Jackson Park 1925

MORE COLD SOUPS

It’s summer time in the city.  And it’s HOT! I am not a summer person, never was, and never will be. Even as a kid, I hated summer (except that there was no school)  I can remember sweltering in the 4^th floor apartment at 1117.  We lived on the top floor;  the roof was a flat black tarred roof and every summer in the heat we died!!!  Even cousin Sandra remembers sleeping on the floor with a fan directly on us.  Every window was open and even the back door to the apartment was left open. (We never had to worry about leaving it open all day and all night. It was not a problem.  My mom would say by the time any seedy characters climbed all those stairs, they would be too tired to bother us.  But in comparison to 1107, where at one time, there were 11 people living in that one apartment, I had it easy.  And every time I think about how hot it was, I remember this one little story my mom told me.

Uncle Tony used to refer t o his four sisters as the “Balloon sisters plus Bridgie”. This was in reference to their voluptuous body frames.  Aunt Bridgie was the thinnest.  But indeed all four sisters were “blessed”, as my dad would say. Even though they all were sisters, Aunt Lu and Aunt Bridgie were twins, they were all were different with distinct characteristics.  Auntie Ang, the oldest sister, was the most serious, taking on the role of oldest sister and eventually matriarch of the family. My mom, Teresa, was the most studious, although she never took herself serious and actually had a great sense of humor.  Aunt Lu and Aunt Bridgie, the Twins as they were referred to all their lives, were the most mischievous. 

Growing up, my mom told me numerous stories about their child hood, and although they lost their mom and dad as at early age, I heard a lot of funny stories.  One of my favorite stories, and till this day, it still brings laughter to the point of tears, dealt with Aunt Bridgie.  Knowing Aunt Bridgie makes this story even funnier.

For those of us who remember 1107 and the apartment layout, try to picture the middle bedroom.  Those bedrooms were all so tiny.  When they were growing up, my mom, Aunt Lu and Aunt Bridgie slept in one bed and Auntie Ang and Anonna, their grandmother, slept in another bed in the same room.  The boys, Uncle Jerry, Uncle Willie and Uncle Tony, slept in the dinning.  Zi Barone slept in the front bedroom (my mom said no one wanted to sleep with him so he was the only one who had a bed to himself.  My grandparents slept off the kitchen bedroom.  Damn.  I can’t imagine how they survived the summers.

My mom slept on the far left side of the bed, closest to the wall, Aunt Bridgie on the far right closet to the door and Aunt Lu in the middle.  One night, my mom woke up when you heard a thud.  She knew right away that Aunt Bridgie fell off the side of the bed.  She didn’t want to wake up Aunt Lu or let Aunt Bridgie know she heard, but she did try to suppress a laugh.  She remembered she struggled with that but did shake a little trying to quell the laugh.  Well, no such thing with Aunt Lu.  She also heard the thud on the floor and rather than suppress the laugh, she started to giggle as Aunt Lu to the end of her life always did.  As soon as my mom heard Aunt Lu, she did too. Aunt Bridgie was a not known to hold back on her language.  For woman in her time, she could give most sailors a run for their money when it came to cussing.  Well every possible cuss word came out of her mouth that night which of course made my mom and Aunt Lu laugh even more.   I wasn’t there, of course, but knew Aunt Bridgie well enough that in my mind’s eye I could picture that moment and be able to laugh until I cried. 

In any case, here’s a couple of cold soup recipes for your summer enjoyment. I have posted them before but thought it worth doing again. 

As always, please leave your comments at the end of this posting.

COLD CUCUMBER SOUP

3 Cucumbers, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic

1 cup plain yogurt

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped dill plus 1 teaspoon for garnish

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

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.

GAZPACHO

2 Cups Tomato Juice

1 large cucumber, peeled and diced

2 small onions, peeled and chopped

2 whole tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced, or 1 14 oz. can whole tomatoes

1 large green pepper, seeded and diced

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2-cup olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon, or 1/2 cup of lemon juice

1/2 cup half and half (can substitute 1/2 cup of yogurt)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Dash of Tabasco sauce

Garnish:

Chopped parsley or cilantro

Diced Tomato

Chopped cucumber

Chopped red and green peppers

Red pepper flakes

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

2.            Chill 3 hours or overnight.

3.            Serve in chilled soup dishes, if possible.  Allow each person to add his/her own garnishes.

As always, please leave your comments at the end of this posting.

COLD SOUPS    

The dog days of summer are upon us, albeit a bit too early for me.  I going to repeat my summer soup recipes from last summer (at the request of my friend Dan.)  But I do want to add a couple of new ones too.   I did some research on this one.  At first I was going to dismiss it; you have to cook it and it calls for cream.  But the lemon juice sounded so good, I thought I would try it by substituting plain yogurt for the heavy cream.  Also, you don’t have to simmer this long and cooking time is less than 10 minutes so it does not generate a great deal of heat in the kitchen. The most difficult part of this recipe is to make sure when you mix in the egg yolks (try egg beaters??????), not to have the yogurt and chicken broth too hot, or else the eggs will curdle.

COLD LEMON SOUP 

4 cups of chicken broth (low fat/low sodium)

2 cups of heavy cream (low fat yogurt)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ cup water

6 egg yolks, slightly beaten

Zest of one lemon

½ cup fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon white pepper

1.  Slightly whisk chicken broth and cream (yogurt) in a saucepan and cook over a low heat until just heated.

2.  Blend cornstarch and water and slowly stir into the soup mixture.  Make sure all lumps are dissolved.

3.  Heat soup mixture over low heat until thickened. Do not boil.

4.  SLOWLY stir in a little amount of the soup mixture into the beaten egg yolks. 

5.  Add the egg mixture to the soup and chill

6.  Just before serving, whisk in the lemon zest, juice, salt and pepper.

7.  Serve in chilled bowls.

AUNTIE ANG'S CALZONE

EASTER PIZZA – CALZONE (AUNTIE ANGE’S RECIPE)

Over the past several months since I started this Blog, I have never repeated a recipe.  However, since Easter is fast approaching, I think the Post here is worth repeating. It is one of my favorite holiday recipes.  I am also doing this for Christina Bella.  Last year she made this recipe and it was truly outstanding. I expect her to REPEAT her efforts and let me sample her resutls.  Chrissy, this is NOT a hint, it is an expectation



The Easter weekend is here. I can look back at the years and remember all those Easters spent on Racine Avenue. It evokes so many many fond memories. Of the many memories, I can still picture Auntie Ang taking Rocco, Patty Boy and me to RB's. It was located at the intersection of Ashland, Milwaukee and Division, near the Wicker Park neighborhood. I think we walked to Ashland Avenue and caught the CTA Bus and headed North. There we got to pick out new Easter clothes. I am sure we got clothes during the year but this was special. We got to buy them all at once, shoes, pants, shirts and even hats if it were the style. Rocco was the oldest of the three and I think I looked to him to see what he would buy and within limits, but the same things. God forbid, I would buy the same things. He probably would have killed me if I chose the same things. (Rocco was a big brat!!! haha) But they were new clothes!!

Another part of Easter were the Church Services. We all went to Catholic Schools as kids - when tuitions were affordable to working class families and ALL of the teachers were nuns and priests. We were required to attend all the Holy Week services. Rocco, Pat and I were altar boys and participated in the services on the altar for servarl years.

For years, my mom would make Easter baskets for all the cousins. I can remember waking up on Easter morning and seeing the dining room table full with Easter baskets.

And, of course, Easter meant food and lots of it. We fasted all during Lent so Easter meant the breaking of that fast and indulging in the great food preparted for Easter. My dad's family celebrated Easter Breakfast with pickled pigs' feet. I can honestly say, I never ever in my life (nor I doubt that I will) ate it. I can still see and smell the pigs' feet in the pot on Holy Saturday evening cooking on my mother's stove!!!! Ha. Of course, I look at that now with great fondness and smiles.

By far the greatest food memory I have is Auntie Ang's Calzone. This was definitely a once year event. She would start to perpare it days in advance and would give each family a huge piece. As I got older and on my own, I got my own piece. I am putting that recipe in here exactly as she wrote it down and passed it on.

ENJOY. Please leave your comments at the end of the recipe.

EASTER PIZZA – CALZONE (AUNTIE ANGE’S RECIPE)

DOUGH:

3 OR 4 CUPS FLOUR

1/2 TEASPOON SALT (optional)

3/4 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER

1 1/2 TABLESPOONS SUGAR

3/8 CUP OIL

3/4 CUP MILK

3 EGGS

Sift dry ingredients, beat eggs, add milk and oil. Add dry ingredients a little at a time. Let dough rest in refrigerator for ½ hour before rolling out. Divide into 2 pieces (1 for top and 1 for bottom). Add filling, then top crust, hold with toothpicks on top and pinch with fork around the sides. Rub or brush top with 2 egg yolks. Bake at 350 until done (45 minutes to 1 hour).

FILLING FOR SAUSAGE CALZONE:

5 POUNDS ITALIAN SAUSAGE (hot or mild)

(Or 5 pounds of pork butt mix. Add red pepper, salt and fennel seed. Mix well.)

1 TO 1 1/2 POUND MOZZARELLA CHEESE CUBED

½ TO 1 CUP GRATED CHEESE (Parmesian, Aziago or Romano)

4 EGGS

Brown Sausage and drain. Add mozzarella, grated cheese and eggs. Put in crust and cover with top crust. Bake until done (should be a nice golden brown color).

FILLING FOR SWEET CALZONE:

3 POUNDS RICOTTA

1/2 CUP SUGAR

1 HEAPING TEASPOON CINNAMON

3 EGGS

Mix well and put in crust and bake until done.

Lentil Soup

LENTIL SOUP

A friend of mine asked if I had a family recipe for lentil soup that he wanted to try for Lent.  The closest thing to a family recipe for lentils was my mom’s PASTA LENDDICHIA.  I never liked it, never ate it and subsequently never made it.  I am not sure where she got that recipe.  She just told me that this was one of the depression dishes her family ate mainly because it was inexpensive.  I vaguely recall that the three main ingredients were tomato paste, lentils and wide egg noodles.  What I do remember about the preparation of this dish was that she poured the lentils on the table a little at a time and painstakingly went through them separating the “good” lentils from the “bad”.  Lentils are usually flatten, smooth round disks and grey/green in color. These are the good ones.  The “bad” ones were more often darker and misshaped and somewhat shriveled and bumpy.  There were also small stones mixed in there too.  It is still a mystery how they got there.  The good ones were then rinsed thoroughly, placed in a pot with water and cooked till tender.  After that, I don’t recall what else my mom did.  I am guessing that after the lentils were cooked, she added the tomato paste and whatever seasonings she used and cooked it a bit longer. I remember the ‘sauce’ was thick.  The noodles were cooked separately and added to this thick mixture and served.  I never ate this dish.  But I remember my cousins Dan and Pasquale loved it.  And whenever she made it, she would always save some for them.

I am afraid that her recipe is lost, like so many things from that generation.  My mom was the ‘old soul’ of the family.  She was the family historian and was able to trace back our family to her grandmother’s mother and father as well as her father’s grandmother and grandfather. She also remembered the stories her grandmother told her about the towns from which the family immigrated. One piece of history that I recall was the story her grandmother told her about when she was a young girl and Garibaldi, the unifier of Italy, came through the region and the crowds greeted him along the way. I wish I could remember half of the stories she told.

If anyone out there has a recipe for the PASTA LENDICCHIA, please post here or let me know and I will post on this blog.

In any case, I did a little research for my friend and found a recipe for lentil soup that I am putting here.

Enjoy!! 

LENTIL AND ESCAROLE SOUP

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium carrot, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium celery rib, diced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (repeat hint about parsley)

1 14ounce can of diced tomatoes (if tomatoes are in season, dice two medium size ripe tomatoes)

8 ounces of brown lentils, sorted and rinsed (see above narrative for the reasoning behind this)

2 cups of water

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

(Here are a couple of questions for you strict Lenten observers.  Do you consider chicken broth meat?  Would you use it in your Lenten dishes?.  If you consider it meat, then use the vegetable broth.  It will, however,  affect the taste.)

2 bay leaves

A 2 by 4 piece of a Parmesan cheese rind - Optional  or substitute ¼ grated cup.

(This is not going be easy to find if you don’t buy your cheeses in bulk.  On Randolph near Halsted there was an Italian cheese shop where I would go and buy whole rounds of Asiago cheese. My mom and my uncle Jerry and Aunt Lu would then split the wheel and have whole chunks of it.  I know Uncle Jerry and  Aunt Lu shared it with their kids.

8 ounces of escarole cut and chopped.

Salt and Pepper to taste – If your broth is salted there is no need to add additional salt

Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

1.       Over medium heat and in heavy pot or Dutch oven, combine olive oil and all the fresh vegetables and cook, stirring often.  Cook until all the vegetables soften and very lightly browned.  Do not get ahead of yourself by raising the heat yet.  Let the vegetables slowly release their flavors.

2.       Add the tomatoes, lentils, water, broth, bay leaves and Parmesan rind and bring to a rolling boil.

3.       Once it has started to boil, lower heat and simmer until lentils have softened.  Length of time varies on the lentils but should be about  an hour or so.

4.       Add the escarole and cook an additional 5 minutes, until escarole had wilted

5.       Season to taste and serve immediately in soup bowls sprinkling with Parmesan cheese

PARMESAN BAKED TILAPIA

Here’s another Lenten dish for you!!!  One of the courses I taught at the College of DuPage was Basic Cooking.  I tried to tie in some cooking techniques along with introducing the class to new ingredients, food groups and terms as well as some interesting yet easy recipes.    Here is one of the recipes I researched.   It’s easy enough, so enjoy!!

PARMESAN BAKED TILAPIA

4 tilapia filets (orange roughy, cod, white fish can be substituted)

2 tablespoon lemon juice

½ cup parmesan cheese

4 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 green onions

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried basil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1.     Place the filets in a greased or non-stick baking dish.

2.     Brush the tops with lemon juice

3.     Bake fish in oven for 10-15 minutes or until the fish just starts to flake.

4.     Combine cheese, butter, mayonnaise, onions and seasonings in bowl and mix well.

5.     Spread cheese mixture over filets and bake in oven until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. (You can put under broiler for about 2 minutes, but check often to make sure it does not burn

CRAB CAKES

CRAB CAKES

I am sure my mom is looking down at me (could she be looking up instead?) and giving me a dirty look.  I really gave her a hard time eating. I was such a fussy eater, refusing anything that looked or smell funny. She would beg me to try something. But I always had a predetermined mind to any new food dish. Unlike my father and sister who would eat anything put in front of them, I wouldn’t.  Fortunately, that has changed a lot. 

As Lent continues, I will be adding additional meatless recipes.  I taught a vegetarian cooking class at the College of DuPage.  Here is one of the recipes I came across.  It can be used as an appetizer or a main course.  Feel free to double the recipe. It still works.

CRAB CAKE

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 large egg, beaten

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 pound cooked crab meat, flaked

1/4 cup bread crumbs, more as needed

Salt and pepper to taste

Additional breadcrumbs for dredging

Butter and oil for frying

1. Mix together the parsley, mustard, Worcestershire, eggs and mayonnaise.

2. Add the crab meat and crumbs. Season with salt and pepper and combine well but gently, so you don't        break up the crab meat.

3. Divide the mixture into 6 to 8 portions; flatten gently into thick patties.

4. Coat each patty lightly with crumbs. If possible, refrigerate for 30 minutes before sautéing.

5. Heat butter and a little oil, enough to generously cover the bottom, in a large fry pan over medium-high heat.

6. Add the crab patties and fry until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.

7. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Serve immediately or keep in warm oven till ready to serve.

Here’s a little hint about chopped herbs.   Many recipes call for small amounts of chopped herbs, such as parsley, basil, cilantro, etc.  Well you just can’t buy small amounts.  They come in bunches. I found an easy solution to having fresh herbs available.  When I buy a bunch,  I rinse it out thoroughly, dry it as much as I can.  Cut all the stems off and place the remaining leaves in a food processor and PROCESS.

You are left with more than you leave.  Use what the recipes call for and then place the rest in a tight container and freeze it.   The next time you need just a little bit, it’s right there.

ENJOY.

PEPPERS AND EGGS

It has been a long time since I have posted anything on here and have heard from a few people asking me to submit some new recipes. Since it is lent, I am going to post some meatless recipes.

Meatless Fridays!! How I hated them. I grew with EVERY Friday being meatless as well as Christmas Eve. I drove my mom nuts every Friday because I just hated fish of all kinds. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were the only thing I would bring to lunch. Friday evening meals were worse. I can remember actually eating mustard sandwiches because I wouldn’t eat anything else except maybe a bowl of cereal. Bless my mom, she catered to me. I was such a brat!!! She would even prepare pancakes on a Friday just to accommodate my fussy eating habits

I don’t think Peppers and Eggs necessarily means that this is a favorite Lenten dish, but I believe it is the most identifiable. If you should ask an ‘ole’ Catholic what is the first thing that comes up in his/her mind when asked to name a Lenten dish, Peppers and Eggs would be it. Even now, on Hot Dogs stands have their Marquees signs featuring LENTEN SPECIAL PEPPERS AND EGGS.

I can still picture my mom making this Frittata in the cast iron skillet which I still have. It’s not necessary but it surely makes preparing this dish easier in a “seasoned” skillet. An important ingredient in this recipe is the Italian Bread. It’s worth your time and effort to find a bakery or store  that sells a great loaf of Italian crusty bread. In Chicago, the best place for Italian bread that I know is D'Amatos on Grand Avenue near Racine.

This recipe is good for at two healthy sandwiches.

1 green pepper, seeds and veins removed and cut into ½” strips

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon salt

4 eggs

3 tablespoons milk

salt and pepper to taste

1. Over medium heat in the skillet (or non-stick skillet, saute garlic and oil until the garlic begins to sizzle. 
2. Add the green pepper  and cook until pepper strips are tender, about 15 minutes
3. In a medium size bowl, beat eggs and milk adding salt and pepper
4. Pour egg mixture over peppers and let them set briefly
5. With a wooden spatula, turn the eggs to allow the uncooked to reach the bottom. Be careful not to turn too much or you will have scrabbled eggs.
6. After the eggs are pretty well set, take a platter slightly larger than the skillet.  Place the platter face down over the skillet and carefully and quickly turn the skillet upside down to allow the eggs to fall on the platter
7. Place the skillet back over medium heat and slide the Frittata back in the skillet.
8. Continue to cook for just a minute or two remove from skillet and cut.
9. Slice the Italian bread in slice and place Frittata between two slices

ENJOY