Olive Juice

This.....was fantastic. Not only was it quick, but it was extremely easy, and extremely flavorful. Tonight I made Giada's Tomato Sauce with Olives--the second recipe from the "Everyday Sauces" chapter in the "Everyday Tomato Sauces" section. The recipe requires four cups of her Marinara sauce which I highly recommend making the night before.

As I said in my post from last night, I made the Marinara sauce again much more successfully this time. I didn't forget any ingredients and managed to sustain only one minor injury. On top of all this, I didn't have to leave my room to make it (take a bow electric frying pan) and was able to watch BOTH So You Think You Can Dance and Glee. After making the sauce, I stored it in the fridge over night (I only had to make a half batch this time so I made it fit in one container).

The sauce, as expected, was even better the next day (I snuck a taste around lunchtime) so I was really excited to add a new dimension to it. For this sauce, you start by sauteing one and 1/4 cup of olives in 1/4 cup of olive oil. Me being the food cop that I am swapped out actual olive oil for EVOO spray, and only used six ounces of olives...because that's all that came in the can i had bought. I should also mention that you need to halve the olives before sauteing them. To this, you add one and 1/2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper (gotta love that spice!) and cook it for three minutes. After that, you reduce the heat, and add the marinara sauce.

As I let this heat, I ventured upstairs to cook some spaghetti to go with the sauce. I thought I was on the right track seeing as I even brought a lid for the pot with me this time. I let the water come to a boil, measured out the proper amount of pasta, and added it to the water (which I also remembered to salt!). I never break spaghetti before adding it to the pot and rarely have issues with it, until today. The spaghetti kept trying to escape the pot and I continuously tried to push it back in. It DID cooperate eventually, but some of it had hit the burner and created a kind of gross burning smell in the kitchen. I'm sure the kid that was doing his homework in there (yes, doing homework in the kitchen) was probably wondering how I managed to burn pasta, but it all worked out.

When I got back to my room, the sauce was heated all the way through and I drained my pasta. I had about a cup of pasta with a cup of sauce, and a little Pecorino Romano on top. This sauce...was money. It was much more rich in tomato flavor this time around, but still very fresh. The olives balanced out the richness with a bit of saltiness and the crushed red pepper gave it just enough spice. As I was eating it and re-reading the recipe, I realized I hadn't added the 1/2 of thinly sliced fresh basil, but then remembered I was feeling creative last night and had already added it then. The basil isn't very prominent in the sauce, but it keeps it light.

Again, dinner: successful. Tomorrow night is my first time attempting some semi-homemade pizza, and Sunday marks my next Giada mission. I will be delving back into the "Everyday Pasta, Polenta, and Risotto" with the Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Red Pepper Flakes recipe. YUM!