Tag: Classico

Spaghetti Carbonara

On By lukephillaryhIn Classico2 Comments
Spaghetti Carbonara guanciale cast iron
Mangia mangia!

Spaghetti Carbonara was one of the first meals I made where I diverged from my mother’s recipe. Growing up, my mom would make a delicious Spaghetti Carbonara full of crispy bacon bits and sautéed onions covered in a creamy sauce. It was not until college that I realized that though bacon is passable, an authentic Spaghetti Carbonara recipe never includes onions and the creaminess does not come from some generous pours of heavy cream.

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Chicken Noodle Soup from Scratch

On By lukephillaryhIn Classico1 Comment
Chicken Noodle Soup from scratch
Classic comfort

This chicken soup recipe is very apropos. Why? We’ve got three compelling reasons. Reason one, winter is here, aka cold season. Maybe you’ve got some sniffles already. Or feel the flu coming on. Chicken soup is the OG penicillin. Reason two, it’s the New Year and you’ve made some New Year’s resolutions. Like cook more. Or, stop eating so much processed garbage. Put this homemade goodness in your body and you’re satisfying both of those resolutions. Reason three, it’s January, the drabbest month of the year, and all you want to do is sit in front of your SAD lamp. Make this chicken soup this weekend and you’ll have an excellent reason to sit on your couch and watch Netflix all day. Tell your friends you have amazing, homemade chicken broth simmering on the stove and can’t leave your house. Foolproof excuse.

This homemade chicken soup fulfills all your current life requirements. And it’s delicious! Julia Moskin provides the original recipe (with a beautiful video), which we did some slight tweaking too. Enjoy!

Ingredients for broth:

  • 1 chicken, 3 to 3 1/2 lbs (or the smallest you can find in your supermarket) with skin on, cut up into 8 pieces
  • 3 celery stalks, cut into chunks
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 parsnip, peeled and cut into chunks (optional)
  • handful of parsley springs
  • 10 or so black peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp kosher salt

Ingredients for soup:

  • reserved chicken fat (up to 3 TBS)
  • 2-3 leeks, rinsed, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and sliced into thin half-moons
  • 2 shallots sliced thinly
  • 2-3 celery stalks, diced
  • 2-3 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1-2 TBS freshly chopped herbs (parsley, tarragon, thyme, dill all work wonderfully)
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 3-4 handfuls of egg noodles (or something starchy – pasta, rice, beans)

Directions:

  1. Making the broth is easy, just start a day in advance. Place cut up chicken (here’s a how-to), vegetables, salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves in a large soup pot. Cover with cold water by 1 inch.
  2. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn heat all the way down. You want hardly any bubbling. Cook uncovered for 1 1/2 hours. Alternatively, you could turn the heat all the way off, cover, and let the chicken sit in the warm pot all morning and/or afternoon.
  3. Once the broth has cooled down, remove the chicken and place in a separate container. Notch up the heat just a little bit and let the broth simmer. You want it to get concentrated and flavorful. An additional hour should suffice. Just don’t let all your broth cook off! Then strain your broth through a fine sieve (colander lined with cheese cloth also works well). Discard solids.
  4. Refrigerate chicken and broth separately for at least 8 hours (up to 3 days) until a layer of yellow fat has risen to the top of the broth. Once ready, skim the fat and set aside. You can also now shred the chicken into bite size chunks. Shredding the 2 breasts should yield enough chicken pieces. You can reserve the dark meat for something else.
  5. You are now ready to make the soup. Place 3 TBS of chicken fat (+butter, if necessary) into a soup pot. Add leeks and shallots and cook over medium heat until leeks begin to fry and shallots are translucent and soft.
  6. Reduce heat and add celery, carrots, and a heaping TBS of herbs. Sprinkle with salt. Cover pot and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Don’t brown! And don’t worry. They will cook more in the broth.
  7. Add broth to the pot and heat to a simmer. Add noodles and continue simmering until noodles are cooked through. Add the chicken chunks and salt and pepper, to taste.
  8. Serve with a sprinkling of freshly chopped herbs on top.

Details: Serves 4

 

 

Meatballs Part II – Lamb with Spicy Tomato Sauce

On By lukephillaryhIn ClassicoLeave a comment
Lamb meatballs spicy tomato sauce
A very delicious 1 meat meatball

In the spirit of recipe revisiting, Luke and I are adding another meatball recipe to our repertoire. I started making meatballs in college and I’ve always been pretty adamant that when making spaghetti and meatballs, your balls must have at least two kinds of meat. As a result, my recipe yielded a lot of balls, roughly 25-30. And I wasn’t being stingy with the diameter. These were some substantial meatballs. They’d last me aaaallll semester long. But, there are lots of meatball variations out there. There are meatless meatballs nowadays. There are restaurants devoted solely to meatballs. There are cookbooks only about meatballs. So one cannot discriminate. This recipe has only one meat – lamb, which is flavorful and multifaceted all on its own. It’s nicely spiced with some Spanish flavors and when paired with the spicy sweet tomato sauce you’ve got a perfect dinner meal. No need to abandon your classic meatball recipe. These lamb meatballs are just like a slightly hipper, Flamenco dancing relative.

Ingredients – Meatballs:

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 1 lb ground lamb
  • 2 egg yolks
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp fennel
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 cup Manchego cheese, finely grated
  • scant 1/4 cup cream (milk or half & half also work)

Ingredients – Sauce:

  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp fennel
  • 1 tsp chile powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine
  • 2 tsp sugar

Directions:

  1. Caramelize the onions: In a large dutch oven or sauce pot, add olive oil and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the minced onions and cook, stirring occasionally until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Turn heat to low and cook for another 15 minutes, until just starting to turn golden, stirring often to ensure onions don’t stick to bottom of the pan. You can add a bit more olive oil if necessary to avoid sticking. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool.
  2. Tomato Sauce: Add additional olive oil and then the other minced onion to the same pot. Cook onions over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and spices, stirring to combine. Cook for 5 minutes, until bubbling, and then add the red wine and sugar. Bring sauce to a simmer and then lower heat, partially covering. Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Mixing meatballs: Combine the lamb with the onions. Season with some salt and pepper and then add the egg yolks. Combine the breadcrumbs, spices, and cheese and a separate bowl and then add to the lamb, followed by the cream. Use your hands to fully incorporate all of the ingredients.
  4. Cooking meatballs: Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Coat hands with a bit of oil and then roll out lamb mixture into 1 – 1 1/2 inch balls. Place evenly on the baking sheet. You should make around 20 meatballs, depending on your preferred ball size. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through. Your aiming for nicely browned meatballs.
  5. Meatballs + Sauce: Once finished baking, transfer meatballs to your sauce and simmer until fully cooked, for another 10-12 minutes.
  6. Serve immediately with extra Manchego! We enjoyed with fregola, but the meatballs are also delicious solo, with some spaghetti, or a nice crusty slice of bread.

Details: Serves 4-6

A Chili Collaboration

On By lukephillaryhIn ClassicoLeave a comment
Chili cornbread cast iron beer
Beer, cornbread, cheddar cheese, chili perfection

Chili is one of our ideal meals – a long cooking time, a variety of ingredients yielding subtle complexity, and just enough spice to start a sweat. Our original recipe came from a postcard that my parents both bought, separately, at the Dallas Airport before they met. When they moved into their first apartment together they realized they both had the same postcard. In addition to being a sign of fate, the postcard recipe also made a perfect bowl of chili. Sometimes, when it comes to our recipes, Hillary and I can be sticklers to tradition. We find a recipe for a classic and essential dish, like roast chicken or banana bread, successfully make it on our first attempt and it becomes our go-to. Lately, Hillary’s been challenging our conventions, particularly the recipes that come from my family…hmmmm. Admittedly, trying out these new (aka “Hillary”) recipes have had great results. And I’m not just saying that for brownie points. The recipe below is a combination of the postcard recipe and Bon Appétit’s “Best Beef Chili.”

Ingredients:

  • 4 dried chiles (a mixture of ancho, guajillo, morita, and/or pasilla)
  • 4-5 cups chicken broth
  • 2 TBS olive oil
  • 2 lb stewing beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 yellow onions, finely chopped
  • 2 jalapeños, finely chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 TBS cumin
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 12 oz bottle of lager
  • 2 TBS tomato paste
  • 1-2 tsp brown sugar
  • 16 oz can pinto beans

Directions:

  1. Toast the chiles in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, turning and pressing occasionally, until darkened in color, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and cover with 2 cups boiling water. Let sit 30 minutes to soften. Drain and discard stems and seeds. Working in batches if needed, purée the chiles and 4 cups broth in a blender or with a hand blender until smooth.
  2. While chiles are soaking, heat 1 TBS olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Season beef cubes with salt and pepper. Working in batches, cook the meat until brown all over, for about 5 minutes. Set aside. Continue cooking the meat juices in the pot until most of the liquid has evaporated.
  3. Add another 1 TBS olive oil to the pot then add the onions, jalapeño, garlic. Season with a little salt. Cook the onions and garlic until soft, for 6-8 minutes, stirring often to ensure they don’t stick. You can add a bit of water to the pot as well to prevent sticking. Then add the cumin, oregano, and chili powder and cook for 1 minute, stirring to incorporate.
  4. Return the beef to the pot and add the lager. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the liquid is almost completely reduced. Add the chile purée, season with salt and pepper, and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 – 1 1/4 hours. You want the liquid to be slightly thickened and the meat very tender.
  5. With thirty cooking minutes remaining, add the pinto beans, sugar, and tomato paste. You may want to first mix the tomato paste with a bit of water to dilute it.
  6. Serve with cornbread, fritos, sour cream, cheese, red onion – whatever you floats your boat!

Details: Serves 6

Seriously Good Ragù

On By lukephillaryhIn Classico1 Comment
Ragu Sausage Winter New York
The  perfect pasta dinner

Two weeks ago, when Winter Storm Jonas wreaked snowy havoc on New York, Luke and I ventured into the frozen tundra. Trekking in our not so appropriate snow gear through the streets of Brooklyn, we worked up a serious appetite. Our chilled limbs craved a warm, comforting meal. Something that required simmering, included carbs, and plenty of cheese. Pasta was the obvious answer. But we wanted something special to mark this momentous weather occasion. This ragù, adapted from the always trustworthy NYT, perfectly fit our needs. It is the ultimate Saturday night let’s just chill inside and watch a movie meal. And though your plans may be low-key, prepare to be mind-blown by this ragù. That is not hyperbole!! It is ideal for dinner, lunch leftovers, or at around 3am, after you’ve had too much red wine and find yourself in a drunken, hungry stupor.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb spicy Italian sausage
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, minced
  • 2-3 medium sized carrots, peeled and minced
  • 3 celery stalks, minced
  • 1/3 cup parsley, minced + extra for garnish
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes (San Marzano are best!) + juice
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 3 TBS tomato paste + 1 cup hot water
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 lb tubular pasta – rigatoni, penne, cavatappi, etc.
  • plenty of fresh grated parm!

Directions:

  1. With the tip of your knife, slit open sausage casings. Crumble meat into a heavy pot or skillet (Dutch oven, cast iron pan both work very well) and set over medium-low heat. If the meat is not rendering enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan, add some olive oil. Saute, breaking up any large chunks, until the meat has turned opaque (not yet brown!).  Should take about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the onion, carrots, celery, parsley, and garlic and stir. Drizzle some more oil if the pan seems dry. Cook over very low heat, stirring often, until the vegetables have begun to caramelize in the fat and the meat is a nice deep brown. This could take up to 40 minutes! Just stir occasionally, make sure nothing is sticking to the pan, and let the flavors develop. You will taste the difference!
  3. Add tomatoes and their juices. Break up the tomatoes by squeezing them into the pan with your hands or crushing with a spoon. Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, lower heat and add thyme and oregano. Simmer, uncovered, until thickened and pan is almost dry, about 20-25 minutes.
  4. About midway through this simmer, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for your pasta. Boil pasta until al dente.
  5. At the end of the simmering, mix tomato paste in 1 cup hot water. Add to pan and reduce heat to very low. Cook for about ten minutes more.
  6. Ideally, your pasta is finished right around the same time as your ragù! If sauce seems thick, you can add in a little pasta water. You can mix the hot pasta directly with the ragù or plate individually (we prefer the latter, allows everyone to decide on their pasta to ragù ratio). Serve with lots of freshly grated parm and some parsley!

Details: Serves about 4. You’re gonna want a big portion.

To print the recipe, click here: Sausage Ragù

Sweeeeeeet Cornbread

On By lukephillaryhIn Classico2 Comments
Cast iron cornbread sweet
A cast iron must

In the everlasting battle of North vs. South, we’re fighting for the Union when it comes to cornbread. After a few tries, we have finally mastered this sweet, crispy, comforting Northern-style cornbread. All it took was a simple switch from cake pan to cast iron (duh). While our cornbread does come from north of the Mason-Dixon line, it’s still the perfect side to our favorite southern dishes like Brunswick Stew and Texas Chili.

True southerners may call us soft, but we’re sure this sweeeeeet cornbread will make a Yankee out of anyone.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar + 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 TBS unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly + 1 TBS butter (or even better: bacon fat) for the cast iron
  • 2 TBS canola oil
  • 1 cup sweet corn (we use frozen, a bit defrosted)
  • 1 TBS sugar + 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F and place a 10″ cast iron in the oven.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, buttermilk, eggs, butter, and canola oil.
  3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together until combined.  Add corn and mix in just until incorporated.
  4. Remove the cast iron from the oven (use pot holders!).  Place 1 TBS of butter (or lard) into the cast iron and swirl around to melt and coat the pan. Pour in cornbread batter, sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly on the top, and place in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, or until skewer inserted into the cornbread comes out clean.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting in to enjoy!

To print the recipe, click here: Sweet Cornbread

Choco Chip COOKIES

On By lukephillaryhIn ClassicoLeave a comment
Chocolate Chip Cookies milk
Milk, a critical accompaniment

Luke and I received a very exciting gift this past Christmas: a Cuisinart 5-Speed Handheld Mixer. Faaaaancy! (Hint hint: we’re being a wee bit sarcastic). But actually, this new mixer has added some much needed power to our baking. And though I’m missing the arm workout I would get from whisking together the butter and sugars (those calories I burned justified an extra cookie) the ease of our handheld mixer gives us an excuse to make choco chip cookies on an even more frequent basis.

We’ve tested many choco chip cookie recipes through the years and this one crafted by baking queen Christina Tosi has become our go-to. After eating a stack of these tasty cookies, you’ll be seriously satisfied.

Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • splash of milk (preferably whole, buttermilk and half n’ half work well too)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 TBS non-fat milk powder (optional)
  • 2 cups choco chips (a mix of chips and chunks is always good)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF.
  2. Combine butter and sugars.  Mix vigorously with a whisk or with a mixer for 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add egg, vanilla, and splash of milk.  Mix on high for 2-3 minutes, until the dough becomes pale and fluffy.
  4. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and milk powder.  Mix thoroughly, then add the chocolate chips, mixing them into the dough with a wooden spoon.
  5. Place similarly sized scoops of cookie dough on a baking sheet.  Pop em in the oven and bake for 11-13 minutes. You want golden brown edges.

Enjoy with a big glass of milk, hot cup of coffee or mug of tea ♥

Tip: Many pros recommend chilling cookie dough overnight before baking.  Luke and I are not the most patient people (but who is when it comes to choco chip cookies?!). We typically make a batch and then chill the remaining dough.  Verdict: the chilled dough does yield more evenly baked cookies. But no judgement if you scoff at this overnight chilling advice.  We agree, choco chip cookies should be baked stat!

To print the recipe, click here: Choco Chip Cookies

XMAS Cookies II ~ Sugar Cookies

On By lukephillaryhIn ClassicoLeave a comment
Christmas sugar cookies
Classic cookies, just in time for Xmas

Jam cookies are a traditional Christmas cookie for Luke’s family, passed down from his Baka (i.e. Croatian grandmother) to his mother and now to us. The other cookies you will likely find at Luke’s home during the holidays (according to Luke): the “half moons,” the “cutouts,” and the “chocolate ones.” In my household, the cookies have bit more specific names. In addition to the ubiquitous cutout cookies, we also make gingersnaps, wonder bars, and sugar cookies. Sugar cookies is a vaguer name. It probably brings to mind those frosted cookies you find in every single supermarket. That’s what Luke initially thought we were making when I suggested baking sugar cookies. Fortunately, my mother’s sugar cookies are of a different variety. These classic crowdpleasers are easy to make, festive for holiday parties and office potlucks, and are a perfect 12:01am Christmas Eve snack.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 lb unsalted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar (or 2 tsp lemon juice)
  • Red + green sugar sprinkles

Directions:

  1. Cream together butter and sugar, until pale and a bit fluffy.  Add eggs and beat.  Add remaining ingredients – oil, salt, vanilla, flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.  Mix together until smooth.  Chill overnight or for several hours.
  2. After chilled, remove dough from fridge and preheat oven to 325°F.
  3. Roll dough into small balls (a bit smaller than golf ball size) and put on a cookie sheet, evenly spaced.
  4. Prepare to small plates with sprinkles – 1 green, 1 red.  Dip the bottom of a circular glass into sugar then use to flatten dough balls down.
  5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until light brown at the edges.

Details: Makes about 3 dozen cookies

To print the recipe, click here: Sugar Cookies

Jam Cookies for XMAS

On By lukephillaryhIn Classico1 Comment

 

Jam cookies Christmas
~ * ~* * Little Jewels ~ * ~* *

Impress your friends and Instagram followers with these jam cookies, or as they’re formally referred to, Linzer cookies. Post a pic of a platter of these beauties on your Insta and you’ll have people thinking you’re the millennial Martha Stewart (pro tip: they look even better with a sprinkling of powder sugar). They require some concentration and patience to make, but are simpler than you may think. Just make sure you have the proper tools and plenty of jams for an assortment of colors. With these cookies you’ll be celebrating XMAS in style!

Ingredients:

  • 6 TBS unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • a variety of jams + powdered sugar (the latter is optional)

Directions:

  1. In a medium sized bowl, cream together butter and sugar until pale then beat in egg and vanilla.
  2. In another bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt). Add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, mixing in the dry in three batches. It’s ok if the dough is a wee bit crumbly, better crumbly than sticky.  You can add more flour (sparingly) if too sticky.
  3. Divide the dough into two balls and then flatten the balls into disks.  Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  4. Meanwhile…Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or use non-stick sheets). Prepare a lightly floured surface to roll out dough.
  5. Take one dough disk, place on your floured surface and roll out.  You are aiming for an even 1/4 inch thickness. Use your Linzer cookie cutters to cut the bottom circles.  Collect the remaining scraps of dough, re-roll, and cut out more bottom circles.  You’re aiming to make around 25 bottoms.  Transfer to your baking sheet as you go along.  Once you’ve sufficiently used up your first disk of dough, bake the bottoms for 8-10 minutes, until the edges begin to brown.
  6. Repeat the above with your second disk, this time using the Linzer cookie cutters with the cut-out shapes to make the top circles.*
  7. When the tops and bottoms are cool, assemble!  Take your circle cookies (these have no cut out shape) and spread jam (a little more than 1/2 tsp) on the bottom of the cookie (the “bottom” is the smoother, more even underside of the cookie).  Then, take the circle cut-out cookies and gently place on top.
  8. Dress with powdered sugar or not – they’ll look beautiful either way. Enjoy with a cup of tea and make sure to snap a pic.

Details: Makes about 2 dozen cookies

*Note 1: Luke and I find that dipping our Linzer cookie cutters in flour makes it easier to keep the cut-out shapes intact.

*Note 2: If you don’t have or don’t want to buy special Linzer cookie cutters, you can use different sized circle cookie cutters.  A 3-inch circle cookie cutter can be used for the bottom and you can use a 3-inch and 1-inch cookie cutter to create the cut-out top.  You’ll have lack the variety of shapes, but still have very classy cookies.

To print the recipe, click here: Jam Cookies