Yummy Lasagne!

This is a nice recipe for lasagne, and because Steph has a casein intolerance, this is cow milk free. The cool thing is that the buffalo mozzeralla, mixed with an egg, has the flavor of cheese and the consistency of ricotta. If cow is no problem, use grated mozzarella and parmesan.

Lasagne noodles, 8 sheets (I use fresh sheets from Pasta & Company)

Base sauce (see my earlier recipe), or your tomtaoe sauce recipe

1 large container,buffalo mozzarella, mixed with one egg

1 tube, Isernio's chicken italian sausage

1 large sweet onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb mushrooms, sliced

1 can jumbo black olives, sliced

Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil and butter. Add 1/2 cup of white wine, boil until reduced, then add the ground sausage. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sausage is lightly browned. Add the tomatoe sauce, and if not already spiced, add 1 Tbs each of thyme, basil, oregano, salt, and sugar. Ground black pepper to taste. Spoon into a bowl to rest (ahh?) and cool down.

Saute the mushrooms over medium high heat in olive oil until the liquid reduces. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Use a 9X14 or bigger baking dish. Layer the lasagne noodles, spoon and evenly spread the cheese, then add mushrooms, and olives, then add a layer of sauce. Repeat 4 times, or more.

If you want to use parmesan, sprinkle at each layer and on top.

Bake, 350, covered with foil, for about 30 minutes. Then bake uncovered until the pie is boiling hot. Remove from oven, let rest for 10 minutes or so, then serve.

My Favorite Chili

This is a well balanced chili with hints of smoked peppers and cinnamon. It is mild to medium hot, but you can make it as hot as you want. Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (or more!) chipotle peppers (smoked jalapenos)

1 cinnamon stick

2 pounds ground beef (or a top round roast, diced)

1 small can tomato paste

2 cups beef broth

3-4 pounds tomatoes, chopped (or 2 28 oz cans roma tomatoes, chopped, with liquid)

1 cup small red beans, soaked overnight (or 2 14 oz cans red beans)

2 tbs each chili powder, cumin, oregano

1 tbs each salt and sugar

freshly ground black pepper

Saute the onions, garlic, and chipotle in olive oil in a large dutch oven. Turn up the heat to medium high and add the beef. Brown well. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the beef broth, tomatoes, beans, and cinnamon stick. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. After 1 hour, add all the spices. When done, adjust spices as necessary (I usually end up adding more chili powder and salt). Serve with sour cream and warm cornbread. Enjoy!

Chili Verde

This is a wonderful mexican stew, and no two recipes are the same. My mom taught me hers 25 years ago, and after all the years mine bears no resemblance.

Prep time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 2 to 2 1/2 hours

2 pounds pork loin or chops, cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 large sweet onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 chipotle pepper (dried jalapeno), finely chopped

2-3 dried ancho chilies

6-8 fire roasted sweet anaheim chilies, or some combination of anaheims and poblanos, peeled, seeded, and diced

6 quarts good quality chicken broth

2 pounds tomatillos, husked, cored, and quartered

2 Tbs each ground cumin and oregano

Salt and ground pepper

Fire up the charcoal barbeque (or broiler) and roast the anaheim peppers over high heat until charred. Remove from heat and put in a brown paper bag to steam for about 20 minutes. Remove and peel skins. Remove stem and seeds (do not rinse the peppers in water). Chop.

Chop the onions, garlic, and pork. Chop the chipotle, and cut a slit in each of the anchos. Remove the husk from the tomatillos, rinse, remove the core, and quarter.

Saute the onions and chipotle in 2 Tbs olive oil. Add the garlic, ancho chilies and cook for two minutes. Add the pork, turn the heat up to medium high, and brown. Add the stock, roasted chilies, and tomatillos. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer, uncovered, about an hour. Add the spices, and continue to simmer another hour or so. The chili is done when the tomatillos have completely disintegrated and the sauce has reduced and begins to thicken a bit.

Serve in a bowl with a side of warm corn or flour tortillas, sour cream, hot sauce, and cheddar or spanish manchego cheese. You can get more mileage out of the batch by serving it over some steamed jasmine rice. Other options include a chili verde burrito with black beans, rice, avocado, lettuce, and tomato, or a chili verde omelette (great midnight snack).

Quick 'n Easy Marinara

This sauce can be made in an hour or so, and is very tasty.

One onion, diced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

Red pepper flakes, to taste

1/2 cup white whine :)

2 28-32 ounce cans of roma tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

1 Tbs each dried oregano, thyme, and basil

1 bay leaf

1 Tbs each salt and sugar, and fresh ground pepper

Saute the onions and pepper flakes for 5 minutes or so in olive oil and butter in a large saucepan. Add the garlic, cook for a minute. Add the whine and cook down by one-half. Add the tomato paste and cook another two minutes.

Here's the fun part. Use your finest kitchen tool, your hand, to crush the tomatoes into the pot. Stick a finger in the tomato, and aim the hole away from you as you squeeze to avoid looking like your dinner. Add all the tomato liquid from the cans and the bay leaf. It will look kinda ugly, no worries. Partially cover and simmer on low heat, stirring frequently, for about 45 minutes.

Add the spices, salt, sugar, and pepper, and simmer another 15 minutes. Let cool (or not, if you don't mind being burned with flaming hot tomato sauce). Remove the bay leaf and puree in the pot with an immersion blender.

Warm the sauce, serve over your favorite pasta, and enjoy!

Perfect Marinara Sauce

This is my marinara sauce "base." I make it every summer. It produces enough sauce for about 8-10 dinners for 4.
We drive over to Yakima and visit one of the many produce farms. I buy one flat of roma tomatoes. Be picky--choose a flat that has nice, red, and ripe tomatoes.
Empty the flat into a sink of cold water. You'll find that a flat is A LOT of tomatoes. Core each tomato, cut into 2-3 pieces, and fill up your cuisanart and blend until smooth. Empty into a very large stock pot. Repeat until all the tomatoes are gone.
Bring the mixture to a light boil, then simmer on low for about 14-16 hours (yes, this is a weekend type project). Do not add any oil, salt or other seasonings. Just the tomatoes. The sauce should reduce by at least half, and have a deep red color.
After the sauce cools (it takes hours), use a ladel and fill a 1 quart pyrex measuring cup with sauce. Carefully empty the sauce into a 1 quart freezer baggie. Seal tightly, trying to remove all air from the bag. Repeat until all sauce is gone. Put the baggies in your freezer.
When you want marinara, defrost a bag of base. Saute onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes to taste in some olive oil and butter. Add a 1/2 cup of white wine and reduce by one half. Add a bay leaf and the base. Then add about 1 Tbs each of dried thyme, oregano, and basil. Add about 1 Tbs salt, 1 Tbs sugar (yes, that's not a typo), and freshly ground black pepper.
Simmer on low heat for an hour or so. Check the sauce for taste. It should be really flavorful, pungent, and tangy. If not, add a pinch of salt and of sugar, stirring, and keep tasting. When the sauce bursts with flavor, you're done.
Serve over your favorite pasta, or over spaghetti squash (also purchased in Yakima). Sprinkle with parmesan or spanish manchego cheese.

The reduction sauce

This is a really easy to make and very tasty sauce for steaks, brisket, and lamb. Ingredients:

3 cups of good quality beef stock
1 cup of red wine
1 shallot, minced
A few sprigs of fresh thyme

Saute the shallots in a medium saucepan in 1 Tbs of olive oil, until lightly golden. Add the stock, wine, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then cook on medium low uncovered until the sauce reduces by half. Strain and return to the saucepan. Reduce for another 10 minutes or so. Mix 1 tsp of cornstarch with a little water, and stir into the sauce. Stir (or whisk) constantly until the sauce starts to thicken. Take it off the heat, add little (or more :) butter, salt and pepper to taste.

The first step for cooking a fantastic brisket is the dry rub. There are many variations. I never measure, so the following quantities are approximations for an 8 pound beast:

2 tbs kosher salt

1 tbs fresh ground pepper

2 tbs garlic powder

2 tbs onion powder

1 tbs smoked paprika (the smoked spanish paprika from Seattle Rhythm & Spice, available at the Ballard Sunday market, is the best!)

1 tbs chili powder

Variations on the theme--add 1/2 tsp each of cinnamon and ground cloves

Rub the brisket thoroughly with the dry rub (use your hands, the best kitchen tool of all). Don't be afraid to use alot of rub. Then place the brisket fat side up, and drizzle with olive oil. You can then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or just let it sit on the counter for an hour or so before smoking.

Just before you put the meat on the grill, rub a generous portion of brown sugar over the fat side. Cook the meat fat side up, at about 275-300 degrees, for about 6-7 hours or until very tender.

Coming up! Photos of the cooking process, the mop basting sauce, and a wonderfully easy to make reduction sauce. Stay tuned!

Welcome to Stu's Electric Kitchen! This is my first post. There will be many to follow, with my recipes, cooking tips, and pictures. Just to get you started, here's a pic of the brisket I smoked Saturday August 14. It was awesome!!