Sicilian Puttanesca Sauce...and a Winner!

It's been a trying 3 days for me...trying to scan photos on my scanner, which is a Canon, flatbed, from ten years ago. I do have another newer model, from HP, but that is at least six years old, as well. That particular one, the scanner does not work. I'm trying to be this "self help" computer tech, and it' taking a toll on my patience already, figuring things out. Well, everything is working on the old scanner...lucky for me, I saved the soft-ware to upload the program, now, just a matter of time, how to upload the scanned Sicilian precious photos that I wanted to share with you. I will probably have to resort to my daughter's scanner later, to upload them. I made this pasta the other night at my daughter's house, and it was a huge success, even with the little ones. I have never seen a 4 year old child eat anchovies, black olives, capers, at all, and here I have my little "snow white skinned" blue eyed  Mediterranean grandson, who eats just about everything you put on his plate, especially foods, such as this, and wants a second helping. Something about Puttanesca, which derives from the word "putana=whore," really does have a history behind this famous sauce, does not mean actually, that putanas, where actually cooking it.

Italian Sausage with Grilled Cheddar Polenta, and a Giveaway

After posting my vegetarian spaghetti carbonara, now I feel so guilty...Not!...but I should be, for posting sausage of all things, but not just any sausage, this is homemade, by my favorite Italian meat market, Mario's that's been around forever...about 30 years, with the same owners, now the owner's daughter in charge. This is the sausage, hot, and mild, that I bought for New Year's and still had another 2 lbs left over. I invited a friend over for dinner last night, and she was appalled and I could tell just the sound of her voice saying..."sausage?"...and then, silence!

Oh, my! I committed the "Cardinal Sin"...yes, I said "sausage, Italian sausage"...in her mind, since she doesn't eat sausage, thinking I was making these "dinky little breakfast sausages"...or, as she said...is it "Jimmy Dean sausage patties?"...no silly homemade Italian sausage. Enough said, just come on over, and "stop complaining, already!" I recently, or actually the other day, browsing through my followers blogs,

I found a blog, which had the most delicious Hungarian polenta, well in Hungarian, it's called "puliszka", which I thought looked so delicious, and more tempting was the amazing meat stuffed with sauer kraut, and topped with Hungarian bacon. Wow!...just looking at the photo made my cholesterol, go high, but I had to make a polenta dish which I have not made in a few years.
Lucky for me, I had everything on hand, and did not have to buy a thing.
Do check out Gesztenye
which in English mean Chestnuts she also has another blog too, all about truffles, or as she calls them bon-bons.
Another talented, and creative food blogger, from a different country, Hungary, my mother's birth country!

Vegetarian Pasta Carbonara

Last Saturday, we were all so busy with gathering up warm clothes for the kids, to wear in the snowy and cold NYC climate. Suppertime was nearing, and my sweet daughter was so concerned to make some kind of pasta for the kids... her hubby working in his restaurant as usual, so he doesn't eat at home, only on his days off. Lora decided, on Pasta Carbonara...oh, but no pancetta left over from Teresa's care package?...no bacon?...what is one to do!?....Alas, suddenly, I got a great idea, "how about some Carbonara without pancetta, or bacon?...A "Vegetarian, Pasta Carbonara!...So, I agreed to make it, so easy, told my daughter just go pack...she even had 3 egg yolks left over, which she saved, from a cake she was making, and handed me a bag of frozen peas....frozen peas?...."yes, she said, the kids like that"..."OK, so let's get started," I said..."just go pack, and I will take care of it. 

Vegetarian Pasta Carbonara

3 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiana Reggiano cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream
salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 bag of frozen peas, about 12-16 ounces
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 lb. spaghetti (I used organic, from Whole Foods)
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

The first thing you must start, is to boil the water for your pasta. In the meantime, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the onion starts to get a nice rosy color. Now, add the peas, and saute all together just until incorporated. In a medium bowl, add the yolks, the whole eggs half of the cheese, salt, and generous amount of freshly grou d pepper, the cream and with a wire whisk, blend it well, until nice and creamy, but just a few strokes of the whisk. (Do not over beat it.)

Strain the pasta into a colander, and save about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.(you might need it later) to thin out your pasta, if the sauce gets too thick. Put the pasta back into the pot, make sure the heat is OFF, drizzle about 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, mix it up, and pour the carbonara mixture into the pot with the pasta. Gently mix all together, just make sure you are not scrambling the eggs, heat has to be turned off. Now, take the carbonara pasta mixture and pour into a large serving pasta bowl, Add the peas and onion mixture, and gently combine.

Add  a little more (1Tbsp) extra virgin olive oil on the top of the pasta, another 1/4 cup grate Parmigiana Reggiano cheese;
(all together you will be needing 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, and 3/4 cup grated cheese)
The result of this outrageously yummy and rich pasta will be a memorable dish, that you will want to make over, and over again.
Note: you can omit the peas, and you also can use chili pepper flakes, or diced red bell pepper, or zucchini, sliced thin, instead of the peas. The choice is yours!
This was a version that I created with ingredients on hand, and I am happy to share with you!

A Comforting Frittata

With Christmas behind us, and leftovers just about gone, too much sweets eaten...a nice comforting vegetarian frittata will not only satisfies your hunger, but you can have your "breakfast, for dinner" as well. How can you go wrong with a perfect blend of sauteed sliced potatoes, fresh chopped tomatoes, and fresh spinach, topping it off with shredded cheese of your choice ( I used, cheddar)...scramble up at least 6-8 eggs, and added all together cooking it on the stove top, making sure you are not scrambling it, just lift a little from the edges to let it cook evenly, and finishing it off in the broiler. Yumm! Something your family will enjoy on a lazy and not much to do, evening.

There's no set recipe for this fritatta, just start out sauteing some chopped onions in about 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, along with about 4 small potatoes peeled and sliced thin, saute until potatoes are almost tender, adding about 1 large or a couple small fresh tomatoes, salt and pepper and a good handful of fresh spinach right into the mixture. Let it all cook together until spinach gets wilted. I even added about 1/4 cup of plain crushed tomatoes, (tomato sauce, marinara sauce will also work) but not tomato paste. To serve 6 servings with this, I scrambled 8 eggs, and poured it right over the vegetable mixture...see photo below!

In this process, all you do is lift a little bit around the edges, not disturbing the rest of the egg mixture, letting the uncooked eggs flow to the edge. 

At this point, you can see the edges setting, but the middle is still kind of wet, so with a wooden spoon, or spatula, carefully make a small incision in the center, tilting the pan from left to right to get to an even flow for setting more.
This may sound like a small "surgery process" or some kind of experiment, but it's just to make sure you have an even, nice, and fluffy frittata. Here's the last process, below!

Last process, I added a 16 ounce bag of shredded cheddar cheese, and a small amount of Mexican style cheese...you can add in place of this, shredded mozzarella, Swiss, or just grated Parmesan cheese. Also, you can variate the vegetables, and the spices, but in this case my grandchildren were eating this, and I had to be careful not making it too spicy for them. You can top this off with a nice salsa, and serve it with crusty bread. This dish served 4 adults, and 4 young children. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Farfalle with Basil Pesto

There's something about pesto sauce that I really love. Maybe its bright green color, and oh, the aroma of fresh basil infused with imported extra virgin olive oil, the pine nuts, the garlic, just a little whirl in the food processor, and you have a gourmet sauce, that is quick, and delicious. A few shavings of Parmigiana Reggiano, and you have an incredible meal. All you need, is a nice fresh Italian bread, or French baguette, a salad, and you have a gourmet dish, with very little fuss! I used the recipe from the Food Network, but otherwise, I use the same one myself, not know where the original came from.
    
          Pesto Sauce

• 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese (see Cook's Note)

Directions

Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
If using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese.
If freezing, transfer to an air-tight container and drizzle remaining oil over the top. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and stir in cheese.
Adapted from Television Food Network

I decided to remove the second photo of the yummy pesto pasta, so I could include the photo of this year's Christmas tree, at my daughter's house. This year, as in every few years, they put up a live tree, but unfortunately my little 4yr old grandson is allergic to the fresh pine, so he has to take his allergy medicine, which is helping...otherwise they would have to take the tree down before Santa Claus arrives!

Risotto with Peas, Zucchini and Saffron

I finally started to take pictures with my new camera, and this is one of the first photos of food...although, my granddaughter already is way ahead of me, while I'm still reading the instruction manual, she not only took photos of the Christmas tree, and decorations, but also made a video, of the tour of their house...LOL.
Here's a fabulous shrimp dish, made by my daughter...cannot take credit for it, but I will post the basic risotto recipe, and the finishing of the shrimp, and veggies.

Basic Risotto

1 cup white arborio rice
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
5 cups hot stock (or water)
1/2 cup white wine (optional)

 Heat olive oil in a heavy non-stick 2-quart pot. Saute onion in oil until translucent. Add rice and stir rice until grains are coated with oil Add wine and stir constantly on medium heat until wine is absorbed. Add 1 cup hot stock or water, stirring until liquid is absorbed. Continue cooking for about 20 minutes, adding the remaining liquid 1 cup at a time. This rice creates its own creamy sauce; add additional liquid if creamier texture is desired. Remove from heat, stir in cheeses and serve immediately. 

For the shrimp:

Just cook 1 lb.of shrimp-which is peeled, and deveined, tails removed, in small amount of broth, or water, and fold in at the very end, when risotto is done.

For the vegetables:

Sauteed, thin sliced zucchini, and frozen peas, added at the end of cooking the risotto, along with a few strands of saffron.

Very tasty, and yummy!

Today, I was watching my precious little grandson, and could not decide what to make for lunch...well, "lo and behold" mommy always has fresh chicken broth on hand, and marinara sauce, not to mention leftover rice, steamed spinach, and steamed broccoli, which was a side dish the night before. Such a beautiful solution, to Minestrone soup, on a cold, and damp S. Florida day. Always have staples, like canned beans of any kind. In this case, we had the perfect Great Northern beans, which was the best choice, for the soup.

Minestrone Soup

32 oz. of chicken broth, homemade, or canned, or in a 32 oz. carton

16 oz. of Marinara sauce, homemade, or from a jar

2- 15oz. can of Great Northern beans, or (any kind of your choice)
1 15 oz can of dice tomatoes
you can add, leftover broccoli, steamed chopped spinach, or any
other cooked vegetables, ie. carrots, celery, additional beans,
( I added leftover rice, you can add dittalini (tube) pasta, even leftover meatballs
or chopped leftover chicken is good.

All you have to do is add all the ingredients of your choice, together and simmer to
an almost boil, and serve. Really delish! Serves 6.

I kid you not...my grandson had two bowls of this yummy and comforting soup...and after that, had a nice sampling of the Tate's cookies. so crisp, and yummy!

All set for Christmas...all the stocking hanging, and waiting for Santa. Decorated by my 9 year old granddaughter, the mini "Martha Stewart"...and photos done by her, with my new camera...yeahh!...I finally was able to upload them. Now, I'm on my way to take fabulous new photos, and say goodbye to my old camera, of only less than 3 years...sigh...I still like the old 35mm. with the film. I still have my Canon, 1985 model, with all the extra lenses, but it's obsolete for today's use. I even have another one, which is a Nikon, same year. I have close to $1,000.invested in each of the 2 with several lenses, and fancy case, (now, just a memory)

Butternut Squash, with Organic Rainbow Chard

Today, was one of those days when I decided to make something with ingredients I already had in my frig, but instead, I ended up using ingredients that my daughter had in her frig when I went to her house. She did the same thing, but for using stuff to make her cake. We both scoured through and found the perfect things. She had roasted butternut squash the other day, and it was the perfect solution for me to create a nice dish. I certainly used my favorite Indian curry, and  favorite Hungarian paprika...a combination that is a "winner" 







 

Spaghetti with Porcini Mushrooms

Now that Halloween is behind us, and taking a breather from contacting all the award participants, I can now start posting some of the dishes that I have made in the past week. You will be seeing a lot more vegetarian dishes, since my son and daughter-in-law have become vegetarians, with their on-again, off-again...OK, lets eat some meat...special occasion excuses, so now it's official once more. As for me, I make vegetarian dishes at least twice or 3 times a week and the rest of the week it's usually chicken, anyway. Once in a while beef, or pork, which is rarely. This porcini mushroom comes from Italy, in a small packet. When my daughter visits once a year, all I ask of her is to bring me Italian spices, and porcini mushrooms. All you do to reconstitute the dried mushrooms, is to put them into a small pot, fill it up with water, let it come to a boil, leave it alone to cool the water...do not use for at least one hour, or just put it into a mason jar with the liquid, which is so important, and use it within a few days, or so...all of it, or some of it. It has a nice woodsy flavor, and it is oh so rich, and oh so very expensive, if you can even buy it! The broccoli florets was an (option) which was steamed and added in there at the end.

...I forgot to include in my Halloween "show& tell" dear departed grandma Fran, and Grandpa Ronny (comment from my 4yr old granddaughter)
...OK enough of that. My recipe to follow, the way I made the porcini with the spaghetti...some of you that do not like the broccoli, just ignore it. 

Spaghetti with Porcini Mushrooms

1 small packet of dried porcini mushrooms (about 1 cup dried)

1 onion chopped

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic minced

1 cup tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

small amount of dried red pepper flakes

1 jalapeno seeded and sliced thin (optional)

few leaves of fresh basil

1 cup liquid from porcini mushrooms

1 cup porcini mushrooms that have been boiled and soaked in water

1 lb. dry spaghetti (save 1 cup water, from the cooked pasta)

In a medium saucepan, add water about halfway, empty the dried mushrooms and let it come to a boil. Do not boil any longer, just let the mushroom soak in the liquid, let it cool down, and save in a medium mason jar with a lid, with liquid. You should end up with about 2 cups of mushroom. Do not discard the liquid, you will need it in the cooking process.

In the meantime boil the water for the spaghetti, and cook according to directions. In a large skillet, saute onions, jalapeno and garlic till onions are nicely wilted, add the mushrooms, and the liquid from the mushrooms, the salt and pepper, and the basil. Let the liquid cook down for a few minutes, until you see it thickening. Add the tomato sauce, and let it cook until the sauce thickens You can add steamed broccoli florets to fold into the sauce at this time. (optional) Serves 4.

Perciatelli Carbonara

I did a crop, and a close up photo of my carbonara pasta, so you could see the nice sauce, with the pepper flakes, the diced red bell pepper, the bacon, and fresh parsley, the Parmesan cheese had already melted deliciously, on the top. My easy recipe, to follow. 

Perciatelli Carbonara 
(for 2)


1/2 box of a 1lb. Perciatelli or Spaghetti
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red, (or any color) bell pepper, diced
a dash of pepper flakes
salt and pepper, to taste,
4 slices of bacon fried crisp, and crumbled
2 eggs, mixed with 1/4 heavy cream
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
1Tbsp. bacon fat


First step, which is the most important step...In a large high heat resistant skillet, fry the bacon until crisp, and lay them on double thick paper towel to absorb the grease., and chop or crumble into small pieces. Next, drain but leave about 1 Tbsp. of the bacon grease, and add to it the1 Tbsp. of the olive oil. Saute  the onion, the chili pepper flakes, garlic, and bell pepper, in the reserved bacon grease, and olive oil.
In the meantime, boil pasta to al dente, saving 1/2 cup of the cooking water, if needed, to thin out the sauce, (which you most like don't have to) 
Scramble the eggs with the cream till nicely blended, and set aside. Drain the pasta, leaving about 1/2 cooking liquid, and set that aside. Pull the skillet off the heat, and add the pasta right into the skillet, pour the eggs, and cream mixture, right over the top, and mix together, adding the Parmesan cheese, and serve, with additional cheese, and chopped parsley, with a generous grinding of black pepper. 
note:
Be sure to pull off the skillet, from the heat, to add the eggs, and cream, otherwise you will end up with scrambled eggs, and not a nice, smooth sauce. One good thing is, for adding the cream...you will not have to use a lot of eggs, and save on fat, and cholesterol. You can use a mixture of butter, and olive oil to saute the onions, and the peppers, but the bacon grease gives it a nice, rich, flavor.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Image via Wikipedia

Fettuccine Alfredo is such an easy pasta dish to make. I recommend dry pasta for this. I tried it with homemade pasta, but it just seems to soak up all the sauce, and you need more sauce than recipe requires. This one also soaks it all up but just to the point of perfection.

There are quite a few versions of this, but I just like to use my version for now. Heavy cream, unsalted butter, imported parmigiana cheese-lots of it, a small amount of freshly grated nutmeg, very little sea salt, and fresh grated tricolor pepper. A small amount of snipped fresh parsley on the top. This is what 8 ounces looks like, not to mention what 16 ounces would look like. You can feed an army with one pound of pasta, This portion generously feeds at least 2 adults. and perhaps 2 children. Very filling, and oh so tasty.

This is what 1/4 pound looks like. Parsley already mixed in, not just for decoration. A nice glass of good quality Chardonnay, or Pinot Grigio goes well with it. This is so filling, you may not even want to have a salad with it, just another glass of wine, and a nice espresso later.

I highly recommend De Cecco pasta, one of the best out there. My favorite supermarket had this on sale, 3 for $5.00. What a bargain. They usually cost nearly $3.00 or more, for a 16 ounce box. Check for bugs, in the box! Maybe it's old?...Not to worry, just kidding. Our supermarket is immaculate, and everything is dated, and all the fresh produce could not be better, even at the produce market, unless you have your own garden.

These wonderful graters work best. The larger one I've had, since I don't know when, it's at least 30 years old,  Ekco brand, made in the U.S.A. The smaller one with the fine grating is a Farberware. Both are stainless steel and they last forever.

Recipe for Fettuccine Alfredo:
Fettuccine Alfredo
8 ozs. of dry De Cecco fettuccine (half a box of a 16oz.)
1 cup of heavy cream
4 tablespoon (1/4 lb.) unsalted butter
3/4 cup imported parmigiana (Parmesan cheese)
small amount of freshly grated nutmeg (dry is good too)
A small amount of snipped, (not chopped) parsley. (snip it with a kitchen scissor)
very small amount of sea salt
fresh grated tricolor pepper, or black pepper (I don't use white pepper)
1/2 cup cooking water reserved
In a large skillet, melt butter with cream, and 1/4 cup of the grated Parmesan. Slowly heat, and stir, until it gets nice and thick. In the meantime, boil pasta until al-dente, saving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.(I always save at least one cup for reserve.) Mix the pasta with the sauce, right into the large, skillet. It should be at least a 12 inch skillet, or a large pot, if you prefer. Now, grated the nutmeg, the sea salt, careful, not to add too much because the cheese is salty too. add another 1/4 cup portion of the cheese. At this point, the pasta has absorbed quite amount of the sauce, so you need to thin it out a little, with the reserved cooking water, a small amount while you are heating up the pasta. When it's nicely incorporated, put it into a medium serving bowl, or separate serving plates. Dived the cheese to sprinkle on top, and add parsley, not just for presentation, but it really tastes very nice with it.
Serves at least 3.