Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life

Soup Is Good Food!

Because we all like to eat, don't we?

I haven't blogged about food for a while, so I though I would post some pictures of some of the more interesting things that I have made, latell.

Mrs Gunfighter knew how much I wanted an immersion blender, and good soul (ahem... hungry soul) that she is, decided that it was time for me to have one.  So, here is my first turn out of the gate using it:  Split pea with ham & carrots soup.

We didn't eat the soup the night that I made it... I gave it plenty of time to simmer and to get to the moment of perfection.  We ate it the following night, and it was so good!

Well, to be completely truthful, the soup was really great... the biscuits... not so much.   I think that I have mentioned that as much as I like to cook, I am not the world's best baker.

The biscuits that you see here are basically an abortive attempt at ham & cheddar biscuits.  It should be easy enough, right?  make biscuits and then add a little cheddar cheese and ham, right?  Well, not so much.  They were tasteless... just horrible.

Mrs Gunfighter put on a game face and pretended tried to like them, and SoccerGirl actually did like them.  I thought that they were awful.

Anyroad, the soup was very VERY good...  I'll show what I did next, tomorrow.

Bon Appetit!

Happy Thanksgiving!

As a blogger, as a parent, and as a person who has a rather unhealthy need to see his name in print, I thought I had better put my holiday thoughts into some frame for all to read.

I won't bore you with the details of my cooking... at least until tomorrow, neither will I talk about my wife and children, who are all about the house doing all manner of things (mostly reading).  Today, while I saute the shallots for my wild rice and sausage stuffing, and simmer the applesauce, please allow me to share something with you.

Like many of you, I live a fair share of my life online.  Many of my friends, those that I can't wait to share stories of my children with, are people that I know via kind words and pictures that I see on a screen.  Many of you that read this, although we have never met, and may never meet, will certainly understand this.  The funny thing is that even five years ago, this social setting would have come across as strange to so many people, but not anymore.

Times have changed a bit, and so have our social lives.  We interact differently, and as a result, many other things in our lives have changed.  In days gone by, family and dear friends would gather on feast days, like Thanksgiving, eat and celebrate together, enjoy each others company, and after a long day/evening, travel back to wherever they live, looking forward to the next time that they would all be together... which, very often, was the following Thanksgiving.... but things are different now.

Some who may read this, won't live in Prince William County, Virginia.  Most  won't live in Virginia at all.  Some will read this all across America, and beyond, because our world is smaller now.

So, friends... as you sit wherever you are, eating whatever you eat on this day, with people that you love, please know that there is someone in Prince William County, Va. that is thinking of you and yours, and thankful for your acquaintance, and friendship.

Gunfighter

Guest Blogger - Anali: A Recipe

Hello to all of you out there in Blogland!  The Gunfighter family is off on a wonderful summer vacation and I’m Anali, your guest blogger today. Sit back, relax, and grab a cup of coffee.  Tea if you prefer.  Maybe some chai to accompany the delicious dessert that I have for you. 

I normally blog over at Anali’s First Amendment.  Hopefully you’ll stop by and check me out over there too when you get a chance.  I blog about everything.  Life in general, books, movies, politics.  I love to take pictures.  Plus I love to bake. A lot.  So, I thought that I’d share a recipe for something that I tried recently.   

For me, baking is all about creativity and improvisation. Sure, I use cookbooks, but recipes are merely a guide and I change them constantly.  It’s very rare that I follow a recipe exactly.  And I’ve started creating my own recipes too.   

For this recipe, I started with Jordan Marsh’s Blueberry Muffin recipe, which I blogged about last year.  I’ve eliminated most of the dairy from my baking, so I use vanilla rice milk instead of regular milk and Earth Balance vegan sticks instead of butter.  I added chai for a different flavor and aroma and changed some of the proportions of the other ingredients as well. I only had one cup of blueberries, so that’s what I used.  

I hope that some of you try this recipe.  Please let me know if you do.  Enjoy!

Chai Blueberry Bread

 

½ cup Earth Balance (melted)

2 eggs

1/3 cup vanilla rice milk

1 chai tea bag

1-cup sugar

½ tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

2 cups flour

1-cup blueberries (fresh or frozen) 

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare loaf pan by spraying with cooking oil and coating with flour.  If you like, line bottom of pan with parchment paper or wax paper cut to size. 

In a small container, heat rice milk in microwave. Steep tea bag in warm rice milk for about five minutes.  Remove tea bag. 

In medium bowl, combine Earth Balance, eggs, rice milk, and sugar.  Stir well.  Add salt, baking powder, flour, and stir until combined.  Stir in blueberries.  Pour batter in pan.  Bake for about 45 minutes or until lightly browned.  

Let cool before removing from pan. 

 

Here’s another chai recipe that you might enjoy. 
 

Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2008. All rights reserved.

Pictures From the Past Year

I don't have a single bloody thing to talk about today... mainly because I am not in the mood to rant about the lowlife campaign that John McCain is running, which is as plain as the nose on your face.

Instead, I thought I would clean off the photo card that I have here, and share some pictures with you from the past year or so.  Enjoy:

 

The next President of The United States

How I feel about Republicans in general.

Some of my rosaries, for sale at The National Cathedral (They are all gone now, by the way).

The Washington Monument, and the Bureau of Engraving & Printing, seen from the tidal basin, next to the Jefferson Memorial.

Latest Ink

Pizza with leeks and roasted rep peppers.  Sooo good!

With my girls!

Are YOUtalkin' to ME?

Once again, The next President of the United States

'Nuff said!

A Work In Progress

Asian crusted salmon with stir-fry salad of jasmine rice.

Taylor Ham & Egg on a kaiser roll.  A delicacy for a boy from New Jersey.

Soccer Girl takes the throw-in!

Well now!  I hope I haven't bored you, too deeply.

I hope you all have a nice weekend.  We are off to Fredricksburg  to watch the opening of the Olympics (it's a family tradition, I'll explain it next week).

Big hugs and pink puffy hearts to all.

GF

PS:  In case any Hillary die-hards are reading this

Because I love Paula Deen, that's why!

A couple of days ago, I was watching Paula Deen's cooking show (don't laugh... I like cooking shows), and she was talking about southern comfort food... It turned out that one of the recipes hat she was going to cover was, get this: Bacon-Cheeseburger Meatloaf.

Yeah, I know that it isn't on everyones list of favorite things to eat, and I know that it is just asking for a heart attack, but you have to admit, in your heart-of-hearts, that meatloaf is a good memory for most of us.  You probably have your own recipe, don't you?  If not your own, maybe you mom's (or dad's).

Well, I have my own recipe, too, but I thought I would give Paula's a shot.

Here are the ingredients:

1  lb  ground chuck 10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled 1 (8 ounce) package sharp Cheddar, grated (or more) 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/4  cup  bread crumbs, toasted 1/4  cup  mayonnaise (I hate mayonnaise, I used ranch dressing instead) 1  tablespoon  Worcestershire sauce 1/4  teaspoon  salt 1/4  teaspoon  ground black pepper 1/3  cup  ketchup 2  tablespoon  prepared mustard (I used more mustard abd ketchup) 1 (3 ounce) can French fried onions (three ounces my a$$!, get the big can)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck and next 8 ingredients, mixing well. In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and mustard. Stir 1/4 cup ketchup mixture into meat mixture, reserving remaining ketchup mixture. (Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar for the remainder) Press meat mixture into a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, or shape into a loaf and place on a rack in a broiler pan. Spread remaining ketchup mixture over loaf. Bake 40 minutes. Top with French fried onions; bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink. I took a suggestion from Paula for at least reducing SOME of the fat in this recipe, but placing four squares of bread under the meatloaf, in order to soak up some of the excess grease that is always present with ingredient like this.  I also used a foil pan, so that I could just toss the pan in the trash when I was done with it. My friends, this meatloaf was a winner!  The next time, I plan to modify it a bit, but the basic structure is soooo good. Now, tell the truth... who DOESN'T love Paula Deen? GF

Leek & Potato Soup a la Gunfighter

I wrote this on Sunday night, while I was cooking...

It’s been a while since we talked about food, hasn’t it? Well, let’s see if we can fix that!

The winter is upon us, and despite today’s temperatures in the middle to high 50’s I decided that today would be a good day for soup. Not just any soup, mind you, but a variation on one of my favorites: Leek & Potato soup. Oh, I can hear you, already, sighing a soft “Mmmmmmm!” OK, so maybe that was me. In any event, I think you’ll like this.

Lets start, shall we?

The first thing you have to do if you want to make Leek & Potato soup, is to get the ingredients, which are rather simple:

4 Leeks - Try to get them as fresh as possible. Sometimes you get to the supermarket and see the most atrocious leeks on the planet. Geesh.

Celery - about 4 stalks, trimmed and sliced

Fennel - One bulb

Bacon bits - one jar (use real bacon bits if you don’t have dietary restrictions)

Half a pint of heavy cream (substitute with regular, or low fat milk, as suits your fancy)

Chicken or vegetable broth - This time I used some organic low-fat low-sodium stuff that I got at Whole Foods this afternoon (Washingtonians, have you been to the new whole foods store in Old Town? The Bomb, I’m telling you.)

Chopped garlic - It’s alright if you use the stuff in the jar… I’m not Emeril, OK?

Right, got all of your stuff?

Let’s roll!

Put on some music: Today I am starting with the Manhattan Transfer. I have loved them for years and years.

Next: Pour a glass of wine.  Pour one for your sweetie, too.




Now, let’s get busy (awwwwwwwwwwwww yeah!). First, wash and trim your celery, then chop, rinse again and set aside.


Trim the stalks and the very bottom of the bulb from the fennel, and chop roughly. Set aside.

Trim the tops and bottoms of the leeks and slice thinly.

Place the chopped leeks in a large colander and rinse thoroughly. Trust me on this. If you don’t rinse THOROUGHLY, you are in for a lovely, but REALLY gritty soup, and that’s probably not what you want.

OK, enough with the chopping and the rinsing, already!

Go into your pots and pans and find a cast iron dutch oven. If you don’t have a cast iron dutch oven, smack yourself on the forehead.

I’ll wait.

Done? OK, get your cast iron dutch oven, or whatever you plan to use, and put it on the stove.

Turn the flame to high and pour in a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, (if you say EVOO, you’ll really irritate me… so don’t). Anyway, once you put in your olive oil, add the leeks, fennel, and bacon bits (use as much or as little of those as you like), stir and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and let cook until wilted, stirring as needed.

Add garlic, stir. Cook for 3 or 4 more minutes.

Add broth. Enough to cover, with some reserved. I used a 32 oz. box.

Reduce heat to a low simmer.

Rinse and dice your potatoes.

Pour a second glass of wine.

Add potatoes to the pot, and stir. Make sure there is enough broth to cover the potatoes as well, if there isn’t enough, add more.

Check and make sure that you are simmering on low… we aren’t in a hurry here.

Answer the ringing telephone and talk to your mother in law, for as little time as possible, and then put adorable grandchild on the phone.

Change the CD. This time playing The Proclaimers - Born Innocent.

***NOTE*** I still believe that The Proclaimers should have had better success here in America. Those guys rock!

OK, you have some time. You need to simmer until your potatoes are done. 10 or 15 minutes, or something like that.

Take a few minutes to pontificate about matters of great import, like what you are planning to read for the official "bloggers day off for reading".

Whaddayamean, you “haven’t heard of it”?

Have you been reading my blog? Look to your right. No, not over your right shoulder… the right side of this blog. You see the widgets, right?

Let me explain this. On January 10th, we bloggers, especially those the know Soccer Mom In Denial, our esteemed colleague, known respectfully and affectionately in the blogosphere as SMID, aren’t going to blog. That’s right, no blogging, no reading of blogs, no exciting food posts, no book reviews, no Thursday Thirteen. Nada. Why? Because we’ll be reading books. Not only will we be reading, we will read, AND talk about books with loved ones, children, colleagues, friends, and if you are really hardcore, you will find a perfect stranger and engage them in a conversation about a great book.

I have blogged about the day here, and you can find more information at SMID’s blog.

Do this… and pass it on to your friends.

Read, encourage others, especially at risk youth. Maybe your encouragement will keep a young person out of prison or a dead end future.

It’s vital.

As for me, I will be reading this: The Revolution: A Field Manual For Changing YOUR World (emphasis mine). This book is a collection of essays about ways to fight against 12 pressing social justice issues on local and international levels.

Look for my review, soon to follow.


OK, still with me? Good! Hey, that was good, wasn’t it? A post within a post! I’m a bad MoFo!

OK, when your potatoes are done, get out your food processor. If you don’t have one, use your blender. Now, you don’t need one of those really expensive kitchen blenders to do this (I REALLY want one of those things. Well, maybe in the next life).

Use a slotted spoon or a skimmer to remove the potatoes (and the majority of the cooked down veg. as well), and process until smooth. Feel free to do this in batches.

Once you have done all of the potatoes and veg, you are nearly done.

Return all of it to the dutch oven…. And add a little broth if the soup is too thick.

Adjust your seasonings. This is the time to get creative friends. The soup that we just made is either perfect on it’s own, or is the perfect host for doing any number of really great things.

Here in Castle Gunfighter, we enjoy a lively spice rack, and I rarely shrink from using it… which is why I can really come up with some great stuff that I can hardly reproduce, because sometimes I just start throwing things into the pot. Well today is no different.

At this point, I had added a little salt, a little more garlic, and some Garam Masala, as well as a dash or three of premium fish sauce.

***NOTE*** I have changed the CD yet again, and now I am listening to Linda Ronstadt sing Blue Bayou, which came out when I was in seventh or eighth grade.

C'mon, sing with me! “Oh some sweet day, gonna take away this hurtin’ inside, well I’d never be blue, my dreams’d come true… on Bluuuuuuue Baaaaaaaayooooooou!“

Dude.

Back to adjusting seasonings. Use what you like. You can even add a bit of cheese. I used about a half a cup of cheddar cheese, and some heavy cream, as well as some kitchen bouquet, because my bride prefers her food to be not quite so light colored.

Ok. I’m done!

I am going to change the CD (Teddy Pendergrass, this time) and eat!

Bye, y’all.

Posted by Gunfighter at 11:40 PM 13 comments

Food: Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

A little over a year ago, while strolling around World Showcase Lagoon, at Disney World's EPCOT, a friend of mine told me about his method of stuffing a tenderloin. If you like to cook, you probably know that stuffing a pork tenderloin is sort of demanding, especially if your skills with cutlery aren't what they should be. My friend gave me an idea that until recently, I hadn't put into practice... I decided that it was time to make it happen.

Pre-heat the oven to 375.

The first thing I did was to put on some music, because you know that Chef Gunfighter likes to get his groove on when he cooks. Yes, what you see is correct, I bought that 70's R&B collection from Target. Don't laugh, the play list is very cool. It starts with that all-time favorite song, made for rubbing bellybuttons, the Marvin Gaye classic: "Let's Get it On".




Anyway, I was going to use a mushroom stuffing for this tenderloin, and got started by chopping a bunch of chives and setting them aside.




Next, I chopped a small onion, and a package of fresh, white button mushroom. I sauteed the onions until they were clear, then added the chives and mushrooms.

Continue to saute together until the mushrooms release their liquids, and reduce by about 80%, add a dash of minced garlic here (if you like garlic), and a half teaspoon of ground caraway seeds. Salt & pepper to taste.

Once finished add a tablespoon if bacon bits (use real bacon). Stir, drain well, and set aside in a mixing bowl. Add a tablespoon (or two) of high quality mustard, (I used the full-grain brown mustard).



I have a small family, so using a large tenderloin is seriously wasteful, so instead, I used a rather small (and therefore inexpensive), pre-trimmed, tenderloin from the supermarket for this dish.

OK, knives out! Lay the tenderloin on the cutting board, and using your free hand press down at the end of the tenderloin where you are going to begin your cut. Holding your knife flat, cut a flap in the tenderloin like you see here.

Next, make another cut, similar to the first, which will leave you with two flaps that open from the center like wings.





Spread the stuffing on the center portion.....








...and then close the flap.

Repeat until you are finished.







Pause here to wash your hands, which will be a real mess by now. Pour yourself a glass of red wine. You know, the kind that I like, cheap... usually from a bottle with a screw top. Hey, I'm a Philistine... sue me.

OK, take a minute or two to do some dancing. If you have a partner, great! If you don't have anyone to dance with, dance alone!. Remember what I said about getting down with your bad self, it's important!

OK, calm down, have a last sip of your wine, and put your tenderloin in the oven... bake at 375 for until finished... you'll need a meat thermometer to determine doneness, because different sized cuts of meat require different cooking times.

When you are finished, it'll look something like this:



Put on some good music (I recommend Andrea Boccelli), and serve with pasta & veg.... and more wine.

GF

Thoughts On A Saturday Night

** Goodbye, and thank you, Senator Craig. I guess you couldn't bullshit your way out of this one, eh? You are a criminal. A stain on society. An additional stain on an already dirty GOP (and Senate). Oh, and good riddance, too.

** Michael Vick, I don't care how sorry you are. I don't care that you now acknowledge your "immaturity. Get thee hence, you miserable wretch, to a federal penitentiary and repay your debpt to society. You just can't go araound killing
"Man's Best Friend" and get away with it, once you had been discovered.

** To the lady pushing the wheel chair at Epcot a few days ago, that crashed the wheel chair into the back of soccergirls legs: If you weren't old and a woman, I would have punched you right in the f***ing face.

** To the parents who let your no-older-than-ten year old daughter wear a bare midriff T-shirt that read: "Hot Lover": I wish it wasn't unlawful to punch parents in the face for doing stupid shit like this. What were you thinking? Why? In what kind of world is this sort of thing, OK?

** To the ladies wearing four-inch heels at Disney World... what kind of chemicals have you been indulging in?

Friends,

I will be on my way home tomorrow morning. I suppose it'll take us about 12 hours to get there, unless we decide to stop for the night.

We have had a great vacation. Between Disney World, Sea World, and other fun places, we have had a good time together, which is what our vacations are all about.

Next week, I will send you my vacation report. ... and get back to blogging on a few more serious issues.

In the meantime, DC area readers, prepare for happy hour next friday... if you are still available.

GF

Roast Chicken

I may have mentioned, at one time or another, that one of my most favorite comfort food dishes is roasted chicken and vegetables. I bought a chicken last week, and decided that this Saturday would be a good day for it.

Here we go:

It is a simple dish, and can be amended to suit virtually any taste (unless, of course, you are a vegetarian).

I started with Fennel, baby Yukon gold potatoes, baby carrots (those two items figure heavily in Gunfighter cuisine... have you noticed?), two large red onions, garlic, red pepper paste, dill, salt, and Italian dressing.

I also used some Jamaican Jerk seasoning for the chicken's skin. I'm not much of a chicken skin fan, but Mrs. G loves a crispy chicken skin... so there you are. I try to be accommodating.

As always, before I get started, I have to find my music of the day. Today's cd's are wildly different, but they suit the audience at particular times. I am starting with this: "We Sold Our Soul For Rock and Roll", the classic Black Sabbath compilation... from back in the days when Ozzy Osbourne still fronted the band... and before he became a television star.



When I said that music varies for the audience, I wasn't kidding. You see, the best time for me to crank my Ozzy tunes is when Mrs G isn't home yet... and she wasn't!

Rock on, loudly!

As with most of the things that I cook, this dish starts out with the obligatory slicing and dicing of potatoes:



Onions:



...and fennel (just the white part).



Add the carrots, some dill, garlic, and red pepper flakes (to taste). Add a table spoon (or two) of Italian dressing and toss:



Thoroughly rinse your chicken and pat dry with paper towels.

On a cutting board, rub a bit of salt (I use the coarse Kosher salt)...



In the chicken's cavity, then rub the chicken's skin with a tiny bit of olive oil (or other flavored oil if you prefer). Don't forget to oil the wing tips, or they'll burn almost instantly. Next, rub the chicken with whatever seasonings you like... today, I'll be using Jamaican Jerk seasoning.

Take your lemon, cut it in half, and push it into the cavity.

***Pause here to bang your head while "Iron Man" blasts from the stereo***



I usually use a stand-up roaster when I cook a chicken. If you have never used one, I suggest giving it a try. They aren't expensive, and if you are careful of your fat intake, this will help a bit. With one of these little doohickeys, the juices from the roasting chicken run into your pan, and you chicken doesn't wallow in them.

Place the roaster in the roasting pan... I usually use a foil pan... saves lots of cleanup work, and spread the tossed vegetables in a single layer (if you can) in the pan.

take a sheet of aluminum foil and make a tent over the chicken. The foil will keep the direct heat off the skin. Remember, You will be cooking at high heat, so you don't want the skin to cook too quickly.



Put the chicken in the oven, and roast 25 minutes at 500 degrees.

After 25 minutes, remove the foil, reduce the temperature to 425, baste, stir the veggies and continue to roast. If there isn't enough pan juice to paste the chicken, try adding a splash of sherry. If you don't have/won't have any sherry, use a splash of chicken broth.

I have to change the cd now, Mrs G is home, and isn't really into Sabbath. I convinced her to listen to the metal perfect that is "Fairies Wear Boots"...



...and then put on the new Jane Monheit cd...



...called "Surrender". Go out and buy it today!

Anyway, listening to Jane Monheit is ALMOST as good as listening to Ozzy. She has a beautiful voice. We saw her perform live at The Birchmere two years ago, and she was great!



Hold the presses! When I went to the Birchmere's website so I could link it for you, I saw that two of our favorite acts are going to be appearing later in the year. Jane Monheit will be BACK at the Birchmere on August 10th and Tuck & Patti will be there October 20th.

Woo Hoo!

Oy... have you put your chicken back in the oven? Good!, go have a glass of wine, with someone you love.... and spend another 30 minutes listening to music and/or reading.

OK, baste, stir, etc... as needed from time to time until your chicken looks done. If it looks done, insert a meat thermometer into the chicken's thigh, and make sure that the internal temperature reaches at least 180 degrees. Your total cooking time will take about ninety minutes (depending on the size of the chicken).



I prefer using smaller chickens... I think that they are more flavorful.

After you remove the chicken from the pan, let it rest for about 10 minutes before you carve it. During that 10 minutes, return the oven to 450 degrees, and put the vegetables back in... if you like , grate some cheese over them and let that melt (I used gorganzola).

Here is your end result.

Carve, serve, enjoy.

Spaghetti

Have I done a Spaghetti post before? I can't recall, so here goes!

Spaghetti, a la Gunfighter

I started with all of the usual suspects: Spaghetti (I hope that the fact that I don't make my own pasta doesn't make you hate me), A jar of Prego spaghetti sauce (I Hope the fact that I don't always make my own sauce doesn't make you have me), Onions (I hope the fact that I don't grow... oh never mind!), carrots (yes carrots), anchovies (I'll explain about them later), and sausage (I use turkey sausage).



As usual, when I cook, there has to be music... So, tonight's music will be: "The Best of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, and "The String Quartet Tribute To Van Morrison". These are two of my favorite CD's, and if you aren't familiar with either of them, I highly recommend them. The first CD covers the work that Marvin Gaye did during his unfortunately brief collaboration with Tammi Terrell before her untimely death in 1970. The songs are beautiful, and they evoke memories of my childhood. The standout song that many of you will remember is: "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing" (which was covered by Vince Gill & Gladys Knight a few years ago). On the Van Morrison tribute CD, you will hear the music of one of the industry's most talented artists played by classical string quartets... what you will learn from this CD is that good music lends itself easily to nearly sort of genre or arrangement, it is the mark of high quality. Of all of the great tracks on this CD, for me, the stand out is "Have I Told You Lately, That I Love You?".

My friends, Spaghetti is one of the easiest things in the world to make... which is why I made it the other night. I didn't have anything special planned, and we were on the tail end of the shopping period (I try to a major grocery shop only twice a month), and spaghetti is a favorite in our house.

Let's begin, shall we?

Pour Yourself a glass of wine. Yes, I know that it seems that all of my recipes start like this... but they don't. Next week, I'll have a beer, ok?

Start your music.

Next, fill the pasta pot and put it on to boil. (Mrs G. gave me this pot as a gift about three years ago... it gets good use!)

Thinly slice the onions (the thinner the better... I use my Chinese cooking knife for this. Careful not to slice your knuckles... it hurts!), and saute in olive oil.

NOTE: I use Carapelli's Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but, I ain't Rachel Ray, so don't expect me to say "EVOO"

If you are like us, you like your onions practically caramelized, so start early enough to let them cook a long time. Before the onions are done cooking...

Take about a cup of baby carrots and chop them in a food processor, and add them to the onions.


About the carrots... you can eliminate them completely if you don't like them, but believe me when I tell you that you won't really taste them... more on that later. The main reason to add them is that they neutralize a lot of the acid that is present in tomato sauce, which is a real plus for someone like me, that suffers from acid reflux.

When the carrots & onions are done, set them aside.

Prepare your sausage: I always take the casings off the sausage before I cook it. If you have never done it, try this: Hold the sausage across your palm, use a paring knife or a vegetable knife and find the beginning of the casing, holding the knife nearly flat, lift the casing and slice through it, working your way to the end of the sausage.

In a frying pan, using some Olive oil cooking spray, cook the sausage over medium/low heat, until just about cooked through. Set aside.

NOTE: While the sausage cooks, take some time to sing along with the music, dance if you must, and have some more wine. These things won't make you a better cook, but it will make cooking more fun.

In the same pan, add a teaspoon of olive oil and the contents of a can of flat anchovies (without the oil they were packed in.). Cook until the anchovies disintegrate, and form a paste. This won't take very long... and while they are cooking... slice the sausage and use a food processor to crumble it.




Now, here is the fun part: Take a tablespoon of this stuff: "California Sun-Dry, Garlic w/sun dried tomatoes, and mix it with the anchovies, and combine. Cook on low for a few minutes.

Once those things have had a chance to combine, add the sausage, carrots, and onions to the pan. Stir and let cook together for a few minutes.

Add the spaghetti sauce and simmer on low for at least 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

When your sauce is done, season to taste.

Boil your spaghetti until al dente (What, you didn't know that I speak Italian?)

Drain, but don't rinse, the spaghetti.

How you serve this is up to you, at Chez Gunfighter, spaghetti is serves with the sauce mixed with your pasta... do it however you like. One benefit of mixing the spaghetti with the sauce is that any excess liquid in your sauce can be absorbed by the pasta AND the carrots. This is helpful if anyone in your home has issues about "wet" food.

Don't forget the garlic bread!



Mangia!