Category Archives: Recipe? What Recipe?

Because you asked.. this is where I try to recreate some of my memorable dishes.

Another “Salon” dinner saturday night with the perfect “Cowboy” Lasagna. 

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This was a dinner shot during the last visit

A gathering of the tribe last night for a “salon” dinner. A night focused on food, talk and stories. For this month, my old friend Josh and his husband Brent were in town, taking advantage of “retiree” time and visiting the Bay Area. Now Josh and I have been friends, “sisters”, co-facilitators, both ran focus groups and volunteers for local programs for many years and all around were “those two are trouble together” for over 24 years.

Instead of a dinner out like in the past (the last visit we took them to Old Skool for a great meal),  I suggested we eat here and invite some other friends we’ve known for years and just kick back old school style.

For the menu I wanted easy, solid and fun. Years ago Josh and I manned a mens social group called the Social Exchange Network as a way to gather men to get out of the city to camp, eat, remember, heal. This was during a time of great pain and change for us, when so many of our friends were dying or sick with AIDS. So the socials and SEN were an opportunity to “stop the madness” for a few days. We did everything from camping trips to Disney World to house parties.

Often for the weekend SEN events, I tended to do all the cooking (except for the junk food table which often held every sweet treat, salty, sugary snack that we ould pre-buy that would sit on a table for the whole weekend for those late-night munchies) while Josh would serve as the front man-cruise director for the social stuff. On those trips when an oven was available – our first night menu was frozen lasagna dinners with a green salad and garlic bread. As it was easiest meal to get prepared on the day of travel as people rolled in.

With this in mind, I thought it would be fun to recreate a home version, but that wasn’t the old school all day sauce version that I normally would make , which I know he loves. So Trisha Yearwood’s  “Cowboy Lasagna” recipe came to mind.  I originally tried the recipe back in a few months ago  (that post is here) after seeing it on her cooking show to a great success. I recall saying that the mean-sauce was like “crack”, “one spoonful and you couldn’t stop tasting it”. To start the night I re-used another favorite starter; my adapted version of  Roasted Carrot Hummus that I have mentioned back in my February post

When all was said and done –  it was a win for sure.  Two of our other friends Russel (Russell has know Josh almost as long) and David,  brought a fresh baked apple pie (crust and all) incredibly infused with rosemary. Which paired perfectly to the lasagna meal.

What to make for dinner with nothing?

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Ok so last week we both too beat to decide on what to eat and go out.. Which meant it was time for our own version of #Chopped@Home and for me to come up with something to eat.

I had remembered a @LidiaBastianich (one of my fav italian professional food folks) and how she had married some of the same things and always says that its not about the recipe as much as what you have.  So after a fast forage in my cabinets and refrigerator – I ended up with:

Baked Ham that I had from a few weeks back when I tried my first full baked ham myself which I had luckily frozen the leftover meat and bones seperately, fresh snap peas, cherry tomatoes, mine orange peppers, and a box of pasta, olive oil, butter and lemons.

So well – when all was said and done – I got a pretty easy and nice hearty meal out of it.

 

Mother’s Day Alternative Tea

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Since we didn’t travel to see your own moms, and we weren’t really up for doing a full out dinner we decided to host an alternative Mother’s Day tea today.

We asked everybody to bring something; Just choose either savory or sweet.  We then mixed it up some with a different friends and small crowd to encourage different networking and socializing.

Overall a big success.


At first I dug out the mixed matched and “tag sale find” collection of tea cups and saucers and plates..

And the  always handy multi tiered dessert plate stands


Getting the layout on the tables is always important.

 

And then the menu:

Traditional tea sandwhiches with hearts!

Pinwheels with two kinds of cheese and ham, as well as pimento cheese sandwhiches

Gluten free carrot cake muffins, jicama mango salad and picked shrimp

 

Stuffed peppers and devilishly good peanut butter chocolate and marshmallow cookie.

A Little Home Version “British Bake Off” Night with a Cherry Chocolate bread

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A good thing I learned metric; after we watched the Great British Bake Off Masterclass episode (season 1, part 4)  the other night, they got me at the “Cherry Chocolate bread“. As it merges two of my two favorites flavors, I looked up the Paul Hollywood recipe to see if I could recreate it. After 2 proofs, one braid and a bake.. it’s was done! Now all we have to do is taste.

After 2 hours; the cooling had commenced –

Yea. Like we were really going to wait till breakfast. Put the kettle on and get the good butter.  Im already thinking how good this will toast or end up as french toast or bread pudding!

So in the end; how did it compare?

The picture of his:   and mine: .

I think my crust was darker – but I also don’t have it well lit. In the end – no complaints.  For the full recipe visit: http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/pauls-chocolate-cherry-loaf/

But in the mean time; we can nibbled on some “Chestnut & Golden Raisin Biscotti” (I was out of dried cranberries).

 


 

The Italian Easter Ham Pie aka Pizzagaina has now risen

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One of the things I have been trying to do is run through some of my Mom’s old recipes in her club’s cookbooks that I haven’t ever made before. This year on request from the house; I was asked to attempt the Ham Pie in case my mom’s didn’t come. The traditional Easter ham pie is something of a must have in our house growing up and was left to me to chop for many years. It goes by several names aka “Pizza gaina” (or pizza ghan, puzza rustica, pizza china) and seems that the variations on the name is as abundant as the variations on the dough type; from crisp, flaky, savory pie to doughy pizza style. and yes I am sharing: for the full recipe see here

The Shopping

The shopping for this dish always proves to be expensive, but well worth it. Luckily many of the same meats and cheeses can be purchased at some of your better grocery stores if you don’t have a traditional Italian market. But plan ahead  – and don’t skimp on the eggs. Its often cheaper to buy the flat of eggs than a dozen or 18 count.

I opted to do most of my shopping at a small italian place in the Mission district of San Francisco, as it is closer to me than trekking to North Beach.  Lucca Ravioli Co has been around for almost century – and still holds a lot of that old world charm – just with a lot more younger faces. Lucca’s is a classic. Small and cramped with inventory that some people may never have seen in its “non ready to eat” form – it is  home to a wide assortment of imports and local artisan version of italian classics. (Hint: the Panettone just came in!)

Lucca Ravioli Co. www.luccaravioli.com  

1100 Valencia St. (Corner 22nd St.) call (415) 647-5581

Step 1 – The Crust
Yes – everyone who knows this dish has a version they favor. Mine, growing up was a crisp, hard peppery version that flakes but wasn’t sweet. So that was the one I was going for.
Several recipes mention you can easily make this in your mixer; but I found that I preferred the old school method of mixing it by hand in a wide, large bowl (if I had better counter space I would have done it directly on the counter). It doesn’t take long to mix actually, but does need time to chill from 30 min to overnight.
This batch yielded dough for 1 – 9″ spring form pan (with strips for latticework) and a back up batches for several smaller ones in foil pans cake pans (3)  for comparison.
Step 2 – Cutting the meat and cheese
This takes time! Be prepared. I tend to like smaller cubes, but even I get tired after a while. Cube up all the meats and cheese, mix them in a sealable container. I recommend you do this the day before and just have it ready.
Hint: Ask the counter person if they will slice them in 1/4 to 1/2 in slices, it will actually make your cutting feel like less as you can make plank cuts then the cross cut to form the cubes. 

Step 3 – And now the make; 

Once the dough is chilled – it is really mostly about putting it all together in order and baking. I thing of it as making a “quiche on steroids”.

  • Cut Meats & Cheese  ✅
  • Prepare your dry ingredients  ✅
  • Make dough and chill dough  ✅
  • Crack and whisk the eggs  ✅
  • Add meat & cheese to layed out dough ✅
  • Cover with egg mixture ✅
  • Do some fancy stuff on top ✅
  • A little sprinkle of grated cheese ✅
  • Baked till solid and toothpick comes out clean ✅
  • Let sit in the pans till cool, then remove and finish cooling on a rack

Hint: Give it a little foil “condom” in case the springform pan leaks

And the bake

Depending on the stove you use; they will back for anywhere for 52 – 90 min. Some recipes use a start high, reduce heat to 325 degree method, while others use a standard 350 degrees temp.

When they are fully cooled – you can wrap them in plastic wrap and  then in foil to freeze (they do that great), eat or leave in refrigerator and serve cold or room temp the next day. Mostly personal choice.

As luck would have it – my larger one was underbred and had a wet center – but you can slice them and toss them on a cookie sheet to back further – they won’t be as impressive but will taste the same.

Another fun fact- as a test I also made one in a loaf pan and it came out great. So don’t be afraid to play with the shapes of the pans.

Post Easter update: 

The full recipe for that amount meat will probably make 8 to 9 pies using a standard 8″ or 9″ cake pan. This will vary based on amount of eggs and the thickness of crust. 


Below are a few other recipes I found 

Clara Corrado’s Ham Pie (this is the one closet to my Mom’s version of the dough )

Pizza Gain Aka Pizzagaina, Pizza Rustica, Italian Easter Ham Pie

Easter Pie – A Family Feast

Another Easter Classic: Pizza Gaina

For the full recipe see here

Swedish Book Club Day

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Since several asked about the Swedish themed recipes last week to go along with our Bookclub title of the month, A Man Called Ove

I’m sharing them here.

 

Midsummer Swedish Strawberry Compote – Jordgubbskrm Recipe – via Food.com

I didn’t make any changes to this recipe initially, but I did add fresh lemon and lime zest after I took it off the stove and while it cooled.

Note: Don’t second guess it and overcook it. It really does only take until the soft boil. 

Swedish Saffron Cake – curtesy of La Cigale

I made this as is but used the wrong pan. But the flavor rocked and Was perfect to be topped with the strawberry compote.

Note: this recipe is easy enough that it’s perfect for low tech cooking for those without a mixer.

Holiday Saffron Cake Recipe | MyRecipes.com

This was the “backup recipe” and was equally as good. More dense, this was the one that begged for a cup of coffee or tea to go with.

Tuna Past’ n Beans (or Pasta e fagioli w/ Tuna)

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Tuna Past’ n Beans (or Pasta e fagioli w/ Tuna)

This is an adapted recipe that I grew up with which can be made with diced pepperoni (or left over chicken or steak) or on the “no meat days – tuna fish! Yes I said plain, old fashioned cans of tuna. I usually use Bumble bee brand for mine, but use your favorite brand.
It was a common dish for us on Fridays or when cash was a little low. A key feature is that is is relatively easy to whip up after work, keeps well and most of us keep these as staples in the house, and you can make it thicker or thinner depending on your tastes (or how far you need to stretch that dime!)

While this isn’t the traditional version your will find for Pasta e Fagipoli its what I grew up with.

Just a note here;  This is one of those recipes that when I tried asking for from my Mom, her response was “I do not have amounts of ingredients to these receipes because I cook from taste and how it feels and looks.” so this is my take on the “make it till it tastes right to you” style of cooking.

 

Tuna Past' n Beans (or Pasta e fagioli w/ Tuna)

This is casual recipe that I grew up with which can be made with meat or tunafish. It was a common dish for us on Fridays or when cash was a little low. A key feature is that is is relatively easy to whip up after work, keeps well and most of us keep these as staples in the house.

Its flexible! You can make it thicker or thinner depending on your tastes (or how far you need to stretch that dime!) . While this adaption isn’t the traditional version your will find for Pasta e Fagipoli it’s what I grew up with. 

Just a note here; This is one of those recipes that when I tried asking for from my Mom, her response was “I do not have amounts of ingredients to these receipes because I cook from taste and how it feels and looks.” so this is my take on the “make it till it tastes right to you” style of cooking.

  • 2 – 28 oz cans of crashed tomatoes (I tend to use Hunts brand for this, you can also use a canned or jarred sauce – this process amps up the flavor,)
  • 1-2 14.5 oz cans of fire roasted tomatoes ((optional))
  • 2- 16 oz cans of Garbanzo Beans (drained and rinsed.)
  • 1 – 6 oz can of tomato paste
  • 1 lb Pasta noodles (usually I go with a penne or elbow but to be honest what ever you have at home will work fine)
  • 1 tsp chopped garlic
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp Olive Oil
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley (or dried)
  • 2- 12 oz cans of Tuna in water (I usually use american style tuna in water for this dish BUT if you can get italian style canned tuna in oil and use the flavored oil instead of olive oil, drained)
  1. In a medium size pot, add the oil, add small pieces of garlic and turn up to medium heat and cook a few minutes. (don’t burn the garlic – you want it soften)

  2. Add in the red pepper flakes, and any optional chopped veggies here to soften (But try to chop them to be the same size as the garbanzo beans). ** if you are making the meat version – this is where I would say add some chopped pepperoni, or left over chicken or steak.

  3. Add the can of paste (but if you know you will use at least half later in the week, half is fine too)

  4. Stir and cook into the veggies mix for 3-4 minutes

  5. Pour in the chopped tomatoes (optional), then the crushed tomatoes  (or sauce). Add the dried parsley here if using it and simmer for 10 min

  6. Add 1 can of the drained Tuna, gently stir to incorporate the mixture.

  7. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can also add in any addtional italian seasoning and fresh parsley.

  8. Note – this may look like a lot of sauce but the beans will absorb some of the liquid, so better to have more than less.

  9. Add the 2 can of cannoling beans (now here my Mom and I disagree – she says to add with juice and I tend to rinse mine instead)

  10. Stir well and cook on low about 25 min.

  11. After 25 min, add the second can of drained Tuna gently. (I add them separate to keep some larger shreds of the tuna – but you add them both at the same time too earlier on)

  12. Stir once and cook on low another 5 min.
  13. Put on a pot of water to boil

  14. At the boil, add salt to the water and cook the pasta in according to directions. You want it cooked but firm. Note: I will undercook the pasta a few minutes because it will continue to cook in the sauce.

  15. Keep some of the water from the pasta back before you drain the pasta boil in case you need it to thin the sauce (about a cup should do it) or just use a slotted spoon or spider whisk and remove pasta and place right into the sauce pan.

  16. Stir together and taste. Adjust any seasoning to taste

  17. Turn off the heat, and its ready to serve. You can keep this warm in a slow cooker.

  18. Thicken or Thin the mixture according to taste – if you want this more of a soup, thin it out with the pasta water. Thicker and it will be a more hearty stew.

Optional Add-ins include:

  • Chopped onions, carrots, roasted peppers etc.
  • Other herbs that you like with fish can also be used such as fennel or dill, speaking of, you can use any canned fish or shelled shellfish in the dish as well.

Note: You can also cook the pasta a few days earlier, cool and store in a large storage bag and just add it direct to the sauce heated mixture when needed.

Note: I didn’t grow up with cheese in seafood based red sauces – so I only add grated cheese when I make this with meat. But you can do as you please, just don’t add the grated cheese until it’s off the heat.

This dish reheats great in a microwave.
 

 

 

Thursday Night; clean the fridge out dinner… Baby “Chicken” Parma (aka Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce)

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So last night was once of those nights, that I get every so often. I know I want to eat at home since we were planning to go out the next night. But also wanted to use up what I had in the fridge.

So after an assessment;

  • I had lots ( and I mean lots) of eggs
  • Left over assorted cheeses and spiced meats from  Saturday night’s cheese plate
  • A few jars of good quality crushed tomatoes.

All that prompted me to remember a dish from the past, where you essentially “poach” eggs in tomato sauce and cheese in the oven.

So my dinner menu was hatched.

For the full recipe visit;

 

Baby "Chicken" Parma (aka Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce)

A quick and simple makes egg, sauce and cheese dish for a simple supper with a side salad or bread. 

  • 8 eggs
  • 2 small jars of crushed tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 -1 1/2 cups chopped assorted cheeses
  • 1/2 cup grated parmagianno cheese
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1-2 teaspoons Parsley (I used dried, but fresh would-be great too.)
  1. Heat the stove to 350.

  2. Chop up the cheeses and meats, set aside.

  3. Mince garlic.

  4. In an oven proof skillet, add 1/2 teaspoon of oil, toss in minced garlic and sliced meats, saute’ over medium until the meat begins to render some fat and get curled.

  5. Add the tomatoes, black pepper, and parsley to taste.

  6. Simmer on medium for 15 – 20 min. Taste for seasoning.(Salt, pepper etc)

  7. Turn off the burner

  8. Crack the eggs into the sauce – gently in. circular pattern with one in the center.

  9. Then surround and cover with the cheeses

  10. Place in the oven for 20 – 25 min on the upper middle rack until the cheese is bubbly.

 You want the eggs to be cooked but yolks still runny. Sprinkle some more grated cheese on it, toast up some bread and ladle it on.

Another Bookclub Saturday; The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel with a side of Meat Pie!

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Another Bookclub Saturday, the book that was chosen was supposed be to be an “action” theme – so we selected  The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel. I can’t say its the best read. But the historical information was interesting. The constant list of “who’s who” got tiring  after the first chapter, yet the discussion bid yield some interesting insight on the book.

That aside – it provided a great day for a food theme. I opted to bring an Isreali Meat Pie recipe I found on the NYT Cooking site. Which is in itself an adaption.

For my version, I omitted the dill (a few folks around here don’t like it) and added more cinnamon but thats to taste I think.  This version was super simple and can be prepped the night before or over the course of an afternoon. Depending on your time. My edits to this variation are in red. Now having made and eaten it – it was a win – great taste, simple and clean flavor. I definitely could serve as a base for adapting; by adding ginger, garlic, cheese etc. It traveled well – but seems to taste best while still warm and crisp.

According to NYT’s Melissa Clark ; this was featured in: In ‘Zahav,’ Michael Solomonov Explores Israeli Food.

Full Recipe Here

Continue reading →

Some old-school “Coddled” eggs for Sunday

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Last week, the conversation came up about eggs. Now I happen to live with someone who is a be “egg-ceptional” when it comes to those protein bombs of goodness. He can eat them at ant time of the day. breakfast or dinner. But on Sundays, I generally make them for breakfast, but even for me – I can only make so many frittata’s, omelettes and scrambles before I am over it. During a dinner parted the topic of “coddled” eggs came up and at the same time I happen to see a few recipes for these simple “steamed” style eggs on tv.

So today I thought I would give them a try. Essentially preparing coddled eggs is just a fancy way describe gently or lightly cooked eggs. In the past – they even had a bunch of really lovely glassware called “coddlers” to use to cook and serve them in. Some ways of preparing them include cooking them in the eggs shells themselves, or cooking & serving them in the coddlers or ramekins or  the coddlers serving as a cooking mold and they are up-ended out onto the plate. Chefs and cooking host from Martha Stewart to Jacque Pepin have plenty of recipes for them. In fact it was the Heart & Soul recipe series from Pepin that prompted this breakfast. You can find a bunch of those versions here. Cooking them doesn’t need any fancy equipment; you can use regular style 4 or 6 ounce shuffle ramekins or the ones I tend to use; the 6 ounce pyrex custard cups. You can even find specialty ramekins or “coddlers” as they are known at antique stores or Amazon.

After reviewing several recipes; I decided to try two ways.

The first was a straight forward, no frills version topped with simple sea salt and pepper with toast.

The second was an parsley version layered over warm roast beef slices and cheese.

Over all they were simple to make, once you get the timing down.

Simple & Straight Forward Coddled Eggs

This simple steamed egg dish is a perfect, quick and easy way to make eggs. This is to prepare two eggs. But keep in mind if you use smaller eggs; double up!

  • 2 XL Eggs (Room temp, the fresher the better. I tend to suggest XL or Jumbo lied. But Large will work too.)
  • Salt & Pepper (To taste)
  • 2 tbsp Chopped Parsley or other herb (optional; to coat the sides of the ramekin)
  • 2 4 – 6 ounce Ramekins or Coddlers
  • 2 tbsp Cheese, sauces or heated veggies etc for toppings
  1. Remove the eggs and allow to come to room temperature

  2. In a skillet or other pan that has a snug fitting lid, bring enough water to soft boil. The water should come up half way up the sides of the ramekins

  3. While waiting for the water to heat, prepare your glassware. You can use regular style 4 or 6 ounce shuffle ramekins or the ones I tend to use; the 6 ounce pyrex custard cups. You can even find specialty ramekins or “coddlers” as they are known. 

    Butter the sides and bottom of the ramekins; both for flavor and to make up-ending them out on a plate easier. If you are choosing to use chopped herbs, coats the bottom and sides of the buttered ramekin.

  4. Place the ramekins in the water bath, medium-high heat, and cover for 7- 8 minutes. This is too taste – the longer they steam, the more firm they become. 

  5. Toast & butter some bread, or heat up some meat etc. What ever you choose to eat with them

  6. Remove from the bath, and dry the ramekin with a towel. Slide a small knife around the edges too loosen. If you plan to up-end them on a plate and serve on bread, potatoes etc. You might need to use the tip of the knife to get air inside under the bottom to get them to slide out. 

  7. You can top with cheese, salt and pepper. Drizzle with warmed tomato sauce -pretty much what ever is handy and dunk-worthy. Serve warm

  8. Note – Coddled eggs are definitely aimed at lovers of poached eggs and those that love the deep yellow yolk, runny and warm. Its all about the dipping of the bread!