Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Tasty Tidbits Tuesday’ Category

The Turkey Cost HOW MUCH???

Posted in BY THE WAY, Everyday Food, Smooth or Crunchy, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 26, 2013| 4 Comments »

MEMO to Self:  Make sure you ask what the price per pound is before you order!!! I learned a lesson today that I WILL NEVER forget.    

English: A picture taken of a Turkey.

English: A picture taken of a Turkey. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Two weeks ago when I was in the Delicious Orchards store buying those delicious soup mixes I checked out the price per pound on their fresh-killed turkeys.   I have a thing for fresh-killed turkeys, never been a Butterball fan with the pop-up timer and having to thaw the damn bird in my refrigerator for days.   The prices vary slightly depending on whether the turkey was organic and/or free range.  I don’t exactly remember what the actual price per pound was at Delicious Orchards but it couldn’t be too much higher than Wegman’s.  Now they are selling turkeys for $2.49 per lb. and organic free range fresh killed turkeys for $4.99 per lb.  I don’t even want to tell you that when I was a young married, you could get turkeys on sale at Thanksgiving for .59 cents per lb.  Can you believe it?  And right now I want to go on record that I resent the fact that the cent sign has been removed from keyboards.

I thought we were going to be 3 AND I swore this would be sooooooo simple a meal so I decided to just roast a turkey breast.  After all we love the white meat… sounded like a good idea to me.  I made that decision about 10 days  ago when I was in NYC and called Delicious Orchards to place my order for a Bell & Evans full turkey breast.  Bell & Evans produces really fine poultry.  I don’t know if they are just regional or national, but around here, their reputation is excellent.

Well today was my shopping day and after I went to Wegman’s to pick up all the other ingredients needed to make the sides, the salad and the dessert, I drove to Colt’s Neck to the Orchard to pick up my turkey breast and pumpkin pie and just a couple more things. The store was beyond crowded and it is NOT laid out like a regular grocery store. There are no real aisles, omg the carts were circling and weaving everywhere.

They had extra check-out counters manned so I was able to step right up and put my 1 red pepper, 2 navel oranges, a bottle of blue cheese dressing, about 6 apples, a soup mix package, a half gallon of cider, a dozen eggs,  a pumpkin pie and my turkey breast on the conveyer belt.  I had $93. with me and assumed  I had plenty of money to buy my items and then some.

YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN SHE ANNOUNCED THE TOTAL WAS $106.23! Are you f_____g kidding me?  I was so taken aback, I actually repeated the number and muttered to myself, “wow”.  Luckily I had my American Express card with me and after I paid the bill, I hurried out to my car.  It was raining so I quickly put the bags in the back seat.  I just sat in the car talking to myself about what just transpired.  After a moment or two, I picked up my cell phone and called the store from the parking lot.  

“Please connect me to the meat dept”.  “Hi, I wonder if you could tell me how much it cost per pound for a Bell & Evans turkey breast”?  “The reason I’m asking is because I just picked my order up and the turkey breast was rung up for $62.37″.  He replies, “Let’s see, the price per pound is $6.49″ .  OMG! I had been so hoping he was going to tell me it was  an error and this turkey breast did NOT cost $62.37!  “Thank you” I choked out the words.

NEVER AGAIN! 

Well I am taking this platinum-plated bird breast out tomorrow and am going to inject brine into it.  This is only the second time I ever brined a turkey.  The first time I was convinced not to do it again because it was so salty. This time I am making the brine and controlling how much I put into the breast.  Then I’m going make a garlic and herb paste that Emeril and Martha made and put it under the skin.  It goddam better be friggin’ delicious! 

Read Full Post »

ROMAN STYLE BUCATINI

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , on November 19, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Bucatini

Bucatini (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lately, if it’s not soup, it’s pasta (we call it macaroni) and you know I love to cook both.  This past weekend I made a pasta dish I’ve been wanting to try for awhile.  It calls for using a macaroni known as Bucatini.  As for as long as I’ve known, Bucatini was a long spaghetti-like strand of macaroni that was hollow in the middle.  Heavier and thicker than regular spaghetti or linguine and a macaroni that needed a sauce to stand up to it.

However, when I went shopping for this pastas, what I found was a package being marketed as Bucatini but the pieces had been cut into lengths of about 3 1/2 inches.  Mmmm I thought this is not the real thing BUT as it turns out, this cut was probably better than the long strand version.  Why? Because the sauce was a bit soupy and with those two open ends, the sauce just slithered into the piece and oh what a delightful mouthful it was.

1 lb Bucatini (cooked per directions)

1 pkg (4oz) Pancetta diced

1 pkg (4oz) Prosciutto diced

2 cups thinly sliced red onion (about 8oz onion)

1/2 tsp or + crushed red pepper

2 TBS Chianti Red Wine Vinegar

1 jar of pomodoro sauce, 24 oz ( I used Wegman’s Grandma’s Pomodoro Sauce)

1 jar of water using sauce jar

2 TBS Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Use a braising pan.

1. Add pancetta and prosciutto to pan on MEDIUM.  Cook, stirring, about 5 minutes until browned.

2. Add onion and crushed pepper.  Cook 10-12 minutes until onions are softened.  Add red wine vinegar, stirring to loosen browned bits on bottom of pan.  Add sauce and water; bring to simmer. Simmer gently 5-8 minutes.

3. Add oil.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir.  Add cooked pasta to pan and toss.

Recipe from Wegman’s MENU Magazine 

I served this dish with an Arugula Salad which proved to be the perfect complement.

Related articles

 

Read Full Post »

Tuscan Baked Beans a/k/a Fagioli Al Uccelletto

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

TUSCANY

TUSCANY

It’s Tasty Tidbits Tuesday!  You know I love to cook on the weekend, especially at the shore because the kitchen is bigger although the stove is smaller as is the oven.  The real reason I love cooking in New Jersey is the accessibility to several marvelous grocery stores and two magnificent fruit and vegetable stands.  Believe they don’t call New Jersey the Garden State for nothing! Unabashedly, Wegman’s is my favorite grocery store and I love making the recipes in their seasonal MENU magazine.  This recipe for Tuscan Baked Beans is in the latest edition.   I don’t know if it was meant to be a main dish but it certainly would satisfy a vegetarian or vegan.

1 pkg dry Great Northern Beans OR 4 cans of Great Northern Beans undrained.

9 cups of water* (only needed it you use the dry beans)

24 leaves of fresh sage OR 20 if you are NOT using dry beans

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, OR 1 if you are NOT using dry beans

1/2 cup of Extra Virgin olive oil, divided

1  1/2 pkgs of chopped onions.  (12 oz)

4 cloves of garlic, finely diced

8 plum tomatoes, chopped

1 TBS salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup basting oil (olive oil with Italian herbs in it)

2 cups of Panko bread crumbs

You’ll need a stockpot* and a braising pan

** indicates usage with the dry beans

*Place sorted and rinsed beans in stockpot.  Cover with about 2 inches of water, tilt cover to vent and soak 8 hours or overnight. Drain the beans.  Put the beans and 9 cups of fresh water in the stockpot. Heat on HIGH uncovered, until boiling.  Skim off as much foam as possible.  Add 4 leaves and 1 sprig of rosemary to the pot.  Reduce to MEDIUM.  Cover, tilting to allow steam to vent.  Cook one hour, do not stir.

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in braising pan on MEDIUM.  Add onions and garlic, cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.  Chop 20 sage leaves and sprig of rosemary, add to onion mixture.  Cook 1 minute.

Add tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.

Check beans for tenderness. If not quite tender, cover completely and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Add beans and liquid to the onion mixture in braising pan.  Stir to combine. Drizzle remaining olive oil and bake for 60 minutes.  Beans will be done when liquid is syrupy and bubbly.  Carefully remove from oven, season with salt and pepper.

Mix basting oil and panko crumbs in small bowl.  Place mixture over beans and return to oven, bake 20-30 minutes until topping is brown and crisp.

This makes enough beans to feed 8 people. It tastes great, REALLY!!

Recipe from Wegman’s MENU magazine 

Read Full Post »

SUNDAY SAUCE -Tasty Tidbits Tuesday

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 5, 2013| 1 Comment »

Sunday sauce

Sunday sauce (Photo credit: letouj)

This past weekend, I decided to make Sunday Sauce.  It is so tasty, so delicious and even though it takes a long time to cook down, it is well worth it.  Pick an afternoon you’ll be home and soon your home will be filled with the aroma of simmering tomato sauce.  I thought I could make it in my crockpot BUT my crockpot was not big enough.  Using a crockpot would make the whole process easier since you could just let it simmer away for hours.

I started with a large stockpot but then thought, “Oh why not use the crock pot?”   I filled the crock pot and still had a lot of sauce in the braising pan so now I had to make a decision;  I took half of the meat out of the crock pot and put it in the braising pan and cooked the sauce in both.  I tell you all this so you won’t make the same mistakes I made which made a fairly simple recipe into a complicated process.  Mangia!

SUNDAY SAUCE

(but you can call it Gravy!)

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1.5 lb of boneless country spare ribs ( I used bone-in)

6 links of Hot Italian Pork Sausage (I used Hot Poultry Sausage)

2 cups (16 oz) chopped onions

8 TBSP of minced garlic (from jar) OR 20 cloves minced

2 cans of tomato paste

4 cups of water

6 cans of coarsely ground Italian tomatoes

4 TBSP dried basil (I used 2TBSP and basil from my yard)

16 meatballs (cooked)

Salt and Pepper to taste

You’ll need a large braising pan and a 16 Qt stockpot

Heat olive oil in large braising pan on MEDIUM HIGH; add ribs and sausage.  Cook, turning 2-5 min, until meats are browned on all sides.  Transfer meats to stockpot.

Reduce heat to LOW.  Add onions and garlic to braising pan; cook, stirring, 10 minutes, until veggies are translucent.

Raise heat to MEDIUM; add tomato paste.  Cook, stirring, 3-4 minutes, until paste just begins to brown.  Add water, stirring to loosen browned bits on bottom of pan.  Bring to simmer.

Transfer tomato paste/water mixture to stockpot. Stir in canned tomatoes and basil.  Bring to simmer on MEDIUM.  Reduce heat to LOW.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 hours.  Add cooked meatballs.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.

Carefully transfer meats to serving platter; cut meats into manageable pieces. Transfer sauce to serving bowl.

Recipe from Wegman’s MENU magazine

Congratulations to me! This is my 1000th blog post!  Wow, I’ve had so much fun doing this, I hope my readers/followers are enjoying  this journey too.  Thank you for all your support and comments.  

Read Full Post »

Countdown To 1000! “Help I Need Someone”…

Posted in BY THE WAY, Conspiracy Theory Wednesday, Everyday Food, Friends, From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, Six Word Memoirs, Smooth or Crunchy, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, Thursday's Top Ten, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 22, 2013| 5 Comments »

Gemini

Gemini (Photo credit: Justinsanity)

HELLO to all my followers and sometime readers. I am about to hit a real benchmark and I can hardly believe it myself!  Wordpress keeps you informed on myriad details about your blog and your posts.  Everyday I see how many visitors come to the blog and what the average number of views per person is as well as from what countries the hits are coming.  I see which blog posts are the most popular, the number of views per month, and the search engine terms that people type in and end up on my blog.

All this information is useful and to some niche bloggers, it would be essential.  Unfortunately for me I never found my niche.  I write about my life, my travels, the foods I cook, the movies I see and often post information and research on dozens of totally unrelated things. I post photos of my grandchildren and the moon. I was fortunate enough to have my good friend, Murray Head send me hundreds of photos that I posted on Fab Foto Friday.  Sounds  a little scattered doesn’t it.  I think that describes the mind of a person born on the cusp of Gemini and Taurus.  At any given time, there are 3 minds at work with or against one another! 

Well here’s where I’m at;  I love writing my blog even though my husband and daughter wonder why.  I freely admit that my blog like 99% of all blogs is more or less  an egocentric stream of consciousness.  Over the short life of this blog, I’ve tried various ideas to entice a following because even though I am (supposedly) writing this for myself, don’t think for a minute that I don’t relish seeing the number of hits the blog has each day.  I loved Six Word Memoir Monday and may try to reinstate it but I need your input!  Conspiracy Theory Wednesday was a fantastic exposeé on the Kennedy Assassination, Top Ten Thursday allows for a wide range of subject matter and Tasty Tidbits Tuesday and Every Day Food are one of my joys.

BUT now I WANT YOU! I am 7 posts short of ONE THOUSAND! WOWIE ZOWIE!   I only have to write 7 more posts and I will have reached a real benchmark for myself.  I would love it if you would comment and give me some ideas as to what these next 7 posts should be about;  Do you want a repeat of one of your favs or do you have a scathingly (or not so scathingly) brilliant idea I can incorporate into a post?  

Pretty Please?!

Read Full Post »

Sunday Supper-Super Shows

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Oh wow, what a great time I had last night.  I was in my glory and in full possession of the remote.  Well if not the remote exactly, I did pick all the shows we were going to watch on Sunday evening.  I had it all planned out and then the football game  screwed up the line-up.  It started out with 60 Minutes  starting late and running over past 8:00.  I wanted to watch The Amazing Race, the only reality show I think worth watching, so since I also wanted to watch The Good Wife, my solution was to DVR both of them as I was watching them BECAUSE Masters of Sex and Homeland  followed at their regular times.  Oh my,  such planning;  Two TV’s on two different floors and only one with DVR capacity.  Such is life in the 2000 millennium.  

My plan did not quite work;  We watched the shortened version of 60 Minutes and The Amazing Race and three quarters of The Good Wife.  I happily went upstairs to watch SHOWTIME, content with the knowledge that afterwards, I could go downstairs and find out what Alicia was going to do as she was caught in the middle of a fiduciary dilemma.  Best laid plans and all that jazz, I just never took into account that the DVR  didn’t know that the football game had run late, it recorded The Good Wife from 9:00 to 10:00 and therefore the ending was never recorded! 😦

There was just enough chill in the air to warrant closing the window and making a hearty soup for dinner.  The soup was  Escarole, Canellini Beans and Sausage and it hit the spot on this fall Sunday evening.  I served it with some great chewy Italian bread.

1 pkg (1 1/2 #) Italian mild pork sausage patties ( I used hot poultry sausage)

3 TBS basting oil divided

8 oz chopped onions

3 cloves garlic chopped

1 pkg (15 oz) escarole

Salt and Pepper

1 carton chicken stock

1 can cannelloni beans, drained

1 cup ditalini pasta

lentils + escarole

ESCAROLE  (Photo credit: joannova, a/k/a foodalogue)

2 TBS lemon juice

Cut each sausage patty into 6 pieces and roll into balls.  Heat 1 TBS basting oil in a large braising pan on MED .  Add sausage balls and cook, turning to brown on all sides 3-4 minutes.  Remove sausage from pan and set aside. Discard pan drippings.

Return pan to heat, add remaining 2TBS of basting oil. Add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally 2-3 minutes until onions are translucent. Add garlic, cook, stirring till softened-1 min.  Add escarole, cook, stirring, 1-2 minutes until wilted.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in stock, beans and browned sausages.  Heat to boiling on MED-HI.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  Add pasta, simmer 10 minutes.  Add parsley and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper.

Read Full Post »

Heirloom Tomatoes – Tasty Treasures

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 25, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I LOVE peanut butter and I LOVE tomatoes.  Of course if you are a regular reader of this blog you already know that.  The blog is a testimony to Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, my favorite, my kids favorite and now my adorable granddaughter, Finley’s favorite.

 Tomatoes, especially Jersey Tomatoes are a passion of mine.  I eat them all summer long and as far into fall as I can.  Once there are no locally grown tomatoes, I literally STOP eating fresh tomatoes!  I have vintage tomato salt and pepper shakers, a tomato-shaped tea pot, tomato sugar and creamer, tomato cookbooks, a collection of cans of Italian tomatoes and best of all, a tomato tattoo.  Well now that’s out there to the world.  I was born in New Jersey and I often describe myself (to my husband) as “one hot Jersey tomato” – that’s me.

And as if Big Boy, Beefsteak, Arkansas Traveler,Bella Rosa, Brandymaster Pink, Charger and hundreds more varieties weren’t enough to tantalize your taste buds, add Heirloom Tomatoes!  You’ve seen them with their bulbous, knobby, colorful shapes.  Sometimes they look weird, misshapen and in a palette of colors not necessarily in the red family!  They don’t always look appetizing, however, they are sweet and flavorful.   They come in a variety of sizes and add great interest to your summer salads.  But don’t let their use just end up in a wooden salad bowl – here are two Heirloom tomato recipes you will love to make and serve.

Heirloom Tomato Pesto Pizza

Heirloom Tomato Pesto Pizza

GRILLED HEIRLOOM TOMATO AND PESTO PIZZA

1 lb pizza dough

flour for dusting

4 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup basil pesto

1 lb Heirloom tomatoes thinly-sliced

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat grill to medium heat.

Divide dough into 4 balls, dust work surface with flour and roll each ball into a 9″ circle.  Brush both sides of the circles with olive oil,  place on baking sheet. Working with one circle at a time, place on grill rack and with tongs rotate the crust so it cooks evenly, browned on the bottom and air bubbles on top, 3-4 minutes.

Transfer pizza to baking sheet browned side up. Spread 2 TBS of basil pesto on crust and top with sliced tomatoes. Don’t cover entire pizza or it will be soggy.  Season with salt and pepper and dot with the cheese.  Slide pizza back onto the grill, close the cover and rotate pizza so it cooks evenly and cheese begins to melt – about 3 minutes.  Lift back onto baking sheet. Repeat with each pizza.

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Butter

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Butter

ROASTED HEIRLOOM BUTTER WITH THYME

1 very large or 2 medium-sized red Heirloom tomatoes

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1TBS chopped thyme or oregano

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the tomatoes cut side down onto the paper. Roast until the skins are wrinkled and blistered, and the tomatoes are very soft, 30-35 minutes depending on the size. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Place the tomatoes and any juices in the bowl of a foodprocessor. Process until very smooth and no seeds or large pieces of skin are visible, 2-3 minutes; stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently.

Add the butter, salt, and pepper, and process until blended, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl, 2-3 minutes. Then, stir in the thyme and scrape into a small bowl and cover. (Or, make a log of butter by spooning it onto a sheet of waxed paper, folding the paper over the butter and rolling it gently until you have a sausage shape; twist the ends to seal.)

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 4 days. You can also wrap the log in foil and freeze for up to 3 months; thaw it in the refrigerator.

**Melt this concentrated compound butter over grilled steaks, toss it with flame-kissed vegetables, or freeze some for a burst of summer flavor in the winter months. Use very ripe, very red tomatoes for best color and flavor.

Thanks to Gail for sending me the article on Heirloom tomatoes!

Related articles

Read Full Post »

5 Friday-It’s-The-Weekend Poolside Drinks

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, Thursday's Top Ten, tagged , , , , , , , on July 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

It’s Friday, it’s summer and we’re supposed to be enjoying leisurely days sunning ourselves by the pool and sipping cooling summer cocktails and refreshing drinks! I must have read that somewhere in a novel or in ’50’s magazine growing up.  NOT happening!  So okay sunning yourself is limited to the weekends and if you live in NYC, who has a pool?  REGARDLESS-we should try to keep up the traditions and along the way, enjoy ourselves and these delectable drinks.

1. ICED MINT AND CITRUS TEA

1 large bunch mint (I prefer spearmint to peppermint)
1/3 cup mild honey (plus more to taste)
1/3 cup maple syrup (plus more to taste)
1 large lemon
1 large lime
Fill your kettle with water and bring it to a boil. Pull the mint leaves from their stems and roughly tear them into a large pot. Pour 10 cups of boiling water over the mint, cover the pot and let the mixture steep until the water is just slightly warm. Strain the tea into a large bowl, and while the tea is still warm stir in the honey and maple syrup until it has fully dissolved. Taste and add more honey and/or maple syrup if you’d like, keeping in mind you’ll be adding a strong hit of acid shortly. When the tea is cool, juice the lemon and lime, straining the juice of all fibers and pips. Stir the juice into the tea until everything is well mixed. Taste and add more lemon or lime juice — or maple syrup — if you like. Cover and refrigerate the tea until it is very cold. Give it a good stir and serve it in pretty glasses over plenty of ice.

2. PINA COLADA

3 oz light rum
4 cups ice
2/3 cup fresh pineapple chunks
3 ounces cream of coconut
2 ounces coconut milk
4 ounces pineapple juice
Juice of 1/2 large lime
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish
Combine all the ingredients in a blender (use a good, strong one that can crush ice) and blend until smooth. Add more ice or liquid to taste. Serve in a pretty glass with a shower of grated nutmeg, a lime wedge and maybe even a cocktail umbrella.

RHUBARB LEMONADE

SPARKLING RHUBARB LEMONADE

3. SPARKLING RHUBARB LEMONADE

3 1/2 cups water
5 cups chopped rhubarb, fresh or frozen (20 ounces)
3/4 cups sugar
2 -3 – inch strips lemon zest
3 sprigs fresh mint
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups lemon-lime soda or sparkling water
In a saucepan, stir together the water, the rhubarb pieces, the sugar, the lemon zest and the mint. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Let the rhubarb mixture cool, the strain it through a wire-mesh strainer set over a large pitcher. Press on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids Stir in the lemon juice and soda. Serve over ice, garnished with a sprig of mint.

4. MANGO LASSIE

1 Ripe Mango
3/4 cups Cold Milk
3 tablespoons Cold Plain Yogurt
3 tablespoons Honey
1 pinch Salt
1 handful Crushed Ice
1 sprig Fresh Mint
Pick a ripe mango, the redder the skin, the better, and peel the skin. Cut the mango into thick chunks – there’s no need for precision here, it’s all getting blended. That’s the best part! In the blender, combine the pieces of mango, milk, yogurt, honey, salt and crushed ice. Blend the mixture (or pulse, your choice), for 20-30 seconds. Try the lassi with a spoon and add honey, milk or yogurt if need be (trust your taste buds). If it’s still too thick, add more milk and continue to blend until it reaches the consistency you are looking for. Pour the lassi into a tall glass and top it with the sprig of mint. Voila! Drink to your heart’s desire.

5. BLACKBERRY CAIPIRINHA

8 plump blackberries
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 lime, cut into 3 wedges
2 ounces cachaça (or substitute white rum)
3/4 cups ice cubes

In a shaker or pint glass, muddle/mash up the blackberries and the sugar with two of the lime wedges. Add the cachaça or rum and the ice. Cover well and shake vigorously. Remove and discard the crushed lime wedges. Pour the mixture into a rocks glass and use the remaining wedge of lime as a garnish.

Read Full Post »

Cooking and Posting in REAL TIME – PASTA WITH VEGETABLE SAUCE

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , on June 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

A whole and halved red bell pepper

A whole and halved red bell pepper (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well this is a first for me.  I am in the process of cooking and posting simultaneously.  This could be interesting or disastrous.  I have to keep jumping up to stir the vegetables in the braising pan.  I spent some time prepping, sort of creating my own                  mise en place.  I thought it would be prudent to chop each of the vegetables ahead of time so I could add them to the pan in order of the time it would take for that vegetable to soften.  

So I started with some olive oil in the pan and tossed in the celery. I chopped two stalks.   Originally I was going to start with the sliced garlic, however, I somehow never quite soften garlic without browning several;  I let them sauté a while and then added the Vidalia onion.  I had cut up about 1/2 of a largish medium onion.  I didn’t chop it or dice it, it was somewhere in between.

The idea here is to  put in those veggies that take longer to soften and also add some of their own liquid.  Next came Red Bell Pepper. I used a whole pepper and sliced and cut it up in about 1″ pieces.  I  tossed in the garlic slices a few moments ago.  Probably the vegetables are supposed to be crisp but I think my husband is not going to like this dish if everything is a little chewy.  I just tested a piece off celery and clearly that should have been on its own in the pot for longer before I started adding other ingredients.  And what does a good cook do?  I put the lid on the braising pan which should quicken some of softening and also add some more liquid because basically what juices and oil in the pan are supposed to be my sauce!   Oh boy, we’ll have to see how this plays out.

ALERT! I should have turned the gas down lower when I put the lid on – it was only a few minutes but the onions turned brown.  

I removed the lid and added zucchini and yellow squash.  I used 3/4 of the yellow and about 2/3 of the zucchini.  I put the lid back on and lowered the gas and I see that I don’t have much liquid in the pan.  I think I’ll be adding pasta water to this thin sauce but I still have the tomatoes to add and they’re juicy – I am loving me those Jersey Tomatoes.  This vegetable sauce is really a work in progress and I am up and down and up and down, stirring everything.  

I just put the pot of water on to boil – I will be cooking linguine which is Peter’s favorite.  The water is boiling but I turned it off because since I have never made this dish before I don’t really know how long it’s going to take and the veggies can sit in the pan while I cook the pasta.  I added the tomatoes and the mushrooms.  I had chopped up two fairly large tomatoes and sliced about 20 white mushrooms.  I also put the lid back on.  The lid is going on and off about as often as I jump up to stir or check the pan.

The linguine is in the pot and I checked the vegetables – the tomatoes are doing their job and juicing things up.  Of course mushrooms are mostly liquid and they’re helping.  Gotta go in kitchen and stir the pasta.

NOTE: When I added the tomatoes (which I had salted right after I cut them up so they would juice more) I added some salt and pepper to the mixture.  I’m going to sprinkle some Romano cheese into it also.

The pasta is almost done, I have scooped up a measuring cup of pasta water and turned off the sauce. It looks juicy and everything looks soft.  I’ve decided to serve it all in the braising pan.  I drained the linguine and put in the pan with the vegetables – It looks good!  I sprinkled some of the cheese all over the top and voila Dinner is served!

WHAT I LEARNED:

By writing a blog and cooking at the same time, I was really distracted and it was only when I opened up the refrigerator to get a beer, I saw the arugula.  Oh dear, that was supposed to be salad tonight-oh wellllllllll.

AND it was absolutely delicious!  I mean really delicious and we ate most of the pound of linguine I cooked.

Read Full Post »

Linguine with Lemon-Cream Sauce – Pasta recipe

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This image shows a whole and a cut lemon.

LEMONS-It Must Be Spring

We mostly called it macaroni, sometimes shells and sometimes spaghetti – today it seems it’s just pasta.  But whatever you call it, this dish is a delightfully different main or side dish for this season.

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 lb linguine

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

2 shallots minced

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp grated lemon zest, plus 2 TBS lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package instructions.  Reserve 1 cup of pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.  Meanwhile, in a small pot, heat oil over medium  Add shallots, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until tender, 4 minutes.  Add cream and lemon zest.  Bring to boil and cook until slightly thickened, 8 minutes.  Add lemon juice and season to taste with salt and paper. Pour cream sauce over pasta and toss, adding enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta.

Recipe from Martha Stewart’s Every Day Food

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »