The Hungry Blogger

PEACE

2007-12-17T15:05:00.001-05:00

Angel Hair Pasta with Black Truffles

2007-01-22T17:21:00.000-05:00

Ciao! and Buon Anno!

I was given really delicious gifts for Christmas: a jar of black truffles and truffle oil.

Normally, I wouldn't spend the outrageous amount money for these two extravegant food items, ($19.00 for the 2 truffles and $15.00 for the truffle oil) but since they were a gift, I wanted to make sure they would be the star of the dish I would make with them.

I employed the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) doctrine for these two special ingredients.

1/2 pound angel hair pasta
1 black truffle
2 Tablespoons chopped scallions
3 Tablespoons truffle oil

And that is it.

Cook the angel hair pasta in lots of water until still al dente.

Drain. Put the pasta back in the pan and add the truffle oil. Place the pasta in warmed pasta bowls. Equally divide and shave one black truffle between the pasta. Sprinkle chopped scallions over the pasta. Serve immediately.

Serve with a really fine pinot grigio.

Then go out for dessert.

Simple. Elegant. Outrageous!

PEACE

2006-12-22T18:10:00.000-05:00

Have a wonderful holiday season.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2006-11-23T12:03:00.000-05:00

I'll be back blogging and posting new recipes soon.

Have a wonderful day.

Isabella

2006-07-31T11:10:00.000-04:00

Strawberry Pie

2006-07-30T16:04:00.000-04:00

One of the joys of summer is the abundance of berries in the marketplace. Here's a simple recipe for a lucious dessert that not only looks beautiful, but is a taste delight. It's easy to make with just a few ingredient so that the berries are the real star in this dish.

Enjoy!

Strawberry pie:

1 9-inch pie crust, baked

2 16-oz containers of fresh strawberries

1 cup water

1 cup, full, sliced strawberries

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

sprig of mint

Wash and hull the strawberries, reserve the biggest for the pie. Set aside one cup of strawberries for slicing.

Mix the sugar and constarch together and set aside.

Bring the cup of water to a boil in a saucepan. Place the 1 cup of sliced strawberries in the boiling water and bring to the boil again and cook for a minute until soft. (I use a masher to mash them to a pulp). Remove from heat and push the mash through a strainer over a bowl.

Return the strawberry liquid to the saucepan and add the sugar/cornstarch mixture. Bring to a gentle boil and stir until the liquid becomes translucent. Remove from heat.

Arrange one layer of strawberries in the pre-baked pie crust. Pour half the strawberry sauce over them. Arrange a top layer of the best looking strawberries and pour remaining strawberry sauce over them. Chill for an hour, top with a sprig of mint, and serve with whipped cream if you wish.

Quick and beautiful.

Enjoy!

VIVA ITALIA!!!!!! SEMPRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-07-10T10:51:00.000-04:00

TIMBALE

2006-04-11T17:50:00.000-04:00

I made this beautiful timbale for a special friend. He had seen the movie “Big Night” and asked if I could make the show-stopping pasta pie (timbale) for him for his 40th birthday. Not only did I make him one; I made him two. And we had plenty of help eating it as they were the center pieces for his party. That was four years ago. He requested that I make it agains for him, and I did this past Sunday.

I adapted a recipe I found in “The Italian Country Table,” Lynn Rossetto Kasper, published by Scribner, 1999. She describes the dish as a “…pasta extravaganza Italy’s old nobility showed off on its banquet tables. Over the centuries, recipes…filtered down to landowners, farmers and peasants. These families always saved them for celebrating great occasions.”

Use your imagination for the stuffing that goes into this very rich pastry (it’s made with ¾ lb. of butter, flour, eggs, sugar, and white wine for the liquid).

I somewhat followed the recipe given by Kasper, but made adjustments. One thing that should not change is the shape of the pasta used for the inside of the timbale. It should be either a rotelle, fusilli, penne, or other such tubular pasta, since it makes a beautiful presentation when sliced and served.

Essentially the timbale I made was filled with approximately ¾ lb. of cooked rotelle that had been dressed in a savory bechamel sauce, to which I added artichoke hearts, peas sauted in onions and garlic, and layered with toasted pignole nuts and currents, chunks of mozzarella cheese, grated parmesean cheese, and topped with a homemade plum tomato and basil marinara sauce.

That makes for a vegetarian timbale, but you could fill it with pasta dressed in any delicate red sauce or even pesto sauce, layered with salami, mortadella, hard cheeses, veggies, such as eggplant, zucchini, chunks of tomatoes. The choice is endless.

I used a springform angelfood cake pan for baking the timbale.

Here’s the recipe from Kasper’s book for the pastry (bechamel sauce recipe follows):

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur)
¼ cup sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
3 sticks (12 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 large eggs, beaten
9 Tablespoons cold dry white wine

Two egg yolks for glazing pie crust

Combine the dry ingredients in large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or use your fingertips, until the butter is the size of peas. Add the eggs and 8 tablespoons of the wine. Toss with a fork only until the dough starts to gather in clumps. Add up to 1 tablespoon more wine if it seems dry. Gather into a ball, wrap, and chill 30 minutes to 3 days.

Bechamel sauce:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
½ tablespoon, scant, coarsely ground peppercorns
4 whole cloves, cracked
3 large bay leaves, broken
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
4 ½ tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour
4 ½ vupd milk
¼ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Set a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the butter, onion, pepper, cloves, bay, and garlic and saute and stir 4 minutes, or until very aromatic. Blend in the flour and cook, stirring, 3 minutes, or until frothy. Gradually stir in the milk until smooth and keep stirring until it boils. Lower the heat so the sauce simmers and cook, uncovered, 8 minutes, or until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon.

Pour through a fine strainer into a bowl, stirring and pressing on the ingedients to extract every bit of flavor. Stir in the cream and thyme. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the sauce. Cool, cover, and refrigerate up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before assembling the timbale.

When ready to line the springform pan, take dough out of refrigerator. Cut 1/3 off and set aside. Roll out dough in a circle so that it will fit the inside of the springform pan. Place dough over the center pole of the pan and let it pierce the dough. Working quickly, press the dough to fit the bottom and sides of the pan. If it gets too soft, place in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up again. After the dough has been fitted to the inside of the pan, fill, in layers, with pasta that has been dressed in a sauce of your choice: bechamel, light tomato sauce, pesto sauce. Alternate with meats of your choice: sausages, meatballs, salami, mortadella, cheeses and what you think would make this heavenly dish even more heavenly. Roll out remaining piece of dough and cover the pasta and veggie/meat mixture. Pinch it closed as you would a two-crust pie. Decorate the top with extra cut-outs of dough.

Separate the eggs and stir the yolks. Brush over the top of the timbale sealing the areas that have been seamed together.

Place in a 400 degree, preheated oven on the bottom rack. Bake for 40 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350 degrees and bake another 20 minutes until the timbale takes on a deep golden color.

Remove from oven and let cool for at least 40 minutes before slicing.

Pass any extra sauce. Serve.

A simple salad is a nice addition and maybe fresh fruit for dessert.

Buon Appetito a tutti!

Photo of Bronze Sculpture

2006-03-24T12:30:00.000-05:00

This past January, I was tagged by the beautiful and talented Ivonne of Canada, and was asked to list a number of things about myself. One of the items I mentioned was that I was a stone and bronze sculptor.

The bronze pictured above was first modeled in sculptor's wax then cast in bronze at a foundry in Rhode Island. It was exhibited in several shows around the New England area. The original is in Seattle, Washington. Two copies of the original are in the Boston area in private collections.

Once a mold is made of the original wax piece, copies of it can be cast.

This piece is titled "Nymph," and she is playing a flute. Her feet don't show up very well in this photo, so you will not be able to see that she has hooves instead of human feet. She is, afterall, a woodland sprite and therefore, I wanted her to be a combination of human and the fauna of the woods.

She's one of my favorite pieces.

I have several more photos of my pieces to scan in, and I'll post them from time to time.

Enjoy.

HAPPY ST. JOSEPH'S DAY! ZEPPOLI!!!!

2006-03-19T17:58:00.000-05:00

Isabella has been away tending to personal business, but now she’s ready to do some blogging!

March 19 is as important to Italian families as March 17 is to Irish families.

March 19 is the feast day of St. Joseph, who is the patron saint of Italy.

My nonna (grandmother) made a promise to St. Joseph that if he granted her something she had prayed for, that she would make a St. Joseph’s day feast for all her family. Apparently, her request was granted, and so she set out to fulfill her promise.

A representation of the Holy Family is chosen from the family. Some older cousin (can’t rememer who it was) was chosen to represent St. Joseph, a younger cousin, Paul who was 3 or 4 took the part of the child Jesus, and I was chosen to be the Virgin Mary. I was only 8 or 9 so that wasn’t a stretch.

My grandmother prepared 5 or 6 versions of the traditional Italian dishes that made up a typical Italian dinner. So my grandmother made 5 different soup courses, pasta courses, fish courses, meat courses, vegetable courses, and then a huge variety of sweets. But the most important of those were the zeppoli!

The job of the Holy Family representatives was to bless each dish and to taste a tiny morsel of it before the rest of the friends and relatives dug in to the feast. Needless to say, by the time we got to the pasta courses, Paul and I were not in good shape. I developed a miserable tummy ache, and Paul vomited into the first fish dish. I don’t remember what happened to cousin St. Joseph. Maybe he went into the garage to make some shelves!

Here is a brief description of how this tradition got started and how the delicious zeppoli are associated with it.

And Happy St. Joseph’s Day to all!

The tradition of St. Joseph's Day began when there was a severe drought in Sicily in the middle ages. The island of Sicily greatly depends on rain because most of the year is dry, and rain falls for only about three months. Sicily was, and is, very agricultural specializing in lemons, grapes, wheat, olives and an array of fruits. The people of Sicily were losing hope, and in desperation they asked St. Joseph, their patron, to help. They promised him that if rain came, they would prepare a large feast in his honor. The tradition says these prayers were answered with rainy weather. In gratitude, huge banquet tables were set up in public, and the poor people of Sicily were invited to come and eat as much as they wanted.

The families of farmers and fisherman built altars in their homes to share their good fortune with others in need. St. Joseph's Day altars began as a custom and then brought to the states by Sicilian immigrants. The tradition of building the altar to St. Joseph dates back to the drought, and it served as a gift of thanks for St. Joseph. The tradition grew to a more public event on St. Joseph's Feast Day on March 19. Today, special foods, linens, flowers, and statuary adorn the St. Joseph's Altar, which is built with three steps representing the Holy Trinity.

Perhaps the most well known of these special foods is the zeppole. For those who aren't familiar with Italian grammar, "zeppole" is singular and "zeppoli" is plural.
Also called "St. Joseph Day cakes," zeppoli are a huge part of the St. Joseph Day celebration. Zeppoli are Italian bread dough that are either fried or baked. The filling is usually a custard, but some bakeries use cannoli filling. Some older recipes, straight from our Italian grandmothers' cookbooks, call for the cakes to be filled with ricotta cheese, pureed chickpeas, oil of cinnamon or grape jelly. They look similar to a donut, but are a lot more satisfying. However, despite their size everyone eats at least two or three, or even four. The sweet and delicate pastry, flavored with a hint of cream and one or two bits of candied cherry, is so tasty they become quite addictive.

I've Been Tagged!

2006-01-22T11:52:00.000-05:00

The beautiful and talented Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice has tagged me to come up with 10 interesting things about me.

1) I took a course in sculpting from a local museum just for the fun of it and discovered my inner Michelangelo. I started out working in clay and learned how to make portraits and then the art of making plaster casts of the heads. A very complicated and exacting procedure. I took private classes with a Boston sculptor who had taught at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts school. Under Peter Abate's guidance, I learned how to carve in soapstone, alabaster, African wonderstone and marble. I also learned the art of working in sculptor’s wax, making figures, portraits and abstract forms that would be cast in bronze through the “cera perduta” method. (lost wax). I belonged to several art associations in the New England area where my sculpture was exhibited and had my work in private galleries. Several of my pieces are in private collections in the US, France and Italy. I was designated a Copley Artist by the country’s oldest art gallery, located in Boston, The Copley Society.

2) In the late 1980’s I was fortunate to travel to Pietrasanta, Italy, in Tuscany, to work in a bronze foundry (Beani and Caccia). I lived in a charming pensione and walked to the foundry every day where other sculptors from around the world worked in wax to compose their pieces. After a month of working, I produced two wax sculptures and was ready for the “fusione” which is when the foundry takes all the pieces and makes molds of them and places them in a huge furnace so the wax melts out. Then a combination of metals is melted in the furnace and poured into the molds, which, after a day or so, cools into the bronze. The molds are broken with a mallet (that’s where the expression “they broke the mold” comes from) and the raw bronze sculpture is left.

3) I’ve also worked in metal, welding pieces of copper together to form abstract shapes, and I’ve carved wood.

4) In addition to my work in sculpture, I write. In fact, I had been writing before I started sculpting. The two art disciplines actually complement each other. I write poetry and short stories and have been published in small literary mags and college publications. In 1997 I was awarded the Grolier Prize. The Grolier Prize is sponsored by the Grolier Book Store in Cambridge, Mass., the oldest poetry-only book store in the US. Several of my poems were recently published in “Kiss Me Goodnight,” an anthology of poems written by women who lost their mothers when they were young.

5) My brother-in-law, who is an artist, and I put together a book of poems for all the children in our family, sons, daughters, nieces and nephews and self-published it.

6) States I have spent lots of time in: Massachusetts, California, Florida.

7) Countries I have visited: France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England, Mexico, Barbados, and Canada

8) While visiting Italy in the ‘90s, I made a Verdiana pilgrimage. I started out the day visiting the town where Giuseppe Verdi was born, Roncole Verdi (a short distance from Parma in the province of Emilia-Romagna), then went on to Bussetto, where, under the guidance of his patron, Barezzi, he studied music. I then visited Verdi’s estate, St. Agata, where, when Verdi became a successful operatic composer, he lived with his second wife, the soprano, Giuseppina Strepponi. In the evening of that same day, I visited the hotel in Milan where Verdi died, January 27, 1901. A legend surrounding his death is that the people of Milan covered their carriage wheels in blankets so that the noise in the streets would not disturb the dying maestro.

9) I am now in the process of putting together a group of poems for publication. And have sent out a manuscript for a book of children’s poems.

10) I maintain two blogs: The Hungry Blogger, here, where I post original and traditional recipes in Italian and other cuisines. My political blog is Progressive Eruptions where I post under another nom de blog: Shaw Kenawe.

I'm tagging P.A.Moed at http://patriciamoed.blogspot.com/

Pasta Puttanesca

2006-01-15T15:34:00.000-05:00

Ciao amici!

Happy New Year! Isabella has been so busy that she's been unable to post to her blog. How sad.

I hope you all had wonderful holidays and that 2006 brings you all good things.

I made this sauce today and served it over farfalle (butterflies) or bowtie pasta.

The sauce is named puttanesca (from the Italian root word puttana, meaning prostitute) because it's hot and it's quick. Yes. I'm not kidding. Many recipes call for anchovies, so I'll include them here, but you don't have to use them.

Remember, cooking is all about improvising and using what you have at hand.

Enjoy this wonderful classic Italian sauce. And to my female friends, serve it while wearing a black lace bustier and black net stockings. Just to enhance the ambience.

Allora:

Puttanesca sauce:

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup pitted black olives, sliced
4 boned anchovy fillets, optional
3 cloves of garlic
1 small onion, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 tablespoon rinsed salted capers or rinsed and drained capers in vinegar, minced
four or five ripe plum tomatoes, finely sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
A pound of bowtie pasta (or pasta of your choice)

Saute the garlic and onions in the olive oil, add the anchovy fillets if you are using them, saute for a minute until melted into the onions and garlic. Add the tomatoes and mash down until cooked (about 3-4 minutes) add the capers and olives. Simmer for a minute. Salt and peppers to taste.

Serve over pasta of your choice.

Fast and hot!

That's the way to do it!

Enjoy!

Cheese ravioli with crimini mushroom sauce

2005-12-29T12:09:00.000-05:00

My camera isn't working properly, so I have to resort to web pics of food for my recipes until the camera is repaired or I get a new one.

Last night, I made a savory sauce of crimini mushrooms, diced tomatoes, cream, parmesean cheese, and herbs and spices and served it over homemade cheese ravioli. It was quick, easy, heavenly, and vegetarian!

Here's the recipe that serves 2:

Cheese ravioli with crimini mushroom sauce

8 oz. crimini mushrooms, diced finely
1 medium shallot, finely diced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 oz. extra dry vermouth (optional)
2 tablespoons diced tomato
1/4 cup minced herbs (I used mint, parsley and cilantro)
1/4 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons parmesean cheese, grated
dash of nutmeg (to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

10 homemade ravioli, available at Italian specialty shops or from your grocer's frozen food section.

Saute the shallots in 2 tablespoons of the butter until soft and golden, add the finely diced mushrooms and cook until they give up their liquid. Add the vermouth and simmer until you cannot smell the alchohol from the wine. Add the vegetable stock and simmer until it cooks down a bit. Add heavy cream and stir. Add the diced tomatoes and simmer a minute more. Add the cheese and continue to simmer and stir until the sauce thickens. Add 2 moretablespoons of butter and stir. Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg and herbs and incorporate. Hold on low heat until ravioli are cooked.

Place the ravioli in rapidly boiling salted water and cook until they float to the top of the water. Gently drain and place in pasta bowls; ladle the mushroom sauce over the ravioli, add more parmesean cheese and serve immediately.

Buon appetito a tutti!

Best Christmas Present of 2005!

2005-12-28T09:35:00.000-05:00

Read a review here:

http://www.italianchef.com/silverspoon.html

PEACE

2005-12-23T19:39:00.000-05:00

Feast of the Seven Fishes

2005-12-17T16:29:00.000-05:00

Ciao amici!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Kwanza, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year to all. Go here to see the recipes for the traditional Italian Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes.

Preparing seven different dishes with fish is a southern Italian tradition. Why seven? No one knows for sure. Seven days of the week? Seven sacraments? This was our family tradition each Vigili di Natale and all the women helped prepare the feast.

Some of the fish and shellfish our family used for the feast were lobster, shrimp, smelts, and even eel! I remember being forced to taste the eel on Christmas Eve when I was very little (we had to taste everything) and promptly getting sick all over the table. (Ha!) I was never forced to try anything ever again! Actually, as an adult, I tasted eel and found it to be quite good.

We also had pastas, vegetables, fruits and loads of homemade Italian sweets (including the wonderful marzipan).

Christmas Eve was the biggest holiday in our family. First the food, then the music (uncles playing the violin, guitar) then midnight Mass. Back home and then we opened our gifts.

Christmas morning and day was not as special as Christmas Eve and the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

Enjoy.

Best wishes,

Isabella

One Year Ago...

2005-12-14T18:21:00.000-05:00

on December 15, 2004, I started this cooking blog and have had a ball cooking and sharing my recipes with everyone who comes and visits here.

I've met some wonderful people through blogging and consider you my friends.

I shall continue posting recipes, and I hope you will continue to come here to see what's cooking.

Everybody eats when they come to my house!

Buon appetito a tutti!

Isabella

Squash Soup

2005-12-01T12:49:00.000-05:00

Greetings all!

Hope your Thanksgiving holiday was sweet and peaceful and full of family and friends. I also hope Uncle Bert didn't get drunk again and throw a plateful of stuffing at Aunt Minnie.

Isabella had some leftover squash (uncooked) and apples and decided to make one of her favorite dishes, squash soup.

It's easy, it's healthy and it's quick!

Squash Soup, 4 servings

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 large to medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
2 medium carrots, scraped and chopped
2 small to medium tart apples, peeled, seeded and cubed
16 oz. good quality vegetable or chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
salt and pepper to taste

slivered scallion for garni

In a 2 quart sauce pan, saute the onions in the butter until soft and golden. Add the squash, carrots and apples. Let them cook in the onion butter mixture for 2 to 3 minutes over medium low heat. Add the stock and gently simmer until all the veggies and the apples are soft.

I have a wonderful appliance--a Braun hand-held emulsifier. I use this to puree the veggies and fruit right in the sauce pan. If you don't own one of these devices, transfer the contents of the pan to a food processor or blender and puree until all lumps are gone.

Return the puree to the sauce pan, add the cream and the spices. Heat through. Serve with scallion garni.

This makes a great first course or a nutritious lunch, served with a hunk of crusty ciabatta bread.

Enjoy!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2005-11-23T10:33:00.000-05:00

Isabella wishes you and your loved ones a peaceful Thanksgiving.

And she wishes more people in the world had the the privilege to go to sleep Thursday night with a full belly.

Isabella's menu for Thursday:

Hummus (homemade)
Drunken goat cheese
Sicilian olives (homemade)

Oyster stew

Roast duck with savory raspberry sauce
Wild rice
Asparagas
Carmelized pearl onions

Green salad with balsamic vinegar

Homemade pumpkin pie

Wines:

Piper Sonoma Sparkling Wine, Brut, Methode Champenoise
Morgan, Pinot Noir, 2003, Santa Lucia Highlands

Baked Rigatoni with Three Cheeses

2005-11-21T18:02:00.000-05:00

Sunday dinner means pasta, chicken, vegetables, fruit, nuts, dessert.

This past Sunday, I made a dish with rigatoni, fresh ricotta, parmesean, and mozzarella cheeses.

For the secondo, I made Papa's Chicken, since it is a great favorite and I'm always asked to make this easy delicious chicken dish.

I served spinach sauted with red peppers and pine nuts, flavored with garlic, olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar.

For dessert, I baked a pecan pie.

Here's the recipe for the rigatoni dish:

1 lb. rigatoni (I use Barilla brand)
4 cups your own tomato sauce
1 lb. ricotta cheese, seasoned with salt and pepper)
1/2 cup of grated parmesean cheese
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella cheese
minced assortment of herbs (parsley, thyme)

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain. Do not rinse. Take an ovenproof casserole dish and spread your tomato sauce at the bottom. Place half the rigatoni on top, spread chunks of seasoned ricotta cheese and sprinkle half of parmesean cheese. Spoon more sauce over the first layer. Place the second half of the pasta on the first layer, repeat with the rest of the ricotta and parmesean. Spoon more sauce over the last layer, then cut the mozzarella ball into slices and place over the top layer. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Remove and let cool a bit. Sprinkle top with more cheese and minced herbs. Serve immediately and pass more tomato sauce.

Buon appetitio!

2005-11-13T18:10:00.000-05:00

Baked, stuffed red snapper, Basque style

2005-11-13T18:09:00.000-05:00

Lemon tart

Stuffed Baked Red Snapper, Basque Style

2005-11-13T17:34:00.000-05:00

Isabella had friends in for dinner this weekend, and she served this savory whole baked, stuffed red snapper. It was easy to assemble and made a spectacular presentation. I'm sure you could use any firm fleshed whole fish with this recipe.

For information on this fascinating part of Spain/France, go here.

For more Basque recipes, go here.

For dessert, I made a lemon custart tart (recipe follows red snapper)

Here's the recipe for the red snapper:

4 lbs. whole red snapper, scaled and gutted (my snapper actually weighed 3 lbs. 22 oz.)
Salt and freshly grund black pepper
Juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 (1/4 inch thick) slices of lemon

Sofrito:

1/3 cup olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 green bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
6 canned plum tomatoes, drained and diced
1/2 cup pimento stuffed green olives, rinsed, drained, and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/2 cup dry white wine or dry sherry
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large red potatoes, peeled and sliced, 1/4 inch thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch flatleaf parsley, leaves only, minced

Rinse the fish in cold water and pat dry, inside and out. Place in a shallow glass or ceramic platter. Srpinkle the fish inside and out with salt, pepper, and lime juice. Whisk the olive oil and garlic together and pour over the fish, rub it into the skin on both sides. With a very sharp knife, make 3 incisions right down to the bone and insert a lemon slice into each one. Cover with plasti wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 5 hours.

To make the sofrito, heat the olive oil over low hear in a large heavy skillet. Add onions and bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes or until translucent. Add tomatoes, olives, salt, oregano, and wind. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the sauce is thickened, stir in the Tabasco and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and set a rack in the upper middle position. Rub a large roasting pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and place the sliced potatoes in overlapping rows to make a square. Season them generously. Wrap the tail of the snapper in foil and place the fish on to of the potatoes. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the top. Bake until the fish is done through and flaky, about 45 minutes. Reheat the sofrito over low heat for the last 8 to 10 minutes of the fish's cooking time.

Slide the fish onto a large oval platter and arrange the potatoes at the top and bottom of the platter. Spoon the tomato sauce along the sides and remove the foil from the tail. Srpinkle the parsley over all and serve.

Lemon Custard Tart

Filling:

3 eggs, separated
zest and juice from 1 1/2 medium lemons
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/8 tsp. salt

Crust:

1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup neutral vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
2 tablespoons whole milk
9 in tart pan (with removable bottom)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Crust: Mix together oil and milk. Pour over the flour mixture. Stir until no dry flou is left. Press dough into tart pan.

Filling: Beat egg yolks. Add lemon zest and juice, condensed milk and salt. Mix together. Beat egg whites until stiff, then fold into lemon mixture. Pour into unbaked crust. Bake 40 minutes.

Dust with confectioners/powdered sugar, and decorate with thin lemon slices.

Isabella served the fish with a pinot noir and it worked beautifully with this hearty dish.

This will impress your guests and be an unforgettable dinner.

Enjoy.

Stracciatelli Soup

2005-11-02T17:56:00.000-05:00

Pronounced: strah chee a TELL ee

Stracciatelli means "little rags." And that's what the cooked egg looks like when it is added to the soup.

A while ago, P.A.Moed asked me if I had a recipe for this easy, delicious, nutricious Italian soup. I gave her a quick answer in the comments section, but promised I'd give a recipe here.

This soup is so easy to make, and it reminds me of holidays. Very often, in our family, this was the first course for Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts.

If you don't have your own chicken stock, be sure to purchase a high quality one.

This recipe makes an ample amount for 2 people.

24 oz. high quality chicken stock
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons semolina (purchased at a whole food store) or 1/4 cup cooked couscous, or small pastina
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino or parmesean cheese
3 tablespoons minced parsley
(1 1/2 cups torn leaves of swiss chard, spinach or escarole--optional)

Place the stock in a large sauce pan bring to a boil. Take the slightly beaten egg and drizzle it into the boiling stock. Lower the heat. Add the semolina (or other pasta), salt & pepper & parsley. Simmer for 2 minutes. Spoon into soup bowls. Add grated cheese and serve immediately.

(I ofen put leafy greens in this soup to add to its nutritional value. I put the washed and torn leafy greens into the stock just as it begins to boil. Let the greens cook for about a minute, then add the beaten egg and follow the recipe.)

This makes a quick lunch or a light, simple supper.

Enjoy.

Halloween

2005-10-30T20:38:00.000-05:00

I've been preoccupied with many projects. But I do wish my friends a happy Halloween. Have a safe, fun time. May your treats include lots of candy corn.

2005-10-16T15:36:00.001-04:00

Sunday, hungry Sunday

2005-10-16T15:36:00.000-04:00

Papa's chicken

2005-10-16T15:35:00.000-04:00

string beans with red potatoes and red onions

2005-10-16T15:34:00.000-04:00

Eggplant rollatini

Sunday, Hungry Sunday

2005-10-16T14:55:00.000-04:00

Isabella had friends in for another Sunday dinner. Here's the menu:

Papa's chicken legs (a recipe Isabella's father developed)
Italian sweet sausages and red peppers
Eggplant rollatini (eggplant slices stuffed with ricotta in marinara sauce)
String beans with red potatoes and red onions
crusty bread
Wine: Trinity Oaks, 1999 zinfandel

Dessert:
Homemade apple pie

Isabella's father made his own chicken recipe every Sunday, and she's happy to pass it along for everyone to enjoy. It is similar to the Frech coq au vin, in that the chicken is cooked in wine in the second stage. Your family and friends will be amazed at how tender and flavorful this chicken is. The meat falls off the bones and the flavors are infused throughout. And it's even better the next day!

Papa's Chicken (serves 4)

12 chicken drumsticks
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon, cut in half
salt, pepper, dried oregano, paprika
1 cup good quality dry red wine

Wash and clean the drumsticks. Pat dry. Place in bottom of a broiler pan and brush olive oil over the legs. Place under a broiler, as close to the element/flame as you can get, and broil for 10-12 minutes. Check on the legs and brush with the juices as they accumulate in the pan. In the last few minutes, add the seasoning (to taste). Allow the legs to take on a deep brown color. Remove from the broiler and turn each leg over and repeat. After the legs have broiled to a beautiful deep brown color, turn off the broiler and turn on the oven to 350 degrees. Take the cup of red wine and pour it over the legs. Cover the broiler pan with the legs in it tightly with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

Eggplant rollatini:

2 medium eggplants, sliced in 1/4 inch slices
3 to 5 tablespoons good quality olive oil, added to pan as needed while sauteing
3/4 cup good quality ricotta
1 small egg
1/4 cup parmesean cheese
2 Tablespoons minced parsley
salt and pepper to taste
(I had some leftover spinach pesto, so I added it to the ricotta, see previous post for recipe)
salt and pepper

Saute the eggplant slices in olive oil over medium high heat until they brown. Drain on paper towels. Break the egg into the ricotta, add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Take each slice of sauted eggplant and place a good tablespoon of the filling on an upped edge and roll, place on dish until all slices are rolled. Heat your best marinara sauce, and ladle a portion of it into an ovenproof dish. Place the stuffed and rolled eggplant into dish. Add more marinara sauce, sprinkle with grated pecorino cheese. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

String beans with red potatoes and red onions:

1 lb. string beans, washed and ends cut
5 small red potatoes, boiled with skins on
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup minced red onions
3 tablespoons grated parmesean cheese
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.

Boil string beans until they are al dente, do no overcook! Drain and plunge in cold water to stop cooking. Quarter the red potatoes. Combine string beans, potatoes and onions in large bowl. Add olive oil, cheese, and seasonings. Place on platter and serve at room temperature.

Italian sweet sausages and red peppers:

4-6 Italian sweet sausages
3 red peppers, seeded and cut into approx. 1/2 inch strips
1 medium onion, cliced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Saute onions and red peppers in largest pan you have (I use and 18 inch pan). Add the sausages and cook until they take on a rich brown color. Serve. Delicious.

Isabella's guests gobbled up this feast and still had room for her homemade apple pie. I won't give you my recipe, since I'm sure you all have your own favorite.

Buon appetito!

2005-10-14T21:46:00.000-04:00

Scallops over spinach puree with balsamic vinegar

2005-10-14T21:45:00.000-04:00

Linguini with calamari

Scallops over spinach puree, Calamari and linguini

2005-10-14T21:20:00.000-04:00

Beautiful, plump scallops, pan seared and placed over spinach pureed with olive oil, garlic and pignole nuts. That's the first course.

We follow this delicate, flavorful starter with linguini and calamari in tomato sauce. Oh soooooo good.

Scallops over spinach puree

4 large sea scollops
1 tablespoon good quality olive oil
1 tablespoon good quality balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
salt and pepper
2 cups washed spinach leaves
1/4 cup pignole nuts
1 small garlic clove, minced
slivers of raw red pepper (approx. 1/4 of a red pepper)

Place the scallops in a small bowl and add the next 4 ingredients. Place the spinach leaves with water clinging to them in a microwave and microwave for 2 minutes (or place in a saute pan over medium high heat and cook until wilted). Remove from microwave/saute pan and place in food processor. Add pignole nuts and garlic and process until well blended. Set aside.

Place the olive oil in a small saute pan and heat until olive oil slides around in the pan. Add the scallops and saute until they take on a deep bronze color. Turn with tongs and saute on the other side. This will take approx. 5 minutes. Take two tablespoons of the pureed spinach mixture and place on a plate, put two scallops on top of the spinach puree and ganish with the red pepper. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar.

Calamari in tomato sauce

1 pound of calamari, cleaned and cut up
2 tablespoon of good quality olive oil
3 cloves of garlic minced
3 fillets of anchovies
1 14 oz. can of cherry tomatoes
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
minced fresh herbs (parsley, basil, mint)
1/2 pound linguini

Saute the garlic and anchovy fillets in the olive oil until garlic is tender. Add the tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add seasonings. Simmer another 5 minutes. Add calamari and bring to simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta. Drain. Mix two portions of the linguini with enough of the calamari to make it moist and place it on a platter. Sprinkle with minced fresh herbs. Serve immediately.

This is low calorie and high quality protein. And delicious. Some will consider this eating bait. But so what? Bait can be delicious and healthy. Have you never heard of the Diet of Worms?

Enjoy!

Buon appetito!!!!!

2005-10-08T16:13:00.000-04:00

Little neck clams stuffed with pancetta, minced red pepper, and rapini

2005-10-08T16:11:00.000-04:00

Cod over pureed yam, with sugar snap peapods and blackened scallions

Stuffed little neck clams, Cod over pureed yam with sugarsnap peapods and blackened scallions

2005-10-08T15:14:00.000-04:00

Ciao amici,

I admit it, I'm crazy for little necks and try to eat the little luscious darlings at least once a week. Sometimes raw with a squirt of lemon juice and a dab of horseradish; sometimes steamed with garlic, tomatoes, rapini; and sometimes stuffed with pancetta, greens, red pepper and minced herbs. That's how I prepared them for the first course of this dinner. And they were favoloso! The combination of the smokey pancetta and the slightly bitter taste of the rapini was just enough to enhance the sweetness of the clams. Ooooh, they were spectacular.

The clams were followed by fillet of cod over pureed yam with sugarsnap peas and blackened scallions.

Here are the recipes. Enjoy preparing and then eating this healthy, delicious meal!

Buon appetito a tutti!

Little necks stuffed with pancetta, red pepper, rapini and minced herbs

10 little neck clams, washed and scrubbed
2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 ounces pancetta, minced
3 tablespoons minced red pepper
1 cup (full) cut up rapini green leaves, washed
browned bread crumbs and grated parmesean cheese (optional)

You have to get the clams to open up before you can stuff them, and here's a trick I use to achieve that. I preheat the oven to 350 degrees, after it reaches temperature, I shut off the oven and put the washed and scrubbed clams in an ovenproof dish in the oven and leave them there for about 5 to 10 minutes, watching to see when the shells open up. When that happens, I take the clams out of the oven and let them cool. (They are partially cooked at this point.) After they've cooled down, I pull away the top shell, and throw it out, then with a sharp paring knife, I cut the clam away from the shell it is nestled in and leave it there to be "stuffed" after making the stuffing.

Stuffing:

Saute the garlic in the olive oil until tender. Do not allow to burn. Add the pancetta and cook to done, add the minced red pepper. Cook for a minute, then add the rapini, and cook until it wilts. Season to taste, add minced combination of fresh herbs (parsley, basil, thyme, etc.).

With a teaspoon, scoop up a spoonful of stuffing and place on top of partially cooked clam in shell. Continue until all the clams are filled. If desired, sprinkle breadcrumbs and/or grated cheese over stuffing. Run under the broiler for a minute or two. Let cool a bit and serve immediately.

Fillet of cod over pureed yam with sugarsnap peapods and blackened scallions

3/4 lb. fresh fillet of cod, thick
1 yam
1 bulb of garlic, roasted
10 to 15 sugarsnap pea pod
1 bunch of scallions, ends cut off, slivered into thin strands
fresh lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the top of a bulb of garlic off, then sprinkle with a bit of olive oil, place in an ovenproof dish in 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove and set aside. Meanwhile, boil the yam until soft, peel and puree by hand or in a food processor. Add some of the roasted garlic cloves (to your taste) and mash into the pureed yam.

Wash and dry the fillet of cod. Rub with olive oil, salt and pepper and squeeze 1/2 of a lemon over the fillet. Place under the broiler and broil until done. About 5 minutes per inch of fillet. When the fillet takes on color, I shut off broiler, close the oven door and let the fish continue to cook until the flesh is flakey. Do not overcook.

Meanwhile, take the slivered scallions and place in a saute pan with olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) and stir over high heat until they take on deep charred color and become crisp. Set aside.

Place the sugarsnap peapods in another saute pan with olive oil and heat through for about 1 to 2 minutes, no more. Keep the sugarsnaps crisp. Season with salt and pepper.

Assembly:

Put a mound of the pureed yam/garlic mixture on a dish. Place a piece of the broiled cod on top and then a "tangle" of the charred scallions over the fish. Place the sugarsnap peapods around the yam/fish assembly.

Serve immediately.

It sounds like this is complicated. It isn't. Boil a yam, broil a piece of fish, saute some peapods and onions. That's it. Simple. Healthy. And beautifu to look at and to eat.

Enjoy.

Eau D'Asparagus

2005-10-02T16:15:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the indelicacy, but one of my regular visitors, ed from the uk, asked if the thing about asparagus pee, i.e., strange smell, is true. I went to webmed.com and got the information and am happy to piss, I mean, pass it along.

Mi scusi. Isabella has an earthy sense of humor.

Eau D'Asparagus

Question: I love asparagus, but I notice it makes my urine smell funny. What's going on?

By Elizabeth Somer, MA, RD

You may have heard the tall tale that "asparagus urine" is linked to higher intelligence. In fact, it's the result of a simple chemical reaction. Asparagus contains a sulfur compound called mercaptan. (It's also found in rotten eggs, onions, garlic, and in the secretions of skunks.) When your digestive tract breaks down this substance, by-products are released that cause the funny scent. The process is so quick that your urine can develop the distinctive smell within 15 to 30 minutes of eating asparagus.

But not everyone has this experience. Your genetic makeup may determine whether your urine has the odor -- or whether you can actually smell it. Only some people appear to have the gene for the enzyme that breaks down mercaptan into its more pungent parts. A study published in the May 1989 British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology found that 46% of 115 people tested produced the odor in one group of British citizens, while 100% of 103 people produced it in a group of French citizens. The ability to smell the by-products may also be genetic. Another study published in the same journal found that 10% of a group of 300 Israeli Jews could not detect the odor. In other words, a person's urine could smell, but he or she might not know it. Judging from your question, you can do both. But that's nothing to worry about.

While eating asparagus may make your urine smell strange, it won't harm you. Actually, asparagus -- a member of the lily family along with garlic, onions, and leeks -- is a powerhouse of nutrients. It's an excellent source of folic acid (a B vitamin that may help protect against birth defects, heart disease, and cancer), a significant source of vitamin C (an antioxidant that may protect tissues against damage), and a good source of vitamin A (an antioxidant). Not to mention that asparagus contains 3 grams of fiber per 3.5-ounce serving and a host of health-enhancing plant chemicals, or phytonutrients, that may protect against disease.

Although the link between "asparagus urine" and higher intelligence is a figment of someone's imagination, eating it regularly could be a sign of some serious health smarts.

Lemon Pie

2005-10-02T10:28:00.000-04:00

I don't do a lot of baking, but when I see a delicious looking dessert, I try it out.

I found this recipe over at ReTorte. Go there and see for yourself.

http://retorte.blogspot.com/2005/09/real-lemon-pie.html

2005-09-27T17:23:00.000-04:00

Sunday supper

2005-09-27T17:21:00.001-04:00

stuffed brasciole

2005-09-27T17:21:00.000-04:00

roasted eggplant, zucchini and red peppers

Sunday Supper--brasciole and roasted vegetables

2005-09-27T16:36:00.000-04:00

Ciao amici!

I had guests Sunday evening and grabbed what I had on hand to satisfy our hunger. Later in the evening, we watched fireworks on the rooftop as Boston celebrated its 375th birthday.

Shown above is a stuffed brasciole (pronounced brah ZHEEO lay). Traditionally made with flank steak, brasciole in my family was always made using a meatball recipe and then stuffed with all manner of goodies: salami, cheese, hardboiled eggs, raisins, pinenuts, spinach, roasted peppers, breadcrumbs. I chose to stuff this one with mortadella, provolone cheese, fresh basil leaves and two hardboiled eggs.

Brasciole can be made ahead of time and then served at room temperature. This will allow you to make nice even slices.

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1 jumbo egg
1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese
1 cup cubed stale good quality bread, soaked in milk
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 lb. pancetta (Italian bacon) or American bacon

Place ground beef and pork in large bowl. Add egg. Squeeze excess milk from the soaked bread and crumble bread into meat and egg. Add grated cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Wash hands thoroughly and then plunge them into the meat and mix until well amalgamated. Do not over mix.

Scrape meat mixture onto a large wooden board and pat into a rectangle, about 1/2 thick. You may then use your imagination for stuffing the brasciole. I used five thin slices of mortadella and provolone, five or six fresh basil leaves, and two hardboiled eggs. Carefully roll up, from the shorter side, the meat and form into a loaf, smoothing over any holes so the stuffing doesn't melt out during the baking.

Place in a heavy casserole dish that does not crowd the loaf. Place slices of pancetts/bacon over the top of the brasciole.

Cook in 350 degree over for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Take out and let cool. Slice when completely cool.

Serve with your own tomatoe sauce.

I also served this with roasted vegetables. Eggplant, roasted red peppers and zucchini, sprinkled with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and minced assorted herbs.

Also seen, steamed asparagas with olive oil, salt and pepper, and a sprinkling of parmesean cheese.

This was simple, economical and delicious. I started with penne and homemade tomato sauce made with fresh roma tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and fresh basil.

Abbondanza!!!!

A Tribute to New Orleans: THE MUFFULETTA

2005-09-09T16:48:00.000-04:00

Isabella has been unable to think of the luxury of cooking and eating in her dry, comfortable home while thousands of her fellow countrymen are suffering and dying.

As I watch this disaster unfold, I remember a wonderful trip to New Orleans two years ago, (also to Biloxi, and Mobile.) And as the sadness and poignancy of this awful time engulfs her each day, Isabella wants to remember the special place that is New Orleans and the many things that make it special.

While in New Orleans I discovered a fantastic sandwich, the muffuletta, which originated in NOLA by Italians. I’ve never found this sandwich in any other American city, and I wonder why.

French, Spanish, African and Creole are not the only cultural and culinary heritage of New Orleans, nor is the “po-boy” the only sandwich that is famous in this sultry, jazzy town. The muffuletta is as New Orleansian as the po-boy, and there’s nothing Creole about it. It is pure Italian, and pure Sicilian if you want to be specific.

New Orleans, in its population and its cuisine, owes much to Italy and especially Sicily; Italians have been coming to the Crescent City since the 1880s. It wasn't always easy for them -- one of the worst lynchings in American history was a massacre perpetrated upon a group of Italians in New Orleans in 1891.

The Italians soon settled in comfortably into New Orleans culture, and we are the richer for it. Their contribution to local culture and cuisine has been immeasurable; in fact, you frequently see "Creole-Italian" referred to as one of the local sub-cuisines.

According to legend, the muffuletta sandwich was invented by Signore Lupo Salvadore, who opened the now-famous little Italian market called Central Grocery on Decatur Street in the French Quarter in 1906 and created the muffuletta sandwich, named for a favored customer (although I had also heard that the sandwich was named for the baker of the round Italian bread on which the sandwich is served).

You'll hear lots of New Orleanians pronounce the sandwich "muff-uh-LOT-uh", but I understand that the proprietors of Central Grocery pronounce it "moo-foo-LET-ta". The common abbreviation is "muff"; e.g., "I'll take me a half a muff."

The sandwich consists of the round loaf of crusty Italian bread, split and filled with layers of sliced Provolone cheese, Genoa salami, capicola ham, and mortadella, topped with olive salad: a chopped mixture of green, unstuffed olives, pimientos, celery, garlic, cocktail onions, capers, oregano, parsley, olive oil, red-wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

The sandwich is layered with the meats, cheese and olive salad, then wrapped tightly with waxed paper. People who’ve been eating this sandwich for years advise that you let it stand for an hour or more so that the flavors of the filling blend and improve. It is an unforgettable sandwich. And one sandwich can easily feed two or three people.

Isabella plans to make them to honor the beautiful, tragic city of New Orleans. She suggests you all do the same while listening to Sweet Emma sing "Just a Closer Walk With Thee."

2005-08-23T17:54:00.000-04:00

Blueberry cake

2005-08-23T17:53:00.000-04:00

Blueberries, blueberries, everywhere blueberries!

So many blueberries, so little time...

2005-08-23T17:37:00.000-04:00

Summer is blueberry season, and that means making blueberry pie, jam, buckle, scones, cake. I make my own blueberry syrup to pour over blueberry pancakes or over vanilla ice cream. There's a whole foods store across from Symphony Hall here in Boston that makes homemade sausages with blueberries in them! I've seen cheese with blueberries in it. I've made grilled duck breast with a gorgeous blueberry sauce. My shampoo is blueberry scented. Is there anything we can't do with blueberries?

This recipe is easy to make and will disappear within an hour after making it. Hide it so you can have it last at least one extra day!

Blueberry cake:

2 cups and 1-2 tablespoons of sifted, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 pint blueberries

Topping ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour an 8-inch square baking pan.

Sift together the 2 cups of flour, the baking powder and the salt. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk. Toss the berries with the remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour (to separate and scatter evenly throughout the batter) and gently fold in cake batter. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Set aside.

Combine ingredients for topping with a fork to make a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle this over the batter.

Bake for 45 minutes, then test for doneness by gently inserting a fork. If it does not come out clean, give the cake another 5 to 10 minutes to bake.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Enjoy.

2005-08-17T13:09:00.000-04:00

risotto con gamberi e piselli (risotto with shrimps and peas)

Risotto con gamberi e piselli (Arborio rice with shrimp and peas)

2005-08-17T12:07:00.000-04:00

The first time I had risotto, in a private home in Milano, it was served with the traditional vitello Milanese. I had never had risotto before (my Sicilian family seldom cooked rice; and when they did, it was usually for soups or minestras).

The risotto was squisito! The flavors of the saffron, stock, cheese and butter, all melded together with the arborio rice (which was cooked al dente), made the dish memorable and made me want to try my hand at making risotto as soon as I could.

My first time was awkward. I was a bit nervous, sure I wouldn't be able to do it right. I popped Pavarotti's greatest hits into the CD player, and poured myself a glass of Pinot Grigio, to get me in the mood. With everything I needed at hand, I started in, gently, gently, gently. To achieve perfection, one must not hurry this, or you'll never arrive at your goal. Be patient. Go slowly, enjoy every step of the process, and you will be rewarded for your patience and care. Believe me, you will never be the same once you taste this heavenly, creamy dish.

Basic Risotto: (Serves 4 as a main dish, or 6 as a side dish)

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 3/4 (one and three quarters) cups arborio rice (You cannot substitute any other rice, or the recipe will not work)
1/2 cup white wine
8 cups any flavored stock (I use chicken or veal)
1 loosely packed teaspoon of threads of saffron (optional)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmeggiano or pecorino cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper

If you are using saffron, soak it in 1/4 cup of hot water. Set aside.

Heat the oil and butter in large saucepan over medium heat, (I use a skillet that is 12" wide with 3" sides). Add onion and garlic, and cook until softened. Stir in the rice and cook until it is nicely coated, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in the wine and stir until it is all absorbed.

Add a bit of the stock so that it barely covers the rice and stir constantly over medium heat until the stock is nearly absorbed, repeat this process, never allowing the pan to get "dry." Keep adding enough stock and repeat the cooking process until the rice is al dente, about 30 minutes. You may not need to use all of the stock, but it is a good idea to have enough on hand. You can always use what is left over for soup.

You'll have to taste the rice to see if it has attained the "al dente" state. It should have a bit of resistance when you bite down on the grains. You don't want this rice to be mushy.

Discard the saffron threads and add saffron water to the mixture. Stir to blend.

Add the cheese and mix thoroughly. Add a bit more butter to make the rice glisten. (Sometimes I even throw in a 1/4 cup of medium cream or sour cream).

Season to taste with salt and pepper and more cheese. Place a sprig of your favorite herb on top and serve immediately.

For the dish that is pictured, I sauted in a separate pan freshly peeled medium shrimp (1/2 pound) and about 3/4 cup of fresh peas. I also minced 1/4 cup of fresh herbs (basil, mint and parsley).

You can use your imagination and add other ingredients to the risotto: mushrooms, other veggies, calamari? pumpkin? Be creative and let me know about your first try at risotto!

Serve with a green salad and pass the Pinot Grigio!

2005-08-12T12:31:00.000-04:00

Cannellini beans with rapini
Isabella

Cannellini beans with rapini

2005-08-12T12:09:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick, easy, nutritious side dish for that next cookout. This can also be used over pasta, making it a complete meal.

One 14 and 1/2 oz. can of cannellini beans, (drained and rinsed thoroughly)
one bunch of rapini greens
1-2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons good quality olive oil
salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
2 Tablespoons grated Parmeggiano or pecorino cheese
pancetta (Italian bacon), optional

Thoroughly wash the rapini greens. Plunge into lightly salted boiling water and cook until they are tender. About 5 to 7 minutes. Do not overcook because if you do, they'll become a soft and droopy mess.

After cooking the rapini, drain thoroughly.

If you are using pancetta, cook until crisp in a saute pan. Add the garlic and saute until just tender (do not burn the garlic).

Take the drained rapini and add to the (pancetta) garlic.

Add the drained and rinsed cannellini beans. Stir to heat through.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. (I sprinkle red pepper flakes to brighten the flavors).

Add a bit more olive oil, if dish looks dry.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Serve as a side dish with roasted veggies, grilled fish, meat. Or combine with your favorite pasta and sprinkle generously with cheese.

Pesce spada (swordfish) con pesto

2005-08-07T08:38:00.000-04:00

Isabella is aware of your raised eyebrows. Swordfish?! Yes, I understand. I know about the methylmercury.

But Isabella hadn't partaken of the only member of the Xiphiidae family in almost 4 years! Before we humans hopelessly polluted our oceans, this was one of Isabella's favorite fish to eat. Alas. No more can I indulge in it as I once did--two or three times a month! Alas! Alas! Aihme!

I do not recommend feeding this to pregnant women or young children.

The pesto sauce, however, with the added nuts, raisins and olives, can be used over pasta, chicken or any fish that can stand up to the strong flavors (bluefish, halibut steaks, non-farm raised salmon).

Pesce spada con pesto (serves 2)

3/4 pound fresh, not previously frozen*, swordfish
1 cup pesto sauce.
1/8 cup golden raisins
1/8 cup chopped toasted almonds
1/8 cup pitted green olives
1 Tablespoon olive oil
8 cherry tomatoes
extra whole almonds, olives, scallions
and basil chiffonade for garnish

Add the raisins, almonds and olives to the pesto sauce. Set aside. Heat olive oil in small saute pan. Place cherry tomatoes in pan and cook over medium high heat until their skin just begins to split. Set aside.

Grill or broil the fish until done. Time varies according to the thickness of the fish.
Place fish on platter, pile pesto sauce and sauted tomatoes on tope of fish. Garnish with scallions and extra olives and whole almonds, sprinkle basil chiffonade over fish and serve.

Enjoy. Really. It'll be another four years before you eat this again!

*Isabella can't think of any seafood (except for shrimp) that tastes good after it has been frozen. She recommends that you always use the freshest seafood available, and if it is not available, cook something else. Make minestrone.

2005-07-31T11:26:00.000-04:00

caprese salad with prosciutto

Caprese Salad (tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil)

2005-07-31T10:49:00.000-04:00

Buon giorno, amici!

Sta bene? Bene. Allora.

Here's another recipe for a summer meal (lunch or a light supper). It is beautiful to behold, healthy and simple to make.

"In cooking, as in all the arts, simplicity is the sign of perfection." --Curnonsky

One caveat: You must not use anything but the freshest and best ingredients for this salad, otherwise it will be a complete failure. If you do not have access to the freshest and best ingredients, then do not attempt this at home. Make something else. But if you can acquire the necessary elements for this caprese salad you will be amply rewarded for your adherence to purity and perfection.

Caprese salad: serves 2

slice two tomatoes approx. 1/4 inch thick (number of slices depends on the size of tomatoes--four large slices are usually sufficient).

Four slices of the freshest mozzarella cheese.

Several whole basil leaves, preferably from one's own garden.

The finest extra-virgin olive oil one can afford.

Place the sliced tomatoes on a white platter, place the slices of mozzarella cheese over the tomatoes, place a basil leaf on each. Sprinkle with the olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Eccola! A magnificent dish.

You have noticed that there is something else on the plate that I made, and that something else is prosciutto cudo, heavenly pink ribbons of Italian cured ham.

I added this to make a complete meal, but it is not necessary to make the classic caprese salad.

Serve this with a Pinot Grigio and some crusty bread, if you wish, and you have entered into the realm of the gods.

Buon appetito a tutti!

2005-07-29T08:46:00.000-04:00

crespelle stuffed with peas, shitake mushrooms, and ricotta cheese

2005-07-29T08:45:00.000-04:00

crespelle stuffed with radicchio, scallions and toasted walnuts

Crespelle (crepes)

2005-07-29T08:12:00.000-04:00

Like most of the country, we in Boston have been suffering through horribly hot and humid days. Thankfully, we are now experiencing some cooler, drier weather, but those oppressive days will return, I'm sure, and reduce us to withering, wilting creatures again.

Withering Hots?

Isabella could do little but sit and hope that the weather, which left her in a continual state of inelegance, would improve so that she could resume her culinary efforts.

Here is a recipe that is easy and just the thing to whip up when the kitchen is too warm to cook anything else.

Crespelle are the Italian version of crepes and are especially popular in the Abruzzi region, where they are served in broth or baked. They also figure prominently on the menus of elegant restaurants throughout the peninsula, generally as first-course dishes.

The basic recipe for the crespelle follows. I used my imagination and filled the crespelle with what I had on hand (these are vegetarian), but one can add almost anything, fish, meats, fruit.

This recipe serves two. Enjoy the crespelle with a crisp green salad and a chilled white wine of your choice, a Soave Classico or a Pinot Grigio.

BASIC CRESPELLE RECIPE: (makes about 6)

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add the milk, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth. Let the mixture stand at least 20 minutes before making the crespelle.

Heat a lightly oiled (I used PAM) 8" skillet or crepe pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop a ladle full of batter into the pan (approximately 1/4 cup, not too much or the crespelle will be too thick) spread the batter evenly by tilting the pan.

Cook the crespelle about 2 minutes, until you can easily lift the edges with a spatular. Lift the crespelle and flip it over and cook for a minute or less on the other side.

Now you can fill the crespelle with whatever your imaginative mind can think of. But please, make it fresh, nothing canned. Beh!

I filled one batch of crespelle with sauted radicchio , scallions, and toasted walnuts and the other, with a combination of sauted red onions, shitake mushrooms, fresh peas and ricotta cheese.

I placed the crespelle in a baking dish, dotted them with butter and baked for 10 minutes. When I took them out, I sprinkled them with fresh grated Parmigiano cheese and garnished them with fresh herbs.

Delightful.

Enjoy.

2005-07-14T21:22:00.000-04:00

mussels with sun dried tomatoes

Cozze con orzo e pomodori secchi (mussels with orzo and sun dried tomatoes)

2005-07-14T21:16:00.000-04:00

Cozze con orzo e pomodori secchi (mussels with orzo and sun dried tomatoes)

This is a luscious and simple recipe. Great as a main course, or a starter for a grand feast. The mussels came from Prince Edward Island, since here in Massachusetts we are still plagued with the red tide. (This was typed before the end of the red tide. It is now officially over.)

2 lbs. mussels, debearded and scrubbed clean
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 anchovy fillets
4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1 medium red onion, diced
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped in pieces
1 (one) 14 1/2 oz. can of whole tomatoes
1 cup red wine
salt & pepper to taste
red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup cooked orzo pasta
1/4 cup minced mixed herbs (parsley, mint, thyme, basil, etc.)
grated parmeggiano cheese (optional)
1 package of baby spinach leaves, washed, then wilted (the mussels are served on this bed of spinach)

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil and then smash the anchovy fillets until they melt into the oil, add the garlic cloves and red onion and saute until tender. Add the sun dried tomatoes and the canned tomatoes, wine, s&p, red pepper flakes (opt.) When all the ingredients are heated through, add the washed mussels and cook on high heat until they open. Reduce the heat and continue to cook for one minute more.

Take off the heat. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, and cook the orzo until al dente.

Place the washed spinach leaves on a microwave proof dish and microwave for about 2 to 3 minutes, until they are wilted. Sprinkle with olive oil.

After the mussels are cooked, add the orzo to the pan of mussels and stir until they fill the mussels' shells.Take the wilted spinach and place on a large platter.

Add the orzo and mussels over the spinach and serve imediately.

Pass the Tuscan bread and chianti.

Enjoy.

2005-07-04T13:32:00.000-04:00

Happy Independence Day!
Isabella

OUR FOUNDING FATHERS

2005-07-03T12:38:00.000-04:00

As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality. George Washington

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. George Washington

War - An act of violence whose object is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will. George Washington

There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty. --John Adams, Journal, 1772

Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. John Adams

Power always thinks... that it is doing God's service when it is violating all his laws. John Adams

No government ought to be without censors & where the press is free...--Thomas Jefferson, letter to George Washington, September 9, 1792

Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear.
-Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Peter Carr, August 10, 1787

Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting "Jesus Christ," so that it would read "A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;" the insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination.
-Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography, in reference to the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom

In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Horatio G. Spafford, March 17, 1814

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. James Madison

I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. James Madison

No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. James Madison

The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse. James Madison

The executive has no right, in any case, to decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring war. James Madison

It is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad. James Madison

America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.--John Quincy Adams

Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. John Quincy Adams

2005-06-29T16:53:00.000-04:00

Panzanella (bread and tomato salad)

2005-06-29T16:28:00.000-04:00

Panzanella is a surprisingly tasty Tuscan use of leftover bread. Essential to the tastiness of this gorgeous dish is top quality extra virgin olive oil, top quality bread, and of course flavorful tomatoes. This dish is usually associated with Tuscany, but is popular in Umbria as well.

Panzanella can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated for several hours or taken on picnics. Remove from refrigerator an hour or so before serving.

PANZANELLA (serves 2)

2 1/2 cups Italian country style bread, 1 or 2 days old cut in cubes, 2 inches thick
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil, or more to taste
1 TBSP good quality red wine or balsamic vinegar or more to taste
2 cups tomatoes, as ripe and fresh as possible, cubed
1/2 clove of garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, washed, drained on paper towels and torn into pieces, (a few extra for garnish)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the cubed bread into a large serving bowl. Add the tomatoes, garlic and basil. Toss. Drizzle on the olive oil and the vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss well coating the bread with the oil and vinegar. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes so the bread absorbs the flavors. Garnish with a few whole basil leaves. Serve.

2005-06-24T14:00:00.000-04:00

Barche di zucchini

2005-06-24T13:59:00.000-04:00

Zucchini boats

Barche di zucchini (zucchini boats)

2005-06-24T13:43:00.000-04:00

It's summer and time to have fun at the seashore! Here's an easy and fun lunch or first course for a summer's meal.

I used three medium zucchini for this. Three small zucchini will do as well. The filling can be whatever you can dream up for these dreamboats.

I used:

2 slices of mortadella, cut up
1/4 cup Provolone cheese cubes
1/4 cup dark raisins
1/8 cup minced red pepper
Zucchini pulp
sprinkling of balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
1/3 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
Minced herbs (mint, basil, parsley)

Cut the zucchini in half and score them with a knife. Sprinkle olive oil, salt and pepper over the zucchini. Place in microwave oven and microwave for 3 to 4 minutes on high. Remove. Carefully scrape the cooked zucchini pulp out of the rind and place in a bowl. (Or you may roast the zucchini halves in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Do NOT overcook.)

Save the scraped out zucchini rinds. Combine the rest of the ingredients in the bowl with the cooked zucchini pulp. Carefully spoon the stuffing into the scraped out zucchini. Sprinkle with any additional minced herbs and serve.

This makes a delicious light lunch or a great first course.

Go wild and use your imagination for your own filling.

Enjoy.

2005-06-16T20:08:00.000-04:00

Kevin Callahan
Isabella

Kevin Callahan

2005-06-16T20:03:00.000-04:00

I'm so proud of my nephew, Kevin Callahan.

The New York Times published an article about him and his work today, June 16, 2005. here

Also, check out his website under the link section in my blog. See My Family.

Go Kevin!!!!

2005-06-12T12:14:00.000-04:00

Spaghetti con piselli, prosciutto e menta (spaghetti with peas, ham and mint)

2005-06-12T12:12:00.000-04:00

Melon, strawberries, blueberries and kiwi with mint for dessert.

Spaghetti con piselli , prosciutto, e menta (spaghetti with peas, prosciutto, and mint)

2005-06-12T11:11:00.000-04:00

Spring peas are in the markets and so Isabella offers you a heavenly dish using these sweet, delicate denizens of the pods. This is a typical Sicilian dish, using mint for the garnish, rather than basil or parsley. (Although Isabella often minces all three and scatters the herbs over whatever dish she has made.)

This is quite easy to make, the ingredients for the spaghetti will be done before the pasta is cooked.

One important thing here, though, is to use FRESH peas, frozen is a second choice. Canned? Mai! Mai! Mai!

The fresh peas and prosciutto will give this dish delicate spring colors of pale pinks and greens; and the taste of those recently harvested green pearls will send your heart into piselli paradise. I promise.

When I was a child, my parents would set out a dish of unshelled peas on the table, and my brother and I would dig in, grab a pod, open it, and eat the piselli like candy. This was a real treat for us, and we often had it as a "dessert" after supper when the peas were coming into season.

When I was five or six, I remember going to a friend's house and seeing a can of peas. I didn't know what they were at first; but after looking at the picture of them on the label, a light went on in my head, and I said to my friend's mother "We don't get our peas from a can, ours come from a shell."

This recipe serves 2:

1/2 pound of spaghetti (I use Barilla)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 1/4 cups of fresh shelled peas, (about a pound and a half in the shell) or frozen (NEVER CANNED)
2 oz. prosciutto cut in edible size pieces (or you may use pancetta--Italian bacon)
1/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste (red pepper flakes, too, optional, but they give this a nice "bite" to its flavor)
4 generous tablespoons of chopped fresh mint
4 tablespoons of grated parmesan or romana cheese

Shell the peas, then blanch them in boiling water for a minute and a half. Set aside.

Boil water for the spaghetti in a large pot, and while it come to the boil make the peas and prosciutto.

In a medium saute pan, heat the olive oil until it slides around in the pan. Add the garlic slices and saute until tender. Do not burn them. You may remove them if you wish after they've cooked (I always leave them in).

Add the peas and prosciutto, the stock, salt and pepper[s]. Saute very gently for 30 seconds, do NOT overcook the prosciutto, or it will toughen.

Drain the pasta, and add it to the saute pan with the piselli and prosciutto, heat through for a half minute or so on medium high heat. Add the mint.

Serve immediately, and pass the cheese. A fruity Chianti goes well with this.

The second picture posted in this entry is what I made for dessert. Since I had already had my "dessert" peas for my entree, I put together acombination of honeydew melon (from Israel), fresh strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi fruit, added mint leaves and sprinkled it with powdered sugar. Eccola! A beautiful, colorful finish to a wonderful meal.

Enjoy, my little piccioni!

2005-06-08T17:06:00.000-04:00

Isabella and Bobby Eustace

2005-06-08T17:05:00.001-04:00

Coffees and teas...

2005-06-08T17:05:00.000-04:00

A variety of spices...

2005-06-08T17:04:00.000-04:00

Locals watching the foot traffic outside Polcari's

Polcari's Coffee in Boston's North End

2005-06-07T14:49:00.000-04:00

One of Isabella's favorite places in Boston's North End is Polcari's Coffee shop. Not only does Polcari's carry over 20 different varieties of coffee, but it has a terrific selection of teas, extracts for making homemade liquers and cordials, dried legumes, spices, herbs, nuts, candied fruit, seeds, grains, rice, specialty cheeses and cold cuts (including the heavenly mortadella and prosciutto, and much, much, more.

During the summer season, they even have an old fashioned slush machine outside their store where you can purchase that delighfully refreshing lemony treat to cool you down on a typically humid Boston summer's day.

Established in 1932 by Anthony Polcari, the store was then managed by Anthony's son, Ralph, and his sister, Marie. Marie passed away recently, but Ralph comes in occasionaly to meet his old time friends and customers and greet the newcomers to the neighborhood who have found this treasure trove for cooks.

Robert (Bobby) Eustace and his cousin, Nicky, who now run the store, are friendly, knowledgeable, and always have time to make sure you get exactly what you need for that special recipe you've decided to try.

Isabella considers Bobby and Nicky two gems in this neighborhood of many food treasures. And she agrees with Ralph who will tell you that Polcari's "leaves no grounds for complaint."

Polcari's Coffee
105 Salem Street
Boston, MA 02113
617-227-0786

2005-06-05T18:32:00.000-04:00

Melanzana Napoleon, view 1

2005-06-05T18:31:00.000-04:00

Melanzana Napoleon, view 2

Melanzana Napoleon (Eggplant Napoleon)

2005-06-05T12:18:00.000-04:00

AIME! AIME! AIME! (Italian for OH DEAR! OH DEAR! OH DEAR!) Bad news! Red tide has spread along the New England coast from Maine to Cape Cod. And weeks will pass before it is safe to eat shellfish! Lobster and fin fish are not affected, but what will Isabella do now that her beloved vongole are vietato!

We will always have melanzana. And no red tide can stop us from eating this royally purple vegetable.

I found this eggplant recipe in Tom Colicchio's How To Think Like a Chef. The dish is made with slices of eggplant and a roasted eggplant, mushroom, red pepper, and pinenut filling spread inbetween the stacks and served with a lemon vinaigrette. I made some minor changes to it and served it as a light Sunday night supper. I also served it with plain penne, but the pasta isn't needed. In fact, my dinner companion and I tossed out the pasta and ate the eggplant dish with the lemon vinaigrette, and it was perfect on its own.

This dish takes a little time, but that's the fun of cooking, isn't it?

Melanzana Napoleon (serves 2)

3 medium eggplants
1/2 cup olive oil
3-4 ounces of fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 medium red pepper
1/4 cup toasted pinenuts
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
1/2 cup unflavored bread crumbs
sprigs of fresh thyme for garnish
lemon vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Take one of the eggplants, cut it in half, score the flesh, sprinkle the halves with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a roasting pan and roast in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the eggplant's flesh is soft. Remove the two halves from the oven and cool.

While the eggplant is roasting, cut up the red pepper and saute in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until just tender in a small saute pan. Set aside, wash out the saute pan to use for sauteing the mushrooms. Clean and slice the mushrooms and saute in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until just cooked. Toast the pinenuts over medium heat in a small saute pan (no oil is used in toasting the pinenuts) until they just turn brown. Set cooked red pepper, mushrooms and toasted pinenuts aside.

After the eggplant halves cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh out of the skins and place in a bowl. Add the red pepper, mushrooms, and toasted pinenuts, and salt and pepper to taste. (I added a teaspoon of lemon zest, and a squeeze of lemon to the mixture to brighten the flavors. This is optional.) Set this filling aside.

Take the two remaining eggplants and slice six rounds of about 1/2 inch thick (three rounds from each eggplant). I take the slices from the middle of the vegetable so that the thicknesses are even. Save what is left of the eggplants for making caponata or pasta al'Norma (recipes for these two dishes will be posted in the future). Take a paper towel and pat dry the eggplant slices.

Take three bowls and place the seasoned flour in the first, the slightly beaten eggs in the second, and the bread crumbs in the third. Take one of the slices of eggplant, place in the seasoned flour, pressing the flour so that it adheres to it. Shake off excess flour. Dip the floured slice into the slightly beaten egg, and then dip into the bread crumbs, again pressing the crumbs into the slices. Place the prepared slice on a clean dish. Repeat this procedure with the other five slices.

Place the remaining olive oil into a large frying pan so that it holds three slices of the prepared eggplant without crowding. Heat the olive oil until it slides around in the pan. Saute the breaded eggplant slices and drain on paper towels. Continue until all the slices are cooked and take on a golden brown color. Add more olive oil to the saute pan if needed.

Assembly:

On a cutting board or large work area, take one of the breaded and cooked slices of eggplant and spread it with the eggplant, red pepper, mushroom and pinenut filling. Add another slice, more filling and the third slice. Don't put on too much filling or the slices will slide off. Make a second stack with the breaded slices and filling. (You won't use up all the filling, so save it and spread it over warmed Tuscan bread the next day--it'll keep for a few days in the refrigerator).

Place two or three tablespoons of the lemon vinaigrette on the bottom of a plate, carefully lift the eggplant napoleons onto the vinaigrette sauce, add a sprig or two of thyme to the top and serve.

This can also be served as an elegant first course, followed by a fish or chicken dish of your choice.

LEMON VINAIGRETTE:

1 lemon
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small clove of garlic, cut in quarters
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper

Squeeze enough juice from lemon to measure 1/3 cup. In a bowl combine lemon juice with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in oil in a slow stream. Add garlic and thyme leaves. Vinaigrette may be made 3 hours ahead and chilled, covered. Bring vinaigrette to room temperature before proceeding, and take out garlic bits before serving.

2005-06-02T08:30:00.000-04:00

Penne with salmon, vodka, and tomatoes

Penne with smoked salmon and vodka

2005-06-02T07:13:00.000-04:00

Ciao everyone!

Isabella is back from her poca vacanza (little vacation) and happy to post a simple but delicious recipe. This dish combines smoked salmon with a tomato vodka sauce--a delicate, elegant combination. You can put this beautiful recipe together while the pasta is cooking. It's that easy to do. Enjoy!

Penne with smoked salmon and vodka (serves 2)

1/2 lb. penne pasta (or any tube pasta)
4 oz. good quality smoked salmon (I used Echo Falls smoked Scottish salmon) cut into bite-size pieces
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium clove of garlic, minced
1 medium to large shallot, minced
2 or 3 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup good quality vodka
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 -3 Tablespoons parsley, minced

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente.

Meanwhile, in a medium to large pan, saute the minced garlic and shallots in the butter until just soft. Add the plum tomatoes and gently simmer for about 5 minutes, add vodka and let the alcohol burn off while the sauce simmers another 2-3 minutes. Add heavy cream and gently simmer another minute or so. Add the smoked salmon and heat through.

Drain the pasta, and add to the salmon/vodka/tomato mixture. Heat through until sauce covers the penne. Serve immediately in pasta bowls with a generous sprinkling of parsley.

Quick, easy and elegant.

2005-05-24T17:05:00.000-04:00

Sea scallops with caviar and green beans
Isabella

Sea scallops with caviar and green beans

2005-05-24T16:18:00.000-04:00

Here is a recipe I created for serving scallops. A dear, dear friend of mine brought back some red caviar from a recent trip and asked me to make something with it. I often think in red, green, and white (the colors of the Italian flag), and came up with this:

Sea scallops with caviar and green beans (serves 2)

2 tablespoons olive oil
12 large sea scallops (never use frozen, they do not taste good)
1 jar red caviar
1/4 pound green beans
salt and pepper to taste for the green beans
4 or 5 red radicchio leaves, minced
zest of half an orange, minced
1 small clove of garlic, minced
balsamic vinegar for decoration

Prepare the green beans first. You don't have to do what I did, but it will look nicer if you do. I took each green bean; and with a very sharp knife, I split it into quarters. Time consuming, yes. But worth it. Or you can purchase French green beans if your greengrocer carries them.

Place the cut green beans in a saute pan with a tablespoon of the olive oil and let them cook until just tender, don't over do it. It takes about 3 minutes or so. Set aside.

Make a gremolata with the orange zest, garlic and radicchio. Set aside. (The classic gremolata is made with parsley, lemon and garlic, but the idea here is to invent!)

Wash and pat dry the scallops. Take a large saute pan big enough to hold the scallops without crowding (if the pan is too small, the scallops will steam instead of saute.) Add the other tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and heat until the oil slides around in the pan. Add the scallops and saute for 2 minutes or so, and then turn them over. They should take on a nice brown color. Cook until they are translucent. Don't over cook them! Depending on the size, the total time should be about 5 or 6 minutes.

Place six scallops on each of two warmed platters (see picture). Place a teaspoon or less of the caviar on top of the scallops. Place the cooked green beans in the center and sprinkle with the gremolata. Take the balsamic vinegar and drizzle it over the dish, as shown.

The combination of the sweet and salty works well with this. No need to salt the scallops, as the caviar is salty enough.

If you don't want to use caviar, try mincing a red pepper, sauteing it until just cooked, and top the scallops with that. Don't forget to salt the scallops and red peppers, since you will not be using caviar in this alternative method.

A nice Chenin Blanc works well with this, too.

Buon Appetito a tutti!

Isabella will be on a trip for a few days. I'll post another recipe next week.

Happy eating one and all!

2005-05-21T21:52:00.000-04:00

frittata with spinach, mushrooms, red peppers and mozzerella cheese

Frittata

2005-05-21T20:30:00.000-04:00

Here's an easy Sunday morning breakfast, lunch or light supper--an Italian omelette or frittata.

You can let your imagination run wild with this. I like to use vegetables and a little bit of pancetta. Here's the recipe for the frittata in the picture:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 oz. Italian pancetta, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/2 half medium to large red pepper, chopped
3 full cups thoroughly washed baby spinach, wilted
1/2 cup mushrooms of your choice, chopped
3 or 4 slices of fresh mozzerella cheese
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup medium cream
pinch of baking powder
Salt and pepper to taste, and a few spinkles of red pepper flakes
minced fresh herbs for garnish (parsley, mint, thyme, oregano, etc.)

Place the spinach in a saute pan with just the water that clings to the leaves. Cook over medium high heat just until wilted. Set aside.

In an omelette pan, saute pancetta in olive oil until crisp, add garlic and onions and cook until just tender, add peppers and mushrooms until cooked soft. Add the wilted spinach. Add cream and baking powder to beaten eggs and pour over the vegetables. Place slices of mozzerella cheese on top and let the frittata cook over medium low heat until the eggs begin to set. Take the saute pan and put under broiler and finish cooking the frittata until the cheese bubbles and browns a bit. Remove from broiler. Sprinkle with minced herbs. Let cool a minute and serve in wedges.

The frittata can be served warm or cold. Serve with crusty bread and salad for lunch or a light supper.

2005-05-18T21:16:00.000-04:00

Little neck clams with rapini, tomatoes and pancetta

Clams Rapini with Tomatoes and Pancetta

2005-05-18T20:24:00.000-04:00

My first ever post on The Hungry Blogger was a recipe for clams oreganata.

I live by the sea; and each day as I inhale the scent of the salt on the east wind, I think of ways of preparing the fruits of the Atlantic to capture the freshness and essence of il mare . That something usually involves clams. Or mussels. Or scallops. Or clams. Or clams.

Here in the Northeast, we have the quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria--pronounced KO-hog) and this mollusk is generally used in chowders, clam pie, or fritters . The smaller of the quahogs (2 1/2 to 3 inches) are the cherrystones, and the smallest (2 1/2 inches or less) are the little neck clams. Little necks and cherrystones are eaten raw with a squeeze or lemon and a dab of tabasco and horseradish. Of course they can be used in the classic clams casino or any other way your imagination allows.

I used little necksfor this recipe, as I did for my first post, clams oreganata. But this time I combined the clams with the queen of green leafy vegetables, broccoli raab (or rapini) tomatoes, pancetta, garlic and shallots.

I think I did justice to this little prince of the sea, and here is the recipe so that you, too, may revel in the joy of the little neck.

Clams rapini with tomatoes and pancetta (serves 2)

2 dozen little neck clams, scrubbed and washed
4 oz. pancetta (or unsmoked bacon) cut into strips
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1 shallot thinly sliced
14 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 cups thoroughly washed rapini greens (broccoli raab), with stems cut off
3 tablespoons good quality olive oil
2 tablespoons of minced fresh herbs (parsley, mint, thyme, tarragon, etc.)

Cook the pancetta in a large fry pan, big enough to hold the clams, until crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Saute the garlic and shallot in the pan in which you cooked the pancetta. Add a bit of olive oil if needed. Saute the garlic and shallot until tender (about 2 minutes). Add the tomatoes and cook about 1 minute. Add the wine and cook another 2 minutes.

Add the clams, cover and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, cook about 5 minutes. Add the rapini, cover and continue to cook until the clams completely open (about another 5 minutes).

Divide the clams, rapini and tomatoes between two shallow bowls. Top with the pancetta, drizzle with olive oil and minced herbs.

(This can be served over linguini if you so desire.)

Serve with crusty bread and a dry white wine (a chenin blanc is nice, or a dry Vouvray).

Listen to the music of Astor Piazzola .

You will love the little neck for eternity.

Buon appetito, amici!

2005-05-15T16:54:00.000-04:00

Mmmmm. Red cow cheese with aged balsamic vinegar.

2005-05-15T16:52:00.000-04:00

pezzata rossa reggiana (red cow cheese with balsamic vinegar)

2005-05-15T16:51:00.000-04:00

I recommend this.

RED COW CHEESE [not mad cow disease]

2005-05-15T16:30:00.000-04:00

Here is a site where you can read about this exceptional cheese from Parma http://www.3-p.it/en/soci_granadoro.asp , locally known as Pezzata Rossa Reggiana. I served it the other night after having the individual lasagnas, and it was a delicate, heavenly finish to the meal. It is expensive, running at about $30 a lb., but you don't need a huge amount (I bought 1/4 pound, and that was more than enough, with a chunk left over for another finish to a meal.)

The perfect addition to the cheese is an aged balsamic vinegar. Read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balsamic_vinegar. You may have to visit a specialty store to purchase this, since I think the grocery stores carry only the mass produced vinegars. A bottle of aged balsamic is a good investment. Just drizzle a bit of it over the red cow cheese, and eccola! you have a superb dessert. The really old, aged vinegars are so sweet and thick, you can drizzle it over vanilla ice cream or fresh fruit, and experience a wonderous taste delight.

If you wish, you can accompany the red cow cheese and aged balsamic vinegar with red or green grapes or figs in season, and I promise you'll love the change from a heavy caloric dessert. Follow up with an espresso, and you're living la vita locale!

2005-05-11T18:38:00.000-04:00

Lasagna alla Isabella

2005-05-11T18:37:00.000-04:00

lasagna noodles

Lasagna alla Isabella

2005-05-11T18:29:00.000-04:00

This is not a thick, heavy, drowning in red sauce and ricotta and meat lasagna that weighs a ton and takes two weeks to digest. Ugh! This lasagna is delicate and vegetarian.

The filling is lightly seasoned steamed spinach, roasted tomatoes and toasted pignole (pinenuts), topped with a good quality mozzerella cheese and a sprinkle of real parmesan and served with a cardinale sauce.

This recipe is for 2 servings, so I use 8 sheets of lasagna noodles, total (four sheets for each serving).I use homemade lasagna noodles that are available in a local store specializing in homemade pastas. If you don't have this resource near you, I recommend Barilla's thin lasagna noodles (not those thick curly edged Prince brand noodles that overwhelm the dish). And I pre-boil the fresh homemade or the Barilla noodles to soften them up a bit and so that they don't absorb too much of the sauce.

Ingredients for the lasagna:

8 sheets of fresh made lasagna noodles or Barilla brand lasagna noodles(the noodles are approximately 6 inches by 4 inches)
8 to 10 oz. fresh spinach, stems removed and washed thoroughly
2 medium tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup pinenuts, toasted
4 slices (about 1/4 inch thick) of good quality mozzerella cheese (not that white rubbery stuff you get in the supermarket. Buy the real thing!)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cups cardinale sauce (recipe below)
fresh thyme sprigs for garnish

Cardinale Sauce:

1 small clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon good quality olive oil
14 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup half and half or cream
a knob of butter

Saute the garlic in the olive oil until tender. Discard or leave in, as you choose. Add the tomatoes and cook gently for a minute or two. Add the thyme and nutmeg. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add cream and cook until it thickens. Add the butter and cook another minute. Turn off heat and let rest.

Lasagna preparation:

Cook the lasagna noodles for 2 minutes in a large amount of boiling water. (I cook them two or three at a time so they won't stick together.) Lift out of the water with tongs and set on a large plate. Continue until all 8 sheets of the noodles are parboiled. Set aside.

If you have a microwave, place the spinach on a microwave safe platter and nuke them until they just wilt (about a minute and a half). If you don't have a microwave, place the spinach in a large saute pan and heat through using only the water that clings to the spinach leaves after you've washed it. Cook until it just wilts. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper. Set aside.

Put the sliced tomatoes on a baking sheet with sides (so the juices don't run all over the oven), sprinkle them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Toast the pinenuts on top of the stove in a small saute pan over medium heat until they take on a golden color. Remove from heat and set aside.

Take an oven proof casserole dish that can hold the lasagna noodles (a 13 x9 will do) and spread some of the sauce over the bottom just to coat it.

Place two sheets of the lasagna noodles side by side in the casserole. Spread some of the spinach on each of the noodles, sprinkle some of the pinenuts on top. Place a second sheet of the noodles over the spinach layer. Place two or three of the roasted tomato slices on top of this layer. Sprinkle some parmesean cheese over them. Place a third layer of noodles over the tomatoes and use up the rest of the spinach and pinenuts and whatever is left of the tomatoes. Place the fourth and final lasagna sheet on top of this. Spoon some cardinale sauce over it, just to cover it (don't drown it! No one wants to eat dead lasagna!). Place two slices of mozzerrella cheese on each top layer, cover with aluminum foil and bake in 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Place under broiler just until the mozzerella cheese bubbles and takes on a golden brown color. Remove.

Take two warmed platters and spoon a puddle of the cardinale sauce on the bottom. Take a large spatula and carefully lift each serving of the lasagna out of the casserole dish and place one on each of the platters. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, place a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme over the top and serve immediately. Serve with a nice dry chianti.

Delicioso! And light!

Total time for preparation to table: about 1 hour.

For dessert: a few chunks of red formaggio di Parma (very expensive, but oh, so worth it!) with a sprinkling of aged balsamic vinegar. I will post on this in a day or so.

2005-05-09T11:50:00.000-04:00

Kiss Me Goodnight

Kiss Me Goodnight Redux

2005-05-09T11:13:00.000-04:00

Ciao amici cari!

This past Mother's Day weekend, I had the pleasure of reading my poems from the anthology "Kiss Me Goodnight" at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Hadley, Mass. We had a good crowd in attendance, considering the incredibly foul weather on Saturday. Rainy, cold, and cold, rainy. It was truly a filthy weather day. Six of us women who live in New England gathered together and read our stories and poems about our mothers. Afterward, we had a book signing and were able to get to know each other. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to meet these wonderful, talented women. We are planning to do more readings this summer and fall. And again, my thanks to the two editors from Minnesota, Ann Murphy O'Fallon and Margaret Noonan Vaillancourt, who worked so hard to get this anthology published.

As a gift to my mother, I'm posting one of my three poems published in "Kiss Me Goodnight."

HER BLUE ROBE

I was never a bishop,
but the world's a dream
we die in. I breathe

into her blue robe, take day lilies
from a jar out of her room
to a pail in the yard.

Who would believe the grass
growing so quickly
between the bricks,
the purslane spreading like rash

over the patio. We're done
with her dresses, hangers
and plastic bags, the trunk of yarn.

Stepping over collapsed boxes
of shoes, I carry her collection
of holy cards to the yard, burn

the saints with matches,
that from these may grow
in full sight of her

in pure stone,
the other life,
continuing long.

2005-05-03T09:29:00.000-04:00

lemon squares

2005-05-03T09:28:00.000-04:00

real lemon

Lemon Squares

2005-05-03T09:03:00.000-04:00

Ciao Amici! Buona primavera a tutti!

Here is a wonderfully easy and delicate lemon dessert to make for your next dinner party or just to reward yourself for being the fabulous person that you are. (Note to my friend, Wandering Coyote, the real pastry chef: if you see a way of improving this, please do so and let me know in the comments.) I believe the reason these squares are so heavenly is because they are made with real lemon juice. Please. Don't use canned lemon spread, or bottled lemon juice! Or Isabella will have to give you a good scolding and banish you from her kitchen forever!

LEMON SQUARES

8x8x2 inch glass baking dish
350 degree oven
See below for baking time

1 cup unbleached flour (I always stick a wire whisk in the flour canister or bag and give it a vigorous stirring before I measure out the flour.)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, (1 stick) room temperature
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt, scant
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (I use a very, very sharp mushroom knife and slice the zest, avoiding the white part. Then I mince it.)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
additional powdered sugar for dusting

Mix flour, butter and 1/4 cup powdered sugar together until well blended. Press into ungreased baking pan, building up approx. 1/4 to 1/2 inch edges. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Meanwhile, beat granulated sugar, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, baking powder and salt together until light and fluffy (approx. 3 minuted). Pour over baked pastry. Bake just till lemon filling is set (test with finger in center) about10 to 15 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is and if you use a glass or metal pan.

Cool. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar. Cut into squares. These melt in your mouth!

NOTE: You may substitute lime zest and lime juice for the lemon and make lime squares.

Place a jaunty vase of daffodils on your table and serve these little spring delights to your guests.

2005-04-30T11:17:00.000-04:00

steamed fish and veggies in ponzu sauce

2005-04-30T11:16:00.000-04:00

fish over spinach in steamer