3 cups extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions – preferably Vidalia – chopped coarsely
8 cloves of garlic – chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lemon juice
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon: oregano, thyme, marjoram, savory, sage, and basil
For lamb, add 1/2 cup chopped rosemary (fresh rosemary is best but, dry will do in a pinch).
Instructions
Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Taste and adjust amounts as needed. Best if made at least a day ahead of time to allow flavors to meld. If you have any left over, you can store it in the fridge for quite a long time.
January 22, 2014 | Posted in:
Slow cooker beef shank pasta sauce
I added red wine and black olives to this stew-like pasta sauce to crank up the fullness of the flavor, but my kids loved it too!

Ingredients
2 large beef or veal shanks
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup red wine
2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 tsp dried
32 oz or 1 quart of canned crushed tomates (I used the home-made sauce I made this summer in this video!)
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation Instructions
Roughly chop the onion and garlic. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet. Brown the onion and garlic, about 3-5 minutes, until translucent. Add the shanks and brown on both sides (about 3 minutes a side). Add red wine and cook 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and seasoning. Transfer to slow cooker. Cook on high heat for 6 hours. Remove the shanks and shred the meat. Return to sauce.
(I ended up refrigerating the sauce for a couple of days, and it only got more delicious!).
July 19, 2013 | Posted in:
Basic salad dressing

This is a photo of my niece Charlotte, learning how to make mustard vinaigrette.
We always make a big jar of it since it keeps so well in the fridge!
Ingredients
1 tbsp Dijon mustard, grainy or smooth
1/4 c red wine vinegar, or balsamic if you like a sweeter dressing
1/2 tsp sugar if using red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
3/4 c olive oil
Preparation
Mix mustard, vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper into a thick paste.
Whisk continuously while pouring in the olive oil.
Yield: 1 cup
