Monthly Archives: September 2018

Pasta

Pasta with Porcini Mushrooms

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Pasta with Porcini Mushrooms

Pasta with Porcini Mushrooms

I adapted this from I recipe by Rhonda Carano that I saw in a Ferrari-Carano wine ad. It works for me.

Pasta with Porcini Mushrooms

Pasta with Porcini Mushrooms

Instructions:

In a small pot, heat chicken broth to a boil. Add porcini mushrooms and take it off the stove.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and fry until translucent. Add the garlic. Remove the casings from the sausages, break them up and cook until lightly browned.

Remove porcini mushrooms from broth and reserve the liquid. Chop mushrooms and add them to skillet with rest of the ingredients. Add the Marsala, stir and deglaze the pan. Add the tomatoes and the reserved chicken/mushroom broth. Add oregano, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes.

Pasta with Porcini Mushrooms

Cook the pasta until it’s almost done. Strain it and add it to the pan where the sauce is cooking. Remove bay leaf and turn off the heat. If necessary, add some pasta cooking water to thin the sauce. Add cheese and chopped parsley, blend and serve

Pasta with Porcini Mushrooms

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Essays & Rants

“Italian” Food

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Italian Food

To many people, “Italian” food means tomatoes, garlic, and gooey melted cheese in the form of things like spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread and veal cutlet parmesan.

Italian Food

Well, that’s not what Italians eat, especially not Italians in Italy. The food of Italy varies by region, and it’s not what’s typically served in American “Italian” restaurants. (I suppose the same is true for Chinese food. Tourists are disappointed when they go to China and expect to find spare ribs, fried rice and egg rolls.)
What may be common in Palermo might be rare in Milano. Types of pasta and sauces, aromatics, herb and spices and preparation methods are so varied throughout the regions of Italy that America’s Olive Gardens couldn’t possibly keep up with it so they make up their own “Italian” recipes.Italian Food
“Italian” Spice – What exactly is it? I see it often in recipes – “add one teaspoon of Italian spice.” Try Googling Italian Spice and you’ll find dozens of combinations of spices including everything from garlic and fennel to dill and basil. Keep it simple and use the spices that fit the other ingredients in your recipe and not somebody else’s mix of what they think tastes good. Try asking for Italian Spice in a store in Italy and they won’t know what you’re talking about. Use good, fresh ingredients and limit the variety of spices – more isn’t necessarily better.

Italian Food

“Italian” Breadcrumbs – So what makes breadcrumbs Italian? It makes sense that they would be made from Italian bread but no, that’s not it.

Read the ingredients – Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid], High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Vegetable Oil (Soybean And/Or Cottonseed And/Or Corn And/Or Canola Oils.

Italian Food

I’d rather have just breadcrumbs in my breadcrumbs. Season whatever it is that you’re going to bread. Coat it in flour, dip in an egg wash and then plain breadcrumbs. Fry it in good oil and leave out the chemicals listed above.
“Italian” Salad Dressing – This one is a lot like Italian spice. Everybody has something else to add. The Olive Garden actually uses Miracle Whip in their so-called Italian salad dressing. Miracle Whip – can you believe it?

Italian Food

Here’s a simple version of dressing that’s common in Italian-American homes and in Italy too.

Sprinkle salt and black pepper on the greens. Then a drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar (use balsamic if you like). Use more oil than vinegar. Toss and serve – that’s all.

Try this simple dressing on some cut up orange sections with a mix of arugula and romaine.

 

And don’t get me started on “Spaghetti Sauce.”
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Sides

Goetta – a Cincinnati Breakfast

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Goetta – a Cincinnati Breakfast

Goetta - a Cincinnati Breakfast

If you’re from the Cincinnati area you’ll know what this is and if not, you should try it. Goetta (ged-da, silent o, pronounce like feta) is a hearty breakfast side made of oats and meat that’s fried and goes great with eggs. It’s of German origin and I can’t think of anything to compare it to, so taste it and form your own opinion. It may not be Italian but it’s certainly cucina povera in that it started out as a tasty way of preparing a hearty breakfast when there isn’t enough meat to go around. Goetta - a Cincinnati Breakfast

Goetta - a Cincinnati Breakfast

A couple of points to remember:  (1) you must use steel cut oats, not rolled or instant and (2) some people use ground beef with the pork sausage and others use ground pork, it’s up to you.

Add oats, salt, pepper, and bay leaf to the boiling water. Return to a boil, lower heat, stir and simmer until the oats are cooked and thick (1 to 1 ½  hours), stirring occasionally.

Goetta - a Cincinnati Breakfast

Fry the onion in oil until soft and transparent. Remove the sausage skins and discard. Add the sausage meat, chopped meat,  and garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper. When it’s done, set aside the meat-onion mixture.

When the oats thicken, remove the bay leaf and add the meat-onion mixture and blend thoroughly. Cook for another ½ hour. If it’s thick enough for the spoon to stand up in, it’s done. If not, continue cooking. If it’s too dry, add a little water.Goetta - a Cincinnati Breakfast

Let it cool a bit and then pour it into a greased baking pan. It doesn’t matter if the pan is too big too big. Spread it to about a ½ inch thick layer. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Goetta - a Cincinnati Breakfast

Turn the pan over and cut the goetta into serving sized pieces. I got 12 out of this recipe. Fry and serve as a side with eggs or anything else you’d like. You can freeze any left-over pieces but wrap them separately so they don’t stick together.

And it’s not just for breakfast.

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