Saturday Night Cannoli Recipe

Here is how to make a very good cannoli.
Tutti a tavola a mangiare ! The coffee is on!

 

Fish Chowder

Point Pleasant, New Jersey

Pamela asked if I have a chowder recipe and yes, I do!
So, I am posting the fish chowder recipe and a fish recipe that is very nice too.
 I eat a lot of fish and buy it locally from the fishermen in Point Pleasant beach, fresh from the day's catch, but if I don't get there, I use fish from the local grocer. But the difference in freshly caught and store bought is night and day.

Now that Pam mentioned the chowder I am going to make some tomorrow night. I went to buy the fish tonight.
When I was a little girl I used to help my mother cut up the fish for chowder.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon of sweet butter (adjust to your liking)

large chopped yellow onion

2 really large potatoes cut in little cubes

2 cloves of garlic chopped

6 cups of chicken stock

1 1/2 cups  milk but you can also use evaporated milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

{Note: instead of the milk plus the cream I think some have used 2 cups of heavy cream}

8 oz can of stewed tomatoes

salt & pepper to taste

2 pounds of Halibut or Cod in 1 inch cubes

2 shredded carrots

1/2 cup of  sharp cheddar cheese (adjust amount to suit yourself)

pinch of red pepper flakes if you like very spicy food.    I leave it out.

By the way you can add a cup of sweet corn if you like as well and if you don't like the idea of stewed tomato you can substitute the corn for the tomato.

 Making the Soup

In a soup pot, melt the butter and saute the onion until clear. (If you like celery in a chowder you can add that as well if you wish
Add potatoes and garlic and cook until the potatoes are slightly tender and this will take about 10 minutes (don't cook the potatoes completely as they will cook more in the soup).

Pour in the chicken stock, tomatoes, carrots and bring this up to a boil then reduce to a low medium and simmer for around 10 minutes more.
After the 10 mins, add the cream and milk combo and you can now season it with salt and pepper to your taste.
Cook this until your fish is flaky and all transparency in the fish is gone.
While hot stir in the cheddar cheese.
Now you can season with a pinch of red pepper if you like it hot and spicy (I don't)

If you think this is not thick enough you can thicken it with cornstarch but I like it as it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Fish Vera Cruz

This recipe comes from an old Avon cook book I have. It is a really nice recipe for fish.

  Give it a try and let us know what you think would you please?

You are going to need :

About 2 pounds of fresh or frozen red snapper filets. You can use flounder or cod too, your call, but snapper is traditional with this. You need enough for about 6 people . Try to buy locally and make sure your fish is fresh if you can get it.  Coastal states will have no problem with that.

2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.
1 pound of tomatoes that you core, seed and chop fine. It should be about 3 cups worth of chopped tomato.
1 1/2 cups of finely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tablespoon of snipped parsley
1 tablespoon of fresh snipped mint (dry if you have to)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 small jar of jalapeno peppers rinsed, seeded and chopped fine . If you dont like hot pepper use green chilies.
1/4 cup of pimento stuffed green olives
1 tablespoon of capers
1 large bay leaf
1 tablespoon of snipped fresh thyme.

How to make it:

Take your fish, fresh of thawed and sprinkle with a bit of salt and then drizzle on the olive oil and set the filets aside.
In a 12 inch skillet you will cook the tomatoes, onion, garlic, mint, parsley in some olive oil til the onion is tender but not browned.
Now add your jalapeno or chilies, the capers , bay leaf and thyme and your olives (sliced olives are nicer I think)
Cover and heat til it boils.
Now add your fish , lower the heat and simmer covered for about 10 to 15 minutes til the fish is flakey.
When done place the fish on a plate and arrange the vegetables on top of it in a pleasing manner.Throw out your bay leaf.
Take the liquid from the cooking and bring back to boil after removing veggies and fish and reduce it . Takes about 3 minutes. You can use this to pour over the fish .
Garnish with parsley , capers and more olives.
It will serve 6 to 8 people nicely


A good side dish with this is always rice and a cheesy rice goes very nicely. A crispy lettuce and tomato salad are excellant alongside this.


Add some lime or lemon wedges to the plate for extra flavor if you like.

Kitchen Goods Home Keeping 101

Here are the staple items my kitchen always includes.  I try to keep them in the kitchen always.
It's been a while since I posted on home keeping and I got this idea from Toni's blog and thought, oh, yeah, I should do more home blogging.
So, here is an idea of what my kitchen looks like behind the cupboard doors!


Pantry:
Virgin olive oil
cooking pan spray
Irish oatmeal
chicken broth
bone broth
canned tuna
canned salmon
Italian crushed tomatoes( only those imported from Italy as they are super low in sodium)
Italian whole canned tomatoes and again only imported from Italy because they are extremely low in sodium and healthier than the American brands which I see as pure poison really.
Italian canned beans of  many kinds(white, pink, red, black)
German sauerkraut (I always have this in the house)
White flour
Masa Harina (Mexican corn flour)
Vidalia onions
tomatoes on the vine
Jasmine Rice and brown rice
Garlic bulbs
Baking soda
baking powder
spices including homemade taco seasoning
peanut butter
ketchup
Kosciusko polish brown mustard which I go through like water!
Coleman's English mustard
White Balsamic vinegar
Organic Apple Cider vinegar
Louisiana Hot sauce
Penne Pasta
elbow macaroni
Teas and Coffee
Coffee Mate Powdered creamer
Potatoes

Refrigerator:
eggs,
milk
butter
Cheddar cheese
Danish cheese
lemons
salad greens
celery
carrots
left overs


Freezer:

Beef both ground and pot roast
chicken
turkey
fish : Cod, Flounder,Lemon sole,Salmon steaks,etc.
Polish Perogies
Frozen vegetables : spinach, collard greens, peas, carrots, mixed peppers, Brussels sprouts, string beans, Italian cut beans, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, broccoli rabe
I eat an enormous amount of veggies.



Spices I use a lot of:
Herbs de Provence
Dill
basil
cumin
chili
pepper
Saigon Cinnamon (in every cup of coffee along with Louisiana Hot Sauce)


What's in your kitchen?
I enjoy seeing how other women keep their homes and what they buy etc.  I find it so helpful.

Homemade Ice Cream

outdoor cafe, Rome

My family is in Italy for a while stuffing their faces with Italian food and enjoying Rome.






Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I am dreaming of ice cream so I made this graphic recipe .
I have cross posted it at the blog for my  Rock & Roll Cafe where we serve up the best food in the world.
You gotta have ice cream at least once each summer.
As a kid we had homemade ice cream in home made root beer.
Now that is real living!

Make an Old Fashioned Egg Cream Soda

This recipe is straight out of the 1950's and New Jersey/York history.

This was very popular when first published it at my Rock & Roll Cafe  site and is the most
requested recipe ever. Once you try it , it will be a favorite of your own too.

The Egg Cream first appeared in NYC and Brooklyn in the 1800's and has been one of the most refreshing and popular drinks you can imagine!!
And tasty? You Bet!! No eggs and no cream in them though .

Here.. make one for yourself and you will see how wonderful they are.
You will need:

• About 1/2 cup ice cold whole milk
• 1 cup bottled plain seltzer
•  2 heaping Tablespoons of  U Bet chocolate syrup (or whatever kind you like. Hershey for instance)

How to:

1. Pour about half an inch of cold milk into a tall chilled soda glass. 
2. Add seltzer or club soda to within 1 inch of the top of the glass stir briskly with a long spoon to make it frothy..really frothy. 
3. Pour in the chocolate syrup, approx 2 heaping Tablespoons. 
4. Let it drizzle down the inside of the glass then give some more brisk stirring action.
5. Serve cold with a straw.

Ok.. ok.. if you really have to break tradition, you could add a couple spoon fulls of vanilla ice cream and I won't tell .

Broccoli-Cauliflower-Pasta-Cheese Casserole

I found this recipe a long time ago and it is a family favorite because it is delicious and the kind of meal you want to eat often!

• broccoli florets (you can use frozenand you want to use the equivalent of half a head of fresh)
• cauliflower florets equivalent of about half a small head of cauliflower
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• black pepper
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes sliced in half
• 8 ounces of pasta shells or elbow macaroni
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of cheddar cheese
• kosher salt to taste 

 Prepare your pasta and drain well.
Toss the broccoli, cauliflower and tomato slices with 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for about 15 minutes or until they are roasted and tender.
 Now heat the remaining olive oil in a sauce pan and heat.  Add the flour and whisk together well for  half a minute then slowly add the milk whisking as you go to blend completely.
Allow the sauce to thicken.

Remove from heat and stir in your cheese. The sharper the cheese the more flavorful the dish.
Add to this your vegetables and pasta and place all in a baking dish.
Cover top with more cheese (and  you can add a blend of cheeses too) and bake at 425F for about 5-6 minutes or until golden on top.





Cross posted at Rock and Roll Cafe

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Dinner is Served

I thought I would share my dinner with you.
I made myself a simple salad and side dish of some cheesy rice.
I take cooked brown rice (make enough for a week in a Japanese rice cooker) and add it to sautéed onions, two freshly chopped tomatoes,  garlic and basil.
Sauté all of it a wee bit.
I add in some cheese, melt it in, then top with a bit more basil and cracked black pepper.
It is delicious and nice for a quick summer meal.
Tonight I used the last of some super sharp cheddar but Italian cheeses are very nice too. Like Parmesan, Asiago or Romano.

Voila.. dinner is served.
Tutti a tavola a mangiare! (Everyone come to the table to eat).