Eating Out At Home, On A Budget
Have you ever wondered how to make that perfect chicken breast or authentic marinara sauce, but just been unable to quite get it up to restaurant quality?
Chef Anne Burrell knows your pain, and shares ideas on the Food Network.
As host of "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef," she unlocks the secret techniques chefs use to make their offering special, to enable you to make restaurant-quality dishes at home.
As The Saturday Early Show's "Chef on a Shoestring," Burrell accepted our challenge of creating a perfect pasta dish worthy of any eatery our meager budget of $40.
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FOOD FACTS:
Pancetta: A type of dry cured meat. It is pork belly that has been salt-cured, salted and spiced (nutmeg, pepper, fennel, dried ground hot peppers and garlic are often featured), and dried for about three months (but usually not smoked).
Flambé: French for "flamed" or "flaming," this dramatic method of food presentation consists of sprinkling certain foods with liquor, which, after warming, is ignited just before serving.
TAKE-HOME TIPS
RECIPES
Mixed Green Salad with Parmigiano Crisps
1 cup grated Parmigiano
4 cups salad greens, such as mesclun, arugula, red leaf, romaine or baby spinach
1 cup mixed fresh herb leaves, such as parsley, basil, oregano, chives or cilantro
1 cup grape tomatoes cut in 1/2
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup high quality extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Salt
1/4 cup toasted chopped walnuts, sunflower seeds or chopped hazelnuts
For the crisps:
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Line a sheet tray with a silicone mat. Make 4 even, very thin circles of Parmigiano on the mat. Be sure that the circles are not touching.
Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until the cheese has melted, turned golden brown and looks like lace.
Remove the tray from the oven and let the crisps cool for about 1 minute. Using a spatula, remove the crisps from the silicone mat and reserve on a plate.
For the salad:
Fill your sink with cool water. Toss in all the salad greens and gently swish until all the dirt and grit falls to the bottom of the basin.
Gently lift the greens out of the water and put in a salad spinner. If the greens are especially dirty empty the sink, rinse to rid of dirt and repeat the process.
Spin the greens until they are dry and still very fresh looking. If not using the greens right away, store them wrapped loosely in paper towels then sealed in plastic bags in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.
In a large bowl, place the greens and herbs. Add the tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers. Drizzle in half of the oil and vinegar and season with salt.
Using your hands, gently toss the salad to combine. Taste! Add the remaining oil and vinegar, if needed and season again with salt, if needed (you probably will). The salad should be very flavorful but not soggy.
Arrange the salad on individual salad plates or bowls. Sprinkle each salad with the nuts and garnish with a Parmigiano crisp.
FOR MORE RECIPES, GO TO PAGE 2.
Excellent Meatballs
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, 1/4-inch dice
Salt
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
Pinch crushed red pepper
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1 cup grated Parmigiano
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup water
Marinara sauce, recipe follows
Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil, add the onions and bring to a medium high heat. Season the onions generously with salt and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. The onions should be very soft and aromatic but have no color.
Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool.
In a large bowl combine the meats, eggs, Parmigiano, parsley and breadcrumbs. It works well to squish with your hands.
Add the onions and season generously with salt and squish some more. Add the water and do one final really good squish. The mixture should be quite wet.
Test the seasoning of the mix by making a mini hamburger size patty and cooking it and eating it. It should taste really good! If it doesn't it is probably missing salt. Add more. Add more anyway.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Shape the meat into desired size; some people like 'em big, some people like 'em small. I prefer meatballs slightly larger than a golf ball.
Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil and bring to a medium high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides.
Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked all the way through. If using right away, add them to your big pot of marinara sauce. If not using right away, they can be frozen for later use.
Serve with pasta and sauce or just eat them straight out of the pot! YUM!
Marinara Sauce
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 pound diced pancetta
2 large Spanish onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
Kosher salt
4 large garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
Pinch crushed red flakes
4 (28 ounce) cans Italian plum tomatoes
Coat a large saucepot with olive oil and add the pancetta. Bring the pot to a medium high heat and cook the pancetta for 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the onions, season generously with salt and stir to coat with olive oil. Cook the onions for 6 to 7 minutes stirring frequently. The onions should become very soft and aromatic but have no color.
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes stirring frequently.
Pass the tomatoes through the food mill. Be sure to pass all of the pulp through the holes leaving only the stems and the seeds, and be sure to scrape the pulp off of the bottom of the food mill. That's all of the big money stuff!
Add the tomatoes to the pot and rinse out one of the empty tomato cans with water and add that water to the pot (about 2 to 3 cups). Season generously with salt and TASTE IT!!!! Tomatoes take a lot of salt. Season in baby steps and taste every step of the way.
Cook the sauce for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and tasting frequently.
Use the sauce right away on pasta or for any other tomato sauce need. This sauce can also be cooled and stored in the fridge for a few days or freezes really well.
Bananas Flambé
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pinch ground cinnamon
2 bananas, sliced in rounds and tossed with the juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup dark rum (recommended: Meyers)
Vanilla ice cream
Melt the butter gently in a large saute pan. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine. Add the cinnamon and cook until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Toss in the bananas.
Turn the heat up to high, pull the pan off the burner and add the rum and tip into the flame to allow the flame to "JUMP" into the pan and set on fire! Do this carefully and respectfully but have fun, it's all about the show.
Spoon over ice cream and try not to eat it all yourself.
So, how did Burrell do with our $40 budget?
1ST COURSE
Parmigiano $2.24
Cilantro .69
Mixed Greens $3.79
Grape tomatoes $2.50
Red onion .52
Cucumber .79
Sunflower seeds .99
2ND COURSE
Onion .52
Garlic .39
Ground beef $1.19
Veal $1.19
Pork $1.35
Parmigiano $2.24
Breadcrumbs .99
Pancetta $4.49
Spanish onion $2.48
Canned tomatoes $7.56
Pasta $1.35
3RD COURSE
Bananas .99
Dark rum $1.50
Vanilla ice cream $1.99
FINAL COST = $39.75