Broccoli with Olive Oil and Garlic

This is a classic way to cook broccoli if you are from an Italian family.  We put olive oil and garlic with just about everything.

Broccoli is so good for you.  I hope my 3 sons cook it often.  Their Aunt Hellie prefers this with Broccoli Rabe.  I think it has a more bitter flavor but they serve it a lot in New Jersey restaurants.

Serves 6

2 heads broccoli, stems removed, florets cut up

6 cloves garlic, peeled and kept whole

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Sauté broccoli in water with your garlic cloves  - cover with lid.

Don’t let it overcook and get too soft and lose color - try 4 minutes.

Pour olive oil over and sauté just another 1 minute.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Teriyaki Salmon

With the boys coming home from college for the holidays, I like to make some fish dishes as I know they haven't eaten much fish at school.

This is truly a family favorite.  I remember the first year I came across this recipe – I must have made it once a week!

Adapted from Blue Ginger Cookbook of Ming Tsai

(Reprinted with permission from Blue Ginger copyright 1999 by Ming Tsai)

Serves 4-5

1 cup soy sauce

Juice and zest of 2 oranges

3 tablespoons brown sugar

4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about 2” of ginger root)

1 tablespoon white sesame seeds

4-5 skinless salmon fillets (about 6 ounces each)

Combine soy sauce, orange juice and zest, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger in a saucepan.

Bring to a boil over high heat and simmer slowly until reduced by half or syrupy - about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in sesame seeds, and cool.

Pour into a baking dish, add salmon coating both sides and marinate for 1 hour.

Grill the salmon or broil - about 4 minutes per side.

Brush the fish with the remaining teriyaki sauce as it cooks.

Steak With Balsamic Glaze

I don’t know any guy who doesn’t like steak made this way.  My son Kevin really likes this dish.

Serves 2-4

2 T-bone steaks (or whatever steaks you prefer)

2 tablespoons butter

2 shallots

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Always take your meat out of refrigerator approx. 30 minutes before cooking.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of your steaks.

Slice shallots.

Heat butter into a frying pan.

Add shallots and cook 1 minute.

Add steaks to the pan and depending on thickness of meat cook approximately 2 minutes and turn over.  Cook another 2 minutes and again turn over.  Cook a final 2 minutes and check to see if it is to your liking.

Add balsamic vinegar cook another 1-2 minutes more turning steaks over to coat.

Roast Tenderloin of Beef

Remember to buy your meat at your local butcher shop if possible.  It is important to support them!

I have such fond memories of my father taking me to the butcher shop.  Our butcher was Mr. Quintano and he would always give me a piece of turkey thinly sliced while we waited. 

Serves 8

1 tenderloin of beef (roast ready) 3 lbs.

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Always take your meat out of refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.

Generously sprinkle salt and pepper all over your roast.

Preheat oven 450 degrees.

Bake approx. 30-45 minutes until internal temperature reaches:

            120 for rare, 130 for medium, and 160 for well done

Let stand for 15 minutes before carving - could cover loosely with tin foil.

We as a family love serving this with horseradish sauce.

Some people spread a little apricot jam over roast for just the last 5 minutes for color.

This is a great item to serve for a crowd warm or even room temp for a buffet.

French Dinner/Simple Vinaigrette

This is a simple vinaigrette that everyone should know.

VINAIGRETTE

Makes ¾ cup

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons vinegar – red wine or sherry

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ cup olive oil

½ cup canola oil

1 tablespoon herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning
Kosher Salt to taste

Whisk mustard with vinegar until creamy.

Slowly whisk in oils.  Keep whisking until mixture becomes thick.

Add dried herbs.

Taste for seasoning. 

Place in airtight container and refrigerate.  It keeps for 1 week.

I always add some kosher salt to my lettuce when tossing.

French Dinner/Coq au Vin

I had a beautiful dinner party after a trip to France and I wanted to share some of the dishes I made.  The Grilled Salmon with Ginger Sauce is in the March entry under Blog Archive.  Here is the Coq au Vin recipe that I learned in cooking classes in Paris.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

L’entrée

Grilled Salmon with

 Ginger Sauce

Domaine Leflaive

Puligny Montrachet Pucelles

Le plat principal

Coq au Vin

Domaine de la Romanee Conti

Echezeaux

Salade Verte

Domaine des Comtes Lafon

Meursault les Perrieres

Le fromage

Chateau Beaucastel

Chateauneuf du Pape

Le dessert

Grand Marnier Chocolate Tart

Wine

COQ AU VIN

Serves 4-6 people

5 tablespoons butter or half butter and half olive oil

One 5 pound whole chicken cut up

½ cup or more all purpose flour

salt and pepper

1 bottle red Burgundy or other dry red wine

2 large onion, sliced thinly

5 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, or 1 tablespoon dried

5 bay leaves

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns (optional)

1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 ½ cup small pearl onions (optional)

Chopped parsley for garnish

Wash chicken and pat dry using paper towels.

Coat pieces of chicken in flour.  (I use a plastic bag to shake).

Heat 3 tablespoons butter or oil in a large heavy pot over high heat. 

Brown chicken pieces in batches and make sure to brown well on all sides. 

Take out of pot after browning and sprinkle with salt, pepper and remaining flour. 

Return chicken pieces to pot add wine, onions, carrots, thyme, bay leaves, garlic and peppercorns. 

Bring to a boil, cover pot and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about one hour.

Remove bay leaves and peppercorns.

In a separate pan heat remaining 2 tablespoons of butter or oil and sauté mushrooms and pearl onions (if you are using them.  Saute for about 20 minutes until browned.

Add to chicken  when the chicken is done and cook for 10 more minutes.  Taste for seasoning.

Serve warm with either rice or noodles.

This dish can and should be prepared 1 to 2 days in advance.  Keep refrigerated.  Take out to bring to room temp then bring to simmer.

D'Italini and Peas

With the kids back to school, try making this simple pasta dish for a quick dinner and have a salad or crudite on the side for them to nibble on.  My father made this dish for me when I was a little girl and I made this dish for my boys when they were little.  As you can see it’s so easy to make.  I hope some day when my boys have children they’ll make it for their kids!

1 box D’Italini pasta

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, sliced very thin

1 can peas, strained

Pinch of red crushed pepper

Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt

Bring water to a boil - add some salt to the water.

Add your d’italini and cook al dente - approx. 10 minutes.

Meanwhile gently heat your olive oil in a sauté pan

Add your onions and sauté - approx. 3 minutes.

Add your strained peas and cook another 3 minutes.

Add red crushed pepper to taste.

Add Parmesan cheese to taste- I use maybe 1 teaspoon.

Add a little salt to taste.

When d’italini are cooked, strain saving some of the water.

Add d’italini to pea mixture and toss well.

If it seems dry add some of the water from the d’italini or more olive oil.

Chicken Parmesan

It's BC parents weekend and I had the gang over for an Italian feast:  Chicken Parm, Chicken Marsala, Salad, and thanks to the Mom's:  Forcaccia and Desserts!  Chicken Parm is always a request from boys...

Serves 4

4 boneless chicken cutlets, ask butcher to pound them thin

1 Tablespoon flour

1 egg, beaten

1 cup Italian breadcrumbs (I like Progresso brand)

½ cup olive oil, more if necessary

½ cup canola oil, more if necessary

1 quart tomato gravy – see Fuggedaboutit-Tomato Gravy

2 balls fresh mozzarella

Small bunch fresh flat leaf Italian parsley

Fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Rinse chicken cutlets.

Place each piece in flour - cover both sides.

Then place in beaten egg - cover both sides.

Then place in breadcrumbs - cover both sides.

Shaking off excess at each step.

If you have the time it’s nice to put in refrigerator for up to 1 hour as this sets the breadcrumbs nicely.

Fry cutlets in 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 canola oil - adding more to pan if it dries up.

Fry for approximately 2 minutes on each side - we are going to bake them so don’t overcook them.

Place on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Note:  Remember to always clean off your surfaces that had any raw chicken - clean hands thoroughly as well. 

You could do healthy version instead – see below.

Place chicken cutlets on a cookie sheet or a lasagna pan.

Spoon tomato gravy over each piece.

Place sliced mozzarella on top of each.

You could sprinkle freshly chopped parsley over each cutlet and some fresh ground pepper.

Bake in 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes.

__________________________________________________

Healthy version            -make bread crumb mixture - 1 cup breadcrumbs/1 Tblsp. flour

                                                (enough for 4 cutlets)

                                    -Spread olive oil on cookie sheet

                                    -Coat each cutlet with olive oil

                                    -Press cutlets into bread crumb mixture covering both sides

                                    -Place cutlets on cookie sheet

                                    -Bake on 350 degrees 15 minutes - 

turn over.

                                    -Sprinkle a little olive oil on each cutlet and bake another 15 min.

                                    

Peach Cobbler

Peaches are magnificent in East Hampton in August.  This recipe is from the Lee Bailey Cookbook, “Country Desserts” that my son Gregory gave to me for a birthday gift in 1998.

(Reprinted with permission from Lee Bailey's Country Desserts by Lee Bailey, copyright 1988, Clarkson/Potter Publishers.)

Serves 6

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Scant 1/4 tsp. salt

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen

1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening, frozen

5 tablespoons ice water

7 very large ripe peaches, skinned and pitted

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into bits

Whipped cream or ice cream

9” x 9” dish

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Lightly grease a deep 9” x 9” inch ovenproof dish. Set aside.

Place flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade.

Add the frozen butter and shortening.

Process until mixture is the size of small peas.

Add ice water and process until mixture begins to form a ball.

Remove and shape into a ball.  If you would like to refrigerate the dough at this point flatten between 2 sheets of wax paper (or plastic wrap).

Meanwhile, cut the peaches into thick slices and set aside.

To assemble the cobbler, roll the dough out into a large, ragged rectangle on a floured surface.  Dust with flour and roll back onto the rolling pin, window shade fashion. Unroll over the prepared dish, lining the bottom and sides and allowing excess dough to hang over sides. 

Heap the peaches into the dish.

Sprinkle with the sugar and dot with the butter pieces.

Flop the loose ends of the pastry over the top, using any pieces that have fallen off as patches.

Put cobbler into the oven and turn temperature to 425 degrees.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is golden.  Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

  

Penne with Spicy Sausage and Sweet Pepper Sauce

My painter chose this recipe to be added to my blog this month.  He's really cute.  With his shirt off and his sunglasses on he reminds me of Tom Cruise in Risky Business.  I may have to have my house painted annually!

This sauce can and probably should be made in advance.  I’ve made it for my book group and they loved it.   This is one of Gregory’s favorites.

Serves 8 - 10 

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 red onion

1 shallot

2 celery stalks

2 carrots

3 hot Italian sausages (pork or chicken or combo)

1 yellow pepper

1 red pepper

1 orange pepper

4 tablespoons red wine

1 box Pomi strained tomatoes 26 oz. (if you can’t find use 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes)

Basil (fresh or dried)

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Clean and cut up veggies very small (I use the Cuisinart and pulse)

Heat oil and butter on low in your sauté pan.

Add onion, shallot, celery, and carrots and cook gently 4-6 minutes.

Push veggies to outside of pan and add sausage, which is pushed out of casing.

(I know this is gross but it is necessary.  You want the sausage to be broken up).

Constantly break up the sausage so it stays crumbled - sauté 2-3 minutes.

Add peppers to Cuisinart and pulse or cut up finely.

Add peppers to pan - sauté 4 minutes combining all ingredients.

Add wine to moisten mixture – cook 3-4 minutes.

Add tomatoes and stir well - cook gently another 4 minutes.

Add basil, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with penne.

Hot Chocolate Flan

It's my birthday this month and my 3 sons know to be sure there is a chocolate cake for me on my special day.  I thought I would add this recipe for all of my fellow chocaholics!

This is an easy recipe that can be made in advance and guests will be dazzled!

Another International Kitchen School recipe that I learned in Florence from Chef Barbara.  What fun my girlfriends and I had.

Serves 4

7 oz. dark chocolate (60% cocoa is nice)

4 tablespoons or ¼ cup unsalted butter

½ cup powdered or confectionery sugar

4 eggs

Pinch of salt (iodized - for baking)

2 tablespoons flour, sifted

4 ramekins or aluminum cups

Melt chocolate with butter and sugar on very low heat.

Add the eggs one at a time whisking after each.

Add pinch of salt and the sifted flour.

Mix with a whisk.

Grease and flour - or butter spray - 4 individual moulds and pour in the chocolate mixture.

Cover with plastic and put in freezer for minimum of 1 hour - up to 24 hours.

Place on a cookie sheet.

Cook them frozen at 400 for 10 minutes.

Slide knife around edge and flip over onto plate.

Serve them immediately with whipped cream or fruit sauce.

For the fruit sauce:

6 oz. of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, or tropical fruit.

4 tablespoons of sugar

Few drops of lemon juice

Heat all ingredients slowly.

For whipped cream:

1 pint or 2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectionery sugar

Blend until thick consistency.