RIVERHAus RECIPEs

(about 3 dozen) Prep: 15 min;  Inactive: 2 hr;  Cook: 15 min

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 envelope active dry yeast

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten

• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

• 1 cup evaporated milk

• 7 cups bread flour

• 1/4 cup shortening

• Nonstick spray

• Oil, for deep-frying

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

• Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

• In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together. Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture. In a separate bowl, measure out the bread flour. Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

• Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.

• Add the confectioners' sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside.

• Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. Deep-fry, flipping constantly, until they become a golden color. After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towels, and then toss them into the bag of confectioners' sugar. Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly.

Ingredients

1 pound breakfast sausage, hot or mild

1/3 cup all-purpose flour 

3 to 4 cups whole milk, more to taste 

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt 

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, more to taste 

Biscuits, warmed, for serving

Directions

Ingredients

•  3 pounds ground beef

• 2 onions, chopped

• 1 (4 ounce) can tomato paste

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans

• 3 (14.5 ounce) Rotel Petite Diced w/ Green Chilies

• 1 (14.5 ounce) Corn

•  ½ cups water, or as needed (clean cans and add to chili)

• 1 teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste

• 1 teaspoon cumin, or more to taste

• 1 teaspoon paprika, or more to taste

• 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder, or more to taste

• 1 pinch garlic powder

• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

• Place ground beef and onion in a large saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir until meat is browned and onion is tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomato paste after onions are translucent and cook for 3 minutes. 

• Stir in kidney beans, corn, and tomatoes with juice. You can add water from washing out cans. Season with cumin, paprika, ancho chili, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Ingredients

• 6 Lbs Whole Peeled Tomatoes

• 4-6  Italian Sausages

• 10-12 Italian Meatballs

• 4-6 English Cut or Boneless Short Ribs

• 1 Lb of Pasta

• A Package of Basil

• 1 Tub Ricotta Cheese

• Plenty of Parmigiano

• 6 cloves of Garlic, thinly sliced

• 1/4- 1/2 cup of olive oil

• Salt

DIRECTIONS

Start the Sauce First

1. Slice the garlic thin. Puree the tomatoes in a food mill or by pulsing in a blender on low. Fill the cans with water to clean them out and then pour the water into the sauce to thin out the sauce so that is can last the hours of cooking necessary to cook the meats.

2. In a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil, enough to coat the bottom of the pan, then immediately add the garlic and basil to the oil and slowly bring up to temperature to infuse the oil with the garlic and basil flavor. The oil is the vehicle to transfer all that flavor to the tomatoes. Once the garlic starts to brown, then add the pureed tomatoes. Bring the sauce up to a simmer while you prepare the short rib.

3. First meat to add is the short rib (4-5 hours of cook time preferably covered)

4. While the sauce is coming up to temp in a separate pan on medium to medium-high heat, add some olive oil and season the short ribs on all sides, and sear the meat until it’s nicely browned on all sides. Then transfer the beef to the sauce. Drain the fat in the pan and then deglaze with a little bit of white wine or water and then transfer the deglazed bits to the sauce. The short ribs need at least 4-5 hours of cooking head start to be tender when all said and done. I usually cook this uncovered but I recommend covering the pot at this time to help the beef break down and to prevent the sauce from reducing too much too fast.

5. The next Meat is the Sausage (1 1/2 hour)

After the short ribs have cooked for 4-5 hours and then are noticing becoming tender, then we can add the next meat which is the sausage. Just like the short ribs, we want to sear the sausages on all sides and then once nicely browned, add to the pot of sauce, drain the excess oil, deglaze the pan with wine or water and then pour that into the sauce. We can now cook the sausages with the short rib for another 1 hour, uncovered now to help the sauce start to reduce to the correct consistency

6. The next Meat is the Meat balls (1 hour)

Once the meatballs are in the sauce and have been cooking for an hour, the short ribs should now be fork tender and the sauce should be thick enough to coat the meats. Check the sauce for seasoning and make any adjustments and at this point, the meatballs and sausage will be cooked. The only variable is the short ribs. If at this point the short ribs are not yet fork-tender, I’d remove the meatballs and sausages and hold them warm in my oven with some sauce while I allow the short ribs to continue cooking with the cover on. Once the Short ribs are sufficiently tender, add the meats back to the sauce and get a pot of water salted and up to a boil to finish the meal.

7. I like Mosticholi for this dish. It is al dente after 12 minutes so I pull the pasta at 10 minutes and finish cooking the pasta in a separate pan with sauce until its perfectly al dente and the sauce clings to the pasta.

8. Then plate the pasta in a big bowl, some sauce on top. Then pipe some dots of the whipped ricotta along the top, followed by a generous amount of Parmigiano cheese and then the crumbled up fried basil leaves. Plate the meats in a separate bowl with the same garnishes. Congrats, you just made Nonna proud