Dancing In the Dark
Page 22
Enough salt to “lightly salt” something
1 raw egg
Put flour in a large mixing bowl. Make a hole in the center.
Place warm potatoes in the center.
Place the egg on top of the mixture.
Blend flour, potatoes and egg BY HAND.
Place whole mixture on lightly floured countertop or large wooden cutting board.
Knead until you have soft dough.
Cut mass into two pieces and make a ball with each.
Place one of the halves back in the bowl and cover it.
Roll out the other ball so it’s two times as thick as a pie crust.
Cut into long horizontal strips about 1 ½ inch wide, adding flour as needed. (Can do diagonal strips, too.)
Dig! (Yep. That’s all it says.) What it means is to place your middle three fingers in the strips and dig them in so the dough curls over.
Repeat with second ball.
Boil for 20 minutes. Drain. Cover with sauce.
NOTE: My mother never liked any of the guys I dated. When my college boyfriend came home with me for the first time (and slept in his own room, of course) and he got up at five and helped my mother dig these. She loved him after that. BTW, he’s been my husband for decades.
Stuffed Shells
350º for 30 minutes, uncover, bake another 15 minutes
12-oz. pkg. Jumbo Shells
About 5 cups marinara or meat sauce
Filling:
2 lb. whole milk ricotta, room temperature
¾ cup Romano grated cheese
1 ¼ cups whole milk mozzarella, shredded or 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 TBLS. fresh parsley, or 1 TBLS. dried parsley
3 eggs slightly beaten
¼-½ cup extra Romano cheese for top
Gently boil shells until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Combine ricotta, ¾ cup grated cheese, parsley, egg to make a filling. Stuff each shell with filling and be sure to close each shell so filling doesn’t fall out.
Cover bottom of large oblong dish with sauce.
Arrange shells side by side.
Pour sauce over shells, sprinkle top with remaining Romano cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake at 350º for 30 minutes, uncover, bake another 15 minutes.
Can be made ahead of time, stored in the refrigerator. This dish freezes well.
Joanie’s Minestrone
My sister Joanie tried 19 recipes for this soup before she was satisfied with her own unique list of ingredients. I also double this and freeze for later.
¼-½ cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 large onions, sliced
4 medium potatoes, cubed
2 TBLS. fresh parsley, or 1 TBLS. parsley
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
**For both the salt and pepper, do this to taste. I don’t like a lot of pepper in this soup.
1 28-oz. can tomato puree
1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes, crushed with wooden spoon. Set aside the juice.
12 cups cold water
2 cups green beans, cut into 1 inch length
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery
1 head escarole, torn into small pieces
1 15-oz. can kidney beans
1 ½ cups ditalini (macaroni)
Clean and prepare all vegetables.
Sauté onions, garlic and potatoes in oil on medium heat until brown (about 10 minutes). Add tomatoes (crushed with spoon) and juice, salt, pepper, parsley. Cover and simmer slowly for 15 minutes.
In separate pot, boil water. Add carrots and green beans. Cook 5 minutes. Add celery and escarole. Cook 5 more minutes.
Add kidney beans, including liquid.
Add all vegetables in frying pan to pot and cook 15 minutes, stirring often.
In separate pan, cook ditalini al dente. Add to soup.
Serve with grated cheese and crusty Italian bread.
Turkey Noodle Soup
Stove Temperature varies from boil, to simmer to cook over medium heat.
This is a specialty of my own personal hero, my husband, and great for cold winter nights. We make it in the winter and share it with family and friends. Very good for those who are sick or recovering from hospital stays.
Cook turkey (have it for dinner first). Cut off extra meat and save.
3 bay leaves
1 large onion chopped
½ tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
½ pepper
2 cups sliced celery
2 cups sliced carrots
1 lb. noodles
Bring to a boil turkey carcass with bay leaves, onion, thyme, salt, pepper. Cover and simmer on low for 3 hours. Let it cool overnight. When cool, skim the fat using a paper towel. Remove carcass and stray bones from liquid.
Remove meat from carcass and set aside.
Boil liquid again. Add new turkey meat. Cook on medium setting for one hour.
Add carrots. Cook ten minutes. Add celery. Cook ten minutes. Add rest of meat. Simmer for 15 minutes. Let cool.
Boil noodles until al dente. Rinse in cold water. Add to soup. Reheat as needed.
Serve with crusty Italian bread.
Homemade Pizza
350º for 30 minutes
We all love this pizza and make it frequently. The recipe is enough for two large pizzas. Again, I often freeze the sauce. My sister Patty’s family loved it so much, her son gave it to the restaurant where he worked and the dish became part of their menu.
1 clove garlic, minced
1 TBLS. dried parsley
1 TBLS. oregano
½ cup red wine
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. sugar
2 28-oz. cans crushed tomatoes (unlike whole tomatoes used in previous recipes)
1 12-oz. can tomato paste
2 loaves frozen bread dough
Following directions on dough, thaw, let rise. (I usually thaw dough the night before in the refrigerator.) Roll it out and spread it in a sprayed pizza pan or on a pizza stone and let it rise for an afternoon.
For sauce: combine garlic, onion, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, sugar and wine. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and paste and simmer for ½ hour, stirring often.
Cover dough with a generous amount of sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Add your favorite toppings.
Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.
Antipasto
Antipasto can be made any way you want. Sometimes you see more of a variety of meats than what is listed below, sometimes other ingredients. This is the way the Boneli, Ruocco and Schaefer household prepares it. No amounts are included because that depends on how many will be eating. Often, we serve this as an appetizer to an Italian meal, and often, we make it alone for supper.
On a large platter, layer the following in any presentation that is pleasing to the eye.
lettuce
cherry
tomatoes
canned tuna fish
chick pea beans
salami, cut in wedges
provolone cheese, cut in wedges
capricola (Italian ham), cut in wedges
green olives
black olives
pepperoncini (little hot peppers)
roasted red peppers
marinated mushrooms
hard boiled eggs halved
Italian Dressing
1⅓ cup salad oil
½ cup wine vinegar
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. sugar
½ tsp. dry mustard
dash pepper
1 tsp. oregano
3 cloves garlic, halved
Combine ingredients in a cruet and shake well before serving over salad or antipasto.
Don’t have time to fuss with dressing? Instead, fill cruet with marked amounts of vin
egar, water, oil. Add a package of Good Seasons Italian Mix. Shake well. Serve.
Zucchini Boneli
325º for 30 minutes
4 large zucchini
½ cup butter
1 lb. mild or hot Italian sausage
2 cloves garlic, crushed, or use garlic paste (¼ tsp.=1 clove garlic)
1 tsp. finely chopped rosemary
½ cup heavy cream, or half-and-half
6 TBLS. finely chopped parsley, 3 TBLS. dried parsley
1 cup homemade breadcrumbs
⅔ cup Parmesan cheese
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 cup tomato sauce
Trim off and discard the ends of the zucchini. Split in halves. Using a melon ball cutter, scoop out and reserve the center pulp of each half, leaving a shell for stuffing.
Heat half the butter in a saucepan and cook the scooped out pulp until wilted.
Meanwhile, cook the sausage, crumbling with a spoon until done. Pour off excess fat.
Add the sausage to the pulp. Add the garlic, rosemary, parsley, cream, breadcrumbs and half the cheese. Stir in the egg. Salt and pepper to taste. When blended, use the mixture to fill the zucchini halves. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and dot with the remaining butter.
Optional: Pour tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish and place stuffed halves in it. My husband and son prefer the sauce on this. I don’t. Use or don’t use according to taste.
Bake 325º for 30 minutes or until zucchini are tender and the filling golden brown. Broil if you want a crispy top.
Shrimp Scampi
450º for 5 minutes, then broil 1-3 minutes
This is another of my sister Joanie’s specialties. It’s really good.
1 lb. jumbo shrimp (about 20)
½ cup butter (1 stick)
4 large garlic cloves, or use garlic paste (¼ tsp.=1 clove garlic)
2 TBLS. olive oil
2 TBLS. fresh parsley chopped or 1 TBLS. dried parsley
1 TBLS. fresh lemon juice or ½ tsp. bottled lemon juice
½ tsp. basil
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. dried oregano
Shell and devein shrimp. Dry thoroughly. Set in baking pan.
Mix garlic with softened butter and let the mixture sit for 2-3 hours. After 2-3 hours, melt the butter and garlic paste, strain juice out of cloves and remove them.
Mix garlic and butter with rest of ingredients.
Pour over shrimp, coating each of them.
Bake at 450º for 5 minutes, then broil 3-5 minutes, turning once until the shrimp are pink and tender.
Shrimp Cheese
¼ cup butter
3 TBLS. minced onion
¼ cup chopped green pepper
1½ TBLS. flour
½ tsp. salt
Dash pepper
1 28-oz. can of whole tomatoes cut up, including juice
1 ½ cups Velveeta cheese
1 ½ lb. shrimp, deveined and cooked
Dash tabasco sauce. (Omit or increase depending on how spicy you like your food.)
1 TLBS. chili sauce (Can increase depending on how spicy you like your food.)
Sauté butter, onion, green pepper until tender but not brown.
Blend in flour, salt, pepper and tomatoes.
Cook till thickens.
Add Velveeta cheese and stir until melted.
Add shrimp, tabasco sauce, chili sauce.
Heat thoroughly.
Serve over rice.
Chicken Rosie
350º for 30 minutes
1 lb. boneless breast chicken, cut up
1 small onion, chopped
12 black olives, cut up
1 8-oz. can artichoke hearts, cut up
½ small head broccoli, cut up
1 28-oz. can of whole tomatoes, crushed
½ cup crumbled goat cheese
1 TBLS. grated Parmesan cheese
Brown chicken (not too much because it will cook more).
Add onions, olives, artichokes and broccoli to the mixture.
Crush canned tomatoes with a spoon and add tomatoes to mixture.
Add goat cheese.
Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.
Serve over noodles with grated cheese.
Chicken Cordon Blue
350º for 30 minutes
¼ cup chicken broth
2 TBLS. butter
1 garlic clove or ¼ tsp. garlic paste
½ cup breadcrumbs
1 TBLS. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. paprika
¼ salt
¼ oregano
¼ ground pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts
4 slices prosciutto
4 slices mozzarella cheese
Place broth in a bowl; microwave on high 15 seconds or until warm. Stir in butter and garlic.
Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and paprika in a bowl; set aside.
Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound each to ¼-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin.
Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt, oregano, and pepper. Top each breast half with 1 slice of prosciutto and 1 slice mozzarella.
Roll up each breast jellyroll fashion. Dip each roll in chicken broth mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture.
Place rolls, seam side down, in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour remaining broth mixture over chicken. Bake at 350º° for 30 minutes or until juices run clear and tops are golden.
Fried Chicken
425º for 1 hour
I learned how to make this dish when I was first married and didn’t know anything. We really like the dish at my house. It’s a simple meal, served hot with side dishes in the winter or cold with potato salad in the summer.
½ cup butter or Crisco
1 lb. chicken breasts and legs, cut up
½ cup flour
1 TBLS. paprika
½ tsp. pepper
Melt butter in 13x9 pan in oven.
Combine flour, paprika and pepper in plastic bag. Add chicken and coat lightly.
Put chicken meaty side down in buttered pan.
Bake at 425º for 45 minutes, then turn chicken over and bake another 15 minutes.
Roasted Chicken and Peppers Rosie
400º for 1 hour
This is another of my husband’s mother’s recipes. Every single family member loves the dish and making it for them is a real treat, despite how simple it is. I think this is another example of comfort food.
2 lb. chicken cut up
I TBLS. oil
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder or ¼ tsp. garlic paste
4 potatoes, cut up
3 large green peppers, cleaned and cut up
Rub oil on chicken and place in large roaster pan.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic.
Bake 20 minutes.
Add cut up potatoes.
Bake ½ hour. Stir after 15 minutes.
Add cut up peppers.
Bake another ½ hour or until potatoes and peppers are tender.
Beef Burgundy
350º for 2 hours
Again, this is my sister Joanie’s recipe, given to me when I was first married. It quickly became one of my husband’s favorite to make.
3 lb. beef cut into 2 inch cubes
½ cup flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
3 TBLS. oil
3 TBLS. butter
¼ cup warm cognac (This cannot be left out.)
2 slices bacon, diced
2 cups onions, diced
¾ cup grated carrots, or sliced carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced (¼ tsp. garlic paste=1 clove garlic)
3 cups dry red wine
3 TBLS. fresh parsley or 1 ½ TBLS. dried parsley
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. thyme
12 small white onions
3 c
ups mushrooms, sliced, sautéed
Roll beef in mixture of flour, salt and pepper. Heat oil and butter in a skillet; brown meat on all sides. Transfer to casserole. Pour the warm cognac over mixture.