Growing up my close friend’s mother was 100% Italian.She was from the Palermo region of Italy and she brought her family meat sauce recipe with her.It is spectacular and I can closely duplicate it.I loved her and her passion for cooking!I have taken her recipe and twisted it to my liking.Very much the same way I do everything I cook.I replaced beef short ribs with 99% lean ground sirloin.That’s what I like!Rather than use salt pork, I use pork sausage.The grease in the sausage fills in the gap for the 99% lean sirloin.All the fat is rendered off later anyway.Sirloin has a special flavor and I like it in my spaghetti sauce.Rather than use any salt, I use soy.The sodium from the soy really permeates the entire pot of sauce giving it a deep, rich flavor.When it comes to herbs fresh is best…..for some.But dried herbs work very well.I use oregano, basil and bay in my spaghetti sauce.I add herbs the whole cooking process for a depth of flavor never again to be duplicated exactly.Every time I stir the pot I add additional oregano, basil and minced garlic.The smell of the cooking meat sauce as I stir in the herbs is what life is all about!All the other ingredients I add in accordance with the amount of meat I cook are, fresh onion, onion powder, fresh and powdered garlic, black pepper, tomato sauce, tomato paste, tomato juice and a little bit of honey.Did I say I stir very regularly?I used to simmer the sauce all night long, but it can be hurried.The honey takes the acid bite out of the tomato products.I am currently cooking 20 pounds of the prettiest ground sirloin you have ever seen.When you are cooking a huge pot of spaghetti meat sauce having the ability to morph with circumstances makes life easy.After I brown the sausage, sirloin and onions, I add the tomato juice, tomato sauce and soy.I also throw in my first load of herbs and spices.I do not add the tomato paste or honey until the very end.I judge the amount of paste on the look of the sauce.The beautiful thing about recipes is the fact you are free to modify anything based on circumstance. If tomatoes are cheap you are free to prep accordingly. When it comes to basil, I would prefer fresh, but dried will do. When it comes to oregano I usually go with dry. Currently I am making an 8 gallon batch.I will let is rest until cool and break it down to freeze. We use the meat sauce for other dishes like lasagna and pizza. Enjoy!
Seafood Gumbo Southeast Texas Style ~ I have been on a mission since I was very young to taste and record the best family gumbo recipes handed down in southeast Texas. My mom had her mom's who had her mom's here in southeast Texas. Each generation did something a little different to suit the chef. I have made a point of eating gumbo at the finest seafood places in Texas and Louisiana. I have also read reviews and visited every place in New Orleans with a reputation for gumbo. I'm dead serious and there is one gumbo that stands above the rest! Let me be the first to say, I was never totally disappointed and always loved the various chef's take on this French Creole staple. Gumbo varies across the board. I have a Lady's Auxiliary Creole cookbook from the 60's and it is powerful tool to guide methods and flavors. Back then, pork fat ruled and it still does! Pork fat and roux are a marriage made in heaven. I like a dark, toasty roux which adds a nutty depth of f
I used one whole Texas sweet onion and chopped it up real fine. I quartered about 30 crimini mushrooms. I added about an once of extra virgin first cold press olive oil to a black iron skillet. I browned the onions to a very deep brown and added the mushroom quarters. I then added about an ounce of light soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of minced garlic to the onions and mushrooms and 1/2 tablespoon of fresh cracked black peppercorns and a small dollop of local raw honey and salt to your tastes. I then moved the skillet off the heat. In a separate sauce pan I added 4 cups of homemade beef stock and one cup of water totaling 5 cups. I brought the liquid to a boil and added 1 cup of stone ground white unbleached grits. The brand I use is "Old School". They are delicious. I added about 1/2 tablespoon of pink Himalayan sea salt. I immediately turn the burner down to low simmer. I paid close attention not to let the grits stick to the bottom. I just about constantly stirred them u
The nutritional benefits of milling your own grains Preparing the most nutritional meals possible for my family has been my focus for many years. For years I have read about the many empty calories we consume on a daily basis. The vitamin and supplement business is a mega-billion dollar industry. I have known for years highly processed foods were bad nutrition. Processed foods are easy and pretty but do not translate to nutritious food. Any foods that have been processed and designed to have a shelf life are at the best poor nutrition. Canned and pre-packaged foods have added ingredients that are poison to our bodies. Doctors have been telling us for years to lower our consumption of saturated fats, sodium and sugar. If everyone just cut their consumption of bad stuff by 50% we would be in far better condition. If we consumed the foods God gave us we would be in splendid condition. In my research I have read many things that are just good common
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