Wed. 9/30/09 Dinner?
- Thread starter Lefty
- Start date
High Cheese
Saucier
I have legs and thighs defrosting, hopefully my Penzys order will come in today. Gonna try the masala.
We are going to do some spaghetti and meat balls tonight. I made a batch of my sauce Sunday and have a couple of qts ready to go. I also have a nice fresh loaf of Italian bread we got this morning so garlic bread will also be on the menu. I will also be making up a simple salad of lettuce, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, garbanzo beans, red onions and beets with Roasted Garlic, basil, parsley balsamic olive oil vinaigrette.
chowhound
New member
Pardon me, Joe, but what is "simple" about that salad?
Do you make your sauce one a week?
I sure hope you're talking about chicken, lol
High Cheese
Saucier
Cricket. We're on diets. lol
Pardon me, Joe, but what is "simple" about that salad?
Do you make your sauce one a week?
It is a simple salad to me, nothing to cook just slice and dice.
I make sauce a batch of about 5 to 6 qts at a time. Lately my wife has been suppling my kids so it has been about once a week but normally it will last us about 2 to 3 weeks. It takes me about 6 to 7 hours to make a batch up. It is pretty simple too make though it takes time for the flavors to meld on a simmer. Mine is a pretty thick sauce so I add a bit of the pasta water to it sometimes but it will keep for 3 months if froozen or a month in just the refridgerator. I use 1 qt Bell Jars to store it.
chowhound
New member
I make sauce as I go, for a specific dinner, but always have leftover for more meals or the freezer. I hadn't thought about making a huge batch... probably because sometimes I like different things in it. Sometimes mushrooms, sometimes not, sometimes sausage, sometime a different meat, sometimes sweet... you get the idea. I'd like to get into a once a month (or so) habit, but don't know how I'd swing it having a varied taste like I do.
I will sometimes make a small pan sauce but rarely now. After I cook mine till about done I use a stick blender to get it smoother but carefully not to over do it. Once there I let it reduce a bit more about 30 minutes or so. Now if I need a meat sauce, sausage or like tonight where I'm making meat balls it is easy to do. Now if I want meat I will brown it a bit then add it to the sauce, or sausage I pouch them a bit then add them to the warm sauce and let it simmer till meat is done. Meat balls I don't brown or cook simply put them in the hot simmering sauce and let them cook in the sauce for about 40 minutes as I'm doing for dinner tonight.
chowhound
New member
Thanks for the explanation. I guess I figured you would be "overheating" (if there is such a thing) to put the meat in at the second reheating, then let it simmer til the sauce cooks into it. Do you ever have to add more liquid because you are reducing an already reduced sauce?
Not for the meat but I do for pasta by adding a ladle or two of the pasta water. If you didn't want to do that plain water would work fine as well. I also put a bit in a sauté pan bring it up to a medium high heat add the pasta water then add my pasta for about 3 minutes to finish it off. It actually cooks into the pasta a bit so I don't use as much sauce on top as many in the US do. In Italy or in a home like I grew up (Italian parents) they don't pile on the sauce. My sauce if thinned a bit works great on pizza as well.
Not sure yet...but I'm getting hungry!!! Maybe just a Bagel toasted with cream cheese cucumber and tomatoes....I'll let you know
That is not hungry, that is an appetizer, Dee.
I'm sorry, RM. I hope it's not the flu!
Robsan said his wife and daughter may have it. Apparently the season has started early.
homecook
New member
Oh sorry to hear that ricki! I hope you're not under the weather for too long....
I love dumb dinners........you don't have to give them a thought. LOL
A dumb dinner is something that you don't have to think about - it can be a can of soup, frozen entree, or a compilation of the leftovers in the back of the fridge, lol
My dumb dinners usually consist of weird stuff like marshmallows, cookies, canned baked beans, bananas and lots of coffee.