HELPING HANDS: MONKEY HELPERS FESTIVALE IS HERE!

It is truly my honor and privilege to work with this fantastic organization. Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled raises, trains, and carefully places capuchin monkeys to be service animals or "helpers" for adults living with physical disabilities. We're going to talk about some of my food and beverage recipes in a moment, but first, let me tell you about this great annual fund raising event--Festivale--coming on October 25th.
For all the details go to:  www.monkeyhelpers.org/festivale

And speaking of food!...they have organized 15 of Boston's finest restaurants (Mistral, Rialto, Ostra, Basho to name a few!) to offer tastings all night. PLUS Ketel One is providing an open martini bar (that could get interesting!) and there will be other specialty cocktails, wine and beer throughout the evening. Live music and a very robust silent auction complete the night. Sounds like great fun to me. For the first time at this event, Monkey Helpers are going LIVE with their silent auction. Even if you cannot attend the event, beginning October 6 you can bid online for the prize(s) you want--just go to the web address above for details. Prizes include things like Walt Disney World Theme Park passes; luxurious hotel stays throughout the country, such as 3 nights at The Atlantis Casino Resort & Spa in Reno, NV; very fancy His/Her Swiss made watches, and other jewelry; and one-of-a-kind items like an autographed photo and feather from 'Big Bird' donated by Big Bird himself!--I am not kidding. Really looking forward to this event myself. It's being held this year at WGBH Studios which makes for an interesting venue. Hope to see you there, but if you can't make it in person, check out the website to see how to bid online for auction prizes. You will be competing with bidders all over the world! Thank you for allowing me to share this wonderful organization with you which has become such an important part of my life!

READY FOR A COCKTAIL?

My good friend, Dennis, drinkologist extradinaire
mixing a very special Mint Mojito!

MINT MOJITOS
Most of you have probably had a Mint Mojito, but problem is most of them are not good...either too sweet or just not enough mint or rum or not sure what, but on this occasion we seemed to come up with the perfect balance of sweet, rum, mint and Mojo! The trick is to keep tasting to make sure you've got it right! Cuba is where the Mint Mojito was born and the proper mix of rum, limes, sugar and sparkling water is essential. You may know that Ernest Hemingway helped make this drink famous, which means he drank a lot of them. Here are the basic ingredients:

Ingredients:
2 scant tsp. sugar
8 mint leaves (or more)
Club soda
1 lime/havled
2 oz. Light Rum
Mint for garnish

Preparation:
Put sugar, mint leaves (you don't need to measure precisely-the more mint the better), and the squeezed juice and lime halves into a shaker. Muddle well with a muddler or back of a spoon to dissolve the sugar and to release the mint flavor. Add the rum. Stir very well. Fill a glass with ice cubes. Strain the contents of the shaker into a glass. Top with soda water and add a sprig of mint. Taste and adjust for more lime or soda water.

Diana is the official "taster" to make sure her husband is mixing correctly!

The mint mojitos were very good, but the cocktail hit was...

PAIN KILLER

This delicious drink was created in 1971 by the owners of the Soggy Dollar Bar located in White Bay on the island of Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. This is right next door to Virgin Gorda where my husband and I spent 2 glorious weeks (remember the Chicken Foot Soup?!) last November. They make Pain Killers on Virgin Gorda, too!

Ingredients:

2 oz. dark rum

1 oz. Coco Lopez or cream of coconut

4 oz. pineapple juice

1 1/2 oz. orange juice

 

Blend the juices and Coco Lopez and pour over ice in a tall glass. Add rum and a spinkle of grated nutmeg. Garnish with orange slices, pineapple and or a maraschino cherry.

ON TO DESSERT...

MY HUSBAND'S FAVORITE PART OF ANY MEAL!

 

PINEAPPLE-COCONUT-BANANA UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

 

This luscious cake is rich, moist and filled with flavor! I made it the night before our dinner so the fruit had a chance to blend together beautifully. My Dad used to love making pineapple-upside down cake. It was his signature dessert and he always made it for me when I came home to visit or for special occasions.

Dad made his Pineapple Upside-Down Cake in a square pan.

Upside-down cakes are classically made in a cast-iron skillet because it conducts heat so well and gives the cake a crisp edge, cooks evenly and keeps it moist. I did not use my cast iron skillet as I make so many savory meals in it I thought my cake would come out tasting like garlic. Instead, I used a heavy, large glass cake pan and it worked very well. No danger of this cake being dry!
Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 (15 1/2 oz.) can pineapple slices in juice, UNdrained

1 cup flaked sweet coconut

1 cup all-purpose white flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. bakig soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup mashed ripe banana-about 1 good-sized banana

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 large egg

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a heavy cast iron skillet is you are using or melt and add to your cake pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Drain pineapple slices over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup juice. Place 1 pineapple ring in center of skillet or pan. Cut remaining pineapple rings in half; arrange around center pineapple ring. Sprinkle evenly with coconut. Set aside.
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl. Combine reserved juice, banana, oil, and egg, stirring with a whisk. Add pineapple juice mixture to flour mixture stirring until combined. Pour flour mixture over coconut.
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted comes out clean. Invert onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temp. I made it the night before and left on counter overnight. This cake is so easy and a real WOW!

I guess you know by now that I LOVE to cook.

It makes me very happy to share my passion with you.

'Cook With Cindy' just reached over 10,000 views!

Thank you for taking a look and please keep having fun in your own kitchens throughout the world!

 

Thanks also for checking out the Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled Festivale site:

www.monkeyhelpers.org/festivale

 

UNTIL NEXT TIME MUCH LOVE FROM MY KITCHEN TO YOURS!

www.cookwithcindy.com

 

 

 

 

 

PORK STUFFED PORK--LIKE NONE OTHER!

This took a little fussing to put together, but was well worth it. One of the best pork roasts I have ever made or had! And the 'fussing' for me really is the fun part! This was the centerpiece of my Easter dinner. It is very special and would make you proud to serve for any holiday or special occasion.

I like themed dinner parties and for this one we did Caribbean. I served this stuffed pork roast with a slightly spicy Mango Papaya Salsa, but first let's talk about pork.

 

Ingredients:

For filling-

1 lb. ground pork
1 large onion-diced
3 garlic cloves-smashed and diced
1 apple-peeled and finely chopped
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 lb. kale-stems removed
2 tsp. +Kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary-chopped finely
1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary-chopped finely
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. Calvados or brandy (I used E&J brandy.)

Pork-
3 1/2 - 4 lb. pork loin-trimmed of fat and silver skin
1 tsp.+Kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto
5 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 medium apples-peeled and sliced
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup hard cider
1/2 cup chicken stock

Preparation:
Blanch kale in boiling salted water until just wilted-about 1 minute. Remove with tongs, dry, and transfer to tray or baking sheet and place in refrigerator to cool. Remove any large or tough ribs.

Melt 3 Tbsp. butter  in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced apples and cook until edges are just browned. Remove and set aside.

Using the same skillet melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion stirring often until golden-about 8 minutes. Add chopped apple, garlic, dried thyme and rosemary. Stir together to coat all with butter and cook for a couple minutes. Add brandy and cook until liquid is absorbed-about another minute. Stir in salt/pepper. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool completely. After it is cooled, add ground pork and stir well to combine.

Preparation for pork:

Start by butterflying your pork loin. Using a sharp knife cut the loin in half without cutting all the way through. Pull the meat back as you cut and keep cutting until the entire roast is flat. Wrap the loin in plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound to an even thickness. Liberally salt/pepper inside and out of the loin.

Next, place kale leaves on top of the loin in one even layer overlapping each leaf a little. Add the slightly sauted apple slices and then spread the filling on top. Drizzle the olive oil in bottom of roasting pan. I put additional apples in bottom of baking pan to add a little more moisture. Roll it all together into a tight cylinder and wrap proscuitto around the roast. Lay the rosemary sprigs on top and tie it all together. Place your stuffed, rolled, and tied roast in the pan. At this point you can set aside in the fridge. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before continuing.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a skillet large enough to hold your roast melt 1 Tbsp. butter. Get skillet very hot and carefully brown pork on all sides-about 5 minutes. Place the roast back into the roasting pan. Add 1/2 cup hard cider and the chicken stock to the skillet. Stir to combine any brown bits from the pork and reduce for 5 minutes. Add this to the roasting pan.

Roast the pork for about 1 1/2 hours (instant read thermometer registers 140 degrees for medium pork). Remove from the oven, tent with foil and let roast rest for at least 20 minutes before cutting.

Cut 1" thick slices and serve with Mango Papaya Salsa.

To make the salsa peel and chop 1 large and very ripe papaya and 3 mangos. Add 1/2 red onion finely diced and a little heat--use either dried hot pepper or add a diced fresh jalapeno. I used the fresh pepper. Add salt to taste. Let sit for at least an hour so flavors meld. Can be made the day before serving.

Next time I'm going to share the dessert I made for our Easter celebration. Pineapple, coconut, banana upside down cake! I made this the night before so it was perfectly gooey and wonderful next day.

We started this feast with a couple traditional Caribbean cocktails and yummy hors d'oeuvres so we will get into those as well.

Until then, please keep having fun in the kitchen.

My husband, Jerry and I, all decked out in our Easter bonnets.
I love Easter!

TUNE IN AGAIN SOON FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF:

 

WWW.COOKWITHCINDY.COM

 

BREAD, WINE, AND THOU...

I love to make bread. This past Easter I made a very special Challah. Thanks to my friend Tobi I now know how to pronounce it correctly! The Ch starts way back in your throat with a gutteral, scratchy Huh and K sound all at once. Try it...it's fun, especially if you really exagerate it!

CHALLAH BREAD

This eggy bread is not reserved for the Jewish Sabbath or Easter, but can be enjoyed any time. Challah, known by many different names, is used in cultures all over the world. The recipe I made is easy to include with any big dinner party as you make it ahead, freeze and bake just before serving. Leftovers (if there are any!) make delicious French Toast or yummy fried sandwiches. Go heavy on the egg wash using two coats and be sure not to over-bake.

Ingredients:
3 3/4 tsp. active dry yeast; about 1 1/2 packages
1 Tbsp. plus 1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup lukewarm water (too hot and it will kill the yeast; not hot enough and the yeast won't "work")
1/2 cup vegetable oil; more for greasing the bowl (I used butter for greasing.)
5 large eggs
1 Tbsp. table salt
8 to 8 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup raisins (optional) plumped in hot water and drained
Poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling (I used poppy.)

Here is the dough all raised after sitting in a warm spot for 1 hour,
ready to be punched down and rise again...get the symbolism?!?

 Preparation:
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar and salt. This is a good way to "test" your yeast. If after a couple minutes, the yeast does not foam up, it is no good. Start over with new yeast. Within 5 minutes it should be nice and foamy.
Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 large eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Use more flour as necessary so dough does not stick. Clean out bowl and grease it using either oil or butter, then return dough to bowl. Swirl it around so all sides and top benefit from the oil/butter. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for at least an hour until almost doubled in size. Punch dough down (with love), cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half hour.
At this point you can knead the raisins into the Challah, if you're using them, before forming the loaves. Traditionally Challah is braided. You can use a fancy 6-braid technique or simply do what I did which is divide dough in half. Form 3 strands for each loaf and braid as you would hair. Pinch and fold the ends together and under so braids don't unravel. Either keep as a loaf or bring the two ends together to form a circle for a round loaf.

 

Beat the remaining egg and brush it on loaves.

Either freeze breads or let rise another hour. If baking right away keep at least 2 inches between loaves as they will grow again upon final rising and still more when baking.

If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves one more time with any remaining egg. Sprinkle bread with seeds, if using and bake for 30-40 minutes.

If freezing, wrap each loaf individually in plastic wrap and then foil. Unwrap and remove from freezer 5 hours before baking. I added another egg bath for good measure.

Bake in middle of oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden. Cool on rack. The aroma of this baking bread is intoxicating.

Note: Straight loaves of braided Challah are eaten throughout the year--typically on the Sabbath--round Challahs, often studded with raisins, are served for the New Year and other High Holidays.

 

My husband and I recently slipped away to the beautiful historic city of Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1636 by Roger Williams (that's him atop that sculpture!) makes it one of America's oldest cities.

 

This fascinating small city is teaming with things to do; lots of art, culture, fabulous food and history. Providence is also home to Brown University and The Rhode Island School of Design. Don't miss the RISD Museum! We stayed in a lovely B&B (The Old Court; www.oldcourt.com) right in the heart of everything. It was fun to depend on our feet rather than wheels for 48 hours! While in town I visited a unique wine store (www.bin312.com) featuring 300 wines priced under $20. I tried a Malbec blend that was truly one of the best wines I have ever tasted...and was under $20.

TUPONGATO VINEYARDS-MENDOZA, ARGENTINA

Tupungato is the northernmost sub-region of the Uco Valley in Mendoza. The region lies at the foot of the Mt. Tupungato volcano, which, at 21,555 ft. high, is one of the highest peaks in Argentina. The 2009 Tupongato Malbec blend (mainly Malbec with some Merlot and Cab), which the owner of Bin312 selected for me, was a complex and delightful mix of black cherry, hint of currant, coffee and chocolate. You really could separate and taste each of those flavors!

 

Here is my THOU...

 

Providence is located at the head of Narraganset Bay and has 4 rivers running through it-The Providence River, Woonasquatucket, Blackstone, and Moshassuck River. If you are a hopeless romantic (as we are!) a gondola ride is a must.

 

All for today...hope you enjoyed my ramblings.

 

Tune in again soon for another episode of

 

www.cookwithcindy.com

 

In the meantime, keep cooking!

 

 

 

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN EATING LATELY?

I have been trying some different foods of late, many of which do not require a recipe. I hope this gives you some new ideas on what to serve your family. Since we are at the height of corn season, here's a great way to use any leftover corn on the cob.

CORN SOUFFLE

 

Ingredients:
2 eggs for every large ear of corn
1 Tbsp. milk
1 cooked ear of corn removed from cob
Salt/Pepper
Almost any other herbs or spices (smoked paprika, chipotle, dill, basil, chives, etc.)
Handful of slightly steamed spinach, optional
1/2 cup cheese, optional
Well, you get the idea...just use your imagination!

This souffle just has corn, eggs, and milk. Served with encrusted haddock
topped with chives and chive blossom and a petit tomato salad.

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat the eggs until light and fluffy. Add 1 Tbsp. milk and any other ingredients. Place in a well greased custard cup and bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and slightly browned. Let it cool slightly (it may deflate a bit) and then run a knife along edge of custard cup and pop out the souffle. This is not a true souffle since we are not using flour to make a roux and also does not cook at the higher oven temp of a classic souffle, but it is a very easy substitute and close enough that I call it souffle! Serve as a light lunch on bed of greens or as a side dish with dinner. It is also delicious for breakfast.

This time I used both spinach and cheese and served with baked ham and roasted cauliflower and garlic.

LEMON SOLE ON BROCCOLI PUREE

WITH STEAMED CARROTS

 

Here's another dish that really doesn't need a recipe, but I will tell you how I prepared it. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Squeeze fresh lemon juice on your sole. Lightly salt and pepper. I used white pepper so it would not spoil the clean 'look' of the fish. Make a simple bread stuffing with fresh bread crumbs, butter, a little fresh sage. Place about 1 Tbsp. of stuffing in the center of the sole and gently roll the fish around it. Top the sole with a drizzle of lemon oil and bake for about 6 to 8 minutes until just done. I served topped with fresh chives on a bed of broccoli puree. To make the puree: Steam broccoli until fork tender. Drain and place in a food processor (blender also works, but the texture is not quite as good). Add 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and blend until you get desired consistency. The puree may need thinning with a little olive oil. The carrots are just julienned, steamed until crispy tender, and drained. Return the carrots to the pan. Add 1 big tablespoon of butter, a little honey or agave nectar and sea salt. Swirl around and let sit until you are ready to plate. To make the presentation a little fancy I tied the carrots into bundles secured with chives.

Next up is only for the brave of heart...or in this case kidney!

LAMB KIDNEYS

I was grocery shopping for my Dad a few weeks ago and bought these lamb kidneys by mistake. I thought I was getting him liver. I have had lambs liver before (It is very popular in Ireland. Also delicious!), but never lamb kidneys so decided to cook it up as you would liver. First remove the sinewy parts in the center of the kidney and any silver skin by carefully sliding a sharp knife just under the skin and pulling off. Rinse kidneys well. Pat dry and dredge with flour, salt/pepper, a little onion powder and tiny amount of garlic powder.

Put a tablespoon of butter and splash of olive oil in a pan and get bubbling hot. The olive oil keeps the butter from burning. Place the dredged kidneys into the pan and cook for about 5-7 minutes per side. Do not overcook the kidneys or they will get dry, but don't undercook either or they will be bloody when you cut into them. I tried them both ways and the perfect way is just cooked through.

Once you get over the idea of eating the kidneys of a lamb it really is yummy with just a subtle hint of lamb flavor.

BLUEBERRY WAFFLES

There is a reason you have never heard of blueberry waffles. What a mess I made of my waffle iron, but I do have to say the waffles were absolutely scrumptuous! I started with a basic waffle recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. butter
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk*
1 large (or 2 small) eggs
* If you don't have buttermilk on hand, add 1 Tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice to 1 cup of regular milk and shake well.

Preparation:
Preheat waffle iron. Spray with PAM or other cooking spray. Sift flour with baking powder and soda, and salt. Melt 5 Tbsp. butter and in a separate bowl whisk together melted butter with buttermilk and egg(s). Stir butter mixture into the flour mixture until smooth. The batter will be fairly thick. At this point I added about 1 cup of beautiful fresh blueberries and cooked as you would a regular waffle. Two things happened: First, the cooking time was much longer than usual because the blueberries released their juices and slowed things down; and Second, as the sugar was released from the blueberries they burned and stuck to the waffle iron. Fortunately the burned pieces stayed on the waffle iron and did not damage the flavor, but it did make one big mess! Next time, I will try making a blueberry syrup and adding to the fully cooked waffle.

Well, as I often say...EVERYTHING WE TRY 

WON'T ALWAYS BE PERECT!

I am closing on a very sad note. My dear Dad passed away on July 2--just one day shy of my folks 67th wedding anniversary and what would've been my Mom's 88th birthday. I believe Dad is at peace and now happily reunited with my Mother. I love you both very much.

Paul F. Asbell

October 21, 1925 - July 2, 2014

 

 

Thank you, as always for the opportunity to share my passion with you!

 

www.cookwithcindy.com

 

 

BEST (AND EASIEST) FISH CHOWDER YOU'LL EVER TASTE...OR MAKE!

Chris digging for cherry stones in Nausett Bay, Cape Cod.
 He had a unique method for clamming!

Chris loved life and lived large. He was boisterous, vibrant, charming and a whole lot of fun. When Chris entered a room...the party began! Chris's quick wit and ability to weave a story was engaging. His gruff exterior belied a deep warmth and gentleness within. He was a fisherman, excellent cook, and loved to entertain. We shared many a dinner where the meal often did not appear before midnight. First, he'd have to catch the fish we were eating that night; then clean it, and finally begin preparing the feast...and it was always a feast with Chris. Lobsters often figured big as Chris was a lobsterman as well as a fisherman. For his mother-in-law's (and my mom-in-law, too!) 80th birthday party he surprised Helen with her favorite food by presenting her with 36 lobsters for all the Rabbitt's gathered for her celebration.


Helen Rabbitt (in the yellow coat) looking pleased
 and surprised on her 80th birthday!

Whatever Chris cooked, he made with a flare--whether it was lightly fried clams, sublime bouillibaisse, grilled sea bass or scallops done many different ways--it was always yummy. The food served at the reception for his 'send-off' was appropriately delicious! His good friend Tim (of Tim and Bonnie food fame) came in with a steaming cauldron of fish chowder. This truly was the best fish chowder I have ever eaten so I asked if he would share his secret recipe. I was surprised by the ingredients, but excited to try it myself. I sratched the ingredients on a napkin, thanked Tim profusely and made the chowder the next day.



BEST (AND EASIEST) FISH CHOWDER

Tim pointed out that this recipe can be doubled, tripled or in the case of Chris's funeral reception he made 10 times this amount--just keep the ingredients proportionate. He did not offer measurements on the Old Bay or white pepper. I used about 1 tsp. of pepper and 2 tsp. of Old Bay. I think next time I would add a little bit more Old Bay and possibly a touch of salt.


This thick cut of Cod is called Captain's cut. Skin has been removed.

Preparation:
Melt 1/2 stick butter in soup pot. Dice 1/2 onion and add to the pot. Gently carmelize for about 15-20 minutes covered until onion is sweet and soft. Add the spices (note there is no salt although I did use salted butter), one 15 1/2 oz. can diced potatoes (slightly drained), 1 can of water from potato can, 15 1/2 oz.can cream style corn, can of evaporated milk and about 2 tsp. of the chicken stock paste (I used Better than Bouillon). Gently cook all ingredients for about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Bring to a boil and add the entire piece of cod (uncut). Cover and turn off the heat. Do not open the soup pot until it has cooled. By this time your fish will be cooked perfectly. I made this a day ahead of time and reheated. Give the chowder a stir as you reheat and the cod will just flake apart into nice big chunks.

Thanks for sharing your Fish Chowder Tim and please let me know if I forgot anything!

CHRIS NEWTON

DECEMBER 13, 1961 - MAY 7, 2014

 

Thank you Chris, for bringing such joy to all you touched.

 

www.cookwithcindy.com

 

HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS!

Very humble, but satisfying...

I had so much fun making pasta with my friend Tobi. She has a beautiful and roomy kitchen and we put her Kitchen-Aid mixer to work. The pasta rolling and cutting attachments make pasta making easy. I love my little manual pasta maker that clamps to the edge of the counter, but using the Kitchen-Aid does free up your hands. For fun we decided to see just how far we could stretch a sheet of pasta! I think we're at 4 1/2 feet!

The pasta recipe we used was Mario Batali's very simple 4 extra-large eggs to 3 1/2 cups flour. I did not think the extreme low humidity in Arizona would alter the texture, but it did. I cut the flour to 3 cups, but still should've used 5 eggs instead of 4. The amount of eggs also depends on their size. Not all extra-large eggs are really that extra large! Here's what happened...but first let me back up to the sauce.

Living on the Mexican border (half the year anyway) means lots of fresh produce and this year we were blessed with many cases of  veg, but tomatoes in particular. That  means I made many different kinds of red sauces and had them on the 'ready' in the freezer. The basic red sauce I make can be found in an earlier blog. Go to the Search box, front page top left of my blog and plug in Red Sauce and it should pop up under the recipe for Braciole. In this case because my tomatoes were fresh, I blanched them in boiling salted water, peeled and crushed them in the food processor rather than using canned.

Next I made the meatballs, also ahead of time and instead of beef or pork, made them with chicken--a first for me. Not that I am anti-chicken, but I really think meatballs should contain MEAT...not poultry. I am not a fan of dull meatballs so made these with lots of Italian herbs and garlic. They actually were delicious!

Tobi is overseeing the cooking of the meatballs with appropriate beverage in hand! Brown your meatballs in olive oil. Do not be too concerned about cooking all the way through. I like to finish the cooking of the meatballs in the tomato sauce.

CHICKEN MEATBALLS

Ingredients:
4 big boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks for grinding
1/2 large onion, cut into chunks for grinding
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed, ready for grinding
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. mixed Italian herbs
1 Tbsp. dried basil
1 Tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
Salt/Pepper-do not skimp
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp. red sauce
Flour for rolling balls after formed

Preparation:
Grind the chunks of chicken and all other ingredients up to the Panko bread crumbs thoroughly in a food processor or mini-max. Remove and place in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands blend in the bread crumbs, 2 eggs and 2 Tbsp. red sauce. By using your hands you are able to blend all ingredients thoroughly, but gently.

Overmixing can result in tough balls. Once all ingredients are thoroughly blended it is time to form the balls. I made rather large (2") meatballs which resulted in 20 plump balls in total. Once the meatballs are formed roll them in a little flour. This helps keep them very moist inside and gives them a nice little crust on the outside. Francine taught me that trick. Thanks Francine!

Because I made the meatballs ahead of time, I froze the entire tray of meatballs and then bagged and froze them in smaller portions so they would separate easily while thawing. We only needed 12 meatballs for the big pasta extravaganza.

HOMEMADE PASTA

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups white flour
4 extra-large eggs

Preparation:
Mound the flour in the center of a large bowl or on a cutting board.

Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs. Using a fork start beating the eggs while also incorporating the edges of the flour. Make sure to maintain the shape of the well. Once most of the flour is incorporated (dough will be shaggy and not well formed yet) use your hands to knead the dough pulling in the rest of the flour. Add more flour in 1/2 cup increments if the dough is too sticky--definitely not the case with our pasta. Keep kneading for about 6 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic and let sit on the counter for 20 minutes. Both the kneading and the resting are important to ensure tender pasta. Once the pasta has "rested" you can roll it out and cut into whatever shape you want.

Rolling and cutting can also be done by hand, but it is not easy to get the pasta dough to desired thinness. Our lump of dough was firm and quite dry, but we coaxed it with love to a wonderful tender thinness. Don't worry if there are holes in your pasta as you begin to roll it out. It will come together after several times through the roller. Here's the uncooked pasta all rolled and cut into spaghetti.

This meal was truely an abbondanza starting with a beautiful Anti Pasto which Tobi made and concluding with a delightful fruit compote she made by mulling berries in wine and topping with whipped cream. Perfect ending to a big Italian meal.

Even the dogs enjoyed the spaghetti and meatballs! Here's Andy feeding Scruffy a big bite!

DON'T LET MAKING PASTA SCARE YOU.

EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BIG FANCY MACHINE, GIVE IT A TRY. IT'S FUN AND

TURNS A MEAL INTO A CELEBRATION.

 

CIAO! UNTIL NEXT TIME...

 

PLEASE ALWAYS HAVE FUN WITH  YOUR FOOD!

 

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DUCK--PERFECTLY ROASTED!

Roasting a duck does not have to be daunting. You may remember I attempted to roast a duck last year when we were in Ireland. No recipe. Iffy oven and no experience resulted in not such a good roast duck. Since then, I have done some research and recently roasted a duck perfectly! Slow roasting at a low temperature is the key.

Ingredients:
1 10-12 lb. duck
Salt/Pepper

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Unwrap and remove any 'guts' from the duck cavity. Save these for soup stock. Under cold water, rinse duck inside and out. Pat dry with paper towels. Pluck out any quills--you'll see these especially around the legs. I use tweezers for plucking.

Remove any excess fat or skin. DO NOT throw this away. Duck fat is excellent for frying or flavoring almost anything. It has a high heat-point and gives whatever you are cooking a rich, luscious flavor. To render skin/fat, put it in a saucepan with a little water. Bring to simmer. Cover the pot and gently simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Strain. Jar. Put in your refrigerator for future use. Duck fat keeps in the fridge for several weeks.

With a very sharp knife, score the skin of the duck being careful not to cut into the flesh; slice just into the skin and layer of fat right under the skin. Make diagonal slashes holding the blade of the knife at an angle, creating a diamond pattern. This helps release the fat while the duck is roasting.

You may want to stuff some aromatics into the duck cavity, such as garlic, sliced onion, apple or orange. I used sliced Gala apple and a couple cloves of garlic.

Truss the legs of the duck just as you would for roasting a chicken using butchers twine. Tuck the wing tips under the duck so they don't burn while roasting.

Salt/pepper the duck liberally inside and out. Use your hands to rub the seasoning inside and out. Place the duck on a rack in a roasting pan. Put in the preheated oven, breast-side up for 1 hour.

After the first hour, take your duck out of the oven. The skin will still be pale. Using a sharp knife, prick the skin all over, especially around the legs which are more fatty.  When pierced, the skin should release some fabulous duck fat. Flip the bird over, so it's breast-side down. Put it back in the oven. Roast for another hour at 300 degrees bottom side up.

Take it out after the second hour of roasting and repeat previous step piercing the skin all over. Flip the duck and roast for a third hour at 300 degrees breast-side up again.

Repeat one more time (for a total of 4 hours); prick and flip so duck is once again breast-side down.

FINAL STEP: Take your duck out. Prick and flip (now breast-side up). Turn oven up to 400 degrees. Put bird back in for 10 more minutes to finalize the searing. Make a glaze while the duck skin is searing . I made a traditional orange sauce.

ORANGE MARMELADE SAUCE:
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp orange marmelade
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 cup (or more) water
1/2 tsp. Coleman's mustard

Heat, stirring until well blended. Add more water if the consistency is too thick.

Take the duck out and using a bulb baster very carefully remove as much duck fat as possible from the roasting pan. Add this to the skin/fat you rendered earlier. Brush the duck with glaze. Pop back in for a final 5 minutes. Remove the duck from the oven and take out of the roasting pan. Tent with foil and let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

4 hours+ sounds like a lot of cooking time, but this duck was tender, moist and really yummy! I served it with twice-baked sweet potatoes with bacon-sesame brittle (recipe coming soon) and pan roasted cauliflower with garlic and ginger.

PAN ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

WITH GARLIC AND GINGER

I often roast vegetables in the oven at high heat (400 degrees), but this time tried roasting on top of the stove in a big skillet.

Ingredients:
1/2 head cauliflower, slice the flowerettes
1 Tbsp. lemon oil (or regular olive oil)
2 Tbsp. butter
2 large cloves garlic, smashed and diced
1" fresh ginger root, peeled and diced finely
1 tsp. Victoria Taylor Ginger Citrus seasoning (or 1 tsp. powdered ginger)

Preparation:
Heat oil and butter in a large skillet. Put all other ingredients into the pan and roast, stirring frequently, at high heat for about 15 minutes or until cauliflower is just tender.



I hope you will try roasting your own duck soon. Domesticated duck is quite mild compared to wild duck and it makes an impressive presentation.

 

UNTIL NEXT TIME...HAPPY COOKING!

 

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