oven-dried tomatoes

i am strangely fixated on heirloom tomatoes. well, i'm strangely fixated on a lot of things, but even i think it's weird to be obsessed with tomatoes. but i am. in the magazine version of my life, i have lovely al fresco summer dinner parties, with all of my magically-in-one-place friends at my perfectly-quaint-and-preferably-in-italy-country farmhouse, featuring a plethora of mouthwatering grilled foods and accompanied, always, by plates of beautifully ripe sliced home-grown heirloom tomatoes of varied hues, maybe accented with basil, or fresh buffalo mozzarella, or just simply with fresh, green olive oil (pressed from my own olives, of course) and sprinkled with maldon salt.

in the non-magazine version of my life, aka 'reality,' i am more likely to buy a container of tomatoes, put them on the counter, walk by them a million times admiring their lovely appearance, and eventually determine said tomatoes are about 24 hours from becoming decidedly not lovely. solution = oven dried tomatoes.

these lovelies were inspired by the always magazine-life-living martha, and they are almost ridiculously easy to make, and to eat.

oven-dried tomatoes

tomatoes [preferably a mix of the aforementioned heirloom variety], whatever amount you want or have

salt [i used my favorite, you guessed it, maldon], to taste

pepper [preferably freshly ground], to taste

sugar [i used organic cane sugar], about 2 tablespoons or to taste

pre-heat oven to 250 degrees F.

cut tomatoes in half, for small varieties such as grape or cherry, and in slices, for large sizes. place on a baking sheet covered with parchment or silicone baking sheet (such as this one that i use) to prevent sticking.

sprinkle tomatoes evenly with sugar, salt, and pepper. the sugar doesn't make them especially sweet, but seems to help bring out the natural sugars in the tomatoes.

cook in the low oven until the tomato juices are dissipated and the tomatoes nicely shriveled. you can dry them as much as you want, depending on how you are going to use them. mine took about 2 to 3 hours.

ideally, you can use these like you would sun-dried tomatoes, in pastas, dips, sandwiches. you could store them in oil in the fridge, or in the freezer, or in an airtight container on the counter...

or, like me, you can eat them straight-up when they come out of the oven. they are rather like candied tomatoes...so delish, even the non-tomato-eating da gorge loved them.

[all photographs taken by greg ward hart.]

gram's meatballs & new year's greetings

happy new year! a little belated, but heartfelt. one can only hope that this year will be better than the last.

as usual with the dawning of a new year, 2010 brings with it hopes of getting in shape, eating better, becoming a supermodel...seems as though each year brings another cunning plan for the diet lifestyle change to bring a resolution to any and all weight problems in the extended cadenelli clan.

even grams gets into the act; in fact, she is probably the greatest instigator of them all! mary dignard, maternal matriarch, eternal watcher of weight(s), and all-around most awesome person ever, apparently has it all figured out, having lost about 40 pounds in the last few years. ('it's easy,' she says. of course, it took her until she was 85 for it to be 'easy,' but who am i to point that out!?)

the details of this effective eating plan are kind of murky, but seem to include consuming mostly fruit, small hunks of italian bread and salumi (ok, i really say 'cold cuts'), and chocolates, the latter eaten rather clandestinely.

since she has 'retired' from any actual cooking, her menu definitely does not include meatballs, unless made by others. this is too bad, because her meatballs have been scientifically proven to be the greatest on earth.

my mother's meatballs are a very close second. mine are pretty good, but never seem to quite measure up. i guess that's just the way it is! but in any case, regardless of the generation making them, the recipe remains about the same. measurements are iffy, since italian meatball-makers would never actually measure anything, but here's the rough idea:

gram's meatballs

breadcrumbs [we always use progresso italian, i must confess, but originally fresh italian bread], handful

parmesan cheese [preferably parmigiano-reggiano] or romano cheese, extraordinarily large handful

eggs, 1 or 2

parsley [preferably italian flat-leaf, definitely fresh], 1/4 bunch or so

salt [i'm in love with maldon] and pepper [freshly ground]

ground meat [all beef, all turkey, or mix of both, or traditional mix of beef/veal/pork], 1 pound

mix all ingredients except meat together in large bowl. add ground beef and combine lightly. this method tends to be easier than adding all the ingredients at once and then mixing, but really, whatever floats your boat.

in my opinion, the secret ingredient of these meatballs is the cheese, as is evidenced by the amount listed. to check seasoning, though, i always cook a little tester meatball patty to taste, as i'm not a big fan of tasting raw ground meat. i tend to go heavier on the cheese and lighter on the breadcrumbs, but each time is slightly different. the texture should be pretty moist. if necessary, you can add a little water, milk, cream, or another egg if the mixture is too stiff. it's a very subjective process :).

when you are happy with the taste and texture, roll into balls of any size you'd like from marble to golf ball. i like to fry them in olive oil and keep them plain. of course, they can also be baked, or dropped into soup or tomato sauce.

always make more than you think you need, because they tend to cause immediate auto-eating. strangely enough, i love them cold the next day. as does da gorge.

over christmas vacation, my lovely and talented mother made an egg yolk-free and gluten-free version, using rice bread cubes soaked in chicken stock and egg whites for binding.

there was still a large amount of cheese involved.

here's to a great 2010!