Have you ever made a meal whose sole existence was dependent on being re-purposed for something else? This bowl of flavor-packed risotto met that exact fate. It was a successful first attempt at risotto, but making arancini was the highly anticipated end result. When a friend announced her theme for a monthly dinner party would be Italian, arancini was the first thing that came to mind. Whenever you have an excuse to try a new dish, make sure to take advantage of it. You’d be surprised how many different meals you can make out of one recipe.

Typically arancini are fried, but these rice balls were baked. Honestly, this risotto has enough fat in it that it’s not necessary to deep fry them. Not that there’s anything against frying food here. Just not this time. The mix of breadcrumbs and panko along with a little olive oil maintains the customary crunch and golden brown color. Plus, they have so much flavor from the salty proscuitto and parmesan, sweet butternut squash and pungent sage that you won’t miss the fried taste one bit. Here’s one way to revamp one meal for an entirely different occasion!

Butternut Squash, Proscuitto and Sage Risotto – Serves 8
1/4 pound proscuitto, sliced thin
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and diced
1/2 bunch fresh sage leaves, sliced
1/2 large red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups Arborio rice
3 1/2 – 4 cups chicken stock
2 cups white wine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
Olive oil
Kosher salt

1. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a deep sauce pan or skillet over medium high heat. When hot add proscuitto. Cook until crisp for approximately 1-3 minutes, then remove and set on a separate plate. Add sage leaves, toasting for about 1-2 minutes. (Be sure not to leave it too long over the heat, or the sage will burn.) Remove from pan and set aside with proscuitto.

2. Add butter to the same pan and a tiny drizzle of more olive oil. Slide in onions and squash and cook until softened and browned slightly, approximately 7-9 minutes.

3. Add rice directly to the garlic, onions and squash and stir well to mix with vegetables. Continue to heat rice for 2-3 minutes or until it takes on an opaque hue. Pour wine in with the rice and continue cooking until most of the wine has been absorbed.

4. Once wine has absorbed into rice, continue adding chicken stock 1 cup at a time for the next 20-25 minutes or until done. (Rice should be slightly al dente to the bite, so taste a few grains towards the end of the cooking time.)

5. When rice is done, remove from heat and gently stir in cooked proscuitto, sage, parmesan, parsley, allspice and zest. Salt to taste.

Butternut Squash, Pancetta and Sage Arancini – Serves 4 to 6
4 cups risotto, chilled
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1/2 cup panko crumbs
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
4 ounces fresh parmesan, cut into small pieces
Olive oil

1. Mix breadcrumbs, panko and parsley on a plate. Set aside.

2. Take about 1 tablespoon of risotto and press a piece of parmesan in the center. Top with a bit more risotto and shape into a compact ball. Repeat with remaining rice until you have 16 even sized balls of rice. Set ball on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and chill for at least an hour.

3. Once rice has had the chance to chill, dip each ball in the beaten eggs, then roll in crumbs to coat all sides. Repeat with all of the rice and set each one back onto the parchment paper.

4. Drizzle all of the risotto balls with a little olive oil and bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and turn each ball of rice, so the bottoms are now facing up. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil if desired, turn oven down to 400 and return to oven. Bake for another 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Click HERE for the printable recipes.

Gnocchi is delicious, but I don’t always want to make it by hand, particularly when store bought can be so good. Here’s a meal made in less than 15 minutes, because I had gnocchi and proscuitto in the fridge:

• 1 package of gnocchi
• 1 bunch of Arugula
• non-dairy cheese like the AMAZING Daiya cheese, available at Whole Foods
• 1 thin slice of proscuitto broken into pieces (substitute  Veggie bacon if you like)
• 1/4 diced onion
• earth balance (non-dairy) butter

Boil gnocchi as the package suggests. While the gnocchi is cooking, heat the butter, and saute the bacon and onions together (if using proscuitto, add it at the end!). Add the Arugula next, only time enough to make it wilt. Add cheese to taste, then stir in the gnocchi ( now add proscuitto). Place the meal in a oven safe dish, top with more cheese, and put under high heat broiler for a few minutes; long enough for the cheese to melt and brown a bit.

This holiday party season I did a fair bit of the circuit, but there is one party that topped all the rest thanks to my comrades over at UrbanDaddy. (FYI: If you haven’t gotten a chance to check them out, you’re missing out on the best places to eat, drink and party in NYC and beyond, so get to it: www.urbandaddy.com).

Billed as “an evening of live music, caviar, unbridled mistletoe-ing, precious diamonds and magnificent desserts,” the party was held at the Stephan Weiss Gallery at 711 Greenwich Street (sidenote: the late Weiss was married to fashion maven Donna Karan).  I somehow missed the mistleoe-ing, diamonds and desserts, but with everything going on, it was certainly easy to do.

The venue boasted an open layout perfect for large parties such as this, which the UD team took full advantage of including a large stage for the entertainment, ample seating and a separate room which housed all the yummy hors d’oeuvres.

There were also several bars throughout the space, including my friend’s favorite, the Ultimat Martini bar, making it easy for attendees to get drinks.

Ultimat Martini Bar

Some of the yummy hors d’oeuvres included duck, shrimp cocktail, tuna wrapped in lettuce, lamb kebabs, breadsticks wrapped in proscuitto and french fries in little take-out containers – fantastic! [I didn't have the photo available at my current location, but I'll upload this later so you can check out some of the goodies].

As if the drinks and food weren’t good enough, the UD team brought in some great live entertainment with the Dap Kings and Sharon Jones. I felt like I was on Soul Train – great vibe, energy and beats.  Ms. Jones even pulled some young party-goers up on stage who didn’t seem embarrased in the slightest.

Despite the extreme cold outside, it was the perfect night to keep my holidays spirits warm and bright.

This is a German food platter. Die Wurst means ‘the sausage’, and Germany is famous for its wide variety of sausages. The one in focus is a pepperoniwurst and those not that aren’t include bratwurst (roast), leberwurst (liver), schinken (ham), proscuitto, and German meatloaf. Other common sides include sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) and various types of käse (cheese).

f/1.8, 1/50 sec

It is December 19, 2009 and only 6 days before Christmas. My plans to fly to the East Coast are getting a little sketchy as I write this blog. They have experienced about 10 inches of snow and are expecting more today…wow, talk about a white Christmas…be careful what you wish for…

This recipe is as simple as they come and a great party hit…here we go…

Ingredients needed:

1 medium size cantelope
8 slices of proscuitto

Cut your proscuitto into thin strips. Cut your cantelope either into cubes or wedges (some prefer wedges – I like the bite size cubes)
Wrap the strips of proscuitto around your cantelope and secure it with a toothpick. These are great served chilled.

Serve with your favorite white wine (a good choice – Passaggio Unoaked Chard)

Enjoy,

Passaggio Wines

Once again the wonderful cook on Italian Food Forever has a few more winning recipes. Tonight we had chicken scarpariello and Eggplant rollatini. Both of these recipes include deep-frying or frying in oil and so I will not make both on the same night again. Delicious but on the fattening and time-consumming side. Ok, onto the recipes and picture tutorials! Let me add that I could not have made these dishes, both on the same night, without the help of this wonderful man!

Chicken Scarpariello

by Deborah Mele

Serves 4 to 6

by Deborah Mele

1 Medium Eggplant

2 Tablespoons Salt

2 Eggs

2 Cups Bread Crumbs

Thin Slices Mozzarella Cheese

Thin Slices Prosciutto (we used prosciutto) or Anchovy Fillets

Sun-Dried Tomatoes Packed In Oil (Or basil pesto)

Oil For Frying

Peel the eggplant, and cut it into 1/4 inch slices lengthwise. (Mine were too thick)

Place these slices in a colander with salt sprinkled between the layers. Sit a heavy dish on top of the eggplant, and leave it to drain about 1 hour.

Rinse, and pat the slices dry.

 Dip each slice first into the beaten egg, and then into the bread crumbs. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F., and fry the eggplant slices until golden brown.Drain on paper towels. 

Slice the sun dried tomatoes into long slivers. (This is where we made our first substitution, I spread basil pesto on in place of the sun-dried tomatoes)

Let’s say–hypothetically–that you ate too much over the Thanksgiving holiday. Perhaps you went a little nuts and did something that I’m pretty sure it says somewhere in Leviticus that you’re not supposed to do: you wrapped your poor ol’ turkey in bacon. As if the candied sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and 17 glasses of wine weren’t enough, you had to go and add pork fat. 

And let’s just say–hypothetically again of course–that when you returned to the office after your gluttonous Thanksgiving holiday (during which you unrepentingly consumed one whole bacon-wrapped turkey), you discovered said office to be completely devoid of office furniture, computers, telephones, or even filing cabinets.

(Don’t worry folks, it’s being renovated)

Assuming all of these things happened–and I’m not saying they did or they didn’t–you might want to have something light and easy-to-cook tonight for dinner. My vote is for a warm mushroom salad, courtesy of one Ina Garten, who has never to my knowledge ever put out a bad recipe. If you made an Ina recipe and it turned out bad, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it was probably your fault.

The great thing about this recipe is, though it is a salad, it’s great for wintertime. The mushrooms and the mushroom “broth” with sherry or red wine vinegar make this salad seem like anything but. Plus, the proscuitto makes that person in your family who *must* have meat at every meal (you know who you are) happy and delighted that when you said you were going to make a salad for dinner (audible groan) they were pleasantly surprised when you put this on the table!  

Though Ina calls for sundried tomatoes in this recipe (and I usually do use them when I make it), I could not find them anywhere in my newly-reorganized Publix grocery store (why must everything change when you go on Thanksgiving holiday!?). I thought the peppers were excellent and fully interchangeable with the tomatoes. The only difference is that I cooked them with the mushrooms to heat them up a bit.

 Also, Ina tells you to “cover each portion” of the arugula with proscuitto slices. Well, I just don’t feel like sitting down to a salad and having to cut my way through it…so I shred the meat with my fingers first. Lazy? No, I prefer industrious. There you have it: the answer to a holiday meal gone over the top and an unusable office.

Warm Mushroom Salad (adapted from Ina Garten’s Warm Mushroom Salad from Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home)

Serves 2 dinner-sized portions

1 pound cremini mushrooms (or whatever mushrooms you have–I had baby portabellas)

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

4 Tablespoons good olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon kosher salt (you may want to reduce this a little because the proscuitto is very salty)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 bunches of fresh arugula, washed and spun dry (yay, you get to use your salad spinner! Awesome!!)

6 slices good Italian proscuitto

2 Tablespoons red or sherry wine vinegar

chunk of parmesean cheese

4 roasted red peppers, roughly chopped

Clean the mushrooms by brushing tops with a clean sponge. Remove and discard the stems and slice the caps 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

In a large saute pan, heat the butter and 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil until bubbly. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper to the pan, and saute for 3 minutes over medium heat, tossing frequently. Reduce the heat to low and saute for another 2 to 3 minutes, until cooked through. During the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the peppers.

Meanwhile, arrange the arugula on 2 plates and cover each with proscuitto (shred with fingers into bite-sized pieces). When the mushrooms and peppers are cooked, add the sherry/red wine vinegar and the remaining 2 Tablespoons of olive oil to the hot pan. Spoon the mushrooms and sauce on top of the proscuitto. With a vegetable peeler, make large shavings of Parmesean cheese and place on top of the hot mushrooms.  

Dinner yesterday was a classic favourite of ours which we hadn’t had in a long while. It’s simply a big deal to us because it symbolizes just how comfortable we are becoming in our normalcy. A good thing since it is now a year since our lives changed completely. For the better or worse only time will tell but I’m a glass is half full kinda gal so it’s obvious to me how things have been up to now.

Of course the dish in question is a pasta dish; as we are enthusiasts all the way. For pizazz we used tri-colour spiral pasta. Honesty calls for me to admit that I couldn’t find the spaghettini but at least now you know there’s an alternative pasta that goods extremely well with the sauce – Bacon and Tomato. Which is simplicity itself…

Bacon and Tomato sauce INGREDIENTS: (1) medium onion sliced, (2) 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic, (3) 3 slices of a scotch bonnet (Habanero pepper), (4) two teaspoons of tomato puree, (5) one tin of tinned tomatoes, (6) 6 slivers of bacon finely  chopped, (7) 2 teaspoons of dried basil, oregano, savoury, (8) 2 dried bay leaves, (9) 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, (10) 2 bouillon vegetable cubes.

METHOD: In a saucepan pour the olive oil heat gently, then add the onions, garlic and scotch bonnet. Once they are glazed add the bacon strips and herbs together. That would be the bay leaves, basil, oregano and savoury. Once bacon begins to sizzle add the bouillon and the tomato paste. Allow to cook for an additional 5 minutes then add the contents of the tinned tomato, proceed to gently mashing the tomatoes with a wooden spoon to make for a lumpy soup effect. Allow to simmer for 10 – 15 minutes. Sauce is ready – serve with pasta of choice!

Okay, again this is another testimony as to why we love pasta sooo much. Quick and easy and always tasty. It takes 20 max 30 minutes for the whole meal to be finished. Unfortunately when it comes to food we are heavily into immediate gratification and pasta with sauce rarely lets a body down. Note to all with simple dishes like this the real clincher is to use fresh and organic as often as possible because only these ingredients send the simplest fare into the stratosphere for your taste buds. Dried herbs are a last ditch attempt to capture the yummy goodness of the real thing but it is a shadow of its old self and dead convenient, truth be known. I’ve had this dish instantly prepared with only the freshest ingredients but with smoked ham and upon one occasion with Proscuitto  instead of bacon and that recipe stands alone. If you can do it the authentic way go ahead but this is our impoverished second best and it still tastes yummy. Oh yeah I almost forgot, when serving don’t forget to grate some fresh parmesan cheese over the sauce for an extra love fest!

I made a pretty kick ass sammich just now. It had proscuitto and tomatos and balsamic vinegar, with lettuce and mozzerella cheese. I put it on this bread I got at Trader Joes–the mysterious Wheat-White Bread. It is a delicious moist bread which, which based on the name of it, is made out of half truths and deception. I would post a picture of it, but I already ate it.

Photo courtesy of Bryan Applegate

In the suburbs of Arlington, outside of a mall that has an As Seen on TV store, in an area which has nothing but fast food and chains like Panera Bread, stands a little spark of culinary magic, in the form of a lipstick-red food cart.

I think The Hogwarts School of Cheesecraft and Pizzadry opened a satellite location.

Pupatella, which is Italian slang for “doll,” is the brainchild of partners and former culinary students Anastasiya Laufenberg and Enzo Algarme.

I order a Neopolitan with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh basil, buffalo mozzarella and proscuitto. Anastasiya, a would-be Hermione Granger, deftly flattens out a piece of dough, spreads my desired toppings on it, and pops it into a tiny but powerful little oven, all in the time it takes to wave a wand.

Photo courtesy of Bryan Applegate

When it emerges, it is transformed into a piping hot, fragrant pie.  The scent of basil warms the crisp autumn air.  Atop a browned and blackened thin crust, sits creamy, melted buffalo mozzarella.  The subtle tomato sauce is like a veil, letting the prosciutto shine.  Instead of baking the paper-thin slices of bacon with the pie, they are gently laid across afterward.

Pupatella.  Prosciutto.  Pizza.  Pie.  Perfection.  At about ten inches, it’s the perfect gourmet lunch for one person.  A regular Margherita is $6, but with my buffalo mozzarella and proscuitto splurge, the bill came to $11.  I would gladly fork over the money again.  Too bad Pupatella’s only open Thursdays and Fridays…

Good Morning! I woke up really early because I was so excited after an incredible day yesterday. I am sitting here having a pumpkin bagel with our honey butter and some hot mulled cider. It really feels and tastes like fall! I’ll post the honey butter recipe on our website because it is so easy and so over the top.

Yesterday we had so much fun! We kicked off holiday shopping with a party at my house. I met wonderful women and was able to catch up briefly with old friends. I want to thank everyone who participated because it was a special day.

I tried out three new recipes. The first was fabulous – persimmons with prosciutto topped with balsamic and olive oil. The second was dried pears topped with pureed tomato, peppers and cream cheese and a dot of the balsamic. The third was goat cheese toasts topped with walnuts and rosemary drizzled with honey.  I’ll post all three on our website and we had some old favorites including; marinated flank steak, sweet potato fries and the baked brie with balsamic.

Sarah Oliver of Sarah Oliver Handbags had her sophisticated and whimsical handbags, knit by the ladies from the Redwoods Senior Community.

Joy Schiffmann of Bunnytail Blankets will be selling her cozy, colorful and weather-resistant baby blankets with endless uses including picnic blankets and capes.

Paula Escher and Barbara Fritz of Strings, Unique Necklaces will be displaying their collection of jewelry made of semi precious stones and pearls.

Donna Miller Casey of Snap To It Photography was showing her photo cards and her matted 5 x 7 and 8 x 10 photos, as well as Paola Casey’s smocked dresses from Chile.

Laurie Rohrbach of Lobird had beautiful printed paper with vintage inspired illustrations and custom stationary.

Suzanne Ingalsbe Interiors sold her hand-painted decorative items. 415-775-7078

Amy Kelly’s Pink Pineapple’s linens 415-812-2685 with Ann Gerard and Stella & Dot fashionable jewelry. 415-286-3692

Cathy Bennett showed her How Fast Time Flies, a “Scrapbooking 2.0″ website which allows you to make 12×12 pages for babies, weddings and other life milestones.

Usha Burns of UB Chic had her fabulous little purses, perfect for an evening out, plus handmade gift tags, bangles and shawls from NY. 415-653-8656

Sara Curran of Polka Dogs had her reversible handcrafted belts from exquisite ribbons…fabulous cosmetic bags and key chains.

Tina Schreiber of Velvet & Tweed had her adorable children’s clothing line, because growing up is a special occasion!

Plumpjack had cool wine accessories, wine club memberships, & goodies for the men in your life.

Cindy Helfrich of C Treasures with her vintage jewelry-embellished memo clip boards. 415-435-3860

Kim Meek of Sausalito Style had her preppy chic ribbon belts.

Alexandra Skillman of Vivanista was here to show off the beautiful website.

Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible!

I actually cooked this dish over a week ago, but didn’t get the chance to blog about it until today.  Hubs and I have been busy trying to clean up our little rental and make it more livable.  Maybe then I won’t want to buy a house so much.  We got a new mirror and entry table for our living room, got rid of some other stuff, and all in all, it looks pretty nice and open now.

Now on to the food.  Giada’s recipes never fail me and this one definitely did not disappoint.  I was looking for a new way to cook chicken and as it turns out, I had all the ingredients on hand to make chicken saltimbocca.  That rarely happens for any dish.

While a bit labor intensive, this dish is fun to make.  And once you get the hang of it, you can run it like an assembly line and speed up the process a bit.

And yes, I used toothpicks from Maggiano’s to secure the chicken, since I couldn’t find regular ones.  I won’t do that again.  The plastic, of course, didn’t hold up very well and I ended up throwing them away after the meal.  Next time, wood toothpicks for sure.

The finished product not only looked beautiful on the plate, but tasted amazing as well.  The swirls of dark green spinach, followed with the thin pink line of prosciutto, the melted cheese, and then surrounded with flavorful white chicken…gorgeous!  By searing the chicken on both sides, you also achieve a contrast in textures from the outer crisp chicken skin to the soft spinach leaves on the inside.

This dish is definitely a winner.  Days after the last of the chicken saltimbocca was gone, my husband was still talking about it.  Guess that means I gotta make it again. 

Chicken Saltimbocca, from Everyday Italian, by Giada de Laurentiis

1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 T. olive oil
1 1/4 t. salt, plus more to taste
1 t. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
6 chicken cutlets (3 ounces each), pounded to flatten evenly
6 paper-thin slices of prosciutto
1/4 c. freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (14-ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 T. fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

Squeeze the frozen spinach to remove all excess water.  In a small bowl, toss the spinach with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Place the chicken cutlets flat on a work surface.  Sprinkle both sides of the chicken cutlet with salt and pepper.  Lay 1 slice of prosciutto on each chicken cutlet.  Spread an even layer of spinach on top of the prosciutto, then sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese.  Beginning at the short taped end of the chicken, roll up each cutlet (as with a jelly roll).  Secure with a toothpick.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the chicken rolls and sear for 2 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown.  Add the broth and lemon juice, bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, approximately 4 minutes (for me, it was more like 10 minutes).

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.  Increase the heat to high and cook the sauce for approximately 5 minutes, until it is reduced to about 2/3 cup.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Serves 6.

The classic Italian pasta with ham and peas usually involves three base ingredients: prosciutto (or other cured Italian ham), cream and fresh peas. The peas are usually sauted in olive oil with the prosciutto and garlic and then finished with fresh cream, herbs and grated parmesan cheese. While this can make an incredibly satisfying pasta dish, for those of us who eschew heavy dairy, there are some nice alternatives. Our version also involves cremini mushrooms and plenty of garlic. The combination of the prosciutto, garlic and mushrooms gently cooked together will impart a subtle woodsy flavor on both the pasta and the peas themselves. If you cannot find very fresh peas, good quality frozen peas will certainly work. 

The ham part of this dish is also important. While you might think of prosciutto as something that is sliced very thin, for this dish you want it diced (about 1/2 inch across). Sometimes places that are known for selling prosciutto such as Italian grocery or deli, will sell bags of diced chunks of the end of the prosciutto – those that they cannot be sliced into long thin slices and sold for $20/lb. and up – and this is exactly what you are looking for. These leftover ends are great for cooking and are usually sold at a significant discount. We bought ours at DiBruno’s here in Philly - just over 4 ounces for about $5 (not bad for prosciutto di Parma that they normally sells for around $24/lb). Like the slices, just a few ounces will go along way and add both delicacy and heft to anything you cook them in. If you can’t get them diced or the deli people behind the counter won’t find a way to accomodate you (they should), then you can use pancetta, whose modest diameter makes for good thick slices which can then be diced.

The choice of pasta is entirely yours but this sort of dish with bits of ham, mushroom and garlic are nice when they have a chance to adhere to a thicker and not quite uniform stout pasta as opposed to a spaghetti. We used a variety called “Caserecce” which are thick two-inch lengths which are bi-folded to create a small length-wise groove, ideal for catching bits of the ham, mushroom or peas (farfalle would also be a good choice). We used – as we often do – the Baronia brand – available at Di Bruno’s for $2.99 for 500 grams (slightly more than a pound). Not many other places carry this brand but it is worth seeking out for the sheer variety of shapes they offer and the slightly coarse texture of the pasta itself which greatly aids the adherence of the sauce or sauce accessories.   

Enjoy this dish as a first or main course with the wine of your choice. Being that this is an Italian classic and it was Columbus Day weekend, we had a simple Chianti (Chianti Colli Senesi, Tunuta Di Trecciano 2007) which was just perfect. We served the pasta with a romaine lettuce salad which was proceeded with some roasted chestnuts (which we bought at the local farmers market – very tasty and fresh). Desert was a variety of chocolates and nuts which we also enjoyed with the Chianti (nice!).

Pasta with Prosciutto, Peas and Mushrooms (serves three to four)

3 tablespoons olive oil 

4-5 ounces of prosciutto, diced

4 cloves garlic, coarsely sliced

1 lb fresh peas (or good quality frozen)

8 oz. cremini mushrooms quartered

4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme (0r fresh chopped parsley or basil)

pinch of hot pepper flakes

1/4 cup of water

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

3/4 lb of pasta

1/2 cup freshly grated romano cheese plus more for passing

1. Place a pot of water to boil to cook pasta.

2. Place the olive oil in another pot, turn the heat on to medium and add the prosciutto and pepper flakes, saute for three minutes and then add the garlic and saute for another three. (And add the pasta to the water when it begins to boil). When the prosciutto begins to brown on the edges add the mushrooms and cook until they give off their liquid, add the peas, thyme sprigs (if using), 1/4 cup of pasta water, salt and pepper and continue to cook until the peas are tender and prosciutto bits are soft (about 12 minutes, less for frozen peas).   

3. Cook and drain pasta according to box directions or preference and toss with the other pot in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup of freshly grated romano cheese and toss. Adjust seasoning if necessary (you can also add a bit of chopped fresh parsley or basil at this point). Serve individual bowls (discard thyme as serving) and pass additional cheese around the table.

This month I’ve decided to rate my top 5 canapés for your events. Canapés are an ideal snack to serve at any kind of event and can range for simple delicacies to elaborate flavour combinations.

Aside from the obvious importance of delicious food, the key to great canapés lies in the presentation. The caterers we work with are constantly coming up with new ways of serving and presenting canapés to keep guests interested.

My top 5 canapés are:

1. Sweet melon sip with Margarita sorbet

This cheeky canapé of sweet melon sip with a Margarita sorbet, served in a shot glass, is a refreshing touch, idea for spring/summer events.

2. Maple fig with prosciutto

A delicate canapé of sweet figs coated in maple syrup, rolled up in prosciutto then coated in a breadcrumb and peanut crust served with a sesame satay sauce.

3. Ice lolly of smokey lapsang souchong tea infused with fresh juices and peel of lemons, oranges and grapefruits

This is a bit of an unusual one, but worth mentioning for that fact I think!

Lapsang souchong is a smoked tea, with the aroma of an oak fire, that originates from the Fujian province of China. It tastes fantastic with citrus fruits and the presentation of this is just delightful!

Ice lolly of smokey lapsang

4. Smoked Highland venison in a savoury pancake

A rich canapé of lightly smoked venison slivers with plum and walnut relish rolled in a savoury pancake… need I say more?

5. Smoked salmon, black pepper, capers and horseradish

A simple collection of flavours presented with style on a chic oriental spoon.

Oriental spoons are ideal for serving all kinds of dishes

What would you like to see in my top 5 next month? Drop me a comment and let me know!

G

Okay first of all, after a lengthy discussion over dinner, I have decided to re-evaluate my ratings system.  It seems that according to my husband Dave, that my rating for the peppers was too high.  It is a 1 through 10 system and I need to use the scale accordingly.   Apparently I was rating them like ice skating and giving too many high marks.  While my technical scores were on the money for the peppers, the score for overall taste was too generous.  I blame the Swiss judge on that one.  So  the new rating for the peppers is a 7.   Moving on…

I have herbs I keep in pots year round.   To clarify to those who see a blue-ish light coming out of my basement during the winter months, I have herbs in my basement…nothing else.  Anyway, my sage plant did pretty well through the winter.  But when I went to the nursery to buy some basil, parsley and other herbs, the sage plant caught my eye.  “I already have one…no….I don’t need another…but it looks so PRETTY.  I shall take it home, JUST IN CASE my other plant decides to spontaneously die”.  Well, no one died and now I have two sage plants.  What really can do you do with sage in the summer?  Not much I have found. 

But I do have one stellar recipe a la Bon Appetit Magazine, Chicken with Asiago, Prosciutto and Sage.  It cooks pretty fast, mainly because you have to pound the living snot of the chicken breasts to make it “wafer thin*”    *my term, not Bon Apps.  After you pound the chicken you just saute it in some butter and then top with the cheese and prosciutto. While it’s in the oven for a few minutes, you deglaze the pan with some white wine and fresh sage and that becomes a lip-smacking sauce that makes the chicken happy.  It’s a tasty dish for company, but realistic enough for a weeknight.  I served it with some steamed broccoli and roasted red and yellow potatoes, all from the Woodstock Farmers Market.   I enjoy that market and the people who sell there, but that’s a story for another blog.

All and all, based upon the newly adapted Rocks rating system, I give this dish a 8 out of 10.  I made the Swiss judge sit this one out.

In the Hole:  Tomato Soup with Fixin’s

We had some friends over for dinner.  They’re not fans of crazy food so I tried to spice up some standard dishes.   I hate crappy food photos but I’m doing it anyway.

Asparagus and potato phyllo tart.

Asparagus/potato/cream/egg/butter/nutmeg/fontina/reggiano/phyllo pastry/S&P.

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Proscuitto-wrapped chicken roulade with pea and mushroom risotto.

Roulade : stuffed with goat cheese/pear/pine nuts/roasted garlic/lemon/parsley/thyme

Risotto: arborio/white wine/stock/onion/garlic/mushroom/petite pea/grana padano/butter

My first extremely successful risotto.  My first two weren’t amazing, but this one was siiingiiiin.

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Cara, the in-house pastry chef made a cool take on peach shortcake.

Homemade biscuits/marinated peaches/fresh whipped cream/icing sugar

A dearth of lunch foods and a desire not to go to the store forced me to be creative with some random fridge items.  Earlier in the week I created a masterpiece pasta by heating up left over angel hair noodles, throwing in some julienned spinach and capers and ricotta into the mix and then topping it all with one of my favorite vices––powdery kraft parmesan cheese.  Yes, the kind they tell you not to use on the food network.  I love it.  The powderiness causes it to stick to everything, and make the entire dish taste approximately ten times more delicious.  I have to hold myself back from basically adding equal parts pasta and equal parts powder parm.  Oh well.

My creativity was improved today because I have a nice stress-free break from work, at least until tuesday.  I finished up a final paper on Thursday and a final project for my independent study on Friday.  I’ve taken the last two weeks off of writing headnotes due to the heavy workload for my second term class.  And the fact that headnotes take a whole lot of time to write.  Anyways, I’m waiting until tuesday to officially start the headnotes again, so I’m just going to relax and enjoy the break.

So… today I headed into the kitchen to make something for our lunch.  In the fridge:  baby spinach (which I love and use all the time), two slices leftover proscuitto, leftover mozzarella that I had already shredded for something else, “carb balance” tortillas (basically a white flour tortilla with a lot of fiber––11 grams.  I love these things because they taste so much better than wheat tortillas, and so I just ignore the little voice in my head that’s wary of anything with fake added fiber).  So I thought I’d combine them into a little flatbread pizza.

Proscuitto has become a favorite meat of mine.  It’s perfect when you crisp it up in the oven for ten-twelve minutes on 375 degrees.  Proscuitto is almost better than bacon, but it’s really just too hard to make a call on which I prefer.  They’re for different types of dishes (bacon for breakfast and proscuitto for lunch or dinner), so I can love both equally without having to make a call.  Really, I can’t imagine how anyone could possibly give up bacon.  I also really like turkey bacon as well, but for different reasons.

Anyways, here’s what I did to make our lunch pizzas:  First I crisped the proscuitto.  While that was in the oven, I put a little olive oil on both sides of the tortilla and spread it around to cover all the surface area.  This step is essential to making the pizza crispy and delicious.  After the proscuitto was done cooking I turned the oven to broil and put the tortillas in to crisp up.  Once one side is crispy I turn it over and do the other side.  Before the other side turns brown, I take the tortillas out and put a ton of chopped spinach on top and cover that with the shredded mozzarella.  I put it back under the broiler until the cheese gets bubbly.  Then once they are cooked, I crumbled the proscuitto on top.

Here’s the final result:

Anyways, I’m very excited about all the possibilities the tortilla has to offer!  For dinner I often do something similar with pepperjack cheese and sauteed garlic, onion, poblano peppers, jalapeno, crimini mushrooms, and corn (although I just put the cheese on the broiler and add the veggies afterwards).  I also do a variation on what my friend Sarah K. calls a “bean thing.”  I mash up black beans (pureed with some lime juice and cumin), add some spinach and cheese, broil, and then add a little hot sauce afterwards.  Now I realize there are so many options for lunches or light dinners!  Anyone have any other ideas?

Photos to come later. Shot lots of ‘em; however, I don’t have a card reader and didn’t bring my cable to d/l them to the ‘puter. So there. You can see ‘em Wednesday.

Last night in Fairhope was nice; did some shopping, bought some jewelry, ate a good shrimp po’boy (minus the bread) and a cup of tomato bisque, washed it down with some raspberry tea on a patio with a view of the bay. Cannot complain about this. The shrimp in the po’boy (or outside it, in this instance) were fresh, fried perfectly, with a crispy, tempura-like batter; the lettuce was shredded, the tomatos, cucumbers and onions sliced paper-thin, and the remoulade was perfection. Came with potato wedges that seemed to have been from a potato that was baked, cut in wedges, floured and fried; right proportion of spice, right proportion of crisp.

Bought a gorgeous shell pendant wrapped in silver wire, a glass pendant, and a jade pendant, and a silver bale to trade them all off and on to.

Got up early this morning and wandered the resort property. Lovely sunrise pics over the marina; picked out the boat I want (the Bon Temps, a trawler-looking thing with twin outboards that should take me wherever I want to go). Then I went and had breakfast in the main resort restaurant, one of the better breakfast buffets I’ve had in recent years.

The usual table of fruit — melons, pineapple, strawberries, grapes, with a bowl of vanilla yogurt, a nice touch. What elevated that portion above the ordinary was the inclusion of a platter of cured meats — proscuitto, several different salamis and mortadellas and so on. Being a proscuitto whore, I loaded up on that and melon.

The hot table was nothing particularly exotic, but what was there was very, very good. Conecuh sausage, an andouille-style cured sausage. Grilled ham, was the most unexceptional thing there — boned and formed into those disconcerting ovals — but it had a good flavor. Home fries. Cheese grits that did not make the mistake of most buffet cheese grits, which is to overdo the cheese; they could’ve done with a little pepper and garlic, though.  No bacon, which was disappointing; no country sausage, but that was OK. Scrambled eggs I passed up, since I had the urge for an over-easy and the nice lady at the omelet station was glad to oblige me. The runny yolk, and some requested cayenne from the waitress, properly perked up the home fries, which had plenty of fried onion mixed in.

There was also a pancake/waffle station and a whole ‘nother table of pastries, but I passed those up, given I’m on the anti-gluten kick.

I suspect that’ll take care of lunch, as well, and I’m counting on going somewhere wonderful for dinner tonight; I want shrimps, and shrimps I shall have, dammit!

So I think I’m off to the beach for a little while before time for the first program at 1 today. Y’all have a good Sunday, and tell mama ‘n ‘em I’ll bring shrimps home.

My dad told me that his mother would make a cake and a pie every week. Oh Grandma, the standards you’ve set are simply too high for me to reach! But perhaps there is something I can aspire to. When I was eight years old my parents took us to my grandmother’s house for some sort of holiday or special dinner. She made macaroni and cheese. Real macaroni and cheese. You know, like not from a blue box. With bread crumbs on top. And real, actual cheese that came from a cow. And what did I do? This Gen-Xer turned her nose up. “No thanks grandma! I’ll take the stuff in the blue box with powdered cheese. Thanks though!”

My poor mother coaxed me to eat it by telling me this was homemade macaroni and cheese, and I should thank my grandmother for taking the time to make it. Bleh.

Like most of us, with age I’ve come to understand there is absolutely no contest between the boxed stuff and the real stuff. And I’m perfectly happy with just simple mac and cheese with pasta and cheese and maybe some onions and mustard powder. But last night I had about ten teeny tiny Sungold tomatoes and some proscuitto left over from this pizza recipe and, heck, who doesn’t like cheese + ham + tomatoes? Nobody in this house. Especially this guy:

So, to get as much flavor out of the tomatoes as possible, I cut them in half, placed them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, sprinkled them with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and let them dry in the oven at 225 for about an hour. Of course, you can do this ahead of time, and put them in the refrigerator. If you have larger tomatoes, you’ll have to dry them longer; but these adorable little guys didn’t need much. For extra flavor, put some unpeeled garlic cloves on the cookie sheet too.

For the macaroni and cheese, I always start with a roux, add milk, mustard powder, bay leaf, and onions, and finally the pasta and cheese. Grandma would be proud. For this recipe, I added the dried tomatoes, and their flavor had really concentrated after drying them. I also added two large slices of proscuitto, torn into small peices.

Making a roux

Add milk, onions, and seasonings

Add the cheese, tomatoes and proscuitto

 

By the way, dried tomatoes are great on pasta, on pizza, or just by themselves. Drying tomatoes is great for reviving icky winter tomatoes that don’t have much flavor. I got the idea from smittenkitchen.com.

Macaroni and Cheese with Dried Sungold Tomatoes and Proscuitto

Fills a small dutch oven or a small casserole dish (if you’re using a 13 x 9 dish, double the recipe. We love mac and cheese in this house, but that’s simply way too much for us).

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 tablespoon powdered mustard

3 cups milk (I use skim, but feel free to go wild and use 2% or !! WHOLE!)

1 small onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 lb pasta (like elbow macaroni or penne)

12 oz of grated cheese that melts well (I always experiment with the cheeses, depending on what I have. Last night I had about a 3 oz mozzerella,  3 oz ricotta*, and about 6 oz of cheddar. My other favorites, if I remember to get them beforehand, are gruyere and fontina)

4 oz grated parmesean to sprinkle on top

1. Heat water (plus dash of salt) in large pot and cook pasta–I usually take it off the heat about 2 minutes earlier than the directions call for since it will continue to cook in the oven.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F.
3. Melt butter in dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat. When melted, add the flour and mustard and whisk continuously for about 5 minutes
4. Add milk, onion, paprika, and bay leaf, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
5. Once milk has thickened a bit, add the all the cheese except for the parmesean
6. Stir in the cooked pasta and mix it well until the cheese is all melted
7. Mix in the proscuitto and tomatoes
8. Sprinkle grated parmesean on top
9. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the mac and cheese is bubbly and browning on top.

*ricotta does not necessarily melt well, but it is a soft cheese and is tasty even if, in the end, it isn’t thoroughly melted.

I promise not all my posts are going to be pasta and/or pizza with lots of cheese (though there is plenty of that!). I’ll get some lighter things on here soon. My rule of thumb is, when I make something heavy, I eat 1/2 a portion and save the rest for leftovers.

I adapted this recipe from one of Giada De Laurentiis’ recipes for chicken saltimbocca. I think turkey has more flavor than the chicken. I have yet to try this dish out so place, let me know how it is, what you did differently, etc! I really think this TURKEY SALTIMBOCCA could be a fantastic dish. Be careful when with the amount of salt you add to the turkey, meats like proscuitto, pancetta, and other meats from the deli have a lot of sodium and cheese as well, parmesan and pecorino especially!

TURKEY SALTIMBOCCA
4 boneless skinless Turkey Breasts, pounded to about ¼-½ inch thickness
Salt and pepper
8 slices proscuitto, paper thin
2 10 boxes chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
4 tbsp olive oil
¾ cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 cups low sodium chicken stock
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Place the flattened turkey breasts on a flat work surface. Sprinkle the turkey with salt and pepper. Lay 2 slice of prosciutto atop each piece of turkey. Season the spinach with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, toss the spinach with 1 tablespoon of oil to coat. Place an even, thin layer of spinach atop the prosciutto slices. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over each. Beginning at the short tapered end, roll up each turkey breast as for a jellyroll. Secure with a toothpick.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the turkey and cook just until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and simmer until the turkey is just cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the turkey to a platter. Simmer the cooking liquid over high heat until it is reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Season the cooking liquid with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove toothpicks from the chicken. Drizzle the reduced cooking liquid over the turkey and serve immediately.