Pomodori e Vino

I am Sandi, blogging fromthe WhistleStop Cafe kitchen. This is my first recipe from our Pomodori e Vino cooking challenge, and luckily it is one of my favorites when eating at a Roman trattoria. Carciofi alla Romana~ or Artichokes, Roman style.

The first of many weekly challenges... to find the right kind of ingredients here in Alabama. I managed to find the large globe artichokes, which are not exactly the stout, tender artichokes found in Italy. Allora. These will just have to work.
Most of the essentials of Italian cooking involve the 'process' of cooking. Marcella goes into details about the proper way to clean and prepare the artichokes... which is essential for most dishes using the fresh artichoke.

First~ remove the outer leaves. If at first this seems wasteful, she says it is more wasteful to cook something that can't be eaten. (I like her thinking!)
Continue until you reach the tender inner leaves. Cut the tips of the inner leaves off.Rub all of the cut surfaces with lemon to prevent browning.Mean while, mince some mint, parsley, garlic and mix with salt and pepper.Rub the chokes well with the herbs and place tops down in a pot and cook until tender~ the smell is amazing! I served mine with some nice mint and fennel risotto.
Remember~ a new recipe everyday!
Buon Appetito y'all,
Sandi

I'm so excited to post my first entry on the blog dedicated to Marcella Hazan.
I'm Jan from Tallahassee, Florida.
The recipe is called "Russian Salad" and Marcella says that the only thing Russian about it is that it includes beets. In my travels in Piemonte, I remember eating insalata russa in some restaurants and it being simple potato salad. This was far from a simple potato salad. It was fantastic!

First, I had to boil the shrimp, in their shells, with salt and a little vinegar in the water. We are lucky enough to get fabulous, fresh, wild Gulf of Mexico shrimp here and they lived up to their reputation.

Then I had to make the mayonnaise. I had done it before in the food processor but not in the stand mixer; it worked out fine. I used extra virgin olive oil and the resulting color was a beautiful light greenish shade. The flavor was really powerful when it was first finished; I was afraid it would be overwhelming but it worked beautifully in the salad. (My first lesson in trusting Marcella)

Then I cooked all the various veggies before cutting them into little cubes.
It made a very colorful mise in place.

Then the real fun began. After folding everything together, you form the salad into a dome shape and basically "ice" it with the remaining mayo. I didn't have quite enough for a thinck layer but I thought the effect was pretty enough. After covering the dome, you get to play--decorating the surface and plate with the reserved vegetables and shrimp.

The best part is that the salad tastes devine! The flavors of each vegetable are there but they meld, with the help of the assertive mayonnaise, to a wonderful, complex harmony. We really enjoyed this seasonal offering.
I can't wait to try the next recipe in the book!

I first saw that I was making a Bagna Caoda, I had no clue what it was.
None.
This was a learning experience for me (one of many I am sure!)
Marcella describes the flavors and sensations of the Piedmontese table being celebrated through the bagna caoda. The cold simple vegetables accompanied by the heat of the bagna caoda~ caoda being the word for hot. She recommends vegetables such as cardoons, artichokes, radishes, carrots, peppers and assorted greens for dipping.

Bagna Caoda is a dip of olive oil, butter, garlic and fresh anchovy fillets. The anchovies melt as the oil is warmed over a small flame. It is served with the freshest raw vegetables. You dip the vegetables into the hot oil.

Of course, I had a heck of a time finding Italian vegetables in Alabama. This must not have been the week for a shipper of fresh artichokes. No fresh anchovies as Marcella prefers, I just used the tiny fillets in a glass jar at Whole Funds.

The sensation of the cool and crisp vegetables with the hot thickened oil is amazing. The anchovies melt into a paste and all but disappear, leaving a warm salty flavor.

This is a very simple soup. There are just three main ingredients: potatoes, peas and artichokes. I was lucky to see fresh, local, sweet green peas at our farmer's market but there are no artichokes grown anywhere near here so I had to settle for buying them in the super market.
Marcella gives easy-to-follow instructions on trimming the artichokes. Doing it reminded me of watching a vendor at the Rialto Market in Venice, trimming the outer leaves, turning the artichoke, at lightning speed, and tossing the hearts into a bucket of (probably acidulated, since they stayed white) water. He did several with a paring knife, in just the few minutes while I observed.

Here's my bowl filled with the cleaned and sliced artichoke centers:

It took me less time than I anticipated with only three artichokes--no big deal.

The recipe asks for one pound of boiling potatoes. I use two large Yukon Golds and afterwards I thought they may have been too big because there seemed to be a little bit too many.

The artichoke flavor was fully present but so were the other vegetable tastes.
Just for an experiment, the next night, I pureed the leftovers but I didn't think it was as nice as the chunky original.

If you saw me post earlier in the week, y'all saw my big goof. I made the wrong soup!
As a part of the Pomodori e Vino Challenge we have divided the cookbook, Essentials of Italian Cooking, into 7 different daily recipes. We each have a day and a new recipe.
Somehow I confused the Potato and Split Pea Soup with Potato and Green Pea Soup. So tonight I whipped up another pot of potato soup. I can say both were great!
Potato with Green Pea Soup
The thing I love most about The Queen of Italian cooking is the way she describes the details of each recipe. It is the process that brings out each flavor. This soup is a very simple soup with onions, potatoes, and green peas. In her cookbook, Marcella has a beautiful way of describing the process~
'put in the butter, oil, sliced onion, and a large pinch of salt. ... cook the onion, turning it occasionally, until it becomes very soft and has shed all it's liquid. Then uncover the pan, turn up the heat to medium and cook, stirring once or twice, until all the liquid has bubbled away and the onion has become colored a tawny gold.'
I used more of the meat broth that I had frozen to provide a flavorful base.
I may not have cooked the potatoes until they were soft enough to get the right texture. I used frozen petite peas, to me they have the best fresh flavor. The combination of potatoes with peas and caramelized onions was a fantastic flavor.
Y'all don't forget to Follow Along on facebook... everyday a new adventure!
Ciao y'all,
Sandi

La Jota soup is a recipe from Trieste and reflects as Marcella says "the earthy accent of its Slavic origins." I really didn't expect to like it but in the end it was a very satisfying, hearty and flavorful supper.

Making it took me 2 days; there are lots of easy steps but long simmering periods between them. What took me the longest, however was finding the fresh pork hock. After calling several butchers in town and only finding smoked jowls or hocks, a friend suggested I try "Harvey's", a grocery store on the south side, in the African American community. Victory! The kind butcher there cut a hock off a larger piece for me.

In additions to the hock, the soup used beans; I used dried, red kidney beans. But, the most interesting addition was sauerkraut which cooked first separately with the bacon.

And then there was the final step called a pesta (with an accent over the "a"). It involves finely chopped onion, garlic and salt pork, sauteed with flour--like a very savory roux. Here it is, turning golden:

This soup would be perfect for a cold winter night but even though we are in the midst of a beautiful spring, we loved it!

We just missed this dish for Easter~ Stuffed Lettuce Soup is the traditional Easter dish on the Italian Riviera. I can't imagine the Mac's kitchen if I had announced I was bringing lettuce soup stuffed with a baby lamb. It is probably just as well...

Luckily, Marcella's version is made with veal and chicken, blended with fresh ricotta and parmigiano-reggiano ~ rolled into tender lettuce leaves.

The chicken and veal are cooked in butter then minced.

The minced meat is added to a bowl with tender veggies, herbs and ricotta.

The tender lettuce leaves are blanched to soften them, then stuffed with the meat mixture.

The lettuce rolls are tightly packed into a large saucepan then covered with meat stock (that I had made ahead and frozen).

The whole pot simmers for 30 minutes.

The lettuce rolls are served over a slice of toasted bread and covered with the thickened broth. Next time I will be a little more patient and reduce the broth after removing the tender lettuce rolls.

As lovely as this is... I think next Easter we will still have to have sugar ham and sweet potato souffle for Easter. Marcella and Victor are invited to a southern feast!

Ciao y'all,

Sandi

This tomato sauce is perfect. Simple, fresh tasting and perfect.
Since we are not yet in local tomato season, I opted for canned San Marzano tomatoes.
The vegetables are onions, celery and carrots--sounds like the beginnings of a French sauce but no--the flavor is clearly Italy.

I wish I had cut the tomatoes into a little smaller pieces. I only cut them into rough quarters. Other than that, I loved the sauce.
Usually we eat a long noodle at our house, like fettuccine, because it's my husband's preference but for this I cooked (according to Marcella's suggestion) rigatoni which is my favorite.
I had some friends over for dinner and we all loved it!

Pasta with caramelized onions. A fantastic idea! Totally rich, sensual in the mouth and delicious.
Because I am in Venice, I bought some beautiful flat white onions—cipolle.
I used butter to slowly stew a whole bunch of onions (about 6 cups sliced) for about and hour.

After that I raised the heat the temperature to get them a perfect golden brown, added some wine, black pepper chopped parsley and freshly grated parmigiano reggiano and there it is. A fantastic dish!

I just have to add a personal note. It is really a thrill to feel the connection to Marcella, here in this beautiful city. I can so easily imagine her walking these streets and shopping in the stalls. Thank you again, Marcella, for enriching an already wonderful experience.

This recipe had a really special aspect to it. Early on, I realized that, not only would I be in Venice to make it(I would never have been able to find Botarga in Tallahassee) but that Sandi would be there, too. It was travel magic meets Marcella magic!
We went to the Rialto market to buy the special dried fish roe, Botarga. The first place only had tuna and I knew that was wrong but the woman in there told me to go to the store around the block. It seemed like she may have meant the Casa del Parmigiano, so we went in and they did have it there. Botarga purchased, Sandi and I got the other ingredients for the simple sauce, at the market and headed home.
Onions, butter. lemon zest and parsley join the botarga to make a lovely compliment for the pasta.
Here is the botarga in the package:

And here it is, looking very much like caviar, on the plate:

We were both skeptical about the outcome of this dish—too fishy, maybe but, the finished dish was lovely—a perfect lunch with a green salad and a glass of crisp, chilled Soave.
An amazing, charmed, culinary moment for Sandi and me.

This week's challenge for Pomodori e Vino is 'Borro Oro e Salvia' ~Golden Butter and Sage~ Doesn't that just sound like a pinch of heaven?

To taste Bologna in a bowl, make this simple recipe.
Marcella calls for sausage out of the casings without any fennel or strong spices. If you’ve been following the blog, you know that it’s not that easy to find. Instead of buying sausage, I just bought a half pound of pork shoulder, had it ground and added about a half teaspoon of kosher salt.
The interesting thing to me was using the small sauce pan instead of a skillet. Of course, it worked perfectly.

Here’s the pork cooking, after the onions:

And the sauce, after adding the cream:

And the finished dish:

We took this dish to share with our neighbors, who had also been to Bologna recently and they agreed. It’s totally authentic and delicious with the perfect balance of flavors.
Thanks again, Marcella!

Making fresh pasta was not daunting to me (I've done it many times) but the prospect of forming about 144 tortellini was. I solved the problem by inviting my friend, Cecelia and my daughter, Kathryn to play, too. The recipe was very straight forward. Make the filling from a piece of poached fish (I used halibut), a little parmigiano cheese, egg yolks and a few seasonings. Then make the pasta, in sheets, cut into squares and stuff and shape into tortellini. It was surprising how quickly we felt competent making them. We were very proud of the beautiful results:

We ate them with the tomato sauce with cream it was delicious!
I can't say this is my favorite kind of tortellini but it was great fun.

This is most certainly NOT a Rachel Ray recipe but it is as rich and wonderful as it is time consuming. Luckily for me I had my trusty, well-trained assistant, Kathryn, to help me out.
I trimmed and cooked the artichokes; Kathryn made the béchamel. We made the pasta and did the assembly together. I loved pulling the cold lasagne out of the water to wash them gently “like lingerie” as Marcella directs.

We did all of this on Wednesday morning because I had a busy day planned on Thursday and one of Kathryn’s good friends from college was coming to visit. I preheated the oven and put in the pan, after leaving it out of the refrigerator for about an hour. That’s when disaster struck. We had a big thunderstorm and lost power. “Disastro!!!” The oven stayed hot enough to heat the lasange through but I wasn’t able to get a nice crust on the top. We ate it with a salad and candlelight. It was hot but I am not sure it was really fully cooked. Still, it was silky smooth and delicious.

I took a photo before I put it into the oven but didn’t try later, since the light was literally non existent

A few little notes--we got seven layers out of the recipe but we didn't really need the two inch high sides on the pan. It would have worked fine in a regular,
Pyrex 9X13 inch dish.

Are y'all ready for an essential recipe?
This week's challenge for Pomodori e Vino is Risotto with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Luckily I was able to carry some real Parmigiano -Reggiano back from Italy. FYI~you can bring back cheese that is wrapped and vacuum sealed. I ended up with the cheese in my carry-on. I sweated like a shoe-bomber everytime I went through security... But made it home with my precious cargo.

Y'all know I love Risotto and make it all the time. I was very excited to see Marcella's technique for making the risotto. She is in the 'stir constantly' school of risotto. (who am I to disagree with the master?)

"Add 1/2 cup of simmering broth and cook the rice, stirring constantly with a long wooden spoon, wiping the sides and bottom of the pot clean as you stir, until all the liquid is gone. You must never stop stirring and you must be sure to wipe the bottom of the pot completely clean frequently or the rice will stick to it."

This process is repeated with every 1/2 cup ladle of simmering broth. Until the risotto is tender, but not mushy. In the end... stir in butter and that fabulous parmigiano-reggiano.

The result is a beautifully flavorful risotto. I didn't have fresh truffle to shave over the top, but I did have a little white truffle sauce that was also tucked into my suitcase. How special is that?

Another brilliant adventure in The Essentials of Italian Cooking.

Ciao y'all,

Sandi

Thinking of the clam risotto, I am so happy because I know I can get beautiful, fresh, local clams, easily. They are actually farmed in the bay by a friend of ours and don’t need very much scrubbing at all. Watching them open in the pan, one by one, is such a treat.

It was quick work to remove then from the shells, chop and reserve.

Onion, garlic and parsley go into the rice as a flavor base.

The liquid is water and the juice from cooking the clams.

I used the delicious olive oil, from Lake Garda, which I brought home from Italy, to finish the risotto. It wasn’t as runny as I had hoped but the flavor was perfetto!

I knew I needed help for my challenge with Pomodori e Vino this week. We are making Gnocchi! ~So I called my chef-to-be son in for support.

We are starting into a new chapter with several kinds of gnocchi... who knew there was more than one kind? The only gnocchi I have ever had were thick and heavy. Marcella says clearly that the essential characteristic of well-made gnocchi is that they be fluffy and light.

I was about to try some well-made gnocchi (hopefully!)
Basically Gnocchi is a little lump of potato and flour. The potato needed for good gnocchi is a 'boiling' type. The potatoes are boiled and peeled, then passed through a food mill. The warm smished potatoes are blended with flour until smooth.

The potato dough is then rolled into 1 inch rolls, then these rolls are cut into 3/4 inch pieces.
Now the tricky part~ the pieces of dough are lightly pressed against the prongs of a fork to form indentions.
These indentions are important when the gnocchi is covered with sauce~ I used a flavorful gorgonzola sauce (also in this cookbook).
Potatoes and gorgonzola... (and my son spending the day with me in the kitchen) I'm in heaven!

Ciao y'all,
Sandi

This was an enjoyable process. I love making crepes and crespelle—pouring in the batter and twirling the pan. They cook very quickly so making 8 or 9, as the recipe calls for, takes no time at all. I stacked them with wax paper because I made them in the morning, and kept them refrigerated during the day.

I wished I had doubled the tomato sauce recipe because it was fabulous by itself.

The recipe involves layering the crespelle with the sauce, cheeses (fresh mozzarella and parmigiano-reggiano) and shredded prosciutto, then baking the stack in a cake pan.

The result was a fantastic combination of salty, creamy, tangy and rich flavors. It was the perfect “primo” for 4 heavy eaters and could have easily served 6.

If you love swordfish you will love this recipe. At the local fish store they said they have wild-caught swordfish from the Gulf of Mexico so that's what I got. Oil spill be damned!

The swordfish is simply grilled (you have to get the grill really hot) and sauced with a combination of salt, lemon juice, olive oil and fresh oregano. I have a ton of fresh oregano in the garden!

This is a great summer recipe--using the grill and light flavors.

I've . . .

I'll post when I return.

I almost never bake fish so this was a great opportunity to try it. And I had a beautiful piece of halibut, sent from Alaska, to use. Marcella says you can use any firm-fleshed fish but she prefers Atlantic bluefish.
First off, the fun began by slicing the potatoes on Cecelia’s mandolin, at the 1/16th inch setting.

The potatoes are baked for about 15 minutes with a mixture of olive oil, parsley and garlic.

Here, I made a big mistake. I set the oven at 400° instead of 450° but it all came out delicious—maybe not as brown as the potatoes could have been.

After the initial 15 minutes, the fish is added with the same olive oil mixture. Because of the wrong temperature, the fish was done and the potatoes weren’t, so I took the fish out of the oven and let it rest while I, finally realizing my mistake, cranked up the oven and let the potatoes finish.

Both the fish and the potatoes had great Ligurian flavor which is to say, wonderful!

Y'all know, I have said before that the most exciting thing about Pomodori e Vino is the challenge. This week the challenge was quite an adventure. It is my week to make Fried Calamari~ no problem! We Southerners are good at frying things!
The true challenge was to find a fresh squid in Birmingham. When Jan and I were cooking up our Bottarga in Venice... I wish we had bought some of these babies at the Rialto Fish Market and fried them up right then and there.

'Allora'~ I was on a search. My first stop was Snapper Grabber's in Vestavia~ the best place for fresh seafood in this area. (one word of advise... don't go on monday because they are closed) I ended up at Whole Foods... and paid a whole paycheck for a bag of frozen squid. The best part about these squid are that they are already cleaned!

This vision played in my mind as I was prepping my little squids for frying~ If you can't see it... it's a you tube video of the Pescheria from Venice Travel Blog. The sights and sounds are perfect~ the smells are undefinable!

The process of frying the calamari rings is very simple. Pat the rings dry, lightly coat with flour and shake off the excess. Fry in vegetable oil without crowding, drain and sprinkle with salt.

Once again, Marcella has provided us with the taste of fresh Italian cooking: one that swells with memories of the Pescheria in Venice.
Priceless!
Ciao y'all~
Sandi

The recipe is classic comfort food, Marcella style. It calls for a whole chicken cut into quarters, browned in a combination of oil and butter and then slow cooked on the stove top with the wine, garlic and rosemary.

Here is the chicken browning in the pan:

I really didn't expect to develop this much flavor with the minimal ingredients just sitting in the pan with the chicken. The garlic and rosemary were left in the liquid, whole. But the result was a rich comforting dish like you would get from a braise.
For sure, I will make this again in the winter. If you live somewhere that has the seasons already changing, go for it soon.

Hallelujah!
We are through the fishy squid section. Now we get to move on to bigger and better things... Like Chicken! Remember to follow us along daily on Facebook or on the Pomodori e Vino Blog ... because this section is going to be great.

There are some beautiful roasted chicken recipes in The Essentials of Italian cooking. Simple ingredients that can make an old bird fabulous. (remember that ladies... in cooking and in fashion)

This recipe includes a cut up chicken (skin on), sprigs of fresh rosemary, cloves of garlic, butter and oil. Pan fry the chicken in the butter and oil until the skin is crispy. Add garlic and herbs, 1/2 cup of white wine, and generous salt and pepper.Allow the chicken to cook in it's broth until done. Serve it with some good bread to sop up the juices... You'll thank me later!

(for the recipe and the fashion advise)
Ciao y'all,
Sandi

Marcella says "In Rome they call this the devil's chicken because of the diabolical quantitiy of the crushed black peppercorns that are used."
I just call it delightful!
Grilled Chicken alla Diavola ~ Roman Style is a wonderful way to grill a chicken. Marcella goes into detail about getting a whole chicken and having it flattened to cook it on the grill. I was in a bit of a 'workin' full time, cook it in a hurry' bind (y'all never find yourself in that situation do you?) I used chicken breasts... and they were great! The chicken is well coated with coarsly ground black peppercorn and then marinated for 2 hours in a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice. The freshness of the lemons and the bite of the pepper makes this a recipe I will do again and again! I can only imagine this aroma with grilled salmon or pork chops. The daibolically perfect recipe.
Ciao y'all~
Sandi

I gotta say, I'm liking this pan-roasting technique ... a lot. Maybe that's why so many Italian vacation rentals don't have ovens? Who needs them!

This is a great way to prep small birds (see the squab post) or roasts. Really, especially in the summer, when I don't want to heat up the entire house by lighting the big oven. Anyway, the recipe...

The hardest part of this recipe - finding the cut of meat. Marcella suggests a rolled shoulder (boneless) of veal but here in suburbia, where unfortunately, most butchers have fallen away, and even the supermarkets get their meat pre-cut, finding this cut of meat was difficult at best. I guess if I hadn't waited until the last minute, I could have ordered it online but time was of the essence, so I needed to find it the old-fashioned, in an actual store.

I called Whole Foods, and though they claimed to get it in, it seemed each time I spoke with the butcher, the meat, though ordered didn't arrive. I made Chris ask the "butcher" in our local supermarket. Of course he knew little about veal shoulder, how to get it or offered any assistance. Finally, I called the meat department for the Shop Rite in East Brunswick, where a most helpful man said he would order it for me and have it in the store the next day. He told me to come after 11:00 or even a bit later, because the meat delivery people sometimes ran late.

I arrived at the store at 12:50 as they were just unloading the truck. My meat man went out back and had them rush to get my order unloaded and then, because it came in an 8 lb roast (yikes) he sliced it down for me giving me a roast bigger than the 2 pounds Marcella suggested, something more like 3.25 to 3.5 pounds - no worries though I had the meat!

Raw meet with a bit of garlic popping out, and rosemary atop

After that it was simple, mine was a huge chunk (not a roll), so I did as the directions suggested and made slits in the roast into which I stuffed the garlic. I got some fresh rosemary from the garden and sprinkled that liberally around the meet, browned, salt and pepper, and some wine, and boom about 2.5 hours later (took longer because mine was a larger cut), we had our roast. Chris, Becky and Fala approved.

Roast out from the pan

Sliced Roast with Juices

This chapter of Essential's of Italian cooking has been a challenge... VEAL. It is not something that we eat often. Ok... the truth... I have never cooked veal, but I do order it whenever I get the chance.
Now I have the reason to cook veal in my own kitchen.

Classic Veal with Marsala and Cream is a beautiful combination of flavors. The scaloppine is first dredged in flour then browned in butter and vegetable oil. Once the veal is lightly browned, remove it from the pan. Using the same pan, add marsalla and cook down the little bits in the pan. Add cream and cook to a thickened sauce.This is a simple and a beautiful blend of flavors. Essentially Marcella Hazan~ Essentials of Italian Cooking.

Remember to follow us along daily on Facebook or on the Pomodori e Vino Blog ...Much more Veal to come!
Ciao Y'all,
Sandi

This was a very interesting recipe for me. I had never cooked veal before!
I first had to pound out the pieces to a proper thinness. Marcella wants the pieces to be about 5 inches by 4 inches and after cutting each piece in half they were pretty close.
Here are the before and after photos of the veal pounding process:

Before:

after:

Each piece is covered with a thin slice of pancetta and grated parmesan cheese:

And then rolled up:

They are browned “deeply” in a combination of oil and butter:

Then the pan is deglazed with wine and tomatoes are added, to make a fantastic sauce.

We absolutely LOVED the result! I reminded me of veal rolls I ate at Osteria Orto dei Mori, in Venice, which were one of my favorite things I ate on that whole trip.

Not having cooked veal (or any beef, for that matter) I was really surprised at how rich the sauce was with the simple addition of a little butter and the ingredients remaining in the pan (fond, wine, tomatoes).

Would I ever make this again? YES! It’s a beautiful special occasion dish.

Luckily, it has turned into a beautiful fall here in Alabama. I know I am biased... but the season's change is wonderful here. The oranges and reds of the maple trees looks like a picture. If it could just stay this way all year!

A pot of veal stew is just the ticket on a cool fall evening. Marcella's recipe is thick and flavorful... as always.

My recipe for veal stew includes tomatoes and peas. Simple ingredients, layers of flavor; once again the perfect example of 'Essentials of Italian Cooking'.

The veal is browned in butter and olive oil, then the onions are browned in the same pan. Add the best canned Italian tomatoes and cook over a low heat for about 50 minutes . Add the peas and cook until they are done. The stew will be thick and flavorful.

I served it over baked polenta, which is a lot like a grits casserole... comfort food at it's best!

Remember to follow us along daily on Facebook or on the Pomodori e Vino Blog. Marcella has followed us along and leaves encouraging comments!

Ciao Y'all,

Sandi

Can you believe we are more than half way through our cooking adventure? We started in March of 2009 and have been cooking our way through 'The Essentials of Italian Cooking'. If you are looking for a Christmas gift... this cookbook is it!

My recipe this week is Beef Cacciatora with wonderful Porcini mushrooms. Start with the dried porcini mushrooms, and soak them in warm water for about 30 minutes... the perfect time for a nice glass of wine on the patio.

Back to the kitchen... Thinly slice an onion and cook in Olive Oil until they are translucent. Flour both sides of the beef steaks and brown them in the same pan. After about one minute on each side, remove from the pan and set them on a warm plate.

After the mushrooms have softened, cut them up and add to the onions. Add the 'broth' that the mushrooms soaked in. Cook at medium heat until the liquid is reduced. Add wine (another glass at this point is a good idea) Tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste, and cook for another 15 minutes.

Just before serving, return the thin steaks to the pan and turn several times to coat well.

I have served this with some creamy polenta.

Another wonderful recipe from Marcella!

Remember to follow us along daily on Facebook or on the Pomodori e Vino Blog ...

Ciao Y'all,

Sandi

This is a special recipe from 'The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking'... at first I thought it didn't sound like anything special, but once we sat down to dinner~ we realized how really special it was.

The secret ingredient is a fine Italian red wine. Marcella and Victor suggest a Barolo~ My heart was fluttering as I poured this beautiful wine into the saute pan. And then an equal amount into our glasses :-).

Once again... simple ingredients, layers of flavors, and an incredible result. Simply... butter and oil, garlic and beef filets dipped in flour. Once the steaks are browned on each side they are set aside. The wine is then reduced in the same pan with the garlic and bits on flour. The steaks are returned to the pan just before serving.

I stirred up a quick pan of polenta with gorgonzola for the perfect side dish.

Allora~ Special!

Ciao y'all,

Sandi

Marcella herself says this recipe is simple—simple and delicious, I say! It reiterates to me how the simplicity of technique can make big flavors.

I found a 2 and a half pound, organic lamb shoulder through our local Golden Acres Ranch
http://www.goldenacresranchflorida.com/

All I had to do was brown it nicely and cook it on the stove top until it was done. The garlic and rosemary lent earthy notes to the meat.

The sauce was the best part—just water added to the pan drippings. Nothing fancy but full of flavor.
We ate it with roasted potatoes and a mix of kale and collards, sauteed with a little garlic.

Another keeper from Essentials!

I am coming to appreciate the proper browning of the meat to develop the fond and the flavor it gives you in the resulting pan juices.

The pork ribs are first browned in a large skillet. Mine just fit—I almost had to take one out.

After they are nice and brown you add white wine, fresh sage and garlic. Then you simply let them “pan-roast” on top of the stove.

I had more juice left in the pan during cooking and never had to add any water. At the end, I did add water to make a gravy/sauce which was perfect with the ribs over polenta.

Now I really want to go to Treviso!

OK everyone knows that Sweetbread are the Thymus gland. Just had to clear that up first.

First I had to find sweetbreads in our less than sophisticated Tallahassee market. Clusters & Hops was the place. They were frozen in plastic and pricey but I was committed.

After defrosting them in a pot of cold water, I worked to remove the membrane. Marcella says, “It takes a little patience”, which is not my strong suit but I managed. They poach for about 5 minutes and then you can remove the rest of the membrane.

I cooked some onion in the butter and oil mixture and then added the chopped sweetbreads. They were supposed to “become a light colored brown all over but that didn’t happen. I’m not sure where I mad a mistake but the brown was all going onto the pan and the sweetbreads remained beige.

I added salt and (canned) chopped tomatoes with their juice and let it all simmer.

Finally I added the peas.
The dish was very pretty—actually Christmassy looking with the green peas playing off the red tomatoes.

BUT I really discovered that I don’t like sweetbreads. The texture just was off putting to me. My mom always orders them in high-end restaurants and I remember tasting them once at Michy’s in Miami.
Even Marcella could not make me warm up to the mushy-soft, livery, organ meat.

Hallelujah~
We are out of the Variety meats section of Pomodori e Vino. I don't know how many of you actually looked... but the posts on sweetbreads, kidney's and calf brains were awesome. Marcella's comments really showed her Italian passion for food! I count myself lucky that all I had to cook was the Cotechino Sausage with lentils! Job well done my Pomodori!

Now we have moved on to vegetables... What's not to like?

My recipe was for artichokes with leeks. The biggest problem for me was the quality of the artichokes in the market. Not like the beautiful artichokes growing in the garden in Montisi.

The recipe itself was simple... cook the artichokes and leeks until tender, adjust for salt and pepper and serve. When adjusting for salt and pepper... I am loving the phrase used by David Rocco in his cookbook. 'Quanto Basta' ~as much as you need.

What a beautiful thought during this holiday season. Quanto Basta! No more, no less. Only as much as you need.

In cooking and in life.

Blessed Holidays to each and every one of you.

Remember to follow us along daily on Facebook or on the Pomodori e Vino Blog ... Ciao Y'all, Sandi

Sunchokes were called Jerusalem Artichokes. We used to slice them thinly and add them to salads in the 70’s but I haven’t given them much thought lately. My loss! These were so tasty and a perfect addition to any protein on a plate.

They were a little bit difficult to find here in Tallahassee but a new supermarket is in town, Earth Fare, and lucky me, they had them; they came from California.

First Marcella wants you to peel the knobby tubers. It’s a little bit time consuming but not at all hard to accomplish.

Then they are blanched in boiling salted water and sliced.

After warming some chopped garlic in olive oil, the sliced sunchokes are added and cooked, with salt and chopped parsley, until they’re soft enough—like a potato.

They developed a definite nutty, artichoke-like flavor which, combined with the good olive oil, salt and garlic, was an unexpected treat.

I can really see why Marcella has included several sunchokes recipes in this chapter.

I just love it when I am smart enough to do a little planning ahead. Last year in May, y'all may remember my fabulous trip to Italy. I spent a month watching sunsets and soaking up the dolce vita. (If you need a little taste of Italy This Link will take you there)

Back to my brilliant planning... I knew I would have to be making fava beans in the dead of winter. Fava beans are freshest in the spring... so, I actually made these then.

As Marcella says, "there is no magic in the making a dish of plain boiled beans" The magic is in the freshness of the fava bean and the quality of the olive oil.
This dish is made with fresh just snapped beans, finely chopped onion, and Pancetta. The secret to the brightness of the beans is adding salt to the boiling water before adding the beans. They should cook to a nutty, sweet flavor~ the time will depend on the freshness of the beans.

Remember to follow us along daily on Facebook or on the Pomodori e Vino Blog ...
Ciao Y'all,
Sandi

Simple and tasty fried tidbits with healthy broccoli as the center.
A total “win/win.”

We actually used these as a little antipasto with some wine while I made the rest of the dinner and they were perfect.

The recipe is very straightforward. The florets are blanched,

cooled, dipped in egg and breaded with fine dry breadcrumbs. I actually used Progresso (unflavored, of course) because the fresh ones I tried to make weren’t fine enough.

They are fried in very hot vegetable oil.

I added a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and served them right away.

The star in Fried Cauliflower with Parmesan Cheese Batter is the tender and flavorful crust. Real Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese makes the perfect batter because it melts without the stringyness of most cheeses. The flavor is so unique~ and of course brings a smile to my face as I remember our tour at the cheese factory last may near Bologna. Here's the link to that favorite trip! We stood between the walls of maturing Parmigiano-Reggiano, as the wheels wait for the day to crack them open. This is a beautiful cheese with a nutty, salty flavor all it's own... that I must say, bears NO resemblance to the stuff in the green shaker!
The batter for these fried cauliflower is a mixture of water and beaten egg with grated parmigiano and flour. The cauliflower is first cooked in a large pot of water and cooled. Once cooled, break the cauliflower in to bite-sized florets. These are dipped in the egg batter and fried in vegetable oil until golden brown. Sprinkle with salt and serve at once.
These are wonderful little bite-sized pieces that are filled with the flavor of fresh Parmigiano.
Ciao y'all~
Sandi

What could be simpler than frying a single vegetable in lovely, hot olive oil.
Marcella actually says "vegetable oil" but an olive is a vegetable isn't it?

I actually made this dish in August when I got a perfect couple of eggplants in my CSA bag. Following Marcella's instructions for steeping them in salt was easy. I dried them on paper towels after the process:

I got the oil nice and hot using the test in the recipe of dipping one end of the eggplant slice into the oil and checking for the sizzle. I could fit 3 slices at a time into my skillet.

I almost never fry anything so I found this process very entertaining. It was beautiful to watch the white eggplant slices turn the perfect golden color. And the flavor was amazing. I have never enjoyed eggplant this much; it was so sweet and not greasy at all.

Fennel has always been my 'most' favorite. Well... the truth? It's been my favorite since Ive been old enough to know what it was. Marcella describes Finocchio as related to anise, but with a cool, mild aroma. I love it raw in a fresh salad, on pizza, or roasted with olive oil.

This is Marcella's rendition of Braised Fennel with olive oil. The fennel stalk is sliced and then cooked in water and olive oil. Turn the slices until it becomes lightly browned. When done, the fennel will be tender and the liquid is gone.

Beautiful!
Ciao y'all~
Sandi

Posted to 5. Friday - Sandi/Jan | Vegetables by Sandi on February 4, 2011 7:43 AM
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