Spaghetti and Meatballs All'Amatriciana

Nick had his eye on a past issue of Bon Appetit magazine, when my dad planned to come over last night to help me finish my homemade drapery panels (see yesterday's post here).  He made two trips to the store to get what he needed, and the most incredible aromas wafted upstairs into our bedroom while my dad and I furiously ironed and steamed the stubborn wrinkles out of my Home Depot drop cloths...

Meanwhile the banging of pots, hiss of steam and insanely yummy scents of what awaited us quickened our resolve to finish my latest project.

These spicy, rich, decadent meatballs may be the best I've ever had.  No joke.

Spaghetti and Meatballs All'Amatriciana

Here's what he used for the Meatballs:
6 ounces uncured applewood-smoked bacon (about 6 slices), diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds ground beef (15% fat)
2/3 cup chopped drained roasted red peppers from jar
2/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup coarsely grated onion
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh marjoram
2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:
2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice (preferably San Marzano)
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
6 ounces uncured applewood-smoked bacon (about 6 slices), cut crosswise into thin strips
1 tablespoon (or more) extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups finely chopped onions
1 1/2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
2 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon minced fresh marjoram

Pasta:
1 1/2 pounds spaghetti
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh marjoram
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Here's what he did:

Pulsed bacon in a blender/processor, and ground it into a coarse paste. Transfered to large bowl. Mixed beef and with remaining meatball ingredients and let rest for a few minutes.

Using moistened hands  roll meat mixture into 2-inch meatballs, cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to cook.

Meanwhile, puree tomatoes with juice and garlic for sauce in batches in blender until smooth. Cook bacon in large (nonstick, if available) pot over medium heat until crisp; transfer bacon to plate.  Add 1 tbsp of oil to drippings in pot and heat over medium heat. Add half of meatballs. Cook until brown on all sides, turning carefully with small metal spatula, about 9 minutes.  Transfer meatballs to baking sheet. Add more oil to pot if needed and repeat with remaining meatballs.

Increase heat to medium-high. Add onions and crushed red pepper to pot. Sauté until golden, about 6 minutes. Add wine; boil until reduced by half, stirring up browned bits, about 8 minutes. Add tomato puree and marjoram. Boil until sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix bacon into sauce. Add meatballs; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until meatballs are heated through and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Finally, cook spaghetti in pot of boiling salted water until just tender. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons oil and marjoram. Divide spaghetti among bowls. Top with meatballs and sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and serve, passing additional cheese separately.

This one was outstanding!

Chicken Parmesan with Whole Wheat Spaghetti

I don't have a witty intro for this one.  Plain and simple I used the preparation from a favorite Barefoot Contessa Chicken Piccatta recipe, and then modified the second 1/2 of the recipe and went towards Chicken Parm vs. Chicken Piccatta.  It was yummy, and Sydney loved the pasta, which she calls "newls" (instead of noodles) and the chicken ends up with a crunchy exterior much like a crispy chicken finger.  :}

Chicken Parmesan

Here's what I used:

3-4 thin chicken breasts (or you can flatten regular ones with the bottom of a glass or w/ a meat pounder)

In three separate bowls for dredging:

1.  1 1/2 cups AP Flour
     1 tbsp kosher salt
     1/2 tbsp black pepper

2.  2 eggs, beaten
     1 tsp water

3.  2 cups italian bread crumbs

2/3 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced into thin rounds
2-3 tbsp olive oil

1 box whole wheat spaghetti
1 jar good pasta sauce (I used a sweet basil variety that we like)

Here's what I did:

The first step of this recipe is prep. 

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Wash and rinse chicken breasts, and then pat dry.  If you have regular chicken breasts (not thin), an easy way to flatten them is to put each breast into a large ziplock bag, or between saran wrap, and pound them flat with the flat bottom of a drinking glass or with a meat pounder device until the reach about 1/8" thick.

Set up the dredging stations as well, using three shallow bowls for the Flour, Egg Mixture and Bread Crumbs, in that order.

At this time I also set a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.

Once the chicken is prepped, dredge each piece in the flour, egg mixture and then bread crumbs.  Make sure that they are evenly coated and that no flour is showing through.  If there are spots that did not coat, redredge in egg and breadcrumbs until completely covered. 

In a non-stick skillet, brown chicken breasts for 2-3 minutes per side on medium heat with 2-3 tbsp of olive oil, or until just golden brown, and then set aside on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  I usually make enough for two skillets worth of chicken, so in between, I put my first batch in the oven, while the second batch cooks.  Once all chicken has been browned, add 2 mozzarella slices to the top of each chicken breast, and cook until cheese has melted and just started to brown on top.

Meanwhile, cook pasta to al dente and warm up your pasta sauce.

I plated about 1 cup of pasta alongside each chicken breast and topped with the sauce.  Sydney LOVED this, Nick loved it, and I really like it.  I usually shy away from recipes with pasta or breaded chicken, but this was healthy and the portions were perfect.  We also have leftovers.  You can easily reheat the chicken breasts in a toaster oven or regular oven at 350 for about 5 minutes.