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 #202 - Veal Rolls (Involtini) and Caponata; Special Guest, Aunt Laura
let us introduce you to Aunt Laura.
Laura is Gabriele's aunt,
and she's the one usually in charge of cooking for
the big family events...she has it in her.
She is an excellent cook, a great entertainer and a
superb host.
Enough said, today's menu is:
Veal Rolls with Ham and Emmenthal cheese and
a traditional Caponata (Vegetable Stew)
Veal and
Prosciutto Rolls.
Serves - 4
Prep Time - 30 min
Cook Time - 45 min / 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 1 Lb Veal Cutlets pounded thin (count two per
serving)
- 1/2 Lb Ham
- 1/4 Lb Emmenthal Cheese, cut in 8 small cubes
(about 3/4 inch)
- 1/2 glass of lemon juice or dry white wine at room
temperature
- 1/2 glass of milk
- Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil
Episode #108 - Pasta with Beef Ragout and Pears with Pecorino; Special Guest Katherine Narducci from The Sopranos
Today we had a very special guest for lunch.
A very sweet woman that is very close to our family and that we have the pleasure to share many meals and celebrations with...
She is a great actress of Italian heritage, and always reminded Deb and I of a modern Anna Magnani...
Ladies and Gents,
from the HBO hit show The Sopranos we
happily and proudly introduce,
Katherine
Narducci!!!
Applause...
Beef Ragout Sauce
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 5
Cooking Time: about 30 min.
Episode #105 - Beef Stew served over Polenta, with a side of String Beans cooked on a bed of Cherry Tomatoes
This is the first episode in which Deb and I will cook a full meal, all at the same time.
Please remember: Getting ready is half of the Job!
If you do a smart grocery, if you know the ingredients you are going to use (which are pretty basic and already have been covered several times on these pages), you should not have problems at all. Make sure you have enough time to buzz around the kitchen to stir the stew, do not overcook the string beans, and wait until last minute to prepare the polenta.
Also, it is a brilliant
idea to take advantage of the time it will take you
to cook: CLEAN UP!!!
If you are like me...well, you probably will start
sipping the wine as soon as the bottle is open...
you can use the excuse that you like to "feel the
taste changing"...
By the end of dinner, after the wine and a couple of
generous servings...you still have the plates on your
table...but if you do not have the pots and pans to
wash...trust me you'll be happy!
Least but not last:
A shout out to Epicurious.com!
One of their crew visited us last week, and in a few
days this very same recipe will be featured on their
web pages, in a different and shorter edit.
Enjoy your cooking session, come back soon and,
Buon Appetito
Debi and Gabriele
BEEF STEW
Serves
4
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cooking Time 2 hours
Ingredients
2Lb Beef for stew, cut in 1 inch cubes
3 ripe tomatoes
3 carrots
3 celery stems
3/4 red onion
2 handfuls of Thyme
Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper
Two glasses of wine
Getting Ready
Peal and chop the onion medium fine.
Rinse well the celery and chop it in 1/2 inch pieces.
Peal the carrots, cut them length wise if they are
big enough, and then chop in 1/2 inch pieces.
Rinse the Thyme well.
Episode #102 - Turkey Sausages with Spicy Kidney Beans in Fresh Tomato Sauce
In Italy, when we talk about sausages we usually refer to pork meat, it is very rare to come across anything different, at least not in Tuscany...oh, well, yes...boar sausage...still pork is!
This dish is a powerful
one: it's a filler, it's hot, it loves wine and
toasted garlic bread...and it makes a great left
over.
In all this, we completely forgot to give more info
about the wine...We drank a Villa Antinori from 2002,
and we will post more informations about it asap.
Ingredients:
8 Sausages (pork or turkey).
1 Lb of cherry tomatoes.