St. Nick

ST. NICK!!!

As a kid, the Feast of St. Nicholas was never a big deal.  It really wasn’t a holiday.  So we did have to go school. We did learn about him in school and knew he was a kind man who distributed gifts to the poor kids in Turkey around the 3^rd Century.  He was sort of the precursor to Santa Claus, but Santa didn’t come till December 25^th. In my family, we never put out our shoes the night before December 6^th, his feast day.  BUT, this day has provided me with the most memorable impression I have of the entire holiday season.

Cousin Marilyn went out of town and she asked me if I would stay with her boys, Jason, Tony and Donny.  Never missing an opportunity to be with them, I did.  Jason was probably around 13, Tony around 7 and Donny 4.  I guess, since they were going to Catholic School, St. Nicholas day was discussed.  Jason by this time was too old to believe in St. Nick and Santa.  Donny was young enough to accept the reality of St. Nick and Santa.  Tony was probably at the age of questioning it but probably felt that if it involved getting presents, it was better to believe!!

Tony was the one who reminded me that St. Nicholas day was approaching.  I got the hint!  But I also reminded him that St. Nick would only come if he was being good.  For the next few days, I had to remind him that he wasn’t being such a good kid and that he better change that because St. Nick was watching.  Well Tony was being Tony.  And he wasn’t that good in spite of my warnings.  And Donny was just following his lead and he wasn’t actually the model child either. And I kept warning them!!!

The evening of December 5^th came and by this time I got tired of warning Tony and Donny.  I would get even!!!!  St. Nick would not leave them presents that night. I mentioned this to Jeannine, their aunt and she laughed saying I wouldn’t have the nerve or the heart to do it. I was, however, determined.

That night, Tony and Donny left out their shoes at the fireplace downstairs.  I took Jason aside and told him to put out one of his shoes too. Jason was going to get something. They weren’t.  That night, after they all went to sleep - keeping in mind that Tony gave me his usual hard time going to bed, I filled Jason’s shoe with little presents, but for the other two, I wrote a note.  I can’t remember the exact wording but it went something like this:  “Dear Tony and Donny, I was unable to leave you any presents tonight.  You both were so bad that I decided against it. However, if you both will be good today, I will come back and bring presents.”

There are moments in life, nanoseconds even, in which you glimpse, and that leaves an indelible mark in your mind.  I had one the next morning.

I made it a point to wake up a little earlier that morning and get downstairs to the basement to wait for the three boys to come down.  I didn’t have to wait long. Tony and Donny came barreling down the stairs.  They rushed to the fireplace and grabbed the note.  I will never forget that moment.  There was this nanosecond when Tony read the note and his expression turned from high anticipation to utter disbelief.  I wish I had a camera.  This was more than a Kodak moment. I don’t think Donny knew what was going on, just that they had no presents. What made it even funnier was that Jason received something and they didn’t. 

As you may have guessed by now, that day, both Tony and Donny behaved.  The next morning St. Nick came back and left them presents.

Of course, you do get a recipe!!

Since the holidays are approaching I will be presenting some timely recipes.  When I taught for William-Sonoma’s lunchtime classes, I did a class on Christmas candies.  Here are a few.

Enjoy and please leave a comment at the end of the entry.

CHOCOLATE NUT PATTIES

¾  cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

2 Tablespoons butter

½ cup sweetened condensed milk

1 Cup salted mixed nuts, coarsely chopped

1.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil

2.  Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, over hot water.

3. When the ingredients have just melted, remove pot from the heat and let the mixture cool slightly. 

4.  Beat in the condensed milk and then the nuts.

5.  Drop the candy by tablespoons onto the cookie sheet and refrigerate until set.

Makes about 2 dozen 

                     QUICK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

4 ounces (4 squares) unsweetened chocolate

½ Cup butter

¾ Cup sweetened condensed milk

2 Cups confectioners' sugar

1/3 cup peanut butter

1.  Line an 8-inch square baking pan with wax paper

2.  Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and when it is half melted, add the butter          and continue to melt the entire mixture.

3.  Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.

4.  Whisk in the condensed milk slowly.

5.  Gradually beat in the sugar.

6.  Beat in the peanut butter.

7.  Spread the mixture in the pan and chill until firm, preferable overnight.

8.  Cut into 25 pieces.

              

                                                     PRALINES

2 Cups brown sugar

½ cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-cup pecan pieces

1.   Mix brown sugar and water in a large skillet

2.   Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened to a creamy texture.

3.   Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and pecans and immediately spoon on wax paper.

4.   Allow to cool

Stuffing

Thanksgiving II

What’s Thanksgiving without dressing?  I think I like dressing more than I like the turkey.  The following recipe is my mom’s.  I am not sure where she got it. In the back of my mind, I think she said she Aunt Rosie De Leonardis gave it to her (She another character in the list of family members I hope to feature. And WOW, what a character she was.

This is a type of recipe that you should only use once a year.  It’s certainly is an artery clogger!!  But it is my favorite.

                                            TURKEY DRESSING

½ lb. bacon

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 lb. package croutons or favorite package stuffing

2 sticks margarine, melted

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

½ cup of Parmesan, Romano cheese

3 tablespoons parsley

1 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 pound fresh mushrooms, finely chopped or 8 oz. can of mushrooms

1.  Slice bacon and sauté in a large skillet until transparent, not crisp. Remove bacon from skillet.

2.  In same skillet, sauté onions and celery until transparent.

3.  Place croutons in a large bowl. Add melted margarine and toss into croutons.

4.  Add eggs to bowl.

5.  Add spices, bacon, onions and celery with the bacon drippings.

6.  Add mushrooms and toss all the ingredients with your hands.

7.  Fill turkey and bake as per turkey recipe; or,

8.  Place stuffing in baking pan and place in preheated 375-degree oven for 1 to 1          ¼ hour.  Bake until golden brown.

Thanksgiving

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.  My mother’s grandmother, Anonna, called this the “Festa di Gallina”, Feast of the Chicken. Don’t ask why she called it that.  There probably were no turkeys in the part of Italy from which she came.

I love this time of the year.  For me, autumn begins the day after Labor Day.  Although 90 degree temperatures can occur, they become rarer as September continues.  I like sweater weather and sleeping with light blankets at night.  I like the daylight waning in the evenings. It’s comfort weather.  I think the reason why I like this time of the year was because of the anticipation of the holiday season, even though it wasn’t until November and December that they occurred. I had a mother who started play Christmas Carols in October.  Every Christmas, she gave her nieces homemade ornaments she started making in September.

Over the years, the venue for Thanksgiving changed.  I remember going to Auntie Ang’s for dinner, then to Felicia, then my mother having it and then to cousin Sandra’s. It was a less stressful holiday.  There were no decorations to put up, no presents to buy, and usually no bad weather with which to deal.  Only cooking!!!! And I can still smell the aroma of the turkey cooking in the oven.

I know you are expecting a recipe and there is one at the bottom of the page. However, before I present one, I am going to narrate the way to cook a turkey as given to me my by Uncle Jerry. It’s the best way to cook a turkey that I know.  Feel free to leave your own method in the comment section following this Post.

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees.  Place your turkey breast side up in a roasting pan that has a cover. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan at least an inch up.  When the oven has been pre-heated place the turkey uncovered for 20 minutes.  This gives the opportunity for the skin of the turkey to brown.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 and place the roasting pan cover on the turkey.  At this temperature, the water in the pan simmers and creates steam which keeps your turkey moist.  Time in the oven depends on the size of your turkey. I like the turkeys with the built in thermometers already in the turkey breast. When the little thermometer pops up, the turkey is done.  You will probably note that the turkey breast has loosened from the breast bone. Remove from oven and let sit for at least 15 minutes before carving.  I guarantee that this will be best turkey you have cooked.  All the meat falls cleanly from the bones. Thank you Uncle Jerry!!!!

So there’s your turkey.  As you may be aware, in our family, and in countless other Italian families, turkey is just one of so many dishes.  Somewhere on the table you find, pasta, insalada, bread, meatballs, sausage, braciole, besides sweet potatoes, and vegetable dishes. And save room for desserts.

The following recipe was given to me by a friend.  It’s a long process, but it is worth the effort. When you first start the recipe, you may think that is a huge amount.  But it reduces quite a bit.  It won’t be that much.  It can easily be doubled without compromising the taste. And a little on your plate goes a long way.

                                         FUNGI ALLA TOSCANA

1 onion, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil or butter or combination of the two

2 Tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup red wine

1 lb. mushrooms (halved if too big)

2 green peppers cut into one inch squares

Sauté onion in olive oil/butter until transparent.  Add mushrooms and green peppers and sauté for a few minutes.

In a bowl, mix vinegar, anchovy paste, Dijon mustard and brown sugar into a loose paste.  Add the red wine and stir.

Add wine mixture to vegetables and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat

and simmer for 1 to 2 hours or until sauce is very reduced and thick.

ENJOY!!

HALLOWEEN

The little story I about to tell you has nothing to do with Halloween.  But it’s a great seg way into the next recipe.

About twenty five years ago, Bobby McFerrin had a Number One hit called “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”.  It was a catchy tune and the lyrics were pretty simple. The song caught on instantly and most of us were singing this simple line.  It’s a nice thought. Don’t worry about a thing and just be happy.  But it really wasn’t that easy. Happiness is relative and your ideas of happiness are elusive and at best only in your mind.  What makes you happy? Health? Wealth? Fame? All the way down the gambit.  But these exist in your mind foremast and cannot really be held in your hand.  Does healthy simply mean free if illnesses? Or does it include beauty?  How much money would you you need to be satisfied in order to make you happy?

BUT, my nephew Don Vincent had the perfect answer what made him happy.  I can still see him running around the house singing “Don’t Worry, Eat Cookies”.  At first it just struck me as cute and child like.  But after giving it some thought, I really found it quite profane.  Here is something tangible, something you can actually put in your hands and SEE.  At this point, your immediate focus is not on worrying but on eating a cookie!!  How easy is that!!!! DON’T WORRY – EAT COOKIES.

I researched the following recipe when I held a class on holiday cookies.  It is certainly appropriate for this time of year.  Enjoy!  And please leave a comment at the end of this recipe.

PUMPKIN SPICE COOKIES

 

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 cup dark brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

¾ cup (1 ½ stick) butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1 can pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup raisins (or dried cranberries)

½ cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1.     In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin spice.

2.     In a larger bowl, mix brown sugar, white sugar and butter with an electric mixer set at medium speed until well combined.

3.     Add egg, pumpkin and vanilla and blend until light and fluffy

4.     Add flour mixture and raisins to liquid and with a wooden, stir until all ingredients are well blended.  Do not over mix.

5.     Drop by rounded tablespoons on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 1 ½ inches apart

6.     Bake for 24 minutes, or until cookies are browned along the edges.

7.     Cool slightly and transfer to a cooling rack.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

MINISTRA MARITATA

Well here’s a kicker for you!!  Last night I received a phone call from a friend of mine, asking me if I had a recipe for Italian Wedding Soup.  A couple of years ago when I was teaching, I held a class on just soup.  I researched the recipe and presented it to the class.  When I was a kid I had never heard of Italian Wedding Soup. It was simply chicken broth with meatballs. No one ever talk about this soup being served at weddings.  But I did assume it was.  Since meatballs first originated in Sicily, I thought it was a Sicilian custom, although I didn’t see it served at Michael’s and Apollonia’s wedding.  (Think about that and let me know if you figured it out)

I decided to some research on the soup. The kicker is that name comes for the Italian word, MARITATA, which means MARRIAGE. The name of the soup is derived from the MARRIAGE of the ingredients in the soup and not because it is served at weddings. There are a number of different variants of Italian wedding soup, but all the recipes for it call for the addition of tiny meatballs, which can be made of pork, pork and beef mixed together.

This recipe probably makes enough for 8 servings. If you want to halve the recipe, you can do so with out any problems.  If you do want to make the entire recipe and freeze some of it, keep the meatballs and broth separate.  The meatballs will become soggy and absorb a lot of the broth.

At an Italian meal, soup is the first course and then comes the pasta.  If you are serving pasta at the meal, there is no need to add pasta to the soup.  As a matter of fact it's a gourmet mistake. However, if you are not, then you can add pasta. I would use the tiny pastas, such as “pastina”, orzo, or any other small shaped pasta. If you are freezing some, do not freeze with the pastas in the soup.  As with the meatballs, the pasta will absorb most of the liquid and become soggy

                         ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Meatballs:

     1 lbs. ground beef, or ground pork, or combination of both

1 egg, beaten

1-teaspoon garlic, minced

½ medium-sized onion, minced

2 tablespoons parsley, minced

¼ cup grated Parmesan, Romano or Asiago cheese

½ cup breadcrumbs

Broth:

6 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth, or 11 cups of homemade chicken broth

½ chopped medium onion

3 carrots, sliced and chopped

Salt to taste

½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, (optional)

1-10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach (squeezed dry, or

1 package fresh spinach, chopped

You can substitute 1 cup of chopped parsley for the spinach

For the meatballs, preheat oven to 375 degrees

1.     Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and thoroughly mix.

2.     Form meatballs, the size of a round quarter

3.     Arrange formed meatballs on baking sheet

4.     Bake for 20 minutes.

5.     Remove from baking sheet and drain on paper towel

6.     Combine onion and carrots and salt with chicken broth

7.     Simmer for 15 minutes

8.     Add pepper flakes and chopped spinach

9.     Add meatballs and simmer for 30 minutes.

ENJOY

COUSCOUS

Couscous

It’s really hard to believe we are approaching the end of summer. A good indicator for me that the summer is over is our family picnic. It’s always held at the end of the summer. Most the younger kids are heading back to school shortly. It just marks the end of the ‘silly season’ (Auntie Rosy coined that phrase years ago – and I have some great stories about her at a later time).

All the summer outdoor parties and picnics are winding down and I want to get this recipe in before the summer ends. About 12 or 13 years ago I was watching a PBS food program. They were doing a program on Italian cooking. The chef made a comment that couscous was not exclusively a Middle Eastern dish but was also used in some Italian dishes. Most of time, I simply watch these programs and don’t pay close attention to the recipe and methods. But this one caught my attention and I quickly grabbed a pencil.

What I especially like about this recipe is you do not have to ‘cook’ the couscous. The ingredients have sufficient moisture to be absorbed into the couscous given enough time to set. Actually, by NOT cooking the couscous, more of the flavors are absorbed into this tiny ‘pasta’. The ingredients are basic and there is no need to go to a specialty store to purchase. In the summer time, it makes a great dish for picnics. Unlike potato salad made with mayonnaise, this salad can be left out on the table for a while without refrigeration.

Enjoy!!!

TUSCAN COUSCOUS

10 ounces couscous

½ cup of extra virgin olive oil

The zest of one lemon

The juice of two lemons

One medium red onion, diced

One cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped

Two red ripen tomatoes, seeded and chopped, or

One 12-ounce can chopped tomatoes

One bunch green onions (about 6), chopped

One cup Calamata olives, chopped

1. In a large bowl, combine and whisk olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice.

2. Add chopped tomatoes.

3. Toss couscous into mixture.

4. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.

5. Let set at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Molasses

I was talking a good friend today. I really don’t know how this happened but I remember a silly little joke my mom told me as really young kid. Those of you who knew my mom also knew she had a great sense of humor and could laugh at an off-colored joke (‘ribald’ as she referred to them).  I remember when Uncle Jerry and Auntie Ang were visiting and the TV show “Bennie Hill” was being televised, they would sit in the kitchen and watch it.  Uncle Jerry and my mom would laugh our loud at some of the routines on the program while Auntie Ang would loudly “TSK” and call Bennie Hill a pig.  I think that made Uncle Jerry and my mom laugh even more.

Well this is the silly little joke she told me!  There were three moles, papa mole, mama mole and, of course, baby mole.  Seems like they were all in their little burrow when they started to smell something.  Papa mole ran up to the entrance of the burrow and exclaimed “I smell eggs cooking”.  Mama mole ran up and squealed “I smell bacon cooking”.  Poor little baby mole tried to get to the entrance but was blocked my papa’s and mama’s bodies and could only yell “I smell molasses”.   I actually remember wondering why my mom thought that was so funny. I don’t remember exactly when it finally hit me, but the punch line was supposed to read “I smell MOLE ASSESS”.  Sorry folks!!  It was at this time I finally became aware of my mom’s sense of humor.  And until she died, she retained that sense of humor for which I will always be grateful.

All of my mom’s siblings possessed this humor and I think it was this humor that got them through some very rough times. I have hundreds of stories that at various times I will try to narrate to you. I sometimes remember these stories and actually laugh at loud.  They are treasures in my mind and I hope to share them with you.

I know you are expecting a recipe and I searched my files for an appropriate one. Molasses is not an ingredient fount in many of the Italian/American recipes of which I am familiar. However, I found a cookie recipe using molasses that I used in one of my classes.  Enjoy! And please leave a comment at the very end of this recipe!!!

GINGERBREAD PEOPLE

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, room temperature

¾ cup of firmly packed brown sugar

1 large egg

½ cup of molasses

3 ¼ cups of flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of ground ginger

¼ teaspoon of cloves

Dry raisons or cranberries for decorating, optional

Icing (optional)

2/3  cup of powdered sugar

2 tablespoon of water

Food coloring, if desired

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

1.     In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until thoroughly mixed. It will be grainy.

2.     Add egg and molasses and beat until smooth.

3.     Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in another bowl and mix.

4.     Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. Do not overmix.

5.     Separate dough into two balls and flatten into two discs.

6.     Wrap each disc with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

7.     On a flat surface, roll out dough to about a ¼ inch thickness.

8.     Flour your gingerbread person cutter and cut into dough.

9.     Gather the scraps and roll out as before until all the dough is used

10. Place on ungreased baking sheets.

11. Decorate with raison and/or cranberries, if desired

12. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, be careful not to brown to much

13. Transfer to a cool flat surface.

Icing

1.     Combine powdered sugar, water and food coloring until smooth.  Make sure it is liquid enough for a smooth but not runny flow. Add more water if necessary.

2.     Place icing in a pastry bag with a small tip and decorate the people as desired.

CUCUMBER SOUP

It’s July and it’s still HOT. So here’s another summer recipe. I received a few good responses to my Gazpacho recipe so I thought I’d add another cold soup recipe. My early food experiences were very parochial. I had no idea that soup could be served anyway but HOT. In the winter months my mom made soup at least once a week. My favorite was her Ox Tail Soup. I would give anything for a bowl of that soup. Unfortunately, that was one of the recipes that my mom kept in her head. Obviously it was made with ox tail. I was such a fussy eater I still don’t know how I ever ate it. She would boil the ox tails seemingly forever, then add a few vegetables, more water and then barley. I am sure there were some seasonings added too, but I would not be able to identify them now. If anyone out there has a recipe to send, please do. Leave it in the comment section below, or email it to me at TaylorSt01@comcast.net.

Per a request by my friend Dan, here is a recipe for Cold Cucumber soup. As always, leave your comments below.

CUCUMBER - DILL SOUP

3 Cucumbers, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic

1 cup plain yogurt

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped dill

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Chopped dill for garnish

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

2. Serve in well chilled bowls and garnish with some chopped dill.

Variation: Eliminate the garlic and substitute mint for the dill.