Pasta Fagiole

 

 This recipe was given to me by my Mother in Law. It's truly a simple and oh so comforting recipe that I had never had before. I had never ordered it for fear of the unknown. When she ordered it it smelled so delicious and I asked for a bite. I haven't looked back since! Yummo!

 

Ingredients

 

5 cups water

8 ounces dried Great Northern or Navy beans (about 1 & 1/4 cups) (you could really use what ever white bean you like) 

* to save time use canned beans and less sit/boil time is needed *

 

1 large onion, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped or 1 eight-ounce can tomato sauce

2 medium stalks celery, sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 pound salt pork chopped (or 1/4 to 1.2 pound cooked ham, chopped can be added with the salt pork)

2 teaspoons instant beef boullion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup uncooked macaroni (shells, bows, or elbow)

Grated Parmesan cheese 

 

Process

 

 1. Heat water and beans in a dutch oven, until boiling. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 1 hour. 

 

2. Add onions, celery, tomato, garlic, salt pork, bouillon, salt and pepper to the beans. Heat to to boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until beans are tender, about two hours. DO NOT BOIL as beans will burst. Skim fat if necessary. 

 

3. Stir macaroni into the soup. Cover and simmer until the macaroni is tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. 

 

4.  Sprinkle with cheese as you serve.  Accompany with more cheese for the table. 

Potted Beef Italian Style AKA Italian Pot Roast

 

Ingredients
1 cup olive oil
3 lb chuck or rump roast of beef
1 carrot, chopped
I stalk celery, chopped
I onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
1 oz. dried mushrooms
water
1 cup red wine
1 small can tomato paste
2 cups warm beef broth or consumme

Process

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat the oil and brown the beef quickly on all sides. 
2. Add the carrot, celery, and onion and cook until the onion is golden brown. 
3. Add garlic, bay leaves, salt and pepper. 
4. Continue cooking over low heat. 
5. Soak the mushrooms in warm water for several minutes. 
6. Drain off the water, chop the mushrooms, and add the meat and vegetables. 
7. Cook, uncovered, over low heat for four minutes. 
8. Add wine and tomato paste, diluted with warm beef broth, cover and bring to a boil. 
9. Continue cooking, covered, until the meat is tender, about 2 and 1/2 hours. 
10. Stir occasionally, basting the meat from time to time. 
11. If the gravy becomes too thick, add more warm beef broth. When the meat is done, remove from pan and serve immediately. 
12. Serve the gravy, unstrained, over any kind of pasta, polenta or gnocci.

TuttoItaliano: Valentine Day Cansunziei

TuttoItaliano: Valentine Day Cansunziei

this sounds awesome!

Brajole

In Marie's words, "It's spelled 'brajole' pronounced brashol." Meet Marie. There's much more to her name than that, so I'm just going to leave it at Marie. Heck, there's so much more to Marie than her name, like her cooking. It is Marie's cooking that I am now learning about, after knowing her for about the last 20 years of my life, give or take a few! Marie was up for our party last weekend, and at Bruce's request made Brajole. What a journey of cooking! It was a fun trip to the market with Marie and got most of the photos of the process that I wanted - even scoring my favorite cooking photo ever. With out further ado... here's Marie and her Brajole!
Ingredients
Flank Steak, butterflied
curly parsley, minced
fresh garlic cloves, minced
butchers twine
tomato sauce
bacon, slightly cooked
raisins
parmagiano reggiano cheese
Italian herbed bread crumbs

Process
Basically you use butterflied flank steak, stuff it with various "stuff", roll, tie tightly with twine (don't use cotton twine) and bake fry or cook in oil or gravy aka tomato sauce. (oil cooks faster than the sauce).
Options for "stuff" include grated Parmagiano Reggiano cheese (can use Parm or Romano, any brand will do), minced fresh curly parsley, Italian flavored bread crumbs, minced FRESH garlic (jarred stuff just sucks all the way around), and raisins (these are optional).


And top it with bacon. My family does it the following: slightly undercooked bacon (don't use specialty bacon...just the run of the mill)


This is my favorite picture ever - just look at the shape of her hands and the way the raisins fill the bottom corner of the picture. OK, kill me now, I am loving food photography too much.

We roll it, tie it tight and fry in a frying pan with olive oil on low with lid on part of the time (helps to cook middle without charring the outside).
















Let it cool a bit, carefully snip off twine and slice - not too thin as it will fall apart! A serrated knife works best. Sometimes it helps to slice before you take off the string. This dish takes time, patience and constant supervision.

Laurie’s Honey and Almond Biscotti

This recipe for Honey Almond Biscotti comes from my dear friend La. It makes roughly 2 dozen biscotti.

Ingredients
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup slivered almonds toasted

Process
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Butter and flour a large baking sheet.
3. In a large bowl, whisk flour, 1 and1/2 cups sugar, baking powder, and salt until blended.
4. Make well in center of dry ingredients.
5. Add 4 eggs, honey, lemon peel, and vanilla to center of well.
6. Stir egg mixture gradually, until blended and mixed with dry ingredients.
7. Mix in the almonds.
8. Drop dough onto prepared sheet by Tablespoonfuls, forming into two 12-inch-long by 2-inch-wide logs.
9. Space logs 3 inches apart on sheet.
10. Using moistened fingertips, flatten or shape logs neatly (as in smooth into biscotti like shapes).
11. Beat remaining egg in small bowl. Brush logs generously with egg.
12. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
13. Bake until logs are golden and firm to the touch, about 15 minutes.
14. Reduce oven to 325. Cool logs on baking sheet about 10 minutes.
15. Transfer warm logs to work/cutting surface.
16. Cut logs, on a slight diagonal, into 1/2 inch-thick slices.
17. Arrange slices, cut side down, on 2 clean baking sheets.
18. Return to oven and bake until lightly golden, about 8 minutes.
19. Cool completely.
20. Store in an airtight container up to week, but if you have a bunch of people around you with the munchies, they won’t last an hour!