Roman Meatballs
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ Cups Bread Crumbs
½ Cup Milk
5 Ounces Finely Chopped Prosciutto
1 Pound Ground Sirloin
1 Pound Ground Pork
2 Lightly Beaten Eggs
½ Cup Grated Parmigianino Reggiano Cheese
3 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
3 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Fresh Oregano
7 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Fresh Basil
6 Minced Garlic Cloves
1 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
6 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Diced Large Yellow Onion
28 Ounces Crushed Tomatoes With Juices
In a medium mixing bowl combine bread crumbs and milk and let stand for 10 minutes. In a large bowl combine beef, pork, prosciutto, eggs, cheese, parsley, oregano 3 tablespoons basil, 4 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Add the soaked bread crumbs and mix gently until combined. Divide into ¼ cup portions and roll into balls. Set on a parchment lined baking sheet. In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Working in two batches, brown the meatballs for 8 minutes and then transfer to a plate. In the same pan over medium heat warm the rest of the olive oil. Cook the onion and stir occasionally until softened. Add the remaining garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and juices. Season with the remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes until the sauce thickens. Stir in the remaining basil and add the meatballs. Cook for 30 minutes turning occasionally and basting with the sauce. Be sure that the meatballs are cooked through. Transfer to a platter and ser with gnocchi, spaghetti or ravioli. Serves 6
Steak With Tomato Gravy
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ Tablespoons Olive Oil
¼ Cup Unbleached Flour
1 ½ Teaspoon Paprika
½ Teaspoon Sea Salt
½ Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
4 Skillet Steaks (4 Ounces and ½ Inch Thick)
2 Ounces Thinly Sliced Monterey Jack Cheese
1 Cup Arugula
In a large skillet heat the olive oil over a medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium. In a small dish combine flour, paprika, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the steaks in the flour mixture and reserve any remaining flour mixture. Cook the steaks in the hot oil for 4 minutes per side. Top with the cheese the last two minutes of cooking. Set aside and keep warm.
Tomato Gravy
INGREDIENTS
6 Seeded & Cut Large Tomatoes
7 Chopped Garlic Cloves
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Fresh Sage
½ Teaspoon Sea Salt
½ Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
While the steaks are cooking place the tomatoes in a food processor. Cover and pulse until tomatoes are coarsely chopped. In the same skillet that you cooked the steaks in add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the chopped garlic. Cook over a medium heat for 2 minutes until golden. Stir in the tomatoes and crushed fresh sage, salt, pepper and reserved flour mixture. Bring the tomato mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat. Simmer for 6 minutes. To serve place a small handful of arugula leaves on each plate, top with a steak and then ladle over some of the Tomato Gravy. Place any remaining in a serving bowl to place on the table. Serves 4
Green Bean Salad
I love this salad!
INGREDIENTS
1 Large Sliced Sweet Onion
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Pound Trimmed Green Beans
1 Teaspoon Snipped Fresh Rosemary
½ Teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Clove Minced Garlic
1 Cup Cooked Fresh Corn
1 ½ Cups Sliced In Half Cherry Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
In a medium sized skillet cook the onions in the hot olive oil over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Don’t overcook the onions. You want them just to begin to soften. Add the green beans, rosemary, garlic and salt. Cover and cook for 10 minutes more or until beans are crisp-tender. Remove from the heat and toss in corn, tomatoes and lime juice. Serve hot or cold. Serves 4
Watermelon Sorbet
I love all things watermelon. I remember growing up in the hot Nebraska summers eating watermelon everyday that I could. We would have seed pitting contests and had sticky faces while enjoying our last days of summer. Here is a simple recipe to make your own Watermelon Sorbet.
INGREDIENTS
5 Cups Seeded & Cubed Watermelon
½ Cup Sugar
1 Envelope Unflavored Gelatin
1/3 Cup Cranberry Juice
Place the watermelon cubes in a food processor. Cover and process until smooth and stir in the sugar. This should yield about 3 cups of pureed watermelon. In a small saucepan combine the gelatin and cranberry juice. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes. Stir the mixture over a low heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Next, stir the gelatin mixture into the pureed melon. Pour into a medium sized baking pan and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and break up the frozen sorbet and place in a chilled mixing bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium speed until the sorbet is fluffy. Return to the baking pan, cover and freeze for 6 hours. To serve let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before scooping. Serves 4 One Cup Servings
Pomegranate Ribs
INGREDIENTS
5 Pounds Back Pork Ribs
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
16 Ounces Pomegranate Juice
2/3 Cup Ketchup
1 Tablespoon Molasses
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
2 Chopped Green Onions (White & Green Parts)
3 Minced Garlic Cloves
Prepare the grill to a medium heat. Season the ribs with the salt and pepper. Bring the pomegranate juice to a boil in a saucepan. Boil for 15 minutes until thickened and reduced to 1/3 cup. Stir in the ketchup, molasses, soy sauce, green onions and garlic. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Stir often. During the last 25 minutes of cooking the ribs, baste with the pomegranate sauce. The ribs are done when the meat pulls away from the bone. If you don’t have a grill you can cook in the oven at 350° F for 1 ½ hours or until done and baste with the pomegranate sauce. This sauce is delicious and a nice change of page. Serves 6
Victoriawich
Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned ice cream sandwich? Ice cream sandwiches are a year round favorite of young and old alike. Store bought is fine, but homemade is always much better. I like to use a small amount of corn syrup and olive oil in the dough as it prevents the cookies from becoming hard when the sandwiches go into the freezer. These cookies are tasty on their own as well.
INGREDIENTS
2 1/3 Cups Unbleached Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Room Temperature Butter
2/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
½ Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Light Corn Syrup
1 Egg
3 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
12 Ounces Chocolate Chips
5 Cups Vanilla Ice Cream
Preheat the oven to 350° F. In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl stir together the butter, sugars, olive oil and corn syrup until combined. Add the egg and vanilla until blended to the butter mixture. Next add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and combine. Stir in the chocolate chips. Using a ¼ cup measurer drop the dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. If you want to smaller cookies use two tablespoons of the dough. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned. Remove the baking sheets from the oven to wire racks and cool for 5 minutes. Using a spatula transfer the cookies to racks to completely cool. Repeat until all of the dough is used. Now you are ready to assemble the sandwiches. Let the ice cream soften in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Spread ½ cup of the ice cream on the bottom of one cookie and place a second cookie (bottom side down) on top of the ice cream. Repeat until all of the cookies are used. Wrap each sandwich individually in plastic wrap and freeze for 2 hours. If the sandwich cookies have become too hard then let them sit at room temperature before serving. Makes 8 large ice cream sandwiches
Arroz Con Pollo
Arroz Con Pollo simply means “rice with chicken.” It is a traditional dish that is common throughout Latin America especially in Cuba, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. It is believed that this dish originated in Puerto Rico, but there is no direct evidence of this. Arroz Con Pollo resembles the Spanish dish, paella, both in its ingredients and cooking technique.
INGREDIENTS
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 ½ Pounds Chicken Thighs With Skins Removed
1 Chopped Large Onion
1 Sliced Red Pepper
2 Minced Garlic Cloves
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Cayenne
1 Cup Long Grain Rice
1 Strip Lemon Peel
¼ Teaspoon Oregano
¼ Teaspoon Salt
14 Ounces Chicken Stock
1 Cup Peas
¼ Cup Chopped Pimiento Stuffed Olives
¼ Cup Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Lemon Wedges For Garnish
In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over a medium high heat. Add the chicken thighs and cook for 10 minutes. Turn once and cook until browned. Transfer to a plate and reduce the heat to medium. Keep the chicken drippings in the pan and add the onion and red pepper to the drippings and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cayenne. Cook for 30 seconds. Add the rice and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in the lemon peel, oregano, salt and chicken stock plus enough water to equal 2 cups. Return the chicken to the Dutch oven. Heat to boiling over a high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced with the tip of a knife. Stir in the peas. Cover and heat through. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Spoon onto serving plates and sprinkle with olives and cilantro. Serve garnished with lemon wedges. Serves 4
Lamb Burgers
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ Pounds Ground Organic Lamb
4 Peeled & Sliced Vidalia Onions (Optional)
1 Sliced Heirloom Tomato
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
4 Hamburger Buns
1 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons White Truffle Oil
2 Tablespoons Honey
6 Ounces Sliced Cheese (Optional)
1 Head Bib Lettuce
Preheat the grill. Form the lamb burgers into equal sized patties and season generously with the salt and pepper. Season the onion with the olive oil and grill until they are soft and almost fall apart. Remove from the grill and keep war. Slice the buns and lightly grill until golden brown. Set aside. In a small mixing bowl combine the mayonnaise, truffle oil and honey and set aside. Grill the burgers or place a skillet over a medium high heat and sear the burgers and then flip. Cook on each side for 4 minutes (less time for rare and more time for well done). Top each burger (if you want) with a thick slice of cheese and melt. Serve on grilled buns with onions, lettuce, tomato and a generous dollop of truffle mayonnaise. Serves 4
Spanakopita
Spanakopita or Spinach Pie is a wonderful Greek savory pastry with a filling of chopped spinach, feta cheese and other ingredients wrapped or layered in a phyllo pastry and baked to a golden brown. Spanakopita is mostly eaten as a snack in Greece. In rural Greece, smaller amounts of spinach are used, with the missing part substituted with leeks, sorrel and/or chard.
INGREDIENTS
3 Pounds Frozen Spinach
9 Lightly Beaten Large Eggs
2 Cups Crumbled Feta Cheese
¼ Cup Grated Romano Cheese
¼ Cup Chopped Dill
1 Cup Freshly Chopped Parsley
2 Cup Sliced Scallions
½ Cup Sliced Onions
2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Mint
8 Ounces Ricotta Cheese
1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 Cups Melted Unsalted Butter
1 Pound Phyllo Dough (Freezer Section at the Grocery)
Thaw and drain the frozen spinach. In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients except for the melted butter and phyllo dough. Brush the butter over the bottom of a 24×12 baking pan. Layer 10 sheets of the phyllo dough in the pan, brushing each sheet generously with the melted butter. Spread the spinach mixture over the phyllo dough and top it with another 10 phyllo dough sheets brushed with butter. Neaten up the edges and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Using a serrated knife, score the spanakopita into 15 squares, cutting about ¾ of the way through it. Sprinkle the surface with cold water to prevent curling and bake until golden brown for between 45 to 60 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before cutting. Makes 15 pieces
Blackened Striped Bass
INGREDIENTS
6 (6 Ounce) Filets Striped Bass
½ Cup Blackening Spice or Cajun Spice Rub
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Cups Fresh Baby Spinach
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly dust both sides of the fish filets with the blackening spice. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over a high heat. Carefully place 3 filets in the pan and reduce the heat to a medium heat. Cook for 30 seconds. Flip the filets and continue cooking for another minute. Transfer the cooked fish to a sheet pan and repeat the procedure with the remaining filets. Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the desired doneness is reached. To serve place a handful of spinach leaves in the center of each plate and top with a fish filet. Garnish with fresh basil if desired. Serve 6
