Cooking from lockdown...

Angela

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Two recipes from isolation.

I ordered some stew beef, but when it was picked up it was a 4.5 pound Chuck Roast.

I could have cut it up, but I do like pot roast, so into the oven it went.

Always leave meat out for 30 minutes to come to room temp. Then dry with a paper towel.

First, I heavily salted and peppered it. Then, I patted it with some flour to thicken the "gravy" or juice later.

Next, I seared it on all sides in a few tablespoons of light olive oil. (maybe two-three minutes per side) Don't let it burn, just brown.

After that was done I removed the meat, added a bit more oil, and put in 2 medium chopped onions , then 3 large chopped garlic cloves, keep stirring, then about 2 very large chopped carrots, and two cut up large stalks of celery. The vegetables should be roughly equal in quantity, If you want them to sort of disappear, cut small, otherwise leave them a bit larger as a sort of small side dish. When that had sauteed a bit, I added 2 tablespoons of flour to make a sort of roux, and then 1 tablespoon full of tomato paste.

Be careful it doesn't burn. Next I added 2 cups of beef stock (Kitchen Basics is my favorite here in the U.S.) and 1 cup of red wine.

I placed a sprig of rosemary and one bay leaf on top, then covered the Dutch Oven and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 3-3 1/2 hours, or you can cook it on the stovetop. Cook on low flame if cooking on the stovetop.

You can strain some of the liquid at the end and if it isn't thick enough for you use some cornstarch.

(It actually took 3 1/2 hours plus. Every cut of meat is different.)

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After two days of pot roast, I needed something lighter so I made a light lunch for two: tuna and white cannellini bean salad. It's one of my staple pantry meals.

Get a can of good quality tuna fish for this. I use the ones in oil, usually imported from Italy, but you can use the ones in water if that's what you have now.


Place that in a bowl, first draining out the water and excess oil.

Open, drain, and rinse one can of white cannellini beans. Add to bowl. (Of course, if you have dried beans, cover with water, soak over night and then boil.)

Thinly slice a sweet purple onion and add to the bowl, or spring onions before they spoil.

If you have cherry tomatoes and want to use them before they go bad you can slice and throw some in.

Sometimes, if I'm really craving savory I'll also add a few diced capers which have been de-salted. Or add some piquant olives you might have on hand.

It's up to you.

Then just dress with good olive oil and maybe some lemon juice or red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and done.
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Someone picked up a huge head of escarole for me, so tonight I'll make bean and escarole soup for tomorrow. I'm trying out a new variation.
 
On an Italian site I saw a new recipe for using up thin sliced chicken breast.

I used four big "escalopes", passed them in an egg wash to which I had added salt and pepper, and then floured them.

I then sauteed them for about three minutes per side in olive oil. They then went into a layer on the bottom of a rectangular glass baking dish.

I diced one onion and sauteed it in better olive oil, salt, and pepper. I did the same separately with a big package of sliced mushrooms, which are all over the markets. You could use canned mushrooms if fresh aren't available, a big can. I started the mushrooms in just olive oil, then, when the water the fresh mushrooms throw off had evaporated I added a little more oil, chopped garlic (2 cloves), a big handful of fresh chopped parsley, and some lemon juice.

I then layered the onions and mushrooms over the chicken.

The recipe then calls for layering thick sliced tomatoes on it, but the big tomatoes taste like paper, so I skipped that part.

On top of that the recipe called for grated cheese, so I put lots of grated fontina on it and then popped the whole thing in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

It was really good. This might be a keeper recipe for when guests come over, and YES they will come over again. I'm determined. :)

I'm wondering, though, if it would be better with just a bit of chicken broth added to the bottom of the baking dish before layering the mushrooms and onions, and maybe next time gruyere instead, for a change, and maybe white wine for the mushrooms instead of lemon juice.

Every recipe needs tinkering...
 
I have preparing fish dinners down perfectly now, since we've been in quarantine. I've been baking cod, and trout in the toaster oven, with garlic, olive oil, cilantro, salt, pepper, parsley, lemon and soy sauce. I make a salad on the side, and enjoy it with a white wine.

Today, we had fettine cooked in the skillet with olive oil, water, salt, pepper, garlic and lemon, for lunch with some toasted bread.

We've also been making rio mare tuna salad with chopped carrots, celery, garlic, green olives, parsley, cilantro, on toast for lunch.

We also baked some bread too, and will be making some more tomorrow.

We went to Sam's club the other day and stocked up on at least a month's worth of groceries. We have chicken, beef, and fish for at least 12 days, and plenty of pasta for in-between. We also stocked up on plenty of wine!
 
We'e cooking different dishes lately but I feel like baking today. I am craving for Cheesecake Factory so I would be making Dulce de Leche Cheesecake.
 
While there was no toilet paper on the shelves, there was plenty of fresh produce, so...high in iron, protein, and other essential nutrients.

Rao’s Escarole and Bean Soup

½ cup olive oil
4 cups cannelloni beans, boiled (or substitute canned)
2 bunches escarole
1-2 cups chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese for topping

Wash escarole in cold water. Cut off tough stem end and remove any damaged leaves. Tear into medium sized pieces and boil in salted water for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and submerge in cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain. Squeeze the excess water out and blot dry. You can cover and refrigerate the escarole if not needed immediately.
Mince 4 cloves of garlic. Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté for a minute or two. Add beans, broth, escarole, salt and pepper. Cook a few minutes until the entire soup is warm. To serve top with freshly grated pecorino romano cheese.

I only use one cup of chicken stock because I like it more like a stew than a soup, but that's a matter of personal taste.

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If you're using canned beans, it's a question of 15-20 minutes.
 
With all the other fresh produce I'm making Tuscan ribollita. I know of no better way to get all the daily vegetables one needs, and it's a good way of using up fresh bread that is going stale.

I'm not going to type up mine. This video gives you the idea and is subtitled in English. For the green vegetables I use cavolo nero if I can find it, but they didn't have any, so: chopped kale, shredded cabbage, some swiss chard minus the hard stems. My soffritto in the very beginning has lots more carrots, celery, onions, and two cloves of garlic. When the beans go in I'm going to add some diced potatoes since I have tons. I use vegetable stock normally, but my jar of cubes is empty and I'm waiting for refills, so I'm going to use chicken stock, but water is fine. My herb of choice is rosemary.

Put your best olive oil on top, and also your best fresh grated cheese.

 
We overdid the buying of rice (I have enough for six months, I think), but more importantly, the milk. I've frozen quite a bit, which I'm told works, but to use up some of the rest I'm making an old standby from my childhood (and my childrens'): what we called rice and milk soup. I think in Lombardia they call it ris e lat. It can also be made savory with parmigiano and some onion, but my mother would make the sweet version for me for breakfast and occasionally for lunch. You basically bring milk, sugar, vanilla, and in those days, if they were available, the part of the rind of a lemon to a boil. At the end you mix in a pat of butter.

I don't really measure, but this video shows the measurements in grams, and if you want to try it you can easily convert through google. I add more milk than that because I like it "soupier".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOycVTyqmEU

I have the same problem with apples, in that we bought too many. We're really not crazy about eating raw apples, but they do last for quite a while, and you need fruits. However, they don't last forever, so I'm baking them, which everyone seems to like better.

I basically just slice off the top with the stem, core the apples (making sure the bottom remains intact), cut the skin halfway down, put 1/2 tsp sugar, and a dab of butter inside each apple, along with a sprinkling of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg if I'm in the mood, place them inside a pan which is oven safe and has a lid, and add boiling water just to the bottom. For a small Dutch oven with only four apples, maybe 1/2 cup. Then the covered pan goes in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

There are lots of fancier recipes with apples caramelized in butter, or apple crisps, or putting nuts etc inside the apples, or oats, and even for this recipe most people put 1-2 tsp sugar and a whole tbsp. of butter per apple, but I'm trying to be weight conscious.
 
Eastern here is 19 April
at West is 12 April,

how about some Easter delights?
 
Well, if you have access to eggs and rice, there's always our Easter torta di riso or rice pie...

https://www.eupedia.com/forum/threads/35771-Easter-rice-cake-Torta-di-riso?highlight=rice+pie

Two of many types:

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Otherwise, we usually eat leg of lamb. Who knows if there will be any? ( In Italy they also eat kid.)

I do it this way, except I would slice off more of the fat, I wouldn't put as much garlic, and for my liking she over cooked it; we like it medium rare.
watch


Traditionally, we eat roasted potatoes with it, and artichokes are always on the menu, but I don't know if they'll be in the markets.

My family loves garlic so I would use three medium cloves for that many potatoes, and I let them cook longer because we like them a bit "crunchier". No need to use the parchment paper, but then you need more oil.

We boil them first so you get a crunchy outside but a fluffy inside. You don't need to, however.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW0mePnXucU&pbjreload=10
 
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Very simple recipe for Easter Bread. I'm sure every country in Europe does a similar one.

 
Pantry Pasta from Bon Appetit...The more "Italian" ones seem fine; I don't know about the Asian inspired ones because not eating very much South Asian food especially I have no "feel" for what combinations would work.

I was shocked one of the cooks had to use canned mackerel because she had no canned tuna fish. That's one of my staples. I probably always have at east ten jars or cans in the pantry. That said, her recipe for pasta and "tuna" sounds good. I'm less surprised she didn't have canned sardines. I think here in the U.S. it's an Italian and Greek thing.

 
Otherwise, we usually eat leg of lamb. Who knows if there will be any? ( In Italy they also eat kid.)

I do it this way, except I would slice off more of the fat, I wouldn't put as much garlic, and for my liking she over cooked it; we like it medium rare.
watch


Traditionally, we eat roasted potatoes with it, and artichokes are always on the menu, but I don't know if they'll be in the markets.

My family loves garlic so I would use three medium cloves for that many potatoes, and I let them cook longer because we like them a bit "crunchier". No need to use the parchment paper, but then you need more oil.

We boil them first so you get a crunchy outside but a fluffy inside. You don't need to, however.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW0mePnXucU&pbjreload=10

We made an excellent lamb roast for Easter, and had a virtual Zoom dinner with our families. The next day, we made lamb sandwiches in ciabatta bread, and put diced-cucumbers with goat cheese on it. It was amazing! My fiancée also made a delicious tiramisu crepe cake.
 
We made an excellent lamb roast for Easter, and had a virtual Zoom dinner with our families. The next day, we made lamb sandwiches in ciabatta bread, and put diced-cucumbers with goat cheese on it. It was amazing! My fiancée also made a delicious tiramisu crepe cake.

I'm definitely going to steal that sandwich combination! :)
 
My friend e-mailed me this version of baked Italian seasoning chicken breasts. She doesn't remember where she got it.

I thought I'd give it a try since it's like a make ahead recipe whereas real Italian cooking is mostly right before serving, and also it uses the thick chicken breasts which are usually sold in a pack here. The ones she used are boneless.

I halved the oil and garlic, and I don't like oregano very much so I substituted rosemary. It was good, and it's a real non cook recipe. Anyone can do it.

[FONT=&quot]
  • 1/4 cup good olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)
  • 1/3 cup dry white wine
  • 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (6 to 8 ounces each)
  • 1 lemon
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don’t allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 × 12-inch baking dish.
Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn’t browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.


We were talking about canned sardines before, and I had two pieces on top of my version of Greek salad today. It was really good.
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Today we are grilling some fish, corn and we have citrus fruits for desserts. We are trying to practice healthy living now a days to help prevent sickness. Stay safe everyone!
 

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