Sunday, July 12, 2009

Meatballs and Quick Sauce (Leftovers from 4th of July cookout)



As new parents, we took the 4th of July easy. We had family over and fed them hamburgers, hotdogs, cole slaw, and beans. Of course, they (the family, not the hotdogs) were very relieved when we announced this unexciting menu over the phone. They claim to love all food, but there's a catch: They do not consider the vast majority of things that are edible to be "food." To qualify as food, an item must be served at a diner or a pizzeria. Everything else is a dangerous and unnecessary innovation.

In any case there's nothing wrong with hamburgers and hotdogs, particularly if there's plenty of Heinz ketchup to go around. The leftovers don't need to be repetitive. In one photo, you can see how baked beans and tomatoes can turn into a yummy English breakfast (beans and fried tomatoes, mmn) . Turning preformed hamburgers and leftover buns into a quick spaghetti and meatball dinner is only slightly more of a trick.

Meatballs and Quick Sauce (Leftovers from 4th of July cookout)

3-4 leftover hamburgers (uncooked)
1 hamburger roll
2/3 head garlic, chopped fine.
¼ cup parsley chopped fine
Milk
1 egg (optional)
1 large can tomatoes
Wine or sweet vermouth
Salt
Olive Oil
Pasta

1. Pull the hamburgers apart (this is a bit more of a pain than you might think).
2. Tear the roll in small pieces and place it in a bowl and drizzle milk over it.
3. Mix meat, ½ the garlic, parsley.
4. Squeeze out the roll.
5. Toss through the meat. Add breadcrumbs if the mixture is too wet; add an egg if you prefer tighter meatballs.
6. Add salt. Heat a frying pan and fry a small amount of mixture to test. Adjust seasoning.
7. Roll out a dozen or so small meatballs.
8. Heat a frying pan, add a small amount of oil, and fry meatballs until brown on all sides. Remove, pour off fat, deglaze with a little wine or sweet vermouth.
9. Heat a saucepan, add olive oil. Place the rest of the garlic in; allow to cook for 30 seconds or so.
10. Add tomatoes, salt, and the deglazed drippings from the meatball pan. Bring to a simmer.
11. Add the meatballs.
12. Allow to cook for about 30-40 minutes until tomatoes are soft and everything is tasty.
13. Serve with pasta. (No we're not going to tell you how to cook pasta.)

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Zucchini Bruchetta with Poached Eggs


(apologies for the photo, it's a new lens that we apparently don't have the hang of)

Sorry for the absence. There's no point in going for grace under pressure with a constantly crying baby. Of course, it might have made an excellent story if we had offered "gourmet solutions" for parents of colicky children. Somebody might even have read our ideas—perhaps we'd have won another award (Top 25 Food Blogs for Exhausted Parents of Miserable Babies).

Instead, we survived largely on bologna sandwiches—which are quite good in their way. First we had them with mustard, then with mayonnaise, and finally, when our creativity reached its crying-baby apex, we had them with mustard and mayonnaise at the same time.

At last, our child began sleeping and we could again think of food. This was a riff on a piperade, a Basque dish we first encountered in Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking. We mention her because An Omelette and a Glass of Wine is really a fun book. (To ruin one of the best essays, she advises learning to cook with whiskey instead of brandy. The reason is that most people drink the cooking cognac and forget to replace it, while no one ever forgets to replenish their vital stock of whiskey.)

Zucchini Bruchetta with Poached Eggs

One bit of advice. When poaching eggs for this, it's a good idea to leave them slightly underdone. Then, when plating, do not attempt the silly, aesthetic effect shown in the wretched photograph above. Put the egg down first, and pour the hot sauce over, letting it finish the cooking.

3 zucchinis, sliced in thin rounds
1 large onion, sliced
1 ½ cup tomato sauce
4 eggs
1 loaf Italian bread
One clove garlic, skin on, cut in half
1 tbsp cider vinegar
Olive oil

1. Place the onions and zukes, with a generous amount of olive oil, in a large frying pan. Sprinkle with salt, and cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally for about an hour, until the mixture is browned and reduced.
2. Heat oven to 425. Fill large saucepan halfway with water, place over high heat.
3. Add tomato sauce to the zuke mixture, cook again over low heat for 20 minutes, adding water as necessary.
4. To make the bruchetta. Slice the bread, brush one side with olive oil. Place in oven. When browned, remove and scrape with the cut side of the garlic.
5. To poach the eggs: When water is boiling, add vinegar. Shut heat off or down, until the water temp drops below boiling. Crack eggs one at a time into a cup, slowly submerge in water. Cook each egg approximately 3 minutes: do not allow them to boil. Remove with a slotted spoon and dry using an extra slice of bread.
6. Place egg in bowl. Spoon over sauce. Enjoy with the bread.