Cannelloni

Back in the '60s when I worked at Pirro's in San Francisco, we made an outrageous chicken cannelloni. Actually, all the food we made there was outrageously good. We made our own meatballs, shredded our own cheese, made fresh dough, pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce,  lasagne... everything was made from scratch. Hell, we even sliced our own mushrooms, salami, and other meats, and ground pork butts to make our own sausage.

I really learned a lot in those years. It was also my first management job, and I made every rookie mistake a new all-powerful manager could conceivably make - from firing a waitress at the beginning of her shift to having a really good cook quit because I was the boss and therefore, right. [I wasn't, surprise, surprise...]

My boss bought a building a few blocks away, and we tore down walls, laid tiles, built an open kitchen, landscaped an outdoor patio, and opened the new store with an expanded menu. My first opening and my first real dealings with the intricacies of the Health Department. He then bought a pizza place in Richmond, CA, started doing everything but paying attention to his businesses, got divorced, got remarried, got divorced, again... In the midst of it all I got into a fight with him one night, went across the street to a restaurant where I eventually ended up working, got stinking drunk, went home, packed up my car, and moved to Portland.

I've never been the impulsive type. Much.

Which leads me back to cannelloni... I don't really remember the recipe we did, other than it had ground chicken and lots of cheese, so I grabbed a copy of Lidia's cook book, checked out her recipe, and then decided to wing it.

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First thing I did was braise a bone-in chicken breast - the lonely one that has been taking up space in the freezer for months - with a couple of end-cut pork chops that have also been taking up valuable freezer space. Into the melange went fresh rosemary, chopped carrot, parsnip, onion, garlic, and celery - and a cup of white wine.

When the meats were done, I took them out and added last night's beans, along with pecorino romano, ricotta, and gorgonzola cheeses.

I used fresh lasagne sheets cut in half, because I didn't feel like making crespelle.

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Into the pan with a cheesy bechamel sauce, and into the oven.

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I made six, we barely finished off two, each, and I had enough filling for at least a dozen more. The filling and leftover pasta squares went into the freezer. I'll do something with the sauce later in the week.

So back to Pirro's... My ex-boss pretty much lost the businesses. My nephew and my niece both worked there during high school, but the place had really gone even farther down hill under the new ownership.

Rumor has it that there's a new owner, again, and they're trying to recreate those glory years! I see that cannelloni is on the menu, too! I'll wager it's not the homemade stuff we created way back when, but I hope they make a go of it!

It really was the best pizza in the city.


Fagioli bianchi con pollo e salsiccia andouille

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It's getting to be time to clean up the garden. We only had a couple months of produce, this year, but we plan on a good 8 or 9 months next year. We're rookies and still have a lot to learn - but we ended up with some fun stuff in spite of our non-planning.

Victor has decided he actually likes beets! Not the canned variety which he continues to eschew, but fresh from the garden. I like them any way they arrive on my plate, but I do agree that fresh is best.

Heck, anything right out of the garden is best. I am so glad we finally extended the yard and had the raised beds put in. We've only been here 15 years - can't rush into anything, ya know...

Today, I pulled the last of the beets, most of the leeks, and chard... I thought they would fit in perfectly with my spin on a La Cucina Italiana recipe I've done in the past. It's black beans in a duck ragu.

I didn't have the duck or the black beans, but I did have white beans, chicken, and andouille sausage - along with beets, chard, and leeks from the garden, so I made up a new version. And, just for the hell of it, I put a fried egg on top.

It was pretty good, if I do say so m'self...

Here's the original recipe - I've actually never followed it completely, but it makes for a great starting off point.

Fagioli Neri con Ragù di Anatra

Black Beans with Duck Ragù
adapted from La Cucina Italiana

  • 1 1/2 cups dried black beans
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 pound boneless duck breast, skin removed and meat cut into 1/2″ cubes
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 celery rib, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1 small rosemary sprig
  • fine sea salt
  • freshly-ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine

Rinse beans, then place in a large saucepan and cover with water by 3 inches.  Soak for 8 hours or overnight.

Add bay leaf and 1 tbsp oil to the saucepan with the beans, then place pan over medium heat and bring liquid to a simmer.  Reduce to a bare simmer and cook until beans are very tender, adding water as necessary to keep beans covered by about 1/2 inch, 30 minutes to 1 hour (depending on freshness of beans).

Reserving 1/2 cup of bean cooking liquid, drain beans.

In a large saucepan, heat butter and remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.  Add duck and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.  Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, rosemary, and generous pinch of salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 6 minutes.  Remove and discard rosemary, then add wine.  Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until wine is evaporated, about 10 minutes.  Add reserved cooking liquid, reduce heat to low, and cook, covered, until duck is tender, about 45 minutes.

Add beans to ragù and cook, covered, until warmed through, about 10 minutes.

And since I was cooking beans for dinner, we needed a loaf of bread, as well...

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This is an Onion and Poppy Seed Bread  from my Mom's Cook Books. I've made it a couple of times in the past but this time I used the leeks from our garden in place of the onions. It came out really, really good. The bread is very much like a stuffed challah. It's buttery and eggy with a light crumb - and the onion and poppy seed really make it unique.

Here's the bread recipe, as well...  This one I follow pretty closely.

Onion Poppy Seed Bread

Bread

  • 1 pkg active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 4 - 4 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
  • 1 cup warm milk
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 egg

Filling

  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
  • 3 tbsp poppy seeds
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 egg, beaten – for glaze

In large mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 2 cups flour, melted butter, milk, sugar, salt, and 1 egg. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. With wooden spoon, stir in enough additional flour to make a stiff dough – about 2 cups. Spoon onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turn to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from draft, until double in bulk, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare filling: In small bowl, combine onion, melted butter or margarine, poppy seeds, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside.

Punch dough down. On lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 20×8-inch rectangle. Cut in half from 8-inch side, forming two 20×4-inch rectangles.  Spread onion filling onto each to within 1/2 inch of edges. Pinch seams to seal forming a long rope. Repeat with remaining dough. Twist the ropes together. On lightly greased baking sheet, form dough into a ring. Cover and let rise, in warm place, free from draft, until double in bulkm about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush dough ring with the remaining egg. Sprinkle with additional poppy seeds and chopped onion, if desired. Bake for 40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped with fingers. Cool slightly on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf, about 28 1-inch slices. About 150 calories per slice.

I usually get by with 4 cups of flour. Your results may vary. I also mix it all in the mixer but I really take my time adding the melted butter to make sure it really incorporates into the dough.

The weather is definitely changing - and that means even more homemade breads... I'm going to have to search Mom's recipes to find something I haven't made. I'm sure there's something there...

And, gee... we have Apple Pie for dessert. Rough night at our house...


Sour Cream Apple Pie, Revisited

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Friends came to visit and brought us some apples. That means making something with apples, since merely eating them is... well... merely eating them...

It's fun seeing folks you haven't seen in years. Bobby and I worked together at Vencor Hospital in San Leandro back in the late '90s and early aught's. (They changed the name of the hospital/corporation that owned it right around the time I was moving east.)

We've kept in touch online for quite a while and a few years back, he married a wonderful woman, Peg - who also became an online friend. The online part became real when we finally got to meet in person. It was love at first sight! We were already old friends by the time we got our first real huh and kiss. Gotta love the internet!

So here I am with apples and a desire to make something fun to commemorate the two who gave them to us...

After careful consideration, I decided the Frog Sour Cream Apple Pie was in order. I made it a couple of years ago and really liked the concept of thinly-slicing the apples instead of cutting them in chunks.

Frog Sour Cream Apple Pie

adapted from Frog Commissary Cookbook

Streusel Topping:

  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 stick cold butter
  • 1/2 cup coarsely-chopped walnuts

Filling:

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 cups thinly-sliced tart apples

Putting it together:

Streusel:

Combine sugars, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Toss with walnuts. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Filling:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 9″ pie plate with pie dough. Mix together flour, sugar, and eggs. Add the sour cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon rind. Mix well.

Stir in the apple slices, making sure to coat them all well. Place in the pie shell and bake in lower third of oven about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with streusel topping. Return pie to oven and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

Cool completely before serving.

Flaky Pastry for Pie Crusts

adapted from Frog Commissary Cookbook

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp lard and butter mix (equal parts of both)
  • 2 tbsp ice water

Place flour, butter, lard, and salt on counter. Cut butter and lard into flour until it is coarse and crumbly. Add 2 tbsp water and mix well. Gather into a ball and roll into a 12″ circle. Place in pie plate and crimp edges.

Before deciding on the pie, I had pulled a piece of puff pastry from the freezer, also forgetting that I had a pie crust I had made the other day for a pumpkin pie. I always make the double crust recipe and had only used one...

So... Instead of making the streusel topping, I just used the puff pastry. It worked out great. In fact, after reading my post about the first pie I made, I think a double crust of any sort might be a better way to go with this one in the future. The streusel was good, but nothing to knock the socks off... And I do like my crust...

The only bad thing about this pie is it makes a really big pie. The filling is solid apples and small pieces are the only way to go - even for me. We're going to be eating pie for several days.

Wait!! Pie for several days?!? Did I say this was bad?!?

I must be delusional.

Thanks, Bobby and Peg!

 

 

 


A Rare Saturday Off

It's rare that I'm off on a Saturday. The normal days off are Sunday and Monday, so when Diane asked me if I could switch with her this weekend, I thought, what the heck... let's see what being off on a different day is like...

The first thing I did was totally screw up Victor's routine. Saturday is his laundry day, house-cleaning day, and general put-around-the-house time. That ended up going right outside the window.

Since I had already screwed up the routine, I decided it was time to do some Saturday Cooking!

We're expecting the first big frost this weekend, so I thought I would start by harvesting some of the greens out back and see about making a pot of soup.

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I am of the school that any and all greens can go into soup. It matters not that we buy these things in little bags marked "salad." They can be cooked. Trust me on this. And cooked, they got!

I had a nice butternut squash that became the base. I peeled, cubed, and roasted it first, and then it went into the soup pot with onions and garlic that I had chopped and browned.

And then went a couple of quarts of chicken stock Victor had made the other day. Whenever I roast a chicken, Victor takes the carcass and makes stock. Half stays in the 'fridge and half goes into the freezer. It's nice to have a man around the house...

I then chopped up the two lettuces and added them - along with a Murasaki sweet potato I had peeled the other day but not used. Waste not, want not, ya know...

After simmering and pureeing it with my immersion blender, I caramelized an onion, added chopped chard, and when it wilted, I added it all to the soup, added a bit of salt and pepper, some shaved cheese and chopped chard for garnish.

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Nonna took a look, made a grimace, and then proceeded to eat her entire bowl. She liked it.

Hot soup calls for bread, so I made a loaf of the Sicilian Focaccia Ragusata we had when we were in Sicily last year. I used a can of Greek eggplant and tomatoes instead of the sliced eggplant in the recipe and it came out great.

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And since I had dinner and bread made, I needed to make dessert - so I made a Pumpkin Pie.

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A couple of weeks ago I made about 16 pints of pumpkin pie filling and canned it all. After making it all and getting it into the jars, I went to see how long I needed to pressure can it and everywhere I looked, it said don't can pumpkin puree. Had I read that prior to making 16 pints of pumpkin pie filling, I wouldn't have done it. But I had already made it and I didn't have room in the freezer for 16 pint jars. So... I canned it anyway. I did it long enough and hot enough that I'm not concerned about it growing anything... Waste not, want not, seconda parte.

The filling is great - just add 2 eggs and a can of evaporated milk.

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Work tomorrow, Monday is my annual physical, and we have a rare out to dinner on Wednesday with friends from California...

The excitement just never stops.

 

 


Beets from the Garden

Our garden out back has been paying off! Victor even ate beets tonight - and liked them!

It is so much fun walking out back and getting things for dinner, but our first harvests have definitely let us know where we need to plant more intelligently.

We're both novices at the whole gardening business. Other than tomatoes and peppers, we haven't done a lot, so, when we got back from vacation in early September, we planted lots of stuff without really thinking out usage. Typical rookie stuff, planting everything at once instead of spreading it out so it doesn't all ripen on the same day. Basic DUH! stuff...

So now we're eating fast - and blanching and freezing some stuff, as well.

But back to those beets...

WOW! What a difference just-picked makes!

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They were so fragrant and crisp.

After washing and peeling, I sliced them into thick slices and - per Victor's request - sauteed them in olive oil and garlic. And a pinch of salt and pepper.

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I just let them cook in the pan and after flipping them splashed in some water to help steam them and tenderize them a bit. The water evaporated away and a luscious caramelized beet was in the pan!

Victor, who has never cared for beets and absolutely loathes pickled beets, said I should pickle some! We don't really have enough to can this time around, but methinks I can get another batch going next year. We shall see...

In the meantime, there's a few more things out there that need picking. I think Saturday is going to be a fun garden dinner!


Victor's Pasta Sauce

When the local Pathmark store was in the process of closing, they had three #10 cans of Cento San Marzano tomatoes discounted 30%. Of course I had to buy them.

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I knew Victor would be making sauce, soon. That soon became today!

It is just so nice to have the smell of sauce wafting through the house... The onions and the garlic... the sausages... the simmering tomatoes in all their Italian glory... It is gastronomic heaven!

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He first purees the tomatoes since they come whole and peeled... and after it simmers, I come in with my trusty pressure canner and put it all into jars for future dinners...

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It would definitely be a chore to do this all by oneself, but with Victor doing the cooking and me doing the canning, it's a breeze.

I got 11 quarts of sauce - enough to get us through to the first of the year - I think. It is sooooooo much better than buying sauce at the grocery store.

I'm a happy guy!

Here's the basic recipe. Multiply, as desired...

Victor's Pasta Sauce

  • 2 - 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes
  • 1 - Sm can tomato paste
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic (or to taste if you like more) chopped fine
  • Olive oil
  • Dried Italian seasonings
  • Hot red pepper flakes (a tsp or more or less to taste)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Red wine (always cook with a decent wine, never “cooking” wine) about a cup or cup and a half
  • Meat – such as Italian sausage or some nice beef or pork ribs or pork chops

Ok…I ALWAYS make my sauce with meat, so start with a deep, heavy pot and add about 3-4 TBS of olive oil. On high heat, once the oil is hot, start frying the sausage or pork, Let the meat get good and caramelized although you don’t have to cook it all the way through because you’ll add it back to the sauce to finish. Once the meat is browned take it out of the pot, put it on a plate and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium and sauté the tomato paste for a couple of minutes until it begins to “melt”. Add the chopped garlic and sauté with the tomato paste for just a minute (no longer or it will burn). Then add about a cup of the red wine and deglaze the pan with it, scrapping up all the good bits that stuck to the bottom when cooking the meat.

When the wine reduces by about ½ start adding the canned tomatoes.  Add one can of hot water for every can of tomatoes you use.

Now start adding the dried Italian seasonings.  I eyeball it but I would guess a good 2 TBS is fine.  Add about another ½ cup of red wine, with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir everything into the sauce. It will be very thin at this point.

Add back the cooked meat. Now this is important….at the bottom of the plate you let the meat rest on will be some of the oil and juices that seeped out. Pour that back into the pot. It has a lot of flavor in it.

Bring the sauce back to a boil then turn the heat down low and let it simmer for at least 1 and a half hours, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes to keep it from burning. It should reduce by about a third or a little less and get thicker. The meat will absorb the sauce and get very tender.

When I make meatballs, I don’t fry them, I bake them on a sheet pan. When I do, I add them to the simmering sauce when they’re done so they also absorb the flavor.

I usually make the sauce early in the day and after it’s done, just let it sit on the stove until dinner then I re-heat it. This should make enough sauce for a couple of dinners or good sized lasagna.


Apple Roses

 

Apple Roses have popped up on my Facebook feed a few times in the last couple of weeks, so I thought it was time to try them, myself.

They are just as easy as the video below states - and really, really good!

I used half apples - thanks Mike and Barbara - and half pears, and used seedless Marionberry jam with some and peach-apricot jam with the others. They all came out pretty stellar.

These really are easy to do and really impressive! They'll be great for a Thanksgiving dessert table!