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Fettine alla Pizzaiola

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Nowfeedme| Comments Off on Fettine alla Pizzaiola
Growing up there were a few favorite meals which I always looked forward to. Granted I do not remember being the foodie that I am today – at least I don’t think I was – but this meal always generated excitement when I saw it at the dinner table. These days it is a favorite in our house. My mom would use a couple of cloves of garlic but I use as many as eight to ten cloves depending on the size of the cloves and how much meat I have. We are not shy with garlic in our household. I am unsure of the origin of this dish, but given the Sicilian heritage on one side of the family I always assumed that this is a Sicilian dish.

Beef alla Pizzaiola

Beef alla Pizzaiola


Ingredients
Serves two parents and two young ones

1 1/2 lb beef, thinly sliced – I use top sirloin
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
2 tsp dried oregano
6-8 cloves garlic, sliced
Olive oil, for frying
3-4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt
Pepper

Thin sliced beef

Thin sliced beef

Preparation and Cooking

Place a little olive oil in a wide frying pan for which you have a lid and quickly brown the meat for a minute on each side, adding salt and pepper to taste. Fry one or two slices at a time and move them to a plate when done.
Turn the heat down a little, and sweat the garlic for a minute or two, adding a little olive oil to the pan if needed. Do not let the garlic brown, but remove it from the pan to a small bowl before then.

Brown all the beef, then layer the garlic on top

Now in layers, return the beef slices to the pan covering as much as possible, spread a few slices of garlic so that each slice of meat has a few, then spoon some tomato sauce over it all. Sprinkle some oregano, then repeat the layers until all the meat is back in the pan. When you get to the last layer (usually second or third), sprinkle some oregano and Parmesan cheese over the top. Bring to a simmer then partially cover and turn the heat down so that the tomato sauce simmers lightly.

The pizzaiola, simmering away
Cook for about 20 minutes. The sauce will darken a little, the cheese will melt, and the flavors will all mix together. Serve with a salad and a few slices of crusty bread. The tomato sauce should be a little thick, not watery.

Notes:

  • Minus the bread for serving this this is gluten free, a consideration in our household.
  • Increase the meat to two pounds for four adults (or older children).

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Asian Style Chicken Wings – gluten-free

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Nowfeedme| Comments Off on Asian Style Chicken Wings – gluten-free
Asian Style Chicken Wings

Asian Style Chicken Wings

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 lbs chicken wings, ends cut off
1/2 cup gluten-free shoyu (soy sauce)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup mirin
3 stalks green onion, sliced thin, a tsp reserved for garnish
1 tsp garlic chili sauce
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds, a pinch reserved for presentation
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 inch ginger, grated or minced very fine
4-5 cloves garlic, minced

Preparation

Add all the ingredients except the chicken and reserve ingredients to a large ziploc bag or container and mix well. Add the chicken and marinate for at least 2-4 hours. Reserve the marinade when done!

Cooking

Chicken can be cooked in a number of ways, grilled, baked or broiled.
Grilled: cook the chicken about 5 minutes per side.
Baked: middle oven rack, 425 degrees for about 30 minutes
Broiled: on high, about 4 inches from the top for about 5 minutes per side.

Asian style chicken wings on the grill

Asian style chicken wings on the grill

While the chicken is cooking put the reserve marinade in a small sauce pot and bring to a boil. Bring the sauce to a simmer and continue simmering until reduced by half. The sauce will thicken due to the sugars. When the chicken is done give it a quick dunk in the marinade then transfer to serving plate. Pour any remaining sauce over the chicken.

Dipping the cooked wings in the reduced marinade

Dipping the cooked wings in the reduced marinade

Sprinkle a few slivers of green onion and some toasted sesame seeds on top for presentation.

Notes:

For a fruitier and sweeter wing replace the water with a fruit juice such as orange juice or pineapple juice. Fresh squeezed oranges will likely brighten up the flavor, while a canned pineapple juice should impart a very sweet taste.

Gluten-free variation: simply replace the soy sauce with a gluten-free variation. If gluten is not an issue for you simply use any soy sauce.

Want spicier? Add fresh or dried red chili peppers, more garlic chili sauce, or sriracha (the rooster bottle).

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Korean style Kalbi short ribs

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Nowfeedme| Comments Off on Korean style Kalbi short ribs
Kalbi

Kalbi

Ingredients

2-3 lbs beef short ribs
1 1/2 cup shoyu (gluten free versions are available if you need)
1 tbsp brown sugar (white sugar is fine but I like to use brown sugar)
1 inch ginger, minced or shredded
1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
2 stalks green onion, sliced thin
1 tsp sesame oil

Kalbi ingredients

Kalbi ingredients

Preparation

Put all the ingredients except the short ribs in a large ziploc bag or container and mix well. Add the short ribs and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours, over overnight.

Marinating kalbi meat

Marinating kalbi meat

Cooking

To cook, place a rack in the oven about 4 inches from the top and set the oven to broil. Place the marinated ribs in a tray and broil in the oven for about 3 minutes per side. Keep an eye on then as they will easily burn due to the sugar in the marinade.

Cooked kalbi meat

Cooked kalbi meat

Serve with rice.

Alternate cooking methods:

This dish can just as easily be grilled or pan fried for 2-3 minutes per side.

In summer I like to make these on the grill to cook outdoors, and doing so also reduces the amount of heat generated in the house when it’s already over 80 degrees indoors.

If you fry these in a pan it is better if you have a ridged pan as it makes nice lines on the ribs and also keeps any juices away from the meat, which helps prevent it from boiling in the pan if it is not quite hot enough. Make sure to start out with the pan preheated to medium-high heat (about 7 on my stove) to prevent this from happening.

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