Prog Chefs Unite!!!

  ..walked into that one

trying to bring back the sunday roast today, we haven't had a proper one for months (I hates summer and those endless salads and barbeques ). Whole duck, stuffed with orange wedges, covered in honey and slammed into the over for an hour and a bit, with roast spuds and courgette & carrot ribbons.

Edited by darqdean - September 16 2007 at 12:43

darqdean wrote: trying to bring back the sunday roast today, we haven't had a proper one for months (I hates summer and those endless salads and barbeques ). Whole duck, stuffed with orange wedges, covered in honey and slammed into the over for an hour and a bit, with roast spuds and courgette & carrot ribbons.

Darqdean, nothing against your lamb dish, but I didn't care for mine at all. I'm sure yours tasted much better, but mine just looked....um...gnarly. Not sure if it was the wine, but it turned the meat a sickly gray color that churned my stomach.

As for roasts, I couldn't agree more. I love putting together a roast chicken or chuck roast with veggies.

E

My sausage sauce is my own creation, very simple and without many ingredients. I am Italian, which means I don't go with overkill of ingredients I've seen when in the US. My rule is, keep it simple, and make sure you can actually taste the flavours...

What I did is, I took those Italian-style sausages (sweet, not hot), removed the casings, cut them into chunks, and browned them in a non-stick pan, breaking them up further with a spatula as they cooked. They were quite fatty, so in that way a good deal of the fat was eliminated (of course I poured all of it away). When the sausages were ready, I heated a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil (I only use that for cooking) with a whole clove of garlic, and sautéed it for a short time, until the garlic began to brown. Then I poured in a can of diced tomatoes flavoured with garlic, onion and basil (of course they're not necessary, here I would use plain), seasoned with a few drops of Tabasco and basil paste (something I found in our local grocery store), and brought it to the boil. Then I put in the sausage chunks, well drained of any fat, and let the sauce simmer covered for about 20 minutes. I didn't add any salt because of the sausages, and then the tomatoes were seasoned as well. Voilà!

Of course, here in Italy I would use red pepper flakes (actually, it's a mixture containing dried parsley and garlic.. quite delicious) and fresh herbs, as I have basil growing on my balcony. I don't find anything else necessary... I've got to try it using red onion as well as the garlic. I served it with short pasta shapes (orecchiette were delicious), and Romano cheese on the side instead of Parmesan.

love doing a pan sauce with wine (and butter too!), sounds great NS

ah yes, Raff, simplicity, always a winner.  Ate very simply when I was up north.. fish (fresh striped bass), corn on the cob, salad, chicken, great tomatoes

I have no doubt yours is better, and I think I'd prefer the sweet gorg. over regular bleu which can be a little sharp.  Love Roquefort too.

yes I've been appreciating natural flavors more and more, just wanting to taste the beef or fish instead of covering it over with other flavors.. a little sea salt and some ground pepper will often do fine. 

Filet mignon or sirloin with green peppercorn sauce is very popular in Italy, and very good too. However, I am not a big meat eater, and I prefer my meat done as simply as possible - grilled is best, and not too seasoned. Once in the US I tried that famous steak sauce, and it was revolting!

Talking of meat, yesterday I braised some rabbit. Ever tried it? It's delicious! Any chances of seeing you in Rome in the short term?

Any chances of you taking a trip to the East Coast, hopefully by the end of the year? You know what I am talking about...

Just did a simple chicken salad sandwich with sliced grapes and diced apples tonight. Nothing major, but very good.

E

I see someone bumped up this thread... Good!

I used to like putting fruit in salads, though now I do it much more sparingly. My favourites are pears in any salad involving the use of cheese, especially sharp-tasting ones like Gorgonzola or Pecorino. We actually have a saying in Italy that goes, "don't let the farmer know how good cheese with pears is"!

And then, of course, we have the great antipasto dishes (wonderful for a light lunch in the warmer months) of prosciutto with melon (cantaloupe works best) or figs. It's delicious, especially when the fruits are ripe and tasty - but please, don't put any dressing on it, as I've seen done in many "Italian" restaurants in the US!