Cheese Sauce

Tips for making Cheese Sauce

Here are some tips I used to learn to make perfect cheese sauce, which always leads to perfect Mac n Cheese.

1. Starch, such as all-purpose flour, cornstarch, or potato flour will keep the cheese from curdling. If you use all purpose flour, add it to the mixture before the cheese; it needs to be cooked for a few minutes to remove the starchy taste.
2. The less you heat the cheese the better. When making soup, sauce or fondue, add the cheese last; then heat it only enough to melt the cheese. Often you can remove the pan from the burner and the residual heat will be enough to melt the cheese.
3. Shred, crumble or finely dice the cheese before melting it. Smaller pieces melt faster. (easier to do with cold cheese)
4. Allow the shredded cheese to come to room temperature before melting it and it will melt faster.
5. Reduced fat cheeses have different melting characteristics than regular cheeses. They take longer to melt and are not as smooth and creamy in texture. You will need a low temperature flame to melt reduced fat cheeses and they must be shredded or finely diced first.
6. And now for a tip I learned at the Melting Pot. A small amount of an acidic liquid will keep the cheese from getting stringy. You can use white wine or lemon juice. Just sprinkle a tablespoon of your acidic liquid over one cup of shredded cheese before melting it. Or use white wine as part of the sauce base.
Mac n Cheese is a crowd favorite and it is as impressive as a home baked cake. I am still perfecting my cheese combinations so I do not have a recipe yet. Why not post your favorite Mac n Cheese recipe for me to try. By the way, this dish serves well with a medium to light bodied red wine or a very crispy white selection.
Chateau-Ste-Michelle-Eroica-Riesling-2008 from www.wines.com is the wine we served with our Mac n Cheese dinner most recently. This white wine is the bottle to bring the hostess this season when you attend holiday parties. Wine Spectator gave this wine 94 points. In fact in each of the four reviews this wine did not score below 91 points.
Happy Holidays.

Quick Spaghetti Sauce

This recipe has been my life saver for years. I have prepared this dish hundreds of times and every time it gets high marks for delicious. This is a simple tomato based pasta sauce with Spicy Italian Pork Sausage and Mild Turkey Sausage.

I am about to embark on perfecting this recipe. You see, Sunday, I prepared this dish for the 100,000th time. Only this time, I made a minor change to my recipe and the sauce finally was the sauce I always wanted it to be.  It was quick, delicious, did not taste overcooked, but it was thick and it clung to the linguine. This recipe is worth sharing.Keep in mind that this was a special birthday meal I was preparing so of course I wanted perfection.
 
A little background....
I had invited Anne Kelly to spend Sunday with me in celebration of her birthday. I had missed seeing her for her birthday. She graciously accepted. I invited her to spend the day Sunday with me. Even though I had work to do, I knew she would not be lonely at my place.  I was busy Saturday night with a wedding reception at Sangria in Hermosa Beach. www.sangriahermosa.com.
When I got home I found Miss Kelly resting comfortably on my couch surrounded by her Redondo Beach Fan Club.

On Sunday on my way back from the Beach House in Hermosa Beach I ran by the grocery store and picked up:

1. 1 large can of crushed tomato
2. 1 bunch of fresh basil (wash before you use)
3. 1 pound of Sweet Turkey Sausage
4. 1 pound of Spicy Pork Sausage
5. 2 medium shallots
6. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (this should always be in your cupboard if you cook)
7. 1 pound of pasta (get what you like)
8. Salt & pepper to taste (use only Kosher salt when you cook)

I forgot to get red cooking wine. You can not make great tomato based sauce without red wine.

1. Finely chopped the shallots and saute them in 1/4 cup of olive oil over a low flame.  
2.  Squeeze the meat out of the sausage casing into the pan and break the chunks of sausage into smaller pieces. Let the sausage brown. This takes about 5-7 minutes. 
3. Add in the can of crushed tomato, and 1/2 cup of thin sliced basil leaves. stir and let it get hot. 
4. When the sauce is bubbly add in 1/2 cup of Ruby Port (my new secret ingredient). Let the sauce cook for ten minutes.

1. Cook the pasta by following the directions on the package. 
2. Drain the pasta. 
3. Put it into a shallow bowl and toss it with your spoonfuls of the sauce until the pasta is covered in rich, thick tomato sauce. 
4. Garnish with fresh chopped basil and shredded Parmesan. By the way every cooking kitchen should have Parmesan cheese in the refrigerator and Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the cupboard.

 I would suggest that you serve this dish with a Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico reasonable priced under $15 a bottle. This wine makes the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide list. I like the pairing of Chianti with this  rich sauce because the fresh fruity quality that the Sangiovese grape adds is just what it needs to balance the spicy sausage flavor with the sweet basil.   This particular Chianti Classico is lighter than most. If you prefer a more concentrated and intense wine try Castelli del Grevepesa.

Turkey a la Marietta

Turkey Thighs

With Thanksgiving almost here, the grocery stores will have turkeys and turkey parts for sale from now until the year’s end. Turkey thighs are one of the tastiest parts of the bird. This recipe for turkey thighs comes from a request made by one of my readers. This recipe can serve two to three people, depending on the size of the thigh pieces.

The preparation for this recipe requires that you plan on marinating the thighs. I suggest that you place the pieces in the marinade before you leave the house for the day. When you return to prepare dinner, remove the thighs from the refrigerator for 30 minutes before cooking them. There is no more preparation on the thighs, you will need about 15 minutes to peel and chop the potatoes.

While they are roasting in the oven, prepare your salad. Serve this meal with a medium to full bodied red wine.
Thirty minutes before the thighs are done, uncork your red wine. Let it breath. This will allow the flavor of the wine to even out and improve.

Turkey is a flavorful meat and can stand up to most medium to full bodied red wines. I turn to www.wine.com for great choices under $20 per bottle. I have two different wines I can recommend to you for this meal. You can probably find these wines at BevMo. If you fall in love with either, the case price at www.wine.com will be the best price available. Both these wines were awarded at least 90 points by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Geyser Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 is my first choice. From the Alexander Valley region of California, this full bodied red is fruit forward, lively style and is ready to drink now. Selling for under $15 per bottle, this is a wine you should buy by the case.

For those of you who want green wines and a little less intensity I recommend Bonterra organically grown Syrah 2006 Vintage. Taken from the wine maker’s notes; maintained through an organic growing process, Syrah vineyards are entering their prime, reflected in the wine’s brilliant color and intense aromas. Bonterra Syrah blends a touch of Rhone varietals like Grenache, Mouvedre and Viognier for a powerful floral note. Concentrated berry flavors come to the fore with notes of vanilla and toasty oak spice from aging in French oak. This wine is also selling on www.wine.com for under $15 per bottle and as we head into the season of turkey dishes, you may want a case of this wine as well. This wine can convert a non red wine person to a red wine drinker. Smooth, earthy and fruity this Syrah earned 90 points from Wine Enthusiast Maga

Ingredients

1. • 2 turkey thighs, about 2 ½ lbs total
2. • 3 cloves chopped garlic
3. • 1 bunch of sage, chopped (2/3 oz leave
4. • 1 potato per person, peeled and chopped into large pieces
5. • Salt and pepper
6. • Sprinkle of white wine vinegar
7. • Sprinkle of olive oil
8. • Broth if needed while cooking

Method
• Cut deep slits into turkey thighs and rub sage and garlic mixture into cuts and onto surface. Marinate in refrigerator for 5 or 6 hours. Remove thighs from refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put thighs skin side down in roasting pan. Put pan, uncovered, into oven for about 30 minutes. Then turn thighs over, add potatoes, sprinkle all with salt, pepper, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and broth and continue roasting until thighs are done and potatoes are tender, adding broth if needed, about 30 more minutes. Stir the potatoes once or twice during roasting. Remove from oven, let thighs and potatoes sit covered and untouched for about 20 minutes before serving.

Why Cook At Home When You Can Eat Out.

With the abundance of fast food, deli food, frozen packaged food, and restaurants all around, why go to the trouble of learning to cook at home?

The most common answer I hear from people is that they don't know how. They don't know what ingredients to buy or what pans to use. They've watched other people struggle to put a simple meal on the table that ended up being tasteless and not worth eating. The lessons learned in "home living" or "home economics" classes have long been forgotten. I don’t even think they teach those classes in today’s high schools. Most people are clueless and they don’t know where to begin.

You begin with the desire to live a healthier lifestyle. You control the amounts of fat, sodium, carbohydrates, or any other additive. You can buy fruits and vegetables in season when they are at their best both flavor and nutritional value. Portion control is as easy as deciding how much food to put on your plate, eliminating the temptation to eat all those fries that came with your restaurant burger. You can probably shop at a farmers market and get fresh, locally grown produce. The produce from the farmers market is so fresh it will last longer in your refrigerator than the vegetables and fruits from the local mega store. Always choose the freshest ingredients. The less something is processed, the fresher it is. The best time to start avoiding heart disease and any number of other health issues is today. Start cooking for yourself today and you begin feeling healthier almost immediately.

It is less expensive to eat at home than to eat out. No matter what level dining you choose, you can produce two to three times as many meals if you bought the ingredients and cooked yourself. The starting point is to get key ingredients into your house. In order to know what key ingredients you should have on hand, start collecting recipes that you want to try. You can collect ingredients and pans as we go along.

It is less time consuming to eat at home. You don’t have to drive to the restaurant, wait to be seated, order food and wait for it to arrive. Instead you can quickly prepare your dish, while it cooks; you can read your mail, make phone calls, catch up on the day’s news or maybe do some laundry.

Cooking for yourself allows you more flexibility than using prepared foods or ordering at a restaurant. You don’t have to be a picky eater to know that sometimes you just don’t want your sandwich with everything on it. At home, if you don't like black olives in your pasta, don't use them. If you like extra basil, add it. You can use olive oil instead of butter or soy milk instead of dairy. The choices are limitless, and your meals are suited to your tastes, every time. What restaurant can do that for you?

Finally, it may all you need to add something special to your personal life. Dinner at home with friends or loved ones and you prepared the food.

Try the recipes you find here and discover the chef at home. Researchers have found that the Mediterranean diet promotes good health. Go shopping and buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cold pressed, dried basil, dried tarragon, dried parsley and kosher salt. You will always want to have these ingredients in your kitchen.

The first recipe is marinara. Go to the store and buy; 56 oz. Whole Peeled Tomatoes (if you do not have a blender buy crushed tomatoes),Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, Chianti (Italian Red Table Wine), 1 Bunch Fresh Sweet Basil, 1 Bunch Fresh Tarragon, 3 medium Shallots, Salt & Black Pepper.

Instructions: Wash the basil and tarragon, and wrap them in a towel to dry. Purée the tomatoes in your blender. Canned tomatoes are fine, although if you have the patience it takes to peel fresh ones, your sauce will taste that much better. Peel and chop the shallots as finely as you want. Larger pieces, of course, mean chunkier sauce. Chop the basil and tarragon together, very finely, almost to a pulp.

Combine the shallots, basil, and tarragon in a large saucepan. Drizzle enough olive oil into the bottom of the pan to cover the vegetables, about 1/2 cup. Then sprinkle some salt and pepper on top, just to get started.

Sauté the mixture over a low flame for five minutes or so, until the shallots begin to brown around the edges. Then add 1 cup of red wine to the pan (use Merlot or Pinot Noir for a sweeter sauce, Chianti or Cabernet Sauvignon for a heavier flavor). Stirring the mixture occasionally, allow it to simmer and reduce for about five minutes. Sprinkle in some more salt and pepper.

Add the tomato purée and stir. Keep the flame low — the more slowly this sauce cooks, the better it tastes. Cover the pan. After ten minutes, uncover and stir the sauce. Taste it, and add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Avoid allowing it to boil, as this will make the olive oil separate. Cook the sauce for thirty more minutes, stirring and tasting it at least every ten. If you want a thicker sauce, leave the pan uncovered and stir more frequently, allowing steam to escape but keeping the heat evenly distributed (to prevent the oil from separating).

When the sauce is finished cooking, remove the pan from the flame and cover it (if you haven’t already). If you plan to keep any leftovers, you must let the sauce cool to room temperature before refrigerating it.