Episode #307 - Bruschetta with Sausage, Brie Cheese and Fresh Herbs.
In Italy, by definition, a bruschetta is a flame toasted thick slice of bread dressed with any kind of sauce, topped with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, some Salt and some Pepper.
The most common
bruschetta is usually (and here another token!), the
one with an uncooked tomato sauce. Toast the bread,
rub well a clove of garlic on one side of each slice,
and dress with finely chopped tomatoes that you
marinated for a couple of hours in Extra Virgin Olive
Oil, finely chopped garlic, salt and pepper.
BRUSCHETTA WITH SAUSAGE,
BREE CHEESE AND FRESH HERBS
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 5
Cooking Time: 15 min. for the sausage sauce + 5 min.
in the broiler
Ingredients
6 slices of bread
2 pork sausages (mild or hot according to taste)
¼ Lb of Brie Cheese (or other semi-soft cheese)
¼ Red Onion
1 Handful of Rosemary
1 Handful of Sage
½ Glass of White Wine
Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper
How to:
-getting ready-
Chop the Onion fine and rinse the Herbs thoroughly.
Chop the Sage fine.
Slice the bread.
Pop the wine open and start sipping!
Episode #304 - Sangria, Polenta and Mushroom Appetizer, Tagliata with Rucola and Grilled Vegetables
Fun Drink: Sangria
Appetizer: Mushrooms “Trifolati” with Nipitella over Grilled Polenta
Main Course: Tagliata with Rucola Salad
Side: Grilled Mixed Vegetables
Wine: Conte Bregonzo, Amarone della Valpolicella (not
a great bottle to tell you the truth, but it did
the trick)
To be on a good schedule…since it is good not to let
cool off your delicious new Tuscan achievement…make
the Polenta the night before, the Sangria the morning
after or early afternoon, then chop the vegetables,
slice the polenta, cook the Mushrooms and just heat
them when needed, taste the Sangria. Sorry about the
jumping around…but multitasking is necessary.
When it is actually time to eat, grill the polenta
and heat up the Mushrooms, serve them while you grill
the vegetables and the steak.
There are a few things that, even in their
simplicity, are very important to get this menu done
with ease; let’s start with the seasoning of the
meat…and what kind of meat.
People do not get
pressured: “Tagliata” in Italian only means
cut/sliced. It does not have to be a very fine and
expensive piece of fillet (even if it sounds
fabulous), it can be just an honorable thick steak,
or even a smaller piece of meat…
Salt and Pepper is all you need, just sprinkle well
your steak right before you put it on the grill…Do
not fall into temptation, do not marinate, do not use
ketchup (it saddens me when I see it happen).
Episode #210 - Sausage and Radicchio Orecchiette with Roasted Peppers and Cheese appetizer
The kitchen filled up with wonderful smell of peppers, and both Debi and I have been transported somewhere else...
She felt like she was getting ready for a block party in Brooklyn. Gabriele imagined the singing of Cicadas in the Olive Fields...
Just a few quick notes
about today's menu:
- always try to find pork sausage that are not
seasoned (same applies in case you decide to go
turkey)
- you can use your sauce to make Bruschetta instead
of Pasta. Toast some bread, spread some Italian soft
cheese (Mozzarella, Stracchino, Burrata), then
sprinkle the sausage sauce. Bake at 400 for about 10
min...you can broil it at the end for a final crisp.
- when preparing the Peppers, always leave yourself
open to new uses for them. Yes you can do the
skewers, but there are many different ways you can
serve them, as a Bruschetta, as a side dish...you can
even chop the roasted peppers and use them to prepare
a cold pasta salad. Just Get Creative!!!
Roasted Peppers and
Cheese Skewers.
Serves 4
Prep Time 10
Cooking Time 30
Ingredients
4 peppers, medium-big size, different colors
5 cloves of garlic
10 oz of cheese cut into small cubes: Mozzarella,
Machego...anything you'd like to try
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper
Tooth picks
Episode #208 - Risotto Croquettes (Arancini di Riso)
and it can be extremely pleasurable if applied wisely to your food!
Learn how to work with your leftovers, use you freezer, your fridge, and a good set of tupperware; it will make your tomorrow easier.
Lunch boxes, a meal on the run, or simply an evening that you cannot/don't want to be bothered with too much time to spend at the stove.
As promised we gang-shot an evening episode, turning last night risotto into delicious Croquettes.
Just in case you would
like to try this recipe, but you do no have leftovers
to recycle, simply cook 1 cup of white rice, let it
cool off, then follow each step as if....Just keep in
mind that you might want a bit more generous when it
comes to adding salt and pepper. If you are working
the left overs your risotto is already well seasoned,
but if you are working with white rice well, its
taste is...how to describe it....flat...
Risotto Croquettes
Serves: 6-8
Prep Time: 20
Cooking Time: 10-15
Goes well with...
As an appetizer, with a salad, or as a warm bite for
a wine tasting evening....
Tips... if you intend to serve it to your kids, slice
the croquette in halves before you do so...they will
cool off quicker.
2 Cups of leftover risotto, cold from the fridge.
3 Eggs
1/3 Cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ Cup of ham
½ Cup of Mozzarella Cheese
1 handful of fresh Parsley
1 Cup all purpose flour
Breadcrumbs
Canola or vegetable oil
Separate 1 egg yolk.
Chop the ham and the mozzarella in very small pieces.
Wash the Parsley and chop it fine.
Episode #101 - Red Sauce & Prosciutto Rolls Appetizer
Welcome to our Pilot Episode.
Today's
Menu:
- Prosciutto & Arugula Rolls Appetizer
- Red Sauce Spaghetti
Red Sauce:
Prep Time: 5
Cooking Time: 15
Ingredients:
1/2 red onion
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 can of pelati (16 ounces)
2 handful of fresh basil
1 hot red pepper
Salt, Pepper
Fresh grated parmesan
Goes well with...
Every time you'll see that a dish requires some red
sauce...well, this is the recipe!