Summer Salad

I had sliced tomatoes and romaine lettuce for a picnic at a friend's house, but forgot to bring them.  So I wanted to use them in a salad but I didn't want to make just a regular caprese salad--and, I had a bunch of things in the fridge.  I decided to make this caprese salad (with my own basil) and a marinated vegetable salad in the middle. I used the romaine lettuce, chopped, as a bed on the bottom, which soaks up all of the dressing.  Use whatever you have in the fridge (or pantry) to make it your own!



Caprese Salad
2 sliced tomatoes
sliced mozzarella log
chiffonade basil
drizzled balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper


Marinated Vegetables
artichoke hearts
black olives
marinated mushrooms
banana peppers
drizzled italian dressing

Makes 4-6 servings

Oyster Mushroom Ravioli

My cousin gave me this box of growable mushrooms by a company called "Back To The Roots."  I felt bad that I hadn't grown it, after 7 months, so I pulled it out of hiding.

After only 10 days I had mushrooms!

I decided to make a mushroom ravioli with my harvest.  So I caramelized shallots with garlic and deglazed the pan with some white wine.  With that I added fresh thyme, parsley and ricotta & parmesan cheese.  A little S&P, of course.  The mixture smelled and tasted phenomenal!

I never thought I'd do this but I figured if Giada does it I can use wonton wrappers, too.  That, and I was too lazy to make my own pasta.  Plus they now sell them in little circles (finally!).  Place 1 T. in the center and just use water to seal the two rounds, making sure to push the air out so they don't explode when cooked.

And there we have it!

Oyster Mushroom Ravioli

1 T. olive oil

1 shallot, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

~2 c. or full harvest of grown oyster mushrooms, minced

2 T. white wine, or enough to deglaze the pan

1 1/2 t. fresh thyme

1 1/2 t. fresh parsley

Salt & pepper, to taste

1 c. ricotta

1/2 c. parmesan

1 package wonton wrappers

Add minced shallots to a pan with olive oil over medium heat.  Cook until caramelized but not burned.  Add garlic and mushrooms and cook completely.  Deglaze the pan with white wine.  Add thyme, parsley and S&P.   Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool.

Once cooled, add the ricotta and parmesan cheese.  

To assemble use water to moisten one wonton wrapper.  Add 1 T. of the mixture, centered. Adhere the other wonton wrapper making sure to remove all the air, and seal.  Place completed ravioli on a baking sheet lined with cornmeal.

You can either freeze the ravioli or cook in salted, boiling water.  

Makes 1 1 /2 dozen ravioli.

Cold Asian Noodle Salad

My family and I visited a friend--Lt. Col. Bill Smith (ret.)--in Upstate NY for a bbq and he served this to us, among other good food.  It is so simple but flavorful--good spiciness.  And it's not heavy, because it isn't mayo-based it's safe to serve in the summer.
I'll be making this for our annual summer pig roast this year!

1lb. vermicelli pasta

3T + 1t. sesame oil

1t. crushed red pepper

¼ c. honey

¼ c. + 2T. soy sauce

¼ c. vegetable oil

2T. toasted sesame seeds

¼ c. chopped cilantro

3 minced scallions

Cook pasta 5 ½ minutes, just before al dente (liquid will absorb cooked pasta for perfect texture). Combine sesame oil, crushed red pepper, honey and soy sauce, and heat in microwave for 20-30 seconds. Add to large bowl with cooked pasta. Stir well. Add vegetable oil, sesame seeds, cilantro and scallions and stir.

Place in fridge to serve cold.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Crema di Limoncello

There's always limoncello around with our family. For the first time I tried the cream version, one made by my Padena (godmother), and it was devine!

Peeled zest of 8 lemons

1 bottle of vodka

6 cups of whole milk

4 cups of granulated sugar

1. Remove the peel of the lemons taking care to peel only the yellow part and none of the white. If any white pith is left on the peel it will make the limoncello bitter.

2. Pour the alcohol in a bottling jar that will hold at least three quarts and add the lemon peels. Close the jar with a tight fitting lid and leave to infuse for one week in a dark cool place.

3. After this time, place the milk and sugar in a pot over a low flame and heat until the sugar is dissolved. When the sugar is dissolved, remove it from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Make sure that the sugar mixture is completely cooled. For making regular limoncello this is very important; if the sugar syrup is still a little bit hot the limoncello will turn out cloudy instead of clear. Remove the lemon peels from the alcohol and then add the cold milk syrup to the jar and mix well.

4. Pour the crema di limoncello through a fine sieve lined with clean cheese cloth and decant it into bottles. Close the bottle with a cork or lid. Leave to rest for at least a week in the freezer before using it.

Crema di Limoncello is always served cold.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup with Kale

This soup is an adaptation of one of my favorite soups. I have to admit I never thought I'd like the Olive Garden. I generally don't like chain restaurants and being of Sicilian descent, I was too proud to try their food, thinking it would be generic and nothing special. I was surprised when I had lunch with a friend and tried their chicken gnocchi soup and really liked it.

Their soup has spinach in it, which I like, but I use kale instead because of the texture. I also like to poach my chicken in the broth so as not to waste flavor!

1 32 oz. box chicken broth or 2 14 oz. cans

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (or smaller)

1 T. olive oil

4 T. butter (I always use unsalted, that way I can control the seasoning)

4 T. flour

1 q. half and half

1 c. onion

2 minced garlic cloves

1 c. shredded carrots

1/2 package gnocchi (from gourmet pasta section of the grocery store)

3 c. chopped kale

1/2 t. salt (or more, to taste)

1/2 t. pepper

1/2 t. thyme

1 T. chopped parsley

1/4 t. nutmeg

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a saucer pot. Add chicken pieces and cook until chicken is cooked yet still moist. Remove chicken and set aside.

In a large pot, sauté onion in the olive oil and butter until translucent. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add the flour to make a roux. Let the flour cook 2-3 minutes so the flour flavor cooks out. Add the chicken stock used to poach the chicken and stir constantly on medium-high heat until it starts to thicken.

Add the half & half, carrots, gnocchi and kale, bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Lower the heat to medium and add the chicken, S&P, thyme, parsley, nutmeg and stir. Continue cooking until heated through and the gnocchi is cooked, about 15 minutes. Check salt seasoning, I always have to add more to taste (if you use salted butter or regular--not lower sodium--chicken stock, you may not need to add more but check and make sure the seasoning is right).

Makes 6-8 servings.

Serve with popovers, see below...

Popovers are easy and yummy!

I don't know why I always thought popovers were an intimidating thing to make. I think I associated them with soufflés, to be treated very gently, due to the care you take when they're in the oven. The only care you take with popovers in the oven is don't open it! It's the steam in the oven that creates the lightness and airiness, opening the oven to check on them releases the steam and collapses the popovers.

Another thing to remember--take your eggs and milk out 1-2 hours prior, they need to be at room temperature.

Nothing intimidating about these popovers!

1 c. flour

3/4 t. salt

2 eggs (room temp.)

1 1/4 whole milk (room temp.)

1 T. melted butter, plus additional for greasing the molds

Preheat oven to 450°. Liberally grease a standard 12 muffin tin and place in the oven to heat while you prepare the batter.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and melted butter. Incorporate wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix together. Fill each hole in the muffin tin 2/3 - 3/4 full. Bake for 12 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350°. Bake an additional 15 min., until they develop a nice brown color. Remember, don't open the oven door while they're baking or they may deflate!

Makes 12 popovers.

Thai Red Curry

I learned how to make this dish when I worked for a Thai restaurant in Portland, ME years and years ago. This was a small restaurant, family-owned and very traditional. My partner at the time was a fish monger, who had travelled to Thailand. He would bring fish to the cooks and sit in the kitchen while they prepared it for him. I would end up hanging out with them as they would teach me how to make different dishes. This is one of them. So good and rich, with the typical flavors of Thai food: sweet, salty, hot, tangy.

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 Tbl. vegetable or canola oil (not olive)

1 Tbl. red curry base

2 cans coconut milk

1 1/2 Tbl. fish sauce

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. chili garlic sauce

1 tsp. lemon zest

2 Tbl. chiffonade basil

Mixed veggies, bite-sized pieces (onion, mushrooms, red/green peppers, broccoli, cabbage, bamboo shoots, etc.)

Cooked rice

Heat wok over med-high heat. Add oil and chicken, stirring constantly, until done (don't overcook). Remove from wok, set aside.

Add red curry base and 1/2 can coconut milk to wok. Stir/smash/wisk red curry base until completely incorporated with coconut milk. Add rest of coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, chili garlic sauce and lemon zest. Stir, add veggies, bring to boil. Cook until veggies are tender.

Add chicken and basil, heat through.

Serve over rice.

Makes 4-6 servings.