Meatsauce (taken from my mother's meatball recipe--with a few alterations of course)

Time: It takes a while, leave a couple of hours for this dish (you can actually mix and form the meat early on in the day and fridge it until you are ready for cooking)
Serves 3-4

Turkey meat sauce--ugh, stiff, flavorless, dried out bits of meat……health food dribble….and seriously, if you want to substitute the turkey for beef or pork or veal.....you can, but it doesn't have to be like that…in fact, ground turkey is an extraordinary meat--low in fat and subtle in flavor, (not over-powering like beef or pork can be) it takes on other flavors and seasonings well. It's tender and juicy, but easy to overcook. Most of all, it is delicate (like veal, but without the safety net of a higher fat content) so if you overwork it during preparation or over cook it, all you will get is the cardboardesque mess described above. Follow the recipe below and find out how good turkey can be.

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey

2 tablespoons finely minced onion

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

3 tablespoons chopped basil

1 egg and 1 egg white

2 tablespoons ground parmigiano or pecorino romano

1 tablespoon olive, plus oil for frying

1 cup chopped tomatoes

bread crumbs

1/3 cup panko Japanese bread crumbs*

salt, pepper, squeeze of lemon

Optional:

dash worchestire sauce

*Panko Japanese bread crumbs are normally used as a batter for tempura. However, they are indeed useful in other contexts, I put them into the turkey meat sauce to provide a soft and almost chewy texture, they help the meat sauce melt in your mouth! Try panko, I promise you, you'll end up finding a use for them in a variety of contexts.

Ok this recipe is actually quite simple. First measure out and prepare all ingredients. While you are at it, get a large, heavy sauce pan out. Combine onion, parsley, egg and egg white, cheese, tablespoon olive oil, panko, salt, pepper, and worchestire sauce in a bowl.

Gently fold in the turkey, WARNING: DO NOT OVER MIX. Gently form large flat chunks of meat and dust with breadcrumbs.

Heat your sauce pan, and coat in olive oil once hot. Gently place the meat in the pan and fry. You can throw in the tomatoes whenever you want...I like to throw them in early, so that they break down fully and get sweet. Once the meatballs have been nicely browned on a couple of sides, gently break it up. Even though the turkey may still be a bit raw, that's fine, just make sure you fully cook them before serving.

Speaking of serving...sure, you can serve these with pasta, but don't feel limited by Italian nationalistic pride--get creative here are a few different ideas for meat sauce. Try them on a bed of arugula, or you can toss in some white beans while the meat is cooking and serve it with a nice crusty bread. Enjoy, and as always let me know how it goes.

Zuppli

Zuppli (Risotto Fritters)

1 cup of risotto should make 6 good sized fritters

Time 15 minutes

Much like most Italian food which is passed down from generation to generation, this recipe was passed down to me. My father upon teaching me how to make risotto (probably when I was about seven years old), couldn’t help but share this little gold nugget of a dish with me. Now, I am sharing it with all of you.

The only thing better than a really good batch of risotto (which ranks as one of the best things in the world...), is zuppli made from that really good batch of risotto. In case you missed it, check out my post last week of mushroom risotto, start with that. However, any day old risotto will do just fine for this recipe (as long as it isn’t seafood)—I particularly like it with the classic saffron risotto.

Warning: This is not healthy, in fact the following recipe is indeed a despicable combination of fats and carbs, each bite of which has the capacity to clog an artery—even so, it is so gosh darn delicious (sorry for the profanity). What could be better than a crispy and crunchy crust, filled with perfectly cooked risotto, and don’t forget the melted cheese inside. It is really good. I however, save this dish for special occasions.

Nearly every region (or even town) in Italy has their own recipe and name for this dish. Little grandmothers stash away the extra risotto from a big dinner, saving it to make this treat for the next day’s lunch—so if you have had variations of this recipe, or know it by another name, don’t fret.

Ingredients

1 cup cooked risotto

1 egg

Block of mozzarella (or other meltable cheese—you can get fancy with this and even use something like a Comte, just make sure the cheese doesn’t over power the risotto)

breadcrumbs

salt and pepper

plenty of olive oil

It is simple really, mix the risotto with the egg and salt and pepper. Form the risotto into little balls and stuff a piece of cheese on the inside.

Coat with breadcrumbs.

Fry in plenty of olive oil at high heat until golden brown on all sides.

Sprinkle generously with parmagiano reggiano, and serve immediately.

Risotto di Funghi

Risotto di Funghi Porcini (Porcini Mushroom Risotto)

Time: About an hour (less if you are a quick chopper)

Serves 4

A world of culinary delights exists in a steamy bite of mushroom risotto. The perfect balance between puffy, yet ever-so-slightly crunchy rice kernels covered in a creamy, aromatic and earthy sauce will excite your taste buds, warm your heart and awaken the deepest depths of your soul

Much like the majority of Italian food, Risotto is misunderstood by amateur foodies as a difficult dish to make. From a technical and complexity standpoint, it is in fact, very easy. First and second timers sometimes have trouble with figuring out when the whole thing is done--read down and you will find how simple it really is.

Porcini mushrooms are amongst the most exquisite things in the world. Fresh, these oversized, meaty, and aromatic funghi are often grilled at high temperatures. Sadly, outside of October in Tuscany (amongst other parts of central and northern Italy) the fresh shroom is not readily available. I have seen it at farmers markets in southern california but it is very expensive. Nevertheless, the dried version so well condenses the aroma and flavor that a mixture of dried porcini with fresh and meaty mushrooms makes the whole mess taste like fresh porcinis. If you are able to find fresh porcini, don’t even dare use them in a risotto, call me, and we can emulate perhaps my favorite traditional Italian meal: A good crusty bread, a big old bowl of grilled porcinis, and enough chianti classico to knock out a horse.

Ingredients:

1 good sized onion diced

4 cloves of garlic peeled and coarsely chopped

1 cup arborio rice

at least 4 cups of chicken stock (or a really good veggie-stock if you are of that persuasion)

fresh parmagiano reggiano (or pecorino romano) grated to taste

salt, pepper and olive oil

Mushrooms:

I always use dried porcini mushrooms (a good sized handful) and soak them in hot water for about 30 minutes (save the soaking liquid and add it to the broth later). To prepare porcinis for risotto, soak, drain (saving the liquid of course) try to squeeze most of the liquid out and coarsely chop.

I usually add about another cup or so of chopped fresh mushrooms. I like criminis, shitake, oyster or really any exotic or stronger mushroom…I wouldn't use white button mushrooms, they are not hearty enough.

Making the Risotto:

Making risotto is the simple process of cooking rice (and other stuff, in this case mushrooms and onions), adding broth little by little until the rice is cooked just so. If you follow this recipe, your risotto will be creamy, flavorful, and always consistent.

First, heat the broth to a simmer (add the mushroom liquid if you use porcinis). As you go through the process you may need more broth, do not fret, if you run out of chicken or veggie stock, you can just use hot water at the end. Note: The cooking liquid needs to be hot before it is added the rice mixture, using cold liquid results in slower cooking time.

Preheat a large skillet or pot (heavy duty please, none of that non-stick wooziness), once hot, coat in olive oil. Saute the onions with salt and pepper until soft.

Add the rice, mushrooms and garlic--at this point, you may need to add more olive oil to the mix, if any of the components stick to the bottom of the pan, add more olive oil to keep the rice from burning. Mix constantly while sauteing over medium-high heat for 3 minutes or so.

Once the rice is "toasted," begin adding the broth. Start with a whole cup. Once that liquid is soaked up/evaporated, add broth at half cup intervals. The rice usually takes a half-an-hour of adding liquid at small intervals and stirring pretty often (make sure to kick up the stirring as the rice gets dry to prevent burning).

As the rice puffs up begin tasting the dish. Everybody likes their risotto done at different points,  In Italy (and consequently the way I like it), the rice is puffy, but when eaten there is still the slightest crunch or resistance in the grain. When you feel like your rice is looking done, taste often until it is perfect to you. Because every pot is different and risotto always takes different amounts of liquid and time, you have to learn to trust your senses. I promise, you will know when it is done—when the rice is perfectly cooked and the rest of the ingredients are married together in a creamy and aromatic mess.

Sometimes, when preparing risotto for a dinner party, I will cook it nearly all of the way an hour before serving so that I only have to heat it up and let another half cup of broth cook off before delighting my guests with a steamy bowl of hot risotto.

And, always remember before serving to throw a nice big handful of parmagiano (or sheep milk equivalent for those intolerant of all things lactose) into the rice. [You can also add a couple of tablespoons of butter, but you really don't need to, the dish is probably rich enough without even the cheese].

Enjoy, and, as always, let me know how it goes.

More Posts Coming

Stovetop Junkie is back from a little un-planned vacation. In the interest of full disclosure, I lost my phone which at the time contained pictures of some delicious food--that, owing only to my own stupidity, were not backed up on my trusty old computer. I promise, more recipes and delicious gastronomic delights are coming.

Roasted Veggies and Paprika Tilapia

Time: 1 hour for the veggies, 7 minutes for the fish

Serves: at least two

Roasted Veggies

10-12 small red potatoes (the smaller the better)

2 large carrots sliced lengthwise thinly

1 whole clove fresh garlic, peeled and separated into pieces.

10-12 brussel sprouts

3 tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped

3 tablespoons fresh parsley

2 teaspoons fresh paprika (mostly for the color)

1 teaspoon fresh (or dried) thyme

a fair bit of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Wash and dry the potatoes thouroughly. Cut the small ones in half, cut the bigger ones into quarters. Mix the potatoes, garlic and carrots together. Add all of the spices and plenty of olive oil (so that the potatoes get nice and crispy). Place in a baking dish and bake at 375.

The brussel sprouts will go into this mixture, but, because the potatoes and carrots take so long to cook and get crispy, it is best to wait until the veggies are about 10 minutes away from being finished before adding them. Overcooking the sprouts is a remarkably easy way to ruin the entire dish.

Start by washing the sprouts. Peel off the outer leaves (especially if they are discolored, damaged or dirty) and cut sprouts in half.

When the potatoes have softened but haven’t become crispy, add the sprouts. Cook until the sprouts are cooked through and the potatoes are crispy.

Paprika Tilapia

2 Tilapia fillets

juice from one lemon

plenty of paprika

salt, pepper and olive oil to taste

Marinade the fish in the lemon juice, paprika, salt and pepper for no more than 10 minutes. The fish only takes 2 minutes a side, so plan accordingly. Get a skillet nice and hot and lightly coat it with olive oil.

Toss the fish and all of the accompanying juices into the skillet. Carefully flip after two minutes, cook the second side for two more minutes and serve immediately.

The soft and light texture of the fish interplays perfectly with the crispiness of the roasted veggies. This is a perfect, easy and light dish for the winter. Enjoy.

Spiced Black Beans

Spiced Beans

Time: 30 minutes (but it really doesn't take too much effort)

Serves 4-6

Black beans have a reputation for being mealy health-food dreck. This recipe serves to contradict that stereotype. After eating these, I promise you'll find yourself craving them all the time.

2 cans black beans (do not leave out the watery bean juice in the cans)

1/2 cup diced onion

2 garlic cloves peeled

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 jalapeno pepper

2 oz. dark bittersweet chocolate

pinch ground cloves and all spice

enough olive oil to coat the pan

salt and pepper to taste

Coat a heated sauce pan with oil and saute the onions, garlic cloves, and jalapeno peppers whole over high heat. Once the onions are transparent, add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer the beans, mixing occasionally, over low heat until most of the liquid has burnt off. Serve with tortillas or rice-or anything else you can think of.

As with most recipes I write, there are a ton of variations that you can do to this dish. If you want a heartier dish, add some kidney and white beans in with the mixture--and if you want to kick the heartiness into high gear, serve some nice rear (Note: food borne illnesses are a serious matter--so cook your food accordingly...me, I'll take some salmonella for a nice bloody piece of meat) steak atop the beans. Please, let me know how your cooking adventures go. More recipes to come, I promise.

Stewed Chicken

Stewed Chicken

Time: 1 Hour

Serves 4-6

This is a seemingly basic stewed chicken recipe. I served it with homemade tortillas, spiced beans and avocado salsa (recipes to come soon). However, it is great spooned over rice, quinoa, or just about anything else you can find. Other than using nice fresh ingredients and giving the dish plenty of time to cook, there is no trick to getting a nice chicken stew.

3 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 large onion sliced thinly

3 bell peppers sliced

6 medium sized tomatoes cut into sixths

4 cloves of garlic

about a half cup corn meal

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

salt, black pepper, and olive oil to taste

Toss the corn meal with paprika, chili powder, salt and black pepper. Find yourself a sauce pan with enough room for all of the chicken to lay flat (this dish splatters a bit, so use a deep pan if you have one-though it is more important for there to be plenty of surface area for the chicken to cook) and get it nice and hot.

Coat the pan in olive oil, once it starts smoking, quickly coat each piece of chicken in the corn meal mixture, and place them carefully in the pan. Sear the chicken for 3 minutes on each side (or until the outside has turned a nice golden brown). Don't worry that the chicken isn't completely cooked through, it is going to have plenty of time stewing.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside. Using the remnant oil and chicken stuff in the pan, saute the onions and peppers until soft. Using the flat side of a large knife, crush the garlic (with the skin on). The skin should effortlessly peel off, although the garlic will break into a few pieces. Toss the garlic pieces and tomatoes into the pan, and season again with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Stew these ingredients over medium heat for 30 minutes. Add the chicken back in and turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting. Let cook for about 15 minutes.

If you want, you can add black beans, potatoes, corn etc. to this dish to make it heartier and thus nearly a complete meal in and of itself-(I think it would be great with some fresh corn, a few potatoes and served hot on a plate of wilt-able lettuce). Make sure if you do add anything to give it plenty of time to cook and absorb the flavor of the dish.

Braised Carrots

Braised Carrots

Time: 90 minutes

Serves 4

This is one of those recipes that I just made up as I went along. I started with an empty stomach and a couple of really nice looking carrots. After emptying my pantry and formulating some ideas, I got inspired and made this version of “candied carrots.” The thing is, this recipe is so much more than candied. The carrots become so delectable and complex that I think they can even be elevated to main dish status. Nevertheless, if you want to impress people with a really interesting side dish, this is the one.

Note: This dish requires more ingredients than what you would normally see on Stovetop Junkie, I apologize, but it is really worth it.

Braised Carrots

1 large carrots sliced into 1/8 inch bits

4 shallots sliced thinly

hand full of toasted pecans crushed into a powder

4 dates mashed

1 tangerine seperated into sections

juice from one lemon

half cup white wine

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

dash cinnamon, allspice, and cloves.

Before anything else, I would steam the carrots for about 5 minutes (this cuts down on cooking time).

Ok, start by sauteing the shallots in a bit of butter. Once they have started to soften, add the carrots and toss them with the shallots. Cook until the carrots soften, add olive oil periodically as the pan dries out.

Next, add the crushed nuts, tangerine, spices and dates. Mix together well, and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the wine, mix and cover with a sheet of tin foil (This is to both block the spray and keep some of the moisture in, the normal cover to your pan may be too tight for this recipe).

Cook until the carrots are soft and darkened, and all of the other ingredients have formed a nice pasty texture (about 30 minutes). If the sauce seems to be getting too dark or thick before the carrots are really soft, add more wine, or even some water.

When finished, give them a light drizzle of lemon juice. Enjoy.

“Tamago” style Omelet with Sushi Rice

“Tamago” style Omelet with Sushi Rice

Time: 15 minutes

Serves 2

Sushi Rice: Singular puffy grains that melt on your tongue but have a slight crunch to the tooth....in Japan, some teach children to never waste a single grain-when they are this good, how could they. It is also traditional to not allow the rice to touch anything but wooden utensils and steamers. I wouldn’t recommend doing this, but it is vitally important to appreciate how even making the simple dishes well requires care and respect for the food.

1 cup sushi grade rice (Don’t skimp on the rice, high quality rice is worth the price and effort)

1 cup plus a little filtered water

1 teaspoon rice vinegar (to taste)

2 tablespoon mirin/or 1 tablespoon sugar (to taste)

1 teaspoon salt (to taste)

Sushi rice is really easy, and can be a great alternative to normal long grain rice-it sticks together wonderfully. The only thorny part of the cooking process is washing the rice. You have to rinse the rice about seven times in order to wash off the starch. I place the grains in a bowl and fill it with cold water. I rinse it around for a minute or so and then pour it through a fine mesh colander/sieve into another bowl. Repeat until the rinsing water is clear (usually seven times, sometimes more).

Next bring the water and the rice to a boil in a saucepan. Once it is boiling turn the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover. Steam for 15 minutes and then let stand covered for 10 more.

Mix the remaining ingredients together and toss with the hot rice. Serve either hot or room temperature (I have never really been a fan of cold sushi rice, although some forms of traditional Japanese food call for this kind of treatment).

Tamago Omelet

First off, Tamago means egg, so the name of this recipe is “egg” style omelet....just wanted to get that out there in the open and admit the ridiculousness. In any case, if you’ve ever ordered Tamago at a sushi restaurant, I’m sure your curiosity has been piqued by its sultry texture and deep flavor-I mean it can’t just be a scrambled egg. Well, I did some research, and making real Tamago takes some refined technique, a few obscure ingredients, a Tamago pan, and a ton of time (mostly for resting and refrigerating).

What follows is a recipe that captures the delicate flavor, and if done right, has it’s own delectable texture that melts on the tongue.

This recipe requires a few specialty ingredients. They are all pantry items that pretty much never go bad, and are usable in a plethora of contexts and dishes.

A quick note about eggs: Eggs will go from being undercooked to overcooked very quickly-they also cook considerably after being removed from the heat/pan. I always make sure my eggs still have some moisture to them when I stop cooking, the result is perfectly cooked eggs that are not overdone or stiff. In the case of this recipe, when pressed with the spatula, the omelet should have a pillowy softness, if it gets any harder remove from the pan immediately.

6 eggs, separate the yolks from the whites.

2 tablespoons mirin (japanese cooking rice wine)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

a few dashes chili oil

pinch ginger powder (optional) or 1/8 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger

Vegetable Oil to taste

Wasabi as a garnish (At most markets, they sell these tubes of wasabi that you put in the fridge after opening, they are really quite good and easier to use than the powder. They also last for a while.)

First, take your egg whites, and beat them until they are really foamy and have started to thicken and turn white (about 5-6 minutes by hand, probably 2-3 by machine-but seriously do it by hand, it won’t kill you).

Mix the 3 of the remaining egg yolks (save the yolks for another dish-or if you can’t think of why you would use them, I guess you can throw em out) with the mirin, soy sauce, chili oil, and ginger. Meanwhile preheat a large skillet until it is very hot, pour a liberal amount of oil (you don’t want your eggs to stick) into it. Carefully fold the yolk mixture into the white mixture and pour into the pan, spread it around evenly.

Cook for about 4 minutes on one side (or until you can see it has gotten golden brown. Now flip it over and cook it for another 4-5 minutes (Flipping it in the air can be tricky, if you are gun shy, or just don’t want to risk messing up your counter and ruining the dish, I suggest sliding the omelet onto a plate, carefully placing the pan on top of the plate and flipping the whole apparatus, I however, take the risk-if only to show off).

When finished, both sides should be crunchy and golden brown and the inside should be slightly creamy and velvety.

Serve with warm sushi rice and a wasabi garnish.