The Houndstooth Gourmet

Sicilian Chicken is one of those dishes which reminds me of the Italian restaurants from where I grew up in Philadelphia. In these ever-present establishments, simple Italian-American meals are served with a salad and a  side of plain old spaghetti, topped with spaghetti sauce and grated cheese which I won’t say is cheap but let’s just say it comes in a green can. And I love it. “Oh, that dish doesn’t come with a side of spaghetti?”. “Let me order one that does”.

Coincidentally, my favorite neighborhood Italian place in Philadelphia shares the name of my Houndstooth Gourmet cohort husband, Frank. Frank’s Spaghetti House is low on ambience, but big on value. Plastic booths and laminated tables yield to paper napkins and mismatched cutlery. Salads, which always begin the meal, are iceberg lettuce, cucumbers and flavorless tomatoes, sprinkled with shaved carrots. Bread, always gratis, is reminiscent of a Pillsbury loaf right out of the oven. The side of spaghetti, as I mentioned, is a heaping bowl of pasta, topped with sauce on top of which you can sprinkle grated powdered cheese from a glass shaker. Sprinkling it over your pasta  goes something like this-shake, shake, shake…..turn the shaker over to knock it on the table a few times (curse under your breath) to unclog the holes….shake, shake, shake.

It’s the Italian version of a meat and two and I pine for it.

Then there’s the hot cherry peppers which are so ubiquitous in Philly. Huge bowls of these little pain inducers are omnipresent  at corner hoagie and cheesesteak joints. Not just a garnish, but whole seeded peppers are a staple to put along side your sandwich on the paper it came wrapped in. Growing up, it was a badge of honor just to eat one.

Here’s a recipe for Sicilian Chicken, inspired by a beloved South Philadelphia restaurant called Villa di Roma. Villa di Roma serves up Italian-American fare in a no nonsense, no frills atmophere. The dishes are hearty and huge and you might just be called “hon” by your waitress(not servers-waitress….or waiter in ‘yo Philly).

Sicilian Chicken

serves 4

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 boneless, skiness chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 2 cups porcini mushrooms, halved
• 10-12 hot cherry peppers, seeded and cut in half
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 cup Spanish olives
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 Tablespoon paprika
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• Kosher salt and pepper

For the spaghetti

• 1 box of spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
• 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
• freshly grated parmesan or pecorino (sorry, I just can’t recommend the green can)

Directions

Liberally season chicken with kosher salt and pepper

Heat a skillet over high heat and add olive oil. When oil is very hot (starts to shimmer and smoke just a bit) add chicken. Brown chicken on both sides and remove to a bowl and sprinkle paprika over chicken. To the pan, add onions, mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Scrape up browned bits (fond) from chicken. Add capers, olives and peppers. Sautee for 3-5 minutes to heat through.

Bring heat to high and add white wine. Allow wine to reduce for 2-3 minutes. Add butter to sauce and return chicken to pan. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes to finish chicken.

While the chicken is cooking, heat your favorite pasta sauce and serve it over cooked spaghetti as a side to the chicken. Pass the grated cheese at the table to sprinkle over the spaghetti and the chicken.

* Presto Pasta Night is a really fun weekly event sponsored by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast.

Tags: Recipe, pasta, chicken by Ramona
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Hard Times Cafe is a casual and fun restaurant in Alexandria, VA and has over a dozen outposts throughout Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. It’s a chili parlor with other good food that’s bad for you, like burgers, ribs and wings. I first tried their chili 10 years ago when visiting  friends in Alexandria. They told me to boil some spaghetti while they went out to pick up the chili. What?

You see, I had never heard of chili mac. Chili mac, for the unitiated out there among you, is chile over spaghetti. Now, forget about what constitutes “real” chili, whether beans should be banned or visible vegetables are verboten. This ain’t about what kind of chili you like or is from your “neck of the woods”. It’s about taking that favorite chili and piling it on top of spaghetti. Topping such as cheese and diced onion are good too. Whatever you like, you put it on. For me, it’s shredded cheese, sour cream and chives. I can do without the chives really, but the cheese and sour cream are a must. In fact, when I made this last Sunday, we had to make a stop at our closest market just to pick up some sour cream. It’s essential in the Houndstooth household.

One of the best things about chili mac is the tasty mess that it turns into as all the ingredients get mixed. It actually improves as you eat it!

If you are in the area, do take a hand from the Hard Times Cafe chili mix by stopping in and buying some mix. Or, order it from their store. You’ll be glad you did! I go for the Cinncinati style mix which has slight heat and permeates the meat with cinnamon. Plus, it’s so damn easy to make. No chopping, no cutting. I just brown the meat, open a couple cans of beans and a can of tomato puree. Then, it can simmer on the stove and fill the house with wonderful smells.

There is a recipe on the back but of course I ignore it and make it my way (for one, it calls for boiling the meat. Uh,no). Here’s what I do:

Ingredients:

2 lb. ground beef (I use 80/20 mix)

2 cans beans, such as kidney or pinto

1 large can tomato  puree

1/2 cup water

1 box Hard Times Cafe chili mix

Directions:

Brown meat in heavy bottom pan. Drain grease if you want.  Pour chili mix over meat and add water. Stir to evenly coat. Add beans and tomato puree. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, covered. Stir every 5 minutes. Serve over spaghetti and add your choice of toppings.

* Presto Pasta Night is a weekly blogging even held by Ruth at Once Upon A Feast.

Tags: Hound Picks, Alexandria, Chili, Virginia, Restaurants, pasta, Recipe, beef by Ramona
6 Comments »

Hi, I’m Ramona and I’m a herbaholic. And a spiceaholic. Yes gentle readers, in my cupboards and drawers (and even in my freezer) is an enormous collection of dried herbs and spices and I can’t stop. With each new cuisine I endeavor to cook and with every visit to a store, I seem to add another bottle, tin or bag of olfactory pleasing herbs and spices. While I’m at it, I’ll also admit that I’m not all that dedicated to replacing them when I should. I usually wait until my red pepper flakes are looking brown, or my thyme is past it’s time to act.

 

That said, I love cooking with them. No onions on hand for the marinara sauce? No problem! I substitute dried onion flakes and perhaps some garlic powder. It works well and it’s good to have a backup plan for when I don’t have fresh ingredients on hand.

Not that fresh herbs aren’t wonderful. There’s nothing like fresh basil in a caprese salad or for tearing over a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Pizza Margherita just couldn’t be made without it. But after the summer herb garden goes to ground with the cold, I successfully use dried herbs in soups, stews, braises and sauces.

Pasta e fagioli, meaning “pasta and beans” is an Italian peasant dish. Like so many other peasant dishes, it is comforting in it’s simplicity. Cannellini or borlotti beans are commonly used. Tomatoes, tomato sauce or leftover marinara is also added to some versions of the recipe. Whatever you have on hand is fine. The basics, beans and pasta, can be embellished as you wish. Here, I make this soup quickly and simply with ingredients from the cupboard, including dried herbs.

This soup is made with chicken stock but could easily become a vegetarian dish by substituting vegetable stock. If you happen to be fortunate enough to have a Parmesan rind around, feel free to throw it in as the soup cooks.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth

2 cups water

1 t. dried basil

1 t. dried oregano

1/2 t. dried thyme

2 t. dried onion flakes

1/2 t. dried shallots (optional)

1/8 t. dried red pepper flakes

2 cups cannelloni beans, drained

3/4 cup elbow macaroni (or other small pasta such as ditalini)

1 cup frozen chopped spinach

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

To saucepan, add chicken stock and water. Increase heat to medium and add pasta, herbs, beans and spinach. Bring to a low boil and skim any “scum” off the top (some herbs will come out with it, but that’s OK). Lower to simmer and cover. Cook soup with pasta for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cheese and combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with freshly grated cheese on the side.

*Weekend Herb Blogging is a weekly event for bloggers all over the world to submit their recipies and pictures featuring herbs. Join Kalyn at Kalyn’s Kitchen for the doubly delicious 2 year anniversary celebration of this event!

Tags: soup, Recipe, pasta by Ramona
3 Comments »

I have been wanting to try lamb meatballs for a while now. I enjoy lamb in most every way, except braised lamb shank for some odd reason. I don’t know, maybe it just doesn’t braise well. The most tasty lamb I’ve ever eaten was expertly prepared by Chef Cathal Armstrong at Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, VA. It was about 3 years ago and my first (very excited) visit to the Tasting Room. I ordered the 5 course tasting menu (which was really 9 courses when counting the amuse bouche and goodies from the kitchen) and ordered lamb 4 ways as my main protien. Among the 4 preparations was lamb kidney and I’m not an organ meat eater generally, but I knew the chef is crazy talented and works with all parts of an animal lovingly. It was amazing. The lamb kidney had an intense lamb flavor, even deeper than the braised meat beside it. The texture was almost meat-like and really, I wouldn’t have known it was kidney if I wasn’t told.

Here, lamb provides a distinctly different flavor to the meatball. Moroccan spices compliment the savory lamb and the tomato-yogurt sauce has a nice tang from the acidity of the yogurt. These meatballs would make a wonderful appetizer if made bite sized and served with pita bread and the sauce for dipping. Here, I’ve simply made it with plain old spaghetti. The leftovers were gone within a day!

Ingredients for the lamb meatballs:

1-1 1/2 lb. ground lamb

3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

1/2 cup half and half or milk

1 egg

1 small onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. cumin

1 T. corriander

1/2 t. cinnamon

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. dried thyme

3/4 t. paprika

3/4 t. ground mustard

1/2 t. chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the tomato-yogurt sauce:

1 small onion, diced

1 T. olive oil

3 cups tomato sauce or puree

1/2 small can tomato paste

1 8 oz. container yogurt (I used non fat)

1 T. cumin

1 T. corriander

1 t. curry powder

1/4 t. cinnamon

Directions:

For the meatballs.

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

In bowl, place bread crumbs and pour over half and half. Stir to incorporate. Add ground lamb, onions, garlic, spices, egg, salt and pepper. Combine but do not overwork the meat. Fry a small patty of lamb to check for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Roll lamb into golf size meatballs and place on a baking sheet or top of a broiler pan (to allow grease to drip away. Space 1 inch apart. Bake in oven for 22 minutes until brown. Add meatball to sauce and continue to simmer in a covered pot for 20 minutes.

For the sauce.

In a heavy bottom saucepan or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add 1 T. each, cumin and corriander. Add 1 t. curry powder and 1/4 t. cinnamon. Add yogurt and salt to taste. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

*Presto Pasta Night is a weekly blogging event sponsored by Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. This is my second entry!

Tags: presto pasta night, Recipe, pasta, lamb by Ramona
1 Comment »

I’ve been making meatballs for like I don’t know…ever. When I was dating my husband Frank, he made for me and a few friends his grandmother’s meatballs. Come to think of it, I do believe that was the last time he cooked for me! Well, I was impressed and after we were married, we combined our cookbooks and loose recipes together. Handwritten on an index card was the meatball recipe, passed down from his grandmother to his mother and then to me.
Frank’s Italian grandmother took her cooking seriously. Her recipes were taught my my mother in law personally so her son would not miss her cooking. While not in person, I learned from her meatball recipe what makes the meatball turn out tender and savory. First, use fresh bread crumbs and milk/cream. No dried pre-made bread crumbs from a container. Next, use garlic salt. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about garlic salt whose flavor surpasses powdered garlic and salt. Perhaps it’s the blend whereby the ratio of garlic to salt is just perfect. All I know is that it works.
Here’s my recipe, inspired by grandmom, and made my own. They are tender, moist and delicious. Makes about 28 meatballs.
Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs ground beef, 80/20 lean to fat ratio
1 tbsp. each:
dried basil
dried onion flakes
dried marjoram
dried oregano
dried shallot flakes (optional)

pinch cinnamon
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs (I used white bread with crusts, about 4-5 slices)
1/2 cups each:
half and half
milk
water

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs gently beaten
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place ground beef in large mixing bowl. Add herbs, cinnamon, bread crumbs, Parmesan, eggs, parsley, half and half, milk and water. Gently combine. Do not overwork meat. Add salt and pepper. Mix throughout meat.

Into a heated pan, cook a small patty of the meatball mixture to test for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

Gently hand roll golf ball sized meatballs and place onto an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Treat surface with non-stick spray. Place meatballs at least one inch apart.

Place baking sheet( I used 2 half sheet pans)on racks set in the middle of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Rotates sheets upper rack to bottom rack and vice versa. Bake and additional 15 minutes. The meatballs should be golden brown.

Transfer meatballs into gently simmering marinara on stove top. Cover and continue to simmer on low for 30 minutes to an hour.

While meatballs are simmering, cook pasta according to directions. Drain pasta and portion into bowls. Top with meatballs, marinara, grated Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Mangia!

Tags: presto pasta night, tomatoes, Recipe, pasta, beef by Ramona
2 Comments »