Text 21771, 161 rader
Skriven 2009-03-11 01:14:08 av Janis Kracht (1:261/38)
  Kommentar till text 21728 av Carol Shenkenberger (28272.cooks)
Ärende: Dang, it aint italian!
==============================
Hi Carol,

> Cool!  It was in the end, extremely tastey.

Thought it would be.. yellow squash makes tomato sauce taste extemely yummy :)
It's got a unique tasty flavor..it's so good :)

> Ok, I'm not nuts then.  I often add squash (yellow summer) to my 'tomato
> sauces'.

hehe a natural you are then :)

>> I got the habit from my mom who's on the Northern side.. my dad probably wou
>> have hit me being sicilian <vbg>.. the olives would depend on the type of sa
>> you were making..

> A generic sauce for pasta and other things.  No special meat in mind for use
> with it and sometimes, no meat at all.  This is a base recipe and I dip out
> what's needed and use it in other dishes.

Great, I can see how you'd want to use it that way.  I keep pesto sauce and
plain marinara sauces in my 'fridge for the same reason.. the pesto adds some
'zest' to just about everything, especially meat sauces (like with meatballs
and sausage).. and the marinara can be a base for a lot of sauces if I don't
have time to start one.. though normally I do start them from 'nothing' (g)..
it's just handy sometimes if you need a cup of sauce for this or that.. you
know what I mean :)

>> They would ruin the flavors of some sauces, enhance others..
> With this one, they work pretty good.  These are just big black ones
> (seeded).  No overt strong olivy flavor, but a subtle one that enchances a
> dish.

The crock pot probably helps that too.. the extremely slow cooking..

>> Some that they would be good with:
>> Chicken Cacciatori
>> Eggplant and Olive sauce

> I actually had eggplant in mind when making this sauce. I'm out but it would
> make a wonderful dish either added to the sauce (which leads to my
> 'ratatoolie-like stuff) or as a sauce on top baked ones.

Yeah.. can see it.. :)

ooh.. japanese sweet eggpant.. boy would I like to try that one.. :)  Haven't
had it in a few months now, so you're making the thought of that make my mouth
water (grin).. I'll have to check out wegman's or the asian store this week :)

Wonder if it would be too sweet though.. you'd know better than I would though.
Have you ever added that to tomato sauce? I never have done that.  Just curious
(g).

>> So you're not doing so bad :)

> ;-) Thanks Sis!

You have to play with food (smile)..

> Oh I keep typoing that one.  It's Za'atar (or just Zaatar).  A middle eastern
> spice blend.

> 1/4 c sumac
> 2 TB thyme
> 1 TB roasted sesame seeds
> 2 TB majorum
> 2 TB oregano

Oh ok.. familiar with the mix, just not the name :)  It's middle eastern
flavors would be so similar with some of the Italian spices .. Oregano is
really just a stronger Marjoram in my mind ... sumac if I remember correctly
..kinda lemony taste.. I guess Italians would just use lemon (g).. like for
chicken piccata:

==chicken piccata==
     4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
     1/4 cup flour
     1 Tbsp. butter
     2 Tbsp. olive oil
     1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
     1/4 cup dry white wine
     2 cloves garlic, minced
     1/4 cup capers, rinsed

Place the chicken breasts in plastic wrap. Pound the wrapped chicken breasts
gently to 1/4-inch thickness. Dredge in flour, then shake off excess. Heat
butter and olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken
breasts for 4-5 minutes on each side or until juices are no longer pink when
center of each piece is pierced. Remove chicken to a plate; cover to keep warm.

Pour lemon juice and white wine into skillet, scraping up brown bits. Stir in
garlic and capers. Continue cooking until sauce is reduced by one-half. Return
chicken to the pan and heat until warmed through. Serves 4.
===

> Some add a TB salt to it.  Mine's saltfree and in a mix I get at a local
> ethnic place.  Kosher stuff.  As you can see, it's not 'italian' but the
> blend shows elements of compatible seasoning.  It's got a wonderful and quite

Yep, Very close :) I'll have to look for it :) I do cook a number of middle
eastern dishes here.  I have a great middle eastern cookbook.. not sure if you
noticed it at the picnic.. it was that large (overly large (grin)) yellow
cookbook. Might have been laying sideways because it was so big compared to the
others.

> different aroma that makes you grab cans of tomatos immediately.  In the
> middle east, it's used on meats and in all sorts of ways.  Think of how many
> ways we might use a tin of blended chile powders, and you have the idea.

I can see that for sure :)

>> would need to start with olive oil and garlic.. saute that first in the bott
>> of the crock then add the tomatoes and let it simmer covered.. for spices yo

> Actually have to do that in a separate pan then add to the crock but I have
> your meaning ;-)

Ok, wasn't sure. it's been a while since I've used a crock pot.. one of these
days I'll get another one.. running out of room on that that counter if you can
imagine that :) :)  Ron laughed when I got the Vertisserie and plopped it on
the counter.. Hasn't left the counter yet haha.. made a chicken in there
tonight too.. With Priscilla being so ill this week (guess you caught all that
stuff going on here) it was so easy to spice up a bird and throw it in there ..
I'd bought a bottle of spice from Frontier Natural Spices, this one was Thai
spices.. so I threw a couple of quartered oranges in the cavity of the bird,
made a paste of the Thai spice, some honey, olive oil, paprika and garlic
powder .. rubbed that inside and all over that bird, and boy was that good :)
:) Priscilla is feeling much better the last couple of days.. she sure was
eyeing that bird Lol

>> add would be things like basil, oregano  or parsley depending one what meat
>> were using... Chicken cacciatore likes oregano, white or red wine, capers an
>> basil leaves.. and black pepper.. but you'll see variations on that. Turkey
>> then isn't that far off when you think about cacciatore.. :)
> It was handy!  I still have lots of sauce frozen (estimate 60OZ or so at
> least) and the meat balls were not actually added to the sauce, but served
> with it on pasta.

That's the best way usually, keeping them separate :)  That way, if you freeze
the sauce, the meatballs don't get all funky haha.. well they don't go bad,
they just fall apart when you defrost them somethimes, that's all..:) I guess
they don't like drying out so much.

>> > My family is supporting me though as I struggle and want me to try again
>> > after they eat up this last batch of attempts.
>>
>> > Question?  Is there a support group for folks like me?
>>
>> hehehe.. move to NY Lol :)  I can help your habit :) :)

> Grin, my family wants me to try again because the results are always unique
> and tastey.
> xxcarol

That's great!  Can't go wrong there :)

Take care,
Janis

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