The Dish That Says Home: Signature "Spaghetti"
For those of you who may not know, John is away during the week studying hard for his doctorate in physical therapy. The school is quite the distance away from home so he leaves on Sunday nights and comes back on Friday evenings--not the most ideal situation in our newlywed stage, but we need to do what we have to do. The weekends are now more special than ever and the food we share becomes one memory after another. For him, it's home. With God's presence and love at the center, we feel blessed and comforted in this place we call home where food and company brings us together to enjoy each other in sharing our lives together--quite the special moment :)
The hellos have been nothing but joy and warmth, but the goodbyes every Sunday night have been pretty tough. Luckily tonight, there are no goodbyes since tomorrow is Labor Day and we both have the day off. I wanted to cook something John absolutely loves to enjoy on our Sunday night without the goodbye :)
Tonight, I made one of my signature dishes--"spaghetti". Why the quotes? Well, spaghetti refers to the actual pasta used, not necessarily the sauce. For the pasta, I used linguine because we like the wider width of the noodle better, but this is just preference.
The sauce is what brings "spaghetti" to life. My sauce is chunky with flavor combinations that burst on every taste bud on your pallet. The secret is to enhance the flavors of the ingredients and balance the flavors. Check it out:
Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh ground beef
6 oz. Sliced mushrooms
1 Red bell peppers
1/2 Yellow bell peppers
1/2 Red onion
1 TBSP minced garlic
2 TSP Red pepper flakes
3 TSP Sugar
1 TBSP Fresh Italian parsley
2 TSP Dried parsley
Tomato basil sauce
Salt
Pepper
1 TBSP unsalted butter
In a deep skillet, add a tbsp of butter and melt it down to coat the bottom of the pan on medium heat. You can use olive oil to do the same, but I like the buttery taste that the meat absorbs without the greasy taste. When using oil, sometimes when you add your sauce, the oils come up and it does not look very appetizing--butter solves that problem :)
Add 1 lb. of fresh ground beef and immediately season with a pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper. Add 1/2 a tbsp of garlic and cook it down until the meat browns. While the meat cooks, dice the red and yellow peppers, 1/2 red onion, and finely chop the fresh parsley.
First, add the red and yellow peppers into the skillet with the meat. The red pepper is a traditional ingredient in most Italian dishes, but the yellow pepper is not that common. The reason why I use both in my spaghetti sauce is because the red pepper gives a subtle kick and the yellow pepper adds a slight sweetness in every bite. Now, I told you about the key to my sauce: enhancing the flavors of the ingredients. Later on, you'll see what I'm talking about.
After the peppers, add the mushrooms. It's important to add the ingredients that cook the longest first. Mushrooms cook relatively quickly and they absorb so much flavor, so in cooking it after the meat and peppers, it's going to absorb the meat flavor with the subtle kick of the red pepper and the delicate sweetness of the yellow. While it absorbs, it's also going to add an earthy flavor to the mixture too! Lastly, add the onion. The onion also works to add a sweetness!
The creation of the spaghetti sauce is all about patience. A fast cook in creating the sauce limits the extraction of all the flavors into one harmonious symphony. Give the ingredients time to cook and mingle together on low heat!
To the ingredients in the skillet, add 2 tsp of red pepper flakes to enhance the flavor of the red pepper. Then add the dried parsley to release its flavor through the ingredients. The fresh parsley will release its flavor in the sauce. Having the dried parsley present in the ingredients allows the flavor to come through in both the sauce and the chunks of goodness.
Now, add your tomato basil sauce. I like using a simple sauce because the ingredients have so many flavors in them. Getting a sauce that has a strong flavor of it's own might outshine the flavors of the actual ingredients in the sauce, thus defeating the purpose of flavor extractions and the harmony we've come to achieve!
Let the sauce mingle with the ingredients for a few minutes so the flavors will mesh. Add the last half of the minced garlic and cook it down for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add the 3 tsp. of sugar. Why sugar? Well, I like to enhance the sweetness from the yellow pepper and the onions. It provides a nice balance from the kick you get from the red pepper and red pepper flakes. It's all about balance! Let it cook for another few minutes and finish it off with fresh parsley!
On al dente noodles (spaghetti or whatever you prefer), pour the sauce over and enjoy!
Strawberry, grape, pineapple rum smoothie
Ingredients: 2 cups fresh strawberries, handful of green grapes, 1 banana, 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/3 cup Cruzan pineapple rum, ice. Blend. Enjoy :)
According to John: "It's a little bit of sweet from the peppers with a small kick. Pasta cooked al dente as usual. It's just good! The smoothie is sweet creamy goodness. Had to steal more of her's! Reminded me of St.John."
Anyways, we hope you enjoy. Good food + Good company = A great time!
Thank you, Lord, for providing us food and time to eat and enjoy together. I'll cook for you in heaven one day! Amen =)
