Roasted Tomatoes
We were down at the shore this past weekend celebrating birthdays - my 60th and my nephews 16th. We were in Point Pleasant - way north of Atlantic City and only 11 miles south of Asbury Park.
I have some pretty foggy memories of Asbury Park circa 1978. I was living in Tahoe and one of my roommates was an east coast boy. We flew east for a 2-week vacation that included Memorial Day weekend at a "little summer home" in Cape May. But before we could get to Cape May, we had to stop off and see the family of another friend of ours - who owned a bar in Asbury Park. It was named Killeen's and was near the boardwalk, somewhere. It may have been across the street. Alas, I was only there once, and when I left, I was quite drunk. Pat Killeen's sister, Colleen - I think - was bartending, and when she learned we were friends of Pat's... well... let us just say that the liquor flowed like liquor. We didn't pay a cent and got totally trashed - before noon.
We then drove the 110 miles to Cape May. It was also the weekend Resorts opened in Atlantic City - the first casino. There were no worries of speeding. It was a great introduction to New Jersey and The Jersey Shore.
But back to Point Pleasant...
There's an Italian specialty store in Point Pleasant named Joe Leone's that has some pretty remarkable - and rather expensive - gastronomic delights. Lots of fresh breads, cheeses and meats, but also freshly-prepared foods that included meatballs, cutlets, eggplant... tons of stuff. I picked up a few things - Locatelli with peppercorns, some "00" flour, a bag of Polenta Puffs (don't ask) and some sesame cookies for Victor's mom.
One thing we saw - and didn't buy - was roasted tomatoes. They really looked good, but they were selling for more than I wanted to pay. Besides, we both knew we could make them at home with no problem.
And today, Victor did just that!
The tomatoes at Joe Lone's were thick-sliced beefsteaks, but we had roma tomatoes from our garden, so we used those. He did some sliced in rings and some sliced lengthwise and seeded.
Roasted Tomatoes
- tomatoes
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- garlic cloves, minced
- sugar
- salt
- pepper
Preheat oven to 450°.
Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper. Add a pinch of fresh herbs, if you want.
Roast about 30 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to caramelize.
No measurements because it will depend on how many tomatoes you're doing. Drizzle means just that. No need to soak anything.
A bit of sugar - just a bit - helps to create that kinda gooey caramelly texture and flavor. Even a sweet tomato will benefit from it. And don't be afraid of the garlic. Use a lot.
They went excellently with some hot Italian sausage, imported provolone cheese, and a loaf of fresh bread.
I see more of these in our future...
Bruschetta and Pizza
We had bread for dinner, tonight.
Both were topped with tomato, cheese, and meat. The similarity ended there.
The bruschetta was a baguette topped with a homegrown tomato slice, a slice of white stilton with peaches and cream, and a slice of speck - popped into a hot oven for about 4 minutes. The cheese is like dessert. it is sweet and creamy and played against the saltiness of the speck very well.
And then we had pizza.
I cheated - I bought pizza dough. But I did make my own sauce. A 39¢ can of tomato sauce mixed with some Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and crushed red peppers. It's pretty much the pizza sauce I made when I worked at Pirro's, lo, these many years ago. My goodness. I left there in 1974. How many lifetimes ago was that?!? I had just turned 22 when I quit. Tomorrow I'm going to be 60. It's been several lifetimes. Trust me.
One thing I haven't forgotten how to do in all of the ensuing years is how to hand-spin a pizza. It really isn't as difficult as people think - although most cooking isn't as difficult as people think.
Back to being barely 22... I got into a fight with Barry - who was the owner. I was the manager and pretty much running the place. I walked across the street to the Riviera Dinner House - a restaurant where I ended up working about a year later - had more than a few cocktails, went home, packed up my car, and moved to Portland, Oregon. That night. I've never been the impulsive type.
My parents weren't exactly thrilled, but they didn't try to talk me out of it, either. Six months later, the owner of the plant store next to Pirro's convinced me to move back to San Francisco and help her open a new place in Jack London Village in Oakland. When Claudia went bust, Gracie, from the Riviera, hired me as a cook. From The Riviera to the Red Chimney and Val's. They were owned by the brothers who owned the Blue Crystal - the bar up the street from Pirros - and where I had been illegally drinking since I was 17. It was nice being in demand. By 24, I was living at Lake Tahoe with a friend from the pizza parlor days...
Whew! And these were some of my quieter years.....
Pork Cutlets with Walnuts, Raisins, and Speck
I just love La Cucina Italiana. Every issue has something in it that I just need to make. It's especially good because I just can't seen to get Italy out of my mind. It really was the best vacation, ever. I'd head back tonight if I could, but though we can't go tonight, we are going for our 20th Anniversary in 2014. I'm starting to put the pennies in the piggy bank. I want to go to Sicily and bask in the Mediterranean, this time.
The latest issue had a recipe for pork cutlets with pine nuts and prosciutto. I didn't have pine nuts (???) and had some great speck, so the recipe was adapted to fit my ingredients. It's how I cook.
Pork Cutlets with Walnuts, Raisins, and Speck
(adapted from La Cucina Italiana.)
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins, plumped and drained
- 1 1/2 tablespoons capers
- 1 1/2 cups finely grated Grana Padano cheese
- 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 6 small pork cutlets, pounded
- 6 thin slices speck
Heat oven to 475º. Finely chop together nuts, raisins, parsley, and capers. Sir together nut mixture and cheese. Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter and garlic over medium-high heat. Cook cutlets about 2 minutes per side, then transfer to a sheet pan. Mound nut mixture over cutlets, then wrap each cutlet with 1 slice speck.
Dot with remaining tablespoon butter; bake 5 minutes.
I have to say it came out pretty darn good. I took the leftover filling and stirred it into some gnocchi and added some small mozzarella balls to the mix.
The saltiness of the capers, cheese, and speck negated the need for any salt at all. And the sweetness of the raisins added juuuuuust the right balance.
This is another of those recipes that has a lot of variations just waiting to be made.
Ah, Italy...
Dinner Salads
It's still a billion degrees outside. The air is so thick you need gills to walk outside.
Time to grill.
I avoided grilling yesterday, but it's difficult to avoid two days in a row. I like my grill.
I marinated a pork tenderloin in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and rice wine. Onto the grill it went.
Meanwhile, I made up a huge bowl of fruit salad. 'Tis the season. I am definitely a summer fruit person. Peaches, apricots, plums - and berries of every stripe - are my mainstay. I very seldom buy fruit out of season. Once in a blue moon I'll pick up strawberries in the winter, but I really do like my fruits to be local as possible - at least the same continent. It just tastes better.
The pork went on a bed of greens along with an avocado and tomato. A simple balsamic vinaigrette. And a bit of yesterday's potato salad.
I hate the fact that I'm buying tomatoes but ours just aren't doing that great. They really don't like the humidity, either.
There's still a lot of growing time left, so we shall see...
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
It's about a million degrees outside with a zillion percent humidity - give or take - so I thought it prudent to eschew grilling and cook indoors. The cooking involved boiling potatoes for potato salad and poaching chicken for chicken salad sandwiches.
I used mini pitas for the bread and first stuffed them with some nice, ripe avocado. Then the chicken salad. The salad was really basic - chicken, onion, celery, pickles, mayo, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. It's hot outside and I'm still injured and on drugs. I definitely don't want to tax myself too much.
Apricot Clafoutis for dessert.
Chorizo and Chicken Paella
So my leg's been bothering me for a week. With hardly any nagging from Victor, I actually called the doctor on Friday when I got home from work.
It was then a trip to the ER because my doctor needed to rule out a blood clot right away. Long airplane flights can bring them on. Fortunately, it wasn't a blood clot, and armed with a few Percocet, I headed home for a quiet weekend and a requirement to call my Dr on Monday.
After a visit to my Primary Care doctor, this morning, I left with a request for an x-ray of my lower back and a prescription for Methylprednisolone. (Alas, no more Percoset!) Fun side effects include getting speedy, trouble sleeping, and increased appetite.
Now... I know I'm getting old, but back in my day, when a pill made you speedy and kept you awake, it DECREASED your appetite! Jeeze Louise! These damned pharmaceutical companies are screwing everything up! I mean, c'mon. I do not need a pill to increase my appetite! Really. I mean, after getting weighed at the Dr, who knew my wallet and phone weighed 25 pounds?!? I could, however, use something to get me back into those disco pants of yore... I see another Dr visit in my future...
I had shopped earlier, and knew that dinner was going to be comprised of at least Mexican chorizo and chicken. After getting home and taking all of my drugs, I decided a Mexican paella was in order. Quick, easy, and let the oven do the cooking. It's a primordial swamp outside but the air conditioning is working just fine indoors.
For being a wing-it recipe, I have to admit it came out pretty good. The difference between Mexican and Spanish chorizo is Mexican is fresh, and Spanish is cured. Mexican is also usually ground, where the Spanish is chopped. Actually, the similarities between the two are more in the name and that the main ingredient is pork. Otherwise, they are pretty different in looks and taste.
Mexican Paella
- 2 links Mexican chorizo, casings removed
- 1 chicken breast, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup short-grained rice
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 can cherry tomatoes with juice
- 1 can posole, drained
- 1 cup corn
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- salt and pepper
Brown chicken and chorizo in ovenproof pan. Add onion and garlic and cook. Add rice and cook until slightly translucent. Add 1 cup of white wine and, stirring, cook down until almost evaporated.
Add broth, tomatoes, posole, corn, and herbs and spices.
Bring to a boil, cover, and place in 375° oven for about 40 minutes.
It did come out good. And there's leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
I may have to come home for lunch - being that I should be extra-speedy and ravenous, and all...
Beef Tips and Mushrooms
It's work out of the freezer month here at the Dineen/Martorano household. I did a bit of shopping when we got back from vacation and in just a few days we went from manageable to barely close the freezer door. I got some good deals, but it's still a bit tight.
The nice thing about having both a sharp knife and a FoodSaver is the ability to buy things like whole pork loins, beef tenderloins, or whole eye rounds and portion them up for pennies on the pound. Boneless pork chops can run $5.99/lb or more. A whole pork loin on sale at $1.99/lb can give me 20 pork chops for less than $20.00. Same holds true for anything else.
So tonight's meal deal was a 2" thick piece of eye of the round beef. I cut it into cubes and marinated it in Moore's Original Marinade for about 20 minutes before putting them on the grill. Moore's hails from Alabama. I first heard of it from our friend Mike down in South Carolina. It's a quick and easy marinade that one can do lots of things to - or just use it as it is.
Good stuff.
Served it over some Israeli couscous blend and a really simple mushroom gravy - mushrooms, red wine, beef broth...
It worked well.
We have a fresh peach pie cooling for dessert.
Life is good.
Bruschetta Burgers
One thing I don't recall seeing on any menus in Italy was hamburgers. Actually, ground beef of any sort. I know it's there - they have beef, after all - but it wasn't something being featured on any menus I remember.
So here I was at home - pining for Italy and hoping our dinnerware gets here soon - when I decided a Bruschetta Burger was just what the dottore ordered.
We ate a lot of bruschetta in Italy. The toppings were as varied as the places we ate them, although one we had a couple of times stands out - a chicken liver bruschetta that was out of this world good. It actually had chicken livers and hearts in it. Both were slightly different but had similar qualities. I'm working on replicating it.
But that's in the future. I needed tonight. I grabbed an eggplant and started work.
My thought process was a caponata of sorts topping a burger topped with asiago - all sitting on a thick slice of toasted Italian bread.
My thought process was right-on.
This was a wing-it recipe. If you have a favorite caponata recipe, go for it.
Eggplant Caponata
- 1 med eggplant, peeled and diced
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup red wine
- 1 can diced tomatoes in juice
- 1 can tomato paste
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted red pepper
- 1 tbsp capers
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 10 basil leaves, minced
- 6 mint leaves, minced
- 1/2 cup Locatelli (pecorinio Romano) cheese, shredded
- salt and pepper, to taste
Saute onion, celery, and garlic in a bit of olive oil. When onion is translucent, add wine and cook down.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and 1 can water.
Add eggplant, roasted red peppers, capers and vinegar.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Stir in basil and mint. Add cheese and then check for seasoning, adding S&P, as desired.
Serve as bruschetta topping, pasta sauce, pizza sauce, or just stand there and eat with a spoon right out of the pot.
This really was a fun spin on your basic cheeseburger. Thick slices of bread liberally doused with olive oil and grilled is a great start to anything. Burgers topped with asiago is another great idea on its own. But the two together with the caponata?!? Total fun.
There is a lot of the caponata left over. I see a pasta dish in our future...
Beef Ribs and Pasta Salad
I came home to a big batch of pasta salad sitting in the refrigerator. It is just so nice to have a man around the house - who knows how to cook!
This was a fairly typical pasta salad around our house. It's open the cupboards and refrigerator, see what's there, and make salad. It's really simple.
This particular version had 2 types of pasta (I can't believe we're practically out of pasta. I had pretty much cornered the market on it for a year or so.) And it had marinated artichoke hearts, tomatoes, cannellini beans, black olives, celery, garlic, carrots, bell peppers... A chianti vinegar and olive oil. Very simple, very basic.
I picked up the bowl in Rome as a surprise for Victor. It's Sicilian from a company named La Giara. I fell in love with the colors. I've always liked Italian pottery and we've bought several pieces over the years, but after walking into so many shops and just being overwhelmed with the vast amounts and variations, I want to just thrrow everything out we have and start over. Not exactly practical, so I won't. But I'd love to. After checking out La Giara's website, methinks I will be visiting the actual shop when we make it to Sicily. There are a lot more pieces I can get. Late 2013 or early 2014 is my plan.
Back to food...
I can't remember the last time I had beef ribs. Years (and years and years) ago when I worked at the old Hyatt House in Burlingame, we had "Just Bones" on the menu. They were the bones cut from the prime ribs after roasting. Liberally doused with BBQ sauce and onto the broiler for a moment, I think we sold them for $19.95 - in 1978 dollars. I've had beef ribs since then, but not very often. Pork ribs just seem to be everywhere.
I marinated these overnight in a bottle of beer and some molasses. I baked them for a few hours in a low oven and then placed them on the grill with some BBQ sauce.
They came out real good.
Speaking of hotels... the "Bayshore Diner Blue Plate Special" plates came from the Westin SFO - right up the road from the Hyatt Regency Burlingame that took the place of my old hotel. I was given the plates as a going away present when I transferred to Indianapolis to open the Westin there.
The good ol' days...
Salads and Salsa
I've had a hankerin' for salsa all week. And when our friends Lori and Ev were talking about making fresh homemade tamales yesterday, I knew that salsa had to be made today.
Fruit salsas are one of my most favorite summertime treats. Stone fruits - peaches, apricots, plums, nectarines - along with strawberries and other berries, make for some really fine eating when mixed with onions and hot peppers. A couple of minutes of dicing is all it takes.
I just wanted enough to top a pork tenderloin tonight, so I picked up two plums, two apricots, and two jalapeño peppers. Jalapeños are notoriously wussie around here.
I diced up the fruit, a bit of red onion, a bit of cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and one pepper - seeds and all. As I said, jalapeños are notoriously wussie around here.
Well wouldn't ya know... I finally found a hot one! A really hot one! This one was just short of uncurling my eyelashes. I had even taken a bite off the tip of the pepper and it didn't seem hot at all.
I had some strawberries in the 'fridge so i chopped them up to add just a bit more sweetness and to dilute the heat a bit.
It worked. The end result was hot - but a sweet, edible hot. And it all went perfectly onto a salad.
The salad was mixed greens with a diced zucchini and a really fresh and ripe tomato. Victor made a creamy dressing with mayonnaise, sour cream, chili sauce, diced pickle, and grated garlic. I grilled a pork tenderloin and set that on the greens and then added the salsa on top.
It was just spicy enough and the creamy dressing calmed everything down.
I saved the rest of the salsa for chips tomorrow.
Yum.
Bacon Cheese Burgers
It's down to 93° today - we're practically freezing.
I've been wanting to play Italian all week but the weather just hasn't cooperated. I have serious motivation issues when the thermometer rises above 78°. I just don't feel like spending time in the kitchen. I'm going to have to wait until fall, I think.
In the meantime, we still have to eat, so bacon burgers on the barbie, it is. Cooking bacon on the grill is a lot of fun. I lay it out on the upper rack and let it slowly cook. The grease usually flares up so I make sure to watch it, but it really comes out tasty.
Speaking of Italy, there's a dessert I've been wanting to make since first having it in Florence. It was so good, I actually had it at two different restaurants. It's thinly-sliced sponge cake drizzled with lemocello, and layered with pastry cream and then topped with meringue.
I haven't found a recipe for the dish and searching the web I keep coming up with variations on Zuppa Iglesse. I saw it made in a large, deep casserole dish - making many servings. Most of the one's I'm seeing are actual cakes but the ingredients are right. I think my dish may just be a variation on it. We're heading to Point Pleasant for my birthday, so I think I may bring a batch to share with everyone.
In the meantime, rumor has it it's only going to be high 80's tomorrow. Time to break out the winter coats.
July 4th Feast
Happy Independence Day.
It's close to a hundred degrees outside. Definitely grilling weather.
And salad weather. I've been making salads the past few days in anticipation of today. Fruit salad, farro salad, bean salad, and today, I made a salad from my youth - Herman's Delicatessen Potato Salad. Herman's was on Geary Blvd in San Francisco around 7th Avenue. Naturally, it is long gone - as are all of my favorite food haunts of my youth - but the recipe lives on...
Herman's was right up the street from both Star of the Sea and French Hospital. All the girls I knew went to Star. My brother and one sister were born at French. French is also where my sister-n-law worked as a pharmacist until it was acquired by Kaiser.
But I digress...
It was a busy neighborhood and the deli was busy.
Since I lived on the other side of the park, I really didn't get over to Herman's all that often, but every now and again there'd be a reason to stop. Growing up, there was Edgewater Delicatessen right up the street from us at 46th & Taraval, and Herb's at 32nd & Taraval. (A Herby Burpy was made on a full loaf of sourdough french bread!) Frank & Grace owned Edgewater and would give us salami ends to gnaw on when we were little tykes... Later, there was Dean's on 46th & Noriega... and others, but these stick out, right now.
They all had their own style and specialties, but what sticks out most for me is the potato salad at Herman's. It was unique at the time because the potatoes were sliced - as for scalloped potatoes - instead of chunked or cubed like most other delis I remember. And it was more of a sour cream base as opposed to mayonnaise. And no eggs, pickles, or chopped celery.
**Update April 13, 2017 - I received this recipe from a friend quite a while ago. I originally thought it was the Herman's recipe, but it appears to be an approximation that quite possibly came from another food blog - Canapes and Chocolate. When I emailed this to my friend, today, she said she thought she had gotten it from the newspaper, or someone had given it to her but she really wasn't sure - she was only sure that it wasn't her recipe!!. So... apologies to Claire at Canapes and Chocolate. No slight intended!
Herman's Potato Salad
- 2 pounds white potatoes
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 6 radishes, grated
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup Mayonnaise
- 1/8 tsp celery seed
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- salt & pepper, to taste
Peel potatoes, slice into 1/8" thick or so rounds and place in a pot of cold salted water. Bring to a boil and then simmer until slightly firm but cooked through.
Drain potatoes and spread out on platter – let them cool for about 5 minutes. While warm, drizzle the vinegar over the potatoes. Let vinegar soak in for about 10 minutes and then refrigerate until cold.
Combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, and remaining ingredients. When potatoes are cold, gently mix in dressing, being careful not to break up potatoes.
Check for seasoning and add S&P as desired.
Really simple, yet really good. The shredded radishes really give it a unique flavor and the slight drizzle of vinegar while the potatoes are warm adds a great back-flavor. I do have to admit that I still like mine better, but this is a really good deli-style potato salad and made a nice change.
Onto the baked beans...
These are the only baked beans I make, anymore. They are the best. My sister made them for their housewarming many moons ago and I've made them ever since. At one point, chipotles in adobo were so difficult to find here in white-bread-suburbia, that I'd bring a half-dozen cans back with me every time we flew home. Fortunately, they're becoming less exotic and can now be found in several local supermarkets.
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 then we have the ribs...
These were seasoned with chipotle powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I slow-baked them and then placed them on the grill with BBQ sauce. Spicy-good!
And then we had the Farro Salad from last night...
The Bean Salad from the night before...
And a fruit salad that I didn't photograph. It was good, too.
We have lots of leftovers so there's plenty of good eats and no more cooking while the weather continues to soar.
And to top it all off... Victor made a banana cake and there's not one, not two, not even three, but four different kinds of ice cream in the freezer!
It's good to be prepared for heat waves...