The Two Guys have enjoyed Brussels Sprouts steamed, fried, baked, roasted, you name it, for as long as they can remember. But it seems these vegetables have only recently come into vogue. Even mainstream steakhouses are in on the game, some offering very well-prepared versions of roasted or fried Brussels Sprouts. It seems not so long ago that these guys were the distant cousin of the family that no one remembered to invite to get-togethers. Not any longer. And this recipe is very easy, doesn’t take long (other than the roasting part – which doesn’t require a whole lot of supervision), and makes the house smell positively yummy. Even though this is a side dish, we confess to having devoured an entire pan of the stuff just between the two of us.  Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

2-3 pounds of Brussels Sprouts, rinsed
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped roughly
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 TBSP olive oil
½ pound bacon (smoked, not the maple cured)

If necessary, trim any noticeably discoloration from the stems of the Sprouts. If the Sprouts are larger than one inch in diameter, slice in half. Toss the Sprouts with the onions, red pepper and olive oil:

Lay out on a baking pan:

The reason we say “two or three pounds of Brussels Sprouts” is because it depends upon how much you like the things and the size of your baking pan. You want enough “stuff” so that the entire pan is covered, but not so much that the heat can’t caramelize all of the “stuff” in the oven. In other words, the Sprouts mixture should be laid out so that every part of it is exposed. Dice the bacon and carefully spread it over the Sprouts mixture:

Resist the urge to use a food processor to pulverize the bacon. You want pieces, not mush. Chilling the bacon in the freezer for 10-15 minutes can make the chopping easier. Chopping room temperature bacon is no fun. Put into a pre-heated 375 degree F oven for thirty minutes and it will look something like this:

Stir it up and then put back into the oven for ten minutes, then stir again, and then ten more minutes, and then stir again, and then ten more minutes. If all goes as planned, it should emerge transformed:

Look at those wonderfully crisp pieces of bacon next to caramelized bits of onion and Brussels Sprouts:

Tonight, we pan-fried some Tilapia and served it with the roasted Brussels Sprouts:

But they also go very well on the Thanksgiving table.

Risotto is one of those dishes that so many people find scary to make. Yet, it’s actually a breeze if (1) you use quality ingredients, (2) you have all your ingredients lined up and ready to go and (3) you keep an eye on the risotto. This is not a dish that gets thrown in a pot and put in the oven and then voila thirty minutes later, you have dinner. This dish beckons you to partake in the process – indeed, it demands it. But the rewards are so worth it. Nothing screams comfort food like a good plate of risotto.

Here’s what you need for approximately eight cups of finished risotto:

FOR RISOTTO:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup yellow or white onion, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
2 cups arborio rice
3 cups very hot water
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1 can (28 ounces) diced San Marzano tomatoes (not drained)
½ – 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

FOR GARNISH:
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1 TBSP Pinot Grigio vinegar
3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
6 figs, cut into quarters
2 TBSP butter or butter substitute
1 TBSP Balsamic vinegar

Put the first six ingredients into a large pot and over a medium high flame:

Stir until the onions are translucent, and the garlic just starts to brown on the edges, about five minutes:

Add the rice:

Turn up the heat to high and stir continuously for a few minutes, but don’t let the rice start to brown. The goal is to heat up the kernels of the rice but not to brown them:

When you see that the rice is just beginning to brown, add the three cups of hot water and chicken bouillon:

The water needs tobe hot, because cold water shocks the kernels and slows the cooking process. Now stir continuously for about five minutes, until most of the liquid has been absorbed:

Then add the tomatoes and liquid:

Stir and stir and stir some more:

After about 5-10 minutes (depending upon the heat and how fast your rice is absorbing the liquid), most of the moisture will have been absorbed:

The goal is to finish the cooking with just a tiny bit of moisture left in the pan. Add the cheese:

And remove from the heat. Stir a few more times to incorporate the cheese. (Note – if you prefer, you can use Parmesan or Romano cheese, or even a nice Asiago, to the mix instead of Cheddar. We chose Cheddar tonight because Cheddar tends to lend a silkiness to the finished dish that the former cheeses do not. Just be careful that if you use a hard, pungent cheese, the salt level will also increase. Be mindful of this when adding salt to the recipe. For example, if you want to use Asiago cheese instead of Cheddar, you should omit any salt until the very end and only add salt if necessary. In addition, the more flavorful the cheese, the less you will want to use. If in doubt, try the recipe with a half cup of grated cheese and then decide if you need more.)

Let the pot sit (uncovered) for a few minutes while you make the garnish. During these few minutes, the rice will absorb any remaining water. You don’t want direct heat on the rice during these last few minutes, for risk of burning the rice. For the tomato garnish, add the chopped Roma tomatoes (if you can’t find Roma tomatoes, use plum tomatoes), the vinegar and the olive oil. (If you have a few leaves of fresh basil, feel free to chop up a few and add here.) Stir together:

Chop up the figs:

Add to the butter (or in our case, butter substitute):

Heat until bubbly and then add the Balsamic vinegar:

Continue heating (and stirring occasionally) until the figs have a nice crust to them, about four minutes:

Plate up the risotto. Garnish with a spoonful or two of the tomato mixture and a few figs. We love a good swirl of olive oil to finish the plate:

Add some toasted Pugliese bread and a glass of Barolo, and it’s a meal:

There are a number of recipes that we can’t wait to try, but we knew that the first one would be Nancy’s famous Meatballs al Forno.  We have tried to duplicate them (we blogged about it here), and although we felt we came close, we knew it was not exact.  Finally, we get to find out her secret!  We left work early today to pick up the meat from Taylor’s in Sierra Madre (which we think is number one or two in local meat markets in the San Gabriel Valley) and then got down to business.  Let’s go.
Ingredients (per The Mozza Cookbook):

3/4 cup day old, crustless bread
1/4 cup whole milk
1 ½ cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
½ large yellow Spanish onion
2/3 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 extra large eggs
4 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tsp pure ground red pepper flakes
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground pork (preferably butt)
1 pound ground veal
6 ½ ounces pancetta, minced
Flour, for dredging
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 quart tomato sauce
1 quart chicken stock
3 dried bay leaves
3 dried arbol chiles
Buttered semolina toast

To be clear – we did make a few substitutions (soy milk instead of cow’s milk; crushed San Marzano tomatoes instead of tomato sauce); and we deleted three items (no black pepper or arbol chile, as we felt there was enough spice with the red pepper; and no egg – always trying to reduce cholesterol).  The following is the preparation per the recipe book (with notes of any modifications).

Chop up the bread and soak in the milk:

This is a clear departure from The Two Guys’ method – we have always soaked the bread in wine.  We were curious how this would alter the taste and texture to which we’ve grown accustomed.  But we figured if this is one of the keys to making meatballs like Nancy serves at Mozza, then we were game!

We then used a small food processor to grate the cheese, mince the onion, garlic, and parsley; then we used a mortar and pestle to smash the red pepper flakes and salt:

Add the drained bread and mix with a fork:

Add the pork and veal and mix well, but don’t pack it together:

This is a notable departure from The Two Guys’ version of meatballs, where we use 2 parts ground sirloin to 1 part ground pork to 1 part ground veal.  Interestingly, there is no sirloin in Nancy’s recipe.

The book instructs to “use the tips of your fingers as if you were playing the piano to combine the ingredients without overworking them, which makes for heavy meatballs.” We definitely did not want heavy.  One of the hallmark’s of Nancy’s meatballs is that they are light and almost fluffy.  (Note that we omitted the egg and black pepper.)

We like Italian superfine flour:

We rolled out the meatballs and dredged them in the flour:

Nancy suggested refrigerating them for at least an hour or overnight.  Apparently, this helps the fat to harden, which in turn means that the meatballs hold their shape better when they ultimately cook.  So into the refrigerator they went.

After an hour, we grabbed the largest All-Clad saute pan we could find and heated up the olive oil, then placed the meatballs in it:

After three minutes, we turned them:

After three more, we added two 28 ounce cans of San Marzano tomatoes:

This is a slight departure from the recipe.  The recipe calls for one quart (which is slightly more than 28 ounces); but we wanted a thicker sauce than they serve at Mozza, so we used two cans.  We then added the called-for one quart of chicken stock:

The recipe called for us to mix the tomato sauce and the stock together before pouring into the saute pan.  We didn’t think it mattered.  The recipe also called for us to remove the meatballs from the pan, wipe out the olive oil, and then return the meatballs to the pan before adding the tomato sauce and stock.  The Two Guys love excellent quality olive oil and the way it adds a certain umph to sauces, so we decided to leave it in, figuring the worst that could happen is that we would skim it off after it baked.

We added the bay leaves (and omitted the chiles):

Nancy suggests an hour braise in a 350 degree oven.  So into a 350 degree oven it went:

After an hour, the house smelled absolutely wonderful:

We skimmed off the charred bits and the excess oil and fat:

Then plated up with a bit of simple bread (just oil and salt, lightly toasted) and roasted Brussels Sprouts:

The verdict: nearly a perfect replica of the meatballs at Mozza, with two critiques – (1) too salty and (2) too spicy.  We are wondering if the cheese that Nancy uses is less salty than the one we used.  Next time around, we will omit the addition of the extra salt. We will also limit the red pepper flakes to two teaspoons.

Mental note that we will also mince the non-meat ingredients even further so that they incorporate better.  We think we figured out the source of the very unique flavor of Nancy’s tomato sauce – it’s the addition of the chicken stock.

Between the four of us, we nearly decimated the entire batch, and we absolutely cannot wait to make this again.

Six medium ripe tomatoes, chopped roughly, drained (seeds ok)
12-15 garlic cloves, smashed
Handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped
25-30 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
1/3 cup excellent quality extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste (we suggest at least 1 tsp)
Salt, to taste (we suggest at least 2 tsp, given the acid of the fresh tomatoes)
1 pound pasta (we suggest angel hair)
Pecorino Romano, grated
Capers (optional)

Heat a pot of water and prepare the pasta.  While it’s cooking, clean the first four ingredients:

Smash the garlic and chop roughly; then add with the pine nuts and oil to a large sauce pan:

Heat on high, add some salt and pepper to taste (we suggest 1 teaspoon of black pepper and at least 2 teaspoons of salt — more or less depending upon the acidity of the tomatoes), stirring regularly over the course of a few minutes, until just starting to turn brown.   The reason we suggest “excellent quality” extra virgin olive oil is because there’s not a whole lot else going on in this dish other than the oil, garlic, tomatoes, nuts and basil.  So if you pick up a bottle of lousy buy-one-get-one-free olive oil at Costco, it won’t shine quite as well as the $25 bottle of first pressed oil from that cute orchard in Northern California (or Abruzzo).  OK, you get the point.  Don’t be cheap — spend on some good stuff.  The oil is front and center with this dish.

So while this is going on, roughly chop the tomatoes (ok to keep the seeds) and gently strain out the juice (colander ok but don’t press the tomatoes):

Roughly chop the basil and parsley:

When the garlic and nuts are just starting to turn brown:

…add the tomatoes, basil and parsley:

Mix well and turn off heat:

Then cover for about five minutes.  Toss with pasta:

Feel free to add more olive oil if necessary.  Then plate up:

If you want, garnish with a few capers and some Pecorino Romano.  Then grab any good Sangiovese and enjoy.  Simple.  Fast.  Easy.  This is comfort food.

The Two Guys love quick dinners.  And this is a really (no, we mean really) quick dinner.  Let’s go: Here’s the ingredients for two entrees:

2 fillets of trout (in this case, Steelhead)
Olive oil, to cover the trout
Crushed black pepper
Crushed salt
Molasses

Rest the trout in the oil and cover with the next four ingredients:

After ten minutes (or just enough time to whip up two side vegetable dishes), heat up a pan on the highest possible heat.  After a few minutes, sear the trout:

Immediately cover with a lid:

Kill the heat and let the fish cook using the residual heat until done:

Plate up:

Grab some wine and eat:

Tonight, even the kids said “Yum.”

For chicken:
4 breasts chicken, sliced into “fingers”
2 cups soy milk
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 TBSP Chinese garlic red sauce
3 cups panko
1 TBSP salt
1 TBSP crushed black pepper
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

3 TBSP olive oil (to coat bottom of baking pan)

For sauce:
½ cup orange marmalade (The Two Guys prefer sugar free marmalade)
½ cup rice wine vinegar
Dash chili sauce, to taste
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP sesame oil
1 TBSP cornstarch

In a large casserole dish, add the soy milk, vinegar and garlic sauce:

Let the chicken soak:

In a large bowl, add the panko, salt and pepper:

Add the coconut:

Note:  If you can’t find unsweetened coconut (and The Two Guys can’t often find this), then buy the sweetened kind at your grocery store, run it under hot water until it drains clear, then squeeze out any remaining water – it works in a pinch.  OK, back to the recipe.  Mix the dry ingredients together.

Then drain the chicken (don’t rinse) and coat the pieces with the panko mixture:

Spread the olive oil on the baking pan; and then put the chicken on it:

Put into a 400 degree F oven for 30 minutes.  While it’s baking, whip up the sauce.  Add all sauce ingredients (except the cornstarch) in a saucepan:

Bring to boil then add the cornstarch:

Continue boiling and whisk for three minutes.  Then strain:

Keep warm (or it will congeal).  Once chicken is done:

. . . it’s ok to plate up:

We can’t think of a wine to go with this dish, so we stuck with martinis.

Even the kids said, “It’s like a Chinese restaurant!”

For you non-Italian speakers, this means “Penne with Chicken and Sun Dried Tomatoes.”  And don’t be scared – this dish can be whipped up in fifteen minutes.  Let’s go:

12 ounces cooked penne

2 TBSP pine nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
2 breasts chicken, cubed
1 tsp sea salt

6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tsp coarse-ground pepper
3/4 cup mushrooms, chopped
3/4 cup asparagus, chopped
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup good quality red wine vinegar and 1/3 cup milk or milk substitute (i.e. unflavored soy milk)
2 TBSP capers, rinsed

Put the pine nuts into a hot pan:

Toast until …. well, toasted:

Then heat up a large sauce pan and put the chicken into it:

And after one minute, toss:

Then add the garlic and veggies:

Toss:

Add the vinegar and then the milk:

Cook for a few minutes and add the capers:

Add the pasta:

Plate up:

Enjoy

1/4 cup good olive oil
10-15 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 pound asparagus, woodsy ends trimmed off, cut into one inch pieces
1 pound angel hair, cooked al dente
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained, roughly chopped
Parmesan, shaved, to taste

Cook the pasta.  Remove from heat, drain and set aside once it’s al dente.

Then combine first four ingredients into a food processor:

Puree until smooth:

Then take the asparagus:

And toss with the garlic mixture:

Saute fast on a large, hot pan:

It only takes a few minutes.  Don’t let the garlic burn.  Remove from heat and add the pasta:

With tongs, toss quickly and plate up with shaved Parmesan and sun dried tomatoes to garnish:

We are thinking Barolo!

Who doesn’t love a fish taco?  Problem is that many of our favorite memories of fish tacos are of the fried fish, unnecessarily creamy sauce, and oil-laden corn tortillas.  The Two Guys have their share of unhealthy meals but we kinda think that fish tacos should be leaning towards the healthy side.  This one is healthy (in our opinion) yet still rather tasty.  And it’s kid-friendly as well.This feeds four comfortably

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oil (olive is fine as long as it’s not extra virgin; any vegetable oil will do)
Juice from one large orange
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
2 pounds of Cod (or other meaty fish, such as Mahi Mahi), sliced into 1-2 inch chunks
3 cups shredded cabbage (about 1/4 of a large head)
2 avocados, diced into large chunks
½ red onion, sliced very thinly
½ tsp celery salt
Juice from 1 lime
Flour tortillas (low carb low fat if you want really healthy)
1 lime, quartered

Into a mixing bowl, put the first six ingredients:

Whisk briefly:

Isn’t that a cool looking red?  Pour over the fish:

Let sit for at least 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, use a mandoline to slice the red onion very thinly:

Add the avocado:

And the juice of one lime:

Shred the cabbage on the mandoline and add it and the celery salt:

Toss gently:

The avocado will break down a bit and create the “bind” to hold together the cabbage mixture.  There’s no need to add oil or cream to this.

Crank up a frying pan as high as it will go.  When red hot, place the fish into the pan:

No need to drain or dry the fish, just shake the excess liquid off of the pieces before placing into the pan.

Cover for a few minutes, until cooked through.  It won’t take long, especially if using Cod.  A meatier fish will take longer.  Remove the lid and boil off any liquid, which will help char one side of the fish:

Remove from heat.  Brown the tortillas:

Add the cabbage mixture:

Then the fish:

Healthy isn’t supposed to taste this good, right?

Until next time . . .

While you are making the pesto, put a pound or two of pasta on the stove.  This is a chunky sauce, but it’s not so chunky that it can’t handle long strands of pasta.  Pesto is versatile and can be tossed with most types of pasta.

Put the nuts into a saucepan and heat it up on high:

Shake rather frequently (lest the nuts burn) for a few minutes.  Remove from heat when they are brown:

You will know when they are toasted properly, because your kitchen will quickly fill with the most wonderful nutty aroma.  Cool for a few minutes and then put into the food processor:

Pulse until roughly chopped:

Dump into a mixing bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients.  Now keep using the same processor.  Put the cloves into it:

Pulse until roughly chopped:

Dump into the bowl.  Now the basil:

Make sure the leaves are fairly dry.  Wet basil leaves will result in a paste as opposed to finely chopped leaves:

A few chunks of Parmesan and Asiago:

Into the processor:

Run until the pieces are chopped into tiny bits.  Yes, they will be a bit “green” (from the basil), but let’s face it – it’s all going the same place, right?  Put into the bowl.  Add the salt and pepper and olive oil:

Mix until incorporated:

Add more oil if necessary.

Then toss with hot pasta.  Today, we boiled some angel hair:

If you need to “stretch” the pesto, just add more olive oil.

A nice Chianti sounds good about now:

Until next time . . .