Remember the other day when I boarded myself up in the house and put some pot roast in the crock pot? Well, as the day rolled on so did my mood. I went from an old fashion in Vermont kinda day into a North Beach in San Francisco kinda day. I just love the old Italian neighborhood of North Beach in The City. All the old restaurants and deli's. My favorite deli..I think everyones favorite is called Molinaris. It has been there forever. My Auntie Erma and Uncle Leo lived in North Beach when I was a little girl. They lived in a section called The Marina. It is down by Fishermans Wharf. And could Auntie Erma ever cook. She was originally from Genoa, Italy. Came over on a boat. We used to get to go visit her when we got really lucky and got to go to the San Francisco Zoo.We would take the train from Los Gatos which was about a 40 minute ride. Me and my brother Mark and our cousins. We loved that so much. What a special treat that was. And when visiting Auntie Erma we would go with her to North Beach to Molinaris for cheese and bread and raviolis. The raviolis were Lucca brand. And they would sit in the box on a bed of flour. And when you took the box to the counter the man would tie string around it. I thought that was so fancy. I don't know why that struck me as fancy...but it did. So the other day, I got that "North Beach" feeling. When we visit there now, I always imagine what it would be like to live there. I picture myself usptairs in one of those tiny apartments that sits over a coffeehouse. The places were the people sit outside and sip espresso and read the Chronicle. I would think to myself, I could do that. I could live that life. I could live in North Beach. So on an ordinary Wednesday afternoon, I took myself there. I got out my Rao's cookbook and turned the pot roast into Sunday gravy. And served it over pasta. I used the last of my summer tomatoes in the sauce. And John and I had dinner in North Beach that night....
SUNDAY GRAVY
Adapted from Rao's Cookbook
1 pound piece of lean beef, such as eye of round. ( I used pot roast )
1/2 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup water
2 35 ounce cans imported San Marzano Italian plum tomatoes, hand crushed
Salt and pepper
1.Saute the meat in the oilve oil till brown. Add in garlic. When garlic turns brown discard it.
2.Combine tomato paste and water, stir. Add to the meat.
3. Add in San Marzano tomatoes
4.Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Let simmer 3 to 4 hours adding water as needed so there is always some liquid.
6. Serve over pasta
7. Top with grated parmesan
To be perfectly honest here, I just cooked a pot roast in a crock pot with Lipton Onion soup all day and added red wine thoughout the day when the pot got dry. About the last 20 minutes I added fresh ripe tomatoes, chopped.
Out here in on the Central Coast of Califoria we are waiting for our first BIG STORM of the season. And we are ready. It has been one long hot dry summer. We need some rain. So in anticipation of the big event, I decided to make my Julia Child French Onion Soup. I go back and forth between Julia Child's and Vincent Price's recipe. And back and forth on the beef stock or chicken stock thing too. I can never decide which I like better. Truth be told, I like them both the same. Cause when you get right down to it...for me anyway, it is all about the cheese..Went to Scolaris this morning praying they would have Gruyere cheese. It is a small neighborhood market and I was worried that anything beyond swiss and cheddar might be out of their reach. But I got lucky. I scored. They had some gruyere. It is really the only one that will do here. And I needed the vermouth too. I have used white wine before, but I don't know if it's in my head or what, I just like it better with the vermouth. Maybe it makes me feel like I am really doing it Julia's way. And at the very end...right before you serve it..it has got to have a wave of cognac. It's got to. I was watching PBS on Saturday...they had on those vintage shows of Jacques and Julia from like the 70's. And it made me remember how much I love her. So tonight when that big storm slams in from the Pacific...we will be all cozy inside with our bowls of soup and to go with it...grilled prosciutto and cheese sandwhiches. A cozy autumn night, by the fire.Soup and grilled cheese night. Julia-style.And YES..that is scotch tape holding that beloved book together.....
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