Tag: Recipe

Beyoncé and The Best Spaghetti and Meatballs

Good afternoon! How are you doing today? Have you been following everything my sister Beyoncé is doing? Well, I actually had a craving for some spaghetti and meatballs, came across this Beyoncé post and decided to make the best spaghetti I’ve ever had from the Kitchenista’s (Angela Davis’) recipe. 

The meatballs are made with beef, pork and veal and the tomato sauce is homemade with fresh basil and italian seasoning. My Aunt Martha taught me to put a little brown sugar in tomato sauce to take away some of the tanginess. I made this recipe this past weekend and have been enjoying ever since. When was the last time you made spaghetti and meatballs?

So, here goes! Happy cooking!
 
Some notes on the recipe and substitutions, before we get down to business:
 
  • If you buy your ground meat from the counter, it’s easier to ask for the exact amount you need. Otherwise, you’re typically stuck with buying 1 pound or more at a time, pre-packaged. (When I’m in that predicament I just freeze my extra ground meat, or make more meatballs.)
  • If you can’t find veal, use additional beef or pork. But they’re so much better with veal!
  • If you don’t eat pork at all, try ground lamb or ground turkey. Please get ground turkey thigh, and don’t try to make meatballs with super lean white meat. You can find it at Whole Foods. Turkey meatballs are not as succulent as the pork version, to me, but I do make them often for clients who enjoy them.
  • Gluten-free bread crumbs behave completely differently when soaked with milk or stock, as this recipe calls for. The last time I attempted was disastrous and I wasn’t able to completely break up the clumps of breadcrumbs that formed. I’ve used ground oats in a pinch, which was moderately successful. I welcome your gluten-free modifications in the comments if you try my recipe out! (For a good gluten-free pasta, my clients like the Jovial brand.)
  • San Marzano tomatoes are usually worth the extra couple dollars to me in sauces, but lately I’ve been trying domestic tomatoes. I liked San Merican’s tomato puree, despite their questionable marketing which tricked me into thinking I was buying San Marzanos.
  • I do use a tomato puree here, because I liked the consistency of the finished sauce. If you want a chunkier sauce, by all means, start with whole tomatoes and just crush them in the pot.
  • Use real parm, not the green can. A small wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano will set you back around $8, but lasts through several recipes. You can also save the rinds and simmer them in stocks, soups, and pasta sauces for more flavor.
  • Practice smart food safety. Make sure to wash your hands immediately after any steps involving raw meat, and be extra vigilant cleaning up afterward.
Spaghetti & Meatballs
 

Ingredients for the spaghetti sauce:
Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
1 large onion, finely diced
Kosher salt, to taste
2 tbsp grated garlic (about 10 cloves)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 28-oz cans of tomato puree
2 tsp Italian herb seasoning
2 bay leaves
Several sprigs of fresh basil, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 to 2 tsp sugar (optional)

Ingredients for the meatballs:
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup buttermilk, milk, or stock
2 eggs
6 cloves garlic, grated
1 small onion, shredded on a box grater
1/4 cup minced Italian parsley
2 tsp Italian herb seasoning
2 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp crushed fennel seeds
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup gratedParmigiano Reggiano
3/4 lb ground beef (80/20 or 85/15)
3/4 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground veal

Other ingredients:
1 lb dried spaghetti

Active Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield:Makes about 3 dozen meatballs. Serves 6 to 8.
Special Equipment: You’ll need a Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot, another large pot for boiling pasta, a colander, heavy duty sheet pan, fine grater, and a box grater.

Part One: Spaghetti Sauce

I like to start the sauce first so that it can simmer away while I make the meatballs. To get started, warm your Dutch oven pot over medium heat. Coat the bottom of your pot with a generous amount of olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the diced onions and a pinch of salt. Cook the onions until they are soft and starting to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Lower the heat if the onions start to brown too fast.
 
Stir in the grated garlic, red pepper, and tomato paste.
 
Cook this gorgeous mixture for a couple minutes, until the tomato paste has darkened.
 
Then pour in the tomato puree.
 
Throw in the bay leaves, a couple basil sprigs, the Italian seasoning, and a good pinch of salt.
 
Let the sauce simmer on low heat for twenty to thirty minutes, until it’s thickened slightly and flavors meld. Discard the bay leaves and basil. Tear up the rest of the basil and fold that in – I like the punch of freshness it adds. Stir in the grated parm. Season to taste with Kosher salt – just keep in mind you’ll be adding some of the salted pasta water later. If your sauce is too tangy, add a teaspoon or so of sugar to balance the acidity.
 
Cover the sauce and keep warm until needed. Give it a stir occasionally to prevent scorching.
 

Part Two: Meatballs

In a small dish, moisten the bread crumbs with milk or stock. You may not need all the liquid; use only what the bread crumbs absorb easily. Give it a stir and set aside.
 
In a larger bowl, measure out all the other meatball ingredients, except for the meat. (I’ve got an extra egg in my photo because I made a larger batch here.) For the fennel seeds, you can crush them in a mortar & pestle, or in a spice grinder with the peppercorns. If you have none of that, you could crush them with a heavy can.
 

Stir all these ingredients together and then incorporate the bread crumbs. You want to mix this up really well so that no clumps of bread remain.

Then add your meat.

The next step might make some folks squeamish but you’ll survive. Use your hands to mix the meatball mixture. Really get in there and squeeze the meat through your fingers as you incorporate it with the breading. You want the three types of meat to be evenly blended with no pockets of bread crumbs.

Note: If you’d like, you can pinch some of this meatball mixture off and cook in a pan to test it out before proceeding. I do this if I’m changing my recipe up, to check the seasonings.

Aim for 1″ meatballs when you roll them out. They should hold their shape — if you find that the mixture is too wet, add additional dry bread crumbs. Keep a small dish filled with water nearby so that you can wet the palms of your hands periodically, to prevent the meat from sticking. Arrange meatballs on a lined sheet pan with just enough space in between so that they don’t touch.
 
Heat your oven to 375F. Cook the meatballs until they are browned, about 25 minutes. You can cut one in half to check that it is cooked through or to be super safe just prick a few with a meat thermometer to confirm that the internal temperature is at least 165F.
 
Transfer the cooked meatballs to a clean bowl and ladle in some of the sauce; toss to coat. (I actually just re-use the pot after draining my pasta, because it’s less to clean up later.)
 
Note – this is also how I control the final amount of sauce that will be tossed with the pasta in the next step. If you’re afraid of it being too saucy, reserve more of the sauce here. You can always add it back to the pot if you need more.
 
 
Part Three: Spaghetti & Meatballs
 
Now it’s time to bring this all together. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add a tablespoon or so of salt; enough that you can taste it in the water. Cook the spaghetti for two minutes shy of the package directions for al dente – usually this will mean around 10 minutes.
 
Before you drain the pasta, scoop out a half cup of the starchy water and add it to your sauce. Then toss the cooked spaghetti and sauce together for a couple minutes, until the sauce clings to the pasta.
 
Finally, add the sauced meatballs back to the pot. Finish with lots of grated parm.
“The Dutchess” pot by Great Jones is one of my favorite things in the kitchen right now.
I also like to drizzle some good olive oil over the top when plating the spaghetti & meatballs. Serve with more grated parm, of course!
 
 
 
 
“Fashionably-Late”
 
Malinda F. Knowles

The Best Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Hey everyone! I know you all are thinking about Thanksgiving next week. Well, I am planning to make the best baked macaroni and cheese for dinner. I hardly ever make it because I’m always dieting but for Thanksgiving, it’s a must. Now this is not my recipe, this is Chef Resha’s recipe. She has some great recipes but this macaroni and cheese recipe is banging!

DESCRIPTION

Chef Resha’s version of baked macaroni and cheese.

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 4½ cups whole milk, or half & half
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp granulated garlic
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • ½ tsp dry mustard (optional)
  • pinch of ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup seasoned Italian or Japanese breadcrumbs (optional)
  • 1 lb dried pasta of your choice (see note below)
  • kosher salt (for the pasta water)

CHEESES I USE (SEE NOTE BELOW):

  • 1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
  • ½ cup pecorino-romano cheese (optional)
  • 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 cups shredded fontina cheese, plus a few pieces cut into cubes

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Butter a 9×13 or 8×11 baking dish and set to the side. You can use cooking spray instead.
  3. Boil your pasta in water seasoned with plenty of salt (about a tablespoon) for about 4 to 5 minutes. You want it undercooked because it will continue cooking in the oven when you bake it. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the macaroni and quickly rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process. Let it sit and drain while you make the cheese sauce. You may not need the reserved pasta water, but it’s good to have just in case your cheese mixture gets a little too thick and gloopy.
  4. In one heavy bottom pot or large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. When it starts to foam and bubble, add the flour and immediately whisk so that it forms a paste. Allow this to cook for about 1 minute to get the “raw” flour taste out, whisking frequently.
  5. SLOWLY add 2 cups of the milk (or half & half) while whisking constantly to remove any large lumps. Continue to whisk until smooth and thick, about 20 seconds. Add the remaining 2½ cups of milk (or half & half) and continue to whisk until smooth. Increase the heat to medium-high to allow the mixture to simmer and thicken, about 5 minutes. Season the mixture while it thickens and taste as you go. If the sauce is yummy alone, just imagine how incredible it will be once you add the cheese.
  6. Once your mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, add in the parmigiano-reggiano, pecorino and gruyere cheese and remove from the heat. Taste it again, season if you need to.
  7. Toss the cheese sauce with the pasta, and taste to season if need be. Don’t panic if there’s more sauce than pasta, you’re going to spoon it into the baking dish, so you’ll be able to control the cheese sauce/pasta ratio. As you’re layering, it’ll start to thicken up even more. On the flipside, if your mixture is too thick, add a bit of the reserved pasta water to the sauce coated pasta to thin it out. You want it smooth and creamy, but not incredibly soupy and watery.
  8. Ladle a layer of the coated pasta into your prepared baking dish, then sprinkle a layer of the remaining cheeses and repeat until all of the pasta and cheese is used up — lasagna style. This is where you can “eyeball” your cheese portions. Use more or less, it’s totally up to you. Too much cheese can be a problem because it’ll make it too oily and clumpy, so don’t go too nuts with the cheese.
  9. Run a spoon thru the entire mixture just to lightly mix in the cheese throughout the entire dish. Smooth the mixture with the back of a spoon just until its relatively even on top, and sprinkle a thin layer of seasoned bread crumbs on top for an amazing and tasty crunch, if you’d like. The breadcrumb crust also acts as a barrier to keep the cheese from drying out by helping to keep it moist. But again, you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to.
  10. Bake on the center rack of your oven for about 20 to 35 minutes or until the center is bubbly and the entire dish is golden brown.
  11. Let it cool for about 10 minutes before you dive into it.
  12. Enjoy, and make this again and again until you nail it 😉

Sincerely,

“Fashionably-Late”

Malinda F. Knowles

Sweet Potato Pierogis with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

© Todd Porter & Diane Cu

So in accordance with my pledge to be “veggie-forward” last year I have adopted a few vegetarian recipes that I’ve made over and over again. One of them is sweet potato pierogis in a sage brown butter sauce. They are so good!

Now, I have to admit, it is a bit time consuming because you are making your own dough and sweet potato filling but since we’re all at home might as well give it a try. I’ve made these several times and they are really filling and tasty too. The recipe is from Food & Wine’s online magazine.

Ingredients

Pierogi Dough

    • 2 cups flour
    • 3/4 cup sour cream
    • 1 large egg
    • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
    • 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

Filling and Finishing

    • 1 pound sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
    • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
    • 8 sage leaves, sliced
    • Additional kosher or sea salt, to taste
Directions
 
Step 1    

In a bowl, mix together the flour, sour cream, egg, olive oil and salt until the ingredients bind together. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple minutes, or until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Step 2    

Place the sweet potatoes in a large pot and fill with cold water to cover the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and then simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Drain the sweet potatoes and mash. Allow to cool.

Step 3    

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out 12-15 rounds. Brush the edges of each round lightly with water, then place 1 tablespoon of filling on one side of the rounds. Fold the dough over, making half moon shapes, pressing out the air. Press and crimp the edges to seal the pierogi.

Step 4    

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the pierogi for 3-5 minutes, or until tender. Drain.

Step 5    

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pierogi to the skillet with the butter and sear each side for about 1 minute or until golden. Remove from the pan.

Step 6    

Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter to the skillet. Allow the butter to foam, then settle down. Add the sage leaves and continue to cook until the butter just begins to brown and develop a toasty, nutty aroma. Season with salt.

Hope you enjoy!

Sincerely,

“Fashionably-Late”

Malinda F. Knowles

 

My Veggie-Forward 2019 and Mushroom Spinach Gnocchi

So I definitely gained some weight over the holidays and am trying to get it off now (like everybody else). So I decided to have a very vegetable-forward diet for a while. Notice I said vegetable-forward, not vegetarian. 🙂 Yea, I don’t think I could go all the way vegetarian or vegan but I have made vegetable dishes as the main dish for a few weeks. Have to share a recipe that I absolutely adore! You have to be a mushroom and spinach fan though. I find the more vegetables you eat, the more of a taste for them that you will have.

It’s actually from this great food site called saltandlavender.com which unfortunately is not a vegetarian recipe site but pretty good nonetheless. I had to actually go to an Italian market to grab the potato gnocchi but other than that, the ingredients are pretty easy to find. Check out the recipe below and definitely let me know if you make it!

Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Gnocchi

Creamy and delicious vegetarian mushroom and spinach gnocchi with a creamy parmesan and white wine sauce.

Course Entrée
Cuisine American
Keyword mushroom gnocchi
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Author Salt & Lavender

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion chopped
  • 12 ounces portobello mushrooms chopped
  • 2-3 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 dashes Italian seasoning
  • 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/3 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
  • 1 pound uncooked potato gnocchi
  • 1 generous handful baby spinach
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Fresh parsley chopped, to taste

Instructions

  1. Add the olive oil to a skillet on medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. It’s ok if it becomes lightly browned.
  2. Add the mushrooms, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in the Dijon mustard and white wine. Let it bubble for a minute or so.
  4. Add the cream and gnocchi. Wait until it starts to bubble again, then cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 3 minutes.
  5. Stir in the spinach, cover the pan again, and cook for 3 minutes.
  6. Stir in the parmesan and season with salt & pepper. Give it a taste; gnocchi should be soft. If not, continue to cook for another few minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve immediately with more parmesan cheese grated over top if desired.

Recipe Notes

  • This makes 4 reasonably sized portions. If you’re feeding extra hungry people, I recommend serving this with a salad, garlic bread, and/or something else.
  • The gnocchi will cook right in the sauce. 

Photo Credit: Salt and Lavender

Sincerely,

“Fashionably-Late”

Malinda Knowles

Shop the Latest Spring Collections from Your Favorite Designer Brands at NORDSTROM.

My Grandma’s Christmas Bacardi Rum Cake

In honor of my late grandmother, I’m baking several Bacardi rum cakes this year for family and friends. I didn’t forget about myself, I’m also going to bake one for the house. Rum cake is absolutely delicious and one thing you can do is pour rum itself on the cake after its finished just to make it a drunk cake! I’ve been told this is a Caribbean thing but I do have family from the Bahamas.

Anyway, bake one of these for the Holidays and enjoy!

Ingredients

Cake: 

1 18 1/2 oz. package yellow cake mix

1 3/4 oz. package Jell-O Vanilla Instant Pudding and Pie Filling

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

4 eggs

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup Wesson Oil

1/2 cup Bacardi rum

 

Glaze:

1/4 lb. butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Bacardi rum

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour 10″ tube or 12-cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of the pan. Mix all cake ingredients together and pour batter over nuts. Bake one hour. Cool. Invert on serving plate. Prick the top with a fork or toothpick. Drizzle and smooth glaze evenly over top and sides. Allow cake to absorb glaze. Repeat until all the glaze is used. 

Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil five minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in rum.

 

Sincerely,

“Fashionably-Late”

Malinda F. Knowles