GNOCCHI MARINARA RECIPE

JANUARY 19 2012

In order to fully enjoy the Gnocchi Marinara, one must also sauce them in the authentic Frankies Tomato Sauce. So, I have included both recipes in this post to help you have the full experience.

FINAL THOUGHTS

JANUARY 08 2012

You may be wondering... did I actually learn anything? And what were the best and worst dishes of the cookbook? Well, wonder no more!

WHAT DID I LEARN?

EIGHTY-SEVEN - NINETY-FIVE : SUNDAY SAUCE!

JANUARY 5 2012

EIGHTY-SEVEN : OLIVES
EIGHTY-EIGHT : ANTIPASTO PLATE
EIGHTY-NINE : CANNELLINI, CAPER, LEMON & ANCHOVY CROSTINI
NINETY : MULLED WINE
NINETY-ONE : PORK BRACIOLA MARINARA

NINETY-TWO : POTATO GNOCCHI 
NINETY-THREE : GNOCCHI MARINARA  
NINETY-FOUR : PUNTARELLE WITH LEMON, CAPERS, ANCHOVY & PECORINO
NINETY-FIVE : TIRAMISU

 
And that's all folks. I am now done with the book! My grand adventure culminated tonight in a fabulous Sunday Sauce (on Thursday) party where I crammed all the remaining dishes onto the table and we ate until we just about burst. I think it will be easiest to talk about each section separately. So here goes...

EIGHTY-SIX : FRANKIES FRENCH TOAST

JANUARY 4 2012

Usually when I make french toast (which I don't ever do because I don't like it that much) I just whisk a couple eggs with some milk, dip in the bread and fry in butter, side 1 then side 2. This is a whole new ball game. First the mixture of eggs, cream and whole milk is warmed gently until "the vanilla and cinnamon are aromatic". It is now custard and once cooled to room temperature the day-old bread is dredged "for a few seconds on each side - it should absorb some but not get soggy".

Now here's the part that left me saying "what the..." and "for reals?!?" and "what's a fillip?" Gah! Okay... this had better be the best french toast I have ever eaten.

seriously?!?

Custard has been warmed then cooled. Bread dipped, but not until soggy. A pat of butter is crackling in the pan. Time to fry (and flip and flip) this baby!

EIGHT-FOUR & EIGHTY-FIVE : ROASTED VEGETABLES

JANUARY 2 2012

EIGHTY-FOUR : ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD
EIGHTY-FIVE : ROASTED VEGETABLE SANDWICH

Making the roasted vegetable salad was super simple because I had a bunch of leftover veggies I roasted for NYE. These were tossed with a simple balsamic dressing and the salad was done. And it totally rocks! Also, as the Frankies promise, it makes a great breakfast "after a night of heavy eating or drinking."

yummy veggies

EIGHT-ONE - EIGHT-THREE : NEW YEARS EVE!

DECEMBER 31 2011

EIGHTY-ONE : SPAGHETTI WITH CRABS
EIGHTY-TWO : SLOW-ROASTED RIB EYE, SLICED COLD
EIGHTY-THREE : VANILLA BEAN CREME BRULEE

New Year's Eve demands decadence... and we did not disappoint. Surf 'n turf, baby!

First I have to admit that I did not exactly follow the the recipe for the rib eye. Sorry Frankies, I just can't shell out $60 for a beautiful rib eye roast, cook it to perfection, then just shove the whole thing in the fridge to be served cold, hoping it is worth it. I just can't. Not even for "thoroughbred roast beef". I also did not roast it at the temperature they designated. Last year I did a super, super slow roast that was amazing so decided to do it again this time. So, instead of cooking it at 325º, it spent over 4 hours in the oven at 200º which makes it exactly medium-rare through the entire thing. I did use the fantastic herb rub from the recipe which smelled like heaven while it was cooking.

Phew.. now that I've got that off my chest, I can tell you all about our New Year's Eve feast :)

SEVENTY-NINE & EIGHTY : RICOTTA CAVATELLI W/ CAULIFLOWER

DECEMBER 28 2011

SEVENTY-NINE : ROASTED CAULIFLOWER
EIGHTY : CAVATELLI WITH CAULIFLOWER & BROWNED SAGE BUTTER

For dinner tonight, we made the alternate, and vegetarian, preparation of the ricotta cavatelli. Although the cauliflower was the only technical difference between the recipes, there were actually four things that changed since last time.

1. Roasted cauliflower replaces the Italian sausage
2. I didn't have enough ricotta so made up the difference with creme fraiche
3. I tried the "well method" to make the pasta dough
4. This time I had a cavatelli roller!

So, I never really intended to try the well method to make pasta. At least I hadn't made it a requirement in my head for this project. But, since I was halving an already small quantity of pasta dough, I decided to give it a shot because I wasn't sure there would be enough mass for the stand mixer.

The well method is undoubtedly messier and more of a pain, but the resulting dough seemed equivalent to my previous versions, even with the creme fraiche substitution.

SEVENTY-EIGHT : LEFTOVERS LASAGNA

DECEMBER 26 2011

The hardest part about making lasagne is being patient enough to let it rest so it will slice into nice, clean wedges. Just a warning... that did not happen today. Please do not judge the flavor based on the final photo which, admittedly, looks like a hot mess.

Really, I shouldn't have been so impatient to slice it because everything came together really quickly. I had meatballs and sauce reserved in the freezer and cooked up the sweet Italian sausages a few hours ago. So all I had to do for dinner was assemble and bake.

meatballs and sweet Italian sausages

SEVENTY-SEVEN : LINGUINE CACIO DE PEPE

DECEMBER 23 2011

As of today, I have four recipes left that aren't already planned for New Year's or Sunday Sauce. All four of these are pasta. Get ready for a carb-filled next week...

The approaching holiday weekend has me pretty darn worried about getting them all done so I was happy to stay in tonight to make dinner and watch media. One problem... I do NOT want to make fresh pasta. I mean really! So far, I haven't found fresh pasta to be enough better to justify the effort. In fact, I usually feel less happy cause it never seems to have enough heft or bite or something. Just lots of softness... not really satisfying.

So I am going against the recipe and using dried linguine... and I don't care!

SEVENTY-SIX : SAUSAGE & BROCCOLI RABE SANDWICH

DECEMBER 18 2011

Man I love sandwiches! Such a perfect food. I really, really love bread and stuffing it with delicious things makes it that much better. In fact, stuffing it with Italian sausage and sauteed broccoli rabe is almost magical!

sandwich fixings from heaven

SEVENTY-FIVE : TAGLIATELLE WITH BRAISED LAMB RAGU

DECEMBER 14 2011

DAY ONE

Usually, a recipe that starts with "Day 1" doesn't get more than a quick glance. "That can't be worth the hassle." But not today! I brought this upon myself and am attacking it with vigor. I really do appreciate the Frankies rational for making this pasta dish a multi-day slog.

"We like a two-day braise for two reasons: it's a mellower schedule to cook on, and if you fully chill down the braising liquid, it is easier to degrease it completely and replace the cooked fat with fresher fat, like olive oil or butter, which is better tasting and easier to eat."

Okay, okay... that all makes sense. And I did love that today I could do the 45 minute roast and 2 hour braise, then let it all cool down and shove it in the fridge to be dealt with later.

SEVENTY-THREE & SEVENTY-FOUR : SARDINES TWO WAYS

DECEMBER 13 2011

SEVENTY-THREE : SARDINE, BLOOD ORANGE & PUNTARELLE SALAD
SEVENTY-FOUR : GRILLED CURED SARDINES

Here fishy, fishy! I love me the fishiest of the fishes and these sardines fall squarely into that category. Mackerel is another oily, super-fishy, fabulous one that I love, love, love!

These babies had been curing since Friday in a lovely blend of olive oil, lemon, garlic, parsley. When I started the curing process, I had planned to enjoy them Sunday as a nice, light lunch. But we were both sooooo stuffed after feasting the night before that lunch never really happened. So tonight, I pulled them out of their oil bath and got to work. Truly, the painful part of these recipes is the curing process. Once that's done, everything else come together very quickly.

SEVENTY-ONE & SEVENTY-TWO : BASTARD THANKSGIVING

DECEMBER 10 2011


SEVENTY-ONE : RICOTTA CROSTINI
SEVENTY-TWO : SWEET-AND-SOUR BAKED EGGPLANT WITH MINT & RICOTTA SALATA

I know dishes from an Italian cookbook aren't exactly traditional, but I am taking any opportunity possible to cross off recipes, so today Thanksgiving went Italian! I chose a couple recipes I thought would fit nicely with the turkey and stuffing, and I think these were quite appropriate.

The crostini is very simple. Brush sliced baguette with parsley oil, toast, then top with a dollop of ricotta cheese, a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. I felt like being extra fancy, so I decided to make the ricotta myself. I've done it before with pretty good success and it's not a difficult thing. I did try a new method: heating the milk in the microwave instead of on the stove top. Everything went quite well except I somehow ended up with way less finished cheese than I expected.

fresh homemade ricotta

SEVENTY : CURED SARDINES

DECEMBER 9 2011

Fresh sardines are a pain in the ass! My first attempt at this recipe, I didn't ask for them to be pre-cleaned and, halfway through the job, couldn't take it any more and just thew the whole batch in the trash. This time, I was smarter (or so I thought). I thanked the fishmonger at New Seasons for cleaning my requested 8 sardines and he said "no... thank YOU" like I had just made this the worst Friday of his entire life. Well, thank YOU, dude, for just barely removing the insides and still leaving me with the task of filleting all these mini fishes.

But I am determined to soldier ahead and rip the spines out of each and every one of these little fuckers.

SIXTY-NINE : SWEET POTATO RAVIOLI IN CHEESE BROTH

DECEMBER 8 2011

I was never really that excited about this recipe. But it looked easy and I had all the ingredients, so it was dinner tonight. It turned out to be THE worst recipe in the whole book so far. I was so grossed out after only a few bites I had to push my plate away. What the hell is this slimy bowl of flavorless gunk? After sooooo many amazing meals, I was a little shocked by the complete crap of this one.

I can't even blame any one part... they were all so bad. My previous opinion of cheese broth holds true; greasy & watery with a weird cheese funk. Not something I want to slurp down in cupfuls. The ravioli filling did have good flavor, but needed a binder cause as soon as I cut into one, all of the sweet potato burst out and dissolved into the crappy broth (which actually improved it marginally).

But, lets back up a little.

SIXTY-EIGHT : SPAGHETTI WITH CLAMS

DECEMBER 7 2011

DECEMBER! OH CRAP! I was already stressing about getting everything done before the gluttony of Thanksgiving and a lovely trip to Cali delayed me even more. But, rest assured, it was totally worth it. I mean, I love Thanksgiving leftovers more than just about anything so no way I'm cooking anything else. And seeing my little sis graduate from grad school was just about the best thing ever and fully worth any delays (love ya, sis!).

But that leaves me with less than a month and, after today, 27 recipes. EEEP! We can eat nothing but Frankies from now on! I am reserving 9 of them for the Grand Finale Sunday Sauce Party, so will not worry about them right now. (Yep, I am already planning Sunday Sauce. Even got a schedule...)

Today I picked a quick and easy pasta dish I could toss together after work with little stress. This clam pasta can supposedly be made in the time it takes to cook the pasta.

SIXTY-SEVEN : ESCAROLE & CANNELLINI BEAN SOUP

NOVEMBER 26 2011

Why am I so bad at dried beans? I leapt out of bed at 8am realizing I was supposed to soak the damn beans for 8 hours before starting the soup (which then had to simmer for 2 hours). But I only had 4-1/2 hours before the Civil War & soup eating started. Dang, dang, dang. I let them soak in hot water for about 2 hours, then put them in a pot to simmer for about an hour before starting the soup.

The soup itself is pretty basic. Saute the holy trinity of carrot, onion and celery until softened. Add the beans along with veggie broth and a bay leaf then simmer 2 hours (or in my case, however long it takes for the beans to be done). So where does the escarole come into this equation? Well, that is the pain in the ass part of this recipe; the escarole has to be cooked separately then added to the soup. 

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SIXTY-SIX : ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

NOVEMBER 20 2011

If it seems like my posts are coming fast and furious these days, it's because they are. Last week I thought I would make a fun little list of the recipes I have left to complete before The Sunday Sauce Event at the end of the year - and when I was done, I got pretty darn worried. Even taking out the ones I am saving for TSSE, I realized I need to step up my game.

I also discovered that my math skills apparently suck during the lazy days of summer because, per my current count, there are 94 recipes total, not 89 as previously stated (how did I miss 5 whole recipes!). So I kicked my butt into gear and since then have crossed 4 recipes off that list, including the butternut squash soup we had tonight.

 

Here we have another super simple recipe.

SIXTY-FIVE : EGGPLANT MARINARA W/ MOZZARELLA SANDWICH

NOVEMBER 19 2011

It's probably so predictable that once I spend most of the afternoon baking a big dish of eggplant marinara from page 137, I will then take the leftovers and make the eggplant marinara sandwiches on page 58. Duh! Especially since there were only two of us taking on 6 huge servings so we had tons of leftovers.

Per my amazing plan, after watching multiple hours of football (the Beavs actually won!), I refueled us with a couple big, hot, delicious sandwiches. So easy too! Just chop up a cup of marinara per sandwich and warm it in a skillet. Once it's "too hot to the touch", it's heaped onto the ciabatta rolls and the whole hot mess is covered with a thick topping of fresh mozzarella. That's it. Eat it!

SIXTY-FOUR : EGGPLANT MARINARA

NOVEMBER 18 2011

I know what you're thinking... "didn't you already make eggplant marinara?" It's true, I did. But that was the shortcut version for losers who can't plan 8 hours in advance for dinner. THIS is the REAL DEAL. Thankfully, I already had the 3 cups of tomato sauce waiting in the freezer, so dinner tonight only took a completely reasonable 4 hours.

thank you, Past Day, for making me this sauce

Not much changes, really, from the shortcut version except this one bakes for an entirely rational 3-1/2 hours instead of one sad, paltry hour. Plus the sauce is the full recipe instead of a quickie made by poor planners who are willing to accept a sub-par meal.