Friday, April 29, 2011

Olde Bay Grilled Salmon

Tonight we ate at Friend's and Company. I had a special, Olde Bay Grilled Salmon. It was grilled salmon with crab cerviche cole slaw and grilled asparagus with warm asparagus tarragon vinaigrette. I ate the whole serving!
So did anyone see the dress? I loved it. Glad she picked the McQueen dresses for the wedding and after party.
On a more serious note. The company I work for does web sites for businesses in the region that was hit by tornadoes on Thursday. The devastation is overwhelming. If you would like to help out please click here

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Sausage and Pepper Subs

This was way too easy. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Put sausage, sliced peppers and onions in a roasting pan. I also put in some grape tomatoes that I had leftover. Add olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, parsley and crushed red pepper. Mix to cover the meat and vegetables. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, add some white wine to the pan and bake for and additional 30 minutes. That's it!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Chicken Parmesan

Last day of a vacation break. I picked up some kosher chicken. It was nice and pink. I cut it into scallopines and then dipped them in an egg wash. I mixed panko breadcrumbs with oregano, parsley, thyme, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. The chicken was dredged in this after the egg wash. Topped each piece with a little tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Baked at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. I was amazed at how good this was. Chris loved it.

 For sides I made brown rice and some sauteed zucchini.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Sizzling Beef with Scallions and Black Bean Sauce

 
Jamie's Food Revolution has hit our house, thanks to the library! And this week on the I Heart Cooking site is a pot luck week!
Anyone watching Food Revolution? What is up with the LA school system? If I were a parent I'd be upset...
But back to tonight's dinner. Jamie's Food Revolution supplied the recipe for Sizzling Beef with Scallions and Black Bean Sauce. It was so good. We had a nice wine with dinner, 181 Merlot.
Click here to view tonight's recipe.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter

Dinner at my sister's house. As always dinner was amazing!

 Prosecco with Hibiscus Flowers 


Pasetalli in Broth

 Pasta Fresca with Pancetta and Peas with Tomato Sauce, Ralph's recipe!

 Leg of Lamb with Honey, Garlic, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Grill Pork with Fennel and Black Eyed Peas

The Holy Trinity of Easter Pies.
 Rice, Wheat and Ricotta (I made the Ricotta)

 Lucy checking out our Easter flowers.

 Archie as the Easter Bunny.

Lucy takes her turn.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Time for a Vodka Gimlet...

That's right I do have a blog...
What a crazy week it has been. Here is a  quick recap of what we made for dinner –
Tuesday we had  Chicken Noodle Soup.

 
Wednesday was Sausage and White Bean Stew, had that in the freezer.

Thursday was dinner at Lowrie's. That should have been a blog entry.

And Friday was Zhang's. Chris had the Seafood Delight. I had the Vegetable Dumplings & Shrimp and Scallops with Szechuan Sauce. I ate the whole thing. It was delicious.

That bring us to today. I spend the day at my dad's house.
For dinner I brought over some lasagna that I had in the freezer.
After dinner we went to the Easter Vigil mass.

When I got home tonight I still had to make the Ricotta Pie to bring to my sister's tomorrow. I started the crust at 9:30 and had the pie in the oven by 10:30.
So far it looks good.

Oh the Vodka Gimlet... Perfect!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Palm Sunday Dinner

To Start off the Meat Pies came out perfect!
Palm Sunday dinner at my sister's house.
Delicious. And so much food! Enjoy the photos...
The table setting was so pretty!


Antipasto


 New favorite wine.


 Dandelion Soup
 
Stuffed Artichokes

 Baked Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots

Pignoli Cookies and Striped Cookies

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Pizza and Pizzagaina!

Due to the baking that was going on we had Petrillo's Pizza for dinner. Excellent pie and they deliver!
So I did some baking today. Easter baking. I usually make the Pizzagaina during Holy Week. But I had time today, the whole day, so I decided to get it done.

2 hours to make the pie crusts, the Pate Brise recipe with pepper added to it.

I then went to the grocery store and to the deli counter. I told the deli man that I needed some ham and pepperoni sliced about a quarter inch thick. He said, "Oh are you making Pizzagaina?"

This recipe is my mom's. I have no idea where she got it from. But we made this every Easter for  as long as I can remember. Her recipe makes 2 pies, well that's what she said but I end up with 3. Unless like this year I had to make 6 pies.
 
Italian Meat Pies

2 pounds baked ham, diced
1 pound pepperoni, skinned, diced and boiled
1 pound sweet sausage, fully cooked, drained
1 pound basket cheese
Mix all ingredients. Place in pie shell. Break 3 eggs over the top of the meat. Top with pie crust. Cut 3 slits in crust. Bake 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.
And this year I ended up with 8 pies!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Cacio E Pepe

The new Bon Appétit came in the mail the other day! And it is the Italy issue!
So needless to say that is were tonight's recipe came from. I was first introduced to  Cacio E Pepe on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. The episode was from Rome. I had recorded it and replayed it over and over until I had this recipe down pat. The Bon Appétit recipe was a little different but the result was delicious. It was difficult not to refill my plate. I liked the combination of the cheeses and the toasting of the pepper!
I have a little left so I may use it in a frittatta for a lunch this week!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and Baby Green Beans

The chicken and potatoes were from the prepared food section at Stop & Shop. The green beans were frozen from the new natural food section in Stop and Shop. Yes it was a store bought prepared meal but a darn good one!
: )

Monday, April 11, 2011

Chorizo and Goat Cheese Quiche


I had some Chorizo and some Goat Cheese and a some scallions. So I sauteed the Chorizo and scallions. Made a pie crust and ta da we had a quiche. Wow it was so delicious!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Cauliflower Steaks!

I saw this recipe on the Proud Italian blog. I love roasted cauliflower so I had to try it. I added some olive tapenade and diced grape tomatoes. It was quite good.
We also had our leftovers from last night and a green salad. Kept it simple tonight. Looking forward to Masterpiece Theater tonight!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Pappardella with Sunday Sauce

Yes it is Saturday night and I am eating Sunday sauce. We went to dinner with Lenore and Ralph to Portefino's. It was a belated birthday celebration for Ralph. Very nice restaurant and the service was excellent.
We started with drinks and some appetizers. Fried Calamari, Clams Casino and Caprese Salad.
For dinner I had the Pappardella with Sunday Sauce. The meatball and braciole was amazing. I could have eaten a large plate those meatballs. Chris had the Veal Osco Bucco. I had some and wished I ordered that! Lenore had Scallops over Linguine and Ralph had Linguine with Blue Crab sauce.
Ralph orderer bottle of wine, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2006. Very nice!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Spinach, Leek and Spinach Pasta

I received the RealSimple eblast today and that is where I found tonight's recipe. Shrimp, Leek and Spinach Pasta. It was under the headline of Quick and Easy. I was sold. And the shrimp was on sale!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Ham Steaks with Rice and Green Beans

 

Ham Steaks have been my "go to" meal when I have not idea what to make for dinner. It has always been my least favorite dinner. That is until tonight. I picked up ham steaks at Whole Foods. Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Uncured Ham Steaks. Amazingly moist and the flavor! It was a very nice surprise.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Sausage Stew With White Beans

This recipe came from the recipe box... the card said Maccioni Family Cookbook, which I googled and but I am sure I did not own the book. I may have borrowed it from the library. Anyway this was a really good dinner. If anyone wants the recipe let me know and I will post it. Just too tired to type it out tonight...

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Giambotte

This is a good one. I loved when my mom made this. Basically it is a pan of roasted meat, potatoes and carrots. I mixed the ribs, chicken breasts, carrots and potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh thyme and oregano. Put them in a roasting pan and added some white wine. Covered it and baked for 30 minutes at 425 degrees. I uncovered the pan added the hot dogs and baked for another 30 minutes. We had some Italian bread and a bottle of Crane Lake Shiraz. This was a very nice wine for the meal. Tonight's dinner tasted as good as I remember it.

And tonight Archie thought he could sit at the table with us...

Monday, April 4, 2011

Butternut-Beef Chili

 
Again to the recipe box we go... This recipe was cut out from a magazine. I think it was Cooking Light. We both went back for seconds. And we had a nice bottle of Mandra Rossa Syrah to go with it. Hey it's Monday so let's open a bottle of wine! This is my version, I got caught up with work and forgot to add the jalapeno pepper, the scallions and the olives.

Ingredients
1 pound ground round
1 chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper (I used red bell pepper)
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
3 cups chopped peeled butternut squash
3 cups water
1 1/2 tbsp. oregano
1 1/2 tbsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 16 oz can kidney beans, drained
2 to 3 tbsp jalapeno peppers, minced
6 tbsp. thinly slice green onions
2 tbsp. cilantro

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a Dutch oven, and cook over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well; return meat mixture to pan. Stir in tomato and squash, water, oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt and kidney beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. until squash is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in olive and jalapeno; cook 5 minutes. Ladle chili into soup bowls and top each serving with 1 tablespoon of green onions and 1 tsp. cilantro.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Crazy Crust Pizza!

When I got married I started a recipe box. I think people still use these. Anyway I was going through it the other day and thought why not make something from here...

I found a recipe that I had picked up from my mom's recipe drawer, yes she had 2 recipe drawers. Crazy Crust Pizza. It looked like it was cut out from a bag of flour. It sounded very 1970's. So I tried it. We ate every drop.

Ingredients -
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup milk

Method -
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, oregano and black pepper. Mix in eggs and milk and stir
well. Pour batter into prepared pan and tilt until evenly coated. Arrange toppings of choice on
top of batter. Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove crust from oven. Drizzle on pizza sauce and sprinkle on cheese. Bake until cheese is
melted, about 10 minutes.
Our topping of choice was sauteed zucchini, yellow squash, red peppers and of course Pancetta.

I made some Cranberry Lemon Scones for breakfast, another recipe from the "box." A nice Sunday morning treat!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Roasted Carrots and Beets with the Juiciest Pork Chops

Tonight's recipe, Roasted Carrots and Beets with the Juiciest Pork Chops,  comes from Jamie At Home, Cook Your Way to the Good Life. This week at lunch some people were mentioning how pork is always dry. Well this one was not. Nice and moist.
I liked the roasted beets and carrots, I was able to pick up red and golden beets. It was a very attractive dinner, and great tasting too!

Did a little shopping today.
 And again Lucy would like to join us for dinner!