When most people go on vacation they hunt for postcards, key chains, shot glasses or other small trinkets to bring home as mementos of where they have been. While those things are nice, I have never been one to much care for spending money on postcards and key chains. I usually like the photos that I take better than the postcards and the fact that the photos are digital means that I can edit and publish them instead of having to hang on to a piece of card stock. I’m not a key chain person. Just give me the keys necessary to get through the day and I’m fine. Shot glasses and other small trinkets can be fun, especially if they’re a bit funky and fun. So, what do I hunt for when on vacations or look forward to when family or friends head away to foreign lands? Hot sauces, spices and oils.

Growing up with a Jamaican step-father I have a deep passion for spicy foods. When I was young I wasn’t allowed to get up from the table until my plate was cleared no matter how spicy it was. As I grew up I became intrigued by the different layers that hot sauces, curries, jerk seasonings and peppers presented to my palette. Some immediately sent excruciating stinging pain through my lips and the tip of my tongue while others had a deep smoky spice accompanied by a light burn minutes after eating and in the deep regions of my throat. I began experimenting and researching different types of sauces, spices and peppers with the goal of educating myself on all things spicy.  No, this is not to say that everything must be over-sauced in mouth-scorching hot sauce or so much spice that you need an ice-scraper to get it off. I appreciate properly seasoned and sauced foods and have grown my range to not be so simple as to think that Red Hot is the only sauce available.

Once I began to travel more for business trips and vacations, especially to the Carribean islands, I started to seek out collecting different hot sauces, seasonings and oils from around the world. Now when family or friends travel they know what will put a big smile on my face when they come back. I’ve had jerk sauces and seasonings that I bought from women who were cooking it in their kitchens and then selling their concoctions in the open markets the next day and have tried spicy oils where a drop into a vat of chili turns it spicy throughout, among many other experiences. What always amazes me is the variety of combinations and different flavor layers that are created by using, in general, the same ingredients. It’s simply incredible.

Being fellow foodies, I wonder if, when you travel, do you hunt for unique spices, oils or sauces to bring home with you, even if they’re not spicy?

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Photo Credit: ASurroca

While I didn’t grow up close to my grandparents, I’ve been fortunate enough to log a number of hours in their house observing the production, and as I’ve gotten older it’s become increasingly more important to me to learn each recipe’s process so that I can share them with the friends and family I care about. Their dishes are less about learning to cook, and more about learning how to show love. To me (and my family), food is love.

This week I made the trip from Seattle to their kitchen in Gloucester, Mass with one mission, learn how to make the Randazza sauce.  To an untrained eye it might look like any ordinary marinara sauce, but the nose and mouth tell an entirely different story: UN-freaking-BELIEVABLE.

I have to preface this recipe by saying that it’s different every time. There is no measuring involved. Just a large pot that my nonna (grandmother) adds a little of this, and then my nonno (grandfather) complains about the flavor and throws in more a lot more of that. And admittedly after the four hours of it simmering and my grandparents back and forth, I lost track of quantity.

With that said, use this recipe as guidelines to create your own incredible family sauce and pass along to friends and share your love.

The Randazza Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh garlic cloves (sixish?), chopped
Medium Yellow Onion, chopped
A potato, peeled and chopped into cubes

Here’s where it gets a bit tricky, so I’m fudging some of the recommended amounts:
1 – 2 cans of tomato paste (really depends on how thick you want the sauce)
LARGE can of tomato puree (depending on the volume you might want to throw in two)
Sugar
Fresh basil
water

Preparation

Start by coating a medium pan with olive oil (I strongly suggest splurging on a quality EVOO — worth it!). Saute several garlic cloves,  with a medium yellow onion.  Add potatoes (they cut the tartness of the sauce) and continue to saute until potatoes are ever-so-slightly softened.

In a large pot over a medium heat pour in tomato paste and puree, as well as your saute mixture. Add as much water as you’d like to make the sauce as thick or thin as you desire.

When the sauce begins to bubble, add in sugar to sweeten (this is totally a preference thing). Typically I like my sauce sweeter, so I dump in about 3/4 of a cup-ish.  Turn down to a low simmer and add in several pieces of basil (basil holds its flavor best when you wait to add it in at the end).

Cook the sauce for as long as you want, the flavor profile will change the longer it’s on the stove. Totally up to you, so experiment and ENJOY!

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Photo by: fritish

For the first Fresh Friday we wanted to introduce you to our favorite dipping sauce/marinade, chimichurri.  There are two main versions of chimichurri: a verde (green) herb-based version or a darker, thinner variation which typically consists of tomatoes, onions and cilantro, among a few other ingredients.  Today we’ll be presenting the recipe for a chimichurri verde.

The recipes can all be modified and tweaked to your individual liking.  The following recipe was developed to be served with grilled shrimp or scallops, and is the perfect flavor component for an appetizer or light summer meal.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup rice vinegar

1 cup dry white wine (preferably an Argentinean one!)

1 cup hot but not boiling water

2 bunches scallions, finely chopped

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 cup minced garlic

zest and juice of 2 lemons and 2 limes

1/2 cup sugar

2 crushed bay leaves

1/4 cup dried oregano

salt and white pepper to taste

Preparation

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly with whisk to distribute all ingredients evenly.

Let the chimichurri rest in an airtight container at room temperature for approx. 4 hours to allow the liquids to absorb the flavors of the solid ingredients, and the dried herbs to “soften”.

Prepare shrimp or scallops for grilling by skewering and marinating in chimmichuri verde in a shallow covered container for 30 minutes in refrigerator.  Grill at medium/high heat, basting with reserved chimmichuri while grilling to desired doneness.  Serve with small cups of reserved room temperature chimmichuri verde for dipping.  The remaining chimmichuri verde (not used for marinating) can be kept refrigerated in an air tight container for 2 + weeks.

You can download a PDF version of this chimichurri verde recipe.

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