Yes, I put Cream Cheese in my Spaghetti Sauce!!!

Man oh man does it seem like more and more people are finding ways to use underutilized ingredients in their cooking.  Well, I definitely am an advocate of just that.  I hate wasting anything; especially food. 

A few weeks ago we had some guests in town and I ran down to the local bakery to get some bagels and cream cheese for them to have for breakfast.  Yes, I should have gotten my lazy self out of bed and made pancakes, but we are not a big breakfast family here.  Usually it is just cereal and coffee (except my daughter --- she gets whatever she wants). 

Anyway... back to my story...

Today I was making my usual Monday spaghetti sauce recipe for dinner tonight.  I came across the cream cheese in the fridge and I remembered my wife telling me something about how she liked the creaminess of a sauce I had made for her recently.  So, I thought, "Why not?" 

I took 1 tablespoon of cream cheese and finished my already outstanding spaghetti sauce with it.  I just tasted it and cannot wait until dinner time!  Here is the recipe:

Quick and Creamy Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb ground beef (I use ground sirloin)
1/2 white onion
1 green bell pepper
Salt to taste
1 clove of garlic
1 jar pasta sauce (any kind will do, I use Prego)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp cream cheese


Start by browning the ground beef until it is 3/4 cooked through.  Add the onions and green bell pepper and season with salt.  Cook until they are soft (around 3-4 minutes).  Add the garlic and cook 1-2 minutes.  Stir in the pasta sauce, chicken stock and brown sugar.  Cook on low for about 10 minutes.  Stir in the cream cheese until well incorporated throughout the sauce. 

To serve, cook pasta however you would like or according to package directions.  Once the pasta is cooked, drain and poor the pasta into the sauce (never poor sauce over pasta... it works better the other way around).  Enjoy!

Note:  if you want to kick up the sauce, add about 1/4 cup of red wine after the onions and peppers cook and reduce for about 5 minutes.  It adds a lot of body to the sauce.

Out in the County

As I've stated a number of times here, I am a big advocate of reading up on things that you love.  Since food and drink is a big interest of mine, I don't often skip over an article or publication I run across that speaks to these things.  Recently, I was reading West News Magazine (a bi-monthly publication devoted to the residents of the West County area of St. Louis).  I was reading the latest dining review and was thinking about how this is the only local periodical that even remotely gets that there are residents in St. Louis that live pass the I-270 corridor. 

I remember reading the St. Louis Post Dispatch and watching Show Me St. Louis on TV and only 5% of the time (if any time at all) do they mention restaurants or establishments in West County.  Its almost as if the local media here in St. Louis think that the area west of 270 is considered it's own culinary jurisdiction.  Sure, I can read and article or watch a spot about any number of downtown area St. Louis restaurants, but can rarely see anything about some of the best St. Louis has to offer out here in the county.

True also is the fact that there is a distinctive line between "County Folks" and "City Folks" here and it goes a lot deeper than just what high school you attended (here in STL, people always ask you what high school you went to when they want to know what part of STL you are from).  County people don't typically like to venture to the city too terribly often unless there is a Blues, Rams or Cardinals game involved (or perhaps they want some free beer at the AB brewery tour) and City residents hardly ever come out to the county.  I realize that a tank of gas costs more than it used to and time is money, but aren't we all missing out on great experiences by staying confined to our area of town?

Some of my favorite restaurants in St. Louis are located in the city area.  I've dined many a time at establishments like McGurk's, Mosaic, Ambighetti's, 1111 Mississippi and PW Pizza.  If you've had the chance to eat at any of these great places, you know how awesome they truly are.  Still, there are great restaurants in county as well: Mosaic (same as the one downtown), Yia Yia's, Mulligan's and Veritas just to name a few.

My point is, everyone here in St. Louis needs to travel a little out of the geographic culinary comfort zone.  If we do so, we will be rewarded with fantastic food and a great experience.  So, City Folks: COME ON OUT TO THE COUNTY!!!  And County Folks: LET'S HEAD INTO THE CITY!!!  And St. Louis Media: PLEASE START COVERING RESTAURANTS IN THE COUNTY!!!  Deal?

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Easy BMW Salad (BMW - Bacon Mozzarella Watermelon)

In the past few years, I have discovered a crazy combination of flavors that I have thoroughly enjoyed and worked into my weekly dinners here at home.  Many of those flavor combinations involve bacon.  After all, who doesn't like bacon?  If you don't, then I don't want to know you.  It is un-American to dislike bacon.  Unless you're a pig, but I'm getting off subject here...

One of the best bacon flavor combinations is the melon.  There is something about adding a salty and crunchy consistency to some sliced cubes of watermelon.  The only things needed after that is the tanginess of a dressing and the creaminess of some good cheese.  Now that makes for a summer side dish that anyone can get behind.  Here is the recipe:

BMW Salad (Bacon Mozzarella Watermelon)

1/4 - 1/2 of a Watermelon
1 ball of fresh Mozzarella
4-5 Strips of Bacon
1 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Prepare the bacon.  I use a wire rack and a sheet pan and bake it at 350 for 30-40 minutes.  Set aside.  Chop the watermelon into 1 inch cubes.  Do the same with the mozzarella.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey and olive oil.  Place the watermelon and mozzarella in the bowl with the dressing.  Mix it together to allow the dressing to cover the mozzarella and watermelon.  Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.  Top with bacon and serve.

A VERY GOOD Birthday Dinner

My wife will tell  you that I am one that doesn't like to make a big deal about my birthday.  Sure, I like the occasional get together and time with family (and who doesn't like presents???) but for the most part, I just want to have a little me time with the family that day of the year.  One thing that seems to be a tradition anymore is the dinner out that evening.  My wife always likes to take me out to a nice dinner for my birthday and this year, she, my daughter and my parents did just that.

We visited my hometown of Lexington, KY over the weekend and dined a tremendous new (well... new to me anyway) establishment in the Beaumont Center area of town (not far from the very house I grew up in).  The name of the restaurant was Azur and it was a place that I found on the page of one of my Facebook subscriptions (The Bourbon Review --- also a good recommended reading area for bourbon lovers such as myself).  All I saw on my FB page was a picture of what had to be one of the greatest looking steaks I had ever seen.  Of course I clicked on it and the link took me to the picture and it's caption: Cowboy Ribeye Steak with bourbon salt rub.  I was sold.  I immediately emailed the restaurant's URL link to my wife and told her I had found my birthday dinner spot!

Let me tell you, I was not disappointed.  First off, they have truffle frites.  If you don't know what these are, boy are you missing out.  They are essentially french fries (frites is basically french for fries) that are covered in truffle salt (or sometimes actual shaved truffles) and a garlic aioli.  If you dine at any restaurant that has these, it may not even matter what the main course is.  They are just fantastic!  I of course had the frites along with the special appetizer which was an egg roll that contained chicken and smoked sausage --- also VERY good.  Then I moved onto the main course: THE COWBOY RIB EYE.

I ordered it medium as I always do.  It was perfectly seasoned and covered with pickled peppers which accompanied the meat extremely well.  It was served along side a side dish that has to be one of the single best side dish creations in the known universe:  Beer Cheese Whipped Potatoes (THAT'S RIGHT!).  Everything went so well together and yes I had that feeling I often refer to on this blog.  For those of you not familiar, it is that feeling of sadness when the meal is done.  You are satisfied yet sad that the experience is over.

As always, it was a great trip to Kentucky.  This one was just a bit better though thanks to Azur and my wife, daughter and parents for making it a truly wonderful birthday.

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