Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce
This is an easy basic sauce and can be used as pasta sauce, but it is also a great starting point for other dishes such as Ratatouille or a meat ragu. This makes about 2 quarts or enough for 2 pounds of pasta. We make many batches each summer and use it all year long. When our freezer is full, we can some also. Ingredients: 5 pounds ripe Roma or similar tomatoes cut in half or quarters but not skinned or seeded 2 medium carrots roughly diced 1 large onion roughly diced 2 tsp sea salt 1 tsp course ground...
Read MoreSandi’s Salad Dressing
For as long as I can remember my Italian American family has always ended their meals with a salad course made with good oil and flavorful vinegar. That’s how I grew up, and that’s a tradition I’ve continued with my own family and my husband’s vinegar. This salad dressing recipe is the family favorite, and the base for other salad dressing variations. Ingredients: 1 cup olive oil 1/3 – 1/2 cup Traditional Method Red Wine Vinegar 1 tsp fine salt 1 tsp freshly course ground black...
Read MoreEasy Ratatouille
Easy Ratatouille Ratatouille is a great summer dish that really celebrates the abundance of the garden. In this recipe we use our basic Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce as a time saver, but you can substitute a jar of any good tomato basil pasta sauce. Also, don’t worry about proportions of the vegetables. This is a flexible dish; use what you have. You can also add different herbs such as herbs de Provence, rosemary, a pinch of red pepper flakes, parsley or fresh basil as a garnish. Ingredients: 1 1/2...
Read MoreGlazed Sweet and Sour Onions (Cipolline Giassate Al Aceto)
Another very easy dish that will have everyone raving. Try this as a side dish with roast beef or a Thanksgiving turkey. It is based on a classic Italian recipe, but it is a lot easier to use frozen pearl onions then peeling them one by one. Ingredients: 1 14 ounce bag of frozen pearl onions 2 Tbsp olive oil 1/4 tsp salt or to taste 1-2 Tbsp sugar to your taste 1/3 cup Traditional Method Red Wine Vinegar 3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme Directions: Defrost the onions either by leaving the bag...
Read MoreSauteed Red Cabbage
Ingredients: 5 cups chopped red cabbage (about one small to medium head) 1 cup red onion finely chopped 2 tsp fennel seed 3-4 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar (to taste) 1/3 cup Traditional Method Red Wine Vinegar Directions: This is really a stir fry, so a wok, a large saute pan or a skillet works best. In your pan add the olive oil. When oil is moderately hot, add fennel seed and onion. Saute those over a medium high heat until the onions are limp and sweated. Slowly introduce the chopped...
Read MoreDenise’s Dressing
This variation of salad dressing is from our daughter-in-law Denise, and it is a great time saver for a quick family dinner. The addition of the cheese adds nice flavor variation, and it’s particularly nice on a shredded cabbage slaw. If you do make slaw, dress the shredded cabbage and let it rest a few minutes before serving. Ingredients: 1/3-1/2 cup Traditional Method Red Wine vinegar 1 cup olive oil a splash of water plenty of fresh crushed garlic grated parmesan cheese coarse ground...
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