Crespelle con funghi e carne macinata di manzo

09-29-14-crespelle-3

That sounds a lot fancier than hamburger and mushrooms in crepes, but, that's essentially what we had. Crespella is what we - and the French - call a crêpe. The same concept, anyway. The flour-to-egg ratio is a bit different, but the end result is the same - a thin pancake filled with yummy stuff.

I've been thinking about crespella for a few days, now, and finally decided today was the perfect time to whip them up. I was off, I had gone to physical therapy early, and I had grocery-shopped yesterday. I pretty much had a free day...

Now... crêpes or crestella take no time at all to make. Maybe 90 seconds a piece. maybe. It's probably less, but I've never bothered to time it. It helps to have a nice crêpe pan, but a small skillet works in a pinch.

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We've had this pan - it's Calphalon - for 20 years. Victor may have had it longer. I think it was part of the dowry. It is the best damned crespelle pan this side of Rome.

Crespelle

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 to 1 1/4 cup water
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Crack the eggs over the flour and whisk them in. Add salt and whisk in water until smooth.

Heat your pan until hot and brush with melted butter. Pour 1/4 cup batter into the pan and swirl to completely coat. Cook until pale golden and crespelle is dry on top. Place on plate and continue until all the batter has been used.

Fill with your favorite sweet or savory filling.

I do not flip my crespelle or crêpes. I really see no reason to if you cook them until the top is dry.

The filling was a throw-together of ground beef, mushrooms, and onions. I added some beef broth and thickened it with flour.

No-brainer simple.

We came up with a great dessert idea using them and will be trying it out on our house guests in a couple of weeks.

What fun!

 


Summer Salads and Wedding Bells

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Summertime... and the livin' is easy... Oh. Wait. It's Fall. September 28th. Debbie's birthday. And it's 84° outside. I'm more used to weather like this at home than I am here in Pennsylvania. It's been a wild year of strange weather, but, right now, I'll take it. It means another day of salads - something we didn't really have as many of this season as we have in the past.

I think it started because we didn't have a very good tomato crop this year. Bringing scores of tomatoes into the house on a regular basis more or less forces the issue. Fewer tomatoes means more grilling. I don't know why, it just does.

I mentioned Debbie's birthday. It's also her and Mike's 29th anniversary!

29 years ago I had both a cigarette AND champagne in my hand. I was also much thinner and had a red beard. My, how times have changed. 

The wedding was great. I made their wedding cake in my parent's kitchen. I had moved home from Buffalo about a month before and was staying with the folks until my apartment was ready, so the cake was my contribution. To say that it was a challenge would be an understatement. How my mother cooked all of those fabulous meals in that dinky kitchen with no counter space will always be a mystery to me. The only place I had to work was the dining room table - which had to also be utilized for actually eating meals. And did I mention that my mother didn't appreciate people making huge messes in her kitchen?

Plus, I hated the cake. A standard tiered cake has a 4" difference from tier to tier. Top tier 6", next tier 10", next, 14" and a bottom tier of 18".  My bottom tier was 16" because I couldn't get an 18" pan in the oven. It was unbalanced. It looked horrible. To me. I am usually my own worst critic and I was definitely critical of this cake.

No wonder I got drunk at the reception!

It's funny because 29 years later, I now know many ways I could have fixed things - displayed a 3-tiered cake and had the 4th in the kitchen for quick cutting, if necessary. Set the third tier right on the bottom cake without separators to minimize the visual disparity and create a larger base for the remaining tiers. Better yet, found a better kitchen to bake the cakes in the first place.

It's amazing what a bit of age and experience can do.

mike-debbie-wedding-cake

But, cake or no, they've survived two kids and 29 years. A pretty good accomplishment.

Happy Birthday, Deb, and Happy Anniversary to both of you!

:::Edited to add a picture of The Cake that Mike posted:::

 

 


Butternut Squash Soup

 

I just love coming home to dinner on the table! It really is one of life's great luxuries. I cook dinner most nights and really do enjoy it, but if you're cooking, I'm eating. Just show me where to sit.

Victor is a great cook. He's instinctive. He just knows what will work. And this soup definitely worked!

He started by roasting the squash and then adding it to a quart of chicken broth. In went a bit of garlic and then some sour cream, and cayenne pepper.  He then added a can of cannellini beans and pureed it all with an immersion blender. I have said many time to go out and get one. It is indispensable in our house. He let it all simmer away until I walked in the door.

He drizzled the top with some of our Sicilian olive oil we hand-carried back from vacation, and added a dollop of sour cream.

It was awesome!  Rich, creamy, and lots of flavor. Even Nonna had two bowls and there was still enough left for Victor and Nonna to have some for lunch.

It was great!

This weekend is going to be a bit on the warm side so no more soups for a few days, but I can't wait until they're the every-night norm...

Bring on the cooler weather!

 

 


Butternut Squash Risotto

Butternut Squash Risotto

It's officially Fall - I've made our first Butternut Squash Risotto of the season.

This is something I'll make a couple of times over the next few months. I may not write about them all, but I'll be making it. It really is the epitome of the fall season. Roasted squash, rice, sage, garlic... a definite comfort-food and perfect for the changing weather. Not that the weather is changing, much... It's gorgeous weather out there.

Risotto really is one of the easiest things in the world to make. It has a reputation of being difficult or time-consuming. It's neither. You can do it!

Butternut Squash Risotto

  • 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 cup risotto rice (arborio, carnaroli, vialone nano)
  • 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 4 cups hot chicken broth
  • 1 tsp sage
  • salt and pepper

Coat cubed squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on sheet-pan in 425° oven for about 25 minutes. Set aside.

Saute onion in a bit of olive oil and butter in a risotto-style pan. Add garlic and 1 cup rice and continue sauteing until rice is slightly translucent.

Add 1 cup white wine and stir until most of wine is absorbed. Begin adding broth 1 cup at a time, stirring until most has been absorbed before adding the next two.

Add roasted butternut squash and stir in.

Add the final cup and stir and cook until the rice is tender.

Stir in parmesan cheese and sage and taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper, if necessary.

No-brainer cooking at its finest. Active cooking is about 20 minutes.

Give it a try. Your stomach will thank you for it!


Birthday Beef Stew

We always get to choose what we want for our birthday dinner, and Cybil is no exception.

11 years ago, today, she chose us to be her forever family at the Chester County SPCA. I remember driving home after doing the paperwork, paying the fees, promising to get her spayed... She needed a forever name. Her temporary shelter name was Sparkle. She had been picked up as a stray, so no one knew what her first name had been, and Sparkle just wasn't gpoing to cut it.

We bandied a few names around, and all of a sudden we hit upon CYBIL. Cybil Shepherd. She agreed, and that was that.

09-09-14-cybils-birthday
September 9, 2003

She made herself right at home, immediately. We brought her out back to play ball - the basic dog-and-people game - but she never quite grasped the concept of giving the ball back. She never has, either. Ball, to her, is throw me the ball and I'll just keep it, thankyouverymuch. Any sort of "fetch" game has been the same.  She will go run and get whatever it is you throw, but the then decides that you gave it to her so she doesn't have to give it back. Very one-sided games.

But what she lacks in ability to play dog games, she has more than made up for in her general playfulness. She loves to just play.

And then, one day quite recently, we realized she's become an old dog. She still has her spark and still has her playfulness, but she also has some pretty rough arthritis in her hind legs that makes it difficult for her to get up, and, she has renal failure. She's running on about 25% of her kidneys.

Definitely not what we wanted or needed to hear.

09-09-14-cybils-12th-birthday
September 9, 2014

It's been hard watching her the past couple of months and even more difficult as she loses interest in food. She's on a special renal diet she barely likes, so her Vet has told us to go ahead and cook for her. We have medications to help bind phosphorus, so, just about anything is okay - within reason, of course.

So... tonight she got her beef stew!  It's always been one of her favorites and it's actually pretty healthy! She cleaned up her bowl and licked the porcelain clean, wagging her tail all the while. It was a joy to see her eat so well.

Come to think of it, Nonna pretty much cleaned her bowl, as well. Maybe my beef stew has magical properties...

We don't know how many birthdays she has left with us, but we do know that every day is going to be just like a birthday, from here on out. We've spoiled her rotten and she's spoiled us. It really is the least we can do.

And as for a recipe, tonight?!? I don't have a recipe for stew. It's stew. You just make it. I always add a cup or so of coffee because my mother always added a cup or so of coffee. Sometimes I'll add some wine instead of coffee, but it pretty much depends on my mood.

It's stew. You just make it.

And when it's birthday stew, you make a lot so there's plenty of leftovers for the birthday puppy!


Pork Pies

A while back I picked up a package of ground pork at the grocers. As is typical of my shopping habits, I had no plan for it, but knew that I could do something with it, eventually.

Yesterday morning, while going through the freezer to see what I would fix for dinner, I grabbed it to thaw. I had no idea what I was going to make, but I had looked at in the freezer for too long. It was time.

It sat on the counter and I walked by it many times with no ideas formulating. And then all at once, it said Pork Pie.

A dinner was born!

I decided to just wing it with ingredients already in the house - sweet potatoes, onions, spinach, and apples. It worked well. Even Nonna ate a whole one all the while saying it was too much.

I used a standard 6-hole jumbo muffin tin and had enough dough and filling left over to make 2 more. I made a free-form pie with it for Victor's lunch one day this week. Adjust ingredients, accordingly.

Pork Pie

  • Pie dough for 2-crust pie
  • 1 1/2 lbs ground pork
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 2 cups diced sweet potato
  • 1 cup diced apple
  • 2 cups frozen spinach
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-2 tsp rubbed sage
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Make your favorite pie crust and refrigerate. Mine is:

Pie Dough

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/3 cup cake flour
  • 1/2 lb butter, frozen
  • pinch salt
  • 3 tbsp ice water
  • 3 tbsp chilled vodka

Using a food processor, add flour and salt. Pulse to mix.

Chop up frozen butter and add. Pulse until butter is incorporated and mixture looks grainy.

Slowly add ice water and vodka. Pulse until mixed.

Turn out onto counter. Press and form mixture into 2 disks . Wrap in plastic and refrigerate about an hour to allow the flour to properly absorb the water and to relax the gluten.

For the filling:

Saute onion in a bit of olive oil until it begins to become translucent. Add diced sweet potato and apple and continue to cook until they just begin to soften. Remove from heat and add the frozen spinach. It will help quickly cool down the vegetables.

In a large bowl, mix the cooled vegetables with the raw ground pork. Add 2 eggs, the garlic powder, sage, salt, and pepper, and mix well.

Put it all together:

Roll half of the dough out to about an 8" x 24" rectangle - or any shape where you can get 3 good 7"-8" circles of dough.

Butter the muffin tins and place a circle of dough in each one. Fill the dough cups with filling and fold the edges over the top.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 375° about 45 to 55 minutes, or until browned and cooked through.

They were surprisingly fun. A flaky crust and a savory filling were perfect for a cool day.

Methinks I may just have to get some more ground pork!


Sunday Supper Times Three

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Spicy pulled pork atop cheesy, creamy polenta! A kinda Mexico meets Italy via the Bronx. Or something.

I've been jonesin' for polenta for a while, and when Victor came in with the latest haul from the garden this morning, I knew what I was making!

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A few tomatoes and lots of hot peppers. I could make this work. Of course, I only had to make it work for two, because Nonna doesn't like polenta or hot peppers. The polenta is a childhood thing, she says. It reminds her of having to eat cornmeal mush in the orphanage. The peppers are more recent. But, whatever the reason, if we're going to have polenta, I have something else set up for her. Tonight it was her favorite stuffed shells.

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She likes them, it makes her happy, I'm happy, ya know?!?

The pork was easy enough to take care of... I placed a semi-frozen 2-pound boneless pork roll in a pot with water, chipotle powder, garlic, onion, Mexican oregano, salt, and pepper, brought it to a boil, covered it, reduced the heat, and let it simmer for about 3 hours.

I pulled it out of the broth - it was properly falling apart - added chopped tomatoes, bell pepper, and a few hot peppers and let it reduce by half. I then added the shredded pork, mixed it all together, herated it through, and put it atop creamy polenta.

Perfect Polenta

  • 2 cups skim milk
  • 1/2 cup polenta
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup cheese of your choice
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Bring milk to a boil.  Add polenta slowly, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and continue cooking as per package instructions.  Stir in garlic and cheese.

And since I was cooking separate dinners for Nonna and us, i figured I might as well get something going for Cybil, as well.

09-07-14-puppy-burgers

Since she can't eat most of what we're eating, anymore, I have to make sure she has more than that damned prescription diet stuff in her bowl. Two of the burgers, above, were broken up and mixed into elbow macaroni, portioned off, and frozen. We have beef, rice, and vegetables, chicken, rice, and vegetables, and now hamburgers with macaroni sitting in the freezer to augment the special diet.

It's rough being our dog.

Three meals, everyone is full, and everyone is happy.

That really is all it's about.


Stuffed Peppers

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This has not been a stellar year for our backyard garden, but the few things we have gotten have been really good. The tomatoes have been rich and sweet and the peppers have just bounded with flavor - from the sweet bells to the fiery reds - they have been awesome.

And tonight's cubanelle's were no exception.

I had sent Victor a text this morning saying I had forgotten to take anything out of the freezer for dinner, tonight. He texted back saying he would take care of it - and then said he would also have dinner ready when I got home. My clever ruse worked!

We had 4 cubanelle's that were growing bigger by the day - and with the luck we've been having, he decided they were going to be dinner tonight.

And what a treat!

He stuffed them with a spicy ground beef and rice mixture and then baked them in a bit of fresh tomato sauce. When they came out of the oven, he drizzled them with our special reserve Sicilian olive oil.

My stomach was smiling all through dinner - and it's still smiling as I write this. There is something that is just so satisfying about eating things fresh from your own garden. Our yard just isn't set up for growing a lot of things - too many trees and not enough sun - but the few things we have grown have really been a treat.

I doubt I'll be canning anything this year, but we'll definitely enjoy the things we get.

We'll see what tomorrow brings...


Chicken and Sweets

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Victor made a totally awesome hash for dinner last night - complete with perfectly-runny eggs nestled into it. I had just come in from a bit of physical therapy on my shoulder and didn't bother to grab the camera. I grabbed a fork, instead.

But it was so good that I wanted something else all kinda chopped up and sitting on a creamy bed of something... I originally thought polenta, but it takes too long to cook when I need to have dinner on the table soon after getting home. Besides, Nonna doesn't like it so I'd have to cook something else for her, anyway.

Mashed sweet potatoes came to the rescue.

The kinda all chopped up part was easy. I had taken chicken out of the freezer last night, and we had tomatoes and several types of peppers fresh from the garden - along with some broccoli that needed using up asap.

A dinner was born!

For the three of us, I diced two chicken breasts, 1/2 cup onion, 1 bell pepper, 2 cups broccoli, 5 plum tomatoes, and 2 long hot peppers.

I sauteed the onion and pepper, added the chicken and browned it a bit, added a splash of white wine, the broccoli and the tomatoes. I then pulled a bit out for Nonna and added the hot peppers to the pan. Nonna doesn't like spicy.

Meanwhile I boiled the sweet potatoes and mashed them with a bit of butter, sour cream, salt, and pepper.

The mashed went on the plate and the chicken and peppers went on top.

Start-to-finish about 25 minutes.

It was creamy, spicy, comfort-foodish, and just what I wanted.


Ricotta Ravioli with Asparagus Cream

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What do lemon and ricotta ravioli and asparagus have in common? A love of cream, for one... Something I have in common with them, as well!

I've always liked ricotta and Victor makes really good ricotta, but it was being in Sicily and having a huge lunch at a ricotta farm that really sealed the deal. There was just something about being there and seeing it done, seeing the cows where the milk comes from... not to mention I was in love with every bit of food I ate while we were there.

So... when I saw ricotta ravioli with Sicilian lemon, I knew I had to go for it. I mean... these had my name written all over then.

I thought long and hard about the sauce. I wanted something rich to compliment the ravioli, but I also wanted it simple enough not to compete with the delicate lemon and ricotta flavor. Asparagus and heavy cream became the obvious choice.

I normally like thicker asparagus, but I had a pound of really thin pencil asparagus, so I went for it. I sliced them into about 1 1/2" pieces and sauteed them in olive oil with a half-cup of chopped red onion. I added a pint of heavy cream and a pinch of salt and pepper and let it all simmer and thicken.

Into the sauce went 2 packages of cooked ravioli.

Perfection.

No, it is probably not the most health-conscious thing I have made, but it was damned good - and something I'll definitely make, again!

 


Labor Day Indoor Picnic

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As a kid, Labor Day was my all-time-least-favorite holiday. It meant the following day was the first day of school.

I hated school. Really. I was not one of those kids who just couldn't wait to write my dissertation on "What I Did on My Summer Vacation." I was good at it. I got straight A's. I just didn't like it. I started looking for the holidays. First one was Admission Day - usually just a couple of days after school started. Then Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, and Glorious Christmas Vacation.

I lived for my holidays. Hated school.

Growing up, Labor Day was a pretty big deal. There was a huge parade down Market Street. Labor. The people who made things, built things. They were hardworking men and women - mostly men, though - who not only laid the tracks for the streetcars, but also made the rails. The guys who built the skyscrapers with steel made in Pittsburgh and Buffalo. The guys who collected our trash, sold us our groceries, waited on us in restaurants, and changed the linens in our hotels.

Labor was the EveryMan. My father was a union firefighter. I was in what was then Local 44 and Local 2 of the Hotel and Restaurant Workers union. Big Brother was a Stationary Engineer and as Chief Engineer ran some of the largest and most high-profile buildings in San Francisco - and a member of Local 39.

During the ensuing years, I found myself on the management side of the table, but I never took for granted the people who were making it all happen. I fought for tools and supplies so people could actually do their jobs properly. It's amazing what results one can achieve by simply having the right equipment! And I fought layoffs and do more with less. It was inconceivable then, and it's inconceivable today to expect perfect results from two people doing the job of 8 or 10.

In my last job before moving east, I was having a bit of a discussion with my new boss about department needs, budgets, increasing staff - normal corporate BS from a for-profit hospital - and he asked me where my loyalties lay, with my staff or with the corporate office. I smiled and told him they laid with the patients. I got the budget I needed and a staff who routinely went above and beyond. I did end up firing the son of my shop steward, but that's another story for another day...

For the last 20 years or so - probably longer - there has been a real smear-campaign against organised labor. As minimum-wage non-union jobs with no benefits have become the norm and corporations continue to move operations - and headquarters -  overseas to avoid paying decent wages and taxes, the worker has become the scapegoat. Instead of getting mad at the union worker for negotiating a better salary, perhaps more people should follow their lead.

And I really wasn't thinking a treatise on Labor, this evening. My mind really was on how much I hated school. Well... hating school and a great dinner. More of my mind was on the dinner...

I had picked up some porterhouse steaks and planned on making baked beans and potato salad to go along with them. Somewhere along the line I decided I wanted macaroni and cheese, as well. It's a holiday, right?!?  Go for it!

We'll start with Mom's Potato Salad.

09-01-14-moms-potato-salad

Mom's Potato Salad

  • potatoes (russets, yukon gold, red bliss)
  • pickles
  • hard-cooked eggs
  • celery
  • shredded carrots
  • mayonnaise
  • catsup
  • mustard
  • garlic powder
  • salt
  • pepper

Mix and chill.

That is it. Perfect, every time.

Then there were Phoebe's Baked Beans

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These are the only baked beans I ever make.

Phoebe's Baked Beans

  • 1/2  cup minced shallots
  • 1  tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1  tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2  cup tomato puree (I use tomato paste – I never have puree in the house!)
  • 1  tablespoon canola oil
  • 1/4  cup honey
  • 1/4  cup cider vinegar
  • 2  tablespoons molasses
  • 1  tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4  teaspoon salt
  • 2  chipotle chiles, canned in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped
  • 2  (28-ounce) cans baked beans

Preheat oven to 300°.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots; sauté 4 minutes or until golden. Add cumin and garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato puree and oil, and cook for 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add remaining ingredients (except beans.). Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine beans and shallot mixture in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 300° for 1 hour or until thick and bubbly.

And Macaroni and Cheese...

09-01-14-mac-and-cheese

I just made a really small batch - enough for 12, probably - but small compared to what i usually make.

Make a basic white sauce – on the medium/thin side. Add a shot or two of worcestershire sauce and a shot of tabasco. A bit of garlic powder and salt and pepper. Stir in whatever cheeses you have. Tonight I used cheddar and monterey jack. Mix in your cooked elbow macaroni.  Put into a buttered casserole, top with buttered bread crumbs, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly and the crumbs have browned nicely.

Then, of course, the steaks.

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I did a store-bought coffee rub. It was good.

Three of us did not finish those off. We have leftovers. We have leftovers of everything, in fact. Lunches and side dishes are ready for the week.

Labor-saving.