PS to the Rai recipes...

P. S.

I don't know why my spacings changed and I couldn't fix them in the recipes from La Rai. It looks like I never learned what a paragraph is or how to indent...Sister Mary Agnes, Sister Salvia, Sister Mary de Lourdes, Sister Margaret Mary, and all the good nuns of Notre Dame Academy in Staten Island must be rolling over in their graves!

Farfalle, peas and mozzarella salad

Robbed from La Rai-TV this morning, September 16th!

This morning I "stole," but changed to suit La Nina’s style of cookery, two lovely recipes from La Rai—our Italian TV station that comes to us via satellite—Heaven forbid we miss una partitia di calcio! (a game of soccer), or the program Porta a Porta.

Recipe #1
Insalata di Farfalle (salad of bows in English, but the literal translation is "butterflies")

Ingredients:

1 lb of faralle (bows) sometimes you can find them tri-colored—use these if you have them because the color lends itself to a more appetizing look
1 lb of mozzarella
1 cup or more halved or quatered tomatoes
1 lb of cooked frozen peas
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 to 1 cup of basil
salt, pepper, garlic powder

Cook 1 lb of farfalle in salted water, drain tight and add 4-5 tablespoons oil beaten with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Add 1 cup to overflowing of cut up small tomatoes—Roma, or grape or anything you like
or have handy

Add 1 lb of fat diced mozzarella di buffalo (if you don’t have this—at least fresh
mozzarella.

Add the cooked, drained frozen peas

Mix well and add chopped basil—as much as you like.

Taste, if you must, and adjust for seasoning…this last part, I never do. I’ve never tasted
anything I prepare…a habit from when I was a kid, I guess. neither did my Nonna.

Mix well and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Serve at room temperature or cold from the fridge if you live in Florida.

Recipe # 2
Tortellone repieni di verdure
Tortellone filled with vegetables

For the tortellone:

3/4 lb of flour
take a handful out to save for rolling out.
make a well
add 3 hefty teaspoons of tomato paste
beat in 4 eggs with a fork as you pull in the flour around the well
set aside

Cook 2 large potatoes in their skins: cool, peel and mash

Cook 1 lb of Swiss chard mixed with rughetta (arugula) in boiling water

Remove greens when still very green and a little undercooked, drain and
chop fine

Add mashed potato, 1 beaten egg, salt, garlic powder, black pepper and
a fistful of grated Parmigiano. (Never stint.)

Roll out the dough into one huge circle. Cut into wide, long strips of about 3 inches
and re-cut to finish pattern of big squares

Add 1 chunky teaspoon or 1 skinny tablespoon of the filling mix into each square

Then form a triangle, pressing around so the filling doesn’t eke out. In the back, secure
edges—one inside the other if possible, or squeezed tightly together. Make sure
there is space between the fat part of the tortellone and the closure at back so the
water flows though when you boil it. Basically the finished product should look
like a tri-cornered hat worn during the War of Independence. Got it?

Boil in abundant water, lightly salted, then drain and put approximately 4-5 on each plate

While the pasta is cooking, melt ¼ to ½ pound of butter—watch out it doesn’t burn!
Drizzle some melted butter onto each tortellone, and bless the plate with a hearty helping of grated Parmigiano and a leaf or two of sage. Serve immediately.

On your table you should have a pepper mill for those who wish to add coarse ground pepper, and a dish of grated cheese for those who like to overindulge in sheer goodness.

You can also substitute this recipe with spinach, but the rughetta gives it a bit of a bite, especially if its harvested wild. So if you don't have that, try mixing the spinach with fresh mint

Grazie mille, Rai-TV

Pepperoni pesto sauce (with cream)

Sept. 15
Pepperoni pesto sauce (with cream)

This is a La Nina special, invented because I love peppers and I love heavy cream! and one summer day about 17 years ago, I bought about 10 lbs of peppers on sale at a little local market. I roasted some, I fired some and I had 4 leftover!

Forgive me if this is a repeat recipe, but I went back through the older posts and couldn't find it. I made this dish last night and probably changed it anyway...so here goes the latest, last night's version of pepperoni pesto with cream sauce will go with any short pasta. I like to use penne, shells, farfalle…but any one will do. This recipe serves 6.

4 large red peppers minced
1 large onion minced
2 cloves of garlic minced
salt and hot pepper to taste

Cook the above on a medium/hot flame in 3 tablespoons of oil and 1/4 lb of butter. The "water" (liquid) will kick out. When the peppers, onions and garlic mixture is dry, add a glass of white wine. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio marry well with this dish.

Cook on high flame till the alcohol burns out. Add 1/2 quart of heavy whipping cream (this is not a dietetic as you can see) Stir until it thickens.

Fling in the cooked pasta and add 3 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano—not more, it is simply to amalgamate the whole dish, not to kill the taste! If no hot pepper was added, serve with coarse ground black pepper.

This is a lovely, but rich dish. For 6 people use about 1 ½ lbs of pasta. Don't drain the pasta tight. Reserve a 1/2 cup of the pasta water, just in case it’s too thick, or to add to some that’s left over to save in the fridge for a day or two later. Heats up great in the microwave—covered. About 2 & 1/2 minutes!

Serve with either a lovely spinach, mixed green or Boston or butter leaf lettuce salad.
Go easy on the condiments e buon appetito!

Answer to Auntiemwrites' question

On 9/11/08, auntiemwrites wrote:
auntiemwrites has left a new comment on your post "Home from the road trip WEST":

Sounds like you crammed a ton into your time~what was your favorite meal?

Lucky 7 Steak House in Cheyenne, WY makes a huge (16 oz), perfectly cooked (medium-rare) and well-presented prime rib with au jus and a side of horseradish...I ordered a side of grilled onions besides, a baked potato with sour cream and chives. This dinner came with a cup of soup, dinner rolls, a mixed salad (I chose a delicious, creamy blue cheese dressing) and rice pudding for dessert--all for $17 and change...you can't beat that anywhere.

Felipe selected a luscious Cabernet Sauvignon. Wine not included in price...cela va sans dire. I only ate the broth of the soup, a few bites of the potato and didn't smother the salad with the dressing, but rather kept it on the side and dunked my fork in it! Left almost all the center of the cut--because I love the tail best...who doesn't? the rest FR ate and cut up all the leftovers into bit size pieces for Cyrus, our friends' dog.

Home from the road trip WEST

Sept. 11th.
The commemoration day of the terrible loss of lives in the Twin Towers.

Home from our wanderings WEST!

We just got home last night from a road trip out west, which was truly incredible. We were on the road 9 days. We toured the Yellowstone National Forest, the Tetons, the Shoshone National Park with breathtaking views, and took the Beartooth Highway through WY to Red Lodge, Montana--also did the Chief Joseph Highway. All gorgeous and scenic with the added beauty of snow on top of Shoshone, which made it hazardous and difficult for our driver, Felipe to see, so the next day when it was sunny and clear, we took a two hour detour to drive through it again! What beautiful country we have!!! and thank God some of it was saved as a national treasure for all to see.

We visited Cody, WY, and the Buffalo Bill Historic Center which houses 5 museums--we saw all of them! Buffalo Bill and the Plains Indians were the two I enjoyed the most.

Also saw Devil's Tower--a natural phenomenon, which was in the movie, Close Encounters of a Thrid Kind. We stayed in Keystone, WY, and allows me to saw that South Dakota's Black hills are nothing short of stupendous. There we took in Mt. Rushmore, a magnificent feat. We went back in the evening and the Big Dipper shone brightly straight above. It was a highly emotional and beautiful lighting ceremony. The Vets in the audience were invited to go up on stage afterwards to take down the flag and each of them gave their name and where they had been stationed or seen action on foreign soil.

The next day we saw the Crazy Horse Memorial in Custer State Park--still in construction which will be larger than Mt. Rushmore--they aren't taking any money from Washington. The government took Indian lands and broke all promises but one: the promise to take their lands, offered 10 million dollars years ago when the project got underway in 1948. Now I wonder why they refused??? Still nowhere near completion, but it will be larger than Mt. Rushmore, with Crazy Horse pointing to his lands, "where my people are buried." Most impressive.

Stopped in Cheyenne just overnight so we have to go back and sight-see and also missed Ft. Laramie. But in a week's time, we sure saw and did a lot.

Took a kazillion photographs, but still don't know how to put them on the computer...

Will write more about the trip in days to come with a mention of the foods we ate as well! and before we head to Florida for FR and Nico's birthdays, and dear friend Rita's 80th!!! all at the beginning of October.

Katie & Nico's Engagement

Katie & Nico

Picture taken in Rome, April, 2008

August 27th

A Short History of Our Whirlwind Louisville, KY Weekend…

When I read the schedule that Katie made for us, I said that not even Princess Diana, bless her, had she still been living, could have fulfilled this program…but somehow we did and it was truly delightful. Thank you, Katie!

Almost the first thing we did upon being picked up at the airport on Friday, August 22nd, was to visit Churchill Downs (spectacular) where FR and Nico reserved the Aristides Room for the rehearsal dinner day and evening (next May 22nd) It’ll be complete with races, betting, food and drinks for 50 people!!! This is the room next to the one visited by Queen Elizabeth, who, we were told, never smiled or waved to the greeting crowd. We, unlike the Queen, are really going to party! Forget just about the wedding day—this is going to be a wedding weekend! Maybe even a week!

The young couple gave us a whirlwind tour of Louisville and we saw some beautiful parks and old mansions, and then were ushered to see Garden Court, the beautiful Louisville Seminary, where the bridal reception will be held. Gorgeous grounds! Several of us “out-of-towners” who will be attending the festivities will be staying in a hotel on the reception grounds.

Our first evening in Louisville, Felipe took us out to dinner at Avalon, a lovely upscale restaurant in Bardstown—a neat area with interesting little shops and restaurants. The dinner party included the parents of the groom, the groom-to-be, his fiancée and her mother, and also Elizabeth, Katie’s sister from North Carolina and her friend, Lauren. It was a most enjoyable evening—nothing like hanging around young people with good food and drinks.

Everything went super nicely over the Louisville, KY Engagement weekend, thanks to Katie and her mother, Lera, a sweet, fun, and lively gal. (I had met her only once before and felt most welcomed). The engagement party, held in the garden of Katie’s childhood home on Daisy Lane, went off without a hitch. Lera’s wedding dress and veil were on a mannequin, making the festive occasion quite special. We met many of their relatives and friends and Katie’s 91 year old Nanny. Everyone had a lovely time.

The menu consisted of: fried sesame chicken wings, two kinds of potato salad: one of them was a German potato salad made by Nanny, baked beans, devilled eggs, baked ham tea sandwiches, a cucumber and sour cream dish, zucchini-chocolate chip tiny muffins, and a chocolate cake. There were several types of beer, Pinot Grigio wine, and a Bourbon cocktail that Nico made with pineapple juice that could knock you out of your socks and to the moon, which his mother didn’t taste because FR did.

Everyone that saw Katie open her gift from us liked it. Most especially the bride-to-be said she loved our present, and Nico thanked us for our presence. Gotta love that boy Katie’s engaged to—he has manners—and everyone in KY seems to be crazy about him—they couldn’t ALL have lied to us. So we didn’t do such a bad job after all! Katie was the belle of the ball, and Lera, a most charming hostess.

Saturday, the day of the engagement party, Katie took us to Lera’s friends spread: Debbie Foley’s Silver Brook Stable—a beautiful horse farm—where we saw some new-born colts, and some outrageously beautiful horses with names to match. Debbie and Lera have been friends since grade school. After the party we went to the KY Fair to watch Debbie come in 3rd riding Callaway’s Karla, Joann Griffin’s horse, in the 5 Gaiter Class at the World Championship Horse Show. We met Joann and her husband Joe after the race to congratulate them.

The KY FAIR Horse Show was wonderful—even more than we bargained for because Katie's brother Jack McCray is the assistant trainer to the winning horse, Breaking News, in that class. So it was an exciting evening. Katie always gives away a trophy at the show in honor of her great-grandfather, but this year she gave that honor to her visiting sister Elizabeth from NC give it away. Very admirable thing to do.

Sunday morning eleven of us guests had breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and then most got on their way. Felipe, Nico, Katie, and I toured downtown and went to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. It was neat seeing the presidents who had signed baseballs.

Then while FR and Nico had a drink at Ramsi’s Café on the World, Katie and I ducked into Carmichael’s Bookstore and a neat used book store called, All Booked Up, where I found two leather-bound treasures signed by Gail Godwin—perfect condition and unread. We joined the boys for more drinks and “Madame Toussand’s Empanada” appetizer, which is filled to overflowing with London Broil, Kentucky Kenny’s sharp cheese, portabella mushrooms and onions, baked inside a homemade ajean bread and drizzled with garlic-infused olive oil! Indeed, we did. Then it was off to pick up Aline (AKA Nanny) and dinner at Lera’s for barbeque pork, green beans, coleslaw, potato salad, and leftover cake!

The “begaged ones” took off at 5 am on Monday, but Felipe and I spent the day with Lera shopping. We had lunch at this cute, funky restaurant that was on the Food Channel, called Lynn's Paradise Cafe. Great Bloody Mary's! We ate spinach salads—mine with Gorgonzola, tomatoes, bacon, and hard cooked eggs—the others had the same by with Gouda and toasted pecans—all had the poppy seed vinaigrette. Yummy!

Here are some of the shops we visited: Mission Jewelry (Fine Art), Crazy Daisy (Antique Mall), Caffeine Gallery, (Karen Hartsough, the artist gave Katie and Nico a beautiful frame she created), Celia’s, The Hadley Pottery Co., (Yes! Felipe bought me two beautiful plates! The Red Tree, and numerous others.

Lera dropped us at the airport around 4 pm, so for now, Arriverdeci, Louisville till next springtime and the nuptials.

Broccoli & Cheese Quiche

Aug. 19th

So here’s the recipe for two broccoli quiche "pies." I make two, so I can freeze one or give it a friend. In the olden times, I would make the crust—if you absolutely must have it, write to me and I’ll post it…

In the meantime, those other smarty pants among us will use Marie Callender’s deep dish frozen pie crusts—just make sure you prick the bottoms!

Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 cups milk or a combination of milk and cream or 1/2 and 1/2 so okay,
take a guess at what I use??? Right on! 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of cream…and make
mine heavy, darling!
1/4to 1/2 lb bacon, cut small (with this, I’m rather conservative…closer to ¼)
1 small sweet onion chopped
2 cups of fresh broccoli florets wilted (7 min. cooked in microwave)
1 cup of grated parmigiano
1 cup of grated or shaved Emmantel—that is Swiss cheese
1/2 cup of sliced, grated, or shaved sharp cheddar
Salt if you must, black coarse pepper a definite, and garlic powder
Beat together the cooled, already scalded milk/cream concoction.
Add the eggs and beat some more. Then add all the cheeses and seasonings

For those of you who live east of the Mississippi:

Beat 2 cups of cream—or a combination of cream and milk or half and half…what
I do is scald the milky/cream stuff first…then cool.

Cook the bacon and onions together till they almost crisp and spread on the bottom of the crusts.

Next pour in the cut up ½ cooked broccoli florets. Sprinkle with more seasonings, like paprika and red pepper, if desired.

The oven should be heating to 375 degrees, then reduce heat and pop the two quiche in the oven and bake them for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees and test with a dry knife—when you stick it in the center—it should come out dry…if moist, leave it in a little longer.

For those of you poor dears living in the mountains, here’s what I did—heat the oven to 375 and then pop the quiche in and let cook for 1 & ½ hrs , then reduce heat to 350 for 30 minutes and when a knife is placed in and comes out fairly dry—these beauties are done


For the salad:
A day or two beforehand of the dinner party, roast on a high flame a cup of walnuts and sprinkle with sugar and honey. Cook, continually stirring. Turn off the heat and toss the nuts out onto a dish covered with aluminum foil…until they cool—separate the ones that are stuck!

With the nuts you can add: dried cherries or cranberries and I love to add chucks of creamy Gorgonzola. I used my cherries—thanks to Marni, I now know they're called Mt. Ranier--and they are drunk as skunks in Grappa!