Pineapple Marinara

That is sage on top...I love pineapple and sage :)

I got a brand spankin new pressure cooker for Christmas, a Fagor Duo 8-Quart to be exact. I have been busting to try it and I finally settled on making this delicious Pineapple Marinara sauce for my hawaiian pizza (which I will post in the coming days). Pressure cookers have been around for a long time, but they are starting have a resurgence now do to their new safety measures (they won't explode in your kitchen anymore) and lots of new publicity from major cookbooks and TV shows. Pressure cookers are back baby! The beauty with pressure cookers is their ability to cook anything at a higher temperature. You see, any food product contains water and the boiling point of water is 212°F. So, therefore, nothing can be cooked past that temperature while it contains water. You can put a steak in an 800°F, but it will never pass 212°F, unless of course you completely dehydrate it. Pressure Cookers can get us around that barrier. Whenever you raise the pressure you essentially raise the boiling point. The Fagor Duo 8-Quart is one of the best on the market and can reach full pressure of 1 Bar, or 15 psi, which essentially increases the cooking environment to 250°F. Given this advantage, you can cook whatever it is your cooking 70% more efficient and given the increased temperature, you can get a lot more depth of flavor. I highly recommend everybody having a pressure cooker in your home, not only are they extremely versatile, but extremely efficient. They are definitely worth the cupboard space!

Ingredients

• 2 cups yellow onion, large dice
• 1 cup carrots, medium dice
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 3 cups pineapple, medium dice
• 1/2 cup prosciutto, diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes 
• Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
• Salt, to taste

Directions

Add the onion, carrot, garlic, pineapple and prosciutto to the bowl of a food processor and mince. Work in batches if they don't all fit. 

Add the olive oil to the base of the pressure cooker and saute the minced vegetables over medium heat until the onions turns translucent, about 4 minutes. 

Stir in 1/2 the can of crushed tomatoes, reserve the rest for another use. Pressure-cook at a gauge pressure of 1 bar/15 psi for 45 minutes. Don't start timing until full pressure is reached.  Once 45 minutes has passed, depressurize the pressure cooker. Blend sauce with an immersion blender until smooth. Season with EVOO and salt to taste.

72 Hour Sous Vide Baby Back Ribs

I am definitely starting to fall in love with Sous Vide cooking. Not only does it yield amazing results, but the convenience is just so nice. These were honestly one of the best rack of ribs I have ever had and I really don't think anybody would be able to tell a difference between these and a slab of smoked ribs. Then you add in the little amount of work I had to actually do to get these delicious results. I literally had to prepare the dry rub, put it on the ribs, let them marinate over night, vacuum seal them and throw them in the SousVide Supreme for 3 days. Sure they take a long time to cook, but it literally took 10 min of physical prep time and the rest was just a waiting game. For the most part, this recipe is a "set it and forget it" recipe, you'll have to plan the meal a few days in advance, but it's totally worth it! Don't worry, I'll give a recipe for the amazing cornbread as well. Enjoy!

Ingredients 

• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 5 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp cayenne
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp ground allspice
• 2 tbsp chili flakes
• 3 tbsp ancho chili powder
• 3 baby back ribs (6-8 lbs), halved 
• Liquid Smoke
• Your favorite barbecue sauce, in this case Sweet Baby Ray's

Directions

The night before you want to start cooking the ribs, mix all the dry ingredients (first 8 ingredients) in a bowl. Rub the ribs generously with rib rub on both sides, stack ribs in a sealed container, and store in the fridge overnight, letting the meat marinate as the rub liquefies. 

The next day heat the SousVide Supreme  to 144 degrees F. 

Place each rib in their own vacuum seal pouch, add 3-4 drops of liquid smoke and vacuum seal them. Place the vacuum sealed ribs in the water bath, cover and let cook for 72 hours. Be sure to check the water level and the vacuum bag seals every day to make sure the are ok. 

After 72 hours, set your oven to broil and move the rack to the second highest position in the oven. 

Remove ribs from bag, place on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Brush the ribs on both sides with your favorite sauce (warmed) and then broil  to caramelize the sauce on top (you may need to work in batches). Brush with a little more sauce and serve.

**Note: Sous Vide is a cooking technique and of course is not required for this recipe, but I highly recommend it. The rib rub is awesome and would work well with any cooking technique**

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I actually did the mashed potatoes in the  SousVide Supreme  as well, here is how I did them! You will want to put these in the SousVide machine first at 180 degrees F, then lower the temperature to 144 degrees F for the ribs, you can hold the potatoes at this temperature with the ribs. 

Ingredients

• 12-15 small red skin potatoes, peeled and quartered 
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt and pepper to taste 
• 1/4 cup milk, warmed 

Directions

Heat SousVide Supreme 180 degrees F. 

Put the potatoes and butter into cooking pouch(es), evenly distributed in a single layer without overcrowding. Sprinkle potatoes with salt and pepper and vacuum seal the pouch(es). Submerge the pouch(es) in the water oven and cook for 90 minutes, until quite tender. If you are making the ribs, lower the water oven temperature to 144 degrees F, add in the ribs with the potatoes and cook for 72 hours. 

Open the potato pouch(es) and pour into the work bowl of a food processor, add the milk and puree until smooth. If you don't plan to serve right away, you can put the mashed potatoes into a large zip lock bag. Remove as much air as possible and quick chill in the pouch, submerge in an ice bath for at least 20 minutes. Reheat the mashed potatoes in a pouch to serving temperature. 

Lasagna

Did you know that Lasagna may in fact be British and not Italian?? The Forme of Cury is the oldest cookbook written in English. It was compiled about 1390 by the master cooks of King Richard II. Researchers studying it made a surprising announcement in 2003 - the book contains a recipe for lasagna. The dish, called loseyns in Old English (prounounced "Lasan"), consists of noodles rolled as flat and wide "as paper," cooked in broth, layered with cheese, and baked. This recipe predates any Italian reference to the dish, which leads to the surprising conclusion that lasagna may be British. You learn something new everyday! :)

The recipe for Loseyns in The Forme of Cury

Ingredients

• 2 containers (15 oz ea.) ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 oz. diced prosciutto
• 2 jars of your favorite sauce or sauce recipe below
• 1 lbs ground beef
• Lasagna noodles, fresh or dry
• 1/2 lbs Mozzarella, shredded

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

In a small saute pan, saute prosciutto until crispy, about 5 min. In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, eggs, salt, pepper and prosciutto; set aside. 

In a large saute pan over medium heat, brown ground beef. Add in your jar sauce of choice and let simmer until your ready to assemble lasagna. If you're using the sauce recipe below, disregard that last step and follow the directions there. In a large pot, boil salted water and cook pasta noodles as per box directions. I usually buy store bought fresh lasagna noodles, you can usually find them in the cooler section. Cooking time for fresh is about 4 min, cooking time for dried about 10-12 min. 

In a 13x9 inch baking dish. Spread about 1 cup of the meat and sauce mixture on the bottom. Top with lasagna noodles, then add 1/2 of the ricotta mixture and another cup of sauce; top with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese; repeat. Top with remaining noodles to cover, add another cup of sauce and top with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove tin foil and top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until bubbling. Let stand for 10 min before serving. Garnish with fresh basil. 

Sauce Recipe (optional)

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions

In a Dutch oven, cook ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. 

This is a great red sauce in general, you can make a large batch of this and can it or freeze it for quick meals. 

Song of the Recipe

I've been in love with Incubus for awhile now and seeing that this is a Food blog, I figured the title would be appropriate :)