Showing posts with label Proud Italian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Proud Italian. Show all posts

Monday, September 12, 2016

White Bean-Sausage Skillet

This was really tasty. I used Ferraro's store made sausage. Nice bit of heat to them.

I am not sure where I found this recipe. It was online somewhere. The internet is so vast.

So here is the recipe, as I found it. If I find where the recipe came from I will update this post.

Drain and rinse one can of white beans (we use Great Northern or cannellini). Remove two to three sweet Italian sausages from their casings and crumble into a nonstick skillet with some olive oil over medium-high heat, breaking up any large pieces with a fork. When sausage is almost cooked through, about five minutes, add beans and toss until warm. If the beans and sausage get dry, add a splash of white wine or chicken stock. Add a big handful of shredded kale until slightly wilted. Top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, shaved Parmesan, a squeeze of lemon, and crushed red pepper flakes if you crave some heat. I like to mix this up in the summer by skipping the kale and topping with fresh arugula and cherry tomatoes dressed lightly with lemon and olive oil.

Now about the bread. Tomato Bread. This came from the Proud Italian blog. Anytime you add mozzarella, tomatoes, and bread magic happens. 

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Tuscan Pork Kebabs

A couple of weeks ago I was reading one of my favorite blogs, The Proud Italian, and there was a giveaway for a grill pan. I entered the giveaway and went on with my life. A few days later I get an email from Marie, from The Proud Italian, informing me that I won the grill pan! Wow! The pan was delivered soon after that and I used it tonight.

What a beautiful pan! It is an Italian cookware brand, Lagostina. The pan is the Bistecchiera Grill  Pan. Tri-ply stainless construction provides fast and even heat distribution throughout the entire pan. The pan was handcrafted in the Lagostina factory in Italy.

The recipe I used called for the meat and veggies to be on a kebab. Well, I remove the kebab's because the meat was not resting on the surface of the pan. And being a pork dish I wanted to be sure it was cooked. The recipe was from Cooking Light and it was delicious!

From Cooking Light, Tuscan Pork Kebabs -
Ingredients
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
16 (1-inch) pieces red bell pepper
16 (1-inch) pieces yellow bell pepper
Cooking spray 
 

Method-
1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
2. Combine olive oil, grated lemon rind, salt, pepper, and crushed garlic in a large bowl, stirring well. Add pork; marinate at room temperature 15 minutes, tossing occasionally.
3. Thread pork and bell peppers alternately onto each of 8 (8-inch) skewers. Place skewers on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 10 minutes or until pork is done, turning occasionally.


And Lucy wanted some blog time because yesterday was all about Archie.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Burgers and Salad with Our New Salad Dressing

Our house burger recipe. Why would I mess with perfection? Sorry but the burger is that good!

The salad had a lot going on in it. But we stumbled upon what will be our House Dressing from this day forward. This is my husband's recipe. 1/2 a cup of olive oil, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, 2 tbsp. Dijon Mustard, 1 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Delicious!

Wondering what the orange is under the burger? Well I got my newest post from The Proud Italian blog a while ago and saw this and HAD to try it. Yeah this was good! Feta and Red Pepper Dip. Perfect on a burger!

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Steak Pizzaiola and Spaghetti Squash Cacio e Pepe

Steak two nights in a row? I wanted to make something special for Father's Day. My Dad and Chris's Dad were wonderful men. They were the best Dads and we miss them both.
 
The Steak recipe is from Lidia's Favorite Recipes. The sauce was so amazing. Chris grilled the steak, perfectly again. We usually make Steak Pizzaiola in the oven. Now in the summer we will definitely use this recipe. And remember the Italian bread. You will not want to waste any of this sauce.

 
The sauce is from Lidia's Favorite Recipes.

Ingredients-
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch strips
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2 cups sliced white button mushrooms
1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon dried oregano
One 14-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano

Method-
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the sliced garlic. Let the garlic sizzle a minute, then toss in the bell peppers and mushrooms. Season with 1 teaspoon of the salt and the oregano. Saute until the mushrooms and peppers are caramelized on the edges, about 5 minutes.

Pour in the tomatoes, and slosh out the can with ½ cup hot water, adding that to the skillet as well.

Bring to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened and the peppers break down, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Chris let the steaks rest for a few minutes and then we topped them with the sauce. Did I mention not to forget the Italian bread?
 
I have wanted to make Spaghetti Squash Cacio e Pepe as soon as I first saw the recipe on the Proud Italian Cook site. I used zucchini ribbons in place or the asparagus. Delicious! Light but packed with flavor from the cheese and pepper. There is a little left over and I am considering making a pasta pie.









Saturday, March 7, 2015

Muffaletta Pinwheel Steaks


Thank you to the Proud Italian Cook Blog for providing and sharing this recipe. Yes it was delicious. Yes Chris liked it. Would I make it again... Yes! The filling had quite a few of my favorite things in it. But I did not get the Hot Capicola, seems like I picked up 2 packages of Mortadella by mistake. Actually the next time I make this I will omit the Mortadella, one of us is not a big fan. But I would use sweet and hot Capicola. Click Here to view the original recipe at the Proud Italian Cook blog. And once you are at that blog prepare to check out a lot of other amazing recipes.

For side dishes I roasted asparagus and made Near East Parmesan Couscous. We have not had that in a very long time.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Round Veggie Lasagna

And then the Lord said, "Let there be Round Veggie Lasagna." I found this recipe on the Proud Italian Cook blog. It is one of my favorite blogs to visit. I was excited to try this, but Chris was not over the moon about the idea of a meatless lasagna. We had it on Monday night and it was well received. We had the other half on Wednesday night, Ash Wednesday and all and Chris actually said he would not mind eating this dish any night of the week. This is when I saw the heavens parted and angels singing. I had after 20+ years found a meatless meal that my husband was requesting to have again.

I used eggplant, red pepper, zucchini and onion. I roasted them, brushing the veggies with olive oil and seasoning them with salt and pepper.  The cheeses were fontina, Parmesan, Mozzarella and ricotta. The ricotta was Sorrento Galbani, which is a new variety of Sorrento. It has that "authentic Italian taste."  We did like the taste of the ricotta. It tasted fresher.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Butternut Squash Ribbons & Pancetta with Spinach Tagliatelle

You have all visited the Proud Italian blog haven't you? Don't worry I will wait while you visit....

Okay it is an amazing blog. The photos are drool inducing. I wish I lived next door to the writer. But I do not so I just make her recipes. Tonight I made Butternut Squash Ribbons with Spinach Tagliatelle. But I made a couple of changes in the recipe. Chris is not a mushroom fan so I substituted zucchini. And I added pancetta. Yeah that was a nice addition. I picked up pancetta at the Meat House, more on that later in the week. I had it sliced into 1/2 inch slabs. I diced one of the slabs and fried it up. Nice and crisp! Then I cleaned the pan and sauteed the zucchini in a little olive oil, seasoning it with salt and pepper. I made the cream sauce following the recipe and added the squash and other ingredients at the end. Gosh this was so good. Not heavy at all. And did I mention how good the pancetta cubes were?
Here is my version of the recipe but if you want the original version, Click Here.

Ingredients -
12 oz. spinach tagliatelle
butternut squash ribbons created from the neck only of a butternut squash
1 cup of sauteed zucchini
1/3 cup cream or half and half
1/3 cup of stock, chicken or vegetable
1/3 cup of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
parsley for garnish
olive oil

Method -
Cut the top off of a long neck medium sized butternut squash, peel skin off then make long ribbons using a vegetable peeler. Turn as you peel. Toss into a bowl and drizzle olive oil and salt and pepper all over then place on a rimmed baking sheet and roast at 375 to 400 until edges start to curl, keep watching as to not burn. Set aside.
Cook tagliatelle al dente.
In a saute pan drizzle olive oil. Pour in the cream, stock and cheese, cook until slightly thickens.
Add the zucchini and gently toss everything together and place on a platter adding more grated cheese, a nice drizzle of olive oil and fresh parsley for garnish.

While dinner was cooking we had some munchies. I picked up some bacon wrapped jalepeno poppers, what's not to like about that! And some cheese. English Cheddar Cheese with Mustard and Ale. Yum!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Cold Antipasto

When we were visiting my nephew for the Baptism a couple of weeks ago we had a dinner which was a big antipasto. It never occurred to me to do that for dinner. Tonight that is what I put on the table. Fantastic.

I had seen a recipe using Patty Pan Squash on the Proud Italian blog a couple of nights ago and had to try it. I used the leftover Zucchini Salad from last night, adding the Patty Pan Squash. I adjusted the dressing, olive oil and lemon juice. Nice!

 
I had some Capicola, Olives, Fresh Mozzarella, Tomatoes and Basil. I just added a little olive oil and salt over the Tomatoes and Mozzarella.

Then there was so steak leftover from last night's dinner. Some lettuce, olives, tomatoes and feta cheese. The steak sliced on top. A little vinaigrette dressing. Perfect meal for a hot summer night.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas 2012


Merry Christmas Everyone!
Here we go with the two best dinners of the year!
That's right Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Fasten your seat belts, but not too tight as there is a lot of food to drool over!


I think I have mentioned previously that my favorite meal of the year is Christmas Eve dinner. My sister and brother-in-law pull out all the stops. The sauce, the fresh pasta, the stuffed squid, the salads and the fried fish and amazing wine pairings... see I told you loosen up the seat belt....

Christmas Eve At My Sister's House
Homemade Pasta with Fish Sauce
 
Fried Baccalá Balls and Arancini di Riso

Baccalá Salad, I like the spicy one!

 Broccoli!

 Fried Smelts

 Tilapia with Lemon Caper Sauce (I took photo before adding the sauce)

 
 Stuffed Squid, absolutely amazing!

 And Cookies.... 
My new favorites are the Lime Bars,
forget lemon this is the way to go!
120 Proof Whiskey Balls! Wow!


Then There Was Christmas Day
 

Arancini di Riso


  

And the star of the dinner...
Cappelletti in my sister's Chicken Broth

 Eggplant and Portabello Mushroom Gratin
(Thank you Chef Darryl Moiles of The Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach
for sharing the recipe!)
I used up the tomatoes from my Dad's garden that I froze this summer.
The sauce was exceptional!

 

I would like to sent out a THANK YOU
to Chris who helped pull the Christmas Day meal together and
yes even a thank you to Archie who stayed hidden all day
and Lucy who supplied comic relief.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!



Sunday, September 9, 2012

A Fresh Fig Cake and A Tomato Tart

Yes I am starting with dessert. This morning I was checked the sites I follow and I found a post for Italian Fig and Cheese Filled Galette. I was so excited. I was going to make this. But no almond paste, I was sure I had some. And no mascarpone cheese! Drats. Well I bookmarked the recipe. Check it out if you have a second. It really looks good!

Now granted I could have run out to the store but something about the grocery store on a Sunday. Yeah not what I want to get involved in. And then I remembered a recipe I saw for an Olive Oil Cake with Fresh Figs!
Fresh Fig Cake. I made it in no time. It came out perfect. It is not too sweet so it is perfect for a scoop of ice cream!
For dinner we had a Tomato Tart. I found this recipe on the Proud Italian blog. I added some thyme to the crust I made. Nice.
And of course I had to make a salad, aka my lunch for tomorrow! And yes those are figs you see in the salad!


So what did we have for dinner a year ago?
Penne with Sausage, Zucchini and Tomato


So what did we have for dinner 2 years ago?
Taco Pacifico

So what did we have for dinner 3 years ago?