Quick Tomato Gravy, Dad's Chicken Parmesan, Wheat Linguine

There is an ongoing argument at least in the Northeast US about whether what you put on your macaroni is "gravy" or "sauce". The rule of thumb is that if it is prepared with meat it is gravy and is it is prepared without it is sauce. Some have never heard of this debate, but if you live in the Philadelphia area I am sure this is something you are familiar with.

To me it is all gravy! We were conditioned to call it that. My mom said her mother always started her gravy with meat as did her step mother, my nanny (that recipe is for another blog). If I so much as slipped and called this "sauce" I would never hear the end of it!

More often than not, time is not on my side. I wouldn't dare use a jar, so here is our quick meat-free Sunday "gravy". All of the measurements depend on the tomatoes so I will give you a range. Some are more acidic than others so you may want to add more or less sugar. If you buy the tomatoes with Italian seasonings already added you will want to go on the low side with the extra spices. Everything I do is to taste. This only has to simmer for at more an hour, but the longer the better. You can use fresh herbs but those are not always readily available- I will give a recipe for a fresh version in a future blog.

Quick Tomato Gravy

We prefer Tuttorosso Products

1 small onion diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 tbsps olive oil
1  28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can tomato puree
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 -2 tbsp basil
1/2-1 tsp salt
1/2-1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
dash red pepper flakes
1/4 cup grated Locatelli or Parmesan cheese (optional)

In a large pot or Dutch oven heat olive oil over medium heat
Add onion and cook until they begin to turn translucent
Add garlic cook another minute
Turn heat to low
Add all of the tomato products
Fill one 28 oz can with water and pour into pot
Stir well
Add seasonings
Stir
When it begins to bubble is the time to taste and add more seasoning
Turn heat to low and cover pot- simmer 1-3 hours depending on how much time you have

When I was younger Chicken Parmesan was one of my absolute favorite meals! We didn't eat it nearly as much as I would have liked. My parents tried to limit our consumption of breaded and fried foods so in the event that we had meals like this I definitely over indulged!

A few years ago for my dad made eggplant parmesan for my son's Christening. My cousin Frankie tried his parm and approved but shared some advice to make it even better.  The trick? MAYO! This is not just a trick for eggplant parm but for chicken as well.

So here it is....

Dad's Chicken Parmesean

4 Thin sliced chicken breast cutlets or chicken breasts cut and pounded
2 eggs
1/4 cup mayo
1 tbsp. milk
1 tsp parsley
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic salt
1 cup breadcrumbs (we used seasoned)
1/4 cup olive oil

8 oz Mozzarella Cheese
2 tbsp. grated sharp provolone (optional)
1/4 cup locatelli

Wisk together eggs, mayo, milk, parsley, cheese, and garlic salt
Fill a plate with bread crumbs
Dip cutlets one at a time into the egg mixture

Coat well with breadcrumbs

Over medium heat in a large frying pan heat olive oil
Add cutlets to pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side until browned

Pre-Heat Oven to 425 degrees

In a Pyrex or casserole dish (13"x9" works) cover bottom with a few ladles of "gravy"
Arrange cutlets in dish
Top each cutlet with about a tablespoons of gravy (not too much or your cheese will slide off) a handful of mozzarella, sprinkle some provolone and Locatelli on top

Bake until cheese is melted and slightly brown about 10 mins

Tips: You can also bake the cutlets at 350 for about 15 minutes or until thermometer reads 165 degrees- we baked ours this time as we are trying to detox from the holidays, but fried tastes much better!

My husband, yes the metagon, is the pasta maker in our house. Maybe it is my lack of patience, but my volcano always collapses, the dough is never the right consistency, and the myself, the dog, and the floor are always covered in flour! I usually run for a pack of P&S pasta instead of trying again.

Whole Wheat Linguine

Pasta
1.5 Cups Flour
1.5 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
4 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Tools Needed:
Pasta Roller (Manual or Attachment for Kitchen-Aid Mixer)
Linguine Roller (Manual or Attachment for Kitchen-Aid Mixer)
Pasta Drying Rack

By Hand:  Combine all of the flour and the salt and form a volcano shape with the hole in the center and add everything.  The hole has to accommodate the 4 eggs and olive oil, so size appropriately.  Stir and beat the eggs inside the volcano and slowly scrape in some flour until it forms a semi solid ball at which point you can gradually add the rest of the flour (volcano).  Take the dough ball and knead for 10 minutes until it is semi-elastic.  Add oil as needed while kneading.  You may have some flour left over, that's ok.  Coat the final ball in oil and wrap in plastic wrap for 30 minutes.

Unwrap the ball and cut off a piece of dough approximately 2" H X 4" W X 0.5" D.  On the thickest setting of your pasta roller (typically 1), run the dough through 2-3 times to maximize the width of the piece of dough to fit in the linguine roller.  Reduce the pasta roller thickness setting gradually all the way to 6 or 7 (whatever you are prefer) after rolling the dough through each time.  Run the sheet of pasta through the linguine roller and hang pasta on drying rack.  (Note:  You may want to create a couple of sheets of dough, set them aside, then change the attachment on your rolling machine and do all the linguine at once.)

Alternatively, if you do not have rolling machines, you could roll out all the dough and cut it with a knife to make the pasta.  Just make sure the dough is sufficiently thin for your liking.

You can either freeze these or refrigerate. If you are using immediately, let sit for 15-20 mins before cooking.

Bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Drop in pasta and cook for 7-9 mins. Drain and serve with sauce of your choice. (In this case we served with "Quick Tomato Gravy".

Buon Appetito!