recipes

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Need Cozy from the Cold? Pasta with Meatballs.

Pasta with Meatballs

Pasta with Meatballs

It’s freezing out there. Literally. And to the depths of freezing, too. Run and hide is all we can do. And the best place to hide is in the kitchen.

Here I am. Hiding. Stirring a pot. Chopping an onion. Mushing together some meat. It’s indoor sports with a decidedly yummy intention. (As opposed to outdoor sports: did you see Aaron Rodgers yesterday in 3-degree temps playing 60 minutes of football…read: 3 hours?…I choose indoor sport.)

This is the dish that used to be reserved for Sundays. I used to wake up on a Sunday morn (we’re going back here to kid, maybe even teenage days) to the aroma of a Sunday sauce: meatballs (plus usually some pork element) simmering in a tomato sauce. This aroma was accompanied by warm Sunday Kaiser rolls that my dad picked up from the bakery (which I slathered with butter). While mom stirred the sauce. And my sister, Nina, made a sauce sandwich.

But these frigid times call for better-than-weekday mundanity. I want my Sunday sauce NOW.

It’s not hard to make Sunday sauce. You may have heard tales of the elaborate stand-on-your-head antics that Italian-Americans do to make this concoction. Not necessary. You can stay upright. Let me show you how.

First The Meatballs.

Bread soaking

Bread soaking

Take 2 slices of sliced bread (usually white) (but here I’ve used Publix Italian multigrain sliced bread). Peel off the edges and break up the middle part into small pieces in a small bowl. Cover with milk. Let soak for about 10-15 minutes until nice and wet. Drain. Add mushed up wet bread to a medium mixing bowl with 1 lb. of ground chuck. Add 1/4 cup grated parmigiano, 1 egg, salt & pepper, 1/4 cup or more minced parsley. Stir with a fork to mix (or dive in now with hands).

meatball mixture

Meatball mixture

Line a sheet pan with foil. Shape meat into 1 or 2-inch balls and place on pan.

Meatballs

Meatballs

Roast in 400 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes until cooked through and starting to brown.

Then The Sauce:

Diced onion w garlic

Diced onion w garlic

Dice a small onion. Mince 2 cloves of garlic. In a large saucepan, heat some olive oil. Add the onion and sauté until softened. Then add the minced garlic. Saute 1-2 minutes more. Add a 1/4 cup of dry white wine. Let evaporate. Then add your tomatoes. What tomatoes you wonder? Well, any, really.

Canned Tomatoes

Canned Tomatoes

I used 2 28-oz cans: Cento crushed and Nina whole peeled plums (I cut them up while still in the can with a pair of scissors). Let the sauce simmer on medium low until bubbly. Season well with salt & pepper (add some hot pepper if you like, too). Let bubble for about 20 minutes.  When meatballs are done, put them in the sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes more.

Fusill

Fusill

Boil your pasta (I’m going to assume you’ve got that part. If not, ask me). I used fusilli lunghi. I LOVE this pasta (and it was a favorite of my dad’s). You can’t find it everywhere. If you’re local to Nashville, I know you can find it at Coco’s Italian Market.

Drain pasta when done. Get it coated with sauce. No pasta drowning in sauce here. A simple coating with a bit extra per serving. Add a few meatballs to each serving and dust with grated parmigiano. So easy. VERY good.

You can even make this in the summer when you’re hiding in the kitchen from the heat.

Grated Parmigiano

Grated Parmigiano

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Lentils are Coins: Let’s Eat a Million

Close up of Lentils

Lentils

When I lived in Rome my Roman roommate (and soul sister), Enrica, made lentils for lunch one day. In Italy you can get lentils in a can, pre-cooked, like you buy baked beans here. They’re called lenticche in Italian. Enrica emptied the can into a small saucepan and heated the lentils. Then in a small saute pan she heated a little olive oil, added a garlic clove, and cut a few slices of bread into small triangles and fried them to crispy. We each sat down to a bowl of hot lentils topped with crispy garlic croutons. It was, actually, heaven in a bowl.

Lentils are adorable. Have you ever really looked them over? What a sublime invention of nature. So it’s no surprise to me that they represent the possibility of good fortune and prosperity. That they are the go-to traditional meal of New Year’s Eve in Italy. That they are the little horn-blowers to ring in the new year and make everyone rich (well, if not in moneta, in spirit).

On that night, lentils are also accompanied by sausage or cotechino or zampone. To make my life easier I just go for the Italian sausage (already made, bought at the store).

The resulting concoction (of supposedly homey and unsophisticated ingredients) is downright exciting. You feel you are finally having the meal that your body is craving and that your soul scurries up from the depths of you rushing like a very happy puppy for the mana you have (finally) fed it.

If lentils resemble coins, and therefore symbolize the potential for a bigger bank account, well, then, all the better.

Here’s how I make this Happy New Year treat (note: any ole time is perfect as well).

Ingredients

Ingredients

Peel two carrots and slice into rounds. Cut 2 stalks of celery into half-moons. Peel an onion, cut it in half and cut into thin half moons. Saute this mirepoix in a couple of tablespoons of hot olive oil in a medium saucepan.

Mirepoix sauteing

Mirepoix sauteing

When softened, add 2 cups of rinsed lentils. Let them get coated and hot. Add a 1/2 cup or so of dry white wine. Let it evaporate. Then add 4-5 cups water (or broth). Stir, season with salt & pepper. Add a little aleppo or crushed red pepper flakes.

All in the pan

All in the pan

Let simmer for about an hour or so until lentils are soft. I partially cover the pan.

When done add a small 8-oz can of “tomato sauce” the kind you can just buy or any tomato sauce you have. Simmer a few minutes more.

Contadina tomato sauce

Contadina tomato sauce

Meanwhile, heat about an inch of water in a medium saute pan till boiling. Add 3 Italian sausages. Poke them with a knife in a couple of spots. Let them cook, with water simmering, until no longer pink.

Sausage in pan

Sausage in pan

Let water evaporate and add just a bit of oil and let sausages brown and cook through. Place pan under broiler if you like for more browning. When done, cut into rounds.

Golden Sausage

Golden Sausage

I have to add the Enrica part, too. In a small saute pan (or use the pan the sausage cooked in using the leftover oil) heat some olive oil. Add a couple of peeled, smashed garlic cloves. Then add a couple or three slices of bread cut into small triangles or squares. Saute till golden and crispy.

Croutons

Croutons

Put it all together: In each serving bowl, add a couple of ladles-full of lentils, a few rounds of sausage, a sprinkle of croutons, and (optional) some fresh minced sage. Grated pecorino is a nice topping at the table, but it’s perfectly lovely without.

Happy New Year!

A serving of lentils

A serving of lentils

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Why Seven Fishes?

Why not 8? Or 14? Or 3?

Turns out that the Christmas Eve tradition of a meal of seven fishes is mainly an Italian-American tradition, not an Italian one. It seems to be based on La Vigilia. The vigil on the eve of Christ’s birth. But the seafood part spins far from the religious part.

And why seven fishes? Conjecture imagines: 7 sacraments of Catholicism? 7 days for the creation of the world in the Genesis story? The 7 hills of Rome?

Maybe it doesn’t matter. I’m happy to have a meal of seven fishes. What a lovely culinary tradition. Ordinarily the star of the show is baccala…the salt-cured cod that takes a few days to rinse and drain of its salt and make into the tender cod that we love. In Nashville, I don’t come across baccala at all. So my Christmas Eve dinner was without it.

Still, when I was growing up, Christmas Eve dinner was the domain of my mom. Relatives all came to our house for the feast. We didn’t have baccala either, but went for the shellfish instead: Shrimp, clams, scungilli, squid, lobster, and crab.

This year the night was all mine (with sous chef help from my friend, Donna). My mom came as a guest and I think she was happy to be just that. I took over the kitchen.

I decided 5 fish would be enough and didn’t let myself feel the pressure of the “seven.” Am I missing some of the sacred glow? Perhaps. But I was willing to risk it!

The menu:

Lump Crabmeat Salad

Fried Calamari

Spaghetti alle Vongole

Shrimp Scampi

Tilapia alla Francese

…plus 2 vegetables & lots of dessert items…

But back to the fish.

Here’s the appetizer of Crabmeat Salad & Fried Calamari…

Crabmeat Cocktail & Fried Calamari

Crabmeat Cocktail & Fried Calamari

This course has Mario Batali written all over it. I tweeted him a question about what to put in the crabmeat cocktail. He answered: lime, fennel, cilantro & celery. I went for some of what he suggested and added to the crab: lime juice, celery, celery leaves, parsley, a bit of olive oil and some salt. For the calamari I went to Batali again. After cleaning and cutting the squid into “rubber bands & spiders” (my sister’s dubbing), I simply tossed them in cornstarch and shook loose the excess then fried squid pieces in 2 inches of hot olive oil. Lifted them out in 2 minutes or so, then sprinkled some salt. These 2 mini-dishes were the perfect complement to each other.

On to Spaghetti & Clams…

Spaghetti alle Vongole

Spaghetti alle Vongole

Here’s another easy one: Boil 1 lb. spaghetti in abundant salty water. In another large pot saute 5-6 sliced garlic cloves in about 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil. When starting to color add a handful of chopped parsley. When simmering add about a cup and half of dry white wine. Season with salt and pepper and hot pepper flakes. Let simmer. Then add 3 dozen scrubbed little neck or manila clams. Cover. When pasta is al dente, reserve a cup of cooking water. Drain pasta. When clams have opened add drained spaghetti. Toss. Add more olive oil and some pasta water. Add a few handfuls of toasted breadcrumbs (how to make breadcrumbs: in a medium skillet, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil, add about a cup of crumbs & a garlic clove and saute until crumbs are toasty brown, season with salt & pepper. Use these at table, too, to sprinkle on servings of pasta.)

Third course: Shrimp Scampi & Tilapia Francese…

Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp Scampi

For the Shrimp. Line a sheet pan with foil. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Lay out the peeled, deveined shrimp (I used 2 lbs. large shrimp). Sprinkle shrimp with salt & pepper. Sprinkle with 3-4 cloves coarsely minced garlic. Sprinkle with breadcrumb to cover lightly. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Drizzle with olive oil. Cook in 400-degree oven for about 10 minutes until shrimp are opaque and breadcrumbs toasty. Serve with lemon wedges.

Final fish: Tilapia Francese…

Tilpia Francese

Tilapia Francese

What makes this “francese” or “French-style” is the method. We dip pieces of tilapia in seasoned flour and then in a beaten egg. Saute in hot olive oil. The egg coating gives a lacy, lovely effect. I served this on a bed of dressed baby arugula.

5 of the 7 fishes. Plenty for us!

P with the Peas

P with the Peas

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Sometimes You Feel Like A CupCake

Cupcakes

Cupcakes

I always feel like a cupcake. I cannot make cupcakes (unless we’re making them in class) because when there are cupcakes in the house…I will eat them all. Yes, I grew up in an Italian-American household but American cupcakes were entrenched in my mom’s kitchen menu.

This recipe is hers. And I have baked these cakes for years and years. They have all kinds of significance. Dessert for a dinner. Dessert for a catering client. Dessert for a birthday.

Birthday Cupcakes

Birthday Cupcakes

And when I lived in NY and watched NY Jets football with my NY Jets buddy, Gerri, I made cupcakes to bring us luck! Every time the Jets were in trouble or if it was 3rd & a long 18…we each ate a cupcake to give them some luck, umph, fan power…whatever would bring about a 1st down! It worked…some of the time.

Jets Cupcakes

Jets Cupcakes

Jet Fans

Jet Fans

Make these over the holidays. They are perfect! Not too dense, not to crumbly. And the icing is perfect for human bites…not a tower of creamy sugar, but a true icing…an elegant schmear of sweet.

Cupcakes w/ Chocolate Icing

For the cupcakes:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup milk

1 ½ cups flour

2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

pinch salt

For the icing:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar (you may need a little more)

2-3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon vanilla

¼ cup brewed espresso (hot)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Use a 12-cupcake tin with medium-sized cupcakes. Line it with cupcake papers.

Cream the butter and sugar with the paddle attachment in a stand mixer until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla and almond extracts. Mix until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add ½ of the flour mixture to the batter, mix until incorporated. Add half of the milk and mix well. Add the rest of the flour and mix till combined, add the last of the milk and mix until smooth.

Spoon batter into the cupcake papers – each one about 3/4 full.  Bake until golden – about 20 minutes.

For the icing:

In a medium mixing bowl press out the butter with a spoon to make it smooth. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa and mix until the butter is blended into small pieces with the sugar & cocoa. Add the vanilla and mix well. Make the espresso in an espresso pot or use instant espresso coffee. When hot, add a couple of tablespoons to the mixture and stir rapidly to combine. If frosting seems too thick, add more espresso until it becomes the right consistency.

When cupcakes are completely cooled, frost the tops using an offset spatula or small spatula. Smooth on 1-2 tablespoons per cupcake.

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Cinnamon Twists from my Childhood

Thanks, mom. And Betty Crocker. This recipe looks unassuming but once you unleash it in your kitchen you must eat every single one of them. Yes, they are that good. Even if your first bite does not tip you off. It’s the how-often-you-go-back that proves the point.

It all starts with a biscuit recipe from an old Betty Crocker cookbook (copyright 1950). Take the dough, roll it out, add the butter, cinnamon & sugar and make the twists. Bake ’em, then top with vanilla glaze. Ear-re-SIST-able.

Here’s my demo on WSMV Channel 4 Nashville’s More at Midday show (with Holly Thompson). And the recipe is below.

Chef Paulette’s Cinnamon Twists VIDEO

Chef Paulette’s Biscuit Dough Cinnamon Twists

2 cups flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

¾ cup milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp & spreadable

5-6 teaspoons cinnamon

2-3 teaspoons sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Add 4 1-tablespoon pats of cold butter. Cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or knife until butter pieces are small specks. Add milk and whisk together with a fork until a dough forms. Knead just enough to press into a thick disc of dough.

Roll out on a floured work surface to ¼ inch thick. Spread the 4 tablespoons of soft butter to cover surface of dough. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar evenly over surface. Fold dough in half and rolled lightly to seal together. Cut into 1-inch strips. Lift each strip and twist into a loose spiral. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden. Let cool then drizzle glaze.

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

hot water

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Place sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Run tap water until very hot. Add water to sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring, until you have a semi-thick icing. Stir in vanilla. Drizzle over cinnamon sticks.

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Shrimp Fritto Misto w Prosecco Batter

Shrimp Fritto Misto

Shrimp Fritto Misto

Oh yeah. This is easy and this is spectacular. You use Prosecco in the batter to make this luscious shrimp fritto misto. It’s so easy it’s sinful. It’s so tasty it’s decadent. It’s so just what you hope it will be.

Shell and devein 35-40 large shrimp (leave tail on if you like). Blot dry with some paper towel. Toss with a little flour to lightly coat. In a medium bowl whisk together 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup corn meal, salt & pepper, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Add 2 cups Prosecco and whisk till smooth. It will be a thin batter which is great because it will just lightly adhere to the shrimp and let the real shrimp flavor shine.

Heat a mixture of canola oil and olive oil (about 2/3 canola, 1/3 olive oil) in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. About 2 inches worth of oil. Let it get hot enough (not smoking) so that a bit of bread sizzles and pops quickly to the surface when tested. Be careful as you cook the shrimp. Monitor how hot the oil is — if it’s “boiling” too much lower heat. Be extra careful all around — this is HOT stuff.

Put about 5-6 shrimp in the batter and lift them out one at a time with a slotted spoon. Let excess batter drip off before putting it in oil. Fry about 5-6 shrimp at a time, cooking till they turn golden, about 3 minutes. Lift out with another slotted spoon or fish spatula. Drain on paper towels (or brown paper bag). Season with some salt. Repeat with the rest of the shrimp, lifting out loose bits of batter so they don’t burn. Serve hot/warm with lemon wedges.

You’re welcome. (YUM.)

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Roman Peas w Asparagus & Pancetta Recipe

Roman Peas & Asparagus

Roman Peas & Asparagus

Ahhh. A simple but luscious vegetable dish from Rome. Roman Peas with Asparagus & Pancetta. So easy to make and so satisfying.

Slice a medium onion into thin half-moons. Saute in a little olive oil. Add diced pancetta (from about 3 thick slices) and saute till they cook through and onions soften. Add asparagus that has been cut into bite-sized pieces. Cook about 3-4 minutes. Add peas, cook till simmering. Add about a 1/4 cup of white wine. Cook till evaporating. Season with salt & pepper.

Easy. All these flavors come together creating a palate piazza where your taste buds congregate on their Roman passagiata and say: “Che Buono!”

Roman Peas and Asparagus

 

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Artichokes. Carciofi. Keep it simple. But do indulge.

Carciofi alla Romana

Carciofi alla Romana

I can’t begin to tell you how much I love and admire artichokes. In Italian: carciofi. Also, my favorite Italian word. If I had the opportunity to change my name I would change it to carciofi. First name or last name. Or both. Carciofi Carciofi, pleased to meet you.

I can’t remember the first time I had artichokes. It had to be very young. My family takes the artichoke in stride. Artichokes are as common, and as likely to be part of the table, as a plate or fork. Or possibly bread. Ridiculously easy to prepare. And so tastebud fulfilling, you always feel confident in the meal when artichokes are brought to the table.

My recipe has evolved over the years. I used to stuff the leaves with parsley and garlic. Now I simply put parsley and garlic in the cooking water with a heavy douse of olive oil, salt & pepper. First, trim the tops. Cut off about a third. Snip the thorns from the tips of all the leaves. Cut off the stems. Set them up, standing tall, side by side in a heavy sauce pan. Fill with water about halfway up. Drizzle a bunch of olive oil on artichokes and in water. Season with salt & pepper. Let cook for about 30-40 minutes until very tender.

Enjoy by nibbling the leaf tips. And if you’re drinking a glass of wine, with each artichoke bite your sip of wine will taste Odd/Strange. Some chemical reaction. But that never stopped me. Don’t let it stop you.

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Sweet Pear Pizza Recipe

 

Sweet Pear Pizza w Sage

Sweet Pear Pizza w Sage

This pizza blows me away. It is SO good. So easy too. It’s a taste you haven’t tasted before but you’ll be so happy to be introduced. Taste buds meet sweet pear pizza, prepare to be WOWED.

“Duly wowed!”

Start with 1 lb. of pizza dough. Make your own or buy a bag o’ pizza dough from the supermarket. Lightly oil a medium bowl. Place dough in bowl and then turn over so all sides are slightly oiled (stops dough from forming a “skin”). Cover loosely with a clean dish towel. Let it get to room temperature and rise a little bit, too…about 1-2 hours.

Meantime, peel and core 2 Bartlett pears. Cut into quarters and cut into thin slices.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment. Lightly oil the parchment. On a work surface dusted with flour, press out the dough (with your fingers) into a flat disc. Pick up the dough and drape a wide edge over your fists. Gentle move the dough edges over your fists, pumping your hands up and down so the dough stretches some more. Lay dough out on the prepared baking sheet. DOn’t worry about a perfect shape. It can be round. It can be oblong. Whatever.

Place pear slices in a nice pattern all over the pizza. leaving a narrow border around the edges. Press the pear slices into the dough a bit. Now sprinkle with about 1/2 cup sugar. Sprinkle some torn up sage leaves. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes until crusty and golden. Cut into slices or squares to serve.

Pear PIzza

Pear PIzza

 

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Zucchini Agrodolce Recipe from Venice

Herbs at the Rialto Market

Herbs at the Rialto Market

Here’s a short video of my cooking segment on Channel 4’s More at Midday WSMV-TV Nashville…includes a brief glimpse of video from the Venice trip…but I will be posting MORE soon!

 

Zucchini Agrodolce from Venice on WSMV TV Nashville