New blog I love -- http://www.yeahyourewelcome.com/
It is gift ideas -- and the gifts are unique and funny to start with and then her commentary is hysterical. I was totally laughing my head off -- this girl has a fantastic (albeit earthy) sense of humour (or at least right up my alley) and a very creative gift giving sense!
Check it out but make sure you go to the bathroom first!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Jackie's Vodka Sauce
I went to my friend Jackie's house last week to learn to make Vodka Sauce. She was making 4 batches for a Cub Scout 'Spaghetti Dinner' so I think now I can do it on my own! BTW, this was possibly the best food ever had at a cub scout event! Homemade vodka sauce, sausage and peppers, meatballs, garlic cream sauce, marinara, bread from the local Italian deli ... Everything was delicious! Anyway, here are my notes on how to make vodka sauce a la Jackie!
Overall notes --
High quality ingredients are key. If you skimp on the tomatoes or cream ... it just won't taste as good!
Stir well after every ingredient addition to make sure all the flavors get to all parts of the sauce.
If you want to make a double batch, you are better off just making it twice.
Ingredients:
Olive Oil - Not Extra-Virgin
1 Tablespoon Butter
One small bunch Chopped Scallions (don't use the hard white ends -- just the green parts)
Minced Garlic (about 5 cloves or one palmful of minced)
28 Oz can crushed Tomatos - Sclafani brand
3 handfuls Pecorino Romano grated cheese
1 quart heavy cream
2 heaping spoons of Sun-dried tomato spread (California Sun-Dry brand)
Fresh Basil
In a large, heavy non-stick skillet over medium heat pour some olive oil in the pan (approximately 3 tbsp) and add two pats of butter (approximately 1 tbsp total)
When melted, add one bunch of chopped scallion tops and stir to saute briefly:
Add a palmful of minced garlic -- can add a few slices at this time, but most should be minced. Sautee briefly.
Add one 28 Oz can of Sclafani crushed tomatoes and stir to combine - these tomatoes smell and taste wonderful. You will not be as happy with a lot of other brands.
Add three big handfuls of Pecorino Romano grated cheese and stir to combine -- don't use Parmesan or another cheese. It really needs the flavor of Romano cheese. Lean over and smell the sauce after combining the cheese in ... can you smell the cheese strongly? If not you might need to add a little more cheese.
Add one quart (!!) of Heavy Cream and stir briskly to combine. Yes I can feel my arteries hardening now!
Add a couple big spoonfuls of Sun-dried tomato spread and stir briskly to combine. Now you need to start stirring it regularly ... not constantly but fairly frequently. You can bring it up to a simmer, but be careful as the high sugar content of the tomatoes makes it easy to burn.
Keep cooking it until it looks and smells done (lol yes I know this is the tricky part) -- Probably about 10-15 minutes. You might need to turn the heat down a little bit if it is doing more than a simmer. The sauce will thicken up some and you will be able to see that as you stir. Keep scraping down the sides to get all the deliciousness into the sauce.
Remove from heat and add some fresh basil to taste - just tear them right into the pot. (sorry I forgot to get a picture of this, but she only added like a handful of basil leaves)
The below picture has a pot of completed sauce on the left, and a pot of sauce that has just started cooking on the right. You can see how the one on the right is a very pale pink, and the one on the left has a little more orange look ... the flash made it look a little more orange than it actually was.
Options:
1) If you want a sauce with a little heat, you can add a couple of sprinkles of red pepper flakes at the time you add the crushed tomatoes.
2) For a little saltier sauce and a little more flavor (although non-vegetarian then) you can get some quality proscuitto and cut it up fine and add to the sauce.
You might ask ... but where is the vodka? Jackie says she doesn't put vodka in as it just seems to make the sauce thinner without adding any dramatic flavor value and she likes a creamier sauce.
How do you eat this delicious vodka sauce? On pretty much ANYTHING this will taste divine! It is fantastic over pasta (of course) or used as a sauce to dip bread in. Poured on a plate next to a slice of fresh mozarella it is awesome. Some people eat it in a bowl like soup. It even tastes fantastic as a dip for tortilla chips!
So give it a try -- it is way easier than I thought it would be and I hope you have fun making it!
Overall notes --
High quality ingredients are key. If you skimp on the tomatoes or cream ... it just won't taste as good!
Stir well after every ingredient addition to make sure all the flavors get to all parts of the sauce.
If you want to make a double batch, you are better off just making it twice.
Ingredients:
Olive Oil - Not Extra-Virgin
1 Tablespoon Butter
One small bunch Chopped Scallions (don't use the hard white ends -- just the green parts)
Minced Garlic (about 5 cloves or one palmful of minced)
28 Oz can crushed Tomatos - Sclafani brand
3 handfuls Pecorino Romano grated cheese
1 quart heavy cream
2 heaping spoons of Sun-dried tomato spread (California Sun-Dry brand)
Fresh Basil
In a large, heavy non-stick skillet over medium heat pour some olive oil in the pan (approximately 3 tbsp) and add two pats of butter (approximately 1 tbsp total)
When melted, add one bunch of chopped scallion tops and stir to saute briefly:
Add a palmful of minced garlic -- can add a few slices at this time, but most should be minced. Sautee briefly.
Add one 28 Oz can of Sclafani crushed tomatoes and stir to combine - these tomatoes smell and taste wonderful. You will not be as happy with a lot of other brands.
Add three big handfuls of Pecorino Romano grated cheese and stir to combine -- don't use Parmesan or another cheese. It really needs the flavor of Romano cheese. Lean over and smell the sauce after combining the cheese in ... can you smell the cheese strongly? If not you might need to add a little more cheese.
Add one quart (!!) of Heavy Cream and stir briskly to combine. Yes I can feel my arteries hardening now!
Add a couple big spoonfuls of Sun-dried tomato spread and stir briskly to combine. Now you need to start stirring it regularly ... not constantly but fairly frequently. You can bring it up to a simmer, but be careful as the high sugar content of the tomatoes makes it easy to burn.
Keep cooking it until it looks and smells done (lol yes I know this is the tricky part) -- Probably about 10-15 minutes. You might need to turn the heat down a little bit if it is doing more than a simmer. The sauce will thicken up some and you will be able to see that as you stir. Keep scraping down the sides to get all the deliciousness into the sauce.
Remove from heat and add some fresh basil to taste - just tear them right into the pot. (sorry I forgot to get a picture of this, but she only added like a handful of basil leaves)
The below picture has a pot of completed sauce on the left, and a pot of sauce that has just started cooking on the right. You can see how the one on the right is a very pale pink, and the one on the left has a little more orange look ... the flash made it look a little more orange than it actually was.
Options:
1) If you want a sauce with a little heat, you can add a couple of sprinkles of red pepper flakes at the time you add the crushed tomatoes.
2) For a little saltier sauce and a little more flavor (although non-vegetarian then) you can get some quality proscuitto and cut it up fine and add to the sauce.
You might ask ... but where is the vodka? Jackie says she doesn't put vodka in as it just seems to make the sauce thinner without adding any dramatic flavor value and she likes a creamier sauce.
How do you eat this delicious vodka sauce? On pretty much ANYTHING this will taste divine! It is fantastic over pasta (of course) or used as a sauce to dip bread in. Poured on a plate next to a slice of fresh mozarella it is awesome. Some people eat it in a bowl like soup. It even tastes fantastic as a dip for tortilla chips!
So give it a try -- it is way easier than I thought it would be and I hope you have fun making it!
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