Category Archives: Cooking

My partner has an obsession with gnocchi.  If gnocchi is on a restaurant menu he’s likely to order it.  Earlier this year food blogger and friend, Tracey, asked if he would show her how to make gnocchi.  The video below was originally created for her blog 40-something life.

The end of the video includes ingredients followed by a quick description of the preparation and cooking process.  I hope you enjoy, bon appétit.

I think everyone raised in an Italian-American family learns how to cook meatballs.  They were a staple in my childhood and although you can buy them at your local grocer, I prefer to make my own. I think they taste better and are a far healthier alternative.  I usually make meatballs on the weekend and refrigerate them so I can have them through the week; they always seem to taste even better a few days later anyway.

Prep and cooking time is approximately 1 hour and this recipe will make ~18 meatballs.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Listed below are the ingredients. Note that the following are missing from the list: 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper, 1 tsp of Italian seasoning (all combined) as well as  2 garlic cloves minced which I include with the onion and finally 1/4 cup of water.I like to separate the ingredients as depicted above, place the meat in a large mixing container and combine all the ingredients at the same time.  Kneed the ingredients together until everything is fully incorporated.  Once combined, I like to cover and let it rest for 5-10 minutes so the liquids can be absorbed.Roll out the meatballs by hand and try to keep them to 1.5″ in diameter. If they are much larger they are more likely to fall apart and lose their shape due to the amount of moisture.  I find it easier to make all the meatballs at once then put them into a pan on high heat with olive oil.  By searing the meatballs on all sides for a minute or less will help the meatball retain its shape while cooking.In a baking dish add a minimal amount of red sauce before adding the seared meatballs.  This will prevent them from sticking to the dish while cooking in the oven. I add red sauce and sprinkle cheese on top of each meatball.

Cover with foil and cook for 20 minutes (note larger meatballs may require longer cooking time).  Take the foil off and let cook for another 10 minutes, after removing from the oven let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Hints:                                                                                                                                                          – I like to have extra red sauce made when serving meatballs.  Earlier this month I shared a recipe for an eggplant red sauce, but use whatever you like.                      – I use mushrooms because they add so much flavor and incorporate into the meat better than any other vegetable and it helps make them lighter (avoiding “food coma” that can result from a heavy meat dish)                                                          – If you prefer to add some heat to this recipe, include a tsp of crushed red pepper flakes for each pound of meat used and use a spicy marinara red sauce.

This is a heartier version of a traditional pasta sauce.  It does have the added step of prepping the eggplant but the effort is worthwhile and you can freeze this to have through the week.  It takes 45mins – 1hour to prepare.  The recipe below will provide 8-10 servings.

Prep work:                                                                                                                                               -Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C)                                                                    -Thinly slice 1 medium sized eggplant, salt each side (let rest for 5mins per side)  -Chop 1/4 of a sweet onion and 1 garlic clove                                                                        -Cover large pan with olive oil and turn on high heat

Place each sliced eggplant in hot oil for 1-minute each side.  The oil will absorb into the eggplant turning the centers more golden.  Remove from pan and place on paper towels to absorb excess oil and let rest for 1-2 minutes. Place the eggplant in oven-safe container, sprinkle the diced onions and garlic and cover with tin foil.  Let it cook for 15 minutes.

Making the gravy:                                                                                                                                Remove the excess oil from the pan used for the eggplant add remainder of diced onion (3/4 of the sweet onion that remains) and 1-2 cloves of minced garlic.  Add 2 cans of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes (mash these after you add). You may blend the sauce after cooked if you prefer a less lumpy sauce). Add 1tsp of salt; 1 tsp of black pepper; and large carrot (minced).

When the eggplant is done, take it out of the oven and add to the red gravy.  Use a potato masher to grind the eggplant and tomatoes.  Keep heat on medium and stir every few minutes with pan partially covered.  Let the liquid reduce and thicken for 20-30 minutes.  The last 5 minutes you cook the sauce add half a dozen chopped basil leaves and give one last stir.

Cooking hints:                                                                                                                                          -San Marzano tomatoes are ideal for sauces because they are so sweet.                     -Using a minced carrot will cut the acidity to a tomato based sauce.                             -You can substitute 1 tbsp of sugar if you don’t have a carrot.                                         -I like to make this on the weekends to use through the week.

Thanks to my mother’s wise parenting skills, I’m very self sufficient and even somewhat adept in the kitchen despite the fact that I cook rarely. Although my mother’s eggplant parmesan is superior, I’ve been able to replicate a tasty version that I feel proud to call my own so I thought I’d share.

The Prep: When I buy an eggplant I try to select one that is firm (not hard) and has no visible scrapes or bruises. One eggplant will make a tray and serve four people. The first step is to rinse the vegetable then I slice and discard the top and bottom. Make the slices approx 1/4″ thick (or 1 cm). Salt both sides of the eggplant and let it sit for 10 minutes. At this point I usually pour a glass of wine and pull out the other ingredients which include: 1 egg, flour, bread crumbs, grated hard Italian cheese (whatever your preference), salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, shredded mozzarella and tomato sauce.
The Messy Part: After 10 minutes the eggplant will look like it is sweating. With a wet paper towel wipe off the liquid and excess salt. This makes the eggplant softer and less bitter. I dip each eggplant patty into the flour first (wiping any excess flour off), then quickly into the plate with one egg followed by the third plate which is 3parts bread crumbs / 1 part cheese (the grated hard cheese; not the mozzarella) with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning (the seasoning is subjective so use to your liking). Put the breaded eggplant into a skillet with olive oil on high heat and cook for 1-2minutes on each side; then put in your baking tray (add a bit of sauce first and then some over each patty along with shredded mozzarella). When done it should look like the picture below. The Easy Part:Bake your tray of eggplant uncovered for 30minutes (longer if the slices are thicker) at 350 F / 180 C. I use the time to tidy up and put a pot on to boil water so I can make pasta and check up on my red sauce. When you pull the tray of eggplant out of the oven it should look like the photo below (hopefully). Which means your dinner plate can look like this (all in about 45 minutes) and for less than a couple dollars per person.