A nip in the air....

This weekend it finally felt like autumn had arrived. Cool Temperatures and some color change in the trees. The lake is covered with Canada Geese on their way south for the winter. It brought to mind warm comfort food. I have wanted to look into pasta sauces and not use the over salted sauces in jars. This week I played with a red sauce with meat.

Pasta sauce two ways
Zucchini Fritters
Mascarpone Polenta


Recently I read a book "The School of Essential Ingredients" It's a story of 8 people taking cooking classes in a restaurant. Each chapter focuses on one of the characters and the recipe they learn. Tom did a pasta sauce that worked for me. The sauce begins with sauteing onion and garlic in oil and chicken broth. The meat mix I used was 1/3 pound each ground chuck, pork and lamb. Once the meat is browned milk is added and cooked until absorbed into the meat. Next comes red wine, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasonings. The sauce simmers for 2 hours and then tossed with penne pasta and Parmesan. An excellent and easy meat sauce. I expect it will be repeated in a number recipes over the winter. In a couple of weeks I plan to work on a meatless sauce.

I used the meat sauce over the polenta and it too was very successful. The polenta is corn meal cooked into a boiling mixture of water, milk and EVOO. As it thickens pepper, heavy cream and mascarpone are added. When it thickens finely chopped rosemary is added. Have not made polenta with mascarpone, but will again. The cheese gives the polenta a nice smooth texture.

The unexpected star of the weekend was the zucchini fritters. I had the reminder of a large zucchini that I wanted to use. Grated with the liquid squeezed out the zucchini is mixed with mint, dill, green onion, garlic, black pepper and feta cheese. An egg and a bit of flour are added. The batter is sauteed in a bit of oil until browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels and served with Tzatziki sauce from last week (it keeps well in the refrigerator). I can guarantee that with the garlic in the fritters and the Tzatziki, there will be no vampires in your house!!

Next week is Apple Fest in Long Grove so I plan on apple recipes for the weekend. Have a couple in mind. Until then, have a great week!!