The French definitely got this one right.
½ cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
3 garlic cloves
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dry white wine
½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 pounds assorted fresh white mushrooms, stemmed & sliced (larger mushrooms quartered, medium mushrooms halved)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
Additional fresh Italian parsley
Finely chop parsley with 1 garlic clove and set aside. Finely chop remaining 2 garlic cloves. Whisk chopped garlic, 4 tablespoons oil, wine and ½ teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Add mushrooms and toss to coat.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add mushroom mixture and sauté until mushrooms are light brown and just tender, about 10 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Mix in parsley mixture and lemon juice. Season to taste with more salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer mixture to bowl. Garnish with additional fresh parsley and serve.
Now that I’m living back in the Boston area, what better than to shell out some recipes that are regional favorites. At first I thought, Clam Chowdah!! Then, I thought, no way. I’m not confident enough to attach my name to any home cooked clam chowder recipes just yet. There are too many good places around the corner to get great chowder. Why waste time at home? Legal Sea Foods, Woodman’s and Newick’s are my favorites.
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes in a thick puree
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
2 19-oz cans of small white beans, rinsed and drained, about 4 cups
1 medium onion, cut crosswise into ¼-in thick slices
6 bacon slices
Heat oven to 400°. Stir together tomatoes, brown sugar, mustard and salt in a bowl. Gently stir in the beans and transfer to a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Arrange onion slices in one layer over beans, then cover onion with the bacon. Bake uncovered, until bacon is browned and beans have absorbed most of the liquid, about an hour and a half.
There’s nothing better in this world than home-cooked southern vegetables. This recipe definitely represents!
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 slices bacon, chopped
1 large white onion, chopped
3 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
2 quarts chicken stock
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Heat a heavy bottomed stock pot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, bacon and onions and cook until the onion is soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the green beans and chicken stock; season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover and stew the beans until they are soft but not mushy, about 30 to 45 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
People, are canned peas the worst thing in the world. I think so. Fresh peas, if you can find them, are pretty good when prepared correctly. This is an Italian variation of cooked peas. Try it and get back to me.
¼ cup of creamery butter, melted
4 Thin slices of prosciutto, minced
6 Fresh sprigs of Italian flat leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped fine
2 shallots or 2 whole fresh green onions (scallions), diced
Pinch each of salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds of fresh peas in the pod
Combine in a skillet the butter, prosciutto, parsley, shallots, and salt and pepper; heat. Hull and wash the peas and place them in a saucepan. Add enough boiling salted water to cover. Add about half of the pods, well washed to give them more flavor. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender. Drain, and discard the pods. Add the peas to the butter-ham mixture. Cook slowly for five minutes and serve. You can use frozen peas if good fresh ones aren’t available. Those of you in southern California can find some awesome imported prosciutto at Calentino’s Deli in Costa Mesa on Harbor and Adams. GREAT PROSCIUTTO !!! Tastes like silk!
Bacon and corn … corn and bacon. Few marriages are as pleasant as this one.
8 ears white corn
1 pound bacon
Gently pull back the husk exposing the corn. DO NOT remove the husk!! Remove the corn silk and use a brush to make sure all the silk is removed. Soak the corn with the silks removed in water for 30 minutes or longer (the longer the better). This will prevent the husks from charring.
Heat a grill to medium heat. Remove from the water and pat dry. Take a strip of bacon and wrap it around the corn. Fold the corn leaves back over, covering the bacon and corn. Tie the leaves with butcher string and repeat the process for each ear of corn. Place the ears of corn on the hot grill and cook, turning occasionally until bacon is cooked and corn is tender, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Thanks Paula!
1 medium head of cauliflower
2 eggs, well beaten
½ cup sifted all-purpose flour
¼ cup milk
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons melted butter
Extra-virgin olive oil for frying
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese
Wash and trim the cauliflower. Break it into flowerets. Place eggs, flour, and salt & pepper in a bowl. Combine milk, cream and butter and add to the flour mixture to make a batter. Dip flowerets into batter. Fry the breaded flowerets, a few at a time, in the hot olive oil. Serve while hot with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Yankees suck!
Never being a spinach fan as a kid, I fell in love with creamed spinach while dining at Izzy’s Steak & Chop House in San Francisco. The House of Prime Rib, also in San Francisco, has very good creamed spinach as well, but they put a bit too much nutmeg in it.
10-16 ounces of fresh spinach
½ cup of heavy cream
Two tablespoons of butter
Fine grain sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Boil spinach with a pinch of salt for one minute or until it is bright green and tender. Cool the cooked spinach with ice water; squeeze excess moisture from it and chop it. Getting as much of the water out of the spinach is real important. Place the cream in a small saucepan, turn the heat to medium and cook for five minutes. Turn the heat to low and add the spinach, butter, salt, pepper and pinch of ground nutmeg. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is creamy and very soft, about 10 minutes.
Sometimes I’ll lace the creamed spinach with some onion. For this, sauté a small amount of very, very thinly sliced white or yellow onions with another ½ tablespoon of butter for about five minutes. Add along with the rest of the ingredients of the recipe.
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