Saturday, September 24, 2011

Marinara Sauce and Murph's Sausage Lasagna

Simple Marinara and Luscious Lasagna






As is the custom in our family, birthday celebrations go on for days.  Cherie's birthday was a couple of days ago and tonight we are having the families over for Cherie's favorite lasagna.  I know you can buy very good marinara for making lasagna at places like Trader Joe's and AJ's but I just can't fight the urge to make it from scratch.  We are serving at least 14 people tonight so  I doubled this and it worked out well.  My marinara is a merge from my Mom's recipe and some of the recipes I have seen prepared on the Food Network, especially Giada and Maria Batali.


Murph's Marinara


Ingredients


Olive Oil
2 Cans Whole San Marzano Tomatoes
1 Large Can San Marzano Pureed Tomatoes
1 Cup Dry Red Wine
2 Medium Onions
6 Cloves Garlic
2 Medium Carrots
2 Stalks Celery
2 Bay Leaves
2 tsp Dried Basil
Salt, Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper (optional)


Begin heating your favorite sauce pot prior to covering the bottom with olive oil.  I like to bring the pot up to about a medium heat very slowly and I don't add the olive oil until just prior to adding my chopped vegetables.


Finely chop onions, carrots, celery and garlic and set aside on a large cutting board or in prep bowls. I recently bought a mini Proctor Silex food processor and use it constantly.  It was under $10 is about 6 inches tall and works fantastically well on carrots in this recipe.  If you don't have one you're really missing out.  Super easy to store in a nearby cabinet, easy to operate and simple to disassemble and clean; all for under ten bucks!  Once all your veggies are chopped, add the oil to coat the bottom of your stock pot and add all the veggies, season with salt and pepper and continue stirring frequently for 5-10 minutes but do no let them brown.  When the onions are translucent and the rest of the veggies are soft, turn heat up to medium high and add a cup of good, dry red wine.  Today I used up the rest of a nice Oregon Pinot Noir we failed to  finish a couple of days ago. Allow all the veggies  and wine to simmer for another 3-5 minutes and reduce heat to medium low. 


Open the Whole Tomatoes while the veggies are cooking and pour in a large mixing bowl. "Squish" them into smaller chunks  by digging your hands into the bowl. Once the alcohol has cooked off from the wine, add all the tomatoes from your mixing bowl as well as the Puree.  Next add the basil, bay leaves and crushed red pepper.  Today I used about a tablespoon of the of my favorite XX Hot New Mexico crushed red pepper and seasoned with more sea salt and fresh ground pepper as well. 


Continue cooking sauce over medium high until it comes to a slow boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 90 minutes recognizing that longer will always be better.  Make sure someone is around to stir every 20 minutes or so.  Today, Tara my 13 year old daughter stepped in and stirred for me while I ran around buying ingredients for the lasagna and the sauce cooked for just over two hours and it was nearly perfect.


Once the sauce is done cooking I highly recommend blending it with a hand blender right in your stockpot. If you don't own one of these you should go out and buy one soon.  I have the Breville, cordless rechargeable type but have owned others that have a cord and they work well also.  
Once the sauce is completed, allow to cool for 20 minutes or so, remove the bay leaves and blend to an even, smooth consistency.  This is particularly important for lasagna but works well when serving  this sauce over your favorite pasta.  


This sauce is amazingly good over pasta but today will become one of the key ingredients in my lasagna.


Buon Apetito!






Sausage Lasagna
Serves 8-10


Truthfully, several of our guests thought this was the best lasagna they have ever had and I agree it's one of the best recipes Cherie and I have concocted over the years.  It's very easy to double this recipe for a bigger crowd. I highly recommend the Johsonville sausage because it comes in flat, one pound packs and eliminates the need to remove sausage from the casing.  I also use this when making a meat sauce on occasion as well. 


Ingredients


Olive Oil
1 Pound Spicy Johsnonville Italian Sausage
1 Pound Mild Johnsonville Italian Sausage
2 Large Red Bell Peppers
1 Cup Dry Red Wine
30 Ounces Ricotta Cheese
2 Large Eggs
One Box Trader Joe's No Boil Lasagna Noodles(The Best!)
12 Ounces Grated Mozzarella
One Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan
Garlic Salt, Pepper


Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.


In a small bowl, beat eggs.  
In a larger mixing bowl, mix ricotta and add 3/4 cup of  Parmesan cheese add the beaten eggs and season liberally with salt and pepper.  
Seed and   roughly chop bell peppers.  
Bring a large saute pan up to medium high heat, lightly coat the pan with olive oil and add bell pepper.  Season lightly with garlic salt and pepper.  Saute for 3-5 minutes stirring almost constantly.  Break the sausage apart in your hands  and add to pan. Stir frequently with a spatula and cook until sausage is lightly browned.  Turn heat to medium high, add the red wine and cook for several more minutes until the alcohol cooks off and wine reduces a bit. Turn off heat and set aside.
Cover the bottom of a large baking dish with marinara sauce and add a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles.  Cover noodles with Ricotta cheese mixture and here is where the art comes in. I like to spread the ricotta with the back of a large silicon cake spatula.  Next, cover the ricotta with a layer of the sausage and peppers followed by a layer of the grated mozzarella and finally cover it all with a few ladlefuls of your marinara.  After this it's a little like shampooing...rinse and repeat.  Make as many layers as your baking dish will accommodate.  I usually top it all off with a final layer of the lasagna noodles, a thin layer of sauce and lots of mozzarella and grated Parmesan cheese.


Cover loosely with tin foil and make sure your foil does not touch the cheese on top or it will stick.  Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes longer until the top of your lasagna turns a luscious looking golden brown.  After the top is a the color you desire and the lasagna is done, let stand for about 5 minutes prior to serving making it much easier to cut in uniform portions.  






Slice and serve.  I recommend serving a gravy boat of your marinara sauce on the side to pour over the top of the lasagna if desired.


One of the best aspects of this dish is that it can be made ahead and held in the frig for baking and it also feeds a big crowd.


Lasagna is great left over, reheats well in the oven and it ain't too shabby right out of the frig around midnight.


The Birthday Girl!!




Buon Apetito!!







Monday, September 5, 2011

Mexican Marinated Flank Steak

This is chapter two for Meg's 21st birthday...what a great night it was and thanks to Meg for building a great menu for us all to enjoy!
Meg and Cherie on Meg's Big Day!!


If you haven't figured it out by now, Murph's a huge fan of flank steak.  Lean, tender beef that's easy to prepare and grills in minutes is the right recipe for our busy lifestyle and proclivity to entertain.  I  warn you that this is a really spicy marinade and you have to be really careful about not rubbing your eyes and standing back from the grill when you put the steaks on.


Here's the Beef!


Ingredients

2 Large Flank Steaks
1 Dos Equis Amber
Juice of 4 Limes
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Hot New Mexico Chile Powder
1/4 Cup Szegeo Hungarian Hot Paprika
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 Tbsp Sea Salt
2 tsp White Pepper
2 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
2 Tbsp Mexican Oregano
2 Tbsp Cumin

Add all dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and blend well.  Squeeze limes into bowl with dry ingredients, add olive oil then slowly add the Dos Equis or your favorite Mexican beer.  Allow to settle for a few minutes and blend with a whisk until mixture is smooth.  Place steaks into a gallon Ziploc and slowly pour mixture into the bag. Squeeze the air out of the bag and make sure the steaks are fully coated. Place in refrigerator and marinate for at least 4 hours. Check the bag frequently  and make sure the mixture is well distributed and coating the meat thoroughly.  Remove steaks from frig about one hour prior to serving.  One of the keys to a great flank steak is not to pull it directly from the frig and put it on the grill.  A cold steak does not cook as evenly as one that has risen to room temp so make sure to follow this step every time you make any steak.
Slice Thinly...
Place steaks on a very hot grill and cook for  5 minutes per side for medium rare.  Place your marinade back in the original bowl  and  brush the meat with remaining liquid as the steaks cook.  



 Allow to sit for a few minutes, slice thinly on the bias and enjoy!

Buon Apetito!

Scrumptious and Spicy







White Gazpacho

Meg's Mega 21st Birthday with a Mexican Theme: White Gazpacho, Spicy Grilled Garlic Shrimp and Mexican Marinated Flank Steak


My kids get to pick their birthday dinner as is the case in many households but in Murph's Kitchen the discussions can begin weeks in advance as it did for Meg's 21st birthday which occurred last week.  Meg inherited her parents love of all things food related and is a great chef in her own right.  She has loved baking since she was a young girl and has branched out into full blown college foodie.  Murph's family and friends have come to expect Gazpacho all summer since Cherie started working her magic with fresh summer veggies in the early days of our marriage.  A few years ago Cherie came across a recipe for White Gazpacho which is now a regular item on our summer menus and a big hit every time we serve it to our guests.  This Gazpacho includes a refreshing and pungent summer salsa on top making it delectable and refreshing!  It can be kicked up and served formally for a nice dinner party or in a plastic cup for a barbecue.  Either way, your guests are sure to enjoy this one!

White Gazpacho
Serves 6-8 and this is one of the easiest recipes you'll ever make for a crowd.  Make this several hours ahead so the flavors in the salsa merge and the Gazpacho is well chilled.  The better the tomatoes, the better the salsa and a good sweet onion like a Vidalia or a Walla Walla really lend  great flavors to this dish.

Simple Salsa Garnish 
4 Well Ripened Medium Tomates
1/2 Yellow Onion, Finely chopped
3 Tbsp Rough Chopped Cilantro
2 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

Remove top portion from tomatoes and roughly chop setting aside in a bowl big enough to hold all ingredients. Finely chop onions and cilantro and add the vinegar and sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.  Set aside and allow to chill in the frig for several hours prior to serving.



White Gazpacho
3 Large Seedless Cucumbers
2 Large Jalapenos, seeded and finely diced
2 Cloves pressed garlic
1 1/2 Cups Trader Joe's Organic Vegetable Broth (Chicken Broth will do)
2 Cups Plain, Non Fat Yogurt
White Pepper
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Seed and finely chop cucumbers and place in blender.  Seed ,stem  and finely chop jalapenos, press two good size garlic cloves and add to blender.  I prefer Trader Joe's Organic Veggie broth but the Chicken Broth is just fine if your prefer.  Add the broth along with the non fat yogurt, sea salt and a dash or two or white pepper.  Blend well and taste for seasonings.  I always add the black pepper last just to ensure that the white pepper has not overpowered the gazpacho.  Refrigerate for at least two hours and serve well chilled with a tablespoon of the salsa on top.

Buon Apetito!

White Gazpacho Served simply in a Plastic Cup