Leftover Corner: Spaghetti and Meatballs to Italian Burrito

I don't quite know what got into me this week. I've had a lone tortilla in the refrigerator for a while now, quietly mocking me and my lack of beans, rice, or any other Mexican fare, so that might have something to do with it.

Maybe I felt like channeling my inner child and playing with my food. Maybe I've lost my marbles. You be the judge.

I humbly present, for your approval, the Italian Burrito.

Ingredients:

1 Large Tortilla

Leftover Tomato Sauce

2 Leftover Meat Balls

1 Small Handful of Spaghetti

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Steps/Analysis:

First, get a pot of water boiling over High heat. Salt the water and add the spaghetti. Try to remember that cooked pasta always looks like more than when it was stiff and dry. This is going to be crucial when you try to fit it into a tortilla.

As the spaghetti cooks, break out your leftovers! Cut up two meatballs into bite-size pieces and set them aside.

If you have a George Foreman grill, as I do, or a panini press, you'll want to warm it up now. If not, you'll have to experiment with a pan on the stove top as we go along.

Now that I think about it, the oven might work as well, on very low heat.

At any rate, once your pasta is done, drain it as thoroughly as possible and return it to the pot. It's residual heat is going to help dry the pasta as well, which is very important to the integrity of the tortilla.

Add a few spoonfuls of leftover sauce to the pasta and stir to coat.

Get your tortilla out and prepare it with a thin layer of mozzarella cheese. Next, situate the spaghetti in the tortilla's center. Arrange the meatballs on top and spoon on a little more tomato sauce. Sprinkle a little more cheese over everything.

Wrap the tortilla as well as you can. Unfortunately, I cooked a little too much spaghetti and could not tuck in my ends--as you'll see in my pictures. That means I had to be a little more careful in placing it on the Foreman.

Serving/Notes:

Because my wrapping was a little untidy, I attached this beast with a fork and knife at first. Surprisingly, though, as I ate, I found that it was possible to pick the Italian Burrito up and eat it as I had originally intended.

My goodness, the tortilla is a marvelous thing, isn't it?

As far as taste is concerned, this isn't all that different from eating spaghetti and meatballs in the more conventional way. It is, however, a lot more fun, I think. In that respect, this was a worthwhile little experiment.

Tomato Sauce v2.0

Those of you who read about my "Rustic Tomato Sauce" some time ago will remember that it quickly became an exercise in improvisation. I didn't really give myself enough time to properly simmer and misjudged my ingredient list. That's not to say that I was disappointed with the result, though; it's just not quite what I had in mind when I set out to make a sauce.

Thankfully, I just don't know when to quit. This week, I present my new and improved Tomato Sauce, version 2.0!

Ingredients:

2 28-oz Cans of Crushed Tomatoes
1 12-oz Can of Tomato Paste

1 Onion

1 Bell Pepper

Oregano

Red Pepper Flakes

Olive Oil

Steps/Analysis:

You should know ahead of time that Tomato Sauce v2.0 is not a quick recipe. Ideally, you should set aside 3-4 hours in order to cook everything low and slow and really marry the flavors. It might be best to tackle this on a weekend.

Don't fret, though, this is an easy recipe that will require minimal attention once you get things going. Stay with me!

First, set a large pot over Medium-High heat and dice the onion and bell pepper. Just like the beginning of my last tomato sauce recipe, you're going to saute the crap out of these in enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot.

At this point, you should also add the red pepper flakes. I did not use an exact measurement for this step. I like a lot of heat, so I threw in a lot of flakes. Use your best judgment.

Once your vegetables have broken down to the point where they are translucent, turn down the heat to Low or Medium-Low. Open up both cans of crushed tomatoes and the tomato paste and add everything to the pot.

Carefully.

Tomato sauce tends to splash, so don't wear white.

You should also add the oregano now. Again, I did not use a precise measurement. I just added oregano until it looked like "enough." Scientific, I know.

Stir up the pot in order to incorporate everything. Cover with a lid and allow to simmer for about 3 hours, or until dinner time.

Check on the pot every once in a while to make sure it's not bubbling over, but, otherwise, that's it!

Serving/Notes:

This iteration of my tomato sauce has a lot more of the saucy qualities I was looking for: a rich, almost sweet flavor and a smoother consistency that sticks more easily to pasta. I'm very happy with the result.

Other than that? Come on, people. There's nothing too mysterious about tomato sauce. Serve it over your pasta of choice and... hey! What are those meaty... ball-looking... things in the picture? Could there be a meatball recipe posted in the near future?!

Chicken Pesto Supreme

I realize that a lot of my posts so far this fall have been a little too 'Freshman' and not 'Graduate' enough in complexity or class. Salami's great and all, but it really shouldn't be the focal point of one's diet.

With that in mind, I offer you a nice little dish I'm going to call Chicken Pesto Supreme. It's a little meaty and a little cheesy. It's got starches and vegetables. What more could you want?

Ingredients:

2 Cooked Chicken Breasts

Frozen Cheese Ravioli

Frozen Peas

Cherry or Grape Tomatoes

Jarred Pesto

Steps/Analysis:

I cooked my chicken breasts in advance--I like to bake a bunch of them at a time and keep them on hand for meals throughout the week. If you haven't, though, no big deal. Trim their fat and salt and pepper them generously. Place them in an oiled baking dish and get them in a 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes.

With your chicken taken care of, set a pot of water over high heat and get it to boiling. When it's there, salt the water and carefully pour in enough ravioli for two people.

Keep an eye on that pasta! Depending on the brand you buy, it should only take about 5 minutes to cook through.

In the meantime, get the frozen peas in a large bowl with just a little water and microwave for 2 minutes or so. Halfway through, you'll want to give the peas a stir.

Drain off the water from the greens when done.

Next, slice a handful of tomatoes in half and add them to the peas. (Hopefully, you've selected a bowl large enough to house and serve the entire meal. If not, you may want to consider making a switch now.)

Drain the ravioli and give your chicken breasts a rough slicing. Add them to the bowl as well.

Finally, spoon on a healthy amount of basil pesto and stir to coat everything nicely. Just be careful not to be too vigorous about it; you don't want broken ravioli.

Serving/Notes:

A little salt and pepper are all that you need to accompany this meal... maybe a hank of bread, but not much else. Make sure you get a little of everything on your plate. The flavors and textures all play nicely with one another and the more variety you get on your fork, the happier you'll be. Enjoy, this classy, date-night dinner.

Broccoli and Pasta

For as long as I can remember, my mom has been making a dish that she affectionately refers to as 'Broccoli and Pasta.' Now, that name is a little deceiving - this isn't quite a vegetarian meal - but it does mirror the simplicity of the recipe.

I've never asked her for the instructions, but when I noticed that I had all the necessary ingredients on hand in my kitchen I thought I'd give it a shot. The result was something quite tasty that reminded me of home.

Ingredients:
Olive Oil

3 Cloves of Garlic

1 Head of Broccoli

3-5 Slices of Salami

Rotini Pasta (or whatever variety you have on hand)

Steps/Analysis:

First thing's first, you want to get your pasta boiling. I don't have exact measurements for this portion of the recipe, but I used a smallish pot, nearly filling it with 3-4 big handfuls of pasta. Don't worry about making too much, though, this dish stores and reheats beautifully.

So, get your water boiling and throw your pasta in, salting the water for taste. It'll probably be 15-20 minutes until it's tender, but the only way you'll be able to tell for sure if the pasta's done is to (carefully) taste it.

In the meantime, we've got some chopping to do. Peel and dice the garlic as small as you're able to. Cut the broccoli into bite size pieces. And don't throw out the stalk! If you cut or peel away the woody outside, you'll find that the inside is as tender as the leaves.

Now, regarding the meat; the beauty of this meal is that you can use just about any meat that you have on hand. Ideally, my mom used Italian prosciutto, but it wasn't unheard of for her to use bacon, ham, or even Taylor Pork Roll, in a pinch. As it happened, I had some salami in the fridge this night. Whatever porky meat you have, give it a rough chop.

If you've timed this well, the pasta should be just about done at this point. Drain it, return the pot to the stove top, and lower the heat to the Medium range.

Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot and a little more. Toss in the garlic, broccoli, and salami and cover with the lid. Let everything saute and marry together for about five minutes or so, stirring from time to time. When the broccoli turns a bright, vibrant green you're done.

Next, add the pasta back to the pot and stir to coat with the garlicky oil and incorporate everything. That's all she wrote!

Serving/Notes:

This is pretty satisfying as a one pot meal. You'll want to salt and pepper to taste. A good piece of bread on the side to sop the plate afterwards would be welcome, too.

If refrigerated, this will last for at least a week. Just microwave any leftovers for a couple minutes and enjoy again!

Rustic Tomato Sauce

Didn't I tell you I'd be back? Didn't I?!

Coming from a large, Italian family, I've never made my own tomato sauce. There's always been someone around the who handled it. Someone who's been cooking sauce longer than I've been alive.

Since that is no longer the case, though, I'd give it a shot. Too proud (read: stupid) to ask for my mother's recipe, I tried to throw together my own, simple tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

1 Onion

1 Bell Pepper

2 28-oz Cans of Crushed or Diced Tomatoes
6 Cloves of Garlic

3 Teaspoons of Red Pepper Flakes

1 1/2 Teaspoons of Oregano

Olive Oil

Steps/Analysis:

To begin, dice the onion and bell pepper into uniform pieces. Peel and finely chop the cloves of garlic.

Put a large pot over high heat. Coat the bottom with a thin layer of olive oil and throw in your chopped onion, pepper, and garlic. Add your red pepper flakes and oregano and leave to saute. You really want to break the onion and bell pepper down about as far as they'll go. Stir occasionally, but don't move on at least until the onions are translucent.

Next, add the canned tomatoes. I chose diced, simply because it was the cheapest canned tomato option. Looking back, though, I'd recommend crushed. I have a hunch it would make a smoother, thicker sauce.

Stir to thoroughly incorporate everything and bring the pot to a simmer. Keep an eye on it, but the sauce will need to cook like this for at least an hour. That way, a lot of the water will evaporate out of the pot and the solid tomatoes will have a chance to break down. If you can let it go even longer, it'll only get better.

This is an easy recipe, but it is not a quick one.

When you're satisfied with the consistency of your sauce (or when you can't stand the waiting any longer because your kitchen is full of the smell of Italian cookery) remove from the heat and serve.

Serving/Notes:

Because I chose diced, my tomatoes stayed mostly solid throughout the cooking process. Ultimately, I decided to just call it "rustic" and chow down.

Naturally, I served this sauce over spaghetti. I also had a leftover chicken breast laying around, which I let simmer with the sauce for the last half hour or so.

The sauce didn't cling to the pasta as well as it might have, but was quite tasty otherwise. It had a nice kick to it. Also, the proportions of the recipe will leave lots of leftovers if you're only feeding yourself: probably enough for a week or so.

Chicken Orzo Frattata

This week's post features I recipe I discovered while watching Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis. If you're a college-age male having trouble getting into Food Network programming, I highly recommend this show. Even if you're not into a particular episode's dish, Giada's not too hard on the eyes.

At any rate, chicken orzo frittata incorporates chicken breast and pasta into eggs, making a far more substantial dish than you may think a frittata is capable of. It's quite enough to satisfy even the heartiest of appetites come dinner time. For Giada's original recipe, click here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-and-orzo-frittata-recipe/index.html

My own attempt varies slightly, though I imagine the end product is largely the same.

Ingredients:

7 Eggs

2 Chicken Breasts

3/4 Cup Orzo Pasta

1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese

4-8 Scallions

1/3 Cup Roasted Red Peppers

Italian (Flat Leaf) Parsley

Steps/Analysis:

Giada starts off with a pre-roasted chicken. To save a couple bucks, I bought two raw chicken breasts and decided to cook them myself. Trim the breasts of fat and cut in fairly identical strips (roughly the size of a large chicken tender). Place these in a roasting pan that's been hit with a little spray oil and salt and pepper liberally. Cook the breasts in a 375 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until they are white all the way through.

The next item that should be addressed immediately for time is the orzo. There's no big secret to boiling pasta, fortunately. If you follow the directions on the box you should be fine. Don't be afraid to estimate the amount either - that's what I did because I didn't feel like doing much math.

Chop the scallions into small pieces and dice the roasted peppers to approximately the same size. Give the parsley a rough chop. Combine these ingredients in a large mixing bowl with the eggs and ricotta. (Note: Giada's recipe also calls from creme fraiche, but I couldn't find any at my supermarket, so I just increased the cheese ratio to make up for it.)

Drain your pasta and run it under cold water for a minute or two. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and allow to cool on a plate for some time. Neither of these ingredients should be hot; if they are, they'll start to curdle the eggs immediately after being introduced to the bowl.

Uniformly incorporate the last ingredients into the egg mixture and pour into a pie pan or baking dish. Place the dish in your 375 degree oven for approximately 35 minutes. (Note: for some reason, Giada's timing seemed to be very off on this step. I found myself taking the pan out, jiggling it, and putting it right back in the oven more than once.) Basically, you want the egg to be firmly set. If it seems a little liquidy it's probably still okay to pull the pan because carry over heat and evaporation will take care of it.

Serving/Notes:

Overall, a very hearty dish. Two slices had me feeling a little uncomfortably full. In hindsight, I would advise you to go easy on the parsley and be sure to chop it thoroughly. Big chunks of it are going to be a little unpleasant to the palate. Other than that, there's not much to it. Salt and pepper to taste and be careful not to burn your mouth.