Spaghetti Princess

Since my son doesn't have school tomorrow he was invited to a sleep over at his friend's house, and because my wife and I never pass up an opportunity to get one of our kids out of the house* we had no problem with him going. Normally when he goes to spend the night with a friend we let our daughter pick what we have for dinner so she doesn't feel unimportant, and it's a virtual lock that she will request spaghetti.

I swear she's Italian because she would eat spaghetti three times a day if we let her, but when she's the queen of the castle we don't argue with her choice of spaghetti for dinner even though it's a guarantee that we're going to eat it every single time.

One of the reasons I don't mind making spaghetti for her is because I have a quick and painless recipe for spaghetti sauce that I make and freeze for these special occasions, and for at least one night dinner is painless to make. Since I don't really have anything else to talk about today, and because I have to write something for this 30 day challenge, I decided I would share my spaghetti sauce recipe with you.

This is one of my daughter's favorite things to eat, and if you decide to try it I hope you have a good experience with it as well.

Quick Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

1 green bell pepper, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 cup chicken broth
3 tbsp tomato paste*

*- The tomato paste can vary from 1 tspb to a full 6 oz can, depending on how thick you want the sauce. I use 3 tbsp because it is the preferred thickness for my personal taste, but your taste may vary.

Directions:

Sauté the bell pepper and onion on medium high heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for one minute. Stir in tomatoes, chicken broth, and seasoning.

Lower heat to medium-low and stir in tomato paste 1 tbsp at a time until desired thickness is achieved (see note above). Cook sauce for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with your favorite pasta.

And that's all there is to it. It really is the easiest way to make spaghetti other than buying a jar of store-bought sauce, and trust me - once you try this you'll never want to do that again. Just be sure to double or triple the recipe so you can put some up for later. It keeps in the freezer for months and is a great way to save time during the busy week when you need a quick go-to meal or if you just feel like taking the easy way out to put dinner on the table.

* If you're a parent, you know exactly what I mean.

Costco over football? Yes, please...

Because I'm no longer emotionally invested in the state of the 2012 Carolina Panthers, I decided to skip my normal Sunday ritual of watching the game to spend time with my family and make a trip to Costco.

Yes, I just admitted that I went to Costco instead of watching football. I know that violates every guy code in the book, but I honestly don't care because 1) I am no longer interested in whether or not the Panthers win/lose every week, and 2) I actually like going to Costco.

One of the reasons I like going ot Costco is because you can find stuff there that you can't find anywhere else. I mean, where else are you going to find a 5 gallon bucket* of olive oil? That's right, nowhere. That's part of the reason I enjoy going to Costco; if nothing else it's an adventure to see what sorts of things you can find that don't exist anywhere else.

Another major reason I like going to Costco is because it's a membership only place. Now, I'm not saying that I'm some sort of elitist who thinks he shouldn't have to shop in the same place as the masses, but I will admit that I enjoy shopping in a place that doesn't have the typical riff-raff that you find at major box stores** across America.

So yeah, Costco is one of my favorite places to shop. The funny part is that today I didn't even buy anything. I just wanted to tag along with my parents and in-laws who were both going there to buy things. Plus, I really didn't want to watch football, so going to Costco gave me a way to pass time so I didn't have to suffer through yet another horrible Panthers experience. (In typical fashion, the one week I don't watch the game they decide to have their best game of the season and win. Figures.)

I can't say that I abstained from football completely this weekend though, because as I'm typing this I'm watching the Giants/Steelers game. Well, it's on the tv as background noise, because I'm also in the process of baking potatoes so I can make gnocchi for dinner tonight.

Speaking of gnocchi, I think I just heard the oven timer go off. Oh well, time to finish cooking so I can feed the family. They would probably like that.

* Okay, it wasn't that big of a container. However, it was at least 2 gallons.

** I won't name any names, but one such store's initials are Wal-Mart.

(No) Soup for you!

I couldn't think of a post for this title other than "here's a soup recipe that I like", and I wanted to be a little more creative than that, so I decided to pay homage to one of my favorite Seinfeld characters of all time: The Soup Nazi.

I found this recipe in Food Network Magazine a couple of months ago and finally got around to making it, thanks to the nice fall weather we had today. If you're into soups, this is definitely one worth making, because it is very good, and really simple to make.*

* - If I can make it, then anyone can make it. I'm not exactly a chef like someone else I know.

This recipe makes a nice meal for two people, or you can do what I did and double it so you can put some up for later. (If you double it, make sure you have a large pot, because it makes a lot of soup.)

Anyway, here's the recipe, courtesy of Food Network:

Apple-Cheddar-Squash Soup

Ingredients

* 5 tbsp unsalted butter
* 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
* 2 medium apples, thinly sliced
* 1 large white potato, diced
* 1 1/2 cups chopped peeled butternut squash (fresh or frozen)
* kosher salt and ground pepper
* 1/2 tsp dried sage
* 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup apple cider
* 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
* 1 cup milk
* 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Optional Ingredients

* 2 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into bite-size pieces for garnish
* grated sharp cheddar cheese for garnish
* chopped chives for garnish
* crusty bread for serving

Directions

Melt 4 tbsp butter in a large pot over medium-low heat and add the onion, apples, potato, and squash. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion is soft (about 8 minutes). Stir in the sage and flour. Add the cider and cook over high heat, stirring, until thickened. Add the broth and milk, cover and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the potato is soft (approximately 8-10 minutes).

If you choose to add the prosciutto* -- Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the prosciutto and cook until crisp, turning occasionally, for about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

* - Bacon is a good substitute for the prosciutto, if you can't find prosciutto in your local grocery store. For most people, they're pretty much the same thing anyway.

Add the cheese to the soup and stir over medium-low heat until melted. Puree in a blender in batches until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the prosciutto, cheese, and chives, and serve with bread, if desired.

The standard recipe makes 4 servings.

An awesome lunch

Today, the wife and I decided to enjoy a nice lunch of cube steak and gravy with mashed potatoes and baked mac & cheese. I had never made gravy from scratch before (I was always too worried that I would screw up the roux and never bothered to give it a try), but I found a recipe for chicken fried steak and gravy online and decided to finally get over myself and try to make the gravy.

This recipe came from Alton Brown of Food Network fame. I added a twist to it which I will cover later, but this is one kick-ass meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds beef bottom round, trimmed of excess fat
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 whole eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 pound sliced baby bella mushrooms*

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Cut the meat with the grain into 1/2-inch thick slices. Season each piece on both sides with the salt and pepper. Place the flour into a pie pan. Place the eggs into a separate pie pan. Dredge the meat on both sides in the flour. Tenderize the meat, using a needling device, until each slice is 1/4-inch thick. Once tenderized, dredge the meat again in the flour, followed by the egg and finally in the flour again. Repeat with all the pieces of meat. Place the meat onto a plate and allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking.

Place enough of the vegetable oil to cover the bottom of a 12-inch slope-sided skillet and set over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the meat in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook each piece on both sides until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes per side. Remove the steaks to a wire rack set in a half sheet pan and place into the oven. Repeat until all of the meat is browned.

Add the remaining vegetable oil, or at least 1 tablespoon, to the pan. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of the flour left over from the dredging (or use new flour if you prefer). Add the chicken broth and deglaze the pan. Whisk until the gravy comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Add the milk and thyme and whisk until the gravy coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste, with more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve the gravy over the steaks.

* - To make this recipe even more kick-ass:

Saute the mushrooms prior to cooking the steaks and set aside. After the gravy thickens, put the mushrooms in the gravy and turn to low heat. Place the steaks in the gravy and cook for about 5 minutes. [But not too long, because the steaks will get too tough.]

Also, I bought cube steaks instead of bottom round because I was too lazy to go through slicing, tenderizing, and needling pieces of bottom round when it's pretty much the same thing anyway.

And for those of you who are wondering: the gravy was a success and I only had to make the roux once. In the end I learned that it's not as hard as I thought it would be, and if there is a moral to this story, it's this: Don't talk yourself out of trying something because you think you can't do it. If you do, you may cheat yourself out of a myriad of wonderful opportunities, including some delicious gravy.

I've found the perfect steak (and now I'm miserable)

I knew it would happen eventually: I finally found the perfect steak at a restaurant. I knew that if I went enough places and ate enough steaks I would eventually find one that was so close to perfection that nothing would ever again come close to reaching the bar that would be set by this wonderful creation.

I just never wanted it to happen.

Why? Why would I never want to find the perfect steak? It seems only logical that one would want to find perfection in something he loves. (And I do love some steak. No offense to any vegetarians or animal-rights people who may be reading this, but I love steak - it's one of the best things on earth.)

But, back to my original thought: why would I never want to find the perfect steak? I never wanted to find it because now I have peaked. I have no need to eat another steak for the rest of my life because it's all downhill from here. (It's not going to stop me, but now I will be eating them in vain because I will never get another one as good as the one I had tonight.)

What kind of steak was it? I'm glad you asked.

It was a filet mignon (of course - what else could it be?) from Yokoso (a Japanese steakhouse). It was cooked medium rare (the only way to eat a steak, in my opinion), and it was cooked perfectly. I have never had a steak in a restaurant that was genuinely medium rare. It's always medium, or medium well - but never quite medium rare. I don't know why either, it's not like medium rare is that hard to accomplish - but for some reason restaurants can't get it right.

Anyway, back to the steak.

It melted in my mouth like butter - I didn't even have to put any effort into chewing it because it was so tender. I didn't even have to dip it in the white sauce (which is saying a lot for me because I usually eat a gallon of the stuff when I eat Japanese steakhouse food). In fact, I took home an entire plate of rice because I didn't want to ruin the enjoyment of the steak by not eating every single morsel of it, and by the time I was finished enjoying my steak, I didn't want the rice anymore.

(Oh well, I guess I know what's for lunch tomorrow.)

To anyone out there reading this who is a steak-lover like me: don't waste your time trying to find the perfect steak. You won't like yourself after you do. Sure, the few moments you spend enjoying that steak will be some of the best moments of your life, but it's all downhill after that. Take it from me - someone who understands what it's like to find the perfect steak - and know that sometimes, perfection is best left as a dream.