Hey, remember me?

I do remember you!

I do apologize for not keeping a steady flow of new recipes and ideas coming your way. I do promise to be a little bit better about it.

There are many days that we sit down and enjoy a fantastic meal. Some days it's something new and exciting and some days it's just a repeat of a family favorite. When it's something new and it's really good, someone will say, "why don't you write about that?" The answer is really so very simple.  I didn't document a single moment in preparing the meal, nor did I take a picture of anything before the plates were completely swiped clean! So there, you have the reason why I haven't been posting. Like the Rod Stewart song says, "Every picture tells a story don't it"? I may not be able to clearly express myself through my words all the time but if I have a picture....well, sometimes it's all I need!

Tonight was perfect. I found myself alone in the house, getting ready to make dinner for myself. (Yes, I do cook for myself. I enjoy good food. It's more fun to dine with others but hey, if I'm going to eat alone its got to be good!)

I spent a huge amount of time on the computer today researching some places to stay in Cabo and started yearning for those tastes that come from across the border. There was a dish that I shared with my daughter Zoe on a trip a few years back, a delicious seafood soup, and decided to play with those flavors. Lucky for me, I always have an extra bag of shrimp and calamari in the freezer. My camera was ready to go and I was all set up.


I started by chopping an onion, 5 cloves of garlic, and 2 bunches of green onions (we also call them scallions) and on medium heat cooked them until they began to sweat. At this time I added one jalapeño pepper which I had finely diced.
My friend Bobby is so good to me. He sent me this fabulous seasoning from Mexico and I added 2 tablespoons of the seasoning to the garlic and onions and then added just enough tequila to make the mixture move a little.
I let the tequila cook off a little, and if you would like you may also add some wine at this time. Give the wine enough time for the alcohol to burn off before adding the squid or shrimp. I added about 2 pounds of squid, which were cleaned and the tubes were cut into rings. Italian plum tomatoes were then hand crushed, about 2 pounds, and mixed in. Protect yourself! It's a messy job hand squishing tomatoes. Without an apron my shirt gets zapped with tomato juice!
Next add the 2 pounds of shrimp, I like to use the size 12-16 to a pound , they are nice and plump and can be cut into a bite size and still have a clean fresh taste. I clean the shrimp, devein them and remove the tails. They are big enough to cut into 3 pieces each.
Add a handful of fresh chopped cilantro, fresh sage, and season with salt and pepper to taste. and Cook for another 5 minutes - 10 minutes. You do not want to over cook the shrimp or the calamari.
Ladle the soup into a nice big bowl,  give it a squeeze of some fresh lime juice,  garnish with a few slices of avocado and chopped cilantro, serve with a Tostadas, and enjoy!
Buon appetito
xoxoxo
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

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