Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Fresh Tomato Sauce

28 oz can crushed tomatoes
28 oz can pureed tomatoes
2-3 whole fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/2 an eggplant, cubed (optional)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion
1/3 lb Italian sausage (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 TB. olive oil

In a medium soup pot, heat the olive oil and saute the garlic until it begins to be aromatic.  Add in the onions, bell pepper, and eggplant; saute a little longer.  Add in the fresh tomato and bring all to a simmer.  Add in the canned tomatoes (both kinds).  Bring to a simmer.  Add in the sausage.  Cover and cook at a low, low simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.  YUM.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Pasta with Asparagus

1/2 lb pasta, cooked (makes about 4 servings)
1 bunch fresh asparagus, cut into 3-4 inch-long sections
1 C. chicken broth*
grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
oil for sauteing

Cook the pasta.  Set aside.  Heat the oil in the bottom of a deep saucepan.  Saute the garlic until it starts to become aromatic.  Put in the asparagus and saute a little longer.  Add in the chicken stock and reduce the heat until the stock is just simmering.  Cover and let cook until the asparagus is tender, about 10-15 minutes.  Put the cooked pasta in the pan with the asparagus and toss to coat.  Remove all (including broth) to a serving dish.  Top with grated parmesan cheese and toss to coat.  Once it is served onto plates, you can add more parmesan on top if you prefer to. 

_______

This recipe is so simple, and is about as authentic as you can get.  Grandmom told me that when she was growing up, most nights of the week her mother would fix pasta with a vegetable...because they were poor!  But it is also extremely healthy, and tasty, as attested by the fact that she still fixes that kind of dish today even though she is definitely not poor anymore.

*As for the chicken broth, if you are vegetarian you have a number of options, which include purchasing and using your own favorite brand of vegetable-based stock.  I personally used to have a pretty good recipe at one time, but even though I lost it I can tell you that making a broth exclusively out of bouquet garni, salt and pepper, celery, onions, and carrots tastes pretty much identical to a chicken stock made with the same.  I have heard that miso makes a good savory broth as well.  I haven't tried it, but I do like miso soup, or sometimes even as a hot beverage!!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Cherry Biscotti

So, I thought I would provide info on the cherry biscotti that made it into the picture of the Walnut Snowballs!  It's really easy:

Make a batch of dough for the anise toast, leaving out the anise extract.  You can omit it entirely--or--substitute vanilla extract if you want.  Coarsely chop about 2/3 C. dried cherries.  In a small bowl, mix together the dried cherries and about 1/4 C. sugar.  Divide your dough into two portions.  Put both portions on a lightly-greased baking sheet.  (They will both fit on one.  Do the filling and shaping on the baking sheet rather than on a work surface because the dough is fairly soft and otherwise it would take some serious coordination to keep them from falling apart midair while you were attempting to transfer them.)  Pat each portion out into an oval about 8 inches long by 4 inches wide by 1 inch thick.  Pat half of the cherry-sugar mixture on top.  Roll up the dough jellyroll-fashion.  Pat into a loaf about 10 inches long by 2-3 inches thick by 3 inches wide.  Repeat for the other half of the dough.  Bake as directed for the anise toast, including the slicing and retoasting part.  My experience making this is that you want to let your baked loaves rest about 5-10 minutes (it's okay if they get a little cool) before trying to slice them and toast the slices.  They'll hold up better and be less likely to crumble when you're cutting them.  The ones in the picture turned out really crispy and flavorful!  They are good for dipping in coffee, but are not hard, so you can eat them by themselves also.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Bowknot Cookies

Dough
water
12 eggs
24 TB. sugar*
1 C. orange juice
13 C. flour
12 tsp. baking powder
2-1/4 C. shortening

Icing
2 lbs XXX sugar
juice of 2 oranges
juice of 2 lemons

Rainbow jimmies, or jimmies of your color preference**

Melt shortening.  Mix with eggs, vanilla, 24 TB. sugar, 1 C. juice, baking powder, and flour.  Knead with your hands until workable-- the dough should be smooth and elastic.  Roll small pieces of the dough into snakes, then twist into knots or pretzel shapes.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 350F for 8 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from baking sheets onto sheets of waxed paper and let cool.  Mix together the icing ingredients and spoon over the cookies to coat them.  (Some will run down the sides onto the waxed paper, but that what it's there for.)  If desired, sprinkle them with the jimmies while the icing is still wet.  Allow the icing to dry uncovered overnight before storing to allow it time to harden.  Makes 400 cookies.  (Each cookie is about the size of the walnut.)
_______

*Why, you ask, are the measurements in this recipe impossible units like "24 tablespoons of sugar"?  Because the only way my mom could get the recipe off of Great-grandmom Canduci was to watch her while she made it.  She, in the time-honored tradition of Italian women, practiced the "dump and eyeball" method of cooking, a tradition still alive today in the best kitchens.  (Think about it: do you ever see a participant on "Top Chef" or "Chopped" cautiously measuring out exactly 2 teaspoons of salt?)  However, it's kind of hard to convey this in print.  So, my mom sat and counted dumps.

**One of my first memories of college life (several years ago) is my first roommate's boyfriend.  He had come over to our room to visit her and help her set up a toy bear that rode a toy unicycle across a length of fishing line.  It was a pretty neat toy, but don't ask me why she wanted it in her dorm room.  Regardless, the bear had a tendency to slip off the fishing line and have unfortunate accidents with the area that, had he been a real bear, would have contained reproductive properties.  Us all being about eighteen years old, her boyfriend took great joy in saying, in a gravelly voice that was supposed to be the bear's voice, that he wanted my roommate to knock him off the fishing line.  "KICK ME IN THE JIMMIES!" he (the boyfriend) crowed and, of course, we all laughed hysterically.  Did I mention that we were eighteen?  In fact, I think he was nineteen and a mighty sophomore in that Hall of Learning.  Anyway, jimmies, besides being the gonads of a toy bear, are also small cylinder-shaped candies used for sprinkling onto desserts and particularly ice cream. 

Friday, December 23, 2011

Apricot Cookies

2 sticks of butter or margarine, softened
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 C. flour
Jar of apricot preserves
powdered sugar for dusting

Mix together the butter or margarine, flour, and cream cheese.  (I usually combine the butter and cream cheese, then do the flour.)  Knead it Italian-style.  IE get your hands dirty.  So dirty.  And sticky.  It's part of the process, I swear.  Scrape your hands off and lay your dough on a floured surface.  Knead it a little further if necessary to get it to a workable consistency, adding additional flour if needed.  Roll the dough to 1/4th to 1/8th inch thick.  Cut into 2-inch squares.*  Place 1/4 tsp. preserves in the center of each.**  Fold two opposite points inward to make a roll with points for ends.  Bake at 350F for 12 minutes or until golden.  Remove from the oven and dust liberally with powdered sugar.
________

*The way Grandmom does this is to use what is popularly known as a pizza cutter but which actually is meant to cut pastry.  You know, the wheel-shaped blade with a handle.  It works like a dream, whatever you want to call it.  I don't own one, so I use a sharp knife, which works almost as well.

**I know this sounds like an infinitesimally small  amount of jelly, and to be honest I do not personally get out a 1/4 tsp. measuring spoon to do the job, but you really do NOT want to put too much jelly in a cookie.  The reason is this: ovens are hot, and when jelly gets hot, it will run all over the place like a merry little flood of sugar.  Sometimes it's so pleased with itself that it actually catches on fire.  I know.  Don't we all wish we could be alight with joy.  But countertops are cold, and the jelly, now coating your pan, returns to its original lugubrious or new blackened state.  (Hey, it takes a lot of energy to be on fire.)  I will satisfy your curiosity right now: it is a B*%#@ to clean up burnt-on jelly.  So when you're filling your cookies, use a regular teaspoon and get just enough jelly to be a little tiny dab on the very tip.  Scrape that off into the center of your cookie.  There.  Perfect.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Cherry Biscotti, Walnut Snowballs, & Gingersnaps


These walnut snowballs actually have less powdered sugar than I usually put on them.  I got kind of busy pulling things in and out of the oven and missed a crucial step, which I will now emphasize to you: dredging the snowballs in the bowl of powdered sugar immediately after they come out of the oven.  The powdered sugar you dust over them later sticks better to a good initial coating of dredged powdered sugar, and the initial dredging sticks better if the cookies are still a little steamy from the oven.  (Since they have so much butter in them they end up a very crisp cookie with an almost-non-existant moisture content once they cool.)  These one still tasted good, though!

Ricotta Pie

Crust1/2 C. unseasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 C. butter

Filling
1 C. golden raisins
1/2 C. flour
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
2 15oz. containers of ricotta cheese or 2 recipes-worth of fresh ricotta cheese
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
6 eggs

8-inch* springform pan

Using the butter, grease the inside of the springform pan generously.  Swirl the breadcrumbs around inside to coat.  In a mixing bowl, combine the raisins and flour, then blend in the zests.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla.  Add in the eggs one at a time.  Fold in the raisin mixture and stir to combine, the pour all into your prepared pan.  Heat the oven to 350F and bake for 60-70 minutes.  (It will not look like it is done.)  Set it out to cool, then slice and serve.
________

Grandmom was kind of unclear about the correct size of pan.  She did say that the pie should come about halfway up the sides of the pan when you pour it in.  Otherwise, the pie will be a little tough when it bakes because the filling is too thin in the pan.

Fresh Ricotta Cheese--makes about 2 cups

8 C. whole milk
1 tsp. salt
3 TB. lemon juice (fresh tastes best, of course, which would be the equivalent of the juice of 1 whole lemon)

Bring the milk and salt to a boil in a heavy and deep saucepan over medium-high heat.  Stir in the lemon juice and reduce the heat so that the mixture is simmering.  Let simmer until curds form, 1-2 minutes.  Scoop the curds out of the pan and place in a colander lined with 4 layers of cheesecloth.  Place colander over the sink (or a pan if you want to keep the whey for its protein content to use in baked goods) and let it drain about a minute.  Transfer curds to a storage container and use within a week.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Bean & Pasta Soup / Cross-Cultural Family Fighting

1/2 C. uncooked small pasta*
1 C. canned or precooked kidney or garbanzo beans
2 C. chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
3 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/2 C. cooked lima beans

Combine all ingredients in a soup pot.  Cook until pasta is tender.  If desired, serve topped with grated parmesan cheese and a teaspoonful of white wine.
_______

*By "small pasta", I mean any pasta shape that is pretty much bite-sized.  I don't know all the names of all the pasta varieties, but the ones my Grandmom uses most often are: stars, acini de pepe, elbows, and orzo.  Acini de pepe are little dots, kind of.  I pesonally am also fond of cooking with conchiglie and mostaccioli.  (Mini shells and mustaches!!!)

This is one of those Italian recipes where you can pretty much put in whatever you want to.  Therefore it is also one of those recipes where Italian mothers and daughters (and granddaughters, and greatgrandmothers) fight about mid-stove. 

Mother: NO!  You put in white kidney beans!  Otherwise is chili! 
Daughter: (Loooong, drawn-out sigh from daughter). 
Mother: OK, I see you no care how I feel!  (tears begin to glisten suggestively in mother's eyes)
Daughter: Look, the world is not going to end if I put in light red kidney beans.
Mother: FINE, do what you want!
Daughter: FINE!  I'LL STRAIN OUT THE RED KIDNEY BEANS!
Mother: No, no throw away!  Must not waste!  (tears mysteriously are now gone)
Daughter: (Innocent tone) Oh, ok, I see.  Well, the red ones are ok then?

Yes.  This soup is technically a quick meal, but it could take all day. In the end, no one will be poisoned by the wrong color of kidney bean, the mother will compliment the daughter on her cooking, the daughter will heave a sigh of relief and victory, and lunch will be heartily enjoyed by all.

Italian Rum Cake

2 small packages of instant chocolate pudding, made with 2 tsp. rum extract, or actual rum
2 small packages instant vanilla pudding, plain or made with 2 tsp. amaretto
chocolate jimmies (like what you put on top of ice cream)
2-3 packages of almond biscotti
1 carton of whipped topping, thawed
a jar of maraschino cherries

Cut the biscotti in half lengthwise and lay in a single layer on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish.  Spread with the prepared vanilla instant pudding.  Lay another layer of biscotti over the top of the vanilla pudding.  Spread the prepared chocolate pudding over the top.  Cover and chill in refrigerator overnight, to allow the chocolate and vanilla puddings to soften the biscotti.  Immediately before serving, spread the whipped topping over the top.  Sprinkle liberally with the chocolate jimmies and rinsed maraschino cherries (so the totally unnatural but delicious red-dyed syrup doesn't stain your pretty white whipped topping).

______

Italian Rum Cake is an interesting dish.  The best way to describe it is that it is what happens when a cook gets busy, only the cook is Italian.  I like it, and it makes a good dish for a party because it's attractive and easy to serve.  You really have to let it sit overnight, though!  Otherwise you will be crunching up pudding-coated biscotti, and this is supposed to be more like a cakey trifley kind of affair.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Raisin Nut Rolls

Dough
1 C. butter, softened
1/2 C. sugar
1 egg
2/3 C. flour + extra if needed*
1 tsp. baking powder
8 oz. sour cream
Confectioner's Sugar for kneading and dusting**

Filling
1/2 C. raisins
2 C. chopped pecans
1-1/2 C. apricot jelly
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C. sugar

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add in the egg.  Add in the dry ingredients and sour cream in alternation.  The dough will be sticky and loose.  Divide into two or three portions, wrap each portion in waxed paper, and chill them overnight in the refrigerator.  The day of baking, combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl.  Take one portion at a time out of the refrigerator and roll on a work surface sprinkled with confectioner's sugar until about 1/4-inch thick.  Cut the dough into 2 inch squares.  Place a small amount of filling in the center of each square and roll it up like a rolled thing.  (A burrito, a newspaper, a handmade cigarette, whatever image works for you.)  Place the rolls on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350F for 15 minutes.  (They should be flaky when done, but they will not really turn brown, much like the walnut snowballs.)  Let cool slightly, then dust liberally with confectioner's sugar.
_______

*I always end up needing to add more flour to this recipe, and I have never written down exactly how much that is.  Basically, the consistency of the dough should be extremely soft and gooey, but should hold a shape for at least half a minute after released.  Ergo, if you shmursh it (I made that word up) into a round shape, it should immediately start to ooze somewhat back into its natural shapelessness, but it shouldn't ooze and gush all around your fingers while you're still trying to make it be round.  IE, it should be more solid than liquid.  This is a dough that, because of its high fat content, is very tender.  It pretty much has to be chilled to be workable at all.  So, to sum it all up, you probably will need to add about 1/2 C. to 3/4 C. more flour.  I wish I could be more specific!

**Confectioner's sugar, XXX sugar, XXXX sugar, 10X sugar, whatever you call it, is needed to the amount of 2 C. total for this recipe.  I'm not saying you'll use all if it, but just have that much on hand.  As for the kneading, a baker trick that works for some cookies (but not all) is to dust your work surface with confectioner's sugar instead of flour.  Instead of making your cookies breadier and less flavorful, it actually makes them better, plus it improves workability nearly as well as flour.

Anise Toast

2 C. flour
3/4 C. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 C. vegetable oil
1 tsp. anise extract

Preheat oven to 375F.  Mix together dry ingredients.  Make a well and add in the wet ingredients.  Mix together with your fingers until well-blended; the dough should be sticky.  Make two 10-inch long loaves.  Bake on a lightly-greased baking sheet for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.  Remove from the oven (leaving the oven on!!) and let cool about 5 minutes, then slice into 1/4-to-1/2 inch slices.  (Ergo, if you like your toast crisper, slice them thinner, if not, slice them 1/2 inch thick.  They should look like long strips either way.)  Return the toast strips to the baking pan and bake them until they are golden on one side, then turn and bake until golden on the other side.  Cool and store in an airtight container.  Makes about 24 anise cookies.

______

Anise toast is what Italian babies were teethed on before baby product companies caught on that they could sell teethers and people would buy them.  FYI Anise toast is cheaper and healthier than the blue goo in the teether (should the baby, you know, actually bite the teether and get at it).  If you don't want your baby to get tooth decay before she even gets teeth, instead of giving her anise toast wrap an ice cube in a washcloth.  Problem solved, no blue goo, no chokeable parts, NO MONEY SPENT.  Oh yeah, you can also dip anise toast in your coffee if you already have teeth and you like the taste of anise.  Which I do.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Fried Eggplant

1 large eggplant, cut into rounds or strips 1/2 inch thick
1 C. milk
1 C. flour
1 TB. oil
1 tsp. onion salt
1 egg
some grated parmesan cheese (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying
1 C. Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs* (optional)

Mix together the flour, onion salt, salt and pepper in a pie plate.  In a separate pie plate, mix together the egg, milk, and 1 TB. oil.  If you opt for the breadcrumbs, put them in their own pie plate.  Heat the oil for frying in a skillet over medium heat.  The oil is hot enough when a drop of water in the pan sizzles.  Made a row of the pie plates on the counter leading up to the skillet in the following order: flour, egg mixture, breadcrumbs.  Put the eggplant plate before the flour.  Take a fork and pick up a piece of eggplant.  Dip the eggplant in the flour on both sides.  Then dunk it in the egg mixture.  Then dunk it either back in the flour mixture (if you're not using breadcrumbs) or in the breadcrumbs.  Do this to enough eggplant pieces to make a single layer with some wiggle room in the skillet.  Fry until golden and crispy on both sides.  Drain on a plate lined with paper towels.  Repeat until all eggplant is fried.  If you so choose, sprinkle the fried eggplant with parmesan cheese.
_______

This recipe is for fried eggplant, but you can fry a lot of vegetables this way and come out with a tasty main dish, side dish, or sandwich filling.  Yes, leftover fried eggplant in a good roll with maybe some ketchup is a delicious lunch, in my opinion at least.  Basically, all summer squashes work well, and one time I accidentally fried cucumber this way and it was good too.  (Hey, cucumbers and zucchini look a lot alike.)
_______

Italian breadcrumbs is a product that you can buy in the store under the same name, but you could also make them pretty easily.  All you'd need is: stale bread, dried parsley, dried oregano, salt, and pepper.  And the will to smash the bread up in a plastic bag with a rolling pin.  Shazam, homemade breadcrumbs!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Ok, I just couldn't resist.

I have decided to open an exclusive restaurant in the heart of the Gulch.  It will have a modern, urban ambience and provide space for small or large groups as well as events.  The menu will be authentic American food prepared with the class and experience of world-renowned chefs who spent several months under the tutelage of actual American cooks so that they could capture the essence and flavors of traditional American cuisine.

The initial menu will consist of:

Milled peanut essence with concord grape gastrique, all served on top of rustic sourdough    18

Hand-crafted pasta with gruyere and colby cream sauce    15

House-made gelee of chicken stock with aged celery and sea salt.    12

Butter-walnut tarts with dark chocolate.    8

And that, my friends, is called "polishing a turd."

Stuffed Artichokes (with meat)

2 whole fresh artichokes
1/2 lb ground beef--or--about 1 C. finely crushed italian-seasoned bread crumbs*
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. oregano
1 stalk celery, minced
1/2 of an onion, minced
cooking oil

Preheat oven to 350F.  Clean the artichokes and cut the prickers off the tips of the leaves, then slice the bottoms flat so that they will sit up in the baking dish.  Remove the heart.  In a skillet, saute the celery and onion.  Drain.  Brown the beef.  Add in the remaining ingredients to the skillet, excepting the tomato sauce.  Let the meat mixture cool slightly, then press walnut- (or so) sized portions into the concave portion of each leaf.  Place the artichokes in a greased baking pan, then spoon any remaining meat filling and the tomato sauce over the top.  Place another baking pan half-filled with water into the bottom rack of the oven.  Place the pan with the artichokes on the other oven rack, placed in the middle rung of the oven.  Bake them for 20 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender.
_______

How to eat a stuffed artichoke:  Each person gets one artichoke.  Pull one leaf at a time off your artichoke and suck the meat filling off the leaf.  Grab the leaf between your teeth and tear off the plant flesh, leaving a fibrous and inedible outer skin behind.  (I don't know how else to describe it.)  Repeat.  I include this information so that the uninformed will not be tempted to think that the artichoke is just a fancy holder for ground beef and not an actual part of the dish.  You're supposed to eat the artichoke too.  It's a process that is messy and involved and possibly requires an adult bib, like when you're eating lobster or just have big boobs and don't want to go through life wearing your lunch on your chest.

Stuffed Artichokes (with breadcrumbs)

4 qts.+ 1/2 C. water 1 whole lemon
1 lg. can tomato sauce (not spaghetti sauce)
1 C. olive oil
4 whole artichokes
2 C. Italian breadcrumbs
2 TB. parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic
1 medium onion

Preheat oven to 350F.  Bring the 4qts. of water to a boil.  Prepare the artichokes by washing them, then cutting off the stalk at the base, as well as the sharp points or “claws” at the tips of the leaves.  Rub all cut ends with a half of the lemon.  Boil the artichokes and the lemon halves for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, 1/2 C. water, 1/2 C. of oil, garlic, and onion (both finely chopped).  Remove the artichokes from the water and all them to sit until they are cool enough to handle.  At this point, open up the artichoke from the top down (sort of like a blooming rose) and, at this time, scoop out the fibrous heart of the artichoke.  Stuff each leaf with a small amount of the breadcrumb mixture as well as the cavity left by the removal of the artichoke heart.  Put a thin layer of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a baking dish.  Then place the artichokes in the dish, and spoon the rest of the breadcrumb mixture into the gaps left between the stuffed artichokes.  Spoon the remaining tomato sauce over all.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil, then cover and bake for 1 hour.
_______

This recipe is very nearly the definitive refutation to the idea that all Italians eat is variations on pasta with cheese and meat sauce.  I don't know what it is about good Italian food, but it is both cheap and easy to prepare and hard to find in a restaurant.  Yet artichokes, for example, remain the ingredient du jour.  Put "artichoke" in the name on the menu and it's like calling a purse a Hermes.  But go to a so-called "Italian" restaurant and your options are spaghetti with meat sauce, lasagna with meat sauce and, for variety, pasta alfredo.  In most metropolitan areas there are imitations and the real thing for a wide variety of national cuisines, and there are typically positive attributes to both.  I would be lying if I said Chinese take-out was not high on my list of comfort foods.  But at the same time, even little ol' Nashville has a restaurant or so that serves the real deal, as well as several other that provide other relatively authentic (as based on my observation of the clientele) asian national cuisines, such as Thai and Korean.  Yet for Italian food, I have not yet been to an American city (outside of the Northeast) that has anything other than low-priced Italian knock-offs and the same Italian knock-offs at a much higher price.  I don't know how the expensive restauranteurs get away with it.  For context, this is the same situation as if there were about 30 large, expensive, heavily-ambienced restaurants in town that served exclusively macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and canned chicken noodle soup.  With chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  There should seriously be a Jamie Oliver-style Italian food revolution.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The Italian Knead

The Italian Knead is a technique shown to me by Grandmom that is the way that most traditional Italian baked goods and pastas are mixed.  It ensures complete incorporation of your liquid/fat/egg with the flour, without overkneading (which would result in a tough baked good/pasta).  So basically what you do is make a well in your dry ingredients, either in the bowl or on a tabletop, and dump your wet ingredients in there.  (I'm including butter as a wet ingredient.)  Then, stick your (clean, washed) hands in there and squish it like a toddler who isn't sure he's really into eating his food, but likes the way it feels when he squishes it between his fingers.  Seriously.  Squishing it between your clenched fingers is an integral part of this process.  Anyway, squish and squish and squish until your two sets of ingredients now make a homegeous dough that is workable.  At this point use both hands to mush the dough (which should still be a little loose) into a rough ball.  Pick that ball up and, holding it in the palm of one hand, slap it with the palm of your other hand, turning the ball around to present a new surface for slapping every third slap or so.  (It's hard to be a dough no matter which method you use!)  The purpose of this is to force out any air bubbles lurking inside the center of the dough and further blend together the ingredients.  (For anybody who likes to make ceramic pots, this is exactly the same process you use when you are preparing your clay for throwing.)  Now your dough is ready to be shaped and baked!

Meatballs

4 slices bread, torn into small pieces
1/2 C. water
2 eggs
1lb ground meat, beef or pork
1.4 C. grated parmesan or romano cheese
2 TB. chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. oregano
dash pepper
tomato sauce of your choice for stewing (3-4 C. worth)

Soak bread in the water for 2-3 minutes.  In a separate bowl, blend together (traditionally using the Italian Knead) the eggs, ground meat, cheese, parsley, and spices.  Then mix in the bread.  Form into balls, then brown in oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat, then allow to stew for 15-30 minutes in the tomato sauce over medium-low heat.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Walnut Snowballs

1 C. butter, yes butter, only butter, don't even think of substituting
1/2 C. confectioner's sugar, plus plenty for dusting later on
1 tsp. vanilla
2-1/4 C. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 C. finely chopped walnuts (but you could use any tree nut and it would probably be just as good)

Cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and salt.  Using the Italian Knead*, blend together the wet and dry ingredients.  Mix in the nuts.  Form the dough into a ball and let it chill in the refrigerator (not overnight, just a couple of hours until it's a bit firmer).  Preheat the oven to 400F.  Roll walnut-sized balls of dough and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  (They have enough butter in them that they don't really need the sheet to be greased.)  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set, probably with fine cracks showing in the surface of the balls, but not browned.  (Some of them may get a tiny tiny suntan, but they should basically be the same color as when they went into the oven.  Trust me on this one.)  Remove from the oven and roll in a bowl filled with more powdered sugar.  Let cool slightly, then dust with still more powdered sugar.  Makes about 60 small cookies.
______

So, to cap off my baking trials and tribulations of the weekend, I leave you with one decent recipe.  This recipe has been in the family for at least 50 years.  The product is a buttery, sweet, nutty delight that is both crisp and melts in your mouth.  So yes, it's one of my favorite holiday cookies.

Baking Fixes

So, as a result of my Pinza Bertoldese and Liebkuchen debaucle of a few days ago, I now have some wisdom to impart regarding baked goods that do not initially turn out as desired.  (Do not view this as alegorical relationship advice as well: I stand by my original claim that when dating a diabolical boyfriend, the best approach is to quit while you're not too far behind.  Although putting your awful boyfriend in a plastic bag or soaking him in rum might be amusing, it is also morally wrong or at least wildly ineffective.) 

Liebkuchen (cookies that were too hard)
Put the cookies in three layers or so in an airtight container.  A plastic storage container is what I used, but a metal breadbox or a plastic bag that your loaf of bread or something similar would probably also work.  In between the layers put: thinly sliced apple.  Why thinly-sliced?  Well, originally I used apple sections (about 1/8 of an apple) and some of my cookied became a little soggy.  Result?  Not perfection, but definitely edible cookies, which is better than what I had two days ago.

Pinza Bertoldese (cakes that were slightly burnt and not sweet enough)
The original recipe called for a glaze made of warm honey mixed with rum.  Since the cakes were so bad, I decided to go it one better and made a frosting composed solely of confectioner's sugar and rum.   My original frosting was a little thin, being more rum than sugar, so I poured that over the cakes and then made a thicker one, also with rum.  The result?  Apparently everything tastes better soaked in rum.  I would not remake this recipe without gross revisions and then douse it in rum-soaked frosting, but at least now I feel confident enough to gift these cakes without shame, although definitely alongside the other things I made that did NOT turn out awful.


Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Kitchen Is for Cooking...and Swearing.

Yesterday I discovered a new swear word while in the kitchen.  How does one discover a new swear?  From my experience, it is like the way a chemist discovers a new element by manipulating raw materials.  When I discovered my Italian fruitcakes from the Talisman cookbook to be little burnt tasteless bricks after half the recommended baking time and a whole lot of expensive ingredients, I broke forth with my new swear.

DAMM DAMMERSON! 

Is a Swedish man who sneaks into your kitchen when you're not looking and f-'s up your baked goods with the real butter, hand-chopped walnuts, and hand-candied fruit.

So I have sung the praises of the Talisman cookbook in two posts now.  While it is true that I have eaten many of the foods named in that tome, the actual recipes provided tend be a hot mess.

The Pinza Bertoldese is a case in point.  What it should have been: light, sweet yeast bread with fruit and nuts and a hint of cocoa.  What the recipe called for: 5 cups of flour and 5 tablespoons of water.  For my metric afficionados, that's 75mL of fluid.  I should have stopped right there.  But oh no!  I'm smart, I thought to myself.  I don't need a guide to tell me how much water to put in bread dough.  What I didn't bargain for, but should have, was that apparently every other measurement in the recipe was similarly flawed.

This morning I had a similar experience with the liebkuchen I was attempting to make out of the original 1950-something Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook.  I don't know if tastes have changed since the 50's, but I can tell you right now that when I think "love cake" (a rough translation from the German), I don't think "a cookie that is simultaneously hard and chewy", also requiring expensive ingredients, an actual baking time half as long as the stated baking time, and, despite the inclusion in the recipe of: molasses, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, lemon peel, honey, and walnuts, NO FLAVOR.

So the lesson for today is "trust your instincts".  If a recipe sounds crappy, it probably is. Don't get lured astray by exotic or toothsome ingredients (which are also probably expensive).  Much like a truly diabolical boyfriend, things always sound better in the beginning.  When you're remixing your cookie dough at 10pm because it still isn't firm enough after being in the refrigerator for 5 hours, or wondering yet again why that guy forgot your birthday but bought you a card for no reason last week, it's time to quit while you're ahead.  Don't go down the aisle of actually bothering to cut out and put those bad boys in the oven.  Just throw the whole batch away and start over.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Pasticciera Cream

3 TB. sugar
3 egg yolks
3 TB. flour
1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 C. milk
1 TB. butter

Place sugar, egg yolks, flour, lemon rind, and vanilla in a large saucepan and mix together well.  In a separate pan (or the microwave) scald the milk, then pour into the large saucepan, a slowly and little at a time at first to avoid curdling the eggs while beating constantly.  (Either with a wire whisk or electric beater...this recipe says use a rotary beater, which just shows how old the book is!  A rotary beater was the precursor to an electric handheld mixer that involves two beaters and a crank.  You held and guided the mixer with one hand and cranked it with the other!!!  I remember using one that my Grandmom had...instant pudding wasn't so instant in those days.)  Anyway, continue cooking the mixture over a low flame (this is what is says, "low" probably for an electric range) stirring with a wooden spoon until mixture reaches the boiling point.  (From personal experience, this could take a while...like half an hour.  Don't try to rush it, you'll just end up with sweet scrambled eggs.)  Cook 4 minutes longer, stirring constantly.  Remove from the source of the heat, and add in the butter.  Mix well.  Pour into a mixing bowl and let cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming over the top.  Serves 4.  (4 who?  4 people who want 1/2 C. pudding each?  Maybe.  Also, this will most likely make a boatload of cream puff filling.)

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Pizzelles

zest of 1 orange
1 C.sugar
1-1/2 C. flour
6 eggs
1 C. oil + some for brushing onto plates of pizzelle iron
2 large Hershey bars, cut into strips about 1/4 inch*

A pizzelle iron**

Combine all ingredients except the chocolate.  Cook about 1 TB of batter per side in the pizzelle iron for a few seconds each.  (You can tell the pizzelle is done when the hissing subsides somewhat.)  Peel the pizzelles off the iron gently with a fork.  Immediately roll the pizzelle in a tube shape around a chocolate strip and set aside.  OR let cool flat.  Or, fill with something you like better, such as jam, raisin filling, etc.  Either way, let the pizzelles cool until crisp.  Dust with powdered sugar before storing.  Makes about 60.
______

You can also flavor your pizzelles with: whisky or vanilla and still be "traditional".
______

*Large Hersey chocolate bars are about the size of a graphing calculator.  IE, 17 cm x 7 cm.  The best way to cut perfect strips out of them is to microwave the chocolate bars for a few seconds, then slice with a large chopping knife.  If you're too impatient, or not that much of a perfectionist, cut them cold, they will break into uneven pieces, but at the end of the day the pizzelles will still taste good because the chocolate melts in the pizzelle when it's still hot anyway.

**A pizzelle iron can be its own thing, or a part of an electric waffle iron. I've heard of ones that were basically cast iron pans that you'd put on the stove, but the only ones I've ever used were electric waffle irons with reversible plates, meaning you could take the metal "waffle-shaped" plates out and on the backside was pizzelle molds, which look like round floral- or waffle-design pancakes, usually two to a plate, but occasionally four really small ones.  When using the electric pizzelle maker, have a dish towel at the ready, so that you can press down on the top of the lid once you've closed it.  That way the pizzelles cook better and you don't burn your hands on the metal or from the steam coming out of the sides! 

Jewish Peach Cake / Drinking Hot Coffee and Retailing Hot Gossip

Cake
2 C. sugar
3 C. flour
1 C. oil
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 C. orange juice
1 large can sliced peaches*
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Topping**
4 tsp. cinnamon
8 tsp. sugar

Combine all ingredients except those for topping.  Pour into a greased and floured tube pan.  Combine topping ingredients.  Sprinkle on top of batter.  Bake for 350F for 1-1/4 hours.  Cool, then serve.
______

I'm not really sure why this cake is "Jewish Peach Cake", as opposed to plain "Peach Cake".
______

*This is kind of vague, I know.  It could mean a 14 ounce can, or one of those jumbo cans whose ounceage I do not know.  But I would say 28 ounces at least.  They look like little tin barrels of peaches.  It's a lot.  I would say, use the amount of peaches that is most agreeable to you.  If you like a lot of peaches, buy the big can.  If not, buy the little can.  Either way, this recipe would probably benefit from chopping the peach slices into large cubes before adding them into the batter.

**This doesn't seem like a lot of topping to me.  All together, it makes about 1/4 C. of topping, so maybe it's enough.  But I am a certified topping junkie.  If it were me, I would probably make a cinnamon streussel topping and giggle with delight while the dense sugary mixture sank slowly into the depths of the cake.
______

I don't know if it's become obvious yet, but coffee cake is a tradition in and of itself in South Jersey.  It crosses ethnic and national boundaries, and the reason is this: the purpose of coffee cake is very old-fashioned: you have something to offer your guests when they come over (planned or unannounced), that then you can eat while drinking coffee and retailing hot gossip.  Now, regardless of your personal views on the ethical ramifications of gossipping, it is just a fact that the women (and men!!) of New Jersey are like the organic version of the Internet.  Information 24 hours a day, any and all, just ask.  The people of South Jersey view information exchange as somewhere between not "occupying" the left lane of traffic and "going down the shore" at least once a summer in order of existential importance.  Your nephew's cousin Bennie graduated college?  (I'll send him a card.)  Bennie got pulled over for drunk driving?  Duly noted.  (Note..to..self... dissuade...niece....from....chasing after....Bennie.)  No one ever got disenfranchised due to sheer ignorance in Jersey.  Now, niece Monica may still chase after Bennie.  (Note...to...self:..invite...Pauline  Zornak...over for...coffee cake.)  But at least she had been duly warned!  (Note..to...self...give Monica bird and bee...lecture...in hopes...she will die....of embarrassment.  Do...same...for Bennie.)  Because most of the gossip in Jersey is good-natured, intended, like Grimm's Fairy Tales, to educate and improve the listener.  All with cinnamon streussel topping!  Sign me up.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Strawberry Glaze for Cheesecake

1 C. strawberries
1-1/2 TB. cornstarch
1/2 C. sugar
2 TB. Grand Marnier

Mash the strawberries.  Combine the strawberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a heavy saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until thick.  Add in liqueur.  Cover and chill.  Makes 3/4 cup.

Blueberry Glaze for Cheesecake

Blueberry Glaze for Cheesecake:
1/2 C. fresh blueberries
1/4 C. water
1/4 C. sugar
1/4 C. brandy
1-1/2 TB cornstarch
3 TB. water

Combine blueberries and 1/4 C. water in a heavy saucepan.  Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.  Sieve and return to saucepan.  Add sugar and brandy.  Cook over medium heat 10 minutes.  Dissolve cornstarch in 3 TB. water, mixing together until smooth.  Then add this into the blueberry mixture and cook until thickened.  Cover and chill.  Makes 1 C.

Easy Cheesecake

Cake
32 oz. of cream cheese, softened
6 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
4 tsp. vanilla
1-1/3C. + 6 TB. sugar

Crust
1-1/4 C. graham cracker crumbs
1/4 C. sugar
1/3 C. butter, melted

Cream together the cream cheese, 1-1/3 C. sugar, eggs, and 2 tsp. vanilla.  Pour all into a springform pan already prepared with the crust--or--a greased 3 quart oblong pan.  Bake a half an hour at 350F, then remove brieftly from oven, leaving the oven on.  While cake is out of oven, mix together the sour cream, remaining 2 tsp. vanilla, and 6 TB. sugar.  Spread this mixture over the top of the partially-baked cheesecake.  Replace the cheesecake in the oven and bake 15 minutes more.  Remove immediately and let cool until set, ideally overnight.

To make the crust: combine all crust ingredients, then press into the bottom and up the sides of a springform pan.  Bake at 325F for 5 minutes.  Let cool, then bake the cheesecake in it as directed above.

______
I included the blueberry and strawberry glazes in separate posts.
______

My great-aunt Kitty was a wonderful woman who graciously gave my mom this recipe when she was a new bride.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Cream Puffs...as a Metaphor for Sex

1/2 C. shortening
1 C. boiling water or milk
1 C. flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. salt

Add shortening to water or milk in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.  Add in the flour all in a lump and stir vigorously (with a spoon, or I prefer a wire whisk) until a ball of dough forms in the center of the pan.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Add in unbeaten eggs, one at a time, beating the dough well after each egg.  The mixture should be very stiff.  Grease one or two large baking sheets.  Shape the dough either by dropping by spoonfuls of the preferred size, about 2 inches apart, or by putting the dough in a pastry bag with a large tip and piping the preferred shape and size onto the baking sheets.  Preheat the oven to 450F, and put the cream puffs in for 15 minutes.  Then, while they are still in the oven, reduce the temperature to 350F and continue baking until they are done, about 30 minutes.  If in doubt, remove one from the oven to test it.  It should be well-risen, have a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom, and have a crunchy golden outside.  Let cool.  Fill with desired filling.  Makes 2 dozen small cream puffs.
______

This recipe also came from the Lily Wallace New American Cookbook.  Follow the directions explicitly, even the one about dumping flour into a pan of boiling water and shortening.  I have made this very recipe several times now and it always comes out FABULOUS.  Trust me, homemade cream puffs are definitely worth the effort.
______

This recipe makes yummy puffs of all sizes.  IE, you can pipe long shapes of dough on your baking sheet and SHAZAM eclairs.  Or make larger, flatter circles and you have a profiterole or a shell for a savory puff (like one filled with chicken salad). 
______

Speaking of fillings, the filling of a cream puff can be as simple or as complicated as you make it.  For a firmer filling, like chicken salad, slice your cream puff sandwich style, put the filling on the bottom half, and lay the top half on top.  For a creamy filling...like cream (umm, whipped cream), pudding, or what have you, you have to go the pastry tube route again.  So: put your filling in the pastry tube.  Milk it down to the bottom of the tube.  Fold the top of the tube over.  (I mention this because I make cream puffs so infrequently that I inevitably forget this and have a vomiting pastry tube.  Pudding+floor=massive diversion from intended leisure activity of filling cream puffs.)  Insert the tip of the pastry tube into the side or bottom of your cream puff.  This is kind of like mining for gold-- basically your objective is to find one of the hollow cavities inside the puff so that you can pump pudding or cream into it without actually being able to see or otherwise discern where that cavity is.  Fear not.  The inside of a baked cream puff is like Mammoth Cave-- a series of smaller and larger connected cavities.  So just stick your tube in some place that won't show and take a firm grip on your pastry bag and apply firm pressure until you can tell from the movement of the contents of the bag that filling is going into the puff.  Why?  Because once you see massive amounts of pudding coming out the top of your cream puff, you've put too much in.  It's an art, or a process of trial-and-error, or whatever term you'd like to apply to a process that mainly involves guessing.
______

On a side note, I had serious difficulty typing my little lesson on filling cream puffs with a straight face.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Roll Shapes

Round Rolls: tear off lumps of dough.  Roll into a ball.  Brush with butter if desired.  Let rise and bake as directed, either on a baking sheet or nestled down in the muffin cups of a muffin pan.

Cloverleaf Rolls: tear off three small lumps of dough.  Roll into three small balls.  Place the three balls in a muffin cup.  Let rise and bake as directed.

Fan-Tans: Roll out dough into a sheet about 1/2-inch thick.  Cut into rounds.  Place three or four rounds in a muffin cup edges up.  (So that they "fan out" like the pages in a book.)  Let rise and bake as directed.

Bowknots: Pull off a lump of dough.  Roll between your palms to make a "snake".  Tie into a knot.  Let rise and bake as directed.

Rosettes: Make a snake, as for bowknots (above).  When tying into a knot, pull one end of the snake up through the center so that it makes the center of the "rose".  Take the tail and tuck underneath the roll.  Let rise and bake as directed.

Plain or "Parker House" Rolls: Roll dough into a sheet about 1/2-inch thick.  Cut into rounds.  Let rise and bake as directed.

Pocketbook Rolls: Roll dough into a sheet about 1/2-inch thick.  Cut into rounds.  Fold rounds in half.  Lay resulting half-circles on their sides (so that the "pocket" is facing sideways).  Let rise and bake as directed.  Consequently, pocketbook rolls are the best for filling with things like ham or cheese prior to baking.  YUM.

Refrigerator Rolls / Yeast Homicide

2 cakes yeast (I used 2 packages of fast-rise yeast with success)
1/4 C. sugar
1 C. milk
1/2 C. shortening*
1 tsp. salt
3 beaten еggs***
5 C. flour**

Combine yeast with sugar.  Let stand 20 minutes****.  Scald milk.  Add shortening and salt.  Cool to lukewarm.  Add in yeast-sugar mixture and eggs.  Add flour, mixing thoroughly.  Turn out dough onto floured board and knead until satiny.  Place in a greased bowl.  Cover and set in a warm place to rise until double in bulk.  Knead again.  Form into a smooth ball and grease the surface.  Cover and keep in the refrigerator.  (I covered it with plastic wrap.)  Take out amount required each time, and keep remainder covered in refrigerator.

At this point the recipe goes on to name the 8 thousand roll shapes available, which I am not fixing to type here.  But be it known that you can make: cloverleaf rolls, pocketbook rolls, fan-tans, rosettes, bowknots, and braids, as well as plain cut-out rolls, which the book describes as "Parker House Rolls."  Which I think used to be a famous hotel or something.

Anyway, after you've inspired the nations with your roll-shaping prowess, the next step is to let your rolls rise until doubled again in a warm place and then bake at 425F for 15-20 minutes.
_____

In addition, refrigerator roll dough is good for making "oops people in the house want a fancy bread" bread.  IE, take your dough out of the refrigerator, then instead of cutting out rolls, roll the dough out in a sheet, put in a filling (ie cinnamon, sugar, and butter; raisins and sugar; jam, whatever floats your boat really), roll the m-fer back up (yes Grandmom I did just type that) and bake as directed.  (Maybe add 10-15 minutes since your dough is all in one lump instead of in cute little rolls.)  For extra style points, divide your dough into three portions before you roll it out, roll, fill, then braid it.  and glaze it with something fancy like confectioner's sugar and water (after it comes out of the oven) or milk or beaten egg whites (before it goes it).  All of a sudden, you are a culinary genius and highly marriageable in many cultures, and all you did was pull some dough out of the refrigerator.
_____

This recipe comes from "The Lily Wallace New American Cookbook," which was given to my grandmom upon her marriage in 1953.  It has the best recipes!  Primarily, in my opinion, because it was published prior to such items as "cream of-" soup, prepackaged mixes of all varieties, and process cheese food entering common use.  I could write a whole essay on process cheese food, but I think it says enough that its name is not even grammatically correct.
_____

*Shortening is a product made from cottonseed oil that is basically vegetable lard.  Wrap you mind around that one.  Despite the oxymoron of the phrase "vegetable lard", it actually works well in baked goods.  But hey, regular (animal) lard would work fine too.

**When I made these rolls, they ended up a little bready and I used more like 6-7 cups of flour.  I'm guessing this had to do with a change in flour processing between 1953 and 2011.  I would suggest: less kneading, don't use 7 cups of flour, but do try and use something like a "all-purpose unbleached whole wheat" flour.  IE, not the grainy kind of whole wheat flour but the kind that looks like bread/cake flour but has a little more texture (and a lot more nutrition, honestly) than regular bleached all-purpose flour.  To return to "less kneading", I would say that for the first rising period, just mix the ingredients together until the dough is shaggy and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, then let it rise.  Let the satinizing wait until before the 2nd rising.

***Re: 3 eggs.  You can play this two ways.  #1-- let your eggs come to room temperature, then follow the recipe per directions.  #2-- scald the milk (I did it in the microwave, with the unmelted shortening in the beaker to, you know, melt while the milk was being heated), then added a little milk at a time to the refrigerator-temperature eggs to prevent them from curdling them in the hot milk, then dumped the resulting egg-milk mixture into the rest of the hot milk all at once, thus lowering the temperature of the hot milk and mixing in the eggs in one fell swoop.

****Let stand 20 minutes.  I have not personally seen a cake of yeast in my lifetime.  If cake yeast is what you have, follow the directions as written.  If you have granulated yeast in packets, then mix the dry yeast and sugar as directed, but then after your scalded milk/eggs/shortening combo has become lukewarm, add in the yeast and sugar and allow it about 5 minutes to "proof", eg grow and wake up from being in the refrigerator.  Because soon it will be the burning time.  Yes.  In the oven.  TAKE THAT VEGANS, EVERY TIME YOU EAT A PIECE OF YEAST BREAD, MILLIONS OF MICROORGANISMS DIED A FIERY DEATH FOR YOU.  PS Please forgive my sick sense of humor.  This will likely result in a mass vegan-eschewing of products made with yeast and consequently the first mass outbreak of beriberi since the 1940's.  Progress, thy name is "adults who define their identities by what they refuse to eat."
_____

Monday, November 28, 2011

Creamed Rabbit with Mushrooms / Revenge of the Father-in-Law

2 rabbits, cut up*
1/2 C. flour seasoned with 1/2 tsp. pepper
6 TB. butter
1 small onion, diced
8 large fresh mushrooms, sliced
1-1/2 TB onion soup mix**
2/3 C. hot chicken bouillion
1-1/2 C. sour cream

Dredge rabbit pieces in flour.  Heat 3 TB. of butter in a skillet and fry the rabbit in it.  Add in the onions and fry them until soft, then remove with a slotted spoon.  Cook the rabbit until brown on both sides.  In a separate pan, sautee the mushrooms with the remaining 3 TB. butter until they are golden.  Transfer the mushrooms to the pan with the rabbit pieces, and add back in the cooked onions to the pan as well.  Combine the soup mix and bouillion and pour over the rabbits.  Spoon the sour cream over all.  Cover and let simmer 1 hour or until the rabbits are tender.  Serves 4.

*I swear this is what it says.  I guess you're supposed to already know how to cut up a rabbit.

**This creates a salty, oniony flavor.  However, if you have personal objections to ingredients like onion soup mix, or don't have access to it, here are my suggestions for mimicking its flavor in a recipe.  Remember this recipe calls for 1-1/2 tablespoons, which is not a whole lot.

Mix together equal parts dried onion flakes, salt, and cornstarch.
--or--
Caramelize a small amount of onions, seasoning well with salt and maybe a little red wine or red wine vinegar. 

***
Grandmom told me the story of how when she and my grandpop were newly married they went over for dinner at her parents' house.  Grandpop is a much pickier eater, and Grandmom knew that her dad was planning on serving rabbit.  So, when they got there and Grandpop asked her what it was, she told him it was something else.  He ate it, and loved it...until my Great-grandfather, with a rakish look in his eye, leaned over to Grandpop and asked, "How'd you like it?" Of course Grandpop said it was delicious, and then Greatgrandpop Canduci said, "It's RABBIT!"  I think that was the day my grandpop learned that he liked rabbit.  So moral of the story: picky eaters didn't just fly up out of the ground in the last 15 years.  But it behooves picky eaters to GROW UP, because there are lots of things out there they might like if they could only prise the chicken tenders out of their mouths. 

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Date & Nut Bread

8 oz. package pitted dates, chopped
1 C. raisins
2 tsp. baking soda
1 C. boiling water
3 eggs
1 C. sugar
2 C. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 C. chopped walnuts
2 greased and floured 1-lb. coffee tins

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix the dates, raisins, baking soda, and water together in a small bowl.  In another bowl, mix together eggs and sugar.  Add in the flour and vanilla.  Mix in the date and raisin mixture.  Fold in the nuts.  Pour the batter into the coffee tins and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test.  When done, remove from the oven and let cool slightly.  To take bread out of coffee tins, use a can opener to take off the bottoms of the coffee tins.  Then gently push the cakes out of the tins.  For an extra special touch, make sandwiches by slicing the date & nut bread thinly, spreading one slice with whipped cream cheese, then topping it with a second slice.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Irish Soda Bread

2 C flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. caraway seeds
1/2 C. raisins
1 C. buttermilk

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.  (Or you can whisk them together in a bowl.)  Add in the raisins and caraway seeds.  Add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough.  Knead lightly on a  floured surface till stickiness disappears.  Grease an 8" round pan and place the dough in the center, then form it into a round loaf.  Cut an X on the top of the bread.  Bake at 375F for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and bake another 20 minutes or so or until lightly golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

Veal Scaloppine Farciti

1 stick margarine**
12 medium-sized mushrooms, sliced
1 TB. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2lb. veal scaloppine (12 pieces, 4"x6" each)*
6 slices proscuitto ham
6 slices mozzarella
1 C. chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Heat 2-3TB margarine in a skillet.  Add in mushrooms, lemon juice, and salt.  Saute 5-6 minutrs.  Remove from heat.  Lay one piece of veal scallopine on a cutting board.  Lay on top two slices of proscuitto, 2 slices or mozzarella, and some mushrooms.  Place another piece of scallopine on top and pound the edges together.  Season the outsides of the layered scallopines with salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle both sides with flour.  Heat 3 more TB. margarine in a skillet over medium heat.  Saute the veal scallopines 3-4 minutes on each side.  Remove to a plate and keep warm.  Remove margarine from the skillet.  (This is not how I would do it, I would leave the margarine in, but that's what the recipe says.  Possibly the use of margarine results in a bitter-tasting product after being heated in the pan, and thus necessitates discarding it.  Using butter eliminates the need to discard the remaining amount of fat in the pan and, coincidentally, a significant portion of the flavor.)  Add in 3 TB. lemon juice and 1 C. chicken broth.  Cook 8 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoonto scrape all the brown pieces from the bottom of the pan.  Add in the remaining 1/2 stick of margarine a small chunk at a time and rotating the skillet so each piece melts thoroughly.  Correct the seasoning to taste.  Pour the resulting sauce over the scallopine slices on a serving dish.  You can garnish it with chopped parsley or lemon slices, if desired.

*The term "scallopine" means flattened or pounded meat.  IE, it is an adjective.  Any meat can be (and probably has been in an Italian woman's kitchen) "scallopine".  It is pure genius when it comes to applying the dual principles of thrift and taste to cooking.  To make a piece of meat "scallopine", you take your off-the-animal slice (ie, chicken breast, cut of veal, beef, pork) and, using a meat tenderizer/mallet or, in a pinch, the edge of a durable plate or the edge of a chopping knife, pound the bejeezus out of it in a systematic fashion (longways and then across on both sides) until the meat is about 1/4" thick (about 0.5 cm).  This makes the meat tenderer and cook quicker and juicier.  What happens to the width of the meat
is the genius part: the scallopine process turns one 8oz steak into at least 4, one chicken breast into 2-3 portions, and so forth.  And it tastes better that way!  These days, you can buy scallopine meat in the grocery store under that name ("veal scallopine") or called "breakfast chops" or "breakfast steaks" (in the case of pork and beef, respectively).  But the thrifty cook can also do it him- or herself.  For this recipe, I think the intent is that one purchases 1-1/2 pounds of meat, and then makes 12 pieces by scallopine-ing it.  4" x 6" is about the size of a deck of standard playing cards, or 10 x 15 cm.

**I would use butter.  There are few real reasons to use margarine if butter is available.  (A little-known exception is French Silk Pie, which, if made by the original recipe, MUST be made with margarine or it will not solidify.) 

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Broccoli Rabe with Clams and Spaghetti / Overcooking Your Pasta is Bad for Society

1 TB olive oil
1-1/2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/2 bunch broccoli rabe (about 1/2 lb) trimmed and cut into 5 -inch pieces
6 oz. canned clams, juices reserved
1/8 C. unsalted butter (about 1-2 TB)
1/4 C. dry white wine
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 lb uncooked spaghetti
1/8 C. grated parmesan cheese

Boil the pasta and drain.  In a separate pan, saute the garlic and broccoli rabe for 5 minutes.  Stir in the clams and butter until the butter is melted.  Add in the wine, red pepper, and black pepper and simmer for 2 minutes.  In a serving bowl or the pot you cooked the pasta in, toss the hot cooked pasta with the clams and broccoli rabe and all the yummy pan juices.
***
I think the way this recipe is written that it's intended for the pasta to get done at the same time as the broccoli rabe and clams.  If you can pull this off, it probably tastes best this way.  However, DO NOT OVER COOK THE PASTA.  While pasta advertisements have been extolling the virtue of al dente pasta so heavily over the years that one might get the impression that the real way to eat pasta is half-crunchy, it IS true that pasta should be...firm.  IE, when you bite into it, you should actually feel a certain amount of resistance between your teeth.  ("Don't eat me, don't eat me!" it's crying out.  Hahaha I just traumatized The Future of America.)  I mention this because it is the opposite goal of PTA fundraisers across America to convince us that the best way to eat pasta is a gooey mushy pile of partially digested glue.  UCK.  Obviously you can tell how I feel about this.  So, cook your pasta until it's done, but don't leave it boiling or sitting in the water if your veggies are taking a little longer or you were slow on the chopping part or something.  Rewarmed firm pasta tastes better than steaming hot glue, and that is not an opinion, that is a statement of fact.

Broccoli rabe is also known as rapini.  Whatever you call it, in my book it's delicious.  The stems are edible!  Don't cut them off and throw them away-- when you cook them they get tender like asparagus.

By the way, some of these recipes were composed or gathered during my Grandmom's dieting days.  So, be advised that it may not be humanly possible to saute everything you need to saute in a single tablespoon of olive oil or 1/8 cup unsalted butter. Just add some more, I won't tell.  In addition, my experience of Italian family suppers is that you put as much parmesan as you like, which is frequently a lot, grated by you at the table off the chunk that lives in the refrigerator for just such a purpose. 

Beef Tripe Stew

Wash and cut tripe (remove fats).  Boil for about 1/2 hour.  Fry one large onion in oil till brown.  Add celery salt, pepper, and salt.  Add 1/2 jar of canned tomatoes, let cook for a while.  (This is all quoted verbatim.)  Put cooked tripe and its liquid in tomato pan.  Let cook 1/2 hour more then add cubed potatoes and cook till tripe is tender.

This recipe was handwritten in the narrative style, meaning "no measurements".  So I guess it's up to the cook's discretion.  I'm not sure what size jar is meant for the tomatoes, but I am almost certain what's being referred to is a home-canned jar of tomatoes.  There are two commonly-used sizes of canning jars: quart and pint.  Quart jars hold 32 ounces of liquid (about 1 liter) and pint jars hold 16 ounces (about 500 mL).  Since a whole onion is used, I'm guessing about 1/2 to 1 pound of tripe is used (about 225- 450 gm). 

For confused family members who are wondering why I have suddenly embraced the metric system, I apparently have the occasional reader from outside the US, and far be it from me to keep down the international appreciator of Italian cooking. 

Scrapple

1 lb bulk sausage meat
14 oz. can evaporated milk
3/4 C. water
1/2 C. yellow cornmeal
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Cooking oil
flour for breading

In a heavy skillet, brown the meat in its own fat.  Mix together the evaporated milk and water, and add into the pan.  Bring to a boil, then slowly stir in the cornmeal and seasonings.  Cook five minutes, stirring constantly.  Pour all into a loaf pan and chill until firm (overnight).  Unmold and slice into 1/2" thick slices.  Dip the slices in flour and fry in a pan.  OR, dip the slices in crushed cornflakes, then milk, then flour, and then fry.  Good served with ketchup, horseradish, or pancake syrup.
***
Oh, scrapple.  This recipe is a pretty good variety.  Commercial scrapple is a whole other story, akin to the stories of commercial hot dogs and commercial balogna versus the homemade items.  (Is there such a thing as homemade hot dogs?)  How well I remember a particular family friend asking me nearly every time he ate scrapple, "do you know what that's made of?"  And then relishing in the denouement once again, while taking luxuriously large bites of scrapple or alternating descriptions of its content with songs of praise about how delicious it was.  He was and is truly an odd bird.  As, in my opinion, is anybody who eats scrapple.  Maybe he taught his lesson well: more scrapple for him!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Minestrone

1 large onion, chopped
About 6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 28oz. can tomatoes
2 15oz cans kidney beans, drained
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 C. elbow macaroni
1/2 tsp. oregano
10 oz. fresh spinach
8+C. chicken stock
oil for sauteeing

In a large pot, saute onion until tender.  Add in garlic and saute.  Add in stock and the rest of the ingredients except the spinach.  Cook until the veggies are tender.  Add in the spinach, and cook until tender (just a couple of minutes).  Serve with grated parmesan. 

Recipe Author's Note: "The only important thing is a good strong stock and lots of garlic!  Enjoy!"

Monday, November 14, 2011

Lazy Man's Ribs

2-1/2 lbs pork baby back ribs, cut into 8 pieces
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1 onion, sliced
1 C. ketchup
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/3 C. orange juice
1/3 C. cider vinegar
1/4 C. molasses
2 TB. worchestershire sauce
1 TB. barbecue sauce
1 tsp. stone-ground mustard
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
dash salt
5 tsp. cornstarch
1 TB. water

Rub the ribs with Cajun seasoning.  Layer the ribs and onion in a 5 qt. slow cooker.  In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, orange juice, vinegar, molasses, worchestershire sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard, paprika, garlic powder, and salt.  Pour all over ribs.  Cover and cook on low 5-6hours or until meat is tender.  After that, remove ribs from slow cooker and set aside.  Strain the cooking juices and skim off the fat.  Transfer to a saucepan.  Combine cornstarch and water into a smooth paste; blend into juices.  Bring juices to a boil and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Serve overtop of ribs.

Fish Sauce for Spaghetti

2 cans of tuna
2 small cans tomato paste--or--1 can tomato puree
chopped onion and garlic to taste (most would probably like 1 onion and 1 clove garlic)

Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft.  Add in tomato paste or puree.  Stir in canned tuna.  Let simmer a few minutes, until heated through and the flavors have had a chance to blend.  Serve over hot pasta.

Red Clam Sauce

1 large onion
3 TB olive oil
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil, crumbled
1/2 tsp. salt
2 TB. chopped fresh parsley
2 8oz. cans tomato sauce
2 7-1/2oz cans minced clams

Saute onion in oil till tender.  Stir in oregano, basil, salt, parsley, and tomato sauce.  Drain clams, reserving juice.  Add the juice to the tomato sauce mixture and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat.  Stir in the clams.  Heat thoroughly.  Serve with linguine.  Makes about 1 quart.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Shrimp Primavera

2 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil for sauteing
1/2 lb uncooked shrimp, shelled
1/2 lb. asparagus, cut into 1-1/2 inch-long pieces
12 oz. linguine
1 small yellow squash, sliced
1/2 C. clam juice
1/4-1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 C. sliced green onions
black pepper to taste

In a deep skillet, saute garlic in olive oil until garlic is just tender.  Add in the shrimp and asparagus, saute for 3 minutes or until shrimp begins to turn pink.  Stir in the squash, clam juice, and salt.  Cover and simmer 3 more minutes or until shrimp is full cooked and vegetables are tender-crisp.  Stir in the tomatoes, lemon peel, green onions, and pepper to taste, and heat through.  Serve over linguine. 

Cod Fish Stew

1-2 onions, chopped
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 C. raisins
1/4 C. green olives, smashed
1 lb. salted cod (bacalao)
1 medium (14oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
oil for sauteing

Soak the salted cod overnight.  Remove from water and drain.  In a soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add in the onions and celery.  Cook until half-done.  Add in the raisins and smashed green olives.  Continue cooking until onions and celery are soft.  Add in the can of crushed tomatoes and let cook for about 15 minutes.  Add in about a cup of water and the potatoes.  Let all simmer until the potatoes are nearly done (firm-tender).  Place the codfish, cut up into large chunks, on top of the contents of the pot, and let cook for about 15 more minutes or until the fish is done.  DO NOT STIR!  Or the codfish will break up.  Serve hot with slices of Italian bread.

Codfish Fritters

1 lb. boneless dried salted cod (bacalao)
4 eggs
6 TB. flour
1 TB. black pepper
1 TB. onion powder
2 TB. chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp. red pepper
Oil for frying

Soak the codfish in water overnight.  Remove from water, drain, and crush the fish.  Beat the eggs in with the fish until well-mixed.  Add the onion powder, parsley, peppers, and flour. Heat the oil in a deep skillet.  Drop the fish mixture into the skillet by spoonfuls and fry until very crisp.  Remove and drain on paper towels.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Pizza Gein

2 batches of dough
15 eggs, beaten
grated parmesan to taste (about a handful)
1/2 lb each, thinly sliced and then chopped:
proscuittini, ham, hard salami, provolone cheese, pepperoni
1 lb mozzarella, shredded
salt and pepper to taste (use sparingly)

One batch of dough at a time: roll out to pizza-crust thickness, working in a little lard, grated parmesan, and salt and pepper.  Use one batch to line a 9" x 13" pan, also greased with lard.  In a large bowl, mix together meats, mozzarella, and beaten eggs.  Pour all into the lined pan.  Top with the remaining dough batch.  Bake for about 1 hour at 350F, or until crust is brown.  If desired, brush top crust with milk or beaten egg white.

A note on Pizza Gein: this is traditionally a Pascua food.  Additionally, for the dough recipe and a smaller batch version of this, click here.  (Remember to multiply the dough ingredients by four if you're going to use it for this recipe.)

Fish & Lemon Salad

Bacalao (salted cod), Blue Fish, or fish of your choice
2 lemons
1 onion
garlic to taste
peppermint leaves
olive oil

Boil fish, let cool.  Cut up one lemon, juice the other.  Slice the garlic and onion finely.  Break up the fish into bite-sized pieces.  Toss with lemon, onion, and garlic.  Drizzle olive oil over all.  Top with chopped peppermint leaves to taste.

Strufoli--Honey Clusters

Hot oil for deep frying
Butter for shaping

2 C. sifted flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 C. honey.  Yes, 1 whole cup.
1 TB. sugar
sprinkles of whatever color you prefer.  Mary F.J. Chiarello typically uses rainbow sprinkles, my favorite.

Mix together flour and salt in a large bowl.  Make a well, and add in the eggs one at a time, mixing slightly after each addition.  Add in vanilla.  Lightly knead into a soft dough.  Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead some more, just until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Divide in half.  For each half: roll out to 1/4" thick, then cut into 1/4" wide strips.  Roll each strip into a pencil shape/snake.  Cut each dough snake into pieces about 1/2" long.  Heat the oil until bubbly but not too hot.  (Yeah, I know this is super specific.  The best way to tell is to drop a test dough piece in.  The oil is the right temperature if the piece slowly puffs up and turns a golden brown in about 10-15 seconds.)  Put the dough pieces in a few dozen at a time, removing as they rise to the top and become golden brown on both sides.  As they do this, remove them from the oil and drain them on a plate lined with paper towels.  Once they are all done, set them aside.  In a separate deep saucepan, heat the honey and sugar together on low for about 5 minutes.  In a metal (or other heat-resistant bowl) stir together the hot honey and fried dough.  Put in the refrigerator and let cool and set about an hour.  Remove from the fridge and get out a plate or serving dish.  Butter your hands well, and then take handfuls of the honey clusters and shape them into the desired shape on  your plate.  When you've used all the clusters, liberally coat the outside with your sprinkles.

Some background info: the word "strufoli" literally means "beehive", which is descriptive of the shape you traditionally sculpt this dessert into.  (Think hut-shaped rope basket thingy.  Not the wooden boxes we typically keep bees in today.)  However, the shape of your strufoli is up to you.  The last time I made this with my grandmother, she suggested shaping it into a Christmas wreath and using red and green sprinkles! 

How you eat strufoli: strufoli is the original unhygienic party food.  You set your plate of strufoli out, and then everybody walks by snatching little pieces off and getting sticky until it's all gone.  Remember, this dessert came from the same people who kiss each other *on the mouth* as form of greeting.  If you can get past kissing your cigar-smoking great uncles on the mouth, you can eat strufoli.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Hot German Potato Salad

6 lb. potatoes
12 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled and the drippings saved
1 med. onion, chopped
1/4 C. flour
1/4 C. sugar
3-4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 C. water
dash of pepper
2/3 C. vinegar

Peel potatoes and boil, whole, for 30-35 minutes.  Drain and let cool, slice and set aside.  In a deep pan, cook onion in the bacon drippings until tender.  Stir in the flour, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Cook over a low heat, stirring, until bubbly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in water and vinegar.  Return to stove and heat until boiling, stirring constantly; allow to boil 1minute.  Carefully stir bacon and sliced potatoes into onion sauce until potatoes are well coated.  Serves 10-12.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Italian Cookies

6 C. flour
6 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 sticks margarine
2 C. sugar
6 large eggs

Filling:
Apricot preserves
sliced almonds
raisins

Mix together flour and baking powder in a large bowl.  Blend in the margarine, sugar, and eggs by hand.  Cut the dough into 4 equal portions.  Doing one portion at a time, roll out the dough about 1/4" thick. 

To make sandwiches:
Cut equal numbers of round cookies out of the dough.  Spread a thin layer of apricot jam on the bottom half, leaving a 1/2" margin around the edges.  Sprinkle with the almonds and raisins.  Put the top half on.

To make biscotti:
Spread jam over intact rolled-out dough.  Sprinkle with almonds and raisins.  Roll up into a log shape.

Either way:
Moisten top of sandwiches or log with milk.  Sprinkle with seasonally appropriate confettis or colored sugars.  Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350F until light brown.  (About 10 minutes for sandwiches, about 20 for the log.)  For the biscotti, let the log cool before slicing into cookies.

Mary Febornia Julia Canduci Chiarello

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Chiacchiere Della Nonna

2-1/4 C. flour
1/2 C. vegetable oil
2 TB. sugar
2 eggs
3 TB. dry white wine
1/2 tsp. salt
10X confectioner's sugar for dusting
Oil for frying

Combine flour, oil, sugar, eggs, wine, and salt in a large bowl.  Knead until it becomes a smooth and tender dough.  Cover dough and let rest for 20 minutes.  Knead dough for another 1-2 minutes, then roll it out to 1/8 inch thickness.  Cut dough into stripes 1/2 inch wide by 5 inches long.  Tie stripes into a bow shape.  Put a few bows at a time into about 1 inch of hot oil, fry 'til golden brown, then transfer to paper towels to drain.  Sprinkle them generously with the 10X sugar.

Mary Febornia Julia Canduci Chiarello

Fried Doughnuts

Mix together:
5 C. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 TB. salt
1 C. sugar
1 TB. nutmeg

Add in:
4 TB. butter

Make a well in the flour-butter mixture and add in:
1 C. milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well.  Turn out onto a floured work surface and roll to about 1/2 inch thick.  Shape into stripes about 3 inches long (and 1 inch wide? recipe doesn't say), fry until light brown.  Drain onto paper towels.  Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

Mary Febornia Julia Canduci Chiarello

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Hot Dog, Pork & Beans, and Cabbage Casserole

1/2 pkg. of hot dogs, sliced
1 small cabbage
1 large can of pork and beans
1 medium onion, chopped
Cooking oil

Put whole cabbage in a large pan with water and cook for about 15 minutes.  Take it out and drain it, then let it cool until cool enough to handle.  Chop it into bite-sized pieces and set aside.  In a separate pan, saute the onions in the oil until soft.  Then add in hot dogs and cook a few more minutes.  Then add in cabbage and cover, let cook about 15 minutes or until the cabbage pieces are fully cooked.  Stir in the pork and beans and let cook until heated through.  Serves 4-5.

Mary Febornia Julia Canduci Chiarello

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Glazed Dutch Raisin Bread

Bread                                                                                            
2/3 C. hot water                                                                             
1/2 C. sugar                                                                                   
1/2 tsp. salt                                                                                   
1/2 stick margarine, softened
1/2 C. warm water
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
3/4 C. flour
1 C. raisins
1 egg

Glaze
1 C. confectioner's sugar
1 TB. milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix 2/3 C. hot water, sugar, salt, and margerine together; let cool until lukewarm.  Dissolve yeast 1/2 C. warm water.  Combine together two water mixtures, then stir in egg, then flour, then raisins.  Beat all until well-blended, about 2 minutes.  Cover, and let rise in a warm place until more than doubled in size, about 50 minutes.  Punch dough down and beat vigorously by hand about 75 strokes, then turn into a greased 1-1/2 quart casserole pan.  Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or until golden on top.  Let cool and turn onto a plate.  Beat glaze ingredients together until smooth and shiny.  Pour glaze over top of bread and let it drip down the sides.

Mary Febornia Julia Canduci Chiarello

Monday, September 5, 2011

Pickled Mushrooms

2 6oz. cans mushroom crowns, drained
1/3 C. red wine vinegar
1/3 C. oil
1 onion, thinly sliced into rings
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 TB. brown sugar

In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, oil, salt, parsley, mustard, and brown sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Add mushrooms, simmer 5-6 minutes.  Chill in a covered bowl several hours, stirring occasionally, to allow the flavors to soak in.  Drain before serving.

Mary Febornia Julia Canduci Chiarello