Anchovies in Tomato Sauce with Pasta

Pedro and I enjoyed this as a Sunday evening meal recently while watching the movie "Risen." I would recommend more tomato flavor and less red wine the next time I make this sauce but I really love using the anchovies for salt in the dish. I also love the Mafalda pasta for this. It holds the sauce really well. I replaced the pine nuts with finely chopped walnuts. This is a copy of a Jamie Oliver recipe I have in his book "Jamie's Italy."

INGREDIENTS

1. • olive oil
   • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and very finely sliced
   • 2 big handfuls of pine nuts
   • A big handful of raisins
   • 12 salted anchovy fillets
   • 3 heaping tablespoons tomato purée
   • a large wineglass of red wine
   • 1 3/4 cups stale bread crumbs
   • 1 pound dried margherita pasta

PREPARATION

1. 1. Heat a pan, add 6 tablespoons of olive oil, then add your garlic and fry slowly. As it begins to color, add the pine nuts, raisins, and anchovies and continue frying for 2 minutes, until the anchovies have melted. Add the tomato purée and the wine and stir in well. Leave to simmer on a medium heat for 3 minutes. The sauce should be quite thick, like tomato sauce, but if you think it needs thinning down, add a little water. Heat a little olive oil in a separate pan, add the bread crumbs and fry until toasted, crunchy, and golden. Leave to cool on paper towels. Meanwhile, cook your pasta in boiling salted water according to the package instructions. Drain and mix with the sauce. Check the seasoning and divide onto 4 plates, twizzling the pasta with tongs as you go. Serve sprinkled with the bread crumbs.

Eggplant Rollatinis

I spent a lot of time in Washington DC this summer, providing lots of opportunities to see Kimberly, which I was thankful for. One night, she invited me to dinner at her new apartment on Duddington Place. She was so kind to have wine, martinis and what she hoped would be "zucchini" Rollatini with a fresh, large zuchinni from her community garden plot. Little did she know that she'd gotten a giant squash from the garden, resembling a zucchini in appearance but not at all in flavor. We couldn't stop laughing and ate through the seeds and skins anyway. She coined the dinner "discatini."

Here's a good recipe for this one from Giada.

Ingredients

3 medium-sized eggplants (about 4 pounds total)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Can vegetable spray
32 ounces ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
8 tablespoons grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
20 basil leaves, chiffonaded
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
2 cups fresh tomato sauce, recipe follows
Simple Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
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Directions

Preheat the grill pan and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place a rack over a large baking sheet. Cut the 2 ends off the eggplant. Cut the eggplants lengthwise, into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange eggplant slices onto rack. Sprinkle with sea salt to help remove excess moisture and any bitterness from the eggplants. Set aside for about 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse off the salt from the eggplants and pat dry with a towel. Spray hot grill pan liberally with vegetable spray and then place eggplant slices on the grill until lightly browned on each side and tender, about 4 minutes per side. Remove slices from the grill pan and allow to cool.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until lightly scrambled. Mix the ricotta in with the egg. Add mozzarella, 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts and gently combine. Fold in basil just to combine. Do not overmix.
Place a tablespoon of the cheese mixture on 1 end of the eggplant and roll up tightly. Place the eggplant rollatini into a greased (with olive oil) 13 by 9-inch baking dish, seam side down. Continue with remaining eggplant. Evenly distribute the tomato sauce on top of the eggplant rollatini. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining 5 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and bake for 15 minutes. When cooked, drizzle the top with extra-virgin olive oil.
In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.
Yield: 6 cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Ease of Preparation: Easy
Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/eggplant-rollatini-recipe2.print.html?oc=linkback

Easter at the Greenbrier 2016

We enjoyed a wine tasting at the Greenbrier over Easter weekend this year. A woman came from Tuscany to share her wines in the Chrystal room. We also enjoyed dinner at Heather's house with her family during the weekend. Plus, look at the awesome giant macaron we found in the cafe!

2016 Rat Ghost Merlot

We enjoyed our annual trip to consumers produce this fall to buy 108 lbs of California Merlot grapes. As we set the grapes to ferment, Pedro noticed that a rat got into the garage. He was headed out the following morning for a business trip and asked me to punch the caps all week. Knowing that I wouldn't go in the garage with a rat scurrying around, he set 5 traps out and waited that evening until he caught the rat. This year's vintage is named Rat Ghost Merlot in honor of our rodent friend.

Colorado Green Chili

I was inspired to make a different kind of chili to enjoy during a cool fall morning tailgate at Pitt's homecoming. I overfilled the slow cooker and it boiled over onto the floor during the night (you'll have that), but this was otherwise an awesome (spicy!) chili. I added a couple of chopped fresh jalapeños to give it an extra kick. This freezes really well. Perfect fall recipe.

Ingredients

25 fresh Anaheim green chiles or 5 (4 1/2-ounce) cans green chiles
3 sticks (12 ounces) butter or margarine, plus more for sauteing pork
3 pounds pork, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large white onions, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 3/4 tablespoons ground dry mustard powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
6 large tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
3 fresh jalapenos, diced, optional for added heat
1 cup flour
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Directions

If roasting your own chiles: Preheat an outdoor grill to high. Place the Anaheim chiles on the grill and cook, turning to cook evenly, until the skins blister and blacken. Remove from the grill and place in a plastic bag. Seal the bag and let the chiles stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the skin, stems and seeds and chop into 1/4-inch pieces.
Heat some butter in a large pot and add the cubed pork. Cook about15 minutes, and then add the onions and spices. Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally. When the pork has cooked through, add the fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, green chiles and jalapenos, if using. Stir occasionally.
After 5 minutes, add 8 cups water. Bring to a low boil. Stir occasionally. Increase the heat and bring the chili to a rolling or high boil.
In separate pan, melt the butter or margarine and whisk in the flour, stirring until creamy.
Slowly add the roux to the chili, stirring constantly, and shut off the heat. Continue to stir so that the roux is evenly distributed. (Roux amount can be adjusted depending on desired consistency or thickness.)
Let stand 5 minutes and serve in a bowl or smothered!
This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.
Recipe courtesy of Sam, one of the owners of Sam's No.3, Denver, CO

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sams-no3-kickin-green-chili-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback