Macaroni and Beans

June 19, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Allesandro Castelli-Italian Peasants by a Cottage

Macaroni and Beans

I don’t always do real La Cucina Povera (the cooking of the poor) recipes but this time it’s one of the best – macaroni and beans. What could be a less expensive meal for a family? And the best part about it is that it’s delicious. Every weekday night my mother would start dinner with one of her mother’s recipes, a kind of macaroni and “something,” maybe beans, lentils, cecis (chick peas), broccoli, cauliflower and then she’d serve the main course. These macaroni dishes were terrific but she never considered them “good enough” to serve to guests.

So here’s the family recipe for Macaroni and Beans.

Start a pot of salted water for the macaroni.

Saute the onion slowly over low heat in oil. Don’t brown. Season with salt, black and red pepper. Add the tomato paste, parsley and blend. Add 1 cup of the pasta water and let this continue to simmer on a low heat as the pasta cooks.

When the pasta is almost done add add it to the sauce to finish cooking. Add the beans and some of the pasta water so it has a somewhat soupy consistency. Check for seasoning and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and,if you like, some grated cheese or toasted bread crumbs.

Sides

Collard Greens Southern Style

June 15, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Collard Greens Southern Style

I recently did a post on Collard Greens Italian Style. It’s only fair that I do a traditional southern recipe. I got this from a couple I know whose families come from Georgia.

Place hock in a large pot and just cover with chicken stock, water or a combination of the two. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the liquid is reduced by a third.
While the hock is simmering, remove collard stems and roll leaves lengthwise like a cigar and slice into 1 inch pieces. Put cut leaves in a sink full of cold water and wash. Remove and drain.
In a separate pan lightly sauté onion on a low heat in half of the fat or oil. Don’t brown.
When the onion is soft and translucent add salt, vinegar, garlic, sugar, pepper and remaining bacon fat or olive oil to pan. Cook on a medium low heat for a few minutes then add to the pot with the hock.
Turn heat to high and add greens, stir, cover and lower heat and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, until tender.

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Lunch/Snacks

Elvis’ Favorite Sandwich

June 12, 2018 robiulo 1 Comment

Graceland

Elvis’ Favorite Sandwich

This is something that I’ve always wanted to try but never got around to – a peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich. It’s a combination that most people would never have thought of but Elvis was a very creative guy. It may be a little heavy on the cholesterol but that’s not something the King worried about and neither do I. You can vary the recipe. I’ve heard that some people add a little honey.

While the bacon is frying start to prepare the sandwiches. Butter one side of each slice of bread and spread peanut butter on the other side. This is a little sloppy but worth it. Remove the bacon from the pan. Slice the bananas length wise and then in half. Give them a quick fry in the bacon fat, put them on the peanut butter and then add the bacon. Squeeze the sandwiches closed and grill them in the hot bacon fat. Flatten them a bit with a spatula and cook for a few minutes on each side, the way you would with a grilled cheese sandwich. Let them cool, cut them in half and serve.

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Meat

Glazed Pork Loin

June 8, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Glazed Pork Loin

Pork goes well with sweetness – things like apple sauce, fruit glazes and chutney. With this one the sweetness is cut with the addition of siracha for a well balanced combination of hot and sweet.

Coat the room temperature loin with the rub.

Brown it in a cast iron pan in olive oil. Remove to a dish, let it cool a bit and brush on the glaze. Put it back in the pan and roast for 15 – 20 minutes in a 350^o oven (internal temp. 130^o). Don’t over cook. Let it rest covered in foil for 10 minutes, slice and serve.

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Seafood, Vegetarian

Swordfish with Mint and Lemon

June 5, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Swordfish with Mint and Lemon

This is a good summer recipe for a charcoal or gas grill. It also works indoors on a grill pan. It’s up to you but we like the inside just a little bit pink.

Marinade and Sauce

Cook for a few minutes on each side, depending on thickness, on a grill or a ridged pan. Don’t overcook. Grill a couple of lemon halves at the same time and squeeze them over the steaks when done. Serve topped with sauce.

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Essays & Rants

Excerpt from La Cucina Povera

June 1, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Excerpt from La Cucina Povera

From an article in Gastronomica about my family’s cooking –

. . . There’s none of that restaurant-style lasagna or ‘‘veal parm’’ in our cookbook with their rubbery layers of mozzarella and loads of garlic. For us there’s no simple thing called ‘‘spaghetti sauce’’; we have dozens of sauces that go with various types of pasta in strict combination. Most of the recipes we include are the ones our grandmother, Nicolina, brought with her to America from Salerno more than a hundred years ago. This is truly la cucina povera, the cooking of the poor.

. . . The next course was pasta frutti di mare. If guests asked for cheese to sprinkle on their pasta, we of course had to tell them they couldn’t have any. Everyone should know it’s a mortal sin to put cheese on seafood. The pasta course was followed by other things that swim and were available at the end of December. A standard was baccala, dried cod fish, prepared both as a salad and a stew. It’s so dry it resembles a plank of wood when you buy it.

. . . We’d also serve cured meats like prosciutto and capocollo but which we pronounce in Grandma’s dialect, ‘‘braschute’’ and ‘‘gabbagoul.’’

. . . When I think about my childhood family meals I can still smell fresh-cut lemons and dried oregano, and hear the sizzle of my mother’s breaded veal cutlets frying in olive oil. The shades of color in an arugula, romaine, and blood orange salad bring back memories of much more than just something to eat.

. . . I handed my fourteen-year-old granddaughter, Molly, a sharp knife, a cutting board, and five pounds of sardines and asked her to clean them. After I showed her how it to do it, she worked on them until she was left with a neat pile of fillets, without once saying ‘‘Ew’’ or ‘‘Yuck.’’

. . . As I unwrapped it and put the heart on the kitchen counter, Bridget left the room and wouldn’t come back. . . I don’t remember ever seeing anything like that in my Mother’s kitchen, and it didn’t look at all like the dainty bits in the finished dish she served. I didn’t know where to start and after calling Nicki, found she didn’t either, so I Googled, ‘‘preparation beef heart,’’ and came up with a method of cleaning it.

Complete article – La Cucina Povera

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Pasta

Collard Greens Italian Style

May 29, 2018 robiulo 3 Comments

Collard Greens Italian Style

Bridget and I were at a farmer’s market and got some collard greens. We were going to make them Southern style and looked for someone selling smoked ham hocks. Instead we found Italian sausages and changed our plans. Broccoli rabe, sausage and pasta is a traditional Southern Italian dish. So why not mix-up Southern USA and Southern Italy. We replaced the broccoli rape with collards and just because we were being adventurous anyway we added some cannellini beans. Here’s how we did it.

Cleaning collard greens – Cut out and discard the stems. Stack the 2 remaining pieces. Cut the stack into 1 inch strips and wash them.

Put up a pot of water for pasta.

Cut the sausage into 1 inch pieces. Brown in oil in a large pot.

Remove sausage and add garlic and beans. Cook for a few minutes and remove. Deglaze the pot with the wine.

Add the greens to the pot with 1 cup of water. Cook covered on medium high until they wilt, about 10 minutes. Add the almost cooked pasta and ¼ cup of cheese and blend. Return the sausage and beans to the pot. Add more pasta water if necessary to keep it a little soupy and serve.

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Lunch/Snacks

Ham and Cheese Pie

May 25, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Ham and Cheese Pie

This is a versatile recipe. You can use whatever cheese you like or a combination like I’m doing. For a nice Italian twist try it with provolone and prosciutto. You can also add parsley, peppers, etc.

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350^o. Grease a 9-inch pie plate with softened butter, then coat plate evenly with Parmesan.

Combine cheese, ham and onions in a bowl and distribute it evenly in bottom of the prepared pie dish. Mix flour, baking powder, pepper, and salt (keep in mind that ham and cheese can be salty) in a bowl. Whisk in half and half, eggs, melted butter and mustard until smooth. Slowly pour batter over cheese and ham mixture in pie dish.

Bake until pie is light golden brown and the filling is set, about 30, then 3 – 5 minutes under the broiler to brown top. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

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Meat

Lamb with Capers and Mint

May 22, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Lamb with Capers and Mint

A friend gave me this Central Asian recipe for lamb with capers and mint. It works with chicken too. Just replace the mint with parsley and beef stock with chicken stock.

Sauté the onion in oil on a low heat until softened, not brown, and remove from the pan.
Add more oil and brown the seasoned room temperature lamb and remove from the pan.
Add onion, ½ cup mint and capers to the pan. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes.
Stir in stock and vinegar. Return lamb with any juices. Reduce heat to medium; cover and simmer for 10 minutes and then another 10 minutes uncovered until meat is done.
Put the lamb in a serving dish. Check sauce for seasoning and spoon over lamb. Garnish with chopped mint.

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Miscellaneous, Sides, Vegetarian

Oatmeal

May 18, 2018 robiulo Leave a comment

Oatmeal

Recipe for steel-cut oats –

Once you try this you may not go back to instant oatmeal. Steel-cut oats includes the whole oat kernel, cut up. These take longer to cook. Instead of cooking it for an hour or more, ignore the package directions and try it this way.

For 2 servings –

The night before – boil 2 cups of water with a little salt. Add one cup of oats (maybe with a handful of pomegranate seeds or dried currents), stir, turn off the heat and cover.
The next morning – add one cup of water (or ½ and ½ water and milk), stir, bring to a low boil then simmer for 10 minutes.

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Brown-Butter Chocolate Oatmeal

Macaroni and Beans

Collard Greens Southern Style

I recently did a post on Collard Greens Italian Style. It’s only fair that I do a traditional southern recipe. I got this from a couple I know whose families come from Georgia.

Click here for updated GALLERY II

Elvis’ Favorite Sandwich

Glazed Pork Loin

Pork goes well with sweetness – things like apple sauce, fruit glazes and chutney. With this one the sweetness is cut with the addition of siracha for a well balanced combination of hot and sweet.

Coat the room temperature loin with the rub.

Brown it in a cast iron pan in olive oil. Remove to a dish, let it cool a bit and brush on the glaze. Put it back in the pan and roast for 15 – 20 minutes in a 350o oven (internal temp. 130o). Don’t over cook. Let it rest covered in foil for 10 minutes, slice and serve.

Click here for updated GALLERY II

Swordfish with Mint and Lemon

This is a good summer recipe for a charcoal or gas grill. It also works indoors on a grill pan. It’s up to you but we like the inside just a little bit pink.

Cook for a few minutes on each side, depending on thickness, on a grill or a ridged pan. Don’t overcook. Grill a couple of lemon halves at the same time and squeeze them over the steaks when done. Serve topped with sauce.

Excerpt from La Cucina Povera

From an article in Gastronomica about my family’s cooking –

Click here for updated GALLERY II

Collard Greens Italian Style

Put up a pot of water for pasta.

Cut the sausage into 1 inch pieces. Brown in oil in a large pot.

Remove sausage and add garlic and beans. Cook for a few minutes and remove. Deglaze the pot with the wine.

Add the greens to the pot with 1 cup of water. Cook covered on medium high until they wilt, about 10 minutes. Add the almost cooked pasta and ¼ cup of cheese and blend. Return the sausage and beans to the pot. Add more pasta water if necessary to keep it a little soupy and serve.

Ham and Cheese Pie

Click here for updated GALLERY II

Lamb with Capers and Mint

Oatmeal

Recipe for steel-cut oats –

Once you try this you may not go back to instant oatmeal. Steel-cut oats includes the whole oat kernel, cut up. These take longer to cook. Instead of cooking it for an hour or more, ignore the package directions and try it this way.

For 2 servings –

The night before – boil 2 cups of water with a little salt. Add one cup of oats (maybe with a handful of pomegranate seeds or dried currents), stir, turn off the heat and cover.

The next morning – add one cup of water (or ½ and ½ water and milk), stir, bring to a low boil then simmer for 10 minutes.

Reveries and Recipes

Brown it in a cast iron pan in olive oil. Remove to a dish, let it cool a bit and brush on the glaze. Put it back in the pan and roast for 15 – 20 minutes in a 350^o oven (internal temp. 130^o). Don’t over cook. Let it rest covered in foil for 10 minutes, slice and serve.