16 September, 2011

Eats - Homemade Tomato Sauce (Prequel to Eggs in Purgatory)

Ingredients:
Either: 3 pounds of fresh tomatoes, blanched, peeled, and chopped or 2 large cans of diced tomatoes, drained
Small can of tomato paste (use only if needed to thicken sauce)
2-3 Tbsp. Olive oil
1/2 large white onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, crushed or chopped
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup fresh basil or 1-2 tbps. dry
1/4 cup red wine
Black pepper
Salt
Crushed red peppers, if desired

Heat the oil in a pan.
Add the onion and cook about 3 minutes, then add the garlic, sugar, basil (I previously posted about a suggestion from my aunt to chop the garlic with your herbs.  I'd repeat that suggestion now), wine, and mushrooms (or carrots, or whatever other addition you may want to make, or none at all if you want it just tomatoes) and saute until the onions are caramelized, about 5 more minutes.
Add the tomatoes and cook down for about 30-40 minutes.  If the sauce is too watery, add some tomato paste until it's the consistency you want.
Add salt, pepper, and crushed red peppers to taste.

15 September, 2011

Eats - Eggs in Purgatory (Uova in Purgatorio)

Eggs in Purgatory
The other night we had friends over for spaghetti and meatballs, and ended up with a small amount of meaty, mushroomy tomato sauce left over.  So Saturday morning I turned it into Eggs in Purgatory, a traditional and delicious Italian peasant dish.

All you have to do is put the sauce in a skillet, heat it on medium high heat until it bubbles, then crack however many eggs you plan on eating into it (careful not to break the yolk), and let the eggs poach in the sauce.  As they poach, the tomato sauce will start to cook down, and the whole thing looks gorgeous and rustic.  I sprinkled some grated Parmesan on top when I served it.  Yum.

My tomato sauce recipe will follow in a day or two, for anyone who is interested.

01 September, 2011

Eats - Shrimp Tacos with Charred Corn and Zucchini-Radish Slaw


One day while perusing cooking blogs, I came across this recipe on one of my favorite sites.  After thinking the tacos looked both delicious and beautiful, I realized we had shrimp in the freezer.  Since we also had masa harina, the dry base for corn tortilla dough, this was one of the cheapest meals we've made in awhile.