Tuscan Pork and Beans

Long ago I had Tuscan beans at a restaurant and I really liked them. On and off thru the yrs. I would search for recipes and end up never making them. Recently someone gave me several bags of dried beans so I figured I need to find some good bean recipes to use these up. I took a couple of recipes and bit of this and that and tweaked it to make it my own. I decided that I wanted to make a one pot meal sort of like a cassoulet.

I will say this, all I found in my freezer right now was a center cut boneless pork roast. I thought this would work good since it had a nice layer of fat on it. While this turned out yummy, the pork is dry. Next time I will use a fattier piece of pork. I say that because on this pork roast was a few of the darker meat pieces and they were excellent, not dry. Also I think Ill make the beans a bit soupier. I didn't add more water when I put the spinach in and I think it would have been better with another cup of that or stock.

After all tho it was an excellent experiment and one Ill be making again. My bf says he would love these leftovers in a tortilla. While I know its Italian, I agree with him. I also think just the beans alone would be incredible to serve with other meals. 

 Tuscan Pork and Beans Makes about 4 servings.

2c. dried white beans
5-6c. water
Half a head of garlic, peeled
Two nice sage branches
1/4c. extra virgin olive oil
1 (15oz.) can tomatoes with juice
2c. chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all together in a large dutch oven and bring to a boil. Meanwhile.......

About 3lbs. of pork, either butt or country ribs as long as its got fat and marbling
Salt, pepper, garlic powder
Oil
1/2c. white wine

 Sprinkle pork with S, P and garlic powder and rub in all over. Heat a bit of oil in a pan and brown pork well. Remove and put in pot with bean mix. Pour wine into pan that had the pork in it to deglaze. Pour deglazing liquid into bean pot too. 

 When pot is boiling, put in oven to bake. Stir occasionally till beans are done and liquid is absorbed, about 2 1/2-3hrs.  When beans are done add about a half of a lb. bag of frozen spinach. You could add some fresh if you have it around. It doesn't take much to cook it.  Cook about another half hr.

You may need to add more liquid to this as it cooks. My beans were done but a bit al dente so if I had more time I would have done this.

Eggplant Parmigiana

Someone I know wanted me to post the recipe for this. This was one of those things tho that I just didn't have written down. Good thing I made some the other day so the recipe was still fresh in my mind. Please be aware that the amounts are vague because it depends on how many eggplant you use and the size of them. (This was all the pictures I got. I forgot to take pics of the process. This was after dinner lol)

Eggplant Parmigiana

Breadcrumbs or cracker meal crumbs
S & P
Oil for frying
Oregano
Eggplants
eggs
Mozzarella cheese
Romano cheese
Spaghetti sauce

I have given you a list because it all depends on how much eggplant you have to cook up. I generally buy 2-3 large ones. I will either make one big 13 x 9 pan and a smaller one or I save the rest to freeze. Then next time I don't have to fry them all up again , I can just assemble a small one.

I use breadcrumbs because I don't always have cracker meal in the house. My MIL used that and I really like it but sometimes I cant find it up here. And I am not going to start grinding crackers when I have to do this. It takes long enough! I have two bowls going in the process, one that holds eggs beaten well with water and the other holding the breadcrumb mix. The one with eggs, I add about a half cup of water to two eggs and beat well. You want a thin egg wash. To the breadcrumb mix I add s & p to taste and dried oregano. I would say to about two c. breadcrumbs you might add 2 tsp. oregano. I will say that depending on how many eggplant you make , you will have to replenish this mix of both. I made two eggplant the other nite and had to make the mixes twice.

Peel your eggplant. Some people don't and we don't like it but if you do then leave it. I find it bitter. Slice in about 1/4 in. thick slices. In a frying pan put your oil. I use a mix of reg. veggie oil and then add some extra virgin olive oil for flavor. These are generally the only two oils I have around the house and Xvirgin is to expensive to fry with. So adding a few TB. each time helps flavor it. Then dip in egg wash and then in breadcrumbs. When the oil is hot, fry them till golden brown. It doesn't matter if they are not cooked thru, they will finish baking later. Drain on paper towels.

You can use your own spaghetti sauce or make some. I often keep Classico Tomato Basil sauce around because it tastes like the sauce I used to can from my garden. Its a base sauce and you can add other things. I did happen to can some this yr so I used my own. I saute several chopped cloves of garlic in some olive oil. Then I add the sauce to the pan. I add chopped parsley and more basil and S & P to that and let it cook awhile. It should be very loose so add water to it. It will thicken up on the eggplant so if you don't make it loose now , the eggplant will be dry.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Once all the eggplant is fried and the sauce is made its time to layer. Slice your mozzarella cheese thin. How much is up to you. For the two lg. eggplant I fried I used a two lb. block of cheese. I also grate fresh Romano as I go on each layer too but you can use Parmesan if you want.

First a layer of sauce in the pan, then eggplant, cheeses and then more sauce. Continue in layers ending with sauce till all is used up or pan is full. Sometimes I have 3 layers, last nite I had four. Just don't fill to the brim cuz it does swell and will spit all over the oven. Cover with foil and bake till cheese is melted and its hot in the center 45 min. - 1hr. I cut this into squares to serve. Leftovers can be frozen and reheated. I often make a big casserole full so I can have leftovers. Makes the nights I don't want to cook or don't have time to cook, real ez then. I just pop it from the freezer and either let it sit to thaw or microwave it a bit to thaw. Then reheat in the oven.

**** You can bake the breaded eggplant on oiled baking sheets but I don't like it. I find the oil may get absorbed into the eggplant but there"s not enough of it to give it much flavor. Just seems drier too. Since we don't eat it very often and since I don't fry much, I make it the traditional way.

Bruschetta Salsa

I love Bruschetta. We used to make it in the restaurant for some of the private parties. I didn't think I could can it tho since it really does need fresh garden tomatoes not that cardboard stuff from the stores. I looked around and theres mostly one recipe out there and it has way too much vinegar for my tastes. To me it should have very little or none at all, maybe just a drizzle of balsamic.

And so I looked around online and in my books and found this version. I liked that it didn't have much vinegar , just a touch and some lemon juice. That acid is needed for water bath canning so I knew doing this , it had to have some.

I had some plum tomatoes growing in my garden this yr. Im still working on getting it to produce. I dont live in an area where they grow well but I managed to get some. They are however very small and other than tossing in a salad I wasn't sure what to do with them. Then I saw this recipe. I also got a great deal on some heirlooms at the farmers market this week...$1 lb. Heirlooms in the stores around here are almost $4lb. So I grabbed quite a few to use in this too.

I also got two nice big bunches of fresh basil. I had some nice garlic from another vendor there I bought the week before too. And so I decided to try this. I did taste it as it cooked a bit. It was very good. I did add the tomato paste cuz the tomatoes threw alot of juice. I drained some of that juice and added a TB. more of tomato paste to the recipe. But I didn't add the green onions. I like a more garlic flavor in my bruschetta and since it already had shallots which I dont normally put in, I decided adding green onions would be overkill.

It looks nice in the jar and I hope it tastes fresh still. I figure I can mix some bits of chopped mozzarella to it and stir in some olive oil when I serve it on nice crusty garlic bread. I slice baguettes, brush them with a nice virgin olive oil and toast or grill them. Then I rub fresh garlic on them. Top with the bruschetta........YUM!

 (Looks separated right out of the canner, but as it cools its blending nicely.)
(I found this in The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving) 
BRUSCHETTA SALSA Makes 3 pts.

    3 cups Roma tomatoes; peeled and diced
    2 large cloves garlic; minced
    2 shallots; minced
    1 cup fresh basil; chopped
    1 tbsp red wine vinegar
    1 tsp lemon juice
    1/2 tsp pickling salt
    1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
    2 green onions; minced
    3 tbsp tomato paste

Prepare for water bath canning.
Blanch tomatoes to remove skins.  Remove seeds and dice.

In a large stainless steel saucepan combine tomatoes, garlic, shallots, basil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Add green onion and tomato paste stirring until ingredients are well combined.   Return to a boil. Remove from heat and ladle hot salsa into hot sterilized jars leaving a 1/2in.  head space.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, place lids and screw bands on adjusting so they are just  finger-tip tight.  Process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes. When the time is up turn off the heat and remove lid, wait 5 minutes before removing the jars.  Check seals, label, and store.

Italian Stuffed Artichokes

Years ago my MIL used to make these. I had never heard of them before that. I tasted them at her house and fell in love, they are my favorite. So whenever she made them she would save me one.

I remember being in our first apt. and being quite pregnant. My  hubby came home from her house one day and she sent one home with him. I thought that was so nice of her. But I knew I had to learn how to make them one day. I never grew up eating artichokes so I didn't have a clue. So I told her to call me the next time she makes them, I wanted to learn. And here it is.

When I say small artichokes I do not mean the baby ones. I think they would just be too much work for this. I mean the smallest ones you can find of a normal size choke. The reason I say this is, once stuffed, this is huge. So it you want it to look pretty, smaller would be better. However if you don't care, then buy the large ones and cut them in half to serve.
 

Stuffed Artichokes with Tomato Sauce Serves 4

4 small artichokes or 2 med or larger
1 large lemon
A couple of garlic clove, don't have to peel them
A tsp or two of whole peppercorns and 1 tsp. salt
A couple springs of thyme, lemon thyme could be used too
2 sprigs rosemary
---------------
1lb. ground beef
1/2c. grated Romano Cheese
2 garlic cloves
1 Tb. chopped fresh parsley
1 egg
1/2c. bread crumbs, plain or seasoned
Salt and Pepper
---------
1 jar of Classico Tomato and Basil sauce or equivalent in homemade sauce or
canned tomato sauce with basil added.

 In a large pot, put lemons, cut up and juice squeezed into a pot filled about 3/4 with water. (all the lemon goes in, I squeeze for juice to quickly make sure chokes don't get brown.) Throw in a few cloves garlic, these don't have to be peeled or anything. I used about 4 or 5 but I love garlic. Toss in S & P and herbs. Bring to a boil while cleaning chokes. 

One cleaned and one not trimmed yet so you can see what to do.


Cut tips off the leaves, cut off stem, remove any really small or bad looking leaves. Cut across top about a half in. to cut off most of the tips. Theses tips and the ones on the leaves all must be cut because they have a thorn on them. Artichokes are members of the Thistle family. Once you do that, toss them into the water.

Let them cook until a fork stuck into the stem part goes in fairly easy. You do not want to overcook them or they will fall apart before you can stuff them.

When tender and fork goes in, remove choke from water with tongs. Hold upside down over water to drain it and then put upside down on paper toweling to cool.  Shake them well in this position too because the peppercorns can get stuck in there and are a pain when your eating it later on. 

In the meantime make the meat stuffing. I use this to also make my meatballs, so you could make a bunch, stuff these and then fry or bake up the rest for meatballs for sauce. I often do this then just freeze the meatballs. Saves me time later on.

Mix meat mixture together. Take an artichoke and turn it right side up. At this point if your feeling confident or adventurous, you could spread open the leaves and remove the hairy part of the choke so you don't have to deal with it later. I don't tho, too lazy and in a hurry most times lol.

Begin to stuff the artichoke by spreading leaves apart and putting a bit of the meat mixture on most of them. You don't have to do them all but you do want to do most, after all this is a dinner, not a snack. Then I stuff the middles, mounding it on the top. If you cleaned the fuzzy choke out you could stuff it over that with meat.

Take another large pot, such as a dutch oven and put a cup of water on the bottom, top with the stuffed artichokes, squishing them in if necessary. Pour the sauce over the top. Heat on high heat till all is bubbling, then lower and cover with a lid. These may burn on the bottoms if the heat is too high so watch it. Cook until the meat in the center is done, maybe 45min. to an hr. Depends on your heat.

These can be served just as they are, they are quite hearty. Top with more grated cheese.This is quite saucy and you want that. You dip the leaves into it before you eat each one.  Or you could make some pasta for the sauce or even rice. Or just serve it with a nice crusty bread. When stuffed if you used too large of a choke, cut in half then to serve. I often do that.

Remember artichokes are finger food so expect to get messy hands, have napkins on hand. To eat, you pull off a leaf and scrape the top part off with your teeth. In this way you get the artichoke meat, the stuffing and the sauce all in one. I often have fork on hand anyway to eat what falls off or when I use pasta. 

Cannoli Cheesecake

This is a recipe I recently found on another site, I forget which one, sorry. But Christmas always means cannoli to me. I lived on the east coast and they were easy to get. I moved to the west coast and had to go to San Francisco to get them. They were good but not quite the same. And now Im in the Pacific Northwest and dont have a clue yet where to find them.

And so I used to order from Ferraras bakery in NYC , online when I couldnt get any. That is until now. I tasted this cheesecake batter and I am in love! Tomorrow for Christmas we will cut into it but honestly, I wanted to take a spoon to the batter and eat a bowl of it! Its THAT GOOD.

And so heres the recipe......but of course I had to change some things and this reflects the changes. They were minor but added much more flavor.

CANNOLI CHEESECAKE

2 1/2c  vanilla wafers, finely crushed
3 Tbs. granulated sugar
8 Tbs. unsalted butter(one stick), melted
3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup ricotta
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
Table salt
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (I used lg. 60% dark chocolate chips and chopped them fine)
1Tb. finely grated orange zest
1 tb. finely chopped candied orange peel
1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract (*see note and recipe below)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.


In a medium bowl, stir together the vanilla wafer crumbs and 3 Tbs. granulated sugar. Mix in the melted butter until the crumbs are evenly moist and clump together slightly. Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch spring-form pan and press evenly onto the bottom and about 2 inches up the sides of the pan (to press, use plastic wrap or a flat-bottom measuring cup). Bake until the crust is fragrant and slightly darkened, 9 to 12 minutes. Let the pan cool on a rack. Lower the oven temperature to 300°F.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, ricotta, flour, and a pinch of table salt on medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl and the paddle frequently, until very smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Make sure the cheese has no lumps. Add the 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar and continue beating until well blended and smooth.

Add the chocolate chips, orange zest, candied orange peel and vanilla, and beat until blended, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until blended. (Don’t overbeat once the eggs have been added or the cheesecake will puff too much and crack as it cools.) Pour the filling into the cooled crust and smooth the top.

Bake at 300°F until the center jiggles like Jell-O when nudged, 55 to 65 minutes. The cake will be slightly puffed around the edges, and the center will still look moist. Set on a rack and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. The cake can also be frozen at this point for up to 1 month (see make-ahead tip, below).


Unclasp and remove the side of the springform pan and run a long, thin metal spatula under the bottom crust. Carefully slide the cake onto a flat serving plate.
Garnish with confectioners' sugar sifted over the cake and serve immediately. To cut, run a thin knife under hot water, wipe it dry, and cut the cake into slices, heating and wiping the knife after every slice.

Make Ahead Tips
To freeze, put the unmolded, cooled cake on a rimmed baking sheet in the freezer, uncovered, until the top is cold and firm; then wrap it in two layers of plastic and one layer of foil. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

*NOTE: I often make and use my own homemade extracts. The one I used in this one is reminiscent of the Fiori Di Sicilia Flavoring.

In a small canning jar I put several whole vanilla beans. I break them to fit the jar. Then I cover with Orange brandy. I found Grand Marnier is delicious but very expensive for this sort of thing. And so I looked for a substitute. I found a brandy with added orange liqueur sold at the local liqueur store. Its excellent for baking and cooking and much cheaper. Save the good stuff for when it counts. Grand Marnier is made with cognac. Cognac is well aged brandy. And so this cheaper alternative gives the same flavor. Let sit a few weeks. Then use for all your baking when you want a Vanilla/orange type flavor.

The Stuffed Shells Story

Years ago when I was first married, my mother in law used to make Stuffed Shells. I never heard of these before. And so I asked her how do you make them? I wanted to learn since my new husband loved them. She told me how to make the stuffing and to buy large pasta shells. And so that's what I did.

I made my homemade spaghetti sauce and proceeded to put this together. I sat there stuffing over 100 shells. Took me all afternoon and I thought to myself.......these people are nuts. I'm never making this again! And so I finished the recipe and presented them to hubby. Of course he loved them, and I said good!, cuz I AM NEVER MAKING THESE THINGS AGAIN! Who stuffs over 100 shells for a meal unless your feeding an army?

And so the story got told to his mother because she wanted to know how they turned out. She laughed and I got upset. You see this lil Polish/Hungarian  girl never heard of Stuffed Shells before this and didn't know they also made JUMBO SHELLS. That's what I should have used! lol So once I found them in the store, the recipe finally made sense to me. That was 40 yrs. ago,  Ive made it often thru the yrs.

These can be made and frozen before or after cooking. They usually make a lot so its good you can freeze them. Unless you were having a houseful of people, you're going to have leftovers!

Italian Stuffed Shells

1 box of JUMBO pasta shells
1 lb. of mozzarella cheese
2lb. ricotta cheese
S & P
2 eggs
A couple tbsp. chopped parsley
Grated Romano cheese
Parmesan cheese
Your favorite spaghetti sauce, homemade or not but homemade is better

Cook pasta shells till al dente. Cook them too long and they fall apart. You want them done but still with a bit of bite to them. Drain and let cool.

Meanwhile make the stuffing. Cut up the mozzarella cheese into cubes about 1/2 in. Some folks shred the cheese on a grater and you certainly can do that but we like chunks of melty cheese in these better. Put into lg. bowl with ricotta. I used part skim but it doesn't matter what kind you use. 

Chop some parsley, I do about 2-3tb. You will be tasting this so if you feel it needs more when you taste add it but I start with this. Add S & P. I add alot of pepper but go ez on the salt since the grated Romano adds alot. I buy a big chunk of Romano and freshly grate it but you can buy what you want. We use it alot so I always have a chunk around here. I would say start with about a 1/2c. and mix it in, then taste. You want it to have flavor but not be salty or bland. You need to add enough of the things to the mix so that it is not bland.  

 When its to your taste, add the eggs and beat in well. Take each shell and stuff till full. I use one lg. soup spoon and one big scoop is usually enough. The shells are ez to fill if you squeeze them gently from end to end. They are a bit like those old fashioned coin purses that you squeezed to open. Place shells in lg. baking pan. It will fill a 13 x 9 pan with some leftover. Just put them in a smaller pan. Pour spaghetti sauce over to just cover. You will use the rest when you serve these. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover with foil.

Bake at 350 till hot and bubbly about 30min. or so. These are quite filling so a serving of 4 is plenty for most people. Top with hot spaghetti sauce and serve.

Sometimes I make this in two smaller pans and freeze one unbaked for another meal. I also roughly cut up any broken cooked shells and toss them in the pan before I put the sauce on. They cant be filled but they are still pasta, so why waste them?

Italian Frittata

Italian Frittata Serves 6

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4 slices thick bacon, chopped
4 breakfast sausages, cut into sm. chunks
Ham, about 1/4lb. chopped

Fry all meats till cooked and brown, drain and remove from pan. Set aside in a bowl. 

Potatoes, 1 peeled and chopped or leftovers 

half an onion, chopped 

1 lg. garlic clove, minced 

Salt and pepper 

Fry potatoes in meat drippings, adding some butter if needed. Add a few shakes of salt and pepper to taste. 

When potatoes are almost done, add onion and garlic. Cook till potatoes are tender. Remove to bowl holding meats.

1 lg. portobello mushroom, gills removed and chopped
1 roasted pepper, chopped
1/2c. drained artichoke hearts, chopped
1 tsp. basil

Add butter to pan and toss in chopped mushrooms.

 When liquid from mushrooms is almost gone add all other veggies and basil. Cook till heated thru.

 Turn off heat and put back into pan all items previously cooked that are in the bowl.

1 dozen eggs
about a 1/4c. water
Salt and pepper
1 1/2c. assorted cheeses , chopped

Beat eggs with water till well blended. Use water not milk like many recipes say. Water evaporates when cooking. The milk just makes things watery. Add more Salt and pepper and mix. Add chopped cheeses and mix. I used cheddar, muenster and provolone with some grated Parmesan. Pour egg/cheese mixture into pan and mix well to distribute cheeses. Top with more grated Parmesan. 

 Cook on med. heat on stove till eggs look like they are set about 1in. from edges. 

 Cover handle of pan with foil, if the pan your using cannot withstand oven heat. Then place in oven and bake for approx. 15-20min. or till center is set. Run knife around the edges to loosen. If using a non stick pan that's usually enough. If using a reg. pan you may want to run a spatula under the frittata to be sure its loose. Top with lg. plate and turn it out of the pan onto the plate. Serve hot, or room temperature.

We like ketchup on this but you could use salsa or hot sauce or anything else you might like on your eggs.

Frittatas are often sold in Italian delis by the lb. I make a big one and then refrigerate whats left for another day. If we wont eat it all during the week, Ill freeze it in single portions, then I just thaw and microwave when we want it. You can use anything in these, using up whats leftover in the refrigerator or just one or two ingredients. I save bits of meats and things in my freezer to use just for this. When I have enough I take them out and make a big one. It's a lot easier to make one big one and save the leftover than make a small one all the time.

Ive used leftover  steak or roast beef, kielbasa, linguisa or pork roast too. Pancetta or prosciutto is nice too. I save potatoes when I make my garlic roasted ones just for this. Sometimes Ill even save french fries or tater tots leftover for it too. I don't like green pepper so I often use roasted peppers. But Ive used spinach, asparagus and even a few frozen peas when I wanted more veggies. You can use one cheese or several or clean out your refrigerator of bits and pieces too. Its a great leftover recipe and it tastes incredible.

Seas Italian Beef Surprise (surprised because it came out awesome)

I had a piece of chuck roast that I bought the other day. I had thought I would make a pot roast of some kind in my crockpot. I just didn't feel like cooking alot. I wandered online and all I saw were those crummy recipes that add onion soup mix and the like. I really didn't want that. I wanted alot more.

Then I remembered some Italian beef roast I had long ago and it was delicious. So I wandered online looking for something like that. This is what I ended up with. I will say I only used the pizza sauce and the au jus because I didn't have what I really wanted, in the house. I had preferred to use some canned tomatoes and beef broth. Honestly tho the extra flavors in the pizza sauce made this special. If I decide to do this without that sauce next time, Ill just use tomato paste and toss in some oregano. I told my bf, be prepared, this is gonna either be really good or really bad lol.

I did want to put this over buttered noodles but didn't have that in the house either. I thought polenta would be yummy but I got lazy. In the end the pasta I decided to make actually was the perfect thing. This makes an incredibly rich and luscious sauce. My bf all nite was raving about this. He really, really enjoyed it. And I think the sauce over that pasta was a great combo......the sour cream and cheese helped thicken the sauce on the plate and that lil added flavor from the pasta put it over the top. This is definitely a good experiment and Ill be making it again sometime.

Seas Italian Beef Surprise ( serves 3-4)
1 (2-3 lb. boneless chuck roast)
Olive oil
4 carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise, cut into 2in. pieces
1 lg. red Italian onion, peeled, halved and cut into chunks
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can of Pizza sauce (I used Contadina)
1 pkg. of Au Jus gravy mix or 1 can of beef broth
1/2 bottle of a good red wine (I used a Coppola Rosso red)
4 lg. baby portabello mushrooms sliced, then lightly chopped
1 tsp. rosemary, crumbled
1 c. frozen peas
8 oz. of pasta of your choice (I used penne)
1 c. sour cream ( I used fat free)
Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste

I cooked this in a crock pot.

In a skillet drizzle a bit of olive oil and turn heat to high. When oil is hot put roast that has been sprinkled with S & P in. Brown on both sides till nice and caramelized. If heat is too high, lower a bit, you don't want it to burn but its necessary to start it going.

In the meantime do the carrots and add to crockpot. Then do mushrooms and add also. When meat is browned nicely put in crockpot on top of veggies.

Meanwhile toss the onion in and saute a bit in the leftover oil and beef juices. This will help use up the yummy browned bits and caramelize the onions a bit too. When almost done, add garlic and saute till soft. Do not burn garlic, it will make it bitter. Then add to the crock pot.

Pour red wine over all. Add pizza sauce, au jus and rosemary. Cover and make sure crockpot is turned up to high. Cook for about 6 hrs or till beef is tender and almost falling apart. When beef is at that point, add the frozen peas and cook till they are cooked thru. At this point I put the lid on crooked so the steam can escape and the juices can concentrate. I left it like this about 1 more hr.

As the peas were cooking, I cooked the pasta, then tossed with the sour cream and Parmesan cheese. Serve the beef and its luscious juices over all.

Sausage Minestrone Soup

I wasn't sure what to make for dinner today. It was supposed to rain but it never did. They do say tomorrow, but who knows. CA. weather is weird. I'm reading a book about cooking thru a year in Tuscany and came across a general recipe for the minestrone the woman made. It got me thinking about it. So I searched online for some recipes because I know that you can add just about anything to this. But most add cabbage and I hate cabbage in soup, so does my bf.

So after reading a bit and trying to figure out what I would like in a Minestrone I came up with this. Originally I was going to make tiny bite sized meatballs. But when I opened the freezer to take out some beef, I found a package of Vino and Fromaggio Sausage that I put in there. I just loveeeeeeeeee this sausage and no longer buy regular Italian sweet sausage. I use this instead. Now I realize not everyone can get this so feel free to use whatever Italian sausages you can find around your area.

I will say this is a rich, luscious soup and one I will definitely make again.

Sausage Minestrone 4-6 servings

Olive oil ( I use extra virgin)
4 Italian sausage ( I use Vino &Fromaggio from our local store)
4 stalks celery sliced thin or a nice small celery heart chopped up with leaves too
3 carrots, peeled and sliced maybe 1/4in. thick
1 sm. red onion , chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
32 oz. chicken stock
1 can beef broth plus one can water
1 can 15oz. chopped tomatoes
1 can 15oz. white cannellini beans (or small white beans)
About 4oz fresh string beans, cut in about 1 in. pieces
About 4oz. frozen spinach
s & p
A handful of chopped fresh parsley
A small piece of cheese rind (I always have romano here so I used that.......parmesan would be excellent too)
1/2 c. small pasta
Crusty bread, sliced
Provolone cheese sliced

Take sausage from casings and break up in about 1/4c. olive oil. While that's browning chop veggies....add the celery and carrots and cook about 5min. Then add onion and garlic and saute 5 more min. or till onion is getting soft.

Add both stocks, and tomatoes. Drain and rinse beans, then put in pot. Cut up string beans and add. Toss in Spinach and chopped parsley. Add a bit of S & P. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Add cheese rind. Cook till beans are falling apart and thickening the soup. About a half hr. before you think the beans will be done, add pasta and cook till tender. Serve with a nice piece of crusty Italian bread in a bowl, topped with provolone cheese. Pour soup over all and serve.

***You can also speed up the process by mashing the beans a bit before you put them in the pot.

Citrus Ricotta Pound Cake

I found a recipe recently online for Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake. I have a Meyer Lemon bush that is just loaded with them and needs to be used up. So when I stumbled onto that page I decided to grab the recipe and play with it. I used lemons from my yard but also added the zest and juice of one navel orange. I love both lemons and oranges so I thought it would be a great taste. I also added some Vanilla extract. The lemon/orange/vanilla combo is just so very Italian and a taste that I love. The only thing I would do is line the pans with parchment paper the next time I make it. I think the extra juice makes it extra sticky. The recipe called for one loaf pan but I found I had extra and could almost make two. So I used a couple silicone pans that I had to use up the extra. Thats what you see up there.

We loved this so much that I'm going to serve it for our Easter dessert. Instead of my typical Strawberry shortcake, I'm going to use slices of this for the base. Then Ill top with my sliced strawberries macerated in a bit of brown sugar and Grand Marnier. Top it with fresh whipped cream.


CITRUS RICOTTA POUND CAKE makes 1-2 loaves.

3/4 c. butter softened
1 1/2 c. whole milk ricotta cheese (one 15oz. container)
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 large eggs
2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. salt
3 t. baking powder
1 1/2 c. flour
juice and zest of 2 lemons
juice and zest of one large orange
powdered sugar for tops

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place oven rack in the center position. Grease and flour a 9 inch loaf pan. Sift flour, baking powder, together and set aside. In a stand mixer bowl, cream butter, ricotta, and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, allowing each to incorporate before adding the next. Add vanilla, zest and juice of lemons and orange. Set mixer on low and gradually add the dry ingredients. Once added, allow the batter to mix for 30 seconds or so. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the batter. Bake the cake on the center rack for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 325 degrees, and bake 50 to 60 minutes more, or until cake springs back from touch and has slightly pulled away from pan sides, and a toothpick comes out clean. (Baking time is approximate, the amount of water in the ricotta determines the baking time.) Cool the cake inside the pan for 15 minutes before removing. Remove and let cake cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar slice and serve.

Smaller pans will be done before the loaf pan. The loaf pan may need to go a bit longer so test. When a skewer inserted comes out clean, its done. The cake will be very moist and almost pudding like tho when cooled and sliced.

Chicken Valdostano

I made this dish the other nite. I only made it for two tho so I cut down on this recipe. I had a few lg. cremini mushrooms so I used those. And I often keep small bottles of red and white wine around for when I need a little bit. They are handy. This way I dont have to open a big bottle if we arent going to drink it. I will say this tho about the sauce and recipe. I cut it by 1/3 and there wasnt enough sauce. Next time I think Ill make the whole recipe part of the sauce.

This dish is excellent. But putting the cheese topped chicken back in the pan......well the crust from the chicken absorbed most of the sauce. Now that wasnt really bad because I had sauce on one side and cheese on the other. But I wanted to warn everyone in case you were looking to have it saucy. Either way, this dish is absolutely delicious!


Chicken Valdostano Serves 6

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded thin
1/4 cup unsalted butter
10 fresh mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
6 slices thinly sliced prosciutto
6 slices fontina cheese

1. Lightly flour chicken breasts, shaking off excess flour. In a large skillet over low heat, melt butter/margarine. Add chicken and saute until lightly browned, about 2 minutes each side. Remove with slotted spatula and set aside.
2. Increase heat to medium low. Add mushrooms and saute until juices are rendered, about 4 minutes. Add wine and simmer until reduced by 1/4, about 3 to 4 minutes. Increase heat to medium high. Add stock, parsley and pepper and simmer until sauce reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to low. Top each chicken breast with a slice of prosciutto and a slice of fontina cheese. Return chicken to skillet and cook just until cheese melts. Transfer chicken to individual plates and top each with some of the mushroom sauce before serving.

Sea's Osso Buco

I went shopping yesterday and came across a good buy. They had veal shanks, half price. I don't buy veal much altho I love it. Its quite expensive. But 5 nice veal shank slices ended up costing me about $10. Not bad. So since I haven't made Osso Buco in a long time and spotted those, I decided that would be dinner tonight. Let me say also that I judge a good Italian restaurant by if this dish is on the menu. I say that because while its not complicated, it does take time. If they take the time to do this, they usually take the care needed with the rest of their menu.

The weather is typical Spring,,,cloudy, sunny, windy and looking on and off like rain. The house was cold this morning so I thought this would be great to warm it up and us. I decided to make this in the crockpot tho, this time. So here's my version culled from reading many online.

Sea's Osso Buco serves 4-6

4-6 veal shanks about 3/4 in. thick
flour seasoned with S & freshly ground P
Olive oil ( I only use extra virgin)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lg. onion, chopped medium to fine
1 lg. carrot chopped fine
1 lg. celery stalk chopped fine
1 c. white wine ( I use white mostly cuz reds give me a headache)
2c. beef broth ( you could use chicken too, I use what I have)
1 can petite diced tomatoes ( you can add fresh if you have them, perhaps 4, seeded and diced well.)
1 bay leaf
1 pinch of dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

Gremolata (traditional topping)
1 garlic clove, minced fine
zest of 1 lemon, chopped
Italian parsley, chopped (eyeball it, you don't want it to overwhelm the other stuff)

First rinse and dry the veal shanks. The flour mixture wont stick as well if wet. Tie up the shanks so when cooking they don't fall apart as the picture shows.

Mix flour with salt and fresh ground pepper. Dredge each shank in the seasoned flour, coating well.

Drizzle some olive oil in a pan and let it get hot. Brown well, all the veal shanks on both sides and the edges. This is important, the brown caramel on it adds tons of flavor. Remove from pan. Do not clean pan, add veggies and scrape any browned bits off while cooking the rest.

Toss the onion in a bit more olive oil if you need it and saute. When getting limp, add the garlic, carrots and celery. This is your mirepoix (Mirepoix is the French name for a combination of onions, carrots, and celery and is the basis of many dishes.)

Saute for about 5min. then add the wine. Raise heat to high and reduce wine to about half or even a bit less. You want to concentrate the flavor. Once reduced, add beef broth and tomatoes and heat till bubbly. Then add bay leaf, thyme, rosemary and basil. Simmer 5min. more.

Put browned veal shanks in bottom of crockpot. Pour veggie sauce over all. Make sure the shanks are either covered or the liquid goes up the side about half way. If not enough, add some water. Cover and cook on high in the crockpot for about 3hrs. or till meat is fork tender.

Gremolata: Zest lemon, peel garlic clove and take a the leaves off a handful of Italian parsley. Chop very finely, together. When serving sprinkle a bit on each serving. Its worth it. It adds a fresh level of flavor to it. Don't forget the marrow in the bones too.....scoop it out and eat it or mix it in the sauce on your place. Its heavenly! Serve with the Rice and Peas.

Rice and Peas

1c. rice
2c. water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. frozen peas
2 tb. butter
1/4 c. + parmesan cheese

Mix rice, peas, water and salt and cook over high heat till boiling then lower heat. Cover. When water in pot is almost gone and you can see little holes where its been bubbling, shut the heat off and let stand for 15min. This will help absorb the rest of the water and not overcook the rice so its nice and fluffy. Add butter and cheese and stir well, making sure all of butter is melted. Serve with Osso Buco.