Tag Archives: Ina Garten

Best Tomato Sauce Ever (Vol. III)

25 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by in RECIPES, TRAVEL, TV / POP CULTURE

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Why am I still single if I can make this sumptuous, irresistible tomato sauce?  Let me explain. Years ago, a friend gave me the recipe for Rachael Ray’s “You Won’t Be Single For Long Vodka Sauce,” which promises that if you make her sauce for a guy, he’s sure to pop the question.  Um, still waiting. Then I went to Nick & Toni’s in NYC and had their version, called Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola, and after discovering the recipe online, I am now convinced I will land a prince.  A gorgeous, food-loving, Jewish prince at that!  It’s that good, and the best vodka sauce I’ve ever had, hands down.

If you can’t get to Nick & Toni’s, make it at home. (Thank you, Barefoot Contessa!) While it needs to bake in the oven for an hour and a half and yes, there’s a heck of a lot of cream, its comforting aromas and super-concentrated spicy/sweet flavor will more than make up for the extra calories and cooking time.  This is the third of my three-part “Best Tomato Sauce Ever” posts, yet it might be the first thing I’ll note if I ever join Match.com. (“Or J-Date!” my mother just screamed.)

Nick & Toni’s Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola

Adapted from Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa

  • 1/4 cup good olive oil
  • 1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, diced
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 cup vodka
  • 2 (28-ounce) cans peeled plum tomatoes (San Marzano are best)
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 pound penne pasta
  • 4 tablespoons fresh oregano
  • 3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream (Feel free to use half ‘n half for a slightly less rich taste)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus a little more for presentation

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large oven-proof saute pan over medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute more. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half.  Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes through a sieve and crush them into the pan with your hands. Add 2 teaspoons salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and place it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente. Drain and set aside.

Place the tomato mixture in a blender and puree in batches until the sauce is a smooth consistency. Return to the pan.  Reheat the sauce, add 2 tablespoons fresh oregano and enough cream to make the sauce a creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes. Toss the pasta into the sauce and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Serve with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan and a sprinkle of fresh oregano on each plate.  Good luck!

Serves 4-5

(small photos courtesy of Alexandracooks.com – a great foodie website)

I hate baking.

20 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by in RECIPES

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baking

NOT me.

I hate baking.  No, let me correct that – I’m afraid of baking.  All the exactness of it, the “don’t open the oven until it’s done!” stuff, the science of it.  Ask me to make a last-minute Thanksgiving dinner for 12?  No problem.  Ask me to bake a cake?  HIVES.  But that all changed when I learned that Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa herself, was intimidated by baking too, or more specifically, making pastry dough.  Then she discovered frozen puff pastry.  And I did too.  It’s easy, it’s timesaving, it’s inexpensive, and it’s just a great short cut to creating simple, homemade desserts.  Most of all, Ina approves.

Here’s a simple but impressive recipe for Palmiers, sometimes called Elephant Ears or French Hearts.  Why impressive?  Because they’re French, fancy, and flaky.  But shhh, so easy!

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Palmiers

  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry*, defrosted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/8 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  1. Mix the salt with the sugar and pour half the mixture onto a counter or cutting board.  Unfold the sheet of pastry dough onto the sugar and pour the rest of the sugar mixture on top, spreading it out evenly.
  2. Roll the dough into a 12”x12” square, rolling the sugar into the pastry.  Idiot  alert!  If it’s your first time using a rolling pin, don’t get all excited and roll it out too large and thin (“Wooooo, I’m baking!”). You’ll burn whatever you’re doing because the bottom will be too thin.
  3. Now it’s time to fold and fear not – you’ll get it.  Fold the two sides a quarter of the way inwards, then a quarter of the way inwards again so that they’ll meet in the middle.  Then fold one half on top of the other, culminating in six layers, and you’ll now have a long vertical strip.
  4. Slice the dough into strips about ¼” thick and place strips on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure you leave about 2” in between slices so that they can spread while baking.
  5. Bake for 10 minutes until brown and caramelized on the bottom, then turn and bake for 3-4 minutes more.  Let cool on a wire rack and Voila!  Fancy, French cookies you made all by yourself!

Makes 20

*Tip  Any puff pastry will do, but if you can find Dufour Pastry Kitchens Classic Puff Pastry, I promise you, you will never use another kind again.  It’s crazy good, and no one will ever believe it’s store-bought.  I found it at Whole Foods and almost wish I hadn’t, ka-ching!