Zucchini Bandits

If you are reading this you are probably thinking that you have seens these before. To which I can say, You are right, you have!  Zucchini Flowers or  Zucchini Blossoms, are a staple in our home the summer months. I plant extra zucchini plants just for the flowers!
My family loves these to the point of even  suggesting a zucchini flower raid when we don't have enough from our own garden.  I won't go into the details about our raids,  I'm sure you will understand why!  I seem to get caught in the act all the time!  My husband has told me that he can see the headlines now...Local woman arrested stealing zucchini flowers...and he's not bailing me out!
I have no shame!

I think I'll start knocking on doors asking for them. Perhaps my luck will be better that way! I've even gone to the local farm and asked them to sell me the flowers but they just won't give them up. They think they need all the flowers for the vegetable to grow. They don't. Some of them grow on a long stem and those are the ones to pick, early in the morning when they are wide open. It makes them easier to clean and stuff.

If you would like the recipe for these delicious stuffed zucchini flowers you can find it here.
We also love pasta made with zucchini and if you have extra stuffing left over you can use it to create a delicious tasting dish.

I submitted the recipe for the above dish in a contest being offered by Premio foods.  Check out the contest. You might want to submit one of your own recipes using their products.

Here's my recipe for the above dish.

Paccheri di Pasta Fresca con  Salsiccia e Zucca

1 pound Premio sweet sausage

1 pound Pasta, such as a Paccheri or an extra large Rigatoni

1 large green squash, cut into 1” pieces with skin on

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 medium yellow onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella

freshly grated Italian cheese, such as parmesean

1 tsp beef bullion paste

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 cup pasta water

salt and black pepper to taste

a pinch of red pepper flakes

a pinch of rosemary

>In a large skillet heat the olive oil and add the chopped onions and garlic.

>Take the sausage meat out of the casing, and break  into pieces.

>Add the sausage to the cooking onions and garlic.

>Cook on medium heat for approximately 10 - 15 minutes or until cooked      through.

>Add the beef bullion paste, red wine and mix well.

>Add the zucchini

>Cook for another 10 minutes.

>Add fresh chopped parsley

>Cook the pasta in a seperate pot with salted water.

>When pasta is cooked, remove from water and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water

>Add pasta to the sausage mixture, add the pasta water if needed to make sure all the pasta gets a hint of the sauce

>Add the fresh mozzarella and freshly grated cheese

 Serve in seperate bowls and enjoy!

Buon Appetito

xoxoxo

Lorraine

Arancini Again!

The other day I posted about making Arancini with my friend, Mariann.
Some of you have asked for a more specific recipe.
This is the recipe I use when making my own Arancini. And the only reason I used this recipe is because I didn't have the one from Mariann's mother. I didn't know how to make them, just looked up a recipe on the internet, looked in some cook books and took what I liked from different recipes.

The following recipe makes approximately 18 Arancini.

For the Filling
2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pouind of ground beef
1 1/2 cups chopped canned Italian peeled tomatoes
salt and pepper  to taste
1/2 cup or more to taste frozen peas

For the Rice
2 cups of rice, I like Carolina's for this recipe.
5 cups of water
2 Tbs butter
salt
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano
4 large eggs yolks

To Assemble
3 cups of seasoned bread crumbs, I like 4C
4 large egg whites, or more as needed
flour for dredging
1/2 pound of sharp  provolone cheese, cut into small pieces
Vegetable oil for frying

Make your sauce using the onion, and garlic with the olive oil. When the onion and garlic is soft add the beef and cook until browned. Drain excess fat and then add tomatoes and seasoning. Bring sauce to a simmer and then reduce heat and cook on low for about 30 minutes.
Add the peas and cook another 5 minutes.
Let cool.

Add the rice, water , butter and salt to a large pot that can hold all the rice. Bring to a boil and cover and cook on low for 20 minutes. Do not lift the lid while cooking. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes before removing the lid.
Let the rice cool slightly before adding the egg yolks and the cheeses. Mix all together and taste and then adjust seasoning.

Here's my assembly of the Arancini.
Beat egg whites in a bowl and set aside. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on one sheet of wax paper and the flour on another sheet of wax paper.
Dip your hands in cool water, and then take about 1/3 cup scoop of the rice and form a pattie in your hand, making a dent in the middle, but not a hole. Put your filling in the the indentation and cover with more rice and work it in your hands to make a ball.
Roll the ball in the flour and then the egg whites and then roll in the breadcrumbs. When made the other day we did not use the flour or the egg whites and they came out fine. So if you'd like you can skip that part and go right to the breadcrumbs.
I like to set the Arancini on a baking rack after they are rolled in the breadcrumbs and let them rest before frying them.
I like to deep fry them, they cook evenly and have a beautiful color. If you don't have a deep fryer you may pan fry them, or use a small stock pot and put about 3 inches of oil in the pot and cook them in the heated oil that way!

Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Enjoy!
Lorraine

Sunday Meatballs

Is it Sunday Gravy or Sunday Sauce? I've seen many posts on which one to call it. All I have to say, is that I don't care what you call it as long as you make it well!

This week I went shopping at Restaurant Depot. For those of you who have had the opportunity to shop in one of these warehouse you will know that the quantities that you must purchase are enormous! Think Costco, Sam's, B.J's amounts and triple the quantity! They had some chop meat that looked really good, so I bought the package. The package was 10 pounds! I made some hamburger patties, made stuffing for the zucchini flowers and had enough left over to make meatballs for dinner tonight.

When ever I make my meat balls I always start with fresh chopped onion, garlic, parsley, seasoned breadcrumbs, eggs, and grated cheese. I usually only use Parmigiano in my meatballs, but today used a combination of cheeses that were in the refrigerator, Parmigiano and Pecorino. Again, I thank my friends from Rome, Giorgio and Marina who brought me fabulous cheese from Italy!

Some days I like the meatballs to be more rustic and will chop the onions and garlic by hand. Today I wanted a smoother meatball so I tossed everything into the food processor and pulsed it a few times to get the onions and garlic almost like a puree.

I was also in the mood for big meatballs, so I made them really large. 

Line the baking sheet with some parchment paper and bake the meatballs in a  450 degree preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Turn them around and baked them another 15 - 20 minutes. 

These were extremely cheesy.  And they were nice and soft! Into the tomato sauce they go!

I used 4 quart jars of the tomatoes that I jarred last season. I've got to use up what's left in my pantry. It's almost time to make the sauce again!

Start the sauce with a little bit of olive oil in the bottom of the pot. Add to the oil a  small chopped onion and a few cloves of garlic, chopped. Saute the onion and garlic just until they start to sweat, and become clear. Add the tomatoes and stir.  I added some hot sausage, which I had browned on each side, to the pot,  and a few pieces of country pork ribs. To season the tomatoes I also added fresh chopped parsley, salt and pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cover the pot and let everything simmer for a few hours. I know it's done when the pork flakes off the bone!

Tonight, this is being served with Spaghetti! There's nothing like a great dish of spaghetti and meatballs on a Sunday afternoon.  Hopefully they'll stop stealing meatballs out of the pot so there will be enough left for dinner!

Meat Balls Recipe

chop meat (I like chuck for this, has lots of flavor)
eggs (I use 2 - 3 eggs per pound of meat)
1 large onion, chopped
3 - 4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup grated cheese
1 handful of breadcrumbs- just enough to bind the mixture

Mix all the ingredients together until well incorporated. Form the meatballs and either bake them in the oven  @ 450 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes on each side or pan fry them to brown them on all sides.

Add the meatballs to your favorite tomato sauce, simmer until cooked through and serve with your favorite pasta! Enjoy!

Buon Appetito

xoxoxo

Lorraine

Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

Hello Friends! It certainly has been awhile since I've shared some of my family secrets! I'm strictly speaking of cooking secrets, and sharing some coveted family recipes!
I've had a very relaxed and enjoyable summer. We spent two weeks out in Montauk, New York on the beach. Every day was a glorious day. Wish I could have spent another week out there.  hint, hint!!
I am so relaxed.

Today's Food Crawl is all about Stuffed Zucchini Flowers!
Now it's time to get back to sharing some of the food that gets made and created in my kitchen.
Today I'm going to tell you all about my mothers Stuffed Zucchini Flowers! It was my mothers Birthday August 2nd. Thinking of her always makes me think of the special dishes that she used to make. Stuffed Zucchini Flowers were among the amazing.  My husband would eat them out of her refrigerator before she had fried them!
 I actually made my audition tape for MasterChef - Season 2 preparing these. I was trying to upload the video but apparently it is too long to post on here. My son, John, the Pepperdine Movie Production Graduate promised to break it down for me so I can share it with you.  When he does I'll just post it. You can see how nervous I was while making the tape. My next audition tape will be very different! lol

My friend Jersey Paulie  has been asking me for this recipe. This one is for you Paul! Recipe will follow, keep reading!

In my garden I always plant more zucchini plants than I need just for the flowers. Today I was able to pick 11 flowers. There will be more tomorrow! 11 stuffed flowers is such a tease! I'll bet you can't only eat one! lol
You can do so many different things with them. They are delicious in a batter, made into a pancake, they are delicious stuffed with cheeses,  or stuffed with a crabmeat mixture is always yummy. My mother loved sausage and chopmeat! Our recipe is for a blossom stuffed with meat.

The earlier you get into you garden in the mornings the better. You will find these gorgeous blossoms fully opened, just waiting to be picked. The flowers that should be picked for stuffing are the flowers that are attached to long stems.

If you don't have these available in your garden ask a local farmer to sell you some of his Zucchini Flowers. Most farmers will sell them to you.  If you are really desperate go to a specialty italian store. They will  charge you an arm and a leg for each flower, so try your local farmers market before making an investment!
With a few simple ingredients you will impress your family and friends. Promise!

I'm starting with some chop meat, sweet Italian Sausage, fresh parsley, onion, garlic, parmigiano cheese (thank you Giorgio and Marina, who brought me cheese from Rome!), eggs, salt and pepper and seasoned bread crumbs. Rough cut the onion and smash the garlic and add them to a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil. Add the chop meat and the sausage meat, removed from the casing into the frying pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is cooked through and the garlic is tender.

While the meat is cooking you will want to clean the flowers. I have found ants crawling around in them. You can just delicately wipe the inside of the flower to remove the ants. You can also run the flower under some water .

Once I clean them I place them on a paper towel upside down. This helps the blossom stay open a little to make it easier to stuff them.

They are so delicate and they will rip and tare so be gentle!
With a slotted spoon remove the meat into a food processor and pulse it a few times until the meats are well incorporated with the onion and garlic. Remove the mixture from the food processor . In a large bowl add fresh chopped parsley, and grated cheese. Mix well. Taste as you go along. You may want to add more salt or pepper or perhaps even more cheese.

Time to stuff the flowers! I use a baby spoon or a demitasse spoon. If I had a pastry bag I imagine you could use that as well. It probably would make my life so much easier! lol

 I hold the flower between my thumb and cup it with the rest of my fingers, trying to keep the flower open. With the spoon I add the meat mixture and push down until the flower is completely full. I squeeze it gently so the mixture gets encased by the flower.

Repeat until you are done stuffing all the flowers.

Beat an egg and roll the stuffed flower into the egg and then gently roll the egg washed zucchini flower into bread crumbs.

 Repeat until all the flowers are breaded.

Pan fry the stuffed flowers in a little bit of oil until they are lightly browned on all sides. You can also flash fry these.

Recipe
Zucchini Flowers
1 large onion chopped
4 - 5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 pound chop meat
1 pound sausage
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 - 2 eggs, beaten

You can cut down on amounts in the recipe. This will make quite a bit of mixture. The leftovers can be used in stuffing so many other things, and it never goes to waste in my house! Check in later this week for more ideas on what you can stuff!

Thanks for visiting today! I've missed you!
Buon Appetito!
Lorrraine
xoxoxo

Stuffed Portabella's

Food Crawl with Portabella's!
I made these the other night for our guests. My family and friends went gaga over them.  It's not like I've never made stuffed mushrooms before! My secret ingredient in these must have been the prosciutto!
To make these you'll need
8 large portabella  mushroom caps
8 links of Italian Sausage
1 large onion, chopped
2 - 3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
fresh chopped parsley
handful of breadcrumbs
handful of parmigiano cheese
salt and pepper to taste
mozzarella  cheese
prosciutto

Take the sausage meat out of the casing and in a large frying pan, cook the sausage with the onion and the garlic. I added a pinch of rosemary to the cooking sausage. Just a pinch! ;)

After it is cooked through, put it all in the food processor and pulse it a few times. Put your meat mixture into a bowl and add a handful of seasoned bread crumbs.

Just a handful, not too much. If you'd like, add a handful of parmesean cheese at this time.
I sliced up some prosciutto and some mozzarella cheese and added it to the mixture.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and then lightly stuff the mushroom caps.

Just before putting the mushroom caps into the oven I topped them with a slice or two of rolled mozzarella cheese and prosciutto. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes. You want the mushroom to wilt a little and the cheese to melt.

When you take them out of the oven they should look something like this!

I served these with a grilled Romaine Caesar Salad!

Stephen getting ready to fire it up!

If you've never grilled Romaine, you should try it. Delicious!

Enjoy!
Buon Appetitto
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Egg Rolls, Stella Style

Last summer I discovered Stella Ristorante in Floral Park, New York.  It's not a modern Italian restaurant by any stretch of the imagination, but the food is really very good.  I am very picky when I go out to eat  and I can be very critical. I have to say that I could not find one thing bad about this place. In fact everything was a step above really good. The Chicken Rollatini was divine, and if they have the home made pappadelle with a veal and mushroom sauce, OMG! order it!  You won't be disappointed!
Phyllis, my father's friend suggested that we start with the egg rolls. Ok, sure. Egg rolls in an Italian restaurant? What the heck!
What a surprise when they came to the table, the egg rolls  were filled with sausage, broccoli rabe and roasted red peppers. I can not even begin to describe the dance that these wonderful morsels played in my mouth! I turned to my sister and the rest of the group who was with us and said, "I am going to make these!"
The next day I went out and bought the ingredients that I thought were in them. I omitted the roasted red peppers, because I felt that broccoli rabe and sausage was a good enough combination for me, which got me thinking about making some egg rolls filled with sausage and peppers! We've played with many mixtures for fillings, and so far the two favorites are the Broccoli Rabe/Sausage and the Sausage/peppers  and onions. My family loves them both, and which ever one we make it seems that I can never make enough.

Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

Here's what you will need.
Egg Roll Wrappers ( one package usually makes 20 - 22 egg rolls)
sweet and hot sausage (family pack)
broccoli rabe or  sweet peppers
 2 large bunches of rabe *, or if using peppers one each of red, orange,  and yellow
mozzarella cheese, - 1/2 pound - 1 pound
mascarpone cheese or cream cheese - 8 ozs
grated parmesan cheese - one cup
and any other cheese you like!!!
one large onion
 a few cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste
* if using broccoli rabe, clean them,  cut off the bottom part of the stem and chop into small pieces. Cook  in a frying pan with garlic and olive oil, don't over cook, they should remain a little firm with a bite.
We're making the egg rolls with sausage and peppers. I could not find Broccoli Rabe (Rapini) in Ralph's while in California.  We made these as an appetizer for my father's 85 birthday dinner. It's so wonderful to have help in the kitchen. Marlene actually did most of the work on this one! Thanks Marlene!

Take the sausage out of the casing and breaking it apart into small pieces, saute the sausage in a frying pan until cooked through.

Phyllis frying it up!

In another frying pan cook your peppers and onions with garlic until they are tender. My sister Marlene chopped the peppers, garlic, and  onions very fine. She used a mezzaluna, her favorite tool in the kitchen!

slicing up the mozzarella

Smiling for the camera!

Drain the fat from the sausage and add the peppers and onions to the meat. In a large bowl add everything together with your cheeses.  You can adjust the cheeses to your liking. I've used swiss cheese, gouda or whatever is in the cheese draw in a pinch!  Everything should be in small cuts so you don't rip the egg roll wrapper. Marlene wanted to use the mozzarella cheese, cream cheese and parmesan cheese for these so that's what we used.

adding the cheese to the meat

This brand can be found in your grocery store. I usually find it by the tofu and vegetarian items.

Now it's time to roll!
Place your wrapper on a cutting board on an angle. Put some stuffing towards the bottom of the egg roll. With a pastry brush that you've dipped in water go around the edges of the egg roll wrapper. This will help the egg roll stay sealed.

fold up the bottom point toward the top, away from you.

Now fold in each side, making an envelope shape.

Finish by rolling the egg roll until the egg roll is enclosed.

I then let them dry out a little bit on a baking rack.  These can be deep fried, or if you want brush them with vegetable oil and bake them on a cookie sheet on high heat until golden and crispy.  I would suggest a temperature of 425 degrees.

I'd love some feedback if you decide to make these. They are truly a crowd pleaser. As I said earlier, when I make these I make more than I think I need.  You can also freeze these! They are better when you make them fresh, but they do freeze well,  just make sure that you wrap each one individually. When you're ready to make them, defrost them in the refrigerator.

Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Fritcialing's

Food Crawling with Fritcialing's!
Sound it out!  Fritch -ah- ling! lol and no, it's not a bad word!

When I was growing up my mother would make some dishes that were so simple, sometimes using what was left over from a previous meal. In our house nothing went to waste. It was just her way. She grew up in Italy and was deprived of food. Later on in life she felt the need to make sure we would never be without food, and I have to say that we always had  abbondanza! (plenty)

My mother's parents left Italy, one at a time, to come to America. My grandfather came first, and when he earned enough money he sent for my Grandmother,  Sabina. (we called her Nona Vera.) 

My mother was left in Torino,  Northern Italy with an Aunt and Uncle  along with her two siblings. My mother, Ottavia, was the oldest in her family, and became the matriarch of her little family at the young age of 12.  By the time she was 14 she had become a Partisan, doing what ever she had to do. Sometimes that meant stealing food and other times it meant bombing German trains. She did not have an easy life.

from left to right Frank, Josie and Ottavia 

From what we were told, my mother and her siblings were not always treated fairly by her relatives that they were left with. They were treated as if they were a burden. And I suppose that they were. Food was sparse during the war and the relatives were stuck with three more mouths to feed, probably wondering how they were going to feed themselves. 

My grandparents sent the money to help defray the cost of food for their family, but sometimes the money wasn't spent on food for them.   This is how my mother learned to make something out of nothing.

Today our food crawl is about Fritcialings! 

I know, it's not a word, and if you ask anyone who grew up in my neighborhood, they'll know what a fritcialing is and they'll want one!
The root word is probably frittata.

These were always made with some left over spinach and rice.

I never saw my mother measure anything for these. For that matter, I never saw her measure anything unless she was baking!  I hope my measurements will help you a little. 

Fritcialing's

about 2 cups rice

about 3 cups of cooked spinach

6 eggs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil for pan frying

In a bowl mix up the spinach and rice . 

Add eggs

mix it all up and add the cheese

Now you can stop at this step  and have a nice vegetarian fritcialing, or you can add some meats to the mixture. My mother added what ever she had on hand, it might have been a piece of chicken, or a piece of steak, nothing went to waste.

I had steak made with mushrooms and onions left over from the other night.  They went into the food processor and I hit pulse a few times.

I used an ice cream scoop to form the patties.

Pan fry the fritcialings for 5 - 6 minutes on each side, on medium heat until they are a nice brown color.

My brother, Mark and a childhood friend, Ed loved eating these with ketchup! I say, no way to that!
I usually have to hide these if I want to serve them with dinner.  I, can be very satisfied with one or two of these and a nice salad.

Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine