Pasta with “Weeds”

October 9, 2015 robiulo Leave a comment

Everyone always said that my grandmother could cook weeds and make them taste good. Well, she really did cook weeds. This is true cucina povera – the land owners got the good produce and the poor got the rest.

Pasta with Dandelion Greens

Dandelion greens can be somewhat bitter. A sprinkle of grated parmigiana offsets the bitterness.

Preparation:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Trim and discard stem ends and cut greens into 2 inch pieces. Wash in a sink full of cold water to remove any sand. Place in boiling water for 10 minutes and drain thoroughly. Don’t discard the water.

Place pasta in the same water you used to boil the greens. Allow to boil for 8 to 10 minutes. In the meantime, heat the oil in a pan and add garlic, salt and red pepper. When the oil gets hot and the garlic starts to color add the greens and toss. When the pasta is almost done add to the pan and toss with the greens adding ½ cup of the pasta water. Serve with grated parmigiana.

Pasta with Kale and Plum Tomato Sauce

Kale is good for you and very popular lately but it used to be something that only goats ate. If you really want too eat it, make it like this and it won’t be too bad. (For some reason, October 7th is Kale Day. Go figure.)

Preparation:

In a large pan, sauté the onion, garlic, S&P and a little red pepper. Add the kale and tomatoes, tossing frequently. Add a little pasta water and cover so it steams. When the kale is wilted and the tomatoes soft, add the pinoles (pine nuts) and a little more pasta water. When the pasta is almost done add to pan and toss with sauce to finish cooking. Serve with grated cheese.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe

It’s still too bitter for some but over the years broccoli rabe has moved up from the weed category. It’s become trendy and you can find it on the best restaurant’s menus but it wasn’t always that way.

Heat chopped garlic in oil. Add washed broccoli rabe (or arugula or other greens) that are still wet and sauté with the garlic and oil. Add S&P, cover and steam. When it wilts, toss with pasta. This recipe also works with other greens. If you’re using something with hard stems like broccoli or bok choy, boil it until tender before sautéing. A little cheese isn’t bad on this.

Spaghetti al Nero Sepia con Bok Choy

click here for “Today’s Photo“

Sides, Vegetarian

Roasted Peppers

October 2, 2015 robiulo Leave a comment

Roasted Peppers

Roasted Red Bell Peppers

Good on sandwiches or in antipasto.

Char peppers over a gas burner set on high, turning frequently, until skin is blackened and blistered on all sides. Transfer to a bag or a bowl and cover tightly; let stand 15 minutes.

Rub the skin off peppers with the back edge of a knife (without rinsing), remove and discard cores and seeds. Cut peppers into smaller pieces. Don’t worry about some of the black char remaining on the pieces

In a bowl, gently toss together peppers, oil, parsley, salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes before serving. You can refrigerate left overs in a jar. Make sure to top it off with oil. Serve at room temperature.

Jalapeno Brochettes

They can be very hot.

Roast jalapenos on an open flame until blackened. Put them in a bag to sweat until cooled. Scrape off most of the blackened skin, slice and remove veins and seeds.

Put them on a piece of bread, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic power and coarse sea salt.

Sides, Vegetarian

Basilicata Home Fries

September 25, 2015 robiulo Leave a comment

Basilicata Home Fries

My father’s family came from Laurenzana, a small town in the hills of Basilicata.

Cut the potatoes into 1 inch pieces. Boil in salted water until slightly soft and drain. Fry green pepper in a hot dry pan until it starts to brown. Remove the pepper. Sweat the onions in oil with salt and black pepper then add the potatoes. Sprinkle liberally with powdered red pepper and fry, chopping with spatula until done with brown edges. Return the green peppers.

Left over, this is a good start for Potato and Egg Frittata.

Drinks

Cocktails – some new ones

September 18, 2015 robiulo Leave a comment

The Fall Classic Cocktail

We got this recipe from the bartender who invented it for the Sept. 2011 Landmark Feast at the American Museum of Natural History.

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Add a sprinkle of Angostura.

*cider thyme syrup – 2 cups cider, 1 cup sugar and a few sprigs of thyme. Boil slowly until clear and let it cool. Remove thyme and it’s done.

Bull Shot

Not as dainty as a Mimosa but a very good brunch drink.

Pour all ingredients over ice in a 10 oz glass, stir and garnish with a lemon wedge.

Philly Special

Philly tended bar in a place on Stanton Street between the Bowery and Forsyth in the 1960s when it was still the Lower East Side (pre-gentrification). This was his creation.

Pour both over ice – simple!

Vodka on the Rocks

A Russian friend gave me this one. Sounds simple but there’s more to it than you might think.

Cut a cucumber into thick slices and freeze them solid. Put them into a rocks glass as you would ice, and cover with Vodka.

1^st – melting ice doesn’t dilute your drink.

2^nd – there’s a fresh aroma of cucumbers with every sip

Caipirinha

A Brazilian friend taught me how to make Caipirinhas. We went to buy limes and I asked how many should I get. She said, “How many Caipirnhas do you want?” So that’s one lime per drink.

Lime – Sugar – Cachaca

Cut the 2 ends of a lime so that you have a barrel shape. Cut that into 4 rings and stack them. Cut that stack into quarters so you now have 16 small wedges of lime.

Put the lime into a heavy duty rocks glass and crush with 2 tea spoons of sugar.

Add ice and fill glass with Cachaca and stir. Some bartenders add a splash of 7-Up.

Meat

Tomato Beef Sauce

September 11, 2015 robiulo Leave a comment

Tomato Beef Sauce

I know some people don’t get Italians referring to tomato sauce as Sunday gravy. In this case it’s justified because there’s so much beef flavor in it.

The key to this one is using the right cuts of beef. It has to have lots of collagen, that is, connective tissue which is water soluble and breaks down in slow, moist cooking. I’m using short ribs and ox tail – collagen, bones and marrow. With that as the flavor base you can add, sausage, meatballs, etc.

Some tomato sauces can be a simple as the 4 ingredient marinara sauce included in my Eggplant Parmagiana post. This one is more complex.

Season the room temperature meat with salt and pepper and brown on all sides in a pot with olive oil. Remove meat and sauté the onion. Deglaze the pot with the liquid released by the onion.

Add the tomato paste and mix with the onion. Add the crushed tomatoes, wine, beef stock and stir. Add the sachet and return the browned meat with its juices. Simmer on medium heat, partially covered for one hour.

This is enough sauce for one pound of pasta. Since this is meat sauce and not seafood, serve with grated cheese.

Lunch/Snacks, Vegetarian

Eggs Two Ways

September 4, 2015 robiulo Leave a comment

Eggs Two Ways – I hope you weren’t expecting scrambled and fried.

Eggs in Purgatory

This one is fairly simple. Start with left-over tomato sauce, the thicker the better. Pre-heat the over to 400 degrees. Heat the sauce in a frying pan large enough to hold as many eggs as you want to cook. Use the back of a spoon to make indentations in the sauce and break the eggs into the indentations. 10-12 minutes in the oven and it’s done. Sprinkle a little cheese and serve.

Potato and Egg Frittata

A classic meatless Friday lunch. It’s good with a little ketchup.

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet on medium-high and add the thickly sliced potatoes, salt and black pepper. After they cook for about 8-10 minutes add the onion. After the onion softens, with the edge of a metal spatula, chop and blend the potatoes and onions making an even mixture. Cook until the potatoes are tender and what you have looks like home fries.

In the meantime beat the eggs with the milk, parsley and salt and black pepper. Add the egg mixture to the pan, mix thoroughly with the potatoes and onions then spread it out to an even layer. Lower the heat and allow it to set for about 5 minutes. The top of the mixture will still be wet so place the pan under the broiler for a few minutes, watching closely so it doesn’t burn. Remove it when the top is lightly browned.

The omelet can be served in the pan, hot or at room temperature. Slice as you would a pie.

Drinks

Cocktail Miscellany

August 28, 2015 robiulo Leave a comment

Cocktail Miscellany

Coffee Sport

My Aunt Lena made a few bottles of this once a year around Christmas time. She always sent some to my elementary school’s convent. The Sisters of Charity loved this stuff. We didn’t get the recipe from my aunt before she died but after some trial and error Bridget & I managed to come up with it.

Make double strong espresso (10 heaping teaspoons / 850 milliliters water) and filter twice with paper filters. Heat in double boiler until it’s reduced to half.

Combine: 450 milliliters of 190 proof alcohol with 300 milliliters of syrup and stir.

Add 380 milliliters of coffee concentrate and stir. It’s ready as soon as it cools.

The end result should be about 70 proof

Pomegranate Liquor

Bridget & I made this one up.

Filter the juice of 6 medium pomegranates (about 500 plus milliliters)

Reduce in a double boiler to 475 ML

Add 300 milliliters of 190 proof alcohol and 160 milliliters of simple syrup for about 70 proof.

Scotch Bonnet Infused Tequila

This is meant to be sipped and savored, un-mixed and no ice. It’s very HOT.

Pour 1 liter of tequila into a wide mouth bottle or jar. Take 8 Scotch Bonnet peppers and pierce with a knife and add to the jar. Set aside one month and strain into a bottle.

Maraschino Cherries

Pick through and wash the cherries and put them in a jar. Heat the Luxardo and fill the jar to the brim. Wait two weeks. Done.

* It’s really better with pit but remove them if you’ve got time on your hands.

Simple Syrup

Using syrup makes mixing cocktails much easier.

1 part water / 2 parts sugar

Heat until clear

Pinot Noir Punch

This was adapted from Duffy’s 1956 edition of the Official Mixers Guide

Mix and chill first 5 ingredients and pour into a punch bowl over a *block of ice with citrus fruit slices frozen inside and add chilled Pinot Noir (or Burgundy). Add chilled club soda just before serving.

*Slice some lemons, limes and tangerines and put them into 4 sandwich size zip lock bags. Add water and freeze. When frozen, put the frozen contents of the bags into a large zip-lock, add more water and freeze. This should leave you with a colorful block of ice to keep the punch chilled.

Drinks

Summer Drinks

August 21, 2015 robiulo Leave a comment

Summer Drinks

Frullato

My mother made these. Start with 1/2 a cup of fruit (cherries, berries, peaches, etc.) I used blackberries for this one. Put it in a blender with a few ice cubes, a 1/2 cup of milk and a teaspoon of sugar if you like. Blend it until the ice dissolves and it’s done.

Lime Ricky

This was a candy store specialty only available in Summer. A squirt each of cherry and lemon-lime syrup. Add seltzer, stir and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Egg Cream

Also a standard in candy stores, it was a couple of ounces of chocolate syrup (U-BET), a couple of ounces of milk, and stir with seltzer. The sum much more than the parts.

Orzata

You could get this one in cafes, some pastry shops and Italian owned candy stores. A few ounces of Orzata syrup poured over ice and then fill the glass with water or some preferred seltzer. Simple and refreshing. It tastes a bit like marzipan.

Miscellaneous

San Marzano Tomatoes

August 17, 2015 robiulo Leave a comment

San Marzano Tomatoes

The New York Times (8/16/15) did a great graphic story on what a real San Marzano is.

Click here for the Times article >

Click here for an essay & recipe featuring San Marzano tomatoes.

Meat

Schaller and Weber

August 14, 2015 robiulo Leave a comment

Schaller and Weber

An easy and tasty meal and I got it all from a butcher shop. Schaller and Weber is on 2^nd Avenue near 86^th Street. They have fresh and smoked meats, goose and venison and all kinds of German wursts. The also make their own salads and other prepared food as well as carrying European imports like preservers, pickles, spätzle, coffee and candy.

I had lunch at the Heidelberg yesterday. I sat at the bar and ordered a Bitburger and steak tartar – light on the onions and heavy on the Tabasco. The barmaid served my beer and then walked out of the front door. She returned a few minutes later and waved a small package wrapped in butcher paper at me.

“Here’s your lunch,” she said as she brought it to the kitchen.

It was the freshly double ground sirloin from Schaller and Weber for my steak tartar. The Heidelberg only serves it during the hours that Schaller and Weber is open and can supply the fresh meat.

After lunch I went next door and did a little shopping. I got bauernwurst, bratwurst and knockwurst as well a few sides – red cabbage, sauerkraut, German potato salad, cucumber salad and mustard. The only thing that needed to be cooked was the wursts – simple..

REVERIES & RECIPES

Pasta with “Weeds”

Roasted Peppers

Basilicata Home Fries

Cocktails – some new ones

Tomato Beef Sauce

Eggs Two Ways

Cocktail Miscellany

Summer Drinks

San Marzano Tomatoes

Schaller and Weber

Reveries and Recipes