Pickled Eggplant

I can remember the first time I tasted pickled eggplant at my mother in laws house in New Jersey. My father in law brought home a bushel of white eggplant from a farm in Southern New Jersey. He did that all the time, if he saw something while he was out and it looked good, he came home with a case or a bushel of it! As I think of this I am realizing where my husband gets this from!
 My mother in law was a little exasperated by the amount of eggplant in front of her, after all she wasn't feeding an army, it was just the two of them, but she knew exactly what to do with all of them! Of coarse there was a tray or two of parmigiano made but the rest were pickled and went into jars.  If you were lucky you were gifted with one of the jars filled with this simple refreshing and delicious mixture!
The eggplant I used for this is sometimes called a Sicilian Eggplant.  They are usually round and have a white skin.
If you can't find a white eggplant use the purple ones.

This recipe is very simple, and very easy to make.

For one jar you will need

1 large white eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2  cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
4 - 5 cloves peeled garlic, cut into pieces
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon salt
olive oil
oregano to taste
red pepper flakes
fresh chopped parsley
* may add capers if you like them

In a pot large enough to cook the eggplant, bring the vinegar, water, garlic and red pepper flakes to a boil. Add the eggplant, bay leaf and the salt.  Cook the eggplant until it gets soft, this takes about 5 minutes. Drain the eggplant mixture.
In a bowl mix the cooked eggplant with the fresh chopped parsley, a pinch or dried oregano, a pinch of red pepper flakes and more salt to taste.

Put your epplant into a jar and top it with olive oil, cover and let it sit for a few days to let all the tastes marry.
This never lasts in my house. As soon as it chills it's gone!


Buon Appetito
xoxo
Lorraine

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Wok Wednesdays!

While surfing around the other day I found a blog that I would like to share with you all.  Matt from GreenEatsBlog was encouraging other bloggers to participate in Wok Wednesdays.  If you would like to participate, please go to Wok Wednesdays blog and sign up!

On selected Wednesdays  a recipe will be featured out of Grace Young's cookebook, Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge.

Yesterday was our first Wok Wednesday, with a very simple Stir- Fried Garlic Spinach! This was very fast and yummy. It took me longer to clean the spinach than it took to cook it.

I purchased 3 bundles of fresh spinach thinking that would probably give me the 16 cups of spinach that the recipe was calling for.  I've forgotten what a pain in the a$$ it is to clean fresh spinach. I've gotten very used to the triple washed, cleaned and trimmed spinach that you can purchase these days! haha!

I cut off the bottom of each bundle of spinach.
I filled the sink with the spinach and then ran cold water over the spinach and let the spinach sit. I removed the spinach from the water, cleaned out the sink, there was plenty of sand and dirt on the bottom and repeated the cleaning process. I think I did this 3 times to make sure there was no dirt left anywhere! There is nothing worse than chewing on sand! So when you think it's clean, clean it again!

The Woking part was easy! I heated the oil and waited until it was hot enough, added the garlic and worked quickly so the garlic didn't burn. The spinach was added and tossed and then sprinkled with a little salt and tossed again.

Out of the wok, and into a serving plate, right to the table.
Enjoyed by all!
I'm looking forward to woking again. We'll be making a chicken dish. Check back soon!

Buon Appetito
祝您好胃口
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Caracara Mexican Grill

My sister, Marlene and I had the pleasure of dining at Caracara Mexican Grill on Monday night.  For those of you who live in the vicinity you are very lucky to have this gem located in your backyard!  This is not your typical Mexican restaurant. This is dinning!

For those of you who know me, know that I talk to everyone. This occasion was not an exception to the rule.  I think it's important to get to know the people who are around me, especially while sitting at the bar snapping photos.  Sometimes I get so caught up in the moment I forget to ask if it's alright. I'm so glad I started talking!

Julie our bartender made the most delicious Margarita for me. Give me a silver tequilla with fresh squeezed lime juice over ice, lightly salted  with a  touch of Agave Nectar and I am transported back to Mexico. We are talking good times!
Marlene, my sister, who never drinks ordered the Sangria, which she sucked down like nobody's business!  Before I was half way through with my drink, she was ordering another, sucking up the very last drop.  She's working on her New Year's resolution to "drink more"!

We ordered an appetizer of Calamares Fritos, which were Blue Corn crusted and served with Chipotle Honey Aioli and  Ranchero dipping sauces. The Calamres were delicious, crispy and very fresh!

To our surprise, Tony the owner, sent out another appetizer for us to try! Tamales Camarones. This was not your average Tamale. We couldn't stop eating this dish. The tamale was rich and creamy, mixed with corn and a Chipotle cream. The texture was creamy and had intense flavors from the smokey Habanero salsa.  This appetizer was amazing. I can't wait to go back and try the chicken tamale!

Marlene ordered Costillas A La Parrilla. If you like short ribs you have to order this dish! The short ribs were slow cooked with Dos Equis Beer and served with a three chile salsa.  This is another winning dish!

I ordered the Carne Asado. Out  came a perfectly prepared medium rare Skirt Steak.  The steak was so tender and juicy that I ate every single piece and left nothing on my dish!

Our only mistake was not saving any room for deserts!  I won't make that mistake again.
Executive Chef Nestor Hernandez has a magic touch. Our meal was so delicious it rivaled the best meal I had recently eaten in Mexico!

Cinco de Mayo is this weekend and Tony is offering some specials for the occasion and the party will last all weekend long!  I strongly suggest you make reservations!

Tell them, Lorraine from The Food Crawl sent you!

Caracara Mexican Grill

354 Main Street
Farmingdale, New York
516 .777.2272

Like them on Facebook!  Check out the specials! On Meatless Monday's, in addition to the regular menu there are many delicious specials offered!

Buen Apetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Italian Inspirations Recipe Contest

My recipe made it to the top 5 in the contest being run by Johnsonville Italian Inspirations!

MY RECIPE,  which was submitted will now be cooked by a Chef and then judged based on taste.

The next time I write about this I hope it's with good news.

Thank you Johnsonville for giving me this opportunity to shine!

Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Pesto Crusted Roast Beef

I love Sundays when there is nothing to do but be lazy and relax.
This translates for me into a day of cooking a really delicious meal for my family, without the rush of getting everything onto the table for "dinner time". I can take my time and play all day in the kitchen!

Sunday's  rules are different from the weekday rules.

When we were kids we ate our Sunday dinner no later than 3 in the afternoon.
Our parents didn't have to deal with softball practices, or soccer games, or any other sports activities. Sunday was a day of rest and there were no activities planed, except  for Church and family!

Today our schedules are so busy, it doesn't matter what day of the week it is!
Give me a rainy Sunday when everyone is sleeping in, cozy and relaxed without running off somewhere and I am so happy.

It gives me the opportunity to make a Sunday dinner like we had when we were kids.
First you start with an antipasto, then a pasta, followed by a meat, with the vegetables and a salad.

This past Sunday gave me the perfect opportunity to make one of those big Sunday meals.
I haven't made a roast beef in a very long time. The other day my son, Stephen said it would be nice to have roast beef so he could make sandwiches with the left overs.
So for this Sunday dinner I decided to make a Roast Beef and wanted to give it a different twist.

I seasoned the meat with salt and pepper. With a pastry brush I spread pesto all over the roast. More chopped garlic went all over the roast and then I rolled the roast beef so it was coated with french onion flakes. I don't know why I had these in my pantry, but they were there and I thought, why not?
I put the roast in a preheat 450 degree oven for 15 minutes and then turned the heat down to 350 degrees. I added a couple of peeled carrots, an onion and mushrooms to the pan with beef stock and 1/2 cup of Sweet Vermouth.

I cooked the roast until it reached an internal temperature of 135- 137 degrees and then let it sit, tented.
In my opinion, the meat was a little overdone after letting it rest.

Next time, I'm taking it out at 125 degrees, letting it rest so the roast will be medium rare. This was more of a medium to medium well.  It was still tasty, tender and most delicious.

Enjoy!

Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Beets, Glorious Beets!

Love beets? We do!  We love them roasted, pickled and even raw!
This salad of mixed baby greens with frisee, sliced thin raw beets and goat cheese is delicious.
It was dressed with EVOO and a drizzle of Aged Balsamic Vinegar. A pinch of sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh lemon zest was all that was needed for seasoning.

Enjoy!
Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Spaghetti and Chopped Clams

As much as I always love to use fresh products whenever available some days that can be a challenge depending on the kind of day I am having. There are days where I run out of hours. I had meant to go shopping and just never got to it,  and then there are those days that I had planned to eat out and for some reason it just didn't  happen.
For the reasons mentioned that's why you can always find a can of chopped clams in my pantry.  In a pinch, I can serve up a dish of linguini or spaghetti with clam sauce in under 30 minutes. Rachel Ray would be so proud of me! LOL!

This can is a time saver and will make a quick, easy and delicious dish of pasta.
I drain the can and reserve about 2 cups of the clam juice. Then I rinse the chopped clams.
Chop 4 - 6 cloves of garlic and add them to your pan with 2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Add two anchovies to the garlic and cook on low heat. I know some of you are turning your noses up at the addition of anchovies. Please try it. They will add such a nice flavor to the dish. You will not taste the anchovie. It just kicks up the flavors a notch.
You don't want the garlic to burn or get any color. This will make the garlic bitter. Cook until the anchovies fall apart and the garlic is tender.

Add the can of chopped clams.

Season the clams with salt, black pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Cook the clams in the garlic for about 5 minutes. This doesn't take long!
Add chopped flat leaf parsley ( I chopped a handful and added it) and at this time added a little bit of the clam juice.

It's that simple.
Cook your pasta in salted water. The water has to taste like the sea!
There was a box of spaghetti in the pantry. I cooked it as per instructed on the box less one minute.
Remove the pasta from the cooking liquid.
Remember to reserve one cup of the pasta cooking water.
Add the cooked pasta to the clams and toss making sure all the pasta gets hit with the clam sauce. If you need more liquid add some of the reserved pasta water.

Divide the pasta into individual serving dishes and top with a little fresh parsley.
If you like, you  could also add some grated cheese. I don't do that, but hey if you like it, who am I to tell you that you shouldn't. You won't find the cheese on my table, but you will find extra red pepper flakes!

This is a delicious dish. The only way it could be better would be to have been able to cook with live fresh clams in their shell!
Next time!
Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Bella Luna Ristorante

Ahhhh, Bella Luna Ristorante...Dean Martin songs come to mind...that's Amore...

This gem has only been open for 5 weeks and already there is a steady stream of people coming in filling up the tables. By word of mouth, at least that's how we heard about it, the restaurant has a following for good food in a friendly atmosphere with reasonable prices. The formula is very simple at Bella Luna,  serve great tasting food at reasonable prices, serve it with a smile and make everyone happy! 

 

If you like hot peppers ask for the roasted peppers with onions. The onions were so sweet and the peppers were deliciously hot.  I ate most of them and loved every wave of heat delivered with each bite!

We started our meal with a tri color salad and a couple of pasta dishes. We just wanted to taste as much as we could!

tri color salad with gorgonzola 

homemade pappardelle with lobster and spinach

homemade cavatelli with escarole, beans and sausage

The salad was crisp and the pasta's were amazing.  

After we had indulged in our first courses we moved on to the main event. 

The menu is extensive. There was so much to choose from. Decisions were hard to make. When everything looks so good you want it all! We knew that we would be back soon, so we were in control!

One of the specials tonight was a soft shell crab. We both love soft shell crabs. Bring it! Pan fried in a lemon and white wine sauce they were sweet and tender! 

soft shell crabs in a lemon and white wine sauce

There is nothing better than a great dish of Pork chops with hot and sweet vinegar peppers. The dish was a winner. I thought about only eating one of the pork chops and bringing the other one home but couldn't help myself! Before I knew it, my dish was empty with nothing to bring home. The pork chops were served with a lovely side of sauted escarole. We had a choice of potato, pasta or vegetable and decided on the vegetable. We also ordered a side of Broccoli Rabe. Both sides were perfectly cooked and seasoned well. 

Pork chops with Hot and Sweet Vinegar Peppers

Broccoli Rabe

Unfortunately Steve and I were too full to try anything from the Dessert menu. We were told that most items were made in the house. I wish we had room for something a little sweet at the end of our meal because based on the rest of our meal it could only have complimented what we had. I will definetely be saving room for the homemade cheesecake next visit!

Bella Luna does not have it's liquor license yet, so for now it's BYOB.

If you go, tell Ralph that The Food Crawl sent you! 

Enjoy!

Bella Luna Ristorante

861 Midland Avenue

Yonkers, New York

914 751-5588

Buon Appetito

xoxoxo

Lorraine

Il Sogno Ristorante

Ever pull in to the parking lot of a restaurant and wonder where the heck you are going or why?
Never judge a book by it's cover, right?
Il Sogno Ristorante in Port Chester, New York is one of those restaurants. I can't tell you how many times I have passed by it's doors never giving it a second glance.
A friend of mine, who considers himself another foodie suggestted a night out at It Sogno and let me tell you, it's a gem!
 It's very unasumming from the side of the road, but once you pull in and have a seat your mind will be changed.
While waiting for the rest of our group to arrive we were seated at the bar and greeted by Jimmy, the owner of the restaurant. He was quick with a warm greeting and a fabulous pour.
My martini was made perfectly and my husbands glass of wine was served at the perfect temperature.

My friend Frank had to jump in on the picture!  He's a handsome guy so I let him! lol

Jimmy quickly put out some thinly sliced salami and some toasted Italian bread for us to munch on while waiting for the rest of our group to arrive.

And here's my dirty appearing perfectly naughty!

When you are so comfortable at the bar and everything is perfect it's sometimes hard to make a move to your table. We contimplated eating at the bar, and while we sometimes enjoy that we felt that we would be missing a beat if we didn't venture into the dinning room.
Our waiter greeted us warmly and made us feel as if we the only people in the room. After being informed of the abundant specials of the evenng we were left to consider our choices.
We were even shown the special cut of veal that was being offered!

We wanted to try everything! I think we came very close to ordering many of the specials that were offered.
Our waiter offered us a beautiful platter of the pastas that each of us were considering, offering us each a taste of everything we wanted!

The whole wheat pasta puttanesca, eggplant napoleon, and tagliatelle with cream and truffles was something made for each of us. Each dish satisfied all of our palettes! Bravo!
There were so many specials to be considered.
If this was going to be right, it could be great!
A few of our choices were ...Bronzino, fish,  grilled and served whole, a double cut veal chop, served with potatoes and broccoli rabe, and a pounded chop served with a caprese salad! I was struggling with my order and finally decided on ordering the whole grilled roasted Bronzino fish.   I'm always looking to stick my fork into someone elses plate!  I love my friends who let me taste!

We were so full no one wanted to order a desert. But guess what? Out came a beautiful platter of delicious biscotti with our coffee! These were home made!

And then another plate of Italian specialties. The heck with the diet. You have to take a taste, right?

and then a martini zabgone with strawberries. Who can resist?

We all gathered at the bar for a last hoorah and after dinner drink.

I can't wait for the next time we get together for a crawl. We're thinking lobster rolls!
Monica  thinks she doesn't take a good picture!  I think we look fabulous! xoxoxo

Il Sogno Ristorante
316 Boston Post Road
Port Chester, New York
914 937-7200
www.ilsognony.com

Thanks Jimmy!
Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine