the constant hunger

Polpettine a.k.a Meatballs

After a stressful work week, I needed to eat something comforting. Not only did I need comfort food, but I also wanted something that I could make a large batch of and be able to re-heat during my even more stressful week ahead. The plan: meatballs. The chef: my husband.

It's almost an unspoken rule in our house that I never attempt to make Italian food, not that I don't think I could, but my husband makes it so much better. We each have our specialties in the kitchen and Italian is definitely his. The things he could do with a few simple ingredients is amazing. 

I was really in the mood to eat meatballs. The last time we made some at home was over a year ago. We also had some tasty ones at Osteria Morini for my husband's birthday in January. It was about time to take our our huge stock pot and make a big batch or meaty deliciousness. 

We did a little research and came across this recipe. It was a good start, but my husband definitely tweaked it. The result...light, fluffy meatballs. Awesome!

 

Polpettine

Ingredients:

1 small loaf of crusty white bread

1 cup milk

1 1/2 lbs. ground pork

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 hot Italian sausage, casings removed

1/2 mortadella, ground up in a food processor

2 eggs

3/4 pecorino

7-8 leaves of basil, finely chopped

small bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped

1/2 tbs. garlic powder

1 tsp. cayenne

salt and pepper to taste

For sauce:

2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

4-5 cans of whole plum tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped

5 garlic cloves, halved

7 basil leaves

salt and pepper to taste

 

Method

Heat olive oil in a very large stock pot. If you don't have a large stock pot, you can make this recipe in two pots. Add a couple halves of garlic and let saute till golden. Remove from oil and discard.

Add onions and saute till soft. Carefully add the canned tomatoes. Using a hand blender, blend till desired consistency.  

Add rest of the sauce ingredients and let simmer while you prepare the meatballs.

Carefully tear away the soft interior of the bread and place in a medium bowl. Add milk and let soak for about five minutes. With your hands, make sure there are no large pieces of bread left. 

In a large bowl add all the meatball ingredients and bread mixture. Using your hands mix all the ingredients together. 

Here is the fun part. Start forming meatballs and set aside on a plate. 

Tomato sauce must be gently boiling before adding the meatballs, otherwise they will fall apart. 

One by one add the meatballs to the tomato sauce. Let simmer on low for several minutes before attempting to mix for the first time.  

Let simmer for about 3 hours, stirring about every 20 minutes.

Serve with pasta or with a side of greens.

Happy cooking!

One Year Blog Anniversary

It's been exactly one year since I began writing the constant hunger. It's been such an exciting year, trying out recipes and trying to improve my cooking and photography skills. I've been to some great restaurants and food events and eaten waaay too many calories!

{Me, trying to avoid the camera like the plague.} 

When I first began the constant hunger, I was working as a freelance editor from home. Planning and preparing meals while working from home was a breeze. Taking on a full-time job recently means I need to make serious efforts to keep this blog going. Squeezing in time to post is always a challenge and I dream of the day I can make money blogging. One day...maybe. I'm going to spend the next few weeks brainstorming ways to improve this little project of mine. Thank you for reading the constant hunger. Please feel free to suggest recipes you'd like to see featured and let me know what you'd like to see more of. 

{Starting to knead the dough.}

To celebrate my one year anniversary, I have decided to share my latest cooking experience. A couple of weeks ago, I invested in a couple of new items that would allow me to venture into the world of baking. I went into the experience thinking I would hate it, but I've been pleasantly surprised and my opinion of baking has changed quite dramatically. I used to hate the thought of baking. Too technical! But I've come to appreciate it for this exact reason. If I put ingredient one and ingredient two together, the result will always be the same. It's kinda comforting. 

{Still kneading the dough 10 minutes later.}

For quite some time, I've wanted to explore making pizza at home. I had bought a pizza panand ingredients. For me, there is only thin-crust pizza. I'm a purist when it comes to toppings. A little sauce, very little cheese and some fresh basil. Anything more is unnecessary. Sometimes I'll go with a little prosciutto or something, but the plainer, the better. 

I used this recipe for the dough, very straight-forward and easy to follow. I loved checking the dough every half hour or so to see it rising. Fascinating! While the dough was rising, my husband prepared a simple tomato sauce and I grated a little mozzarella and chopped some mushrooms and pancetta. 

We had enough dough to make two pizzas and I am almost embarrassed to say that we almost ate it all. But there, I said it. There is a small piece left over. Things got a little chaotic in the kitchen at one point between the chopping and rolling out the dough, but that's the case with any new recipe I try. Next time, I'll be much more efficient (and buy a rolling pin). I think homemade pizzas are perfect for a casual dinner party. Besides preparing the dough, there is very little work (and clean up) involved. 

Happy cooking! 

Mushroom Risotto

What do you do when you buy a bunch of mushrooms on special at the market? Why, you make risotto, of course! I love risotto. It's rich and creamy and quite easy to make, if you don't mind hanging out by the stove for 20 minutes stirring.

It's been a little difficult lately to plan meals and find recipes I want to try out for a few reasons. First of all, I recently started a new job and I am working longer hours. I am in no way complaining because I am really happy about the position, but I have less time to do everything from searching for recipes to executing them, although my husband has started to pitch in.

Second, with the weather getting slightly warmer, I can no longer make large batches of soups and stews which really helped me get through the winter. When it's warm out, I don't necessarily crave a hearty stew. But how easy it is to make one and eat it a couple of times throughout the week! I'll be spending some time over the weekend searching for "spring" soup and stew recipes.

I looked around quite a bit to find a risotto recipe I liked which, believe it or not, was no easy task. I decided to go with this recipe and made a couple of adjustments. I grated about one cup of Parmesan cheese and used about 3/4 cup in the risotto and reserved the rest for sprinkling when I served it. I also used regular old button mushrooms. I plan on making this again because it was delicious and very satisfying, but I will definitely make it with a different variety of mushroom or use a couple of different kinds. Make sure to serve this dish with a big glass of red wine!

Happy cooking! 

Best Pizza Joint Ever

I am not the biggest pizza fan. Sure, I'll eat it and usually enjoy it, but I'll never suggest going out for pizza or crave it. And the only kind of pizza I'll eat is thin crust. Give me a slice with stuffed crust or any other mutation and you'll end up with a pizza pie in the face. 

Even though my relationship with pizza is more of a like affair than a love affair, I was itching to go to Motorino. I had read too many articles about it and too many rave reviews to ignore. Plus, it's only a few blocks away from home. The first time I went was with a group of friends. With only seven pizzas on the menu, we ordered every one Motorino offered. The clear winner for me was the cherry stone clam pizza (followed by the brussel sprout and pancetta one).

{Photo: Sarah Wu, slice.seriouseats.com}

I recently went back to Motorino with my husband one chilly Friday night. The place is small, just a few tables nestled closely together. It's always hot with the pizza oven going strong so if you do head to Motorino, dress light. We ordered... The clam and brussels sprout/pancetta pizzas and split them. Big surprise.

Motorino's crust is nice and thin and has a flavor only New York pizza has. It must be the water here. The pizza arrives to the table, all blistery and fragrant. There is the perfect ratio of crust-to-sauce-to-cheese. I hate too much cheese. It's a pizza sin! My favorite part of the clam pizza is the parsley butter that is drizzled on an already decadent pizza. Hey, if I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go with a full stomach. 

Happy dining!

 

 

Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce

It's cold and wet in New York. I want to camp out on my couch under a big, fuzzy blanket and watch I Love Lucy reruns all day long. Have I ever mentioned that I love I Love Lucy? It's my favorite show of all time and I never get sick of watching it. She's adorable and I'll never understand why Ricky wouldn't let her be in the show. Honestly! 

 

This is one of my favorite episodes ever!

Getting back to the cold and wet day... When the weather is gross like today, you need something to lift your spirits. I usually self-medicate with food. It has the ability to always make me feel better. That's why I never deny myself anything, I just learn to control portions....sometimes. One thing that always puts a smile on my face is a big heaping bowl of pasta. At our house, we try to limit the amount we eat because, although it's delicious, it can make you feel weighed down. But a rainy day almost demands a generous serving of pasta.

This dish is perfect to make on a weeknight. It's quick and the preparation is minimal. I bought two containers of grape tomatoes (you can use cherry tomatoes, of course, but grape was on special) and literally cooked them down with a little olive oil and garlic. I usually add fresh basil or oregano to tomato sauce but I didn't for this dish. It was tasty enough without herbs. I served the pasta with some spicy sausages and a big glass of a bold red wine.

 

Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

good quality olive oil (the more, the better)

5 cloves of garlic thinly sliced

2 containers of grape or cherry tomatoes (I think they're one pint each)

salt and pepper to taste

one box of spaghetti cooked al dente

Parmesan cheese (optional)

 

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add a few slices of garlic to the oil to flavor it. Discard garlic once it has turned golden. 

Add tomatoes to pan. Careful as there may be some oil splatter! Season with salt and pepper. Let the tomatoes cook over medium-high until they begin to soften a bit, about 10 minutes.

Lower the heat to medium-low, add the rest of the garlic and let simmer uncovered for another 6-7 minutes.

Using a fork, press down on the tomatoes to release the juices. Stir and allow for sauce to thicken, about 6-7 minutes.

Add cooked pasta to pan and toss well. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Happy cooking!