Filetto Di Manzo All'Aceto Balsamico

It seems that this has become a once-a-week posting blog. Tonight we had Filetto Di Manzo All'Aceto Balsamico, Beef with Balsamic Vinegar. It is from La Cucina The Regional Cooking of Italy, or as Chris calls it - The Big Book. The recipe is from the Emilia-Romagna region. The recipe came together super fast, easily a 20-minute meal.

The sauce was quite good. There were some comments about the texture of the meat. I had no problem with the texture, but one of us did.

I made our usual sauteed zucchini and Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes. Again, here we were split on the potatoes. But the Air Fryer is definitely the way to go with baked potatoes. The kitchen did not get super hot with the oven on for 45 minutes. The skins were crispy and the interior was creamy.

Filetto Di Manzo All'Aceto Balsamico

Ingredients-

3/4 lb. beef tenderloin, cut into 2 slices

1/4 cup flour

1 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 cup beef broth

Method-

Flatten the tenderloin slices with a meat pounder and dredge them in the flour. Shaking them to remove any excess.

Heat a saute pan to high and grease it lightly with olive oil.

Salt the slices, then cook them on high heat on both sides, sprinkling with 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar.

Remove the meat from the pan and keep warm.

Prepare a thin sauce by combining the remaining vinegar, broth, and 1 tbsp flour.

Return the meat to the pan with its juices and cover with the sauce and serve piping hot.

Scalloppine All'Aceto Balsamico

This recipe was originally on this blog in 2010. Scalloppine All'Aceto Balsamico. Not bad for a Monday night dinner. We had sauteed zucchini and couscous as sides. 

Pork Chops with Balsamic Vinegar

Tonight we opened La Cucina, The Regional Cooking of Italy, for our dinner recipe. Pork Chops with Balsamic Vinegar is from the Emilia Romagna region. The recipe was short and easy. I used an Apple Balsamic Vinegar that Chris got me for Christmas. Delicious!

Pork Chops with Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients-
1 lb. pork chops, cut thin
all-purpose flour for dredging
1/4 olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt

Method-
Pound the pork chops to make them very thin, then flour them lightly.
Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the pork and brown on both sides.
Salt and sprinkle the pork with balsamic vinegar.
Serve immediately while the heat is still making the vinegar give off all its fragrance.

Sausage Frittatta

We have Frittattas quite often. Our usual recipe consists of vegetables and either ham or bacon. The frittatta can be altered to use literally anything. Tonight we used a recipe from La Cucina, The Regional Cooking of Italy. 

It was so easy it was scary. Remove the sausage casing and cut into slices. Melt butter in an oven-safe sautée pan, add the sausage and cook stirring often. Spread the sausage into a single layer. Add the beaten eggs, I used 6 eggs that were seasoned with salt, pepper, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. The heat is reduced to low. When the underside is done place the pan into a 375˚ oven for 10 minutes. Remove when the top is firm.

We made sandwiches with the frittata. I can say this was better than our usual vegetable version.

Pork Chops with Balsamic Vinegar

Scaloppine All'Aceto Balsamico or Pork Chops with Balsamic Vinegar can be found on page 64 of  La Cucina, The Regional Cooking of Italy. The recipe can also be found at the end of this post. It is a recipe from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

The recipe calls for Pork Loin. The Pork Chops were sliced nice and thin and the price was friendlier. I still pounded the Chops to make them thinner. This dish came together in a flash and the flavor was perfect.


Pork Chops with Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients-
1 lb pork loin, sliced
All-purpose flour for dredging
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt

Method-
Pound the slices of pork to make them very thin, then flour them lightly.
Heat the olive in a pan, add the pork, brown on both sides.
Salt and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar.
Serve immediately while the heat is still making the vinegar give off all its fragrance.

Pollo alla Cacciatore, Hunter-Style Chicken

For tonight's dinner, I returned to La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy for Pollo alla Cacciatore, Hunter-Style Chicken. There a a couple of recipes for Cacciatore in the cookbook, but this is our favorite.

Pollo alla Cacciatore, Hunter-Style Chicken
Ingredients-
2 tbsp. Unsalted butter
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 chicken, cut in pieces 
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 lb. Plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped (I used a can of crushed tomatoes)
1 red pepper; cleaned of seeds and chopped
Salt and pepper 

Method- Heat the butter and olive oil in a pan and add the onion. When it is golden, add the chicken pieces and let them brown. Pour in the wine, add the tomatoes and peppers, adjust the salt and pepper. Cover and cook at low heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Beef Rolls Roman-Style

Tonight's main dish is from La Cucina, the Regional Cooking of Italy. Involtina Alla Romana, Beef Rolls Roman-Style. It looks like a lot on the plate. I used Sandwich Steaks so the meat was sliced nice and thin. It was quite good with the sauce from the pan. Page 590 for those of you who have the book! 

Involtina Alla Romana, Beef Rolls Roman-Style.

Ingredients -

8 slices lean beef top or bottom round about 3 oz each

8 sliced prosciutto

2 celery stalks, cut into 2 inch matchsticks

2 carrots, cut into 2 inch matchsticks 

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

Salt and pepper 

Method -

Pound flat the slices of beef and salt and pepper them. Remove the fat prosciutto and set aside. Place one slice of prosciutto on each sliced of beef. Top each with 3 strips of celery and 3 strips of carrots.  

Roll up the beef slices,  being careful not to lose the contents, and tie closed with kitchen twine, which must be later be removed before serving. Toothpicks can also be used.

In a saute pan combine olive oil and the reserved prosciutto fat and onion. Place over medium-high heat and cook until the onion is golden. Add the beef rolls and cook at high heat for 1 or 2 minutes. 

Pour in the wine and when the wine has evaporated add the tomatoes. Cook over low heat to keep the sauce from thickening; if it cooks down too much add 2 tablespoons lukewarm water, repeating this if necessary. When the rolls and filling have cooked, about 20 minutes, adjust for salt and serve hot.

 

I found Baby Brussel Sprouts! Roasted them in olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.

 

Notice the pasta? Homemade and served with Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce. Four, that's right four ingredients. And it was an amazing sauce!

Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce

Ingredients -
2 cups tomatoes, with their juices (for example, a 28-ounce can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes)
5 tablespoons butter
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
salt

Method -
Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter and the onion halves in a saucepan. Add a pinch or two of salt.

Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of tomato with a spoon. Add salt as needed.

Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta. This recipe makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta.
 

Calzone Barese Olive and Ricotta

Calzone Barese Olive and Ricotta. This has become a Lenten meal in our house. Flavorful, filling and easy! The recipe is from La Cucina: Regional Cooking of Italy.
I could not find Ricotta Salata at the grocery story so I used Scamorza and Feta. I also added Hot Cherry Peppers from the Olive Bar at the grocery store. Added a nice bit of heat to the dish.

For the dough:
2 cups all purpose flour plus more if needed
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeas dissolved in 2 tbsp. warm water
Extra-virgin olive oil

For the filling:
1 medium onion, sliced
3/4 lb. ripe plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup pitted and chopped black olives
4 oz. ricotta salata, passed through a sieve
Salt and pepper

Pour the flour onto a flat surface and work it together with the yeast mixture, a dash of salt and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Knead the dough, turning and folding it onto itself, until it becomes soft and elastic, adding water by the tablespoon as necessary - you my need to add as much as 3/4 cup. Then cover it with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 450˚F. Grease a baking dish.
In a sauce pan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil and saute the onion until is almost transparent, then add the tomatoes. Cook the sauce down for a few minutes then add salt, pepper, and olives. Remove the pan from the heat and add the ricotta salata and mix well.

Roll the dough on a floured board into two sheets, one larger than the other. With the larger one line the greased pan. Pour in the sauce, spread it out, and cover with the other sheet, folding the edges over each other. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the top is golden.

Pollo alla Cacciatore

Pollo alla Cacciatore, Hunter-Style Chicken, is a dish that I have not made in quite some time. The recipe is from La Cucina: Regional Cooking of Italy. It is from the Emilia-Romagna region. I love making this recipe. The house smells so good. I am sure it has to do with the wine.

To go along with the chicken I made creamy polenta. I use the instant polenta and just added some Mascapone cheese in a the end.

And of course you do need Italian bread with this!


Pollo alla Cacciatore, Hunter-Style Chicken

2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 young chicken, cut in pieces (I just went to the butcher's counter and did not ask the age of the chicken)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 lb. plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped (I used a can of crushed tomatoes)
1 green or yellow sweet pepper; cleaned of seeds ad chopped (I used red pepper, personal preference and they were on sale!)
Salt and pepper

Heat the butter and olive oil in a pan and add the onion. When it is golden, add the chicken pieces and let them brown. Pour in the wine, add the tomatoes and peppers, adjust the salt and pepper. Cover and cook at low heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
 

Beef in Sauce

Another recipe from La Cucina The Regional Cooking of Italy.

Beef in Sauce. From Campania. I am seeing a pattern here...

Well this is my take on the recipe. The original recipe called for Lard and Lardo and Raisins and Pine Nuts. I don't use Lard. I have never seen Lardo in a store and I don't remember anyone in my mom's family adding raisins when they made braciola, not to say it may not be delicious. And pine nuts are out of my price range! Ah but of course I have Prosciutto!

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 oz. tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 1/4 lb beef rump in 6 slices
1/2 cup chopped parsley
4 oz scamorza cheese cut in strips
4 oz Prosciutto sliced
Salt and Pepper

I heated the olive oil in a pan and added chopped onion and cooked until golden. Added tomato paste, then stirred in the wine. Added a little water to make a thin sauce.
For the meat I put a piece of Prosciutto on top of the slice of meat and sprinkled each piece with parsley, salt and pepper and scamorza cheese (I had that left over from last night's dinner).
I rolled up the slices of meat and tied them with twine, noting that the last time I did go a little nuts with this process...
I added the bundles to the sauce and reduced the heat to low and cooked for 1 1/2 hours. I removed the meat and let the sauce continue to cook.

Now all that happened yesterday. Yes I do my cooking on Sundays. So tonight Chris heated up the sauce and then added the meat to the pan for about 10 minutes. We served the meat and sauce with rice. Not bad for a Monday!

And another post of Cookbook Sunday!

Baked Fusilli and Orecchiette

Tonight we turn to La Cucina The Regional Cooking of Italy.

 Baked Fusilli and Orecchiette is from Campania. This is a typical dish of Avellino.

1/2 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, minced
1 large egg beaten
1/2  cup crustless bread, soaked in milk until soft, then squeezed dry
1/2 grated pecorino
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cups tomato sauce
6 oz fusilli
6 oz. orecchiette
6 oz. scamorza cheesed, sliced
2/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
salt

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Form the ground beef, onion, egg, bread, pecorino and a pinch of salt into meatballs. Heat the olive oil in pan and cook the meatballs until browned. Add the tomato sauce and let it cook over medium heat until it thickens. Cook the fusilli, or in this case curly elbows, and orecchiette in separate pots of lightly salted boiling water until very al dente: drain. Mix the two types of pasta and put in ovenproof dish, adding the meatballs, sauce, and scamorza. Bake about 30 minutes or until the liquid is bubbling and the cheese is melted and browned. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano.
This disappeared very quickly!
And I made a small dish for my Dad.

And we have an entry for Cookbook Sunday!

Zuppa Di Cipolle and Quiche

This was the first time I have made Onion Soup since back when I was working at New Haven Restaurant as a prep cook. There we made 25 gallons of onion soup at a time... it was one of their signature dishes.

This on the other hand was a much smaller batch of soup. The recipe came from the La Cucina Cookbook. This recipe is from the Piedmont region of Italy.

Ingredients
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 lb. onions, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp. flour
6 cups beef broth
slices of stale bread
Shredded Swiss Cheese

Method
Melt the butter in a large pot over low heat. Add the onions and slowly saute them until golden. Add the wine and let it evaporate. Sprinkle the flour over the onions, stir then slowly add the broth, creating a creamy but not too thick soup.

At this point I toasted 2 pieces of homemade French bread. We ladled the soup into our bowls and put the toast on top. Then we sprinkled the toast with shredded Swiss Cheese. It was delicious. I think it was the wine that added the flavor. I don't know why I haven't made this before now. Chris really liked it.

I also made a Quiche with Ham and Swiss Cheese. For some reason I thought the soup would not be enough. The quiche was quite good and so simple to make. I just made a Pate Brisse for the crust and filled the shell with Rosemary Ham and some Swiss cheese.

Pate Brisée, from The Silver Palate Cookbook
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
pinch granulated sugar
5 1/2 tbsp. (2/3 stick) sweet butter, chilled
3 tbsp. vegetable shortening, chilled
1/4 cup ice water

Method
1. Sift flour, salt and sugar into a bowl. Add butter and shortening. Cut them into dry ingredients with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture is like coarse meal.
2. Sprinkle on and blend in enough ice water to make a workable dough, mixing water in lightly with a fork.
3. Turn dough out onto work surface and, using the heel of your hand, smear the dough away from you, about 1/4 cup at a time. Scrape up the smeared dough into a ball, wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. Unwrap dough, place on a floured work surface, and pound it a few times with your rolling pin to soften it. Roll it out 1/8 inch thick, or to desired thickness.
5. Drape dough over quiche pan, ease it into the pan without stretching, pat into place. Trim off excess, and crimp edges. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Remove chilled dough from refrigerator and prick the bottom and sides well with a fork. Line the bottom of the pan with foil and fill with beans to weight the crust. Bake for 10 minutes, until dough is just beginning to color.
7. Remove from oven, remove weights and lining and cool slightly.

For filling place cheese and diced ham in crust. Beat 3 eggs and mix with 1 1/2 cups milk or cream, I use low fat milk. Season with salt, nutmeg and fresh ground pepper. Pour filling into crust. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until filling is set.

The quiche and the soup combined made a wonderful dinner.