Chicken Parmigiana
Thursday, I made polenta with a really meaty ragu. It was pretty good, if I do say so, m'self, and we had plenty of the sauce left over. Victor was going to freeze it for another day - but I had other plans. Nefarious plans that finagled him into cooking dinner, tonight.
This was what we had Thursday...
There are two things I do pretty regularly on workdays... the first is take something out of the freezer for dinner, the second is to call home during my lunch break. I took out thin-sliced chicken cutlets this morning, thinking chicken parmigiana would be a fitting dinner, tonight.
When I called home, I casually asked if the sauce had been frozen and mentioned chicken parm. My clever ruse worked! Victor started planning dinner and when I got home there were breaded cutlets in the 'fridge and a baked pasta being prepared.
The cutlets were fried and then topped with sauce and cheese and placed into the oven to heat through and melt the cheese. The pasta was mixed with the sauce, topped with cheese, and baked until hot and the cheese melted. The sat one atop the other in a 350°F oven.
And it was a great dinner! The chicken perfectly crispy-crunchy and saucy and cheesy and the pasta was perfectly cooked, meaty and cheesy, too. Meals just do not suck at our house.
My contribution is a Pineapple Upside Down Cake.
More on that from the link.
Sausage Roll
I love it when I see a recipe on Facebook and it's actually something I want to make! I swear, some of the things passing as food nowadays are downright sad - but the real stuff coming through is something to jump for!
Take tonight's Sausage Roll, for example. We have an online friend named Michael who is Italian and just happens to be a really good cook. It's great fun to see what great dishes he's whipping up. They're generally rustic Italian from his family and his cooking style is very much Like Victor's - things you learned in your youth from older relatives that just stayed with you. More often than not there's no real recipe involved - at least not exact measurements of things. It's more intuition than anything else, usually staying within a style or parameters, but still open to tweaking as needed. You know... real cooking.
So... the other day, Micheal posted a recipe and pictures of a Sausage Roll he made with pizza/bread dough, Italian sausage and cheese. I kinda knew we were going to be making one before the week was up.
I had pulled sausage out of the freezer to make a sausage and potato dish for dinner, and off to work I went. The weather was nasty, business was slow, and I volunteered for an early out. I let Victor know that I'd be home at 1 instead of 4 - plenty of time to make a Sausage Roll!
When I got home, there was a beautiful Sausage Roll waiting for me! Victor whipped it up and it was warm-from-the-oven waiting for me! I had a slice just to check it out., and then another because the first one was so good. Then I had just a small one as I headed to the office to check out a few things. Back to the kitchen 15 minutes later for another slice, then another one 30 minutes after that. And one while I was preparing dinner...
Life just doesn't get any better!
Sausage Roll
adapted from Michael Salvatore Gottuso
pizza dough
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 3 to 3 1/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Proof yeast in the water about 5 minutes. Slowly add the flour and salt and mix with dough hook about 5 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes, and then add the oil and mix on low another 4 to 5 minutes, or until the dough is not sticky.
filling
- 8 oz Italian sausage
- 4 roasted red peppers
- 1 cup shredded Italian cheeses
- bread crumbs
assembly
Remove sausage from casings; crumble, and cook. Cool completely.
Liberally oil a half-sheet pan with olive oil. Spread dough out, completely covering pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in pan about an hour.
Sprinkle dough with bread crumbs and top with crumbled sausage. Top with cheese, and then with strips of roasted red pepper. Sprinkle on a few more bread crumbs if the peppers are wet.
Roll jellyroll style, crimping ends as you go. Seal seam and arrange seam-side down in pan.
Place in preheated 425°F oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through and browned.
It was awesome!
Michael's recipe calls for cubes of provolone or mozzarella - or both. Victor used a shredded 4-cheese Italian blend and added the red pepper, as well.
The end result was similar to a pepperoni bread he has made at Easter - although not as gooey. Another variation on the theme is a Sicilian Focaccia we had when we were in Sicily that I've made several times, since.
Leave it to the Italians to figure out a dozen and one ways to stuff something good into bread dough. Then, again, they have 350+ shapes of pasta.
I like Italians.
A Super Bowl of Soup
Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday. It's The Philadelphia Eagles vs Those Bums Up In Boston. Yeah, I know I used to live in Boston. I saw plenty of games at Foxboro - my old roommate, Jeff, was regional sales director for Seagram's - and we saw quite a few games courtesy of Seagram's. And a lot of liquor, too, but that's another story for another time. We were out there for a snow game where you literally could not see across the field. We had flasks of Seagram's 7 in our pockets to keep us warm. We drove home drunk in a snowstorm. We had to drive - we were too drunk and too far away to walk.
Yeah, while I have some fond - albeit fuzzy - memories of the pre-Brady Patriots, it's officially 17 years since we moved to the Philadelphia Main Line. The Eagles are the Local Team, today.
The day was crazy - work was a total zoo with more Eagle's Green than I've ever seen in my life. There are some serious parties happening around here, tomorrow. Work really was fun, though, because everyone was in great spirits, lots of laughter, lots of camaraderie... and not a lot of trash talk against New England. I think folks were trying to keep Karma in check.
This really has been fun, because the last time I actually cared about who won was in 2013 when The Niner's lost to Baltimore. The Eagles are the Local Team, but the San Francisco 49ers are the Hometown Team.
The Hometown Team has given me some great games and there are more than a couple that are mere blurs. There were a few games at my brother's bachelor pad house that rumor has were a wild and crazy time but I'll be damned if I can actually remember any of them. I only know that they were loud and raucous - but I don't think the police were ever really involved.
And then there were all the games - usually at my sister's house - once we moved east, celebrating Pop's Birthday and The Super Bowl. We'd fly into San Francisco, get our room at the Motel 8 in San Bruno on El Camino - along with all the rest of the out-of-town family - and have a big Birthday Bash/Super Bowl Party. Since we can't all get together for Christmas, it was our annual everyone get-together. It's amazing that we would move heaven and earth to get west for Pop's Birthday, but it just wasn't all that convenient to fly west once he died. Priorities, and all that...
We are all meeting up out west at the end of April, this year - we actually do get together now and again - but the Super Bowl is going to be celebrated with Victor's brother down the road. I'm sure it will be a tad quieter than those west coast soirées of yore.
And the night before Super Bowl is going to be a tad quieter, as well.
The quieter night started with bowls of steaming Roasted Red Pepper Soup. I roasted a dozen red peppers the other day and Victor has been eying them, ever since. Last night I stuffed burgers with some - along with some Fontina cheese - but today, he took half of them and made the most delicious soup, ever.
Rich, creamy, just slightly spicy... a total joy to behold...
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
- 5 red peppers, roasted
- 2 qts chicken broth
- 1 qt water
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
- 1 can white beans, drained
- pinch cayenne
- S&P
- butter
Saute celery, onion, carrots, garlic, red pepper, and jalapeño pepper in olive oil until vegetables are soft. Add broth, water, beans, and roasted red peppers, and bring to a boil, and then simmer about 30 minutes.
Cool, and then blend soup in blender - or with an immersion blender - until smooth.
Check for seasoning and add cayenne, and S&P, as desired. When reheating to serve, stir in a couple pats of butter for richness.
I whipped up some garlic bread from some crusty bread we had, and dinner was served!
Totally excellent.
So here's to a Super Day tomorrow - and a Super Win by Philadelphia!
GO EAGLES!
Tortolloni and Lobster
While I was busy configuring my new computer, Victor was in the kitchen configuring pasta. Homemade pasta. Stuffed and intricately formed pasta. By hand.
One by one by one...
I just love homemade pasta and there's just no way I will ever make it. Victor has it down to a gastronomical science. There are times when you just leave things to the pros. We all know folks who have a signature dish - that one dish that stands out among all others - and we don't try to replicate them. Victor has a score of them - all centered around flour and eggs. I read or heard somewhere that there were over 400 pasta shapes in Italy. I'd have one a week for the next 400 weeks...
When La Cucina Italiana was still being published, we'd get The Pasta Issue every year and Victor would cook his way through that. So, I don't think I'm even remotely unreasonable about 400 pastas in the next 400 weeks. Heck, I'll be retired in about 21 weeks. I can help with the cleanup!
Tonight's pasta was Cheese Tortolloni in a Lobster Sauce. Tortolloni is just a larger tortellini - and lobster is just delicious with it!
The filling was ricotta cheese, quattro formaggio, parmesan, egg, oregano, and a bit of S&P.
The pasta dough was 1 3/4 cups Tipo "00" flour, 1/4 cup semolina, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 tablespoons water, and a pinch of salt.
Rolled thin and cut into circles...
Filled and hand-formed... one by one...
The sauce was a throw-together of lobster chunks sauteed in butter and olive oil with white wine, garlic, green onion, oregano, and a pinch of peperoncino. Simplicity. And decadent.
Just one more instance where it just doesn't suck to be me.
21 weeks to retirement. I can get used to this.
Strike that - I am used to this.
And I'm ready for more.
Stuffed Peppers
I have been getting seriously spoiled. Victor has been on a cooking spree and I have been sitting back enjoying the fruits of his labor. He's had a hankerin' for a few things and I am not about to argue. My philosophy is, if you're cooking, I'm eating.
I've never been a fussy eater - even as a kid. I have my favorites and I have things I'm not crazy about, but I have no food restrictions. As I said - if you're cooking, I'm eating. I'm sure that a lot of it stems from being one of six kids raised in the '50s. My mother cooked one meal and we ate what was on the table. We didn't have unlimited snacking, so when we did sit down to dinner - as a family every night - we were actually hungry. What a concept, eh?!?
All day long I hear mothers talking about how this kid won't eat this, this kid won't eat that, how she's cooking three different meals every night... I just shake my head. The reality is that kids don't create these scenarios - parents do. Life in 'burbia ... What can I say?!?
But that's not what I was thinking when I started this... I was thinking that if you're going to be gracious enough to cook for me, I'm going to be gracious enough to eat! And if you're cooking stuffed peppers, I'm really going to eat!
There are certain things that just don't have recipes - and stuffed peppers are one of those things. They're peppers. You stuff them.
And sometimes you really wing it as you're making the stuffing.
Victor started off with some cooked rice and some ground beef. Decided he didn't have enough stuffing, so he added a couple of Italian sausages. Then, since he had boiled them earlier, added hard boiled eggs. And onion, garlic, oregano, S&P... a pinch of chili flakes... breadcrumbs, grated cheese... a bit of tomato paste.
A little of this, a little of that - and into the oven until the peppers are soft.
And he even made garlic bread with the last of the last of the Potato Bread.
An absolutely delicious meal.
Since I didn't have to cook dinner, I made dessert - a Banana Clafouti. More on that, later...
[countdown date=2018/06/30-16:00:00]
[timer] to Retirement!
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Eggplant Rollatini
It's hard to believe we're actually buying eggplant. With two plants going this past summer, it seemed like we would never - ever - need to buy eggplant, again. Fast-forward a couple of months and the only thing left is a couple of jars of baba ghanoush and a jar of Little Gram's Eggplant. We have been busy eating up the garden goodies.
That's a good thing, though. We like to have an empty cellar when we start the next round of canning. This season it's going to be even more fun since I'm going to be retired - and have all the time I want to make things!
I seriously cannot wait.
I've never understood people who say they would be bored if they didn't work. There are just too many things to do besides going to work. I mean, really. Outdoors in the garden picking food you grew yourself and planning ways to cook and can it or standing someplace asking people if they found everything they were looking for. Really...
There will never be an end of things that need doing - and I'll have the time to leisurely do them - or not - as my mood fits.
I seriously cannot wait.
But while I'm waiting, Victor is in the kitchen cooking - something he does extremely well. I love the fact that he knows his way around a kitchen. I tend to get most of the credit for the things we produce but it's really because I'm just more vocal about it. The kid knows how to cook - and tonight is a perfect example...
Eggplant Rollatini
- 1 eggplant, thinly sliced
- flour
- eggs
- ricotta
- grated parmesan
- garlic powder
- oregano
- salt & pepper
- tomato sauce
Mix garlic powder, oregano, salt & pepper with a couple of eggs.
Dip thin slices of eggplant in flour and then into the seasoned eggs. Fry until lightly browned on both sides.
Mix ricotta, parmesan, 1 egg, and a bit of S&P.
Spread cooked eggplant with the ricotta. Roll up and place seam-side down in baking dish. Top with tomato sauce and bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, or until heated through.
I ate those two and then went back for a third. We had bread from the Potato Bread I made the other day - and froze.
So, yeah... retirement is going to be pretty sweet, but, in the meantime, life is not too shabby around here...
Broccoli Soup
The weather may not be frightful, but dinner was definitely delightful!
A steaming bowl of homemade soup is one of life's great pleasures, and when you add a loaf of warm, fresh-baked bread, it's gastronomic heaven on earth.
This was a bit of a clean-out-the-'fridge soup - often the best kind. There's a bit of formula to them and they're similar, but they're all just slightly unique - based upon what you have lying about. We had a couple of broccoli crowns, an onion, and a half a green pepper that had all seen better days. Into a pot - not into the trash.
Victor always throws in a can of beans to puree along with whatever it is he's cooking. It adds creaminess without adding cream. Usually it's a can of white beans, but red beans were on the shelf.
This can easily be made vegetarian or even vegan without any trouble, at all.
Broccoli Soup
- broccoli
- onion
- bell pepper
- chicken broth
- beans
- cayenne pepper
- salt & pepper
Saute onion and bell pepper, add the broccoli, broth, one broth-carton of water, and a can of beans. Cook until broccoli is fall-apart tender. Puree in blender or with an immersion blender and add salt, pepper, and cayenne, to taste.
You can finish it with a pat of butter and serve with a healthy drizzle of olive oil or sour cream.
This basic concept can be used for broccoli, cauliflower, butternut squash... You name it, you can do it!
So clean out the 'fridge and enjoy!
Chicken Cutlets
Back in what seems like a lifetime ago, we'd go over to Victor's mom's house for dinner and she would invariably have chicken cutlets for us. Actually, it was chicken cutlets, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a nice salad.
And a nice salad has become a bit of a joke with us over the years with one or the other making the comment after describing what's for dinner on any given night. Of course, it has to be said just right with the slightest bit of Northeast Philly twang. Way back in the day, before getting married and heading to Jersey, Nonna was an Adams Avenue girl.
A nice salad was always iceberg lettuce with a nice Kraft dressing with maybe Hidden Valley Ranch and tomato and cucumber for a special occasion. My father's go-to dinner for us was veal cutlets with dirty potatoes and cole slaw with apple. The man was a great cook and could cook absolutely anything, but this was his go-to.
It's been many years since either of them cooked for us and I would truly love to see either of them in the kitchen cooking away. But... it's all memories, now. And a bit of humor. I mean... ya gotta laugh because it really isn't fun watching them get old and it really sucks when they're no longer around, at all...
So enough of the good ol' days - on to today.
I pulled some chicken breasts out of the freezer before heading off to work this morning and when I got home, there was a plate of - you guessed it - chicken cutlets - in the 'fridge just waiting to be fried up! I seriously love Victor being retired!
He mentioned he had a hankerin' for a baked potato, and the next thing I knew, he was in the kitchen cooking the complete meal. Did I mention I love that he's retired?!? Chicken cutlets, baked potatoes with sour cream, fresh steamed broccoli... and no nice salad. We had nice homemade rolls, instead.
And there are cutlets left over for sandwiches!
Victor did dinner, so I did dessert. I made a Pumpkin Pie - because we had not one, not two, but three cans of pumpkin in the cupboard. And we had all the ingredients to make the crust and the filling.
And whipping cream.
Stuffed Cabbage
Victor and I share a pretty even like of different foods. It makes for cooking dinner pretty easy - we just know we'll like whatever the other is cooking. The only two places where we part ways is with cooked cabbage and curry. Victor is just not a fan.
Of course, it took 10 or more years to find this out. I found out fairly early on about the cabbage but it did take years to find out about the curry. Finally, one day, he had to confess that he really did hate both.
No big deal - there are a bazillion foods to cook. Dropping a couple off the rotation really doesn't stifle the creativity. But every now and again, I'll see a recipe and think that it would be fun to make, only to realize it would be fun to make but not really well received.
Oh well.
So... several years back, Victor decided to make me Stuffed Cabbage. I was thrilled. It's a childhood meal as well as something I've made absolutely forever. He found a recipe from Ina Garten - and he loved it! Score one for the Barefoot Contessa!
Since then, he's made it a few more times. I let him decide when the time is right and Monday, he added cabbage onto the shopping list. It was time.
Naturally, the grocery store was out of green cabbage - the weather has played havoc with deliveries and with crops - but there was red cabbage. I wasn't going to pass up an offer for stuffed cabbage, so red cabbage, it was!
The fun thing about red cabbage is when you blanch it, it colors the cooking water a glorious shade of purple - which then dyes everything it touches - like hands. It's wonderful - especially if it's someone else's hands...
And it's wonderful rolled around a beef and rice filling and baked in an agrodolce tomato sauce.
My stomach is smiling.
This is Ina's recipe. Victor plays with it a bit and tweaks it for the two of us. The sweet/vinegary sauce with raisins really makes the dish. I could go after a bowl of that with a loaf of bread and die happy.
Stuffed Cabbage
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
- 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes and their juice
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large head Savoy or green cabbage, including outer leaves
For the filling:
- 2 1/2 pounds ground chuck
- 3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onions
- 1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
For the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onions, and cook over medium-low heat for 8 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, brown sugar, raisins, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Remove the entire core of the cabbage with a paring knife. Immerse the head of cabbage in the boiling water for a few minutes, peeling off each leaf with tongs as soon as it s flexible. Set the leaves aside. Depending on the size of each leaf, you will need at least 14 leaves.
For the filling, in a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, eggs, onion, breadcrumbs, rice, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add 1 cup of the sauce to the meat mixture and mix lightly with a fork.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
To assemble, place 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Remove the hard triangular rib from the base of each cabbage leaf with a small paring knife. Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup of filling in an oval shape near the rib edge of each leaf and roll up toward the outer edge, tucking the sides in as you roll. Place half the cabbage rolls, seam sides down, over the sauce. Add more sauce and more cabbage rolls alternately until you ve placed all the cabbage rolls in the pot. Pour the remaining sauce over the cabbage rolls. Cover the dish tightly with the lid and bake for 1 hour or until the meat is cooked and the rice is tender. Serve hot.
It's the perfect wintry dinner...
Spaghetti and an Epiphany
I learned something new, today. I have always thought that Twelfth Night was January 6th - the Epiphany. It appears that it can also be January 5th!
My way of reckoning starts the first of the Twelve Days of Christmas on December 26th. The Church of England starts the First Day of Christmas on Christmas Day! Who knew?!?
Tradition also states that Christmas Decorations are supposed to be down by Twelfth Night or risk bad luck. Well... we blew that one regardless of which day it is - the decorations are still ablaze. We will probably start taking them down tomorrow. Once upon a time, we took them down on New Year's Day. Now... we put it off as long as possible. I'd leave it all up until Easter if I thought I could get away with it.
With it being colder than an ice cube outside, we may as well start moving and get it done. There's only 20 or so bins that need to come back up from the basement, get filled, and hauled back down...
Piece of cake.
Speaking of cake, we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.
Once upon a time, that would not have been remarkable - we had it all the time. But when Nonna decided she no longer liked spaghetti, we stopped for a long time. The past few months have seen us cooking two meals more often. Her list of dislikes keeps growing. It's actually easier to cook two meals than try and cook something we will all eat.
I made the meatballs back in December and froze them. The sauce was Victor's. Garlic bread on the side. The perfect meal after a long day.
Dessert is going to be brownies with a chocolate ganache.
Time to put the feet up!
Pork Tenderloin and Tapenade
While I was out in the sub-freezing world, today, Victor was home - our warm, well-insulated home - thinking of things to create with a pork tenderloin. All of that lovely warmth really inspired him - he came up with a tenderloin stuffed with homemade tapenade. Yeah... Victor made tapenade - because that's the sort of stuff we do. What's even crazier is that he was able to think about making it and then actually make it without leaving the house to buy anything.
The perks of having a well-stocked larder!
He used:
- kalamata olives
- green olives
- anchovies
- capers
- roasted garlic
- olive oil
- grated parmesan cheese
Really simple. Really basic. Really delicious! No measurements or recipe... As the commercial says... Just Do It!
Another great perk in life is having a husband who loves to cook - and is good at it! I am thrilled any time he says he's cooking - I know I'm in for a treat.
He split the tenderloin and spread the tapenade on, rolled it up, tied it, and into a 350°F oven. He also made a rice-a-roni-ish rice with peas to go along with it.
It was picture-perfect yumminess.
Tomorrow is going to be pasta and meatballs because we're still working on cleaning out the freezer, and Sunday... Sunday is the start of the end of Christmas. The taking down and packing away of a bazillion Santas, Trees, Ornaments, and Assorted Decorations. I think a slow-simmering soup may be in order...
Stay tuned.
Italian Wedding Soup and Banishment from the Kitchen
Victor cleaned the kitchen, today, while I was at work. I'm officially banished for 24 hours. He wants to relish in the unusual cleanliness of the place - the clean stove top without a bazillion burnt-on splatters... Counter tops where you can actually see the granite... Drawer fronts that aren't caked in flour...
It's not that I'm a complete slob, it's just that I use the kitchen. A lot. I wipe up and I wipe down, but... stuff spills over on the stove or in the ovens. Flour dust flies no matter how careful I am. The spoon doesn't always make the spoon rest...
My punishment is I get a clean kitchen and dinner cooked for me. I'd throw a pity-party but I'm too busy doing a happy-dance. Banishment does not suck around here!
My gruel tonight is Italian Wedding Soup. It's freezing outside - literally and figuratively - and a bowl of hot homemade soup and warm, crusty, homemade bread is just the kind of punishment I need.
So here's the soup I was forced to eat, tonight.
It's truly a difficult life I lead.
Italian Wedding Soup
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 cup onion, minced
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 large egg
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Soup
- 3 qts chicken broth
- 1 lb escarole, chopped
- 2 large eggs
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Make meat balls: Mix all ingredients together and form into very small meat balls- about the size of a prize shooting marble. Place on a sheet pan off to the side.
Make the soup: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot. Add the meatballs and escarole and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the escarole is tender – about 10 minutes.
To add the egg: Whisk the eggs to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion. Slowly drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a large fork to form thin stands of egg.
Ladle into bowls and add additional grated cheese and a drizzle of good-quality olive oil.
Oh... and that crusty homemade bread?!? Victor made parmesan toast. This is the last piece.
I ate it.