Oh, Sophia !!!

Sophia Loren, what have you done !!!!!

You were the standard for beauty back in the 50's , and many women aspired to your measurements, fashions and eyebrows. Many an eyebrow plucking was done with you in mind. Your complexion was another goal , inspiring many a purchase of Noxema and Ponds Cold Cream.That was bad enough, but your culinary contributions have been the stuff of endless controversy to this day ! A simple pasta dish should never be the subject of such debate ! You had to go to Italy to film on location, encounter a group of coal producing men who offered to make you and the film crew a dish that was sort of a regional recipe. That was good- but did you have to write down the recipe and tell people it was exact ? Didn't you know that words like authentic and exact to a chef is the same thing as waving a red flag in front of a bull ?? What were you thinking ????

Spaghetti Carbonara is the controversial thing your brought back, and endless debates as to the dish having cream or not have rolled on and on and on. Foodies will quest for an authentic article. Me , if it contains cream and eggs, I am so there ! I have no idea if it is authentic-I only know this is good !

This is how I make it, and I do not remember who's recipe this was originally

Pasta Carbonara

   1 pound bacon, diced into 1-inch cubes
   salt and pepper
    6 eggs, at room temperature
    1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
    1 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
    1 pound dried penne
    4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Heat a large saute pan, until hot. Add bacon and saute until golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes.
 Season with black pepper and remove pan from heat.In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in Parmesan, reserving 2 tablespoons for garnish.In a large pot, boil 6 quarts of salted boiling water. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander.
Do not rinse with water; you want to retain the pasta's natural starches so that the sauce will stick. While the pasta is still hot, return it back to the pot. Add the browned bacon and mix well. Add the cream mixture and coat the pasta completely. It's important to work quickly while the pasta is still warm so that the cream mixture will cook, but not curdle. Add remaining Parmesan and chopped parsley.

Serve. Dig in, think of Sophia and ask yourself if this dish would be any better using an authentic recipe or not.

Breaking up with Zucchini

Every cook has a food that becomes a challenge. For me , it has been the zucchini ! There seems to be only one way to prepare it where it does not suck the life out of a dish, and that is carpacio style ( raw with olive oil, lemon juice, parm cheese and salt). In anything else it becomes like a very rude party guest with a bronchial infection. Why must a readily available, affordable veggie trip me up ?  Why does not happen with other related foods like cucumbers and melons ? Couldn't this happen with lobster or Kobe beef ? The other day I cooked my absolute last zucchini of my life in the following dish- Ratatouille over Ravioli 

Looks pretty, includes eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, basil and salt and pepper, but never has there been a more bland dish ! The zucchini absorbs flavor, but then sends that flavor packing to a tropical island where it can hide for all contact forever. Even the cheese flavor from the ravioli disappeared. After waking up my bored to death taste buds with water ( which incidentally had more flavor), I saw the look of politely restrained aversion on my families face and vowed never again to use zucchini in a dish .

Then in a couple of days I thought about the rules of basic good cooking ( start with flavor, bring it to its best and add more flavor), and came up with this very tasty dish

Salsiccia e melanzane oltre la polenta (Sausage Eggplant over polenta)

1 lb Italian sausage, cut into small pieces

1 Sicilian eggplant, cut into cubes, salted and drained

3 red bell peppers, cut into chunks

3 plum tomatoes, cubed

1 lb button mushrooms, quartered

4 cloves garlic, de germed and sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

polenta ( warm or cooled and cut into squares)

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and cook the garlic until golden. Add the sausage and cook until golden, then add the sausage and brown on all sides. Next add the peppers and tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes, or till they begin to release juice. Then add the mushrooms and eggplant, bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium. Let cook for 30 minutes and serve over polenta

My way of making polenta may not be according to the book, but it works and is tasty. In a large pan I bring 8 cups of liquid to a rolling boil ( usually half chicken stock and half salted water) , and then whisk in 1 cup of yellow cornmeal- I use cornmeal because it is what I have on hand.Stir constantly and when the cornmeal begins to thicken I add a half stick of butter and continue to whisk. ( Some people add cheese, some people add cream, some add milk- there are a lot of variations). After a few minutes - a.k.a. my arm gets tired and I get bored with stirring- I pour it onto a greased cookie sheet to cool and cut into shapes OR I pour it into bowls to top with something. The cookie sheet method wins when I know dinner could well be delayed .

I'm sorry zucchini - it's not me. It's you !!! I can't say it's been fun. I will meet you again in muffins and as a salad, but you are never going to be included in hot dishes again.

Brain and bone cells are dying- send fat !

We live in an age of information. Within minutes of an event, we hear about it. If anyone , anywhere experiences something that someone might perceive as an injustice on some level, minutes later someone will raise a grassroots awareness campaign that allows people to know about the thing- but does absolutely noting to remedy the situation or help the victim. And then there is health information. Like much of the "scare stories" out there, they are based on someone's observation of something , and almost always that someone missed or failed to notice a large part of the facts and acted on the small part they observed only.

Back in the 1940's, there was a young scientist who collected data and observed that (mice running into a door and) eating high fat diets were dying early. Therefore, fat ( not the door) was evil and should be removed from the diet.( not literally, but his findings were based on such observational information). Thus began the low fat insanity. Doors however were completely innocent. This observational study then led to the concept that dietary cholesterol was also evil, sugar was good because it is fat free, Statins as a wonder drug and a lot of other nonsense. By 1980, with the full inclusion of Ansel Keys bad observations, heart disease took a sharp upswing, aerobics was in fashion( calories in , calories out /cardio is necessary myth), diabetes was on the upswing , ADD/ADHD rates exploded and suddenly a lot of Autistic children were entering the world. Coincidence ?

NOT in the least. The human body requires fat for the absorption of several fat soluble vitamins amongst other things. If you eat a low fat diet and eat foods high in these vitamins or take supplements, you are not nourishing your body. You are creating super urine and nothing else.What are the fat soluble vitamins you ask ? Vitamins A,D,E and K. Vitamin D has been talked about a lot these days. Years back it was known to be nesisary for bone development and health, but recent research has shown it to be important in the prevention of colon diseases including cancer,autoimmune diseases like Arthritis, Fybro and Diabetes ( yes, diabetes is an autoimmune disease) and hypertension. You need FAT to be able to absorb this nutrient. Vitamin K is produced in the intestines with proper bacteria ( eat Splenda and other artificial sweeteners including Stevia  and you will destroy this one) that is important in the function of blood clotting. It enters into the bloodstream with FAT.( notice a trend here ??) Vitamin A  aids in reproduction and the transmission of DNA ,helps your eyes and mouth to stay moist,allows  your eyes adjust to sunlight and more ( skip the fat boys and we can make a killing on Transitions lenses and Restasis drops !!!) Once again , your body needs FAT to absorb this nutrient.

Traditional cooking methods and those "grandma cooking" type recipes often included fat with those foodstuffs that were high in the fat solubles.Broccoli with cheese, Greens and Fatback, wilted spinach with bacon fat dressing and so forth. Not because Grandma had some secret key to the nutrition kingdom, but she understood and respected the most powerful key we have. Taste! Fat simply tastes good. We, as humans, were given taste buds and appetite for a reason- it naturally leads us to those things our body needs. Not a modern taste bud that has been so assaulted with  chemicals passed off for food for so long that it no longer knows what an actual carrot is, but one that eats actual food. When we kick the chemicals out of our diets , our tastebuds and appetites return to a normal state and we begin craving real food.

Here is one dish that features two foods high in vitamin A. Combined they make for 100% of your rda vitamin A and the fat used helps your body to actually absorb it.

Conchiglie con Spinach Pommedoro

1 lb medium Conchiglie ( shells)
salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter( no substitute)
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion - minced
1 clove garlic - minced
2 cups fresh spinach
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes - halved

 Place a large pot of generously salted water on to boil. While boiling, add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.  Into a medium saute pan add butter or oil. Cook over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until softened. Add spinach and tomatoes and cook just until spinach has wilted. Season with salt and pepper
Add drained pasta to saute pan. Toss to combine.

Naughty girls need food too!

I believe I live to eat rather than eat to live.I encounter food ideas in things I read, lessons I teach about geography and history, in TV shows I watch and more. Most things spark my curiosity , compel me to find the ingredients and then learn how to cook it. Three meals a day, seven days a week and so many ideas leave no room to waste time on bad or uninteresting food !  There are dishes I want to make because the flavor contributions sound so interesting, those that strike me as a kind of magic because of the transformation and then those that appeal because of their history. The following dish is one of those. Pasta Puttanesca is it's name, and the story behind it is interesting to say the least.

Translated to English it means "Whore's Pasta", and there is some debate about the exact reasons that it came to be. Some have said it was created because all of the ingredients could be stored on the shelf so that the ladies could make a fast meal between clients without having to go to the market. Others have said that the Ladies of the Evening  were only allowed into the markets for a few hours on certain days of the week, so they had to stock up foods till their next market trip. I have third theory- when they made money they stocked up these things so that they had food to eat if they fell our of favor with the local gents. No matter what the reason, this pasta is quick to fix, can be complete pantry items ( use canned tomatoes instead of fresh) and very delicious ! As to the anchovy's, this was the first time I ever tasted them and I found them to be like salty, oil packed tuna and not the horror story many like to paint them as. They decompose into the sauce and all you are left with is flavor that melds beautifully with the other strong flavor. There are literally a million versions of this recipe, and here is mine inspired by David Rocco

PENNE PUTTANESCA

1 lb penne rigate ( penne with ridges)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 can anchovy fillets, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon capers
1 small can sliced black olives
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 head garlic, de germed and sliced thin
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dried parsley
salt and chili pepper (fresh or dried) to season

In a large pot, boil water for pasta. In a saucepan pour olive oil and saute till garlic is golden.
Add anchovies and walnuts- cook for a minute. Add tomatoes, cover and let cook 5 minutes.Add the olives, capers and red pepper- ook till pasta is about a minute before the al dente stage. Place pasta in the saucepan with a little pasta water and let cook till pasta is al dente. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Posion Squares

Every family has funny moments that become those heirloom stories or jokes that get passed on. Weird little occasions  like where someone had to use a non traditional measuring utensil birth family expressions like "fill it up to the first duck" . Every family has them, and some have them for so long that no one remembers their origins it seems. One of those in my family is the story of Poison Pie.

When my father was a little guy, he loved pie. Cream pies were his favorite. One of his aunts was a very talented baker, and for some family gathering she decided to make a pie. The story goes that it looked beautiful and had a mountain of what appeared to be whipped cream on top of it.  My father took a piece happily, put a big forkful in his mouth, and after one chew spit it out and proclaimed with horror "Auntie, you made a POISON pie !!! My father was anticipating the sweetness of a coconut cream or Banana cream pie, but was instead introduced to Lemon Meringue Pie. Not the taste bud impact he was hoping for ! After a while he grew to love  Lemon Meringue Pie, but he always jokingly referred to it as Poison Pie. Dad has been gone for a few years but every-time I see any recipe that involves a lemon custard , I think of it as poison pie variations.

This is a recipe that is far from poison- in fact, with the final taste they may become one of your favorite things on earth. Super easy to make- so easy that this is a recipe my son discovered and makes. Daddy has asked him to make these for pot luck gatherings, and they have been very well received.

Lemon squares

2 cups flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar plus extra for garnish

2 sticks cold butter, cut into cubes enter(no substitutions)

4 eggs

2 cups of sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tablespoon lemon zest

half cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

preheat oven to 350°. Put 2 cups of flour, powdered sugar, and butter into a food processor. Turn it on and whisk till mixture forms a ball of dough. Or use a pastry knife, mix the flour and sugar and cut the butter into the mix.

Line a 9x12 baking dish with parchment or non-stick foil. Press the dough into the baking dish, with hands. Prick with a fork. Bake 20 min. Remove from oven.

While crust is baking, make the lemon filling. Break the eggs into mixing bowl and whisk until your arm gets tired. Then add the sugar, quarter cup flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until all the lumps dissolve. Whisk in the lemon juice and zest and blend.

Pour the lemon mixture over the baking crust. Bake another 25 to 30 min., until slightly brown at the edges. Remove from the oven. Wait for it to cool and remove from pan. Sift powdered sugar on top and cut into squares .

Baked and waiting for the sugar shower and cutting. These should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Poison indeed :-) Just for the record, here is a picture of the "poison" victim as a young man, hunting with his father many years ago

Sunday Gravy- A gateway drug

About 2 years ago, I was a different person. I was on a mission to lose weight , using the things that the "experts" say you must do to lose weight. My favorite thing to cook was a stir fry thing because it looked pretty and had flavor. Through nutritional studies, I learned a whole different way of thinking about weight loss , the body, and in the process I came across something called Sunday Gravy that changed my life .

As a child, my mom and dad would make what we called Spaghetti Sauce. When I first saw Sunday Gravy, I thought that it was the same thing. Not even close ! My mother followed the concepts that so many other Americans follow when they think of Italian cooking. Take some meat, a good amount of onions, celery and such, tomato paste, a lot of water,a bunch of spices and THAT's Italian ! My mom would always add a whole lot of sugar "to cut down the twang". Irish Spaghetti at best, my friend. My mother, through no fault of her own was not a cook.When sauce in a jar came about, homemade spaghetti was a thing of the past. Why spend hours cooking when Ragu was so easy ??

True Sunday Gravy is a tomato sauce that  you slow cook a lot of meat in, use minimal vegetables and often no herbs. Spaghetti, incidentally is the name of a pasta shape. Calling any red sauce served on any shape of pasta is kind of like calling a dish butter when it is served on popcorn, butter, fish or toast. With Sunday Gravy the juices from the meat combine with the tomatoes and the magic happens. When it is served in many cases, the meat is taken out and served separate from the sauce, and the sauce is then mixed with pasta. It is  AWESOME !  The slow cooking of the meat adds incredible flavor and nourishment to that simple tomato. Sunday Gravy freezes well, gets better with age, and can be made a variety of ways. Every family seems to have it's preference. Here is mine. The meat changes according to what is on sale- in true Italian style of what is available and in season

Sunday Gravy

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

3- 5 lbs assorted beef , lamb or pork- best if it includes some meats on the bones- more if desired

( not chicken or fish- they would turn to rubber with this slow cooking-possibilities include neck bones, short ribs, oxtails - other meats should include some Italian sausage)

4 large cans tomato puree ( I prefer San Marzano tomatoes)

1 T sugar

In as large of a pan you can get your hands on ( stock pot or large pasta cooking pot), sweat the garlic in the oil. Brown your meats and leave any bone meats in the pot. Pour in the tomato sauce, bring to a boil and reduce heat to the lowest flame possible. Cover and let simmer for an hour. (refrigerate remaining browned meats) After an hour ( or two) add the non bone in browned meats , cover and simmer another 2 hrs. It can go all day on a slow simmer- stir occasionally so the bottom does not burn. 

After eating this for dinner, cool the sauce down and package into meal sized containers. With the pot I use I am able to get 6 additional meals . So much better than the jar sauce ! Once I tasted the awesome impact of such simple ingredients created with just time, I became hooked on real Italian cooking. I hope that if you try this it will become as life changing for you  !

Eggs and Worms

It was grocery shopping day the other day. I plan my menus for a week, make a list of what things I need in the coming week and stick to the plan unless extraordinary events happen. When it is one of those weeks , I wind up with surplus things. If they are pantry or freezable, no problem. If they are produce, it becomes a must use it up thing. Such was the case this week- the abnormally hot weather saw a couple of changes in menu plans ( normally we are in the 50's at this time of year- we spent a week in the 80's). So I went through the fridge, found my surplus items and though that they would make an interesting egg dish- fitting in with the meatless Friday thing. The use of eggs for a meatless dish instantly made me think of  one sibling I shall refer to as The Worm.

I was raised nominally Catholic- which meant we were Catholic in name only. We occasionally went to Mass ( The Worm and I on our own and our parents would never attend), went to CCD for a short time and observed a lot of the "cool" Catholic things like Rosaries from our grandmother. Three things remained absolute must do  Catholic behaviors- Baptism, Burial and Meatless Fridays. I loved it, but The Worm hated fish, and entered into something I called "Logical Sport B*tching" over the whole meatless thing was brought up. Why was beef, pork and chicken bad when milk, cheese and eggs were okay? In those days no one used terms like Vegetarian, Vegan, Lacto ovo vegetarian or so forth- they just lumped it all as meatless. The Worm was a borderline "Mrs Literal" and anything that she felt defied her rules of logic became something that she would argue over, for ,about, because of, in spite of- much in the same way people would train for and participate in a sport.( She still does this). It was amusing, aggravating, interesting and just plain "The Worm". Such concepts didn't bother me because I understood the logic but could never figure out how to put it into words. Years later I learned all of the technical reasons why Lenten foods are what they are ( it's not a cut and dried thing and is partially historical and symbolic), but to this day whenever the idea of eating eggs in Lent comes up, my thoughts turn to The Worm.

Back to the kitchen  !Here was what I had to work with :

With some chopping and a skillet, it became this tasty, colorful number:

 I call it Use it Up Poached eggs

3 pints grape tomatoes , cut in half
3 big handfuls baby spinach
1 bunch green onions, sliced
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
butter and olive oil

In a large skillet with a lid melt about 2 T butter with as much olive oil and sweat the green onions. Add the tomatoes, crush slightly and cover so the juices are trapped. In about 5 minutes add the spinach and cover till wilted. Stir the mix and crack 4 eggs into it,season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, till the yolk is set.