Episode #308 - Tortellini in Brodo (in Chicken Broth)
Two Mistakes, one Big and
One small.
- I read 4 Cups of water instead of 4 Quarters. And
it did seem strange. So I read it again, and it still
called for 4 Cups. I went with my guts and I used 8
Cups in the beginning, and at the end I added an
extra 2 before cooking the Tortellini. This morning,
when I got the magazine back in my hands to write
this post…oh well, it says, clearly, 4 Quarters. Ops.
- Also I did realize that I did not use the Egg in
the filling…but its consistency was good, so I did
not think about double-checking.
On the other side, the
amount of Flour indicated in the magazine was really
a bit too much…or maybe they just had bigger eggs
then me?
About the Tortellini
- When you start rolling them and closing them: The
First Ten Do Not Count. Do not get overwhelmed; they
will keep on looking better, as you warm up your
fingers to it.
- You should cook, in the order: Broth, Filling and
then the Pasta…by the time you have done rolling the
dough, you will be probably in need of some wine to
cure your back that is starting to cramp. Sit the
Dough to rest for a half hour, then DO THE SAME; fill
your glass and crush for a bit.
TORTELLINI IN BRODO (with Chicken Broth)
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 4 1/2, 5 hours
Ingredients
BROTH
1 Lb Beef Brisket
1 Whole Chicken cut into 6 pieces
1 Large White Onion
3 Carrots (2 of them for bonus recipe)
3 Celery Stalks
1 Tablespoon of Salt
Episode #306 - Minestrone (Organic Vegetable Soup)
My mom used it quite often, but the pot she had always seemed to me very scary and unapproachable; you had to close it with a knob placed on top of the lid, and the valve was to it what a security pin is to a hand grenade. It used to scream whistles, twirl around and shake very fast...no pattern, absolutely random. All of us always expected to see those few ounces of metal pop out of the lid and fly to the moon, right trough the roof of the house.
I was allowed to use any kind of knife, but not that technological embarrassment that our cooker was. So, I never dared, until a few years ago, when Deb taught me how to cook her favorite pee soup, using a definitely better pot.
Just a few quick notes:
- Every pressure cooker is different. Different
brands usually have slightly different gauges, valves
and locking systems; please refer to the “user’s
manual”, before you get baptized...literally!
- If you would rather use a regular deep pot just
consider that the cooking time will be longer, more
than double...
- Be careful not to overcook! Pressure cookers are
great because they save a lot of time, but it is also
very easy to transform your chopped healthy goods
into a sludge...still a healthy sludge I guess...
- About Potatoes. They add a nice “starchy” feel to
the soup, and also really help achieving volume but,
when frozen and defrosted, their texture becomes
grainy (carbs always have a way to mess around with
you). So, if you intend to freeze your soup (like we
always do), do not use them...if you do, you can
still blend the soup after it is defrosted with a
mixer... still good.
The ingredients below take into consideration the
fact you will be cooking double servings for 4
people, and freeze half of your soup.
Let’s get cookin’!
MINESTRONE - ORGANIC
VEGETABLE SOUP
Serves: 4 + 4
Prep Time: 15
Cooking Time: Soffritto 25 min., Pressure Cooker ca
15 min. Regular pot ca 40 min.
Ingredients:
½ Red Onion
5 Cloves of Garlic
1 Handful of Parsley
2 Carrots
5 Celery stocks
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 #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 #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 #205 - Gnocchi with Spinach and Ricotta (Strozzapreti / The Priest Chockers)
This succulent and kids friendly dish comes again from my grandmother's kitchen; it is not a traditional Tuscan recipe, like many we already shared...
Lola is from Venice, and this "Strozzapreti" version has been served on our table since I can remember.
There are several legends
to explain the name "Strozzapreti" (The
Priest Chockers)...
One is that gluttonous priests were so enthralled by
the savory pasta that they ate
too quickly and choked themselves, sometimes to
death.
As always, there are several variations and
preparations...some even involving different
ingredients, but still intended to choke Priests, I
assume.
The recipe we are posting calls for Ricotta Cheese,
and needs to be cooked in the oven.
The main variation on this dish replaces the Ricotta
with boiled Potatoes (1Lb)...
when the balls are ready, instead of cooking them
into the oven, they need to be cooked in salted
boiling water,
as if they were regular pasta. Cooking time is
extremely short, as soon as the gnocchi will come to
the surface
they are ready to be collected, drained and served.
Also a different dressing can be used...red sauce and
basil instead of the butter and sage we are using
today.
Be ready to get your
hands dirty,
let's get cookin'!
Gnocchi di Ricotta e Spinaci
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 20
Cooking Time: 15-20
Ingredients
2 ½ Lb of Spinach
1 ½ Lb of Ricotta Cheese
6 Tbsp Parmesan, freshly Grated
2 Egg Yolks, lightly beaten
All purpose Flour, for dusting
¼ Cup of Butter, melted
Salt and Pepper
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