Lemon cake

This is one of the very first recipes that I came up with totally on my own, from scratch.  I'm not generally one to brag, but I will say that this cake usually earns raves whenever I make it.  It was inspired by the store-bought packages of sliced lemon cake my brother and I used to eat as a kid.  That stuff was a frightening shade of neon yellow but it was super lemony and I don't think I've had a cake since that had the same intense lemon flavor (although I'm sure if I went back home and ate it now, I'd find it nasty).

There was a lot of trial and error involved in coming up with this recipe, and I still tweak it from time to time, especially if I don't have all the ingredients I need on hand.   You always hear a lot about how baking is a science and requires precision.  Well, that's only really half-true.  Sure, there are certain formulas that generally need to be followed, but I think that once you know the basic rules of how ingredients interact, it's much easier to experiment. 

I usually let my daughter help me measure and pour in ingredients, which sometimes leads to unintended variations.  This time, she spilled most of an egg white on the counter but still managed to get the yolk into the mixer bowl.  I was actually quite pleased with how it turned out, so here is the version we made. ;)

Ingredients

1 c. butter, softened

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 whole eggs, plus 1 yolk

1 lemon, zested & juiced (1/8-1/4 c)

1/2 tsp lemon extract

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 c. milk*

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a bundt pan with butter or spray oil.

2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

3. In the bowl of stand mixer, cream butter and sugar with paddle attachment until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, and mix till combined.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula after each addition. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon extract.

4. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk in 2-3 parts, each time mixing until just barely combined.  Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl to make sure everything has been incorporated.  Add lemon juice and stir to combine.  The batter may look a little curdled, but that's ok.

5. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean.  Cool in pan for about 15-minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

6.  Drizzle with lemon glaze (recipe below) and serve.

Lemon glaze:

In small bowl, combine 3/4 c. powdered sugar and 2-3 Tbsp of lemon juice.  Whisk until there are no lumps.  Glaze should be about the consistency of syrup.  To thicken, add more powdered sugar.  To thin, add water a few drops at a time until it reaches desired consistency.

*I normally prefer to use whole milk when baking, or sometimes half & half or heavy cream.  I've even used sour cream for this recipe when I've been in a pinch.  I didn't have any of those on hand this time, so I just used good old skim milk.

Red-braised beef

I actually made this a couple weeks ago, for New Year's Day, but I haven't had a chance to post about it till now.  Chinese "red-braised" beef is one of my ultimate comfort foods.  My grandmother use to make the best I have ever tasted, although my mom's is pretty darn good too.  I had my grandma teach me how to make this and a few other favorite dishes a number of years ago, following her to the grocery store and attempting to keep track of her measurements.

It's basically a large, tough cut of beef braised in a mixture of soy sauce and other liquids until tender.  The soy sauce is what gives it the "red" color (although some will argue it's really brown, but whatevs).

Even with a pressure cooker, this dish is pretty time-consuming, so it's best cooked at least a day ahead of time.

Ingredients

3-6 lbs beef boneless shank or chuck (or combination of the two), left in large pieces

1 lb beef tendon (optional)

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. dark mushroom soy sauce

1/4 c. Chinese rice wine (can also substitute mirin or even whisky in a pinch)

 3-4 cloves garlic

3 scallions, cut into 3-4 pieces

4-5 whole star anise pods

1/2 tsp whole Szechwan peppercorns

1/4 tsp black peppercorns

Up to 1/2 c. water, as needed

Directions

1. In a large pressure cooker, add all ingredients.  If you like, you can tie up the star anise and peppercorns into a small sachet of cheesecloth or put them in a tea ball to make it easier to fish them out later.  However, you'll be straining the liquid at the end, so it's not completely necessary.  The liquid in the pot should come about halfway up the level of meat.  Add water, as needed, but try not to add more than 1/2 cup.

2.  Close the lid and heat according to you pressure cooker directions.  Pressure-cook for 1-2 hours, until meat is very tender, almost (but not quite) falling apart.  If you're also using the tendon, that may take longer, so you may need to remove the meat and keep cooking the tendon separately.  Alternately, if you don't have a pressure cooker, you can do this in a large Dutch oven over low heat for 3-4 hours.

3. Once everything is cooked, separate the meat & tendon from the liquid, and then strain the liquid into a large measuring cup or bowl.  The amount of liquid you end up with vary, but I yielded roughly a quart of liquid from 6 lbs of meat.  You will likely have much less if you did not use a pressure cooker.

4. If you have the time, cool the liquid down in the refrigerator or freezer until the fat separates and solidifies.  Skim this fat off and discard.The meat and tendon is also much easier to handle if you allow it to cool for several hours, covered, in the refrigerator.  I usually wait until it is cooled, cut only what I'll need into 1/4-1/2 inch slices, then reheat.

Here's a pic of the meat and tendon, after it has been sliced.

 The meat and liquid also freeze well separately.  My mom used to freeze the liquid in plastic storage containers and then transfer the blocks to ziploc bags. Once defrosted, it makes for a quick easy dinner.

Once your meat is cooked, there are a number of different things you can do with it. The most common is to make beef noodle soup by take the cooking liquid and turn it into a broth, and then adding beef and noodles.  It's sort of like Vietnamese pho, but with different flavor profiles.

To make the broth, pour 2 cups braising liquid into a large stockpot.  Add 1 quart of low-sodium chicken stock (I use Pacific Natural Foods organic chicken broth).  Don't worry, the liquid has plenty of beef-y flavor and you'll never know the difference.  Add one can of diced tomatoes (liquid and all), and bring to a boil.  Add about 1/2 cup of chopped scallions just before turning off the heat.  You can also add napa cabbage or fresh spinach to the soup, if you want to get a little veg in there.

To serve, place your desired amount of freshly boiled Chinese noodles and sliced meat in a large bowl.  Ladle the hot soup over it and eat immediately.

You could also make green onion pancakes and serve the meat with that.  I've previously posted the recipe on my other blog.

Notes

I know that 3-6 lbs of meat sounds a bit broad, but it's the same amount of work to make 3 lbs as it is to make 6 lbs, so it doesn't hurt to make extra and freeze half. I usually cook somewhere around 3-4 lbs of meat.  I realize that still sounds like a lot, but it does cook down quite a bit and we don't mind leftovers around here. ;)  This was the first time I made 6 lbs because I was feeding six people instead of three, and we definitely had plenty to spare.

Also, I'm sure a lot of you read "tendon" in the ingredients list and made a face.  But honestly, that's probably my favorite part of this dish.  It's definitely not for everyone since the texture, once cooked, is fairly gelatinous, but if you can get past that, it's really fabulous. You'll more than likely have to go to an Asian grocery store to find it though.  In the past, I've gone to meat markets and asked about it only to have butchers look at me all cross-eyed.

As for the other cuts, I also bought large, 2-lb pieces of beef shank at the Chinese grocery store, but if you can't find those, the smaller, bone-in cross cut pieces you find at the regular grocery store will work.  Or a large chuck roast is good too.

Lobster & Asparagus Risotto

We did our "fancy" dinner on Christmas Eve (prime rib roast, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus). I had also bought some lobster tails with the intention of making it more of a "surf & turf" dinner, but at the last minute, I realized that we already had a ton of food.  So I decided instead to save the lobster for Christmas day.

Well, as dinner approached, I realized I had no clue what to do with two small-ish lobster tails, other than the boring old steam or broil, followed by dunking in copious amounts of butter, which I'm honestly not a huge fan of anyways.  As I rooted around in the fridge and pantry, I remembered that I'd had a jones for risotto a couple weeks ago and decided to go ahead and make some at the last minute.

Risotto is one of those things that sounds really fancy and hard to make, but it's basically just rice and broth and whatever else you want to add to it.  It's not hard to make, just time-consuming.  Ever since I learned how to make it, I almost never order it in a restaurant anymore.

Ingredients

2 T. olive oil

2 T. butter

3/4 c. finely chopped shallots

2 c. uncooked arborio rice

1/2 c. white wine

2 qts good quality low-sodium chicken stock or broth 

1 lb. asparagus

2 small-medium lobster tails (mine were 3/4 lb total)

1-2 T. butter

2 T. cream (optional)

1/4 c. shredded Parmesan

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Trim the woody ends off of the asparagus and reserve.  Cut the rest into 1-2 inch pieces.

2. Remove lobster from shell, reserving shell.  Cut lobster into large chunks.

3. Heat up chicken stock in a separate pot.  Add asparagus trimmings and lobster shells.  This will give your stock a boost of lobster & asparagus flavor.  Hot stock is key to making risotto.  Cold or room temperature stock will lower the overall temperature of your risotto and take much longer to cook.  It'll also affect the texture.

4. Heat large pan over medium-high heat.  Add oil and butter and shallots.  Saute shallots until translucent.  Add rice and saute until grains start to become translucent around edges.

5. Add white wine.  Scrape up any bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan and stir until it has reduced by about half.

6. And now, start adding stock and stir, stir stir. 

Make sure your heat is not up too high, as you want the rice to absorb the stock slowly.  You want it to be a little above a simmer, otherwise, the outside will cook too quickly and the inside will remain raw.  The reason you have to keep stirring is that you also want the rice to release its starch.  This is what gives risotto its lovely creamy texture.

I generally add about a half cup of stock at a time (I have a 4 oz. ladle which makes this easy to measure). You want to cook until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid before adding more.  I find that this happens more quickly in the beginning, and more slowly towards the end.  It may also help you to taste the rice frequently as it cooks, so you can get a sense of the different levels of doneness.

Just to give you an idea of when it's time to add more stock, if while stirring, you can see the bottom of the pan for more than a couple seconds, it's time.

Add just enough stock to make it loose and slightly soupy.  Again, don't drown it.  You don't want to boil the rice.

Then, like before, keep stirring.  In total, it should take about 20-25 minutes.

7. Once you feel like your rice is getting close to done, add the chopped asparagus and lobster pieces.  Continue to stir and add stock, as necessary, until everything is cooked.  You may or may not use all the stock.  It all depends on your rice.

Oh, one other warning: make sure your pan is big enough as the rice will double, if not triple, in volume.  I usually don't make this much, so I foolishly thought I'd be able to get by with a smaller pan but then had to switch to a larger one about halfway through.

8. The rice is done when it's tender, but still has a little bit of bite to it.  Once it's reached that point, but still has a little bit of excess liquid, turn off your heat, and stir in a nice healthy knob of butter.  One-two tablespoons should do it.  You could also add a splash of heavy cream, if you like.

9. Last, but not least grate some fresh Parmesan over the whole thing.  I usually subscribe to the school that Parmesan and seafood do not belong together, but I make an exception for risotto.  To me, it just isn't the same without a little of that sharp tang that Parmesan adds. 

10. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately, garnished with a little more Parmesan.

Serves 4 as main course, 8 as a side dish

Notes

You could easily halve or double this recipe.  It's pretty much the same amount of work, regardless of the amount.  You could also substitute shrimp or some other shellfish for the lobster, or leave it out entirely.   The lobster meat did break up a bit as a result of all the stirring, but I actually didn't mind since it meant there were bits of lobster in almost every bite.  I also used leftover champagne from our morning mimosas in lieu of white wine.  It was a very decadent meal. ;)

I'm sure there are way better tutorials out there on how to make risotto, and I largely improvised this recipe on the fly, so I apologize if the directions are less than crystal clear.  Feel free to post any questions in the comments section and I'll do my best to clarify as needed.

Happy Holidays!

We decided not to travel for the holidays this year and have our first real family Christmas at home.  It was especially exciting because this is the first year that our daughter really understood the concept of holidays, and it was fun to see how much she enjoyed the lights and decorations and of course, the presents.

Since it was just the three of us, I didn't want to do anything too complicated for breakfast, so I nixed my original plan to make cinnamon rolls and decided to make Monkey Bread instead.  I've heard many people rave about Monkey, but I've actually never eaten any myself.  Most of the recipes I came across called for store-bought biscuit dough, cut into quarters and dipped in a mixture of sugar and butter.  I did, however, find a recipe that used yeasted dough, but it was geared towards a bread machine.  I decided to try and adapt it for my stand mixer and give it a try.

Monkey Bread

Ingredients

One packet or 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

3 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. white sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter, softened

1 c. warm water

1 c. butter

1 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. chopped pecans

Directions

1. Proof the yeast in the warm water.  (I sometimes also add a pinch of flour or sugar to get it going.)

2. In the bowl of your mixer, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and softened butter.

3. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the water & yeast mixture.  I use the paddle attachment to start.  Once the dough comes together, change to dough hook and knead on medium speed for about 5 minutes.  Dough will be fairly soft.

4.  In a medium saucepan on low heat, melt one cup of butter, stir in brown sugar and nuts. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

5. Gently shape the dough into a log and cut dough in one-inch chunks. Drop one chunk at a time into the butter sugar mixture. Thoroughly coat dough pieces, then layer them loosely in a greased Bundt or tube pan, staggering layers so you're plopping each dough chunk over a space between two below. Let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until dough is just over the top of the pan, 15 to 20 minutes.

6. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. After removing from oven, place a plate face down in top of the pan, and (using oven mitts) flip the pan over  until bread slides out onto plate. Serve warm.

Notes:

I made this the night before, covered and refrigerated it.  I'm not so sure that was a good idea.  Even after taking it out of the fridge and letting it warm up at room temp for an hour or so, I don't think I got as much rise out of the dough as I should have and the resulting Monkey Bread seemed a bit dense to me.  I also used a tube/angel food pan, which I also don't recommend.  For one thing, it was way too big.  And then, because it was two pieces, the gooey brown sugar/ butter mixture oozed out the bottom and made a giant burn-y mess all over the bottom of my oven.   I think the loss of goo also made for a lackluster result. And there's nothing like scouring out your oven on Christmas morning to get you in the holiday spirit.

Still, Troy claimed it was good and our daughter managed to eat 4-5 pieces on her own, so I guess it wasn't a total bust.  I think next time, I will definitely make it the morning of, and use a smaller one-piece pan.  I may also try halving the cinnamon in the dough and adding some to the butter mixture.

What would Christmas be for a cookbook junkie without a few new cookbooks?  Under my tree this morning:

I spent the better part of the day reading the Momofuku book. It's unlikely that I'll ever make a single recipe from it (though the pork belly is extremely tempting), but it was still very entertaining.

I'm also looking forward to trying out some of the recipes from Martha's Baking Handbook.  Even though I have a bazillion baking books already, her approach always makes everything seem easier.  I have a feeling that I may never get back to Cooking with Claudine.

Random pictures

Sorry I've been MIA again. Not going to make excuses this time, but I'm working on getting back into the blogging groove. In the meantime, here are some photos of things I've cooked but been too lazy to actually write entire posts about. They're actually all things that I make on a semi-regular basis so I promise, I'll come back to them and post recipes eventually.

Curried chicken thighs with veggies, over brown rice

Homemade pizza - before baking

And after baking (and a minor catastrophe transferring it onto the pizza stone)

And just for you, Sun, here's a "cheeseburger muffin" that I made for my daughter's school lunches. It's an idea from my friend Shannon's bento blog: basically cornbread mix, with browned ground beef and shredded cheese tossed in. Scoop and bake. My kid goes gaga for them. I also added some freeze-dried green onions, but you could make these with pretty much anything in them.

Fried Rice

Fried rice is my number one comfort food. I could probably eat it every day, and I don't care whether it's homemade, take-out or whatever, although I suppose I draw the line at frozen. It's also my favorite way to use up whatever is in my refrigerator. Over the years, I've had a number of people ask me for a fried rice recipe, and I've always had a hard time giving one because it's such a malleable dish. You can add or subtract just about anything. In fact, just the other day, I started typing up a recipe only to realize that I had added so many little footnotes that it was going to be impossible to follow. I think it'll be easier for me to just post different iterations as I happen to make them.

That being said, here's the version I made the other day. Fried rice was not an uncommon breakfast in our household when I was growing up, and that's why I almost always include ham and eggs in mine. Don't be tempted to use fresh rice - it'll get all sticky and gooey on you and turn into mush. Day-old rice is the key to good fried rice; in fact leftover take-out rice is perfect. Also, notice that there really is not a lot of soy sauce in this recipe. Fried rice does not have to be brown.

Ingredients
4 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp + 1 tsp vegetable, canola or olive oil
1/2 c. onion
1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
1 c. cubed turkey ham
1 tbsp soy sauce
4 c. rice (preferably, day old)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 c. frozen peas
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions
1. Heat a large pan or wok. Add 1 tsp. oil (or you can use cooking spray) and the beaten eggs, and cook as you would scrambled eggs. Try to leave the pieces big, as they will be broken up later when you add them back to the rice. Remove the cooked eggs from the pan and set aside. I usually just dump them back into the bowl I used to beat them. I don't worry about contamination from the raw egg because it will get all cooked again.

2. Heat the oil in the same pan over high heat, and add the onions and mushrooms. Saute until onions turn translucent.

3. Add the cubed ham and heat through. Add the soy sauce and salt & pepper to taste.

4. Add the rice. I generally try and break up the rice as much as possible before adding it to the pan. You want the grains to be separated as much as possible.

5. Turn the heat down to medium. You want to heat the rice through, but you don't want it to burn. At this point, I usually add garlic powder and maybe more salt & pepper too.

6. Once the rice is hot, add the peas and stir them in. I throw them in still-frozen since they thaw & cook very quickly.

7. Add the sesame oil and toss thoroughly to coat everything. Sesame adds some nice aroma and helps the grains stay separated.

8. Last, but not least, add the eggs back in. Gently stir until they are hot through. Serve immediately.

Best Lasagna Ever.

Not to brag, but I make a pretty darn good lasagna. I've been meaning to share the recipe for a while, even though it's not super fancy or unique. It's just really a good classic meaty, cheesy, tomato-y lasagna.

Lasagna was always my favorite Italian dish as a kid. It used to be the dish that I always ordered without fail. Of course, as I got older and my tastes got more sophisticated, I scoffed at lasagna and passed it over in favor of dishes like gnocchi or saltimbocca.

I started cooking it myself at the request of Troy, for whom it was a comfort food from his childhood. After a few years of experimenting and adding and subtracting from various recipes, I finally hit upon a winner. Troy has actually declared my lasagna better than his mom's (shhh, don't tell)! I'll warn you right now though, he likes his pasta super saucey, so this recipe uses a LOT of sauce. I think it must weigh about 6 lbs. (not counting the pan) by the time it goes into the oven. I also apologize in advance for my lack of precise measurements in the directions. I'm not much for measuring.

Lasagna
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
2 jars tomato sauce*
1 box flat lasagna sheets (I use Barilla)
(1) 15 oz. container part skim ricotta cheese
(1) 10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp each dried oregano & parsley (optional)

*I'm aware that homemade sauce is better, but I usually use jarred for convenience. My preferred brand is Barilla, but lately I've been using the Simply Natural Organic brand from Costco, with very good results. I also usually sneak at least a jar or two of baby food (either carrots, winter squash or sweet potatoes) into the sauce for extra veggies.

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Brown ground beef. I usually add salt, pepper and dried herbs as I cook the beef, just to give it some more flavor. Drain off grease and add about 1 cup of tomato sauce. This is also a good point to add some baby food, if you want. Trust me when I tell you that no one will ever be able to taste that it's there. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.

3. Squeeze all of the moisture out of the thawed spinach. Combine the spinach in a small bowl with the ricotta, parmesan and egg. Mix thoroughly.

4. In a 9x13 pan, add about a cup of sauce to the bottom. You want to use enough sauce to have a thin layer across the entire bottom.

5. Layer 4 uncooked pasta sheets on top of the sauce. I usually put mine lengthwise 2x2, but you can also do them 4 across. They will overlap slightly in the middle. Don't worry that they don't reach across the entire pan. They will expand as they cook and absorb moisture from the sauce.

6. Spread half the ricotta mixture on top of the pasta sheets.

7. Spread half the meat mixture on top of the ricotta.

8. Sprinkle about 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella on top of the meat.

9. Spread more sauce (about 1-2 cups) on top of the cheese. Be generous with the sauce. You want to make sure you have enough moisture for the pasta sheets.

10. Repeat steps 5-9.

11. Add one more layer of pasta sheets. Cover with sauce and more mozzarella.

12. Cover the top with a double layer of aluminum foil. I usually spray the inside of the foil with cooking spray to keep it from sticking to the cheese.

13. Bake in a 375 degree oven for one hour or until heated through. In my uneven oven, this sometimes takes more like 75 minutes.

14. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving. This gives everything a chance to set up so that it doesn't all fall to mush the second you cut a piece.

Like I said, it's nothing fancy, but it's quick to put together (especially with those no-cook pasta sheets), hearty and delicious. I'll also add that it's a great dish to let your kids help make - our 2-year-old daughter was delighted to sprinkle on the mozzarella all by herself - which also makes them more likely to eat it, spinach and all!

Sorry, no picture this time since I was just too tired to do anything but cut and eat by the time it was done. I may try and snap one tomorrow if I can.

Meatball pic

Sorry, never got around to uploading the other night. As you can see, we were out of spaghetti, so we had whole wheat shells instead. Oh and Troy said that the meatballs and sauce were actually better the next day.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Last week, Troy requested I make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Well, with the frenzy of baby shower preparations, it sort of fell by the wayside. I decided to make it for Sunday dinner instead.

Confession: I don't make spaghetti sauce very often because I'm lazy and it's just so easy to open a jar (the Barilla brand sauces are particular faves in our house). But my sister-in-law recently told me about a super easy recipe that mostly involves dumping everything in the pot and letting it cook. I wasn't sure if her exact recipe would work with meatballs too, but I figured using that methodology, I could throw something together on my own. So here's my recipe for spaghetti & meatballs. Note that there was lots of improvisation with the ingredients, based on what I happened to have on hand.

Ingredients:
Meatballs
1 c. bread crumbs
1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1/4 hot Italian sausage
3 eggs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
olive oil

Sauce
1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2-2 c.)
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
dried oregano
dried parsley
dried basil
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper to taste

1. Soak the bread crumbs in the milk until all the liquid has been absorbed and bread crumbs have softened.

2. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly - it's easier if you use your hands.

3. Form the meat mixture into balls. The size is up to you. I prefer larger meatballs because I think they tend to be more moist & tender, but if you're in a hurry or prefer small ones, that's fine too.

4. Heat a large, heavy pot over high heat until almost smoking, then add the olive oil. Brown the meatballs on all sides, working in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Remove the meatballs and set aside. (I use my Le Creuset dutch oven. A thick-bottomed stainless steel stockpot would work too. I don't recommend nonstick because you won't get a nice sear on the meatballs.)

5. In the same pan, you should have at least a couple tablespoons of oil from browning the meat. If not, add some more olive oil and add the onions. Saute until they become translucent. Add the garlic and herbs. The combination and amount of herbs you add is up to your personal preference. I added about 1 tsp each of oregano & parsley, and about 1 tbsp of the basil.

6. Add the 2 cans of tomatoes and the bay leaf. Make sure you scrape up all the good bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring up to a boil and then add the meatballs back in, including any juices that may have come out of them.

7. Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. You may need to simmer longer if your meatballs are very large.

8. Season with salt & pepper to taste and serve over spaghetti.

My notes:
As mentioned before, I normally prefer to use fresh herbs, but to be honest, I don't often have them on hand unless I make a special trip to buy them for a particular recipe. I tried to grow my own, but I guess I have a black thumb because I cannot seem to keep them alive.

In my opinion though, dried herbs are perfectly acceptable in a dish that's going to be simmered for a long time, as long as they haven't been hanging around in your cupboard for the last year or two. I buy mine in small quantities from the bulk section at either Central Market or Whole Foods. That way they stay fresher, and you'd be shocked at how much cheaper it is too! I've refilled what was originally a $5 dollar container of brand-name thyme with 75 cents worth of bulk thyme. But I digress.

I don't normally put sausage in meatballs, but I happened to have that little bit of fresh bulk hot Italian sausage left and I wanted to use it up. Actually, I prefer a mix of beef, pork and veal in my meatballs, but I didn't see any ground veal at the store last week and didn't have time to go on a hunt for it.

My meatballs were fairly big - about kiwi-sized, but rounder. I ended up with about 18 of them, and they were cooked in about 45-50 minutes. It might have been less, but that was more or less the minimum time I wanted to simmer the sauce.

The verdict:
For an improvised last-minute meal, this turned out great! The only minor complaint I had was that both the sauce and the meatballs needed more salt, but then again, I'm a bit of a salt fiend.

I thought the sausage added a teeny tiny bit of heat to the meatballs, as well as some nice flavor, especially from the fennel. As I mentioned before, the sausage was thrown in on a whim, but I'm really glad it was in there since it also added some much needed fat. Both the pork and beef I used were relatively lean, and I think that on their own, the meatballs would have been dry.

Troy enjoyed this meal quite a bit, although he did say he wished the sauce was thicker and/or chunkier. He also thought it needed more seasoning, and maybe even more onions. His quote: "I've come to the conclusion in life that I don't think there can be too many onions in spaghetti sauce." But he otherwise declared it perfect. Go figure.

I think the true seal of approval came from our 2 1/2 year-old daughter, who ate THREE giant meatballs and two bowls of pasta! That's a definite rave in my book.

Changes for next time:
I will definitely use the Italian sausage again. The stuff I used today was from a local grocery store that makes their own fresh sausage, and it is far superior to any of the pre-packaged stuff.

I may use whole canned plum tomatoes next time and crush them up myself for a chunkier texture, and maybe leave the lid off at the end too to let it cook down some. I will also likely add another onion. I actually almost threw another in today, but I worried about making it too onion-y. I may try and throw in some ground or minced carrot too, both for an added veg factor and for a little more sweetness.

Adding a pic shortly...