Spaghetti

I've been thinking very hard about what I wanted to be the first recipe for this blog. There are several recipes that are very near and dear to my heart, and they'll make their appearances in due time. I chose spaghetti for a few reasons. If I had to choose a favorite food, even though this is a really hard decision, it would be spaghetti. I think I could eat this stuff (and I've come close to it) for at least a month straight before needing a little break. It's absolutely delicious and pretty easy to make. Also, it's good for you! Tomatoes actually get healthier for you in some ways as you cook them, so a tomato sauce is super nutritious. It is what I cook for myself when I'm sick and nothing else sounds good. I think this recipe also combats the "it's too hard to cook for one" excuse I often hear... it's cheap, you can freeze it or eat it for a week, and the leftovers actually taste better than the first day!

Spaghetti is one of those recipes that I think lots of people have their own variation that is their favorite. Take no offense when I say that my spaghetti is the best spaghetti in the world... because it is to me. But, if you don't have a recipe that you love, or you want to try something different, I hope you love this as much as I do. It is really a recipe that combines my boyfriend's and my families favorite versions. His family's version has caramelized onions, and mine has lots of garlic and oregano. Together, along with a few twists that I've made over the past few years, they have created this awesomeness.

This is definitely a recipe where I don't usually measure ingredients, so it was kind of fun to pay attention so I could make a recipe for others to follow. It also takes a while to make, so I learned a little about how the light in my kitchen changes during the day, and how I can't quite capture the colors I want later in the day, so that's something to work on. However, the shadows food makes are pretty neat.

Time: minimum 1 hr (only about 20 minutes active)

Servings: 5-6 people; 4 college males

Equipment:

One very large skillet
One gallon (at least) pot
Snazzy knife
Cutting board
Garlic press (if you got one, if not, they are cheap at IKEA and Target, and save you a few minutes of dicing... plus make your food taste better)
strainer
storage containers (unless you are feeding 5 people)

Serve with:

Fresh bread with oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping
A salad if you are so inclined

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil (EVOO as Miss Rachel Ray would say...)
4 medium/large yellow onions (yes, really)
1 lb ground beef (90/10 sirloin is best I think)
6 cloves of garlic
salt and black pepper
1 can of diced tomatoes (preferably sitting in garlic and oregano)
1 jar Prego (I've made it with fresh tomatoes... it tastes about the same)
2 tbs dried oregano
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of red wine, plus more for drinkin' (I like Cabernet Savignon for this dish)
1 box of dried spaghetti (not the thin stuff... whole wheat is awesome though)
Parmigiano reggiano for sprinkling



I know what you're thinking about now... "I'm not going to buy any fancy parmigiano reggiano... I'll get the Kraft stuff from a can." You're not allowed to use this recipe if you do that... the parmesan fairy will take your teeth. If you can't find some authentic stuff, at least buy something with a rind. Honestly though, parmigiano reggiano is amazing, if you haven't had it try it... it will blow your mind. Try a little bit by itself... it's so amazingly delicious.

Instructions:

1) Cut the ends off the onions, cut them in half (longitudinal/hot dog) peel off the the outer layer. Cut them into 1/4in slices (latitudinal/hamburger). They should be half circles (see pic above).
2) Heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmery... when you drop an onion in it should sizzle but not burn.
3) Put all of the onions in (now you will see if your pan is big enough), stirring occasionally for about 30min. If the onions start burning, turn it down. If they don't sizzle, turn it up. This is the caramelization step, so at the end you will have golden brown onions.

4) Pour a glass of wine... drink it. This is necessary so that you don't get too anxious waiting for the onions, also you can make sure the wine is tasty. I'd also recommend leaving the room for a sec and coming back in... the onions should smell amazing!

5) Now that the onions are done, add the ground beef and mix it in. Add some salt and ground pepper.
6) While that is cooking, peel and crush the garlic and add it in. Make sure to stir everything together.
7) Once the ground beef is brown, add the mostly drained can of diced tomatoes. Stir.
8) Add the jar of Prego, oregano, and Italian seasoning. Stir together.
9) Add the balsamic vinegar and wine, stir.
10) Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes, stirring here and there.
11) Reduce the heat to low and stir occasionally for at least 10min (can go as long as you want, it gets better the longer you cook it, 30min is nice).
12) Bring about a gallon of water to a boil in the other pot, add a little salt to the water.
13) Drink some wine, you know what they say about watching water boil.
14) Add the pasta to the water, boil for 5min, then check noodles every minute or two until they are done. They should be "al dente" or "to the tooth," meaning you have to bite them, but they aren't crunchy. Turn the water off and drain, but not completely. Leave about a half cup of pasta water in the pot, and stir the noodles into it.
15) TASTE the sauce before serving! Usually I need to add some more oregano and black pepper. Plus, it's tasty, and you deserve to taste it before serving it to anyone else.
16) Plate or bowl the pasta, then put the sauce on top. Add a bunch of parmigiano reggiano. Pour yourself some more wine and feast!

Welcome to my blog!

So, this is new to me, and I've never been much of a writer, so we'll see how it goes. I've been thinking about doing some sort of food related blog for a while, and now that I recently have bought a snazzy new camera, I was thinking I could put the two together here.

I've been cooking for about 6 years now, and I absolutely love it. I am pretty much interested in all aspects of cooking, I love baking, making dinner, producing tons of food for parties, and eating :). I'm interested in just about any type of food, and love cooking complicated recipes, super easy standbys, and some of my own recipes. Almost all of my cooking I do with my boyfriend, it's an amazing way to have fun, work together, and produce something together. Most of the recipes I'll talk about here will either be from cookbooks, or something the two of us came up with.

As far as photography goes, I'm a newbie. I have probably been seriously making it my hobby for about 3 years now, but have gotten more serious the past year. I take tons of pictures of the food I make. I was thinking earlier that photography and cooking are actually really similar. With photography, you can visually share your experiences and views with others. However, and I think about this mostly while I'm taking pictures of food and flowers, you can't capture smells or tastes. With a well written recipe, you can! A recipe is like a photo that includes all of the senses, and it's a more direct way to share an experience. I think that's pretty neat.

I am currently a chemical engineering graduate student, 3 years in to a 5-6 year program. Sometimes (let's face it, often) in grad school you feel like you aren't accomplishing anything, not producing anything, and that what you are doing is a waste. So when I get home and am frustrated, even if I'm tired, cooking makes me feel better. Research and cooking are very similar, you can either follow and try to replicate a procedure made by someone more experienced, or experiment and try new things. However, you can eat the results of your cooking, not your research! But on a more serious note, I think the same drive and traits that make me pursue research also make me want to cook. In short, cooking makes me happy, and sometimes makes up for the pitfalls in grad school.