Lentils

Lentils

The first time I remember seeing - or tasting - lentils was when my Grandmother stayed with us after having a heart attack - sometime in the mid-to-late '60s. Her Doctor told her to eat them because they were good for heart health.

And heart-healthy, they are! They're full of:

  • Molybdenum
  • Fiber
  • Iron
  • Maganese
  • Protein
  • Potassium
  • Folate
  • Phosphorous
  • etc......

They really are one of nature's perfect foods.

While Grandma was eating hers fairly plain, my Mom made some pretty awesome soups.

The only lentils I remember from my youth were brown. Like so many foods, it took a long time for many of the numerous types and colors to hit the mainstream. Today, you can find any number of varieties at just about any grocery store.

And at any given moment we probably have at least three varieties in the cupboard:

  • Lentilles du Puy -  French Green Lentils. I usually get these at Reading Terminal Market or Atlantic Spice
  • Black Beluga Lentils - also from Atlantic Spice
  • Brown Pardina Lentils - from Palouse Brands in Washington State

The Lentilles du Puy and the Beluga lentils make the best salads and any dish where you really want to keep the integrity of the lentil. The brown lentils work best for soups, stews, and dishes where you want a softer texture.

I just picked up another 3-pound bag of the brown Palouse lentils, so I used them, tonight.

This has some of my more favorite ingredients - andouille sausage and shrimp. They're a perfect pairing. If you have a good andouille, this won't need any other spices. If it's on the tame side, add a bit of cayenne and thyme.

Lentils with Shrimp and Andouille Sausage

  • 1 cup lentils, cooked according to package instructions
  • 2 3 oz links andouille sausage, diced
  • 6 oz peeled shrimp
  • 1 fennel bulb, diced
  • 1 small bell pepper, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup white wine
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Cook lentils, drain, and set aside.

Sauté sausage and fennel together until fennel is almost cooked through. Add bell pepper and cook. Add garlic and quickly sauté.

Add wine, bring to boil, and reduce by half.

Stir in lentils and heat through.

Stir in shrimp and cook through.

Check for seasoning and add salt & pepper, as desired.

It's really simple to throw together and packs a lot of nutritional wallop.

 

 


Pork Tenderloin

Braised Pork Tenderloin

Sometimes, the simplest meals are the tastiest - and this was definitely simple!

I cut a pork tenderloin into 1-inch scallops and lightly browned them in a braising pan. Out they came, and into the pan went

  • chopped onion
  • sliced shallots
  • a chopped leek
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 minced hot pepper,
  • 2 red potatoes that had been partially steamed
  • 1 diced apple
  • 1 can diced green chiles
  • cumin
  • salt and pepper

The pork went back in, the lid went on, and it all simmered for about 20 minutes.

Tons of flavor and minimal work.


Pasta e Fagioli

Pasta e Fagioli

In the song That's Amore, Dean Martin sings "When the stars make you drool, just like a pasta fazool, that's amore".

Pasta Fazool. So how did fagioli become fazool? Because, while the Italian word for beans is fagioli, the Neapolitan word is fasule. To make it even more fun, the Sicilian word is fasola. In Venetian, it is fasioi.

Many people do not realize that Italy is a country of dialects that were more or less united under a common language - Tuscan - in 1861 when Italy was unified. It wasn't, however, until television in the 1950s and '60s that Italy actually started speaking the same language - more or less. In rural areas and even within families, dialects still reign supreme.

In the Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey area, it's common for the final vowel - always pronounced in Italian - to be dropped. It's also why it is often so difficult to find a recipe for a specific family dish based on what the family has called it or to find a dozen different names for the same basic recipe - the immigrants literally created a new language based upon all of their different dialects so they could communicate with one another. It is also believed that the "sauce / gravy" debate has its roots in early immigrant communication, but that's a story for another place and time.

And they say English is difficult to learn...

Regardless of what it's called, Pasta and Beans is a peasant dish served throughout Italy - sometimes with tomatoes, sometimes, not. Sometimes with meat, sometimes not. Sometimes thick, sometimes thin. A million variations on a theme - just the way I like to cook!

This is a dish I probably haven't had in 20 years. We were both trying to remember the last time either of us made it - and we're pretty sure it was in California - not Pennsylvania. That's a while ago.

And the whole thing started when an online friend of ours posted a picture and a recipe for Pasta e Fagioli that looked so good that we knew we had to make it! Michael is a great cook who delves into his Italian heritage to create some pretty spectacular dishes. We're always getting ideas. Tonight, however, we decided to follow his recipe and recreate his masterpiece - and masterpiece, it is!

Victor used fresh cannellini beans because I canned beans this morning, and we used the chicken stock I canned last week. Otherwise, this is the recipe we made!

Pasta e Fagioli

recipe by Michael Gottuso

Set up your food processor. Chop: 2 onions, 2 carrots (peeled first), 1 celery stalk, and 4 garlic cloves. Add them to the process bowl. Pulse until medium-fine chopped - DO NOT PUREE.

Add the chopped vegetables and 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to a sauce pot. Season with a bit of salt and saute the vegetables until they turn soft - over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Do not let them turn brown.

Stir in 2 tablespoons tomato paste and peperoncino (crushed red pepper) to taste and cook for a minute or two, stirring. Then pour in a quart container of sodium-free chicken broth.

Drain two cans of cannellini beans and rinse them. Add half of the beans and 1 cup water to the processor bowl and pulse till the beans are pureed. Add the bean puree along with the remaining beans to the sauce pot. Bring it to a simmer and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup ditalini and continue to simmer till the pasta is cooked, about 15 minutes.

Stir occasionally to ensure that the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom. Turn the heat off. Stir in 1 cup grated parmigiano cheese and a small handful of torn fresh basil leaves. Set aside for about 1/2 hour. When serving, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve with parmigiano and peperoncino.

Rich, thick, creamy - bursting with flavor. This is fall and winter food at its finest.

Thanks, Michael!


Beef Stew

Beef Stew

It's the first full day of Autumn - and it's damp and rainy. It's also Sunday - the end of the grocery shopping week when the pickin's can be a bit slim.

Time to make a batch of beef stew.

I'm reasonably old, so stew doesn't have a recipe - it's just something you make. And it's made slightly different each time - while being remarkably the same. A bit more vegetables, a bit less. Made with potatoes, made with wide noodles. Red wine, brandy, coffee. Like soup, it's the perfect clean-out-the-refrigerator dish.

So... while I said stew doesn't have a recipe, my Mom wrote down hers years ago.

Mom's Beef Stew

This was her basic, although she improvised on it every time she made a pot. Mom was a modern cook of the '60s, so she used things like onion soup mix, bouillon cubes, and seasoned salt, regularly.

My basic is red wine, onions, carrots celery, and beef broth. If I don't have wine, I'll use coffee. Sometimes a splash of brandy for a bit of oomph. I also like to cook the meat in bacon fat when I have it in the 'fridge. The potatoes are often russets, but this batch was made with unpeeled baby gold. French herbs or herbes de provence are the standard, although they can change with my mood or what's in the pantry.

The end result was a filling and satisfying dish. In keeping with our new eating regime, I made just enough for dinner and lunch.

 


Chicken and Rigatoni

The End of Week Ten

We're both down twenty pounds!

This, boys and girls, is pretty heartening - it means all of this work is actually paying off! We feel better. We have more energy. Everyday tasks are easier to do. It's a flippin' miracle.

This proves me wrong about eating with impunity as long as the food, itself, is good. I did it for years - and slowly gained weight while my activity levels decreased. Eating good food is of major importance - but the volume of food has to be realistic. We were eating way too much.

I've always joked that at any given moment, the neighborhood could drop by for dinner. That has changed. I'm actually starting to learn how to cook smaller portions. It's not as easy as it sounds for someone who is more intuitive than recipe-follower. But I'm getting there.

One of my greatest achievements is I'm actually weighing pasta! 2 ounces per serving. It's remarkable how much 2 ounces of pasta actually is - especially when we have always just cooked half a pound for the two of us - and eaten it! I just shake my head at the excess...

Tonight's pasta dish was a throw-together that ended up taking forever. I thought I'd cook the pasta right in the skillet with the veggies, broth, mushroom liquid, and Marsala. Sadly - for me - I picked the wrong pasta. I chose a mini rigatoni that on a good day takes close to 20 minutes to cook. Put it is a skillet with other stuff and it takes a lot longer. A lot longer. It was easily 35 minutes, although it came out perfect and totally full of flavor!

Pasta with Mushrooms and Chicken

  • 8 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 oz assorted dried mushrooms, reconstituted in 2 cups boiling water
  • 6 oz frozen spinach
  • 4 oz chicken breast, cubed
  • 1 cup dry Marsala
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 2 cups mushroom soaking liquid
  • 4 oz pasta
  • Italian seasoning
  • salt & pepper

Brown chicken in skillet and set aside. In same skillet, sauté mushrooms and onions until onion is translucent and mushrooms give off their liquid. Add garlic and reconstituted mushrooms - chopped, if large.

Add Marsala and cook a moment. Stir in mushroom liquid and bring to a boil. Add pasta and a cup of chicken stock. Cover and cook about 10 minutes, stirring at least once.

Stir in reserved chicken, spinach, and add more broth, as necessary to continue cooking pasta. Add seasonings

Recover and reduce heat. Simmer until pasta is cooked - up to another 15 minutes depending on style of pasta.

If sauce seems too thin, uncover and boil to reduce - or - add a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a bit of water.

Really good, really rich, and really easy! My favorite kind of meal.

On another note, we're coming to the end of the hot peppers. I still have a batch to cook up and there's easily one more basket-full in the garden, but Victor took the reddest of the reds and dried them last night.

Peppers

200°F in the oven for several hours and then turn it off and leave them overnight.

I put them into the food processor this morning and made some fresh pepper flakes!

Peppers

These guys are H.O.T. I almost choked breathing in the dust from the processor.

I love it!

A happy end to Week Ten and an optimistic start to Week Eleven.

Life is good.

 

 


Jambalaya

Almost Jambalaya

I did a bit of a 'fridge clean-out for dinner, tonight. These are fun dinners because they're usually good and probably won't be replicated anytime soon.  I seem to do this a lot with Jambalaya - I never quite have what I need, but if I have andouille sausage, it's just a matter of putting stuff in a pot.

Tonight's pot started with carrots, celery, and radishes - all chopped fine. Then it was a single andouille sausage and a small steak that had been in the freezer too long to grill, but not so long to toss. Red wine. Beef broth. Several tomatoes from the garden. A hot pepper from the garden. A can of black beans. 6 shrimp. Rice. I was going to add some shallots instead of onions and forgot them. I didn't have any bell peppers, but, dinner went on without them.

It was a dish that - as is normal for me - continued to grow as I found more things to toss in. I did reasonable portions and we have lunch, tomorrow.

Still watching the portions. Life is good.

 


Roasted Chicken Provençal

Roasted Chicken Provençal

Last week when we were in Rochester, our friend, Ann, made Roasted Chicken Provençal for all of us our first night there. It was so good, I decided I needed to make it, myself - right away! The recipe is a New York Times offering from Steven Stolman. NYTimes recipes are generally no-fail, and this one is indeed, no-fail. As Ann said, it's one that can be made well in advance and just popped into the oven when need be. The perfect make-ahead for guests or when you know you're going too be short on prep time. Ann switched hers around using different herbs and spices. I decided to go with the herbes de Provence, since I have plenty. The beauty of this recipe is you really can go with what you have or what you're in the mood for.

And please don't try and make this with boneless, skinless chicken breasts - it will not work. Trust me on this.

Roasted Chicken Provençal

adapted from The New York Times

  • 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp herbes de Provence
  • 1 lemon, quartered
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 4 medium-size shallots, peeled and halved
  • 1/2 cup dry vermouth

Preparation

Heat oven to 400°F. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Put the flour in a shallow pan, and lightly dredge the chicken, shaking the pieces to remove excess flour.

Swirl the oil in a large roasting pan, and place the floured chicken in it. Season the chicken with the herbes de Provence. Arrange the lemon, garlic cloves and shallots around the chicken, then add the vermouth to the pan.

Put the pan in the oven, and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, then baste it with the pan juices. Continue roasting for another 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is very crisp and the meat cooked through.

Serve in the pan or on a warmed platter.

Roasted Chicken Provençal

One thing Ann stressed is make sure you don't crowd the chicken. You really do want the skin to get crisp. I probably could have used a larger pan but this one was low enough and the skin really crisped well. It was almost like bacon and I actually ate it - and I generally don't eat skin.

I also added the potatoes on top at the 20-minute mark and let them cook in all the juices. I could have cooked them in a separate pan, but...

All-in-all, a very successful dinner - and one that will be made again - and again!

Thanks, Ann!

 

 


Chicken Stew

We have a Freeze Warning, tonight. It's April 19th.

I am not amused.

I don't mind the rain, I don't mind the overcast or clouds. I'm really tired of the cold, though. Dank, penetrating cold that seeps into your entire being. And have I mentioned the wind? It's another joy to behold.

But with the cold weather comes more soups and stews. We should be starting up salads. But there's a Freeze Warning. There's a rule about eating salads during a Freeze Warning. Not that I'm necessarily a rule-follower, but I'll make an exception...

And tonight's exception was a throw-together stew of sorts. I pulled a couple of bone-in chicken breasts from the freezer this morning with the thought of grilling them, tonight. I had looked at the weather early this morning and was given the - obviously erroneous - impression that it was going to be in the mid-50s.

The grilled chicken morphed into a braised chicken with potatoes, carrots, onions, Seville and Kalamata olives, capers, white wine, chicken stock, garlic, and artichoke hearts. Started on the stove and then cooked, uncovered, in the oven for about 45 minutes.

One of those ridiculously good dinners that will never be quite replicated because this is how the stars aligned, today.

So be it. It was good.

I had pretty much planned to grill most of the week, but Mother Nature is just not going to cooperate. Plan B will be going into effect.

Stay tuned...

 

 

 


The Weekend Food Fest

It doesn't get much better than having dear friends over for the weekend - especially when said friends are as enthusiastic about food as we are about cooking it. Definitely a friendship made in heaven!

Ann and Julie drove down from Rochester, taking a couple of days and meandering through Lancaster and the environs... Bird-in-Hand, Intercourse, Blue Ball... all the places with names that can get junior high school kids - or senior citizens - all in a twitter with double entendres.

Maturity is so overrated...

They arrived for dinner and the food-fest began!

Prosecco, of course, because... Prosecco. And a simple seafood dinner. Haddock with an Italian Salsa Verde, Potatoes and Savoy Cabbage, and Roasted Rainbow Carrots - and homemade bread, of course...

I picked up the haddock at Reading Terminal Market. I set it on lemon slices in a pan, added a bit of white wine, and put it in a 375°F oven for about 10 minutes.

It was topped with a fresh herb sauce:

Salsa Verde

  • 1 cup parsley
  • 6 sprigs thyme
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 8 leaves basil
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 anchovy fillets
  • 2 tbsp capers
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper, to taste - if desired
  • 1 cup olive oil

Place everything but olive oil into food processor and process until reasonably smooth. Slowly add olive oil.

Taste for seasoning and add salt and/or pepper, if desired.

It is really refreshing! Lots and lots of flavor going on.

The potatoes were cooked and mashed with savoy cabbage. This was Victor's idea. He generally dislikes cabbage, so when he suggested it, I ran with it! I love cabbage and just don't seem to get it often enough.

It was not unlike a Colcannon, but with an olive oil twist.

Mashed Potatoes with Savoy Cabbage

  • 2 lbs russet potatoes
  • 1/4 head savoy cabbage
  • butter
  • olive oil
  • S&P

Peel and cube the potatoes. Chop the cabbage. Place both in a pot and cover with salted water.

Boil until the potatoes are tender. Drain.

Return to pan and mash with butter and a healthy drizzle of olive oil.

Season with salt and pepper and top with chives, if desired.

Really simple and they played well with the fish.

Another thing that played well was little rainbow carrots. Roasted in the oven with olive oil and thyme sprigs, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Really simple. Nothing overpowered anything. The flavors all spoke for themselves.

And a loaf of bread. Also simple.

Dessert was Panna Cotta topped with Blackberries in Sweet Marsala.

I didn't get a picture of it because I served it just as Lawrence Welk was starting. Lawrence Welk, you say?!? Yes... Lawrence Welk. We've had a long-standing tradition of watching Lawrence with Ann and Julie - us in Pennsylvania and them in New York. Texts flying back and forth with "My gawd, can you believe what she's wearing?"or "Rose must have been on drugs to come up with that outfit." It is a total hoot to watch a totally campy show with friends long-distance. I highly recommend it.

This is the most basic of recipes - and easier than easy to prepare.

Panna Cotta

  • 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
  • 2 tbsp cold water
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Soften gelatin in the 2 tbsp water in a small saucepan. Heat to dissolve. remove from heat.

Bring heavy cream, half & half, and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in gelatin and vanilla. Mix well.

Pour into 6 6oz ramekins. Chill until completely set.

To unmold:

Dip ramekin in hot water for a few seconds. Run a sharp knofe around the ramekin and unmold onto a small plate.

Top with your favorite topping.

Blackberry Marsala Sauce

  • 8 oz blackberries
  • 1/2 cup sweet Marsala

Rinse berries. Pour Marsala on top, and mash a few of the berries. Let macerate an hour. Spoon over panna cotta.

More fun, laughter, and Pistachio Liqueur, it was time to call it a night.

We started off Sunday with Brunch - a fritatta. It's simple to make. Mushrooms, leeks, eggs, asparagus, herbes d'Provence... It was served with Blackberries in Prosecco - because we had leftover blackberries and leftover prosecco. It's great when things work out like that. We also had roasted potatoes with thyme and fresh squeezed blood orange juice with seltzer. Yum.

Of course, I forgot to photograph all of that when it was being served. Oh well. here's what was left.

We sat around talking and laughing and all the tomfoolery that friends seem to do, when I noticed it was getting into the middle of the afternoon, so I headed off into the kitchen and whipped up a loaf of bread and a torta di mele - an  Italian Apple Torte - while the kids were all occupied.

The bread is straight James Beard. I have been making it for years and years. It is a one-rise-into-a-cold-oven loaf. It never disappoints.

James Beard French-Style Bread

  • 1 pk active dry yeast
  • 1  tbsp  sugar
  • 1 cup  warm water
  • 1 tbsp  salt
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 tbsp  Yellow cornmeal
  • 1 egg white mixed with 1 tbsp cold water

Combine the yeast with sugar and warm water in a large bowl and allow to proof. Mix the salt with the flour and add to the yeast mixture, a cup at a time, until you have a stiff dough.

Remove to a lightly floured board and knead until no longer sticky, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary.

Place in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the surface with butter.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk..1 1/2-2 hrs.

Punch down the dough. Turn out on a floured board and shape into a long, French bread-style loaf. Place on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with the cornmeal, but NOT buttered.

Slash the tops of the loaf diagonally in two or three places with a single edge razor blade or sharp knife, brush the loaves with the egg white wash.

Place in a COLD oven, set the temperature at 400° and bake 35 minutes, or until well browned and hollow sounding when the tops are tapped.

I use the microwave as my proofing box, nowadays. I boil a 2 cup measure with water, place it in the corner, add the bowl of dough and close the door. It drives Victor crazy because inevitably he wants or needs to nuke something, but the concept works great.

And then dessert... a Torta di Mele.

This is another simple dessert - but it looks impressive as hell.

Torta di Mele

  • 4 apples - I used an assortment
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 7 tbsp butter
  • 2/3 sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/8 cup Calvados
  • 1 lemon - zest
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • salt

Heat the oven to 390°F.

Cream sugar with butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs and egg yolk. Add Lemon zest. Add milk and Calvados.

Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.

Peel and core apples. Slice half into wedges and chop half.

Stir the chopped apples into the batter.

Spread into a 10" springform pan that has been buttered and floured.

Arrange apple wedges around torta.

Bake about 30 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

I vacated the kitchen and Victor came in to make a baked pasta. Pasta with sausages, ricotta, five cheeses, and homemade sauce... Be still my beating heart. It was delicious. Even Nonna licked her plate clean.

There is something so comforting about ooey-gooey-cheesy pasta that is only made better when shared with friends. Then again, I think Italian food, in general, evokes family and friendship. There's just something about it that makes you want to eat, laugh, share, and talk for hours upon hours.

We never left the house. We simply moved from kitchen to living room to kitchen to living room.

So invite friends over for the weekend and just sit around and cook and eat. I highly recommend it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Chicken, Chorizo, and Seafood Paella

In one week, we saw two different cooking shows on cooking paella. Not that I believe in omens or anything, but... It did put the thought in my mind. So much so, that I actually ordered authentic Calasparra rice from Spain. 2 kilos. I figured if I'm going to do this, I may as well do it right.

The Calasparra rice is a Denominación de Origen product, cultivated by hand in rice paddies along the banks of the Segura River. It's fun to know exactly where your food comes from. I just hope they aren't naming the individual grains...

It's a really small-grain rice but it can absorb something like twice as much liquid as other rice while still maintaining its integrity. It's not exorbitantly priced - about $8.00/kilo - and it's rice. It has a long shelf life.

The program that really caught my attention was Jacques Pepin cooking paella. What I seriously like about him is his attitude that you're making it - do what you want. Traditional foods have their place, but that doesn't mean you can't improvise. Paella, for example, was traditionally made with what was available at the time. It's been traditionally seafood - but it doesn't have to be.

He made his with chicken, chorizo, mussels, shrimp...  added salsa and a commercial Alcaparrado - a mixture of olives, pimientos strips and capers.

I've actually never made a real paella in my life, and, I guess, technically, I still haven't - but this is the closest I've come - and it was damned good! It didn't have the perfect socarrat - the crispy bottom that is prized by paella-eaters everywhere - but I also didn't make it in a traditional paella pan. Somehow, I doubt I'll be buying one, either. One, I'm just not buying another single-use kitchen item. The second is I'm totally leery of burning the bottom of the paella. It's walking a really fine line between crispy and carbon - and I've done enough carbon in my life. I just don't need to do any more.

Jacques' technique is not exactly traditional, either. He covers the pan for more uniform cooking. I did a bit of both - covered and uncovered - and I moved the pan around the flame every couple of minutes to get the bottom cooked more evenly. The end result was pretty good.

I really liked the rice. It's smaller than the carnaroli rice I usually use for risotto and has great texture and flavor. I'll bet it would make a great rice pudding, as well! And since I bought 2 kilos and only used about 200 grams, I have plenty left to play with!

Chicken, Chorizo, and Seafood Paella

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 lb Spanish chorizo, diced
  • 3small skinless chicken thighs, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped onion
  • 1 tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
  • 1 1/4 cups Calasparra - or other short grained rice, such as arborio
  • 1/2 cup green pimento-stuffed olives
  • 3 tbsp capers
  • 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
  • 2 tbsp hot sauce
  • 1 cup canned diced tomatoes in sauce
  • About 1 1/2 teaspoons saffron pistils
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 pound assorted seafood

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the chorizo and chicken and brown over high to medium heat for 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Add the onion, and garlic, and cook for 1 minute.

Add the rice to the pan and mix well.

Stir in everything but the seafood. Mix well and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for about 12 minutes.

Add the seafood, placing them on top of the rice without stirring them in. Cover, increase the heat to medium, and cook for an additional 8 minutes.

Enjoy.

Since, like risotto, paella is really more about technique than it is ingredients, I can see some fun variations on a theme. Victor said he once had a vegetable paella recipe that called for artichokes, among other things.

We shall see.....

 

 


Shrimp Scampi Roll-Ups

I pulled a bag of shrimp out of the freezer this morning before heading off to work, told Victor I had 2 ideas - Shrimp and Grits or a Shrimp Scampi Roll-Up. Or... he could make something he wanted... It's always nice to have choices, ya know?!? When I got home, the verdict was the roll-up.

The Shrimp and Grits was something I was just going to do. The Scampi recipe came from Delish. I had bookmarked it a year ago and rediscovered it when I went through and cataloged the scores of recipes I've been bookmarking and ignoring for years. It's amazing how many recipes I had bookmarked from websites that no longer exist. It is so nice to have all of that gone and my "Food Folder" manageable for the first time in forever.

I bought a program called Paprika Recipe Manager that was recommended by our friend, Bonnie. The beauty of it is it downloads the website recipe onto your computer in an easy to read format and links back to the original recipe page with complete attribution. One of my biggest problems in copying recipes on my computer has been not paying attention and putting them in text files without adding where it was I got them from. Now... when I make something I can tell y'all where I got the idea! What a concept, eh?!?

So... armed with my recipe, to work I went...

You'll note when clicking on the recipe link that the original calls for small roll-ups with Lasagne noodles. Their picture looks neat, inviting... I chose to use lasagne sheets I had in the freezer. I was originally going to cut them into strips, but decided I'd go with the cannelloni look, instead. Mine definitely looks more rustic, but dayum, it was good! Really good. As in really, really good!

I did follow their basic recipe pretty much but used different cheeses. I switched out the mozzarella for asiago and fontina and, of course, used lasagne sheets instead of their lasagne noodles. One thing odd about their recipe is they state 10 noodles, six servings, but the video only shows 9 roll-ups in their dish. Not to mention the filling makes a hellava lot more than they show. I could have easily made 8 of these if I had used a 9x13 baking dish.

Shrimp Scampi Roll-Ups from Delish.

 

Theirs looked pretty. Mine tasted fabulous.

Even Nonna liked it!

 

 

 

 


Eggplant Rigatoni Timbale

And another gastronomical delight has been prepared in our kitchen!

Whilst I was diligently working, today, Victor was working as well - in the kitchen making a Timbale. A timbale is something usually wrapped in a pastry or mold - resembling a drum. At our house, the pastry has been replaced by eggplant, and the mold is a springform pan. Ya make do with what ya have...

We have made these in the past... there's no real recipe, it's more of a style and procedure than a cup of this and a spoonful of that. Think of a pasta dinner completely encased in an eggplant skin - top, bottom, and sides.

From there, it's all imagination.

Tonight's imagination was a fresh tomato sauce with spicy Italian sausage and mini rigatoni.

Eggplant Timbale

  • eggplant
  • pasta sauce
  • rigatoni
  • ricotta
  • shredded cheese
  • olive oil
  • bread crumbs

First step is to slice the eggplant and cook it. You can oven-bake, grill, or fry. Victor oven-baked it, today by brushing it with olive oil and cooking it in a 350°F oven for about 25 minutes.

Have your sauce ready. Cook the sausage.

Cook the rigatoni and mix it with the sliced sausage and sauce.

Oil and liberally coat a springform pan with bread crumbs. The breadcrumbs help to release the timbale when it’s cooked.

Line the pan with the cooked eggplant…

Add a layer of ricotta and shredded cheese…

Next, a layer of the sausage and pasta mixture…

More cheeses…

More pasta mixture…

More cheese and then fold the eggplant over the top, pressing down to compact and encasing everything.

A few crumbs on top…

And into a preheated 350°F oven for about an hour and 15 minutes. Add a bit more sauce and cheese to the top midway through.

Remove from the oven and let sit at least 20 minutes before serving.

Cut into wedges, and enjoy!

Totally awesome. Even Nonna cleaned her plate. Rich and filling without being heavy. It hits all of the gastronomic senses.

And if you happen to have some homemade sourdough bread ... all the better!

I love a man who can cook!