French Onion Cheese Burger

French Onion Cheese Burger

serves 4

(America)

My granddaughter, Becky has two loves (not counting me) . . . my French onion soup and hamburgers, this is my tribute to her favourites. 

Ingredients

the burger:

1 ¼ pounds ground beef

¼ cup fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons dehydrated onion flakes

1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

French onion sauce:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups thinly sliced yellow onions

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cups good beef broth

¼ teaspoon Kosher or sea salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, roughly chopped

¼ cup port wine

cheese toast

shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste

shredded Jarlsberg cheese, to taste

cheese toast:

4 ½-inch slices of Italian or French bread, sliced diagonally

2 tablespoons butter, softened

½ teaspoon minced fresh garlic

1 cup shredded Jarlsberg cheese

4 tablespoons shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preparation

the burger:

1.  In a large mixing bowl combine all the burger ingredients except the flour.

2.  Divide the ground beef mixture into 4 even portions.  Shape each portion into 1-inch thick, oval hamburger patties.

3.  Construct a dredging station by placing 2 tablespoons of the flour onto a flat, shallow dish and dredge, on both sides, each of the patties in the flour.

4.  Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.  When the oil reaches the ripple stage add the patties and sauté them until they are nicely browned, about 3  minutes on each side.

5.  When the burgers are nicely browned removed them from the pan.  Leave the pan on the burner and proceed to prepare the sauce.

the sauce:

1.  Add the thinly sliced onions and the sugar to the same sauté pan and sauté them  for 5 minutes.  Stir in the granulated garlic and the tomato paste and sauté until the tomato paste begins to brown, about 1 minute.  Sprinkle the remaining flour over the tomato paste and cook for an additional minute. 

2.  Add the beef broth, port, salt, and thyme and stir to thoroughly incorporate all the ingredients.

3.  Return the burgers to the pan, raise the heat and bring the sauce to a boil.  When  the sauce comes to a boil immediately reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and simmer for 20 minutes.

the cheese toast:

1.  Preheat your oven to 400° F.

2.  Place the bread slices on a rimmed baking sheet.

3.  In a small bowl combine the softened butter, garlic, and paprika.  When the ingredients are thoroughly combined spread ¼ of the mixture on one side of each of the bread slices.

4.  Evenly sprinkle ¼ of the shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on the buttered sides of each of the bread slices and do the same with the shredded Jarlsberg.

5.  Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of your oven and bake the bread slices until the bread is crisp and the cheeses are bubbly, about 10 to 15 minutes.

the service:

Place some of the sauce on each serving plate and top with one slice of the cheese toast,  then place one of the burgers on each of the cheese toasts.  Top each of the burgers  with  shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano and shredded Jarlsberg to taste, ladle ¼ of the remaining sautéed onions and sauce over each of the burgers and finally garnish each dish with chopped parsley.  Serve immediately.

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.

Mushroom-Prosciutto Pizza

Mushroom-Prosciutto Pizza

makes 2 10 or 12-inch pizzas

(Italy)

Ingredients

dough:

1 cup warm (105 ° F) water

1 envelope active dry yeast  (about 1 1/8 teaspoons)

¼ cup honey

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus additional for work surface

4 teaspoon salt

topping:

18 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped shallots

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

¼ cup Marsala wine

4 ounces prosciutto, cut into thin strips

1 cup shredded fontina cheese

Preparation

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 high (labeled  knead on my mixer) and turn 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, about1 to 1 1/2 hours.

topping:

1.  Melt butter in a 12-inch, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté mushrooms and shallots until the shallots are translucent and the mushrooms are tender; about 7 minutes.  Add garlic and thyme; sauté 1 minute. Stir in the Marsala.  Correct seasoning to taste; remove from heat. 

construction and baking:

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

2.  On work surface, place one of the dough balls and flatten into a disk, with your fingertips and palms, press it into a thinner disk of dough approximately 10 to 12 - inches 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]).  Sprinkle flour over the surface of this thin disk (this will become the bottom of the pie when you place the disk 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, lightly spread about ½ of the mushroom mixture evenly over crust; sprinkle evenly with ½ of the prosciutto and ½ of the fontina cheese (leaving about ½ inch of uncoated dough around the edge to form the crust). 

4.  Finally  sprinkle a little extra-virgin olive oil over the surface.

5.  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.

6.  Repeat with the remaining dough and remaining  ½ toppings and cheese.

Taiwanese Style Crispy Pork Chops

Taiwanese-Style Crispy Pork Chops

serves 4

(Taiwan)

The first time we tasted this meal was on our trip to Taiwan to meet our daughter-in-laws family.  Unlike American pork chops, these delicious breaded and fried scallopini are fragrant with the subtle taste of Chinese five spice supported by the taste of the Char Siu Sauce they are marinated in, the longer they are marinated the more fragrant they become.   These crispy pork chops don't really need a gravy but if you like you can add several tablespoons of the marinade (to your taste) to commercial pork or beef gravy and serve the five-spice flavour gravy as an accompaniment.

Ingredients

4  –  ¾ inch, boneless pork chops

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Taiwanese michiu wine (substitute Japanese Mirin)

1/8 teaspoon  white pepper

1/8 teaspoon  five-spice powder

1 teaspoon  Char Siu Sauce (Chinese barbecue sauce, DO NOT substitute American Barbecue sauce)

3-4 cloves garlic, micro-planed

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup sweet potato flour (acceptable substitutes are tapioca  or corn starch)

6 -8 tablespoons of cooking oil

Preparation

1.  One at a time, place each pork  chop in a large, re-sealable plastic bag and pound  the chop into a thin (1/2 to ¼ - inch thick) scallopini and set aside in the refrigerator.  

2.  When all the pork chops have been pounded, create a marinade by combining the soy sauce, the michiu wine, the white pepper, the five-spice, the barbeque sauce, and the micro-planed in a small mixing bowl.  Once the marinade has been created, pour it into a large, re-sealable plastic bag.  Place the pork chops into the bag and seal, squeezing out as much air as possible.  Allow the pork chops to marinate for several hours, turning the bag every so often, to allow all the flavours to develop.

3.  When the pork chops have marinated for several hours, build a breading station by placing the sweet potato starch, the beaten egg, and the Panko bread crumbs in three separate plates.  Bread each of the pounded pork chops  by first dredging each in the sweet potato flour, then in the egg mixture, and finally in the Panko bread crumbs.

4.  Once each of the pork chops have been breaded on both sides  heat enough vegetable oil to fill  a large, heavy bottomed frying pan to a depth of about 1/2 inch over medium high heat and fry the pork chops, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through. 

5.  Serve accompanied by plain white rice, noodles, or a simple vegetable.

Pasta Valjo

Pasta Valjo

serves 10

(America)

My wife loves my Zuppa Pomodoro  di Toscano (Tuscan Tomato Soup), but it serves 8 or more and we were only 2 so I developed this recipe to find an alternative use for the excess soup . . .  we soon found that our friends and family enjoyed the pasta sauce so much I began making it as a dish of its own.   This recipe makes sufficient for 10 to 12 approximately 1cup servings, for smaller groups reserve, prior to adding the vodka,  the number of cups needed for service and freeze the remainder in a lidded, freezer safe container for future use as either a sauce base or soup.

Ingredients

2 – 28 ounce cans of imported San Marzano Tomatoes, including juices

2 cups of chicken stock

1 ¼ cup good Vodka

2 large yellow onions, finely diced

1 ½ cups of heavy whipping cream

1 cup Pesto di Basilico (Basil Pesto, see recipe)

½ tablespoon red pepper flakes (optional, to taste)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Kosher or sea salt (to taste)

 freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

2½  pounds of pasta of your choice (about 1/4 pound per person)

Freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese 

Preparation

1.  Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over low heat.  Add the diced onions and sauté until softened and translucent (do not brown).

2.  Add the tomatoes and red pepper flakes (if used) raise heat  and bring the tomatoes to a simmer.  When the tomatoes are at a simmer, add the chicken stock.

3.  Continue simmering for about 15 minutes giving the flavours time to combine.

4.  Add the whipping cream and pesto.  Remove from the stove and carefully pour the sauce base into the container of a blender or food processor and process (in batches if necessary) to the consistency you desire (we enjoy the sauce slightly chunky in the Italian fashion).

5.  Reserve 1 cup sauce base per serving, at this point any base not used can be placed in a lidded, freezer safe container and frozen for future use.  Pour the reserved sauce base into a large sauce pan and set aside.

6.  Prepare pasta (allowing about ¼ pound pasta per person) al dente according to package directions.  Drain,  reserving 1 cup pasta water, cooked pasta.

7.  Place the sauce pan containing sauce base over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of vodka per serving of sauce (1 ¼  cups for the entire recipe) to the sauce base and bring to a rapid simmer.  Correct seasoning to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

8.  Add the pasta and toss.   If the sauce appears too tight for your tastes add the reserved pasta cooking water, a little at a time, until the desired consistence is attained.  

9.  Divide the sauce pasta among serving dishes and serve immediately accompanied by plenty of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Sicilian Style Pot Roast

Sicilian-Style Pot Roast

serves 4

(Italy)

This is an Italian variation on the popular inexpensive American Sunday supper stand-by.  Made with an inexpensive, even  "cheap", cut of beef its secret is in the long, slow, low temperature treatment of the beef and  the mix of Italian flavours.  For the tomato sauce, I prefer to use canned, whole San Marzano tomatoes (that's a variety of Roma tomatoes imported from Italy and grown  on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius) which I crush by hand.  For the red wine I recommend a good, full-bodied Chianti  or Burgundy.

 

Ingredients

2-3 pound beef pot roast

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus 2 tablespoons

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup red wine

1 quart tomato sauce

1 quart beef stock (amount may vary)

Pinch sugar

Grated peel and juice of 1 lemon

¼ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Coarse Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1.  Preheat oven to 350° F.

2.  In a heavy Dutch oven heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking add the pot roast and brown on all sides. Remove pot roast to a plate.

3.  Add the ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil to the Dutch oven and heat olive oil.   When the oil is hot add red pepper flakes and garlic and cook until aroma is apparent, DO NOT allow garlic to brown!

4.  Add wine, sugar, and tomato sauce, grated lemon peel and the olives to the pan and bring to a simmer.

5.  Add the pot roast to the sauce and add enough beef stock as to allow the liquid to come up 2/3 of the way up the beef.  Add lemon juice and chopped parsley to the sauce and check for seasoning.

6.  Bring the pot roast to a simmer on top of the stove, skim, cover tightly, and set in the lower third of a 350 degree preheated oven. Regulate heat so that the liquid remains at a gentle simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the beef is tender. Turn the roast over several times during its braising.

7.  Transfer roast to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes, covered with aluminum foil to keep warm.  Slice roast to your preference and serve topped with the tomato sauce.  Polenta and crusty Italian or French  make excellent accompaniments as do oven roasted potatoes.

Next Week's Post:  Caponata alla Siciliana

Polpetta alla Sansevero

Polpetta alla Sansevero

(Meatballs Sansevero)

serves 4 to 6

(Italian/American)

Normally meatballs are fried and then added to tomato sauce and cooked long and slow, and either served as a sandwich or as an accompaniment to pasta; My wife's favourite way to eat them though is as pictured . . . directly from the frying pan . . . no sauce, no pasta, no bread; just freshly fried.  When I fry these she is usually close by for "quality control";  “. . .that one isn’t round, guess I’ll have to eat it now!”, “. . . that one's too small, guess I’ll have to dispose of it!”.

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2-pound ground lean pork or 1/2-pound of hot Italian sausage, removed from casing

1/2  cup fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped

1/2  cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1/4  teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 eggs, beaten

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil to fry with

Preparation

1.  In a bowl, thoroughly combine the ground beef, ground pork (or sausage meat), breadcrumbs, garlic, onion, parsley, cheese, nutmeg, egg, and salt and pepper.  Form mixture into golf ball sized meatballs; for a nicer finish roll each meatball in additional dry breadcrumb before frying, it will also give you one last opportunity to make them round.

2.  Refrigerate the completed meatballs for about 1/2 hour before frying to allow them to set up and the flavours to mix.

3.  Heat a large, heavy skillet over moderately high heat.  Add oil and fry meatballs until browned on all sides.

4.  After meatballs are browned, add them to your simmering tomato sauce and allow them to simmer for at least 1/2  to 1 hour .  Serve accompanied by sauced pasta,  as a sandwich, sliced as a pizza topping, or place 4 meatballs in an oven-proof rarebit cover with sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, bake in the oven until the mozzarella is bubbly and serve as   "Meatballs Parmesan".

Next Week's Posting:  Memphis Style Dry Rubbed Ribs