Marinara Sauce

UPDATE: We got it! Used a combo of Twelve Recipes canned tomatoes sauce recipe and some great tips from The Kitchn. I added a parmesan rind, some capers, some wine (Chardonnay actually worked out great) and a little bit of butter. Next time, I’m trying anchovies!

http://www.thekitchn.com/5-tips-for-a-better-tasting-tomato-sauce-tips-from-the-kitchn-206747

I can’t seem to get this right! I did put too much sage in it this time, but next time I make tomato sauce I need to follow the tips from The Kitchn (wine, parmesan cheese rind, etc).

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-marinara-sauce-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-207121

http://www.thekitchn.com/5-tips-for-a-better-tasting-tomato-sauce-tips-from-the-kitchn-206747

Ratatouille

This recipe was extremely time consuming an labor intensive. It was good, but not worth all of that time and effort. It took especially long since my stock pot is not as wide as the dutch oven pictured in the recipe, so to get a nice caramelized crust on the veggies I had to cook them in batches within batches (i.e. I had to divide up the zucchini and eggplant into two batches each in stead of cooking each veggie all together).

Original Recipe: : http://www.thekitchn.com/one-pot-recipe-easy-french-ratatouille-recipes-from-the-kitchn-106669

I had the thought that roasting all of these veggies instead of sauteing them would at least cut down on labor, and I found a recipe that does just that! It wouldn’t take less time, but cuts down dramatically on the amount of time spent slaving over the stove.

Also, it freezes well so definitely worth trying again.

Roasted Recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/07/rat-a-too-ee-for-you-ee/

 

 

Portuguese Baked Eggs

Yum! I guess you rally can’t go wrong with tomato, chorizo, eggs and ricotta baked to gooey perfection. This recipe would be great to make for a brunch (it can easily be scaled up for down, the only constraint is how many baking dishes you have), but  I made for dinner like the recipe suggested. It also came together pretty fast.

I forgot to buy basil and red bell pepper, so I bet this would be even better with those. I couldn’t find chorizo, so I used smoked andouille from Trader Joe’s and it was delicious. I didn’t need any added heat on top of the andouille so I omitted the serrano peppers (I’m a bit of a wimp). I also added a bit of liquid to the sauce before simmering and immersion blended it at the end for a smoother consistency, but that’s just a preference. I served it up with brown rice for a bit of fiber, but of course it would be delicious with crusty bread per the recipe’s suggestion.

The recipe: Portuguese Baked Eggs

Tomato Sauce

Made some tomato sauce with canned tomato, roasted garlic, red pepper and zucchini. It came out a little acidic. I added a little sugar, which helped. But I can do more next time, this site has some good tips. I think adding carrots could really help as well (adding sweetness). I made sauce a few months ago with some carrots and it was much better.

Maybe try Emeril’s roasted garlic sauce (adding carrots of course).