Lobster Oreganata

There is something about having to kill your dinner before you cook it. I have no problem killing a lobster. Well, I do feel bad about killing it but they taste so good. That being said this dinner received rave reviews. Easy to prepare, except for the killing part.

This recipe is from the book Cooking With Nonna Celebrating Food and Family. The lobster was on sale for $6.99 a pound at Shop Rite. It was delicious.

Back to the lobster prep. There are a lot of videos and tutorials on how to kill the lobster. I would recommend googling the subject and finding one that you are comfortable with.

Ingredients-
2 live lobsters
6 tbsp. plain bread crumbs
2 tbsp. grated cheese
2 tbsp. freshly chopped parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp white wine
3/4 cup water

Method-

Place the lobster, belly side down on a kitchen towel on a cutting board, when you cut the lobster it will leak. Using a sharp knife, split the lobsters in half, straight down the middle, beginning with the point of the knife in the middle of the head and running it down the tail. Remove the eggs and the innards. Transfer the lobster halves cut side up to a rimmed baking sheet. Remember to remove the rubber bands around the claws after you kill the lobster.

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Mix thoroughly bread crumbs, parsley, cheese, parsley, and olive oil. Sprinkle evenly over lobster. Drizzle each half with the wine.

Pour water into the bottom of the baking sheet. Cover the sheet with aluminum foil and bake until the shells are red and the meat is firm about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more.
Serve with lemon wedges and melted butter.

Cannoli Cookies

It was a Cooking With Nonna type of day. Tomorrow I am going to a party at my nephew's house. His son received his Confirmation and they are also celebrating my brother's 70th birthday. What does that mean? I have to bring cookies. It is what I do.

I had the recipe for Cannoli Cookies bookmarked in the Cooking with Nonna cookbook. I am so glad I finally made this recipe. Absolutely delicious!

Ingredients-
1 cup unsalted pistachios
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 orange, zest only
1 large egg, room temperature
8 ounces whole milk ricotta, room temperature
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
For Glaze-
2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons milk, plus more if needed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Topping-
Chocolate Sprinkles

Method-
Place the pistachios in the bowl of a food processor and process until coarsely chopped, about 15-20 seconds.
Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and zest.
Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Beat in the egg and the ricotta.
Add in the dry ingredients little by little until a dough forms.
Mix in the pistachios and chocolate chips.
Using a tablespoon, roll the dough into balls and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
The bottoms of the cookies should slightly brown.
Cool completely before glazing.

To make the Glaze:
In a bowl mix together the confectioners sugar, vanilla, and milk until a smooth glaze forms. Add less milk for a thicker glaze or more for a thinner glaze. Top with chocolate sprinkles.

Classic Osso Buco

Yesterday I was out shopping with my sister and on the way home, we stopped at Ferrarro's Meat Market. I was hoping to pick up sandwich steaks for tonight's dinner. What I got instead was Osso Buco. Wow! What a fantastic dinner! I found an easy recipe on the Cooking with Nonna site. So good!

Classic Osso Buco from Rossella’s Cooking with Nonna.

Ingredients-
4 veal shank steaks approx 1 inch thick
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup red wine
3 carrots diced
2 potatoes diced
2 celery stalks diced
1 large onion diced
3 bay leaves
all-purpose flour for dredging meat
salt and pepper


Method-
Preheat oven to 350˚F
Dredge shanks lightly with flour and fry in olive oil until browned on both sides, place in a roasting pan.
Saute all veggies in the same pan until slightly soft approx 8 minutes.
Add sauce and wine and cook an additional 5 minutes
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour veggies over veal shanks in roasting pan and add the bay leaves.
Cover and place in oven for approx. 1 hour.
Remove cover and roast for 25 minutes.
The osso buco should be fork tender with a thick sauce and tender veggies.

I made Roasted Brussel Spouts and Aborio Rice as sides. Perfect dinner!

For breakfast, I made Brown Sugar Apple and Cinnamon Chip Scones. Loved these!! I have been looking for Cinnamon Chips at every local store I go into. I can never find them. Until I checked Amazon. Yup. Found them!

I was going to make just Cinnamon Chip Scones but then I noticed the apples on the counter. What happened next resulted in the best scones I have ever made.

Brown Sugar Apple and Cinnamon Chip Scones

Ingredients-
2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp baking soda, sieved
0.5 tsp salt
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 c diced apple
1c cinnamon chips (see note)
1 egg, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c buttermilk
raw sugar for dusting

Method-
Combine the flour, baking powder, and soda, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the cinnamon chips. Stir in diced apple. Combine the egg yolk, the vanilla, and the buttermilk; stir this into the dry ingredients until just combined. Turn the dough out onto a lightly flowered surface and knead for 6-10 turns. Divide the dough in half and pat each half into a 6-7 inch circle. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Brush each circle with lightly beaten egg white, dust it with sugar and transfer the wedges to an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 18-22 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack; after 5 minutes, cover loosely with a dish towel until completely cool.

Lets Bake Cookies!

Today I had a perfect Saturday morning. I baked 2 new cookie recipes.

The first recipe was for Sesame Seed Cookies. The recipe is from Cooking With Nonna. I love the way these came out. They look just like bakery cookies. Click here for the recipe. These are perfect for coffee in the morning. Or tea in the afternoon. Or when you are stuck in traffic on the way to work. Or when you are stuck in traffic on the way home from work. One note about the recipe - I made 1/2 of the recipe and ended up with 46 2 inch cookies!

The next cookie was a Confetti Biscotti. Wow! These will be on this year's Christmas cookie list. The dough was an amazing to work with. And the taste? A little salt on the top made these cookies over the top delicious. Click here for the recipe.

Cooking With Nonna

I bought my brother-in-law the cookbook, Cooking with Nonna, for his birthday. I have been following the Cooking with Nonna blog for awhile. This is where you can find those recipes that your grandmothers and aunts cooked when you were growing up. When I purchased the book for Ralph I got myself the Kindle version. This week we had 3 meals from the book. I will not be putting the recipes on my blog because I think you should buy the book. Sorry, but it is filled with recipes you will want to try. Trust me.

Pasta Fagioli. The recipe in the book called for dried beans. Well, of course, I did not have time to soak and cook the beans so I used canned beans. Wow, this is the recipe I have been searching for. This may be my go to Pasta Fagioli recipe.

Lemon Chicken. I can not even attempt to describe how moist and delicious this was. The recipe is similar to the chicken cutlet recipe I have been using but the cutlets are fried. The sauce of chicken broth, white wine, and lemon juice so light and flavorful.

And the Stuffed Artichoke. Wow! The recipe in the book instructs you to scoop out more of the inside of the artichoke than other recipes I have used. The bread crumbs are toasted, yes I used fresh breadcrumbs.  An absolutely perfect dish and Chris ate more of the artichoke than he usually does.

Thank you to all the Nonnas that helped write this book.

Lentils with Farro

I didn't think that this would be such a perfect dinner. But today was a rainy and raw day. April showers I guess. I found this recipe on Cooking with Nonna. I cut the recipe in half and I still have enough leftovers for a couple of lunches.

Lentils with Farro, from Cooking with Nonna

Ingredients-
1 pound Farro
1 pound Dry Lentils
1 Medium Red Onion, sliced
2 Stalks of Celery, sliced
4 Bay Leaves
2 Carrots, cubed
Crushed Red Pepper
Salt
EV Olive Oil

Method-
Bring a pot of salted water to boil and add the Farro.  Cook it for about 30 mins.
Drain the water and set aside.
Wash the lentils and put them in a deep pot.
Cover the lentils with water with 1 1/2" of water above the lentils.
Add all the other ingredients except the EV Olive Oil.
Cover the pot and let all the content come to a boil. Let it boil for about 10 mins.
Uncover the pot and let it continue to cook. On the side boil some hot water and add it to the pot if the lentils become too dry.
Cook for another 10 mins. Taste the lentils and stop cooking them when they reach your desired tenderness.
Add the Farro to the pot and bring to a boil.
Serve with a drizzle of good EV Olive Oil.

Bollito di Carne

I remember eating this soup as a child. When I saw the recipe on the Cooking with Nonna site I was very excited. Another soup I knew Chris would love. I made the soup on Saturday while I was up to my elbows in flour and butter. It could not be easier. Put everything in a pot and let it simmer.
Bollito di Carne, Meat Soup from Cooking With Nonna

Ingredients-
2 Lbs Beef short ribs
2 Whole large potatoes
4 Carrots
1 Large onion
5 Plum Tomatoes
3 Stalks of Celery
EV olive oil
Salt

Method-
Put in a pot 3 quarts of water and the meat.
Before the water comes to a boil, remove from the top all the brown particles floating on the water (This is very important as it removes some of the fat and leaves the soup clear!)
Add to the water, the potatoes, the celery, the onion and the tomatoes cut in small pieces.
Add 3 Tbs of EV olive oil.
Let the meat and all the vegetables cook for about 90 minutes. Check on the meat as you want it to come easily off the bones. I let it simmer for about 2 1/2 hours as I was busy with cookie dough and honestly forgot about it!

The Cooking with Nonna site recommends serving the soup with some spaghetti. We opted for Italian bread. Chris loved dinner. And it made enough for 2 nights!

Maiale al Latte

Well, I don't know how you spend a rainy Saturday but I was in the kitchen, and at the Vet with Lucy. I got an eblast from Tasting Table this week with the recipe, Maiale al Latte. The recipe originates from Emilia-Romagna. I was intrigued. I was leery about milk, but wow. Okay, it did boil over in the oven. Drats. But the meat. My God the meat was amazing. So tender, knives are not needed. And the flavors! Rosemary, Sage and Lemon. My taste buds are smiling.

And while I was in the kitchen I tried a new cookie recipe. Buttery Nutella Rolled Cookies. The recipe is from Cooking With Nonna. Oh, I love that blog! I think I have a new favorite cookie recipe. Seriously, this IS my new favorite cookie.

Now about the Vet visit with Lucy. Anyone out there have any experiences with epileptic fits in cats. Lucy had a seizure last night and I googled epileptic fits in cats after it happened, hoping nothing would show up. But what I read was exactly what happened. It was scary. Very scary. We will get the blood work results on Monday. Fingers and paws crossed.