Bean Soup
I did a bit of cleaning out the cabinets last night while making my shopping list for today. My shopping list is always for the things I actually need. Whilst shopping, I will also peruse the aisles and pick up things I want. Things that are fresh, new, or otherwise just catch my eye and my imagination.
I've always been a lover of beans and would make a pot regularly. Alas, when Nonna moved in, she told me she doesn't really care for beans, so my bean days kinda stopped. My bean-buying, however, didn't. I'd still pick up a bag of dried beans now and again - and toss them up to the top shelf with the rest of them. At one point I had five pounds of beans up there. After today, I'm down to one. I've been sneaking them into soups and other dishes, but with fresh ham bones in the house, I wanted good ol' fashioned Bean Soup.
So I made it!
I soak my beans overnight. I get a better result than doing a quick boil - especially when I'm using beans of questionable age - so last night a bag of beans went into a bowl, covered with water. I have actually brined beans from an idea from America's Test Kitchen, but wasn't overly impressed. Your mileage may vary.
Today, I drained them and placed them into a pot with a nice, meaty ham bone and covered it all with water. I added a bit of garlic powder, but that was it for seasonings.
I brought it all to a boil and then brought it down to a simmer and let it go for about 2 hours uncovered. There was plenty of water so I didn't have to worry about them boiling dry - plus, I was in and out of the kitchen.
When they were pretty much done and tender, I pulled out the bone, shredded the meat, and added it back in. I then added some ancho chili powder, chipotle powder, garlic and onion powders, along with a bit of salt and pepper.
That was it. Simple but with lots of flavor.
I made Nonna manicotti.
Spring Salads
Springtime. Salad. Two wonderful words.
It was actually warm, today, after the rain. I came home to windows open and fresh air in the house. What a treat! Nonna was in her room with the heat blasting and covered in her electric throw., but the rest of the house was cool and comfortable. A treat, indeed!
Since I worked until 6 - past Nonna's dinner time - Victor fed her and he made us a leisurely dinner of teriyaki chicken salads. By the time mid-March hits, I'm really starting to crave greens. We still eat pretty seasonally, and fall and winter are casseroles and soups and the like. Spring and summer are salads and seasonal fruits and vegetables.
We're also having a bit of a weight-loss challenge at work and today was the first weigh-in. I didn't gain anything over the week but lost less than a full pound. Since I didn't really pay any attention to it until 2 days ago, I'll take it as a success. But this should help me get on track.
You'll note the hard-cooked eggs on the plate. They were Victor's second attempt at cooking eggs, today. Here's his story about the first batch:
I preformed a science experiment in my kitchen this morning. It’s simple and any of you can do it.
All I did was take six raw eggs and put them in a pot of water. I placed a lid on the pot and turned the burner up to high. Now – this is the important part.
I took a one hour conference call.
Here are the facts as I documented them:
- Eggs in boiling water will be hard in approximately 4 or 5 minutes or less.
- Boiling water evaporates.
- Evaporated water turns to steam
- Everything under the lid in the pot, the eggs and steam – begin to build up pressure.
- After about 1 hour the pressure build up is so strong the eggs explode and the lid of the pot is sent flying about 6 feet across the room.
- Exploding eggs rise straight in the air AND at about a 45 degree angle. This allows the exploding eggs to simultaneously cover the bottom the microwave/exhaust over the stove and the counter, backsplash and upper cabinets in a lovely coating of yellow and white flecks of exploded egg matter.
I’m not sure which laws of physics I proved (or broke) but I think steam and exploding eggs might make a good rocket propellant.
I tried to take photos but it just didn’t do it justice. (It’s been one of those weeks)
The kitchen was pristine when I arrived home and the salad was perfection.
What more can I say?!?
Zeppoles
One of the fun things about being married to an Italian is the recipes with the funny names. One of the fun things about having friends who are Italian is even more recipes with funny names - and links to websites with even more.
Our friend Judy turned us on to a site called Everybody Loves Italian and Victor has been having a blast reliving a lot of the recipes of his youth. Victor laughs and says he has the only Italian mother who didn't cook. There's a reason, though... She was number 10 of 11 kids and her older sisters did it all. The cookies and whatnot came from Aunt Tessie or Aunt Emma. You don't reinvent the wheel in an Italian family. The one who knows how to make something the best is the one who makes it. And if that something happens to be a signature dish, you really don't make it when they're around for fear of possibly showing them up. A Big Mistake.
Whether Zeppoles were in the family repertoire is questionable, but Aunt Emma, especially, used to make several different sweet and savory fritter-type items, so these could be a variation on one of her themes. Or not. it doesn't really matter, though, because he just made them and they are fantastic! They evoked a childhood memory and that's what's important. Well... that, and the fact that they're freakin' delicious. They're also easy to make, so... No excuses. Head into the kitchen and make some, now!
This recipe is adapted from Everybody Loves Italian.
Zeppoles
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- dash of salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- zest and juice of 1 medium lemon
- neutral oil for frying
- powdered sugar for dusting
Heat oil 2" deep to 375° in a pan wide enough to fry several zeppole without crowding.
Mix two eggs into mixing bowl. Add all dry ingredients and follow with ricotta, vanilla, lemon juice and zest. Quickly mix until combined. Batter will be thick.
Using a 1 tbsp scoop or spoon, carefully drop into the hot oil, being careful not to let them touch. Turn them for even browning and cook about 3 minutes or until cooked through.
Drain on paper towels.
When still warm but cool enough to handle. sieve powdered sugar over them and consume!
They really did come out great. Very light and airy, not very sweet, and with a nice lemon hint. We figure there are lots of things we can do with these, from cinnamon in the batter to different liqueurs.
Methinks we shall have some fun with these!
Bacon and Tomato Swirl Bread
It's snowing outside, so I stayed home from work, today. I actually had every intention of going in, but when I went out at 6:30am to check things out, our driveway and street were sheets of ice, and my neighbor across the street had her car stuck in the middle of the street. A few pushes and grunts got her back into her driveway, but it set the tone for my drive down the hill to work. Down the hill. A winding, 2-lane road-hill.
At 23, I would have jumped into the car and slalomed into work. At almost 63, I'm no longer quite as reckless. The mind is willing but the recovery takes so much longer...
So... with a free day off and nowhere to go, I decided it was time for some baking. I'm still working on getting my mom's cook books together and one of the recipes I have rediscovered is for a Bacon and Tomato Swirl bread. It's another one that is extremely easy and totally rocks. The recipe makes 2 loaves or 12 buns. Or, in my case, one loaf and 6 buns.
Bacon and Tomato. In bread. I mean, really. How could one resist? Did I mention it was an easy dough to make?
Naturally, I had all the ingredients necessary, so I set to work.
I didn't think to take pictures of the making of the bread and rolls, but suffice to say that it's pretty effortless.
The rolls came out great, albeit a bit irregularly shaped.
But boy-oh-boy were they good!
Really light with lots and lots of flavor. I see more of these in our future. They held together perfectly and would definitely lend themselves to any number of fillings.
I haven't sliced into the loaf, yet. I'm saving it for dinner...
As is typical of me, I more-or-less followed the recipe. The key to this one is watching how much flour goes in - and that is going to be determined by the amount of bacon fat and liquid in your tomatoes. I used just under 4 cups of flour and had a relatively soft dough.
And since I made buns, I decided that I needed to grill hamburgers for lunch.
Damn the snow!
The grill is covered.
Cold, but covered. We do grill year-round, especially during snow-storms. It's kinda a rule.
The burgers were excellent. I loaded mine up with sprouts. Victor and Nonna won't touch them, but I love 'em.
As for the bread... the recipe calls for "1 can (1 pound) tomatoes." I used a 14 1/2 oz can of diced tomatoes in juice. Worked just fine.
Tilapia with Chile Lime Butter
Yes, I've been cooking. No, I haven't been writing about it. It seems like 99.999% of the things I've been cooking, lately, are things I've cooked a bazillion timers before. Nothing new. Nothing to really write about.
Talk about a culinary rut!
So... when I was at the store the other day and saw some fresh tilapia, I grabbed it. I generally don't buy farmed fish, but there's pretty much no such thing as wild tilapia, anymore. It's all farmed. And I needed something different that Nonna would eat.
Farmed tilapia, it is.
I had seen a recipe in Bon Appetit for Tilapia with Chile Lime Butter, so I decided a variation on a theme was in order. I had lots of peppers I was frying up so I grabbed a couple and chopped them nice and fine.
Next was the fish. Into a skillet with just a bit of olive oil and a pinch of minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Lightly sauteed.
To the chopped chiles I added the huice of 1 lime and the grated rind.
I mixed it all into a half-cube of butter and made it all nice and creamy.
When the fish was done, I added a dollop on top to melt nicely all over the plate.
Slightly spicy and really limey. It was perfect.
I put some of it on top of the asparagus and lapped it up with the rice, too.
All-in-all, a successful dinner.
Mom's Cook Books
We're heading off to San Francisco on Friday. I had rather hoped to have my cook book project finished before we went, but it ain't gonna happen.
When my mom gave me her cook books 20-whatever years ago, I scanned them and made copies for the siblings. When I started the recipe website, it was one of the first things that went online. It's a great resource and I have a lot of fun going through the recipes and finding strange concoctions from years past. Only problem has been it's not searchable. The pages are all .jpg's with numerous recipes on them. The best I've been able to do is separate the recipes by category and then link the recipe title to the corresponding page. Not very user-friendly because you need to scroll through the complete recipe index to find something, click on it, and then find it on the page.
So... I've been busy cutting every recipe and making it its own .jpg and putting it on its own page, and tagging each page so - one day - they'll be better-organized and searchable.
There's only a bit over a thousand recipes...
While it is definitely taking a lot of time, I must admit it's been a blast rolling down Memory Lane! I've been getting great ideas for future meals, ideas for work, and even found the perfect recipe for sister-in-law Joanna's birthday last week!
But... a month after I started, I'm barely a third of the way through creating the pages... I'm making progress, but... not nearly fast enough to suit me. Patience is not one of my more readily-accessible virtues, so I'll dig deep and try to keep it all in perspective. Mom didn't collect them all overnight. I'm not going to get them all redone overnight.
The cover design was created by my father, the fireman. An artist, he was not, but he was a damned good cook in his own right. His veal cutlets with dirty potatoes were legendary, and his eggs fried in bacon grease until the edges were crispy... gastronomic heaven on earth.
Hopefully, the books will be completed by Easter... And y'all will be the first to know when it's done!
In the meantime, click on the link above and see what sort of things are in there... Dinner is only a click away!
Goodbye, Cybil Shepherd
We said goodbye to our little girl, this morning. A tearful, gut-wrenching goodbye.
We're not sure when Cybil Shepherd Dineen Martorano was born, but she adopted us on September 9, 2003. She was maybe a year old.
She had been picked up as a stray, was underweight, and we completely missed her the first time we walked through the Chester County SPCA. She was curled up in a ball in the back of her cage - shivering. The most pathetic thing you had ever seen in your life.
We brought her outside to a little meet-and-greet area they have. Victor had her on a leash and he sat on a bench. I sat on the curb directly across from them. She came over, laid her head in my lap, and that was that. We filled out the adoption papers and she came home.
The next 11 1/2 years were full of fun and adventure. She traveled all over with us and was even Best Dog at our wedding. For 11 1/2 years she was an integral part of our lives. Spoiled rotten on the one hand, but the most gentle, loving, and giving dog on the planet.
Somehow, that scrawny runt we brought home that day got old. Well... her body got old. Mentally, she was still a puppy - and that was the most difficult part for us to deal with. She wanted to run in the snow, chase rabbits, and jump into the car to go for a ride, but her body just said no. We didn't notice much of a change, at first - heck, we don't run in the snow as fast as we used to, either - but we started catching on when she wasn't all that excited about going for a ride in the car. It had been just about her favorite thing to do and would get all wound up when you just mentioned the word car. It was getting more difficult for her to jump into the back seat and she was a smart dog.
We called her Parnelli Puppy because she was f-a-s-t. The dog could run like a banshee. As the years went on, she'd still get up speed, but it wasn't as fast and it wasn't sustained. I can totally relate. She was happy to watch the rabbits - and bark like hell at them - and save the running for romps in the front yard - or over to our neighbor, Neil, who would get down on the grass and wrestle with her. As I said, she was a smart dog.
And then, this past summer, Victor noticed a huge increase in her water intake. We took her to the Vet and found out she had renal failure and was running on about 25% of her kidneys. They prescribed a renal diet that she refused to eat. Our dog - the dog who would eat anything and everything - stopped eating. She was listless and lethargic. We though the time had come. So... the Vet said go ahead and cook for her. I worked in Nutrition and Dietetics. I wrote renal diets. We moved her bowls from the kitchen into the living room so she would have better - and safer - access to her food and water. It had the double bonus of giving Nonna more room to get by in her walker. Piece of cake.
For a month or so, it was. She ate everything I made. And then she stopped eating it, as well. Lazarus had risen from the grave only to slide back down, again. And, she had a noticeable limp, favoring her right hindquarter. Back to the Vet and not an overly-optimistic prognosis. I brought home some canned dog food from work - and she scarfed it up. She started getting feisty, again, started getting active, again. Started scooching us like she used to do. Lazarus had risen, yet, again.
Her kidneys seemed to level out, but her legs got worse. She started avoiding anything but carpeted floors because she would lose her balance. I have to tell you that it's actually kinda funny to see a dog just kinda plop over the first time you see it. It gets painful to see on a regular basis.
And then the day came when she couldn't get back up, yet she dragged herself outside to pee, because she refused to pee in the house. But she couldn't get herself back in over the threshold without help.
The Vet had told us that Cybil would let us know when it was time to go. And she told us, this morning. We were with her and held her as she went to sleep - to dream of chasing rabbits and burrowing in the snow.
There is a hole in my heart that cannot be described, yet, my heart is so full of the love she gave us for so many years.
Dammit, I miss you, Cybil Shepherd.
Chicken in Puff Pastry
I had chicken cutlets, I had bacon, I had puff pastry. I had dinner!
This was seriously a clean-out-the-refrigerator meal, tonight. Little pieces of this and that, combined into a pretty tasty dinner.
It started off with about 2/3 lb thin-sliced chicken breast. Next was 5 slices of bacon. Bacon and chicken are a natural combination. Add a bit of onion, garlic, bell pepper, and tomato, and it's a downright party.
I chopped up the bacon and threw it into a skillet. After it started cooking up a bit, I added the onions. The smell of bacon and onions cooking together is gastronomic heaven. Add a bit of garlic, and it is over the top perfection.
Into that went a bit of bell pepper and chopped tomato. Salt & pepper.
I cooked off the chicken breasts in the same skillet and let everything cool.
I had 2 sheets of puff pastry, so I cut them in half and centered about a half-cup of shredded cheese on three of the pieces. I next split the bacon mixture into thirds - one part on top of the cheese. Finally, the chicken. Since it was small cutlets, I just added two pieces per bundle. The last half of puff pastry I cut into thirds and just added it to the top of each. Waste not, want not...
I wrapped them up end-to end and crimped the sides with a fork. Then onto a sheetpan and into a 420° oven for 20 minutes.
Some parsley buttered noodles - just a few - finished the plate.
None of us cleaned our plates. It was just too much! I really could have cut one in half. The good news is we have lunch for tomorrow.
It really was a fun dish and one that is rife with possibilities. I just have to try and remember portion size next time...
Gumbo and Hot Sauce
I have to admit I really do lead a charmed life. I mean... How many people have a container of homemade gumbo given to them at work? Count me as being the one!
One of the fun things about my job is that I talk about food all day long. And bein' that I've now been there over 13 years, I've gotten to know some pretty fun people. I've seen people meet, get married, have kids, and send the kids off to school. Back in my little corner of the store, it's like a mini-version of Cheers.
What's fun are the folks I get to see on a regular basis. We catch up on the basics and talk inevitably falls back to what we've been cooking, lately.
One such conversation led to turkeys and turkey gumbo.
First time I ever had gumbo was in Uncle Sam's Yacht Club. It was pretty amazing that the US Navy could come up with a damned good gumbo that fed 5000 people. The secret, of course, was the Louisiana cooks on the boat weren't following an Armed Forced Recipe Card.
But fast-forward past gumbos made with my old roommate and former brother-in-law Tim Beech and bastardized versions made with so much filé powder that they couldn't be scraped from the pot, to Saturday afternoon...
In walk two of my more favorite customers - sans kids, but with a tupperware container of turkey gumbo they had made - along with a bottle of Sauce Boss Liquid Summer hot sauce!!
I was psyched! Really psyched!
We all know I love food. I especially love food that folks make from scratch - that they love making. And sharing! We had talked about the gumbo, and here it was - in my own little hands!
Sunday I baked a loaf of bread, and Sunday night, I cooked up some rice, heated the gumbo, and feasted! It was great. Every single drop. Even Nonna licked her plate clean! It was rich, flavorful, lots of different flavors and textures... It made my Yankee heart smile.
And the hot sauce is really good, as well. it's made by a Guitar-playin' Gumbo-maker named Bill Wharton - The Sauce Boss. Heat, but with flavor. Unusual in a hot sauce. I can see a few different uses for this.
I don't have the recipe to share, but suffice to say, it was excellent.
Thanks for a great meal!
Lentil Soup
When Providence hands you a ham bone, have Victor make Lentil Soup. Well... that's what I do. You, of course, need to find your own Victor to make your soup - or make it yourself.
I'm sorry... It's not that I don't share, it's just that timing and travel and all that can get in the way of things. You know how it is...
But we did have a most excellent ham bone and whilst I was working, Victor was simmering away...
I had frozen a loaf of the crusty bread I had made a few days ago just for this. And it was the perfect accompaniment.
Lentil Soup
- 1 meaty ham bone
- 4 quarts water
- 3 cups lentils
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Tabasco
- Salt and pepper
Chop and saute onion in soup pot. When translucent, add water, bay leaves, and ham bone. Bring to boil and then simmer, uncovered, about an hour or so.
Remove bone and let cool. Cut or pull meat from bone and set aside to add to soup.
Add lentils, carrots, and celery. Cook about 20 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are tender. Add ham and simmer another 10 minutes, or so.
Add cayenne, Tabasco, and salt and pepper, to taste.
Serve with crusty bread and butter.
He used small lentils du puy but brown lentils will work just fine. Red or yellow lentils will fall apart, so, unless you want a stew, stick with a firmer lentil.
Leftovers are even better than the first time around...
Ham and Eggs
Our first home-cooked breakfast of 2015 consisted of organic free-range eggs cooked in imported Irish butter, ham flown in from Oklahoma, and tater tots.
Yep. Tater tots. Or, rather, their non-national-brand store equivalent. I suppose I'm committing the ultimate in gastronomic faux pas, but... such is life. I didn't feel like frying potatoes.
This is the fun of eating at our house... Meals are an amalgamation of foods that work together because we say they do. It's a bit of no-rules cookery. Like spreading homemade blueberry peach jam and imported Sicilian blood orange marmalade on store-bought toasted wheat bread. It works. Well, in fact.
The star of the meal, of course, was the ham. And boy, did it taste good wrapped in toast and dipped in runny egg yolks. When all of those flavors and textures get together... well... it's one of life's ultimate joys. Simple things can bring the biggest smiles - and a belch, if you eat it too fast!
Breakfast really is one of my favorite meals - and it is probably the messiest meal to cook. For me, anyway... It takes lots of pans to do it up right, not to mention the accoutrements... It's also one of the most difficult to cook - as a cook. My time at the Old Post Office in Carnelian Bay on Tahoe's North Shore taught me that one. Cooks have one definition of what something like an over-easy egg is - but the general public has a totally different idea. And don't even get me started on bacon... There are just so many variables and so many personal ideas of what they all should be.
I quit that job on Mother's Day, 1976. After we closed. I stuck it out, although I really wanted to walk early in the day. I still remember it almost 39 years later. It was not pretty.
Almost 39 years later, I get to cook breakfast the way I want to - and to mix tater tots with organic eggs and imported-from-Oklahoma ham, if I want to.
It's fun being a rebel.
New Year Ham
I've had city hams and country hams. Spiral cut and out of a can. Bone-in, bone-out, Virginia hams, Kentucky hams, and Honeybaked hams. Brown County Indiana hams, Niman Ranch hams, Cure 81 hams, and ham from Polyface Farm. Sliced hams, deli hams, hot hams, cold hams, picnic hams, deviled hams, ham salads, and just about every other kind of ham there is to consume.
Tonight, I had the perfect ham - and it came from Oklahoma. Yes, Oklahoma. Home of Robertson's Ham. So perfect, that I'm going to order one for Easter. And maybe my birthday.
The ham was a gift from our friends, Ann & Julie.
Did I mention I liked it?!?
The flavor was unbelievably rich. It had the perfect texture, the perfect moistness. I didn't do a thing to it. Nothing.
I wrapped it in foil and placed it in a 325° oven for an hour and 15 minutes.
It came out perfect. I know I've kinda overused that word, tonight, but...
It really was.
I've never been a huge-huge fan of spiral cut hams. I've bought them for the convenience, because they can be easy to slice when they're cut right, but this really has made me see the light. The little extra effort in cutting is worth the immense flavor you get when the ham isn't dried out from being cut in advance. And, of course, when it's the perfect ham to begin with.
And I'm totally embarrassed about having canned green beans on the plate! Really... I thought I had broccoli in the 'fridge. I forgot I used it. I buy canned vegetables for Nonna because she doesn't like her vegetables to have any crunch.
Oh well... At least the mashed sweet potatoes were fresh. Just added salt, pepper, and a pat of butter.
I'm going to go in and bone the rest of the ham and set the bone aside for Victor to make some Lentil Soup. I think it would be the perfect dinner for Saturday - along with that second loaf of bread I baked, today!
Ann & Julie... Thank you, thank you, thank you! You've just made the holidays easier for years to come!