The Heart of the Home

By Alisa Star

No matter how small or how large, when we think of the kitchen, cooking is usually the first thing that comes to mind. Making homemade meals for the people you love. Originally the kitchen was designed solely for preparing and cooking meals. What most people forget is that your kitchen is actually the epicenter to your home.

Have you ever stopped and wondered why family and friends that come to visit always end up scattered out among the kitchen area? It’s true, think about it. What is it about the kitchen that evokes a mysterious magnetic attraction to our guests? It is a place where all the action is, hanging out with loved ones and friends. It’s an entertainment center and a place for arts and crafts for the kids, but most importantly, a place for preparing and cooking great food. When we wake up in the morning, one of the first places we go is to the kitchen for that so desired cup of hot coffee, or tea in the morning, and usually a good breakfast to help start our day. The kitchen may possibly be the lifeline to your home; it’s a place where we start our day every day of our life.

Kitchens usually don’t stop after everyone in the house is asleep and the lights go out. Ever wonder how those bowls ended up in the sink, or how that tub of ice cream you just bought disappeared? It’s a place where most children go in the middle of the night for a snack, or a drink. It’s a comfort zone.

Whenever someone asks me what my favorite room is, I always say the kitchen! Not just the way it is decorated, but for what it means on a daily basis. It’s where you provide nourishment for loved ones, it’s where we all gather for holidays, and special occasions. No matter how much you prepare for that big party or gathering, setting out candles on the mantel, folding a blanket over the back of a chair, or placing fresh flowers by the entrance. For all the hard work that’s done to make your home welcoming for your guests, the party usually ends up in the kitchen. And of course you know the old saying “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” The kitchen provides our sustenance through food, but it’s also where special connections are made.

Most of our childhood memories with our mothers or fathers and probably our grandmothers are memories of what took place in the kitchen. That gathering at grandmother’s house Sunday afternoon after church for her famous fried chicken and southern green beans, or her homemade apple pie. Maybe a special meal that your mother would prepare for you just because she loved you; it’s a place where we all connect.

It doesn’t matter the size of your kitchen. Some people say it’s the heart of the home.. I believe it is the heart of the home! It is where memories are made with family and friends. It is where you prepare your meals and feed your family over daily conversation. It’s where you begin and end every day. Some say that while life is created in the bedroom, it is certainly lived in the kitchen.

As you begin your day or end it, it’s in the kitchen where the warmth of shared memories, laughter, and life is. It’s where we create recipes to hand down to friends and family that spans the generations. A place where memories are homemade and seasoned with love.

By Alisa Star

AMORE ….lo e is in the air! It’s a day where people all over the world celebrate love. It’s a day to show affection and friendship and celebrate over a romantic dinner together. We often splurge over that expensive meal with the one we love, making reservations at the most romantic restaurant around the town.

This Valentine’s Day treat you and your loved one to the perfect romantic candlelight dinner for two at home, with this mouthwatering recipe and decadent wine pairing meal. With a few key ingredients and some simple steps, you will be finding yourself creating the perfect Valentine dinner.

Nothing says LOVE like homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Everything about it is romantic, even where the recipe originated -- Italy. To make this decadent rich sauce is a bit time consuming, to slow simmer it for hours is the key to a delicious mouthwatering sauce, the longer it simmers, the more the flavors bloom into pure bliss.

INGREDIENTS For the meatballs: • 1/2 pound ground veal • 1/2 pound ground pork • 1/2 pound ground beef • 1 cup bread crumbs • 2 tbsp chopped parsley • 1/2 cup grated parmesan • 1 tbsp crushed garlic • 1 egg • Salt and pepper • Olive oil

For the sauce: • 1 tbsp good olive oil • 1 cup finely chopped onion • 2 tsp minced garlic • 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes • 2 cans plum tomato puree • 1/2 cup good red wine such as Chianti • 2 tbsp chopped parsley • 2 tbsp chopped basil • 1 tsp fresh thyme • Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

1 -- Combine ground meats, bread crumbs, parsley, parmesan, garlic, salt and pepper, and egg in a bowel. Combine lightly with a fork, make sure to mix all the ingredients together well. Using your hands form the fixture into 2-3 inch meatballs. You should have enough for 12-14 meatballs.

2 -- Pour vegetable oil into skillet to a depth of about 1/4 inch deep, heat oil to a medium heat. Place meatballs in batches and brown on all sides, turning carefully with a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. (If you don’t want to fry the meatballs, you can bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes). Set aside. Discard oil, but don’t clean pan.

3 -- For the sauce, heat olive oil in the same pan. Add onions and saute over medium heat until they are translucent, 5-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the wine and cook on high heat, stir and scrape bottom of pan until the liquid evaporates; this takes about 3 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, and the puree, and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Add parsley, basil, and thyme salt and pepper. Simmer for another hour. 4- Return meatballs to sauce, cover on low heat, simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over cooked spaghetti, grate fresh parmesan over top. Place basil leaves over top of meatballs for garnish.

WINE PAIRING: South American and Californian wines like cabernet Sauvigon, merlot and malbec all go well with spaghetti and meatballs. Tomato based sauces have high acidity, and need wines with equal or higher acidity levels to match them. If you like a sweeter wine I would go with a malbec, Kaiken Ultra Malbec is a great choice. If you like a bolder flavor with more tannins, go with a good Cabernet, Caymus cab is good, or 2018 Prisoner cab will pair just as equal. If you’re a merlot lover, try Duckhorn Vineyard Merlot, it’s quite popular, and will pair great with red sauce.