Dean's Uncle Leonard Barr!

Working the Dean Martin Show. Dean's Uncle Leonard Barr (Barra) appeared several times on the show. His uncle's comedic schtick was one-liners; told with a straight face, and deliberately repeating a punchline. He's best remembered for his appearance in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever with Sean Connery in which he played Shady Tree, a stand-up comedian and smuggler in Las Vegas. Other credits included The Odd Couple, M*A*S*H as a USO comedian. He also made numerous guest appearances on The Tonight Show.

Mediterranean Bruschetta - with Nonna

MikesMunchies.com: Chloride, AZ Movie Shoot 2010

MikesMunchies.com: Chloride, AZ Movie Shoot 2010

How to Play Bocce, Bocce Rules and Bocce Lessons

Riccio's Steak & Seafood - Oso Bucco

Riccio's Steak & Seafood - Cioppino

Riccio's Steak & Seafood - Chicken Pizziola

Riccio's Steak & Seafood - Veal Scallopini

The Life of an NBC Page

Insalata Caprese :)

Ingredients 10 fresh cherry tomato cut into large chunks 2 mozzarella cut into pieces basil chopped black olives chopped 100% Extra virgin olive oil salt black pepper Preparation In a large bowl put the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, olives, salt, black pepper and extra virgin olive oil then gently mix thoroughly. Allow the mixture to stand for 10-15 minutes. Serve. — with Rosemarie Purpura and Alice Kauer.

OLIVE OIL DIP

OLIVE OIL DIP

1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of rosemary
2 teaspoons of parsley
2 teaspoons of oregano
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
4 teaspoons of Parmesan cheese
1 head of garlic peeled and chopped

No Bake Nutella Cheesecake

No Bake Nutella Cheesecake 

Here's what you need:
Crust:
24 Oreo cookies
1/3 cup melted butter

Filling:
1 jar (13oz) Nutella
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz whipped topping or whipped cream

Decoration:
Whipped Cream
Chocolate Shavings

1. Crush cookies and mix with melted butter. Spread mixture over pie pan. Refrigerate crust while making filling.
2. Mix Nutella, cream cheese, and whipped topping until smooth. Spread mixture over pie crust.
3. Decorate the pie then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. The pie can also be served frozen.

Homemade Sicilian Cooking: "You, Me & Sicily!" Episode 22

Sicilian Foods from Etna: Yummy Episode 19!

Kathy's Kitchen Cookbook

​Many of you know that I have been working on a cookbook from Kathy's Kitchen, and I appreciate all of your support and encouragement while I have been creating it.  It has been a fun process, from developing recipes and getting them down on paper, to editing photos and creating the artwork.  
My website,  KATHYSKITCHENRECIPES.com is up and I will be sharing recipes there weekly and posting them on my K athy's Kitchen Facebook page!
You can purchase Cookbooks directly from my website via credit card or Paypal.  And I also have my Luxury Notecard collections and artwork there too!
Real estate has been keeping me busy this summer- but I plan on beginning my Holidays in Kathy's Kitchen Cookbook next month!

Happy cooking!

America Cooks With Chefs: La Quinta (Episode 3)

Aunt Julia was 99 when she left us. Great Italian cook, Mom, and Grandmother. God Bless !

Happy New Year 2015

Jack's "Wild and Crazy Poppers" recipe. Jack Gibson is our PGA Pro at Laquinta CC.

CHINOMEX SHRIMP STUFFED YELLOW PEPPERS

My version of the dish served at Mexicali

restaurant in Indio, California.  Should be served with beer or Marguerites.

 

INGREDIENTS
12 to 20 yellow peppers (depending on size)
6 to 8 medium shrimp
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack for heat.  
1 package Uncle Ben’s Jasmine rice
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for frying shrimp
½ cup sour cream
3 T. Soy Sauce
4 Mexican limes
Shrimp, rice and cheese should equal about one cup each for equal portion

  PREPARATION
Cut oblong strip out of peppers to allow for seed removal and have room for mixture.
Use a grapefruit spoon to remove all seeds.
Cook the shrimp in olive oil and chop into small pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook the rice for 90 seconds in microwave.

 Cook the peppers on a stick-proof pan at 350 degrees about 20 minutes or until soft to touch. (or steam for about 20 minutes if you have a rice steamer)

 Mix shrimp, cheese, rice with 1 T. soy sauce and left over oil from shrimp. Stuff the peppers.

Cook the peppers at about 350 degrees for 20 minutes then broil for about 5 minutes or until mixture and ends are slightly browned. Peppers should be slightly brown. (Watch them!!)

                              

DIPPING SAUCE
Mix the sour cream and 2 T. Soy sauce and serve in individual cups.
Squeeze lime juice over shrimp and spread mixture over peppers or just dip into sauce.

 These peppers are larger than are usually available. I also add Bay Seasoning on the shrimp along with salt and pepper. Peppers may be hot or not and there is no way to know until you take a bite. A little lime juice takes out some of the heat.
Enjoy!!

 

 

Buckwheat Pasta....Italian style!

This hearty, satisfying dish is the most well-known culinary specialty from the Valtellina area in the mountainous northern Italian region of Lombardy, bordering Switzerland. The short, flat ribbons of pasta are handcut from a dough made with a mixture of buckwheat and wheat flour, and prepared with potatoes, Savoy cabbage, and toothsome local cheese.
Sometimes you can find pre-made, dried pizzoccheri at Italian import stores, but it is also quite easy to make your own, as suggested in this recipe, if you can find buckwheat flour.
It's a great one-dish meal for cold winter nights, as it's so rich and comforting.
Variations:

• If you'd like, you can also add a few fresh sage leaves to the butter when sauteing the garlic.
• If you can't find or don't like Savoy cabbage, you can substitute it with green beans or chard.
• This may seem like a lot of butter to you, but the original recipe calls for four times as much! You may, in any case, adjust as desired.

Ingredients

• 3 1/3 cups (400 g) buckwheat flour
• 2/3 (100 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 pound (250 g) Savoy cabbage, cored, outer leaves removed, and cut into 2-inch strips
• 8 1/2 ounces (250 g) potatoes (about 2 small or 1 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 pound (250 g) Valtellina Casera DOP cheese (may be substituted with Taleggio or Fontina)
• 1 cup (150 g) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces/100 g) unsalted butter
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 3-4 fresh sage leaves (optional)
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes

• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings

Preparation

Place a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.
Blend the two flours well, then form the mixture into a volcano shape on a large wooden board. Pour 1 cup of water into the crater and knead well for about 5 minutes to form a smooth dough. Roll out a sheet of the dough until it is about 1/4-inch thick and cut into 1/2-inch wide by 3-inch long strips.
When the water is boiling, add the cabbage and potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the pizzocheri and boil for another 7-10 minutes, until pizzocheri are al dente and vegetables are tender.

 

 

 

 

Roasted Artichokes.....Good and Plenty

...roasted artichokes that will send you to the moon. First, in a quirt bottle, prepare a mixture of 50% olive oil and 50% water. You will use this to "squire" the artichokes as they are roasting. Set the squirt bottle aside. If you want, you can add a dash of lemon juice too. Next ,in a bowl mince up a bunch of fresh parsley. I good handful or two. Then slices up several fresh garlic cloves. Add in a bit of salt an...d pepper. If you want a little zip, add in some red pepper flakes. If you do not like parsley (really...give it a chance) substitute fresh spinach. Mix the mixture well. Next, stuff the artichokes with the parsley mixture. Gently bend back the leaves and really get them stuffed. After they are stuffed, hit them with the squirt bottle to add in some moisture and place them on the grill. As they are grilling, keep on marinating them with the squirt bottle as they cook. I would say, every few minutes squirt the. The bottle of the artichoke will char a bit, but don't worry. They are done in about 20 to 25 minutes., depending on your grill. Believe me when I say this to you: This is THE original street food, and 2 of these is a meal. Note there is no breadcrumbs here like nana used to make. Therefore these nutritious jewels are a great snack, and a conversation piece ,for sure. Enjoy! BYW: In one of our new episodes, we will show you how...  

Delicious Barilla Pasta Dish

Ingredients for 4 people

1 box Whole Grain Medium Shells
1 jar Barilla® Mushroom sauce
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup red onion sliced thin
4 zucchini diced
¼ cup Red wine
Salt and black pepper to taste
½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese grated
Preparation 10 minutes preparation + 20 minutes cooking           

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet sauté onions in olive oil for 4-5 minutes or until translucent

3. Add zucchini and sauté for 5 minutes

4. Deglaze with wine and reduce completely

5. Add Mushroom sauce and 1 cup water, bring to a simmer and season with salt and pepper

6. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and toss with the sauce

7. Top with cheese before serving

Porchetta, Yes Please from the Italy Blog

Lets me beginning by doing an admission. A few days ago I became addicted and I always want only one thing...always the same thing.  My friends , my name is Laura and I am addicted to the piadina. I had tasted it when I was child and my grandmother took me two weeks in Romagna . Then you grow up, you want to see the world, visiting, eating, traveling .... and the taste of  Piadina romagnola was hidden in a corner of my mind. Then this year we have come back  in Romagna. Warning - as one  chef has told me -  the cuisine of Emilia Romagna  is different from the cusine in Romagna ( even if it is the same region): each of them has the specialties. One of the most traditional food is piadina. You can fill it with whatever you want  even if the porchetta is highly recommended. (read the following post ).
Porchetta? Yes please
Do you want a lighter taste? I got it! Take one piadina- soft and satisfying when you bite it. Add undoubtedly the squaqquerone, a soft white cheese with a delicate taste.  Then  some rucola  (reccomended) and Parma ham, 24 months aged (if you use culatello will not be a drama .... it's still a treat). Now? I sit and quietly, very quietly, I taste my super piadina. A food so simple but that needs  highest quality ingredients. I  am addicted to piadina ... a danger for my diet but a pleasure to my palate!

The Origin of Pizza

Pizza and pizza-like creations are common throughout Italy, and a number of regions claim the honor of having invented pizza in the first place. Not that pizza's invention could ever be proven -- the idea of slipping a flattened disk of dough graced with a topping into a hot oven and baking it quickly is amazingly simple, and many people must have come up with it independently.

Indeed, in a post to It.Hobby.Cucina, the Italian general cooking newsgroup, RoDante da Fano traces pizza's origins from Ancient Egypt to Imperial Rome, where there were a number of different kinds of flat baked breads with a variety of sweet or salty toppings, and goes on to say that the descendents of these proto-pizzas were common throughout the peninsula in the 1700s. In 1835, he continues, Alexandre Dumas noted in his diary that "in Naples pizza is flavored with oil, lard, tallow, cheese, tomato, or anchovies…" Other chroniclers listed other common toppings, also noting that pizza was a cheap food that Neapolitans ate for breakfast or lunch; in the 1870s things stabilized to a degree, when a Neapolitan pizzaiolo created the Margherita, which he named after Italy's beautiful queen, by sprinkling a few fresh basil leaves over a pizza topped with mozzarella and tomato -- red, white and green, the national colors.

The Margherita is still the most popular pizza today, perhaps because it's simple, light and tasty. It's also, in some ways, a better foil for the pizzaiolo's skill than some a pizza with a more elaborate toppings, because what little there is has to be perfect: Well-risen well-turned dough; mozzarella di bufala, made from the milk of the water buffaloes that are raised around Naples; good light tomato sauce; good extra virgin olive oil; and fresh basil. Ideally it should be baked in a wood-fired oven, whose hot floor will rapidly crisp the dough.

At home, a pizza stone can take the place of the terracotta floor of the wood-fired oven, and one can substitute the mozzarella di bufala with mozzarella fiordilatte made from cow's milk (as do most Italian pizzerias). The important thing is that you use good quality ingredients, and make your pizza with care.

Creative Dishes

Chimichurri Sauce

This piquant, vibrant, green sauce is said to have originated in Argentina and is now popular all over Latin and South America. Use as a marinade or accompaniment to grilled, broiled or roasted meats, fish or vegetables. Ingredients: Yields about 1 cup 2 garlic cloves, smashed 1 shallot, halved Large handful of flat-leaf parsley Large handful of cilantro Small handful of mint leaves Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon honey Salt 1/3 cup olive oil, plus extra, if needed In a blender or food processor, combine the garlic, shallots, parsley, cilantro, mint, pepper flakes, vinegar, honey and a pinch of salt. With the motor running, add enough oil in a thin, steady stream until it resembles a thin pesto. Process until combined for a uniform green color, but don't overdo it, as you'll want to retain some texture. If the sauce needs more acid, add a bit more vinegar and whir again; if it needs more sweetness, add a bit more honey. The Chimichurri Sauce will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for up to three days. Recipe printed courtesy of Keepers: Two Home Cooks Share Their Tried and True Weeknight Recipes and Secrets to Happiness in the Kitchen. Available on Amazon and named one of NPR's 2013 Great Reads.

Fabulous Bread and Butter

"You Me and Sicily' W/Rocco Colonna

Thin Spaghetti with Roasted Artichokes, Pine Nuts, Golden Raisins & Pancetta

Ingredients for 7 people

Print Shopping List

1 box Barilla® PLUS® Thin Spaghetti
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic chopped
8 baby artichokes sliced into wedges
to taste salt
to taste black pepper
¾ cup golden raisins reconstituted
¼ cup pine nuts toasted
½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese shredded
1 tablespoon parsley chopped
¼ pound pancetta sliced thin and rendered

Preparation 20 minutes preparation + 15 minutes cooking

1. BRING a large pot of water to a boil

2. In a large skillet, sauté garlic in olive oil for 1-2 minutes

3. ADD artichokes and sauté until they are nice and soft

4. SEASON with salt and pepper

5. ADD raisins and stir to combine

6. COOK pasta 1 minute under required cooking time and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid

7. ADD the reserved cup of cooking liquid to the sauce and bring to a simmer

8. ADD cooked pasta to the sauce and cook for 1 more minute

9. The sauce should become creamy

10. REMOVE from heat and toss with pine nuts, cheese, parsley and crispy pancetta

Easy to make, we've done, a fun project!

Sicilian-Style Meatballs

Contributed by Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli

• ACTIVE: 1 HR
• TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 45 MIN
• SERVINGS: 12 

1. Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli say that dried currants and pine nuts make these meatballs distinctly Sicilian.Two 28-ounce cans peeled Italian tomatoes, crushed 
2. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3. 4 slices of white sandwich bread
4. 4 large eggs, beaten
5. 3 garlic cloves, minced
6. 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
7. 1 teaspoon minced marjoram
8. 2 pounds ground beef chuck
9. 1/2 cup dried currants
10. 1/4 cup pine nuts
11. 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
12. 1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs.

Pour the tomatoes into a large enameled cast-iron casserole and crush them. Add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, soak the bread in water until saturated. Squeeze out the water and transfer the bread to a large bowl. Mash the bread to a paste and stir in the eggs, garlic, parsley, marjoram, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Mash until smooth. Add the chuck, currants, pine nuts and cheese and mix until combined. Add the bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon at a time, and knead until the mixture is firm enough to roll. Form the mixture into 36 meatballs (about 3 tablespoons each), tucking in the currants and pine nuts.
In a large, nonstick skillet, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering. Add the meatballs in 2 batches and fry over moderate heat, turning, until browned and cooked through, about 12 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to a plate. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve in bowls, passing more cheese at the table. 2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

 

Deliciouso !

 Beans with pasta

 

  (Cannellini or navy beans or lentils beans or Garbanzo beans) 

Cook ½ pound of small pasta like ditalini or other kind of pasta or what in Naples is called

pasta “ammischiata” that is mixed pasta crushed together… In a pan sauté 1 garlic clove in3 TBS oil olive. Add 1 cup of cooked tomato sauce. Add 1 or 2 cup of beans and cooked pasta and let them simmer together for 10 minutes.
 

The relatives will love it!

Stuffed and Baked pasta

 

can be made with all kind of pasta: Ziti, Penne, Rotini,

 

Fusilli, Gemelli or Wide egg noodles.

 

The most common in Naples are the one made with

 

the Ziti; my family loves it with the Wide egg-noodles.

 

It is almost like having lasagna.

 

Cook the pasta and drain. Put it back in the pan and

 

add the stuffing: Ragu’-shredded mozzarella-

 

crumbled sausages or meatballs-shredded ham-

 

parmesan cheese. Mix all well and put in a large

 

baking pan. Cover with more sauce, shredded

 

mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

 

 Cover with aluminum foil and Bake at 350 F for 30/40 min.

Mouthwatering Lasagna

  Lasagna

is like the queen ofstuffed and baked pasta and in Naples is obligatory at Christmas.

Cook 1 pound lasagna noodles following the package directions. Use good quality lasagna. It is a lot of work and you want the best taste…Have the Ragu’(double the given recipe) and stuffing ready: ricotta, shredded mozzarella, cubed ham, crumbled sausages or meatballs, parmesan cheese

In a large and long (as the lasagna noodles) baking pan layer the lasagna in this order:

Lasagna noodles-sauce--ricotta--mozzarella--ham--meat--parmesan cheese-sauce…. Repeat.

 Make at least 3 layers. Cover the last layer of lasagna just with sauce, parmesan cheese and some shredded mozzarella. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes at 350° degree. F. *** other way to prepare lasagna is to mix the stuffing and then spread it between the Layers of lasagna.

 

Fantastic Meatballs !

HOW TO PREPARE… MEATBALLS :

Mix 1 pound ground beef with 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, 1 cup flavored bread crumbs (optional garlic or onions). Shape the mixture in balls and put in a frying pan with 1 TBS veg. oil. Cook them on low-medium heat turning them until they are brown in all sides. Add the meatballs( so they can be entirely cooked)  to the cooking sauce and let cook for 1 or 2 hours or more if a thicker sauce is desired.

Sauce from the Angels !

Cooking ITALIAN tomato sauce

 

is an art and when it's done,it's no more tomato Sauce... it is Ragu'!  

 

  The RAGU' is the name in Naples, Italy for TOMATO SAUCE cooked with meat.

In a pan sauté in 2 TBS oil olive, 1 garlic cloves and 1 shredded onion.

Add meat (meatballs or sausages), the tomato sauce (28 oz. can) and a cup of water. (Optional a carrot to reduce acidity and to be later discarded and a glass of wine)

Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and let the sauce cook slowly for 1, o... 2 hours. In Naples they say that the sauce has to "pippiare" which means has to make a p p p sound!

The meat can be served with pasta dishes or crumbled for the preparation of lasagna or pizza toppings.

The Tombstone Railroad

Finally unpacked years of HO model Train models.  Spent years building, then moving, lot's of work to do, getting ready for completion July 2014.

 

True Limoncello recipe

True Limoncello is made in Sorrento, from lemons whose trees overlook the Mediterranean. However, if you have good lemons where you live (I'd want organically grown here), you can get pretty close. It's not difficult.

Ingredients:

• 15 thick-skinned lemons
• 2 bottles (750 ml each)   a 750 ml bottle of 190-proof Everclear alcohol.
• 4 1/2 cups (1 k) sugar  

Preparation:

Wash the lemons in hot water before you start. Remove the peel with a vegetable peeler, removing all white pith on the back of the peel by scraping with a knife, and put the peels in a 4-quart jar.

Add 1 bottle of  alcohol, and stir. Cover the jar, date it, and put it to rest in a dark cabinet at room temperature.

After 40 days, take out the lemon-Alcohol mixture. In a sauce pan set over high heat, stir the sugar and water together and boil for 5 minutes. Let the sugar syrup cool completely in the pan, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar syrup to the lemon-alcohol  mixture along with the second bottle of alcohol. 

Stir well to combine. Replace the cover on the jar and note the finish date. Return it to the dark cabinet and store for 40 more days.

At day 80, remove the limoncello from the cabinet. Strain the mixture and discard the lemon peel.

Pour into clean, unused bottles with caps or decorative corked bottles. Store the bottles in the pantry, but put one bottle at a time in the freezer until ready to use.

Makes approximately 3 quarts.

Note: Grain alcohol is also known as Everclear, after a company that labels it as such.

Yummy Pasta Salad

Ingredients for 4 people

Print Shopping List

1 box BARILLA Rigatoni
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
4 cups packed mixed lettuce pre-washed
½ cup sundried tomato
5 oz Blue cheese crumbled
1 cup almonds roasted and crushed

Preparation 20 minutes preparation + 15 minutes cooking

1. COMBINE oil and vinegar using a bowl

2. ADD salt and pepper to taste

3. COOK Barilla Rigatoni following the instructions on the box

4. DRAIN and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil; place on sheet tray to cool down

5. COMBINE the lettuce leaves with the pasta, the tomatoes and the dressing, using a large bowl

6. SPRINKLE with the cheese and roasted nuts

7. SERVE immediately

You little old corn schredder you!

How to Play Bocce Ball

Lemoncello Recipe from a Pro!

How to Play Bocce Ball (http://www.bocce.org/rules.html#B.Scoring)

Out of this World Cream Puffs.

 These are OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!!!!! Cream puffs
1 8 ounce cream cheese (softened), 
1 box instant vanilla pudding 

1 cup heavy cream 
1 cup milk.

Mix cream cheese in bowl with electric mixer until smooth, light and creamy. Add pudding mix and milk and mix on low until incorporated and then mix on med until thickened. Enjoy ladies. These are actually my cream puffs shown.

Donut:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
4 eggs

Over medium heat melt butter in water. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Immediately add flour salt and sugar whip in with a wooden spoon. Add one egg at a time to incorporate well into dough. Drop by cookie scoop onto parchment paper on baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 min. Cool on wire rack then fill with the custard mixture I posted earlier and dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!!!!!

Hey Nunzio, get me a Pizza with everything on it, no mushrooms.

Zuppa di Ceci, Very Tasty

This is Zuppa di Ceci from the Antica Fattoria del Grottaione at Montenero d’Orcia. (4 helpings.)

Spot the deliberate mistake

Ingredients:
200g chick peas (the fresher and smaller the better, mine are good).
50g onion
1 rib of celery
1 clove of garlic
Best olive oil (mine or local!)
Pancetta slices (optional)


Method:

• Soak the chick peas if you are not sure of their provenance (our last harvest does not need soaking until March/April, they are fresh and small). Boil until almost tender.
• Fry the onion and celery very gently in 3 spoons (a good bottom of the pan) of GOOD e.v. olive oil (whatever you put in influences the flavour, do not skimp). Add the garlic at the last minute then add the chick peas and most of their cooking water. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and cook for 40 minutes until cooked. Remove half the chick peas and reserve. Blend the rest with the cooking liquid (which will have reduced by a third) put back the whole chick peas and add a sprig of rosemary. Cook very gently for another ten minutes.
• Serve in hot soup plates with grilled or fried crostini (bread slices/dice) and crisped (fried or grilled) slices of pancetta (or very thin bacon if desired. At table drizzle (GENEROUSLY) with more of the best olive oil and grind on fresh pepper.

A Sicilian Masterpiece...

INGREDIENTS

600 g 150 g bavette pasta type tiny squid cleaned 50 g shelled shrimp tails 50 g shelled mussels 50 g shelled clams olive oil 250 g tomato pulp 1 cup white wine 1 cup brandy 2 1/2 cloves garlic 1 carrot 1 small onion 1

grip 1 piece chili chopped parsley.

PREPARATION

In a saucepan heat a tablespoon oil, 2 cloves of garlic, chilli and, almost at the same time, the squid; Cook over high heat, stir well, wet with wine, half keepn then add the tomato sauce and a little water, cover the Pan and continue cooking at moderate flame.

In another saucepan with a tablespoon of oil, 1/2 clove of minced garlic and a pinch of salt, add the mussels, clams and mescolateper few seconds, withdrawn from the fire.In the same saucepan, pour in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, add the chopped carrot and onion, Saute, Add shrimp tails, stir, pour the rest of the wine and brandy, continue cooking for 2 or 3 minutes to heat, then pour all the pan with Squid.

Cook the bavette al dente and put them in a pot, cover with half of the sauce, Sprinkle chopped parsley, stir and serve.

Passed apart from the rest of the sauce.

An easy way to make Pasta Sauce

Ingredients
2 table spoons of olive oil
1/4 of onion
1/4 cup of white wine
3 cups of pulped tomato
sea salt
fresh basil

Prep:
Put some olive oil and the chopped oinion in a frying pan and cook until the onion is golden brown.
Then add 1/4 of white wine after 5 minutes add the tomato sauce.
Cook for about 1 hour very slowly and add sea salt and fresh basil.

Wise Guys Sicilian Meatballs and Spaghetti

#Two 28-ounce cans peeled Italian tomatoes, crushed

1. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2. Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
3. 4 slices of white  bread
4. 4 large eggs, beaten
5. 3 garlic cloves, minced
6. 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
7. 1 teaspoon minced marjoram
8. 2 pounds ground beef chuck
9. 1/2 cup dried currants
10. 1/4 cup pine nuts
11. 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
12. 1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
13. 2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

1. Pour the tomatoes into a large enameled cast-iron casserole and crush them. Add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, soak the bread in water until saturated. Squeeze out the water and transfer the bread to a large bowl. Mash the bread to a paste and stir in the eggs, garlic, parsley, marjoram, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Mash until smooth. Add the chuck, currants, pine nuts and cheese and mix until combined. Add the bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon at a time, and knead until the mixture is firm enough to roll. Form the mixture into 36 meatballs (about 3 tablespoons each), tucking in the currants and pine nuts.
3. In a large, nonstick skillet, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering. Add the meatballs in 2 batches and fry over moderate heat, turning, until browned and cooked through, about 12 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to a plate. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve in bowls, passing more cheese at the table.

 

Olivi ai finocchietti - Olives with wild fennel seeds

Wild fennel grows in the hedgerows of Campodimele, and its seeds offer a sweet foil to the saltiness of olives.  The crushed seeds are very pungent, and a few go a long way.

Two or three handfuls of cured green olives
Four large cloves of garlic, peeled and squashed by the side of a knife
Few pinches of wild fennel seeds, lightly crushed
Few pinches of crushed dried red chilli
Good splash of extra virgin olive oil

Place all the indgredients together in a bowl and mix well.  Leave to marinate for a least twelve hours, stirring frequently, then serve at room temperature as antipasti.
Favorite recipies from "A Year in the Village of Eternity."

Spaghetti con olio, aglio e perperoncino

Spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and hot chilli pepper

 

This spaghetti dish is known in the town in Campodimele as the spaghetti of chuckholds because it's so quick to make that it's the pasta course of choice for housewives too busy being unfaithful to their husbands to prepare anything more elaborae.  It is indeed the simplest and most delicious store-cupboard standby meal.

 

 

40OG (14 Oz) spaghetti

Three or four good splashes of extra virgin olive oil

Three cloves of the freshest garli, finely chopped

Fine seal salt

Few good inches of crushed dried red chilli

 

Bring a large pan of salt water to a boil, add the spaghetti, and cook according to the instructions on the packet, usually about eight to ten minutes.

About one minute before the pasta is coooked al dente, heat the olive oil in a large, deep pan an add the garlic, stir over a high heat for about one minute, ensuring the garlic does not colour.

Remove the oil and garlic from the heat, and stir in a pinch or two of salt and a few inces of crushed dried chilli, add a little or a lot, according to taste.

The spaghetti should now be al dente, so drain through a colander, and add to the pan of flavorured oil, mixing well to ensure every strand is well coated.

Serves 4

 

Pasta ' to Carrittiera

Few dishes can be the tastiest and cheapest of Pasta ' to Carrittiera, whose name originates from the Carrittiera's who used it during their long days of work.
 

The Carrittiera's wives prepared the  recipe in the morning, and kept the dish in a  tiny Tin lunch door or aluminum container that the they brought with them along with a flask of red wine.
The pasta was a bit "rested" when it came time for pause: but at least the sauce was fresh and freshly prepared. Why? Because the seasoning of "Style" is all raw, and  could virtually be prepared quiet easily. 
Preparation:
For 4 people
400 gr. vermicelli or spaghetti or bucatini (but can go even the pasta in case you want to make a pasta salad)
4 cloves garlic
copious amounts of olive oil
parsley
Basil
Salt
pepe
Chili
a couple of ripe tomatoes
Optional even a hint of mint and pecorino cheese grattigiato.

Essentially the process is very quick and easy, and is to shred the knife all the ingredients to mix them with olive oil then ramming everything with a fork.
The olive oil will join the juice released from tomatoes, forming a light emulsion. Parsley, Basil and garlic (and, if you like, mint) along with pepper and chilli will give a unique taste to the dish. The sauce will be stirred once drained pasta and should never move from the fire of the stove.
Dish that is now enjoyed on summer evenings and during the classic "spaghetti" precisely because it very fresh on the palate, easy implementation due to ingredients that are always found in all cases and in all seasons.

There are enrichment and additions that may include almonds, pistachios and toasted pine nuts and crushed: even with the addition of almonds in fact materialises the so-called pesto alla Trapanese. A dish that i knew al porto Trapani, where Genoese ships stopped including the sailors drank their pasta al pesto. The sailors then assimilated into the dish of Trapani, but modified by adding ingredients typical of their land to which they were accustomed their palates.
But the basic seasoning is the fruit of the imagination of the Carters and their wives, skilled housewives with a keen eye to the expense and with little money to invest in power.
Ultimately, therefore, the Carters can rightly be considered the forerunners of the now famous "pasta salad" because, more by necessity than by choice, their excellent pasta was consumed cold.

Pasta in Frescati, Italy

Hot Delicious Minestrone

Minestrone is one of Italy's signature dishes, and every region has its own variety. This minestrone recipe is drawn from Pellegrino Artusi, the late dean of Italian gastronomes, and as you read it you will understand why his book is still selling briskly a century later.

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts (2 liters) simmering broth (beef or vegetable)
• 1/2 cup dried white beans (cannellini or similar), or a cup fresh beans.
• 1 packed cup each shredded Savoy cabbage, spinach, and beet greens
• A clove of garlic, crushed
• A bunch of parsley, a small carrot, a short celery stalk, and a small onion, minced
• A zucchino and a potato, diced
• 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, or minced, seeded, and peeled sun-ripened or canned plum tomatoes
• 1/2 cup rice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Boiling water
• Grated Parmigiano

The vegetables listed above are indicative: Feel free to modify the list according to your tastes and what's available.

If the beans are dried, soak them overnight. If they are fresh, this won't be necessary. Heat the shredded greens in a pot until they wilt and drain them well.

Next, simmer the vegetables in the broth. When they’re almost done (taste a piece of potato; it should be soft but not falling apart), check seasoning, add the rice, and continue cooking, stirring gently. The rice should serve to absorb excess liquid, but if the soup gets too thick, add some boiling water.

Serve the soup with the grated cheese for those who want it. Artusi observes that some people like to add shredded salt pork to their minestrone as well, and goes on to warn that the dish "is best avoided by those with weak stomachs." It will serve four as part of a one course meal, with a tossed salad. I’d serve it with a light red wine, or a fairly robust white. A good Vermentino would be quite nice.

Sugo alla Bolognese

Sugo alla Bolognese, a rich pasta sauce made with ground beef and a hint of tomato, may have originated in Bologna, but is just as popular in Tuscany as it is in Emilia Romagna, and indeed winter wouldn't be quite the same without its simmering on the stove, filling the house with wonderful aromas, and then bringing joy to the table too.

Add ossibuchi, veal (or beef) shanks to the pot, and the results are heavenly: The sauce gains a delightful satiny texture from the marrow in the bones, while the shanks gain greatly from the herbs used to season the sauce. Boil up pasta water and prepare some spinach while the sauce cooks, and you'll have a perfect two course Italian-style winter meal. To serve 4 - 6:
1 pound (500 g) ground beef - not too lean, or the sauce will be dry

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
• A medium-sized onion
• A carrot
• A 10-inch stalk of celery
• A small bunch of parsley
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• An 8-0unce (225 g) can tomato paste
• 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) beef or veal shanks (4-5 pieces of meat, with bone)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• A pound of pasta, either flat, e.g. pappardelle, or round, e.g. ziti or penne
• Grated Parmigiano.

Begin by flouring the ossibuchi and browning them over a medium flame in a skillet with a non-stick surface. Additional fat will not be necessary.

Spaghetti cooked Risotto-style

Spaghetti cooked Risotto-style

Posted August 10, 2011 by silviascucina in food writing, from scratch, home-made pasta, italian food, pasta, spaghetti, Uncategorized, Vegetable pasta, vegetarian food. Tagged: al dente, best ever spaghetti cooked risotto style recipe, best spaghetti ever, Best spaghetti pomodoro recipe, best way to cook spaghetti with tomato sauce parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, italian food, spaghetti, spaghetti cooked risotto style, spaghetti cooked risotto style method, Spaghetti cooked risotto style recipe, tomato sauce. 14 Comments

 Blanche noodle them (450 gr-1 pound) a large pot of salted boiling water for 2 minutes, just enough for the strands to start softening a little, then he tonged them out and plonked them in the tomato sauce along with enough acqua di cottura (pasta cooking water) to keep them covered.

Stir gently and amorously, bringing the spaghetti to a perfect al Dente texture, in roughly 8 to 9 minutes.

This method is a close relative of Risotto style of cooking rice and it creates a very similar result.

As the spaghetti cooked in the tomato broth, it absorbed all the flavours and the starch released by the gentle stirring motion, created a creamy, irresistible sauce

A generous dusting of grated Parmigiano brought this dish together is all its simplicity and goodness.

Note: make this sauce by shallow frying a couple of French shallots in a little EVOO, then get some fresh Passata,  reduced it for a few minutes and then added a generous amount of halved cherry tomatoes.

If you don’t have the luxury of getting your hands on home-made tomato sauce, please feel free to use good quality tinned Passata or Pelati, like Mutti or Cirio, if you can find them.