Beet Carpaccia

A friend of mine called me a few days ago. He's in the restaurant business and enjoys seeing what I'm up to on my blog.  He had one criticism,  that I needed to improve my platting skills. I know! I seriously need some instruction in this area.
I explained to Tony that all these dishes that I am sharing with you on my blog are usually photographed using my cell phone, while I am preparing dinner, trying to get it all on the table while it's still hot! My family laughs at me when they see the cell phone come out. I hear, "oh here's another facebook moment" or "she's blogging again".
So today, I decided to make a dish in the middle of the afternoon, just because! And because my family isn't sitting at the table with their forks and knives in their hands waiting for me to put their food on the table I had plenty of time to play. It was fun!
I also wanted to play with my OXO Mandoline slicer.  I still can't get the hang of a waffle cut, but that's another story.
Today I played with beets and kohl rabe.
Here's what I came up with. Beet and Kohl Rabe Carpaccia, with Aioli, Pesto, and Balsamic Drizzle.

Beet and KohlRabe Carpaccia flower with aioli , balsamic vinegar, orange infused olive oil finished with salt and pepper and lemon zest

Beet and KohlRabe flower with Aioli leaves filled with pesto paste, dotted with balsamic vinegar and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and finished with lemon zest

And yet, another presentation!

And then the taste testers in the house were called upon to scoff it all up!

Thanks for checking in with me today!

Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Artichokes, Acapulco style

I am back from California. It was a very quick five days of laughter, bonding with family, and meeting new friends. My sister, Michele, in addition to having family that loves her very much, has a wonderful community of friends who support and love her. She's one special lady!

She just let me loose in her kitchen. You have to love that. My only concern is that she'll be able to find things that I put away. It never goes back into the same spot you found it. Sorry!

My sister had some artichokes that I couldn't wait to get my hands on. The size of the artichokes in California always make me so happy. They are beautiful orbs that I can't wait to stuff. Our family usually stuffs them with meat, and they are insanely delicious. I'll make those another day. These are going to be stuffed with vegetables. .

While traveling with friends in Acapulco we had the opportunity to dine at restaurant Kookaburra. Our friends Mariann and Michael ordered the stuffed artichokes as an appetizer. I was offered a taste, and immediately knew that when I got home I would try to make these! We prodded and bribed the waiter to give us hints as to how they were made.  With the language barrier I don't know if I totally understood him, we did get the "secret" Worcestershire Sauce as one ingredient,  but I do know tastes and this is my version of Kookaburra Stuffed Artichokes.

Start by cleaning the artichokes. I cut off the stem, and peeled them. Squeeze a little lemon juice on them so they don't discolor so fast.

I also chopped some zucchini, scallions, also known as green onions, a red onion, parsley, the artichoke stems, garlic, and tomatoes. If we had a sweet red pepper, and a carrot I would have added them as well.

Chop everything very fine and in a large bowl combine the vegetables with some salt and pepper, worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, a sprinkle of breadcrumbs, and some grated cheese. There are really no measurements of the ingredients, I just keep chopping until I have enough to stuff the artichokes, and I  keep tasting until I get the desired flavors. This is really so good you could just eat the stuffing and forget about stuffing the artichokes!

I cut the pointy tops of the artichoke, and gently manipulate them so the leaves open up a little so I can put the stuffing all around the artichoke. I didn't remove the choke ( I do like to do that sometimes)

After stuffing all the artichokes I put them into the biggest pot I could find and steamed them on top of the stove, adding a little bit of water to the bottom of the pot. The water came up to an inch on the artichokes. These were a little crowded...and I like to do them this way because as they cook they can open up and you can loose some of your stuffing. Probably not technically correct, but the end result is technically fabulous! 

I then drizzled the artichokes with some extra virgin olive oil, and let them cook until they were tender. These were done in about 20 minutes.

I served them on a dish and drizzled a little bit of balsamic vinegar on each artichoke.  These made a lovely lunch for us. 

I hope that you will try these. They are delicious and worth the all the chopping! I promise!

Buon Appetito

xoxoxo

Lorraine

Lamb

My family loves lamb. I think it goes way back to when they were babies, and that they inherited Greek Genes from my husband! I used to gag feeding them the Gerber lamb, but it became clear to me that my kids were lamb lovers!  My mother didn't make lamb all that often. She would make an occasional lamb chop but I don't recall ever having a leg of lamb or a rack of lamb.

It wasn't until I got married that I started making lamb because it was something that my husband really loves. The first time I made a leg of lamb I cooked it like it hadn't been dead already...OMG! It was horrible. Now, lamb is served at a temp of medium rare, and there is absolutely no mint jelly on our table!

Pictured above are racks of lamb.  I prepared them by making a herbed breadcrumb and just pressed the breadcrumbs onto the lamb. I then baked them in a hot oven, 450 degrees for 10 minutes then turned the heat down to 375 and finished them off for another 15 minutes. Let them rest for a few minutes before cutting into them  They were the perfect .... Medium Rare!

I served the lamb with some asparagus parmigiano

and a fresh mixed green salad with some delicious ripe strawberries, with a balsamic dressing.

 Breadcrumb Crust
seasoned bread crumbs ( I like 4C)
3 - 4 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsely
a few pinches of rosemary
a bunch of fresh chopped mint
juice from 2 lemons
salt and pepper to taste
a drizzling of olive oil just to make the mixture a little damp
Mix all the ingredients together. Press the mixture onto your meat and cook as desired!
Enjoy! :)

Buon Appetito!
xoxoxo
Lorraine