Episode #305 - Melanzane Alla Parmigiana
here’s a new recipe that deserves and demands your full attention...
This one “has to be scheduled”; so, crack out your device, punch in your grocery list, and come back to this page next weekend...when you got some time...and cook!!!
Note: You also have to cook a pot of Red Sauce, here we wrote the recipe again, but in case you feel compelled...you can check out our Pilot Episode, now you have the video for the Sauce as well!
Enjoy!
We ate: Eggplant Parmesan
We drank: Montesodi Riserva 2004 from Ferscobaldi’s Castello di Nipozzano.
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 2.5 - 3 Hr
Cooking Time: 25-30 Min
Ingredients:
2 Lb Pelati Tomatoes in the can
1 Lb Fresh Mozzarella
½ Lb Parmesan, freshly grated
2 big Eggplants
8 oz Fresh Basil
1 Red Onion
5 Cloves of Garlic
Olive Oil, salt and Pepper
½ Lb of Flour and Canola Oil for Frying
Goes well with…
More eggplant parmesan…and a salad if you got any
room left!!!
Tips…
Double the ingredients and Make extra to freeze!!!
How To:
A few hours in advance (about 2 or 3), rinse the
Eggplants well and slice them thin.
Episode #303 - Tuna Fish and Cannellini Beans Salad, by The Pool!
Today we decided not to cook and whipped out a quick tuna salad that made a perfect date lunch by the pool.
This is probably the quickest recipe we have done so far, thanks to the canned beans and fish.
Yes, we buy canned food too! Not the heat up and serve kind of can (soups etc...), we always have in our pantry some tuna, some beans, tons of pelati tomatoes, chickpeas...sometimes, and sardines. Gabriele is the only one that eats sardines.
Also Gabriele does not like seeing too many cans around: it reminds him of his mom going nuts when Chernobyl happened. She transformed their house in a 99 cents store of everything canned, with a tree years shelf life. Eventually the radioactive-rain-scare passed, a lot of milk got thrown away...but we believe that some of those cans might remain in the most remote corners or our Tuscan basements.
Time to eat now,
eat and drink!
Today we are drinking a
very special wine: Passito di Pantelleria.
As old as 800 BC, this sweet fruity wine is a very
romantic touch for a sunny summer morning
“Aperitivo”, or in the evening, after having spent
the whole day at the beach.
Enjoy this bottle of Ben Rye’, from Sicily’s Donna Fugata Winery. Imported
by Folio, it can be purchased
online at Noble Merchants.
Tune Fish and
Cannellini Beans Salad
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: none
Episode #201 - Pappa al Pomodoro (Tuscan Bread Soup) with Rosanna and Matteo
Today, to fulfill the requests of many of you that read the article on People Magazine, we are cooking for you the famous Pappa al Pomodoro!
A brief note about what
you will see, as there are two small differences in
the way Rosanna and I prepare the Pappa.
She sautes the whole cloves of garlic to flavor the
oil, and then she takes them out.
I chop the garlic and I leave it in...I love garlic!
She adds the bread to the tomatoes and then she adds
the broth,
I add the broth to the tomatoes and when it boils I
add the bread.
Either way, as long as you have the right proportion
of ingredients you will be fine.
Tip: you can save some
bread and some broth, in case you need to add one of
them to achieve the preferred consistency.
Let's get cooking!
Pappa al Pomodoro (Tomatoes and Stale
Bread Soup)
Serves
6 (plus leftovers)
Finding the right kind of bread to make Pappa is
harder then actually preparing the dish. Bread should
be unflavored, unsalted, not too doughy, with a crust
that is actually a crust. Because you need to use
stale bread, you have to give yourself some time to
dry it. The best way, once you've found the
right loaf, is to slice it, and lay the slices on a
tray for a couple of days. In front of a sunny window
would be just perfect.
Episode #104 - Spaghetti with Pesto and some appetizers to celebrate the arrival of Fall...
we are overwhelmed by the response we are getting on our little website!
Many emails are coming in, please do not take it personal if we are not able to respond right away...
we did not expect this project to blow up so fast, and we already have to improve our server capabilities and probably the website itself will undergo some upgrades.
For the time being! Deb and I would like to THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!
Alright then,
time to get going with our fourth episode!
Today you will learn to make the best and freshest
pesto ever. Just one thing before we start: even if
this dish does not require cooking, preparation time
is longer then other (sometimes more complicated)
dishes.That's because you need to wash the basil,
pluck the leaves, grate the cheese etc...BUT, the
result is stunning, and at the end, it's a very easy
recipe.
Also make sure you keep an eye on the salt factor
(Pecorino cheese is very salty) and how much oil you
end up using...Even if Olive oil is one ofthe most
important ingredients in Tuscan cooking, that does
not mean you have to drawn your pasta in it!!!
Get you apron, your dish
rag and put some cool music on, choose your bottle of
wine...
May I suggest a Bruzzico, from
Fattoria Malenchini in Bagno
a Ripoli, Florence.
Let's go!
Serves 4
Preparation time 20 min
Cooking Time as the pasta requires
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of Fresh Basil Leaves (about
4 oz)
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
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!