sauce and mix into the spaghetti. / Ajouter les clovisses � la sauce et melanger avec les spaghetti.

Grind some black pepper over each serving / saupoudrer du poivre noir.

Serve with a glass of red wine / Servir accompagn� d�un verre de vin rouge.

Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients:
1 lb spaghetti
28 oz canned crushed or ground tomatoes
28 oz canned diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 small to medium carrots, diced
1 jarred whole pimiento, diced
1 onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon basil, finely chopped
1 tablespoon oregano, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste


bread crumbs
grated Parmesan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. If you'd like, break the spaghetti in half. Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions until just barely al dente. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and carrots. Saute over low heat until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and pimiento. Saute until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and herbs and cook, stirring occasionally, on low until it thickens-about 10 minutes. Stir in the spaghetti. Pour into a olive oiled casserole dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and Parmesan. Bake covered for 15 minutes then uncovered for an additional 10 or until piping hot.

Yield: about 6 servings

My thoughts:

Although I am no stranger to baked pasta dishes, baked spaghetti was never on my radar until I began noticing it being made on several British television shows. Not cooking shows, just regular dramas. Invariably, someone would be pulling out a casserole of baked spaghetti at some point during the series. I honestly don't know if this is some sort of typical British dish (my research turned up nothing definitive) but after seeing it for the fifth or sixth time, it really started to look good. I am actually not a fan of spaghetti, preferring other pasta shapes, but when baked it takes on a different texture and sticks together in away that I enjoyed more than the usual worm-like slippery strands. Of course I have no way of knowing what went into those TV casseroles but I do know that this is one tasty pasta bake. The balsamic vinegar adds a fruitiness that complements the the touch of sweetness that the carrot and pimiento lend, which in turn melds with the herbs and tomato to create an complex tastying yet easy and totally comforting sauce. Perfect for those first chilly nights of fall.

Heirloom Tomato and Spaghetti Strata

Ingredients:
8 eggs, beaten
4 strips of cooked, crisp bacon, crumbled
3 1/2 (loose, not packed) cups cooked spaghetti
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup basil, chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
pepper


Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Grease an 8x8 pan. In a small bowl, stir together eggs, pepper, basil, cheese, bacon, and tomatoes. Place the spaghetti in the pan, pour the egg mixture over the pasta. Bake for 30 minutes. Cut into slices and serve hot.



Yield: about 6 servings

My thoughts:

This is a great way to use up any leftover spaghetti that you might have from when you were making, say grilled spaghetti and meatballs and you accidentally made the whole box of spaghetti. Who wants to make a fresh sauce for just a few ounces of already cooked spaghetti? Not me. Instead, I turned them into a tasty and filling breakfast that only takes 30 minutes minutes to make and is a pleasant change from a scramble or omelet. And it solved my "what to do with all those cherry (or in this case, Juliet and Yellow Pear) tomatoes my garden is overflowing with" problem. Another plus is that since this strata is made with pasta and not bread, it doesn't need to be made the day before.

Note: the leftovers actually reheat really well the next day. Just heat in the oven or microwave.

Deconstructed Spaghetti and Meatballs

1 1/2 lb lean ground beef*
2 to 3 lb tomatoes**
1/3 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped basil
1 small onion, grated
1 egg
1 cup fresh ripe tomatoes
salt
pepper


3/4 lb cooked, hot spaghetti
extra chopped basil
olive oil

Directions:
In a bowl, knead together the meat, onion, basil, egg, olive oil, cheese, the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Do not squeeze. When thoroughly combined, form in to 2 inch meatballs. Thread on (soaked) skewers alternating with tomatoes. Brush the tomatoes and meatballs with oil. Alternately, do not use skewers and place the the meat and tomatoes on a grill pan. Place on the grill and cook, turning so they cook evenly. Grill until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Toss together the spaghetti and basil. Top with the meatballs and tomatoes, mashing the tomatoes slightly before serving.

*Be careful that the meat doesn't have too high of a fat content or there will be flare ups and broken meatballs. That's why I call for lean ground beef and not a mixture of other meats or a higher fat ground.



**Choose tomatoes that are about the same size as your meatballs for best results. I used the moderately sized "Fourth of July" variety.

My thoughts:

It was a little tricky maneuvering the meatballs around on the grill but it was worth it. Roasted tomatoes are just so tasty and sweet they don't need more than a slight mashing to make a delicious tomato sauce. And really, the novelty of making spaghetti and meatballs on the grill is high and the results tasty, so why not give it a try?

Scallop & Artichoke Pasta

Ingredients:
10 oz frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 lb small scallops
1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
juice of one lemon
handful fresh parsley, chopped

12 oz hot pasta*

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic and onion. Saute until just fragrant. Add the scallops, artichokes and lemon juice and cook until the scallops are almost opaque. Add the zest and parsley. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and toss with the bread crumbs, cheese and pasta. Serve hot.


*I used skinny spaghetti but any kind of long, not too thick pasta would work.

My thoughts:

This is a tasty, simple meal that you can make in the time it takes to cook the pasta. I like how it combines staples (bread crumbs, pasta) with fresh seafood and seasonal fruit which makes it a great late Winter dinner. It seems fresh and light but doesn't call for anything that isn't readily available (or tasty!) in Winter.

Cincinnati Chili

Ingredients:
2 lb ground beef
28 oz can diced or crushed tomato in tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

To serve:
1 lb cooked spaghetti pasta (hot)
sour cream
chopped onions
dark red kidney beans (heated through)
shredded cheddar
oyster crackers

Directions: In a large skillet saute onion, garlic, ground beef, and chili powder until ground beef is slightly browned. Drain off any excess fat. Add all of the remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to the lowest setting and simmer, covered, for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Then remove the cover and simmer for an additional 1/2 hour or until most of the liquid is absorbed or evaporated but the mixture is still a little runny. Remove from heat. Arrange spaghetti on plates.
Now there are several ways to eat Cincinnati style chili:
3-way: Spaghetti topped with chili, covered with shredded cheddar cheese
4-way: Spaghetti topped with chili, then cheese, then onions
5-way: Spaghetti topped with beans, chili, cheese & onions

Serve the crackers on the side.

My thoughts:

When people think of chili, most people think of Texas. But did you know that Cincinnati has more chili parlors per capita than any other city in the US? While I've never had the good fortune to visit Cincinnati but I love their unique style of chili. Cincinnati chili is basically a thin chili (almost more of a meat sauce) that is flavored with some unusual spices for chili, namely cinnamon, cocoa, and allspice and is served over cooked spaghetti. You can buy flavoring packets to make it, but it is almost as easy to make your own. Not to mention how difficult it is to find those packets outside of the immediate vicinity of Ohio. After some experimentation, I think I've cracked the Cincinnati chili code.

It did require some research; I read dozens of old newspaper articles about the chili (Greek immigrants Tom and John Kiradjieff began serving this chili in 1922 at their hot dog stand the Empress which explains the oddly Mediterranean flavor of the chili) and read dozens of recipes, the majority of which were either conflicting or not very well written. Beyond a basic agreement on spices, there are some disagreements about the best way to make Cincinnati style chili. Some of the various conflicts include boiling the meat vs. sauteing (I find that sauteing the meat yields a meatier tasting chili while still maintaining a "loose" texture), whether to use diced tomatoes or tomato paste or tomato juice or tomato sauce (diced has a better flavor and the pieces almost melt away during cooking), if onions belong in the chili or just on top (again, the onions add flavor and nearly melt away), whether to use chopped chocolate or cocoa (I think cocoa mixes in better), some recipes use broth and others cook the chili for 3 or more hours (hard to keep all the liquid from evaporating). There is also a purported 6th way of serving: spaghetti, beans, chili, cheese, onions & sour cream. Despite there being more ways to make it then there are citizens of Cincinnati, I've come up with this "master" recipe which I think yields the best result of all of the methods I tried with the strongest, truest flavor.