Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

On my salad tonight – Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing!

Balsamic Vinaigrette is my favorite salad dressing. As I was making my salad tonight, I realized that I didn’t have any in the house. What’s a chef to do? I decided to make my own.

This is SOOO GOOD! There aren’t that many ingredients, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper. Next time you use your store bought dressing, see if you actually recognize ALL the ingredients.

It didn’t take me very long to make it, maybe 5 minutes, it tastes SO good, AND it is WAY cheaper than any store bought product.

You can use this as a salad dressing, a vegetable dipping sauce, or a marinade. The next time you need salad dressing (or a marinade) I hope you will try making your own.

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Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

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Serves: 10

Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Ingredients

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp Kosher or Sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Instructions

In medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, mustard, honey, garlic, salt and pepper

Continue whisking and stream in the olive oil until all the ingredients are fully emulsified

Enjoy!

Notes

If there is any left over, you can store in a jar with a lid. You may need to shake it before serving again.

March 15, 2024 By Patrick Dulmage

Sauces

Chimichurri Sauce

Where has THIS been all my life?! YUM! I have seen countless TV shows where the chef/cook adds chimichurri sauce over steak or whatever. I always thought, I’d rather just taste the meat. Well, I finally gave in and figured I’d give it a try. WOW! Delicious! Now I see what I’ve been missing all these years.

There are a bunch of different ways you can make this and I don’t even begin to claim this is the best version of a chimichurri sauce. This is my first attempt at it and I am REALLY happy with the result. I put it on a grilled pork loin and grilled chicken.

I hope the next time you are grilling that you’ll give this sauce a chance – especially if you’ve never tried it.

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Chimichurri Sauce

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Chimichurri Sauce

Ingredients

2 cups fresh flat leaf parsley
1 cup fresh oregano
2-4 garlic cloves
3 limes, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil (use good quality extra virgin olive oil)
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded (or not if you want some heat)
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Give the parsley, oregano, and garlic cloves a rough chop and add to your food processor

add the lime juice to the food processor

add the salt and pepper to the food processor

pulse to start breaking down the greens

add the olive oil slowly as the greens break down

you'll likely have to stop and push down what splatters up on the sides of the processor

once it's blended nicely, stop and taste

adjust the seasoning as needed and then let it rest in the fridge while you make whatever you plan to put it on

July 4, 2023 By Patrick Dulmage

Beef/ Italian/ Pork/ Sauces

Meatballs and Sauce aka Sunday Gravy

On the menu tonight – Meatballs and Sauce!

I just got back from a trip to Boston and one of the places I had to eat was the North End. There are SO many great Italian places to eat there. One of the places we went served a big meatball and sauce as an appetizer. As many Italian places I’ve eaten over the years, this is the first time I can recall seeing just a meatball and sauce as an appetizer.

This was one of the most tender meatballs I’ve had. The sauce that the meatballs were cooked in was incredible. I decided to try to replicate this incredible dish at home. It honestly wasn’t as good as what I had in Boston, BUT it was still AMAZING!

For the meatballs, I used pork and beef. I think the restaurant in Boston used pork, beef, and veal. I ever-so gently mixed all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl. If you over-mix the ingredients, you get a firm meatball – be gentle.

The sauce – When I decided to make this, I wanted the sauce to cook a few hours on low. It will be ready to eat in about 45 minutes, but I let it sit on low for a couple of hours – the house will smell amazing.

Serve the meatballs and sauce either by themselves, over pasta… OR you could make the BEST ever meatball subs. Don’t forget the garlic bread! You need garlic bread to sop up every bit of that lovely sauce. Mangia!

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Meatballs and Sauce

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 10-12

Meatballs and Sauce

Ingredients

The Meatballs:
2 lbs ground beef (80/20)
1 lb ground pork
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup Pecorino Romano
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cup Milk
1 cup Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
1 Tbsp Oregano
2 Tbsp Olive Oil for browning
The Sauce:
2 28oz cans Crushed Tomatoes
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
3-4 bay leaves
1/2 bunch Parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Red Pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste
6-8 Basil leaves, torn into little pieces or chiffonaded

Instructions

Pre-heat, over medium heat, a large dutch oven or heavy pot that will hold all the sauce and the meatball

In a large bowl, gently mix all the ingredients for the meat balls - don't over work the mixture

Form the meatballs into 1 1/2 - 2 inch balls

Brown the meatballs in batches and set aside

In the same pot, add some additional olive oil, the chopped onion, red pepper flakes, and cook until translucent - about 4-5 minutes

Add the garlic and cook for about a minute, then add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, and parsley

Season with salt and pepper

Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to low

If you want a really smooth sauce use an immersion blender or blender

Add the meatballs and simmer at least 45 minutes.

When it is time to serve, add the basil and give it a gentle mix

If you haven't already, remove the bay leaves

September 5, 2021 By patrickdulmage

Beef/ Pork/ Sauces

Bacon Jam with Classic Hamburger

On the menu tonight – Bacon Jam! I’ve seen bacon jam included in a lot of hamburger recipes I have seen on Food Network. It always looks so good, I decided to make some. It was SO GOOD!

Start with about 2 pounds of your favorite bacon by cooking it until crispy. Once it has cooled enough to touch, chop it into relatively small pieces.

Then, add the chopped bacon and the rest of the other ingredients back to the same pan you cooked the bacon. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes.

Since I saw it served over a hamburger, that’s what made – a Classic Hamburger. All I had on that burger was the bacon jam, a little lettuce, a few pickles, and it was fantastic.

If you want to serve something a little different and a LOT delicious, make a batch of bacon jam. Let me know how it turns out.

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Bacon Jam with Classic Hamburger

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 8-12

Bacon Jam with Classic Hamburger

Ingredients

2 lbs cooked and chopped bacon

1 Red onion - chopped

3 cloves Garlic - minced

1/2 cup Molasses

1/2 cup Brown sugar

1/2 cup Honey

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 cup Sherry Wine

1 tsp Dry Mustard

2 tsp Garlic Powder

Instructions

1

Cook the bacon until crispy and set aside, reserve about 2 tbsp of the grease for cooking the onion and garlic

2

Add the chopped bacon, onions, garlic, brown sugar, molasses, honey, apple cider vinegar, sherry, and dry mustard to the pan

3

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer

4

Simmer until it gets syrupy, about 45 minutes

5

Stir frequently, don't let it burn

6

Once it is the consistency you want, transfer to a container, let cool, and store in the fridge

7

Serve over hamburgers, hotdogs, anything you want to add bacony goodness to

July 24, 2021 By patrickdulmage

Italian/ Sauces/ Vegetarian

Impossible Meatball Subs with Mozzarella Cheese and Marina Sauce

Audrey and I were in the mood for meatball subs. The thing is, she doesn’t eat meat and I do. I decided to make the meatballs with Impossible burger – they turned out amazing. I cook my meatballs differently, depending on the application and my mood. This time, I formed the balls and baked them in the oven.

Aside from making the meatball mix, there isn’t too much to this dish. The meatballs, the bread, and the marinara. To used a good jarred sauce this time because I didn’t have any already made and we were ready to eat.

If you eat meat, substitute the Impossible burger with 1 pound ground beef, 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage and 1/2 pound hot Italian sausage.

Check out my meatball recipe below. Let me know how it turns out.

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Impossible Meatball Subs with Mozzarella Cheese

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 8-10

Prep Time: 15 – Cooking Time: 20-25 – Total Time: 35

Impossible Meatball Subs with Mozzarella Cheese

Ingredients

8 Good Sub Rolls
1 lb sliced mozzarella (get the good stuff)
Meatballs:
2 lbs Impossible Burger
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese,
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt
Black pepper, freshly ground
1/2-1 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Marina Sauce:
Either a good jarred sauce or
2 28 oz cans whole San Marzano tomatoes, certified D.O.P. if possible
1 cup water
1 can tomato paste
1 cup Vidalia onion, diced
1 cup baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4-7 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2-1 tsp dried oregano
1 sprig fresh basil, ripped into pieces when ready to use

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

Grease a sheet pan with a little olive oil

Meatballs:

Combine the breadcrumbs, nutmeg and milk in a large mixing bowl

Add the Impossible Burger and other ingredients, gently mix to combine - do not overwork the mixture

Form the meatballs into golf ball sized rounds and put on the sheet pan

Put the sheet pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes - check on them at about 18 minutes to see how close to done they are

Marinara Sauce:

If using a jarred sauce:

Heat to a simmer over medium heat

If making your own:

Crush the tomatoes in a large mixing bowl with your hands

Pour 1 cup water in the cans to get the rest of the tomato juice. Reserve

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat

When the oil is hot, add the garlic - don't let it burn

After about a minute, add the tomatoes, tomato water, red pepper flakes, oregano, and Kosher salt

Simmer the sauce until thickened

Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed

Assembly:

Slice the rolls to make a nest for the meatballs

Slice the meatballs in half and fill the roll

Put a few tablespoons of the marina sauce over the meatballs

Top with a couple of slices of mozzarella cheese

Broil the subs until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly

Serve with marina sauce

March 6, 2021 By patrickdulmage

Sauces

BBQ Sauce – Kansas City-Style

Right after I made the last batch of BBQ Spice Rub, I made a batch of BBQ Sauce! This is another one of those things that is so easy to put together I bet you will start making your version.

There are a bunch of different types of BBQ Sauce, Eastern North Carolina Vinegar Sauce, Piedmont or Lexington-Style Dip, South Carolina-Style Mustard Sauce, Texas-Style Mop or Basting Sauce, Kansas City-Style Sauce, and Alabama White Sauce. There are probably others, so please don’t angry type me if I missed one of your favorites.

My favorite and probably the most popular in grocery stores is the Kansas City-Style sauce. What’s not to love? It’s sweet and spicy, thick and delicious. It’s perfect for ribs, chicken, or pork butt. I hope you will make this recipe and see how easy it is to make your own sauce. It won’t have all the additives the store brands have. Best of all, you can tweak it to your liking.

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BBQ Sauce - Kansas City-Style

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: lots

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes – Cooking Time: 10 - 15 minutes – Total Time: 20 minutes

BBQ Sauce - Kansas City-Style

Ingredients

2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark
2 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp yellow mustard (it can be any type mustard you like)
1 tbsp Tabasco sauce
1 tbsp BBQ Rub, any brand is fine. Check out my recipe.
2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Combine the ingredients in a saucepan

Bring to a boil slowly over medium heat

Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes

The sauce should have darkened a bit and gotten thicker

Taste and adjust as needed

Store what you don't use in the refrigerator

Notes

This would be a great item to can in pint or quart jars. Put a pretty label on it for a nice homemade gift.

June 11, 2020 By patrickdulmage