In the Kitchen And Thinking About Mom and Dad

 

I was at Bishop's the other day and they had red peppers on sale. Whenever I see red peppers on sale I think of my Dad. He would go to Shop Rite and then I would get a call asking if I could stop by on my way home. He just could not pass up buying red peppers if they were on sale. Sometimes I would just pick up the peppers and other times he would have already roasted them. I do miss making those stops on my way home from work.

So I had to buy the peppers. I made a variation of  a recipe from Cooking with Chef Silvio book.

Roasted Peppers

Ingredients-
3 large red pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper
4 tbsp bread crumbs

Method-
Cook the peppers on a sheet pan at 450˚, turning frequently, until charred all around. Place them in a closed brown paper bag and let rest for 1/2 hour. You should put the bag in a bowl, there may be leakage. After a 1/2 hour take the peppers out, remove stems and seeds, and peel. Cut into 1 inch strips and place in a bowl. Add olive oil, 2 tbsp of parsley, salt, and pepper to taste. Give it a good mix.

 

Place peppers in shallow baking dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and bake at 400˚ for 10 minutes, or until the tops turns light brown and a bit crusty. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tbsp. of parsley and serve. These are perfect served cold in a sandwich made with Italian Bread, of course.

Tonight was book club.  I brought over dessert. I had not made my Mom's Apple Squares in a very long time.  I had a large jar of Apple Sauce from the Bishop's.

I love this recipe. The house smelled so good. Chris came upstairs and asked what I was making. Mom's baking always made the house smell so comfortable. I think I achieved that with these Apple Squares.

Eleanor Lombardi's Apple Squares

Ingredients-
Flour Mixture-
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 sticks of butter, chilled
3 egg yolks, beaten
Apple Sauce Mixture -
1 3/4 cup apple sauce
grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Method-
Mix the flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Crumble in the butter. Add the egg yolks. The dough will be crumbly. 

Place 1/2 of the flour mixture in the bottom of a greased pan. I use the 8 inch Pyrex Square dish, that was the dish my Mom used. 

Mix the apple sauce, lemon, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl and spread this mixture over the flour mixture in the pan. Top with remaining flour mixture. Bake 350˚ for 45 to 60 minutes. You want a little browning along the sides of the pan and the bottom to look slightly browned. Let cool and cut into bars.

Pasta Pie

I think it is safe to assume that when you see posts about a pasta dish you will see this recipe a few days later. The Pasta Pie. The recipe is from a Chef Silvio's book, Cooking With Chef Silvio: Stories and Authentic Recipes from Campania. I used leftover pasta from Friday night. This was so damn good. The pasta was good the night I made it, but it was baked over the top.

Ingredients
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup pecorino romano cheese
1/3 cup milk
1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and fresh ground pepper
12 oz cooked pasta, cold
2 tbsp butter

Method
In a bowl, beat the eggs, grated cheese, cream, parsley, salt and pepper until well combined. Stir in the spaghetti, then set aside. Place the butter in a deep pie tin and melt the butter in a 425 degree oven, and spread over the pan bottom. Pour the spaghetti mixture into the buttered pan and spread evenly. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes,or until it is firm and golden.

Pappardelle with Zucchini and Chicken Pie

Yes, that leftover pasta from Pappardelle with Zucchini and Chicken on Friday night has been transformed into a pasta pie. It is the only logical thing to do with leftover pasta.

The recipe for the Pasta Pie is from Chef Silvio's book, Cooking With Chef Silvio: Stores and Authentic Recipes from Campania.

Ingredients
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and fresh ground pepper
12 oz cooked spaghetti, cold
2 tbsp butter

Method
In a bowl, beat the eggs, grated cheese, cream, parsley, salt and pepper until well combined. Stir in the spaghetti, then set aside. Place the butter in a deep pie tin and melt the butter in a 425 degree oven, and spread over the pan bottom. Pour the spaghetti mixture into the buttered pan and spread evenly. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, or until it is firm and golden.

A Few Of My Favorite Things Revisited

Remember my post These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things? Well this is what I did with the leftovers. Chris said he liked this better than the original dinner. This disappeared really fast. Here is the recipe I used, it is from Cooking With Chef Silvio: Stories and Authentic Recipes from Campania. I have made a couple of changes to the original recipe.

Ingredients
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup pecorino romano cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Leftover pasta
2 tbsp butter

Method
In a bowl, beat the eggs, grated cheese, cream, parsley, salt and pepper until well combined. Stir in the spaghetti, then set aside. Spray pie dish with cooking spray, Pam is what I use. Pour the spaghetti mixture into the pan and spread evenly. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes,or until it is firm and golden.

Pasta Pie, The Big Salad, Why I Blog and A Happy Birthday Wish

Do you remember Friday night's dinner? The pasta with the roasted vegetables. Fortunately we had leftovers. So I made my favorite thing to make with leftover pasta. The Pasta Pie. The recipe is from Chef Silvio's book, Cooking With Chef Silvio: Stores and Authentic Recipes from Campania. His recipe calls for heavy cream. Well I did not have any but I had plain Greek Yogurt. Wow it was amazing. Before I finished my first slice I saw someone go back for seconds.

Here is the recipe with my variation noted.

Ingredients
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup pecorino romano cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream (or 1/3 cup Plain Greek Yogurt)
1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and fresh ground pepper
12 oz cooked spaghetti, cold
2 tbsp butter

Method
In a bowl, beat the eggs, grated cheese, cream, parsley, salt and pepper until well combined. Stir in the spaghetti, then set aside. Place the butter in a deep pie tin and melt the butter in a 425 degree oven, and spread over the pan bottom. Pour the spaghetti mixture into the buttered pan and spread evenly. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes,or until it is firm and golden.

In addition to the Pasta Pie we had the ever popular Big Salad. I got 2 heads of lettuce, one green leaf and the other Romaine, from Jake's Farm Stand for $2.00 each. They are huge! I have enough lettuce for all week. And after the dessert I had today that Becky brought in I need to eat nothing but lettuce. It was something her sister made. A log of dark chocolate with cookies inside. Dear God it was quite good.

Now on to the Why I Blog portion of tonight's post...

This is our God Daughter Elenora eating Baked Quiona and Chicken Parmesan.

And that is why I post what we had for dinner.

And Happy 40th Birthday to my nephew Carlo!

Leftover Spaghetti Con Capicola E Pangrattato

Remember last Saturday when I made Spaghetti Con Capicola E Pangrattato and I said to stay tuned for what was going to be done with the leftovers? Well here it is -

Spaghetti Pie.

The recipe for the Spaghetti Pie is from Cooking with Chef Silvio. It is the perfect way to use up leftover pasta.

Ingredients
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup pecorino romano cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and fresh ground pepper
12 oz cooked spaghetti, cold
2 tbsp butter


Method
In a bowl, beat the eggs, grated cheese, cream, parsley, salt and pepper until well combined. Stir in the spaghetti, then set aside. Place the butter in a deep pie tin and melt the butter in a 425 degree oven, and spread over the pan bottom. Pour half of the spaghetti mixture into the buttered pan and spread evenly. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 to 20 minutes,or until it is firm and golden.

We had this with the leftover soup from last night.

Spaghetti Vesuviana

Move over Fettuccine Alfredo there is a new favorite pasta dish in town. This recipe is from Cooking with Chef Silvio, Stories and Authentic Recipes from Campania. Chris got me an autographed copy for Christmas a year ago. And there is a Madison connection. Chef Silvio operates Cafe Allegra and the Woodwinds in Branford. And his jarred tomato sauces are excellent.

 

Now some of you may know that my grandparents were from Campania. So I love finding authentic recipes. I remember my grandparents on my mom's but I was pretty young when they passed (both of my dad's parents had passed before I was born). So my cooking memories are more from my parent's stories. I do remember my grandmother telling me that eating the fat on a steak was not a good idea.

My grandmother (she's the pretty on on the right) with 2 of her sisters.

So back to dinner. The flavors were spicy and salty. And I almost made Fettuccine Alfredo but luckily found this recipe. And it only took 20 minutes!

Spaghetti Vesuviana

Serves 4 (or 2 with leftovers!)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves of garlic (No I did not use garlic, sorry it does not agree with me!)
2 bell peppers (I used red), seeded and cut into strips
14 oz can Vesuvian cherry tomatoes, or canned San Marzano Tomatoes, undrained & crushed by hand
1 cup fresh Basil leaves, torn
15 to 20 pitted Calamata olives, halved
1 tablespoon capers
pinch dried or chopped fresh oregano
salt and pepper
1 pound spaghetti
1 1/3 cups grated parmigiano cheese
Additional fresh basil or Italian parsley for garnish, optional

In a large frying pan heat the oil, add the garlic and cook until golden. Add the peppers and, stirring frequently, cook until slightly softened, approximately 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, olives, capers, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the peppers and tomatoes are soft but still retain their shape. Give it a final taste for salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a pot with salted water, cook spaghetti according to the directions on the package. Drain, reserving some cooking water. Add the sauce to the pasta along with half of the grated cheese and toss well. If too dry, adjust using pasta water to moisten. Serve in pasta bowls, sprinkled with the rest of the cheese and garnished with fresh basil or parsley if you wish.

And I can submit this post on Cookbook Sundays!

  

Pork, Potatoes and Vinegar Peppers

 

For dinner I was planning on making Spicy Pork Tenderloin with Potatoes from Real Simple. But as I was reading the recipe I remembered I saw something very similar to this in Cooking with Chef Silvio. And I figured seeing I made bread from See Naples... Then Eat! that I should stick with the pattern.

The Chef Silvio recipe was so easy. Saute the Pork Tenderloin, cut into cubes, along with hot peppers and cubed potatoes. Season it with salt and pepper and that is it. This recipe had less ingredients than the RealSimple.com recipe but the flavors were nice and spicy.
The Pork was delicious and the bread, well we devoured half a loaf!

Calzones!

Soppressata, fried onions and peppers! Why Soppressata? Quite a while ago I had saw a recipe that used salami in a calzone. I was at the store and saw the Soppressata and decided to try it. The dough was from the Jim Lahey's My Bread Book. Sauce was jarred, sorry. Chef Silvio's Sunday Sauce, which I now have the recipe for in Cooking With Chef Silvio!

Pork, Potatoes, and Vinegar Peppers

 

Guess where this recipe came from... Cooking with Chef Silvio. I know I am in a cookbook rut but this is such a good book! So Pork, Potatoes, and Vinegar Peppers or Maiale Pate e Pupacchie was fantastic. No leftovers. I think that sums up the meal.

I cut up a pork tenderloin into cubes. Cut up 1/2 lb of potatoes into wedges. Heated some olive oil and added the pork, the potatoes and some pickled peppers. Sauteed until the pork and the potatoes were cooked, about 35 minutes, stirring constantly. Seasoned with salt and pepper. Yum!

We had a nice wine with dinner. Lagone Aia Vecchia which was very nice and very cheap. Like $6.99 a bottle. The cherry finish was amazing.

I had found this recipe on The Italian Dish blog a while ago and finally tried it. Next time I need to wait to slice the bread. But other than that why wouldn't anyone make this recipe. A loaf of bread for 40 cents! Come on that is a good deal.

Is that a cat's tail I see in that photo?

 

Yes that is Archie being held by me. I am wearing my New Orleans Saints sweatshirt... sigh, maybe next year...

Pacche e Fasul, Homemade Macaroni and Beans

Tonight we were Cooking With Chef Silvio. Pacche e Fasul, Homemade Macaroni and Beans is what I would consider peasant food. I do not mean peasant food as a bad thing. I am fascinated by Italian food that perhaps my grandparents may have eaten. They were farmers, not well off by any means, and just maybe my great grandmother made this for dinner
To begin with I had never made a pasta like this before. Flour, salt and water. That's it. It was a little heavier than pasta made with egg. But it was good. It had a wonderful texture. And it was rolled out by hand. That's right no pasta machine here. I kept thinking that this was probably a normal thing for my grandmothers to do. I was tempted to pull out the pasta machine but I did not.

The sauce was heaven on a plate. Olive oil, onion, celery, tomatoes, basil and cannellini beans (of course I omitted the garlic). What amazes me about this book and even La Cucina is that the best recipes have the fewest ingredients.

Pasta Ingredients

4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
water

Sauce Ingredients

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 small onion finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
24 oz can San Marzano tomatoes, undrained and crushed by hand
Leaves of 1 bunch fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
14 oz can undrained cannellini beans
Peperoncino

For the Pasta

Chef Silvio suggests using a large wooden board or a marble slab for making the dough on... I used my Pampered Chef Pastry Mat, the marble slab will be installed when the kitchen is done over.
So here we go...
Place flour in the middle of the pastry mat and make a well in the center. Add the salt and gradually pour water into the well while mixing in the flour until all the flour is moistened and a rough dough has gathered into a ball. The dough should be quite firm but pliable. At some point you may ask how much water. Well I used around 1 1/2 cups, but I added it very slowly and I added it as it seemed necessary. Chef Silvio's recipe says you may need to adjust the flour or water.
Scape the work surface clean and sprinkle with enough flour to cover. Place the dough on the surface, sprinkle with flour, and knead with your fist for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and sprinkle the top and bottom with flour. Let rest for 1 hour. 
With a rolling pin, roll the dough from the center outwards in all directions so that it forms a round sheet. Keep rolling and sprinkle the bottom and top frequently with flour so it doesn't stick. The dough should be 1/8 to 1/16 in thickness. Let the pasta sheet rest for 2 hours.
Then cut into strips 3 inches wide, making sure the strips are well floured, top and bottom. Make 2 stacks of pasta strips and cut them across into 1/2 inch wide pieces. (For some reason I decided to cut the pasta into triangles.) Separate the pieces with your fingers and sprinkle with more flour to keep them dry and apart. Gently spread them into an even layer on a tray lined with linen towel and let dry for at least for 1 hour.

Making the Sauce

This is an amazing sauce. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and celery and cook for approximately 5 minutes or until ingredients turn golden. Add the tomatoes, 12 basil leaves, torn up, and salt and pepper. Simmer, covered for about 5 minutes. Take off the cover, stir in the beans and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes become soft. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Stir gently until the water comes back to a boil and the pasta comes to the surface. Drain the pasta, saving some of the water. Return the pasta to the pot, mix with the sauce, and add enough cooking water to just about cover the pasta. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, give it a nice stir and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and peperoncino to your liking. If you like it brothy, serve immediately; if you like it thick let it sit off heat for 10 to 15 minutes with the cover on.


This was the second recipe I have cooked out of Cooking With Chef Silvio. I am recommending it and have added it to my Favorite Cookbooks list. Can't wait to try another recipe. And I think Chris is pleased with his cookbook choice!