I did pretty much nothing useful all weekend except cook and eat. Oh, I cleaned a little house, too. Then I washed my hands and went back to cooking.
In response to our discussion last week about making homemade tomato sauce, I decided to whip up a big spaghetti dinner last night to see if it would change my opinion in any way about spaghetti.
That's right, I am actually not a big fan of spaghetti. That drives my husband nuts because it's such a quick and easy go-to meal, especially on a week night when we both get home late from work. I don't know why I have such an aversion to it. I love manicotti, lasagna, ravioli, fettucini alfredo and a few other Italian dishes. Baked ziti or baked spaghetti is pretty good, too.
But spaghetti...just doesn't get me excited.
However, yesterday I started cooking at about 3 p.m.
In front of me, I had a Betty Crocker recipe for homemade meatballs and a few cobbled-together instructions for tomato sauce, which I stubbornly planned to make mostly freestyle, or without a recipe.
I started by blanching and peeling about 3 pounds of tomatoes, then cutting out the stem end. I then threw the tomatoes in a big bowl and crushed them up with my hands. The soft, squishy feel of them between my fingers was almost therapeutic.
I then sauteed a medium, diced Vidalia onion and four thinly sliced cloves of garlic in 1/4 cup of good olive oil. When they were lightly brown, I added about 2 Tbsp. fresh, chopped basil and 1 Tbsp. dried thyme. After that, I dumped in the tomatoes, a small handful of kosher salt, a little pepper, and two tablespoons of real butter.
As I said the other day, the thought of butter in tomato sauce really intrigues me. So, yes, I went whole hog and used both olive oil AND butter.
I ended up cooking the sauce down for about 2 1/2 hours. I added the salt early because, according to Adam Roberts (The Amateur Gourmet), that helps to break down the tomatoes. I'd say they broke down pretty nicely, but it still was not a smooth sauce like the Cucci's Pizzeria sauce I sought to duplicate. Scratch down a note for next time: Consider pureeing sauce a bit with my hand blender?
Well, the homemade meatballs turned out to be out of this world (recipe attached). I baked them and added them to the sauce about 20 minutes before dinner so they'd heat back up and take on the sauce, which was pretty delicious itself.
I have to say that this entire process might have actually turned me around on spaghetti. I still had to top it with a generous amount of freshly grated Parmesan, but heck, who doesn't?
I'm sure the homemade sauce will get better with every attempt. Perhaps next time I will add that dash of red wine. As satisfied as I was with my successful homemade spaghetti and meatballs, I'd still take Cucci's recipe if anyone wants to give it up. Anyone out there? Hello? Darn.
Betty Crocker Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef.
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 egg
Mix all ingredients together. Form 1 1/2 inch balls and place in an ungreased baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until juice is no longer pink.
* Note: I added a teaspoon of Italian seasoning to mine because I planned to use them in spaghetti. But you can leave them plain and use them any way you like. If you're making them for appetizers, you might consider making them smaller and baking a shorter length of time.
Comments
[August 20, 2007 11:57 AM]
Jonathan BrownI will try this. Thanks.
[August 20, 2007 3:54 PM]
Marion : →http://ontheblackwater.blogspot.comI didn't love spaghetti until I began using a thinner pasta, a spaghettini. Somehow, it made all the difference in the world, plus I buttered (there's that word again)& garlicked & cheesed up the noodles before throwing on the (chunky) sauce. Oh, I'm getting hungry here...
[August 20, 2007 5:05 PM]
MaryI love to use spaghetti squash instead of using pasta. Then I feel like I got my veggies too. And of course I would use turkey burger/sausage for the meatballs. Did you sing that song while you cooked the spaghetti?
[August 20, 2007 5:38 PM]
LindseyHey, that's a good idea, Mary. Spaghetti squash is delicious and lower in carbohyrdates, I think. Marion, we recently switched to thin spaghetti, which may be the same as spaghettini. And if you read between the lines on my post, you can pretty much figure out why I'm not as crazy about spaghetti as some other Italian foods: not as cheesy! I am a cheesaholic.
[August 21, 2007 8:31 AM]
carrieI tried using spaghetti squash one time in place of thin spaghetti noodles, I thought for sure I could do this with my husband never knowing the difference and we'd get some nutritious extra vegetables as a bargain... welllll... after about 2 bites my husband just looked at me and said, "WHAT did you put in this???" So fessed up and told him that I used spaghetti squash... he looked at my strangely and politely asked if he could cook his own noodles, he didn't like the squash and said it was mean to trick him! LOLOL
So I haven't attempted to try spaghetti squash again, and to be honest, I wasn't that thrilled with it either, thin spaghetti seems to be our favorite to go with homemade sauce!
[August 21, 2007 10:18 AM]
LindseyWell, I guess spaghetti squash is a little bit of an acquired taste-- or texture. We got used to eating it one summer when my mother planted some and it went out of control, trying to grow all the way out to the road!
I've heard of people making baked spaghetti w/ spaghetti squash. Maybe it takes on more flavor that way.
I like it just buttered and seasoned with salt and pepper.
[August 21, 2007 10:22 AM]
__NathanLindsey - If you want to make a real smooth sauce, invest in a food mill. Its like a heavy duty colander with fine holes and a hand cranked blade that forces the food through. Perfect for tomato sauce (removes the seeds, too) and keep it on hand for home made applesauce, potato soup, etc. etc. The Foley Food Mill is about $20, and is usually available at a neighborhood hardware store with the canning supplies.
If you want the ease of spaghetti with a cheesier twist, cook and drain the noodles al dente, simmer them for a while in spaghetti sauce(15 minutes or so to let the tomato flavor soak in) , and then just before serving, pour in alfredo sauce. It's so simple, and quite good. Great with beef, sausage, or just grated parmesan.
[August 21, 2007 10:32 AM]
LindseyYum. That sounds good, Nathan. But before I totally give in to my dependency on dairy-based products, I am still going to try next time to do more of a sauce Sicilian-- the smooth, buttery sauce I seek to perfect. I'm either going to try a food mill next time or use my hand blender.
[August 22, 2007 3:03 PM]
JayI've always preferred angel hair pasta...I'm not sure if that is technically spaghetti, but I like it because it is nice and thin.