Everyone loves (an) Italian

This past Thursday night was a GREAT night! Six people came to my apartment and joined my room mate and myself for an evening of good food, good drink, and good friendship. I have to say, it is amazing how even a tiny kitchen like the one I have here, becomes the ultimate destination for everyone at the party. Uh, this kitchen was kind of like a clown car.



Between 8 people, we used every single dinner plate, salad plate, bowl, platter, saucer, knife, fork, and spoon in the house. Oh right, every water glass and juice glass also. Thankfully, one of the people who came over was tall and could reach the upper shelves to get things down for me. I wasn't looking forward to hefting myself up onto the counter in order to get things down, and Sean made sure I didn't need to.



So, what did we eat? Well, what do you think? This is the post that several people have been waiting for. Anitpasto selections as appetizers--marinated artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, green olives, roasted red peppers, Ciliegine mozzarella with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Main course--Mostaccioli with sauce (traditional Scarminach recipe and a spicy Sicilian variation on it), meatballs, sweet Italian sausage, hot Italian sausage, and Bracciole. To finish off the meal, a simple salad at the end with an ingredient that makes everyone say "Mmmm..." Il Torrone and an apricot-almond tart ended the evening on a light note.



And what did we drink? One of my friends, Anna, came over with her boyfriend and a big pitcher of lemon-basil Italian soda. It was fantastic! My friend Gwen brought, as a gift, a bottle of Amaro Ramazzotti. It is a liqueur from Milan with an anisette-type of flavor. We discovered that it mixed well with the lemon-basil soda.



I made the sauce and meatballs on Monday. I know, we didn't eat until Thursday, but left alone in the fridge for those couple of days, the flavors of the sauce really come together and develop. The key is keeping it refrigerated properly, and re-heating it properly. Thursday evening, after work, I ran home and popped the sausage in the oven to cook, and made the bracciole. I think I saw eyes bug out of people's head when the bracciole came out of the oven. And why not? It had co-operated beautifully by splitting down the middle of the top, revealing the beauty of the stuffing. I was asked what it was--as no one attending had ever had this dish--and when I told them it was meat stuffed with meat, egg and cheese, I swear I heard stomachs growling in stereo.

So, the recipes will follow below. Please keep this in mind. Everything I make is made without using actual measurements. I will try to approximate it as closely as possible, but make it to your own taste. Also, I make enough to feed a small army. Either scale it down for your needs, or divide it after it is cooked and freeze it in appropriate portions. It freezes beautifully and lasts forever (as if you would let it last that long in the fridge!)

Basic Sauce

2-29oz cans tomato sauce
1-29oz can crushed tomatoes
1 large onion--top and bottom cut off and skin removed
a small handful dried parsley
8-10 cloves of garlic peeled and lightly smashed but left whole
3 tbsp dried basil (If I have fresh, I usually add a couple tbsp finely chopped as well)

Put all ingredients into a large pot and heat to simmering over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, add lid but leave vented, and cook for 7-8 hours. Yup, that's right. It does actually take this long. One thing I have started doing if I don't want to be in the house for that amount of time, is making it in the crock pot. Don't tell my mom, but it works. When the sauce is finished, let it cool on the stove, remove the onion and put it in the fridge until you plan to eat it. Of course, you can also eat it immediately with pasta, or bread, or with a spoon.

Meatballs

2 lbs ground beef (I buy 85% lean as much of the fat cooks off as they bake and I think it makes for a more tender meatball. But, buy what you like--you're going to anyway!)
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/2 c Parmesan cheese grated
2 eggs
3 tbsp milk
3 cloves garlic crushed finely (if I have roasted garlic I like to smash a few cloves of that instead)
any combination of dried or fresh basil, thyme, and/or tarragon
salt and pepper

Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix with hands (no, really--use your hands only) just until combined. Overworking it will make for hard, heavy lumps that you might call meatballs, but that will sit like lumps of lead in your belly.

Roll into balls. I don't care what size--I don't personally think it matters. What matters is that they are all approximately the same size, so they will all cook the same. Put on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven (it is okay if they are not fully cooked, as they will finish in the sauce) and put each one gently into the sauce.

Sausage

To make sausage--yah, right! I don't make sausage. I buy it and cook it. I like to do a combination of sweet and hot Italian sausage. Cook it in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes and then put it into the sauce with the meatballs and let it cook along.


When I make all of this, the order is usually as follows. Get the sauce going. As soon as it is all in the pot and heating up, put the sausage in the oven and get it started. Then start making the meatballs. By the time you get them rolled into balls and ready for the oven, the sausage is ready to come out and go into the sauce. Put the meatballs in the oven and when they are done, add them to the sauce. Let it all cook together, stirring occasionally for the rest of the time.

About an hour and a half before you are going to eat, get the sauce with the meats out of the fridge and start to heat it up. Once you get it going, make the Bracciole.

Bracciole

1-1 1/2 lbs of meatball recipe
7-10 leaves fresh basil
2 hard boiled eggs roughly chopped
1/8 lb. each sliced Provolone, Capacolla, Soppressata

Make the meatball mixture and turn it out onto a cutting board, patting it into a rectangle about 3/4 inch thick. Layer the basil leaves, egg, cheese, and meat. Roll into a loaf, sealing off ends and long edge. Carefully place in a baking dish. You want one with high sides as there will be liquid that will come off of it, and it is possible that it will split, with some of the cheese running out. If you put it in a shallow pan, it could run off, spill on the bottom of the oven and catch on fire. Uh huh, personal experience. I am AWESOME with a fire extinguisher, just ask my mom and dad. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size your bracciole ends up. Remove from oven and spoon some sauce over the top.

This is how I make it. Traditionally, it is made with a single piece of meat like a flank steak. It is also made with different ingredients as filling. I happen to like this recipe and so does Josh.

Once you get the bracciole in the oven, move on to the spicy sauce. This is typical of southern Italy and Sicily, with the spice and tang of the added ingredients. This isn't something my family makes, just something I like to make sometimes.

Louise's Spicy Pasta Sauce

2 links spicy sausage
3 cups basic sauce
1 cup olives roughly chopped (I use pitted Kalamatas and pitted green)
1/4 cup capers--rinsed twice
1/4 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
2-3 whole roasted red peppers sliced
3 cloves fresh garlic sliced thinly
1-3 tbsp dried red pepper flakes (depending on how HOT you like it)

In a large skillet, crumble and brown sausage until almost cooked through. Add sauce and remaining ingredients and simmer until ready to eat. This doesn't have to cook for a really long time as the sauce is already cooked. You just need to heat the ingredients through and let the flavors meld for 20 minutes or so.

Serve your sauce and meats with your favorite pasta. We eat Mostaccioli--I think my mom makes it because it is my dad's favorite. That is what I made and it works well with the sauces. Just make sure it is cooked al dente. DON'T MAKE OVERCOOKED PASTA. It can ruin the whole thing.

Enjoy!