Sausage and Peppers Marsala

Sausage and Peppers Marsala

serves 4 to 6

(Italy)

                                                                                 Prep time:  15 minutes
                                                                                 Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 6 sweet or hot Italian sausage
2 green bell peppers, sliced
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup Marsala wine
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
2 to 6 fresh Italian sandwich rolls

1/4 to 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preparation

brown the sausage:

In a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on both sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain.

sauté the vegetables:

In the same pan over medium heat, add the sliced peppers, sliced onions, salt and black pepper and cook until the onions are golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the oregano, basil, and garlic and cook 2 more minutes.

create the sauce:

Add the tomato paste to the onions and peppers and stir.

Add the Marsala wine, tomatoes, and chili flakes.  Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release and incorporate all the browned bits and bring the sauce to a simmer.

bring it all together:

Cut each of the sausages into 4 to 6 pieces each, each about 1-inch. Add the sausages and any liquid that may have accumulated back into the pan stirring to insure the sausages thoroughly combine with 

the sauce. 

Continue to cook at a simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.

service:

Split the rolls in half lengthwise and hollow out the bread from the bottom side of each roll, being careful not to puncture the crust. Fill the bottom half of the roll with sausage mixture. Top with cheese and the roll top and serve sandwiches immediately.  

Caramelized Onion, Gorgonzola, and Pear Pizza

Caramelized Onion, Gorgonzola, and Pear Pizza

Makes 2 – 10 to 12-inch pizzas

(Italy)

                                                                                  Prep time: 3 hours

                                                                                  Pizza cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredients

authentic pizza dough:

2½ cups Bread Flour, plus additional for work surface

1 cup Warm (105° F) Water

1 Envelope Active Dry Yeast

¼ cup Honey

¼ cup Extra-virgin Olive Oil

4 teaspoons Kosher or sea salt

toppings

2 pounds onions, sliced

½ stick butter

2 or 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons of sugar

3 large pears, sliced length-wise, core section removed

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Balsamic Vinegar

2 ounces of Gorgonzola or Blue Cheese, crumbled

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

authentic pizza dough:

1.  In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine the water and honey stir to combine and sprinkle the yeast over it. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.  If the yeast doesn't "proof" (get "foamy") pour it out and start again it is important to have a live yeast mixture.

2.  Meanwhile place the flour and the salt into a sifter and sift it into the medium bowl  of a stand mixer.  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the olive oil and the "proofed" yeast mixture.  Turn the mixer, fitted with dough hooks,  to knead  and turn it on.  Continue kneading (mixing) until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball around the dough hooks (scrap the sides of the bowl to move flour into the path of the hooks as needed).

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky (add flour gradually as needed to reach the slightly tacky state), 3 to 5 minutes.

4.  Lightly oil a large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap cloth and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

5.  After the dough  has doubled in size, remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a 12-inch log.  Divide the log in half and form each half into equally sized dough balls.  Lightly oil a 2 large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place each dough ball into its own bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover each bowl with plastic and set in a warm, draft-free place until the nearly double in size again, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

toppings:

1.  In a large sauté pan melt the butter and add the olive oil so the butter doesn’t burn.  When the oil and butter mixture is hot add the sliced onions, and sprinkle with the sugar.  Sauté the onion slice until they begin to brown.  

2.  Stir in 4 tablespoons of the Balsamic vinegar and continue sautéing until the onions are caramelized.

3.  Slice each half pear in half and slice the resulting quarters length-wise into thin slices of pear.  Gently toss the pear slices with the lemon juice so they don't turn brown. 

Constructing and baking the pizzas:

1.  Place an appropriately sized pizza stone on the middle shelf of your oven and preheat the oven to 450° F.

2.  Place one of the dough balls on a lightly floured work surface and flatten it into a thick disk then,  with your fingertips and palms and  working from the center of the disk out to the edges, press it into a thin disk of dough approximately 10 to 12-inch round and about 1/8 inch thick (if necessary use a rolling pin to achieve the 1/8-inch thickness [don’t worry if the pizza isn’t perfectly round . . . that’s called “rustica” and it’s the way “real” Italian pizza looks in Italy]).  If you're really brave you can try the spin and toss method of forming the pie (this dough is perfect for it) just remember to use your knuckles when spinning and tossing . . . fingertips can cause holes).  Sprinkle flour over the surface of this thin disk (this will become the bottom of the pie when you place the pizza base on the peel  in the next instruction).

3.  Distribute some corn meal over the surface of a pizza peel (this will act as “ball bearings” and allow the dough rounds to move easily over the surface of the peel) and transfer the formed pizza base onto the peel insuring that the lightly floured side is on the bottom.  Evenly spread ½ of the caramelized onions over the pizza, evenly arrange ½ the pear slices on the pie,  evenly crumble ½ the Gorgonzola over the pie and finally evenly distribute ½ the shredded mozzarella.

4.  Gently shake the peel to insure the pizza moves freely (if it doesn’t gently lift the edges of the pizza and distribute additional corn meal until it does), using the peel slide the pizza onto the stone and bake the pizza until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 12 minute in a 450°F oven. Remove from the oven, slice into 8 wedge shaped slices and serve.

5.  Repeat with the remaining dough and remaining  ½ toppings and cheeses. 

Brooklyn Pizzaiola Steak Sandwich

Brooklyn Pizzaiola Steak Sandwich

makes 2 sandwiches

(America)

This spicy Italian steak sandwich definitely benefits from the low and slow cooking of the pounded strip steaks which after 3 hours of cooking end up being more melt in your mouth Italian pot roast than steak.  For a more steak  like consistency cook the steak in the sauce for only 1 hour.  No matter you chose to cook the steak serve this saucy sandwich accompanied by plenty of paper napkins.

Ingredients

4 beef strip steaks, about 2-inches wide x 1-inch thick x 6-inches long

2 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil

32 ounces tomato sauce

1 tablespoon white, cane sugar

2 tablespoons dehydrated onion flakes

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced

1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeds remove, and roughly chopped

6 slices of fresh mozzarella

2 10-inch Italian hero rolls

Preparation

1.  Slice each strip steak in half into 3-inch long pieces.  Working with 1 3-inch steak piece at a time, place the steak piece in a 1 gallon re-sealable plastic bag and pound the steak into a ¼-inch beef scallopini; repeat until all the steak pieces have been pounded.

2.  In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat melt the butter in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  When the butter is melted brown each of the beef  scallopini on both sides, about 10 minutes, and remove to a plate as they are browned. 

3.  Add the tomato sauce In the same sauté pan.  Stir in the onion flakes, granulated garlic, pepper flakes, the sliced onions, and the roughly chopped bell pepper.

   

4.  When the sauce begins to boil, return the sautéed beef to the sauté pan insuring they are covered with sauce.  Reduce the heat under the pan to low, cover and allow the beef and sauce to simmer, covered, for about 1 hour.

5.  After an hour, stir in the tablespoon of sugar and correct seasoning.  Allow the steak and sauce to continue simmering, cover, for an additional 2 hours.

6.  After the steaks have cooked for a total of 3 hours turn on the broiler of your stove.

7.  Slice two Italian hero rolls in half length-wise and place the 4 roll halves, sliced side up, on a rimmed cookie sheet.  Place three of the cooked steaks on the lower half of each of the rolls, spoon some of the sauce, onion, and peppers over the steaks and cover each steak and sauce covered sandwich half with 3 slices of fresh mozzarella.

8.  Place the cookie sheet under the broiler and broil until the mozzarella begins to brown. 

9.  Place the toasted hero roll top on the bottoms and serve immediately.

Soupe a l'Oignon au Fromage

Soupe a l'Oignon au Fromage 

French Onion Soup

Makes 4 to 6 servings

(France)

This is my signature soup and the family (even the onion haters among us) love it; my granddaughter Becky however is a purest and refuses to eat it unless it's served in a French Onion Soup bowl replete with garlic crouton, gobs of grated Swiss cheese and topped the Onion Soup Bowl top, I  agree in an ordinary soup bowl its just another soup . . . in the traditional,  handled bowl it's something  special!  Adding an additional bit of Port wine just before serving really bumps up the flavour.

Ingredients

 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons of butter
3 pounds or about 8 cups yellow  onions,  thinly    sliced
1 tablespoon  chopped garlic
½  cup Port  wine (or to your taste)
2 quarts chicken or beef  broth (or a mixture of both)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the croutons:

   1  baguette

   2 or 3 large, peeled whole  cloves of garlic

   3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Swiss (Emmental or Gruyére) cheese, grated 

Preparation

 1.  In a large saucepan over medium heat sauté onions and garlic in the oil and butter, stirring frequently, until the onions caramelize and are golden brown.   Sauté the onions in batches if necessary as you don’t want to crowd the sauteing onions because they won’t caramelize if crowded.  Don’t be afraid to add additional olive oil or butter to each new batch.

2.  When all the onions have been caramelized place them in a large soup pot.  Add the chicken/beef broth. Simmer gently for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. After about 45 minutes taste the soup and correct seasoning with salt and pepper to taste and add the Port wine. Allow to simmer for another 15 or 20 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning and Port to taste.

3.  While the soup is simmering, preheat the oven to 400° F. Slice the baguette into 2 inch croutons and brush the croutons, top and bottom, with the olive oil and place them on a cookie sheet.  Place the cookie sheet in the oven and toast the croutons until the tops begin to harden.  Take the cookie sheet out of the oven and, one by one, rub the tops of each crouton with the garlic (the harden tops will act as a grater on the cloves).  After each crouton has been thus coated with garlic, turn them over and return to the oven for the other side to toast repeating the garlic rub on that side when it hardens. 

4.  Place one crouton into each French Onion Soup or other ovenproof bowls, ladle in soup into the bowls and sprinkle with grated cheese  and return the bowls to the oven and broil until cheese melts.   Serve immediately.

Next Week's Posting: Brasato alla Siciliana (Sicilian-Style Pot Roast)