Pressure Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs in 10 minutes and it tastes like it was slow cooked for hours. I'm not joking.

A deep, tangy and robust taste, sauce as smooth as butter, and the most tender meatballs one can make I think.

You can slow cook this same recipe for hours and if you do. Save half the sauteed onions and half the spices to be added during the last hour of cooking. Slow cooking tends to flatten the taste of spices and such and reserving half and adding late in the cooking cycle will "brighten" the taste once more.

That being said. Use a Pressure Cooker. I admit I just bought one and am learning to use it myself, but this recipe came out so good, I would recommend you have to try the pressure method. It may very well be the only way you make spaghetti sauce from now on.

Ingredients and Method:

1/2 package frozen italian meatballs (I found a full package to be too many)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 14 1/2 oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
2 8 0z cans tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
1 large sweet onion
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon basil
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Pour olive oil into pressure cooker, and bring to medium heat. Saute diced onions until they soften and start to become translucent. Add garlic and continue to saute for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the balance of the ingredients to the cooker. Tomatoes, paste, sauces, wine, spices, and brown sugar. Pour the meatballs right in. Even frozen will work fine.

Turn the heat up, uncovered, and stir until the sauce begins to bubble vigorously. Place the top on the cooker and seal, still on high heat. Leave on high until it begins to steam continuously, then immediately turn to medium low, just enough to have a constant gentle flow of steam escaping for the cooker.

Begin timing the 10 minutes once you turn the heat down as explained above. When the time has elapsed, quick cool the pressure cooker by running it under cold water.

Uncover, and what I like to do is, is turn on a gentle low heat, and let the sauce bubble gently while I prepare the pasta, and bread, and salad or whatever you are serving it with. It's done, but a little gentle further cooking never hurt a spaghetti sauce.

Ladle spaghetti sauce and meatballs over freshly cooked pasta and top with Parmesan cheese, or my current favorite, Parmesan Reggiano.

Enjoy.

Currant Oatmeal Scones

Do you like scones? I sure do, and every time I make them, I think, "Why don't I make scones more often?"

I particularly like this recipe because it contains oatmeal which makes for a nice hearty and tasty crumb. With only a bit over 1/3 cup sugar, it's just slightly sweet too. It's also the perfect recipe for you to put in whatever fruit you might like, such as raisins, currants, cranberries, raspberries, etc.

Adapted from Joy the Baker website. Thanks Joy. Great scone recipe!

1 egg
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons cold butter
1 2/3 cups flour
1 1/3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup currants
Brown sugar for dusting

In a mixing bowl beat eggs together with sugar then mix in buttermilk. In a separate bowl cut in the butter into the flour. Use a pastry cutter, or your fingers until the flour and butter are the size of pebbles.

Add the oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Mix in the flour/butter mixture until incorporated. No need to overmix. Fold in the currants or whatever fruit you are adding.

Place parchment paper on cookie sheet and use an ice cream scoop to drop balls of Scone dough onto sheet about 2 inches apart. Dust with a coating of brown sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown.

Let cool a bit and serve slightly warmed or at room temperature.

Pressure Cooker Rice Pudding

So I went and bought a Pressure Cooker. I've never cooked with one so I'll be playing around with it and trying different things which you'll see blogged in the upcoming weeks.

Here it is. Presto 8-Quart Triple Clad Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker.

The very first thing I made was Old Fashioned Rice pudding. I remember eating Rice Pudding as a child, usually prepared by my Grandmother on her old cast iron stove, and cooked all night long. Then served warm, with a bit of melting butter and sprinkled with cinnamon. Creamy and delicious.

Guess what? I cooked rice pudding in the Pressure Cooker in EIGHT minutes and it was so, so good! Creamy and delicious, and "just like Grandma's"

I spooned it into bowls and dusted some of the bowls with cinnamon and the rest with nutmeg.

So if you've got a pressure cooker gathering dust somewhere, break it out, dust it off and try making this easy recipe. You won't be disappointed. (Recipe is from the Presto pressure cooker cookbook)

1 T Butter
1 cup long grain white rice
1/3 cup plus two tablespoons sugar
1 cup water
2 cups milk
1/2 t salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup cream or evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter in cooker and pour rice in and cover totally with butter.

Add the sugar, milk, water and salt.

Pressure cook for 8 - 9 minutes at 15 p.s.i. Don't begin timing  minutes until the cooker is fully up to pressure and constantly emitting a gentle stream of steam.

In a bowl mix 1 egg with 1/4 cup cream or evaporated milk and 1/2 t vanilla.

Temper egg mixture by adding a bit of the hot rice mixture and stirring. Repeat several times at least. Then mix the egg mixture into the pot and cook (uncovered) until it just begins to bubble a bit.

Let cool slightly and dust with cinnamon or nutmeg. A touch of whipped cream would be perfect.

Slow Cooker Cuban Pork Shoulder (Pulled Pork)

Pulled Pork! Who doesn't like a pulled pork sandwich with Barbeque Sauce, or perhaps also some coleslaw? (North Carolina Style) I've even made pulled pork enchiladas which were out of this world.

But let's face it, it's a hassle to make right? Lot of work? Pain in the butt? (no pun intended)

NOPE! It's really easy. That's what a SLOW COOKER is for.....!

And to boot, this recipe is absolutely delicious! And it's interesting in that you can just make the pork, and serve it with whatever sauce you like, OR, take the drippings from pan, add a few ingredients, reduce the sauce and bake it into the pulled pork. I did this, and amazingly, ate the pork just that way, with no additional sauce, it's THAT good.

Give it a try. You'll thank me. Well, some of you will thank me. Most will make it, enjoy it, and never tell me. But that's ok. I'll know anyway.

Adapted from: Foodie with Family.

5 - 6 pound pork shoulder (Bone-in is tastier)
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
8 peeled cloves of garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice

Pour the olive oil into the slow cooker and spread around evenly.

Place the pork shoulder, fat side up, into the slow cooker. Toss in the peeled garlic cloves.

Sprinkle the roast with the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, and cumin. Pour the lime juice and broth around the roast, and pour or spoon the frozen orange juice concentrate onto the top of the roast.

Cook on high for 1 1/2 hours, turn heat down to low and let cook for 12 hours. Check the pork and make sure it is pull-apart tender. Turn off cooker and let cool down and then place to roast in the refrigerator to chill all night long. If your cooker doesn't have the stoneware insert, just place the roast in a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate. Reserve all the liquids.

The next day, remove from refrigerator, place on cutting board, and remove all the exposed chilled fat from the pork and discard. (And the bone if bone-in)

The meat will be easy to pull apart. Use your fingers or two forks and completely separate the pork. At this time you can also chop it with a knife to make more concise pieces.

Now, it's Decision time...... you are done, and could now use the pork in sandwiches, slather with sauce(s), cook in enchilada's or whatever.....

Or, take the next step...... which is to do the following: (Check it out, it's kinda cool)

Drain the reserved pan juices through a strainer or cheesecloth and pour the liquids into a sauce pan.

Add two tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until sauce is reduced by 75%

Place pork in a 9 x 13 casserole dish and pour the reduction sauce all over the pork. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I found the pork to taste SOOOO good with this baked in marinade that I didn't even use any other sauce when eating it.

Warm Strawberry Crumb Cake

At the market today and saw some fresh Strawberries. With fall on the way, I thought it'd be nice to have a little end of summer fruit dessert. I wanted something different and found a great recipe at Food and Wine for Strawberry Crumb Cake. Quick, and easy and delicious. Great way to say goodbye to summer.

Additionally, the cake batter and crumb topping would work wonderfully with most any type of fruit, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, apples, etc.

You can use a lesser quantity of fruit, but it will not have the "juice" content of a larger quantity. Your preference.


Ingredients and Method:

Filling:
3 pounds fresh straberries, hulled and halved
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2½ tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2½ tablespoons of water
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

Cake:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1¼ cups sugar
3 large eggs
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ cup buttermilk

Crumb Topping:
½ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

In a bowl, add strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla seeds, and cornstarch mixture and mix well. Let sit for 45 - 60 minutes until the strawberries "juice".

In another bowl mix the topping together. Use your fingers or dough cutter until you have small lumps.

In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each time. Add the vanilla and buttermilk and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and beat well.

Pour the fruit into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Spread the cake mix over the top and smooth over the entire filling, covering it completely. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour until golden brown.

Let cool and serve. It microwaves well as a leftover and loves the addition of a little vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Buttermilk English Muffins

Who knew? Seriously, who knew? Who knew English Muffins were this easy to make at home?
And who knew they were this good?

OK, maybe all of you knew, but I sure didn't. I made them, and have been enjoying them for breakfast all week long. Check it out.

2 1/4 cups flour
1 package active dry yeast
3/4 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening or butter (room temperature)
1 cup buttermilk (slightly heated)
cornmeal for sprinkling

In a bowl, add heated buttermilk, shortening or butter, sugar, and dry yeast. Stir and let sit for 20 minutes to make sure yeast proofs and the mixture puffs up.

Add flour, salt and mix with dough hook until well incorporated and a sticky ball of dough is formed. Add more flour in 1/4 cup increments if necessary, but you want a pretty sticky dough.

Scrape dough out onto a floured board or surface, sprinkle with flour, and knead BRIEFLY. We want the traditional nooks and crannies in the finished product, and the more you knead, the finer the "crumb" will be.

Drop dough into a greased bowl, turn over, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm area (I use a slightly warmed oven, just turn the temp to 350 for 45 seconds and turn off) for at least one hour.

After it's risen, scrape out onto the same floured surface, do NOT punch down. Knead once or twice and shape or roll into rectangle about one inch thick.

Using biscuit cutter, or a knife to form into 4 inch squared, cut and shape into rounds.

Spread cornmeal over parchment paper, or a board, or whatever. Place the cut and shaped circles of dough onto the cornmeal. Dust the tops liberally with cornmeal also. Top with plastic wrap, and let rise for another hour.
Heat a dry griddle or skillet to medium heat, carefully place a few dough rounds onto the skillet and brown on each side, about 5 - 9 minutes per side.



Remove and let cool for 20 minutes before tearing into one, and slathering it with butter and jelly.
Note: Don't use a knife to cut open the muffin. Use a fork, worked around it in a circle to maintain the holes and internal texture in the muffin.

Enjoy!

One more thing, I was reading other recipes for English Muffins and this one site suggested, cut open the muffin, spread one side with peanut butter, add a slice of fresh tomato, and top with the remaining half of the muffin. I have NEVER heard of this, but am tempted to try it. If YOU do, let me know....thanks.

Candied Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have you noticed bacon showing up in odd places lately? I mean, for years and years, bacon showed up beside some eggs in a breakfast, sometimes in a waffle or a pancake, and occasionally added to some kind of green bean dish. But that's about it in my recollection.

Now, however, it seems to be showing up everywhere. Check out the 3rd photo down at Voodoo Donuts. It's a huge maple bar covered with freshly cooked bacon slices! And people rave about it.

Or how about a fried breakfast served in a "dish" made out of cooked bacon? Click here.

Or maybe, bacon cupcakes, or chocolate covered bacon, bacon baklava, bacon pie, bacon candy or bacon fried bananas? See them and more here.

Anyway, being the cutting-edge kind of guy I am, I decided to jump on the bandwagon when I came across a recipe for bacon chocolate chip cookies. Yeah, bacon chocolate chip cookies.

And guess what? They were strangely addictive. That's all I can say. I took two dozen to work and they received rave reviews, after a moment or two of hesitation of course. So do give them a try if you want to be up on the cutting edge of bacon cooking-dom. (I made that up, can ya tell?)

Adapted from the peterandrewryan website.


Ingredients and Method:

10 slices thick cut smoked bacon
3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips (I prefer Ghiradelli)
2 1/3 cups flour

Place bacon in an ovenproof pan. I use cast iron, and if you're using a different type pan to bake the bacon, you might want to use some parchment paper to ease on cleanup.

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons brown sugar over bacon and place into 350 degree oven. Turn occasionally to spread the molten brown sugar over the cooking bacon. Let get dark brown and crisp. Remove from oven and place/drain on waxed paper. The bacon will be sticky, so be careful, don't just drain on paper towels, or you'll be starting over, believe me, unless you want paper towels in your cookies. It's strange enough we have bacon, huh?

Meanwhile, cream butter and sugars in a mixing bowl until well combined.

Add salt, baking soda, and vanilla and beat well.

Mix in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated.

Add flour and mix well.

Add chocolate chips, and crushed and crumbled bacon into mixture. Mix briefly until just blended.

Chill dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Now, this dough will spread during baking. (One reason we're chilling it ahead of time) So place cookies with sufficient space on cookie sheet.

Drop by tablespoonfulls onto baking sheet. To retard the spreading of the cookies further, use parchment paper.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 12 - 15 minutes. I always bake for 15 minutes because I like them browned and crisp, but go for 12 if you like them softer.

Remove from oven, let sit for 10 minutes, and remove to cooling rack.

Convince your friends they'll love them if they try them, and then revel in their adulation....lol

These really are good. But hard to explain why.

Enjoy!