Braciole (Italian-Style Rolled Flank Steak)

Braciole, pronounced bra-shoal, is an age-old Italian meat dish. It's a very southern Italian, Italian-immigrant dish. My older relatives (think grandparents and their generation) used to make it all the time. I haven't had it in years and when I saw a post recently on Proud Italian Cook's blog, it made my mouth water and my tastebuds yearn for that melt in your mouth tender meat. The trick to braciole is the braising process - basically you sear the meat rolls and then simmer them for hours in a rich, winey tomato sauce. The end result is the most flavorful, fork-tender meat you'll ever eat. In my family, we usually rolled the pounded out flank steak with slabs of lard, which helps tenderize the meat. I noticed Proud Italian Cook used thinly sliced prosciutto and I absolutely loved this idea. I used pancetta however, and then I followed her basic stuffing combination and the rolls were delicious.
My mom was in charge of wrapping up the rolls and I think she went a little overboard! Check out those sailor knots LOL!

You don't need to use as much twine, not that it will mess with the taste but it did take quite a while to open these little packages when dinner was served. Mom was just being extra-cautious though so you can't fault her for hog-tying the rolls. She just didn't want the rolls to break up in the sauce. I'm sure it comes as no surprise that Italians are good with rope (lol little bad mob humor there, not sayin' anything of course! Just kidding!)
Anyway, here are some rough measurements I came up with for the recipe. In the true Italian tradition, PRC's blog doesn't provide measurements on her post, but I know not everyone can just improvise and I don't want that to be a reason why you didn't try this dish because it's out of this world. For the tomato sauce you can just use any basic tomato sauce recipe you like - one that has red wine in it might be nice, but not required. I think the wine helps tenderize the meat even more. You need kitchen twine to tie your rolls together. I prefer to cut the steak into strips in order to make individual rolls, but if you do an online search for braciole you'll find many recipes that have you rolling up the flank steak in one large piece and tying it that way. Do whatever works for you. Enjoy! We served this for Christmas dinner with some homemade crab and red pepper ravioli.

Braciole
Source: adapted from Proud Italian Cook


4-5 lbs flank steak, pounded thin and cut into long strips about 3 inches wide
3/4 lb pancetta, sliced thinly (get this from your deli counter at your grocery)
1/2 cup minced garlic (almost one whole small bulb)
2/3 cup chopped parsley
2/3 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
1/4 - 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (use more if your mixture is looking too thick with parsley and garlic)
olive oil

Mix together your garlic, parsley, cheese and breadcrumbs. Use a little olive oil, about a tablespoon or two to bind the mixture. Lay out your flank steak, make sure it's been pounded to about 1/2 inch thick, or thinner if you can without breaking the meat too much. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Layer the pancetta in a single layer on top of each flank steak. Then top evenly with the stuffing mixture and pat flat. Finally, roll up your flank steak and secure with kitchen twine.
In a high-sided saute pan, cover the bottom with olive oil in a thin layer and heat. Once the oil is hot, add your rolls, a few at a time, and brown on all four sides.

Remove once browned and set aside. Once all your rolls are browned, add them to your simmering homemade tomato sauce and let them cook on low heat for a few hours until the meat is tender. Be careful when stirring the sauce pot so you don't break up the rolls within the pot. Once done, remove and serve with more sauce and grated romano cheese and your favorite pasta. Enjoy!

Barefoot Bloggers: Mini Meat Loaves

Ok so I've never really been a big meatloaf eater. My mom would make it once in a while when I was little, but it wasn't like we had some great family recipe to pass down, as many Americans seem to have. I've made meatloaf maybe twice since being married - once with ground turkey and the other time I can't even remember. It's not my favorite meal, but it's easy, classic and homey. I wasn't real excited about this Barefoot Bloggers choice, but I figured what they heck. I really wasn't excited about the ketchup topping. That just sounded so "tv dinnerish" to me - also, I kind of hate ketchup. Here's a little story about how much it grosses me out.

I used to be a camp counseler when I was in high school and this one little girl would bring ketchup and bologna sandwiches on white bread in her lunch bag every day (GAAAAAG!). Now as if that wasn't gross enough to me - cold ketchup on cold white bread and cold bologna, she would take out the piece of bologna in the middle of the two ketchup-stained pieces of white bread, and hold it up and lick the excess ketchup off the bologna. I could only witness this display of her love of ketchup once for fear that I would literally throw up my own lunch.
Ketchup is way too sweet in my opinion, the smell of it makes me kind of gag and the only thing I can really stomach it with is french fries. But even then I usually mix it with a little mustard. Or just hold the ketchup and dip my fries in mustard. My love of mustard could fill a whole blog entry, to be honest. And don't get me started about ketchup on hamburgers and hotdogs. Ugh. My husband likes ketchup however and wanted me to go with the ketchup topping on these mini-meat loaves, so I obliged. It wasn't too bad actually and gave the meat loaf a moistness. Overall, these were pretty tasty. I halfed the recipe to make 3 mini loaves. I also reduced the amount of onions Ina calls for, as I thought 1 and 1/2 onions would be WAY too much onion. I only used 1/2 of one onion and it was more than enough. I also added a lot more fresh thyme than she calls for. Go to the Barefoot Bloggers website to see how everyone else fared with these meat loaves. Enjoy!

Ina's Mini Meat Loaves
Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten

1 tablespoon good olive oil
3 cups chopped yellow onions (3 onions)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup canned chicken stock or broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 1/2 pounds ground chuck (81 percent lean)
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs (recommended: Progresso)
2 extra-large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup ketchup (recommended: Heinz)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onions, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not brown. Off the heat, add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, onion mixture, bread crumbs, and eggs, and mix lightly with a fork. Don't mash or the meatloaf will be dense. Divide the mixture into 6 (10 to 11-ounce) portions and shape each portion into a small loaf on a sheet pan. Spread about a tablespoon of ketchup on the top of each portion. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the internal temperature is 155 to 160 degrees F and the meat loaves are cooked through. Serve hot.

Williams-Sonoma's Homemade Meatballs with Spaghetti

They get me every time. Every month the beautiful Williams-Sonoma catalog arrives and is chock full of sparkling merchandise and mouth-watering recipes. I equate its arrival to the Big Sears Toy Book of my childhood - funny how interests change? Although, when I was little I would eye up those play kitchens (which I never got, so deprived!) and the Easy Bake oven (which I also never got, again so deprived!) every single year until I was like 12. So I guess things don't change that much.
Either way, I always end up saving the catalogs because they mesmerize me with the featured recipes. On top of the great photography, I've never been disappointed by any of the recipes I've tried. I must say that Williams-Sonoma is a quite trustworthy source for no-fail recipes that range from weeknight dinners to fancy entertaining dishes. This recipe for homemade meatballs was no exception. My husband actually spotted it first - yes, I've even got him in the habit of perusing the W&S catalog for good-looking recipes - and insisted that I make them soon.

Last week was cold and dreary, the perfect time for a hearty, homey meal like spaghetti and meatballs. I made the meatballs exactly as the recipe stated, except for the size. It denotes that the recipe makes 10 meatballs. Those would have to be some HUGE meatballs. I was able to make 20 good-size meatballs out of the beef mixture. Needless to say, I froze 14 of them for future use. These were moist and tender, and the cheese cube in the center was the decadent finish.

In a word - superb. I made my own homemade marinara and used store-bought spaghetti to complement the meatballs. So don't throw out this month's W&S catalog. Flip through and get sucked in...you know you won't be able to resist it!

Homemade Meatballs with Spaghetti
source: Williams & Sonoma

3 Tbs. olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups torn pieces crustless white bread (1/2-inch pieces)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme
5 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes

7 cups tomato sauce
1 1/2 lb. spaghetti, cooked and drained
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving
Directions:
In a large sauté/simmer pan over medium heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Let cool.

In a bowl, combine the bread and buttermilk. Add the ground beef, onion mixture, parsley, thyme, 2 1⁄2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper and mix with your hands until cohesive. Form the mixture into 10 meatballs. Stuff a cheese cube into the center of each one, then reroll the meatball.

In the same pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil. Working in 2 batches, brown the meatballs, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate. Reduce the heat to medium, pour the tomato sauce into the pan and add the meatballs. Simmer, turning the meatballs once, until they are cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes.

Divide the spaghetti among individual bowls and top with the sauce and meatballs. Pass the cheese alongside. Serves 5 to 6.

Osso Buco and Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

So for my birthday this year, I wanted to cook. I've been so busy during the week and even on the weekends lately that I haven't gotten many chances to just spend the day cooking! For that reason, I created a labor-intense menu for my birthday dinner and had my family enjoy the fruits of my work!


The menu consisted of:
Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi with Pesto Sauce
Osso Buco
Grilled Asparagus
Green Salad
Homemade Apple Pie with Homemade Cinnamon Ice cream

It was decadent and delicious! Everything turned out perfectly and I got to spend the day doing what I love. Unfortunately, my photos aren't that great since I was working by myself to finish everything. It's hard to get pictures of gnocchi during the creation stage when your hands are covered with flour. But these shots give you an idea. This was the first time I worked with veal shanks and I was kind of intimidated by Osso Buco. It was fairly easy to make however! And almost impossible to screw up. You're kind of braising the meat so no matter what it's tender and juicy. And the ricotta gnocchi were a great compliment to the meal. Light and fluffy and the pesto added a nice bite. Hope these dishes find their way to your birthday celebration table! Enjoy!

Osso Buco
source: Food Network, Giada

1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 dry bay leaf
2 whole cloves
Cheesecloth
Kitchen twine, for bouquet garni and tying the veal shanks
3 whole veal shanks (about 1 pound per shank), trimmed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All purpose flour, for dredging
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small carrot, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 stalk celery, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 container of baby bella mushrooms, sliced (my addition)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Directions
Place the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cloves into cheesecloth and secure with twine. This will be your bouquet garni.

For the veal shanks, pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Veal shanks will brown better when they are dry. Secure the meat to the bone with the kitchen twine. Season each shank with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the shanks in flour, shaking off excess.

In a large Dutch oven pot, heat vegetable oil until smoking. Add tied veal shanks to the hot pan and brown all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove browned shanks and reserve.

In the same pot, add the onion, carrot and celery. Season with salt at this point to help draw out the moisture from the vegetables. Saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine and reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and 2 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Check every 15 minutes, turning shanks and adding more chicken stock as necessary. The level of cooking liquid should always be about 3/4 the way up the shank.

Carefully remove the cooked shanks from the pot and place in decorative serving platter. Cut off the kitchen twine and discard.

Remove and discard bouquet garni from the pot.

Pour all the juices and sauce from the pot over the shanks. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest.


Ricotta Gnocchi
Source: Elodia Rigante's Italian American Cookbook

2 cups ricotta
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups flour
salt and pepper
more flour for rolling

Combine the ricotta with the beaten eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Gradually mix in the flour until it forms a thick dough.
Flour your working surface and roll the dough out to about 1 in thick. Then with a knife or a pizza cutter cut the flattened dough into 1 in wide strips.
Then cut 1 inch cubes out of the strips. The cubes will be your gnocchi.
You can either thumbprint them or you can roll an indentation on them using the back of a fork. Place the base of the tonged part of the fork on top of a gnocchi cube, then pull it toward you to roll it and create lines.
Place the gnocchi on a baking sheet in a single layer - if you pile them in a bowl or on top of each other they will stick together. Refrigerate covered until you're ready to boil them. At this point you can also freeze them, while flat on the pan, and then when they are frozen put them in a plastic ziploc bag for storage.
If you are going to cook them though, prepare a pot of salted water to boil. Once boiling throwin your gnocchi. They will cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until all the little pillows have floated to the top of your boiling water. Remove and serve with your favorite sauce.

MEEEEAAAAT!!

I just had to post some pictures of the glorious meat my family enjoyed over the holiday weekend. July 4th is important to me because it's not only Independence Day, but it's also the day after my husband's birthday. So we celebrate all weekend. And it works out that my husband's favorite food is hamburgers and steaks on the grill. We put a little twist on these American favorites. Hope it inspires you to bring out the best on your bbq!

Mediterranean Strip Steaks

4 steaks
4 cloves garlic minced
10-12 sprigs of fresh oregano, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup feta cheese
Combine the chopped garlic, oregano and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover the steaks and let marinate for about an hour so the flavor can soak into the meat. Grill until desired tenderness. Serve topped with crumbled feta cheese.

Gorgonzola Stuffed Burgers

There's really no need for a recipe here of course. These tasted so good! I mixed the meat with a little salt and pepper, and a small palmful of McCormick's Grill Seasoning "Hamburger". I then stuffed the patties with my favorite blue cheese, gorgonzola. Grilled and served. They tasted fantastic with some juicy tomatoes and dijon mustard.