As many of my posts reflect, I love authentic Italian food. At the last minute, I decided to try to find a traditional New Year's Eve entrée. I chose Cotechino con Lenticchie - Cotechino Sausage with Lentils. This is a main dish that is served at the big, traditional New Year's Eve dinner - the Cenone di Capodanno. The lentils represent coins - money that will come to the diners in the coming year.
The only problem was that I could not get to an Italian market to buy Cotechino, a salami-like sausage, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotechino), so I substituted mild Italian sausage from Publix. The results were nice, but not authentic. We also fresh had grapes, another Italian New Year's food. Next New Year's Eve, I intend to try the real thing.
I found this recipe on allrecipes.com - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cotechino-con-lenticchie/
This meal serves six, is very easy to make, and takes a little over an hour to prepare.
Ingredients
a. For the pot with the sausage
- 1 pound cotechino
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 whole black peppercorns
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 7 cups water
b. For the pot with lentils
- 1 pound dry green lentils
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 clove garlic (I used two)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large carrot, quartered
- salt and pepper to taste
c. For use on the plated food
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
Directions
1. Pierce the cotechino with a fork in several places. In a large pot, place the cotechino, chopped onion, 1 bay leaf, peppercorns, and thyme. Cover with the 7 cups of water and bring all to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 45 to 50 minutes - if using fresh cotechino. For precooked cotechino, simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In another large pot, combine the lentils, quartered onion, garlic, bay leaf, carrot, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover with the 4 cups of water. Bring all to a boil; cover; reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 40 to 45 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Add additional water if necessary.
3. Remove and discard the onion, garlic, bay leaf, and carrot. Spoon the lentils into a serving dish, drizzle with olive oil, and slice rounds of the cotechino over the top. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley, and serve.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Monday, December 30, 2013
Caramel Apple Pork Chops - Easy & Tasty Entrée
I found this easy, tasty caramel pork chop recipe at one of my go-to sites - allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Caramel-Apple-Pork-Chops). It had over 1,400 reviews, almost all positive.
Prep time is about 20 minutes and cook time is 25 minutes. It serves 4.
Ingredients
4 (3/4 inch) thick pork chops
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tart apples (I used Honey Crisp) - peeled, cored, and sliced
3 tbsp pecans (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees F. Place a medium dish in the oven to warm.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brush chops lightly with oil and place in hot pan. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally, or until done. Transfer to the warm dish, and keep warm in the preheated over.
3. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt and pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add butter to skillet, and stir in brown sugar mixture and apples. Cover and cook until apples are just tender. Remove apples with a slotted spoon and arrange on top of chops. Keep warm in the preheated oven.
4. Continue cooking sauce uncovered in skillet until thickened slightly. Spoon sauce over apples and pork chops. Sprinkle with pecans.
Excellent and Easy Cream of Celery Soup
Recently, I came across this nice cream of celery soup recipe at food.com while searching for a way to use some leftover celery. After finding the recipe, I discovered that the celery had passed its useful life. Since I now had my heart set on this recipe, I went out and bought more celery. The recipe is from http://www.food.com/recipe/celery-cream-soup-22751.
Prep time is 10 minutes; total time is 55 minutes; and it produces six servings.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp nutter
- 1 & 1/2 lbs celery ribs, sliced (cross wise. The celery will be puréed.)
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 tbsp flour
- 6 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3-4 dashes hot sauce
- salt to taste
- white pepper to taste (color of pepper is important to keep creamy appearance of the soup)
- celery leaves to garnish
Directions
- In a large pan, melt butter; add celery, onions, and garlic
- Cook over medium-low heat until soft
- Add flour and cook 1-2 minutes over low heat
- Add chicken broth an bay leaf; bring to a boil; reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes
- Remove bay leaf and purée in small batches in a blender or food processor. (Instead of that slower process, I left the ingredients in the cooking pan, and puréed them using a hand-held immersion blender. That seemed to work just fine.)
- Add cream, lemon juice, hot sauce, and salt and pepper
- Reheat and simmer 5 minutes
- Garnish with celery leaves
Prep time is 10 minutes; total time is 55 minutes; and it produces six servings.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp nutter
- 1 & 1/2 lbs celery ribs, sliced (cross wise. The celery will be puréed.)
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 tbsp flour
- 6 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3-4 dashes hot sauce
- salt to taste
- white pepper to taste (color of pepper is important to keep creamy appearance of the soup)
- celery leaves to garnish
Directions
- In a large pan, melt butter; add celery, onions, and garlic
- Cook over medium-low heat until soft
- Add flour and cook 1-2 minutes over low heat
- Add chicken broth an bay leaf; bring to a boil; reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes
- Remove bay leaf and purée in small batches in a blender or food processor. (Instead of that slower process, I left the ingredients in the cooking pan, and puréed them using a hand-held immersion blender. That seemed to work just fine.)
- Add cream, lemon juice, hot sauce, and salt and pepper
- Reheat and simmer 5 minutes
- Garnish with celery leaves
Bob Evans Easy and Delicious Sausage Stuffing - The Sacrilegious Version
I love sausage stuffing. In a search for an easy and tasty version for Thanksgiving, I found this excellent one at http://www.bobevans.com/Recipe/63/Easy-Sausage-Stuffing. Since our local Publix does not carry Bob Evans sausage, I ended up using Jimmy Dean sausage. I liked the recipe so much that I made it again for Christmas dinner.
For Thanksgiving, I served it with a white gravy. For Christmas, I served it without gravy. It was nice both ways, but since I love gravy, I prefer it that way.
This takes about an hour total to make, and makes 8 servings.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Bob Evans Savory Sage or Original Recipe Sausage Roll. (Both times, I used the Jimmy Dean sage flavored 1 pound roll.)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 14-ounce package of cubed stuffing. I used cubed stuffing flavored with herbs and seasoning.
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (I skipped this seasoning because the cubed stuffing was already seasoned.)
- 2&1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup melted butter
Directions
In a large skilled over medium heat, crumble sausage. Add onion and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally until sausage is brown.
Place cubed stuffing in a large bowl. Add sausage mixture. Sprinkle with poultry seasoning. Pour broth and butter over the top, and toss to combine.
Spoon mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish and cover. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.
One of these days, I'll try this with Bob Evans sausage.
For Thanksgiving, I served it with a white gravy. For Christmas, I served it without gravy. It was nice both ways, but since I love gravy, I prefer it that way.
This takes about an hour total to make, and makes 8 servings.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Bob Evans Savory Sage or Original Recipe Sausage Roll. (Both times, I used the Jimmy Dean sage flavored 1 pound roll.)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 14-ounce package of cubed stuffing. I used cubed stuffing flavored with herbs and seasoning.
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (I skipped this seasoning because the cubed stuffing was already seasoned.)
- 2&1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup melted butter
Directions
In a large skilled over medium heat, crumble sausage. Add onion and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally until sausage is brown.
Place cubed stuffing in a large bowl. Add sausage mixture. Sprinkle with poultry seasoning. Pour broth and butter over the top, and toss to combine.
Spoon mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish and cover. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.
One of these days, I'll try this with Bob Evans sausage.
Cranberry-Apple Chutney, Easy and Great with Turkey & Ham - Good Housekeeping
Several years ago, my wife started making a Good Housekeeping Cranberry-Apple Chutney to go with Thanksgiving Dinner. (http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/cranberry-apple-chutney-recipe) Since she is no longer able to cook, she asked me to make it for Thanksgiving. It was so good, I made it again to go with our Christmas ham dinner. I love it, and it's really easy to make:
Ingredients
- 5 oz. of pearl onions (1&1/2 cups) (I bought the Birds Eye all natural frozen version)
- 8 dried Calimyrna figs, chopped (1 cup)(I used Kalamata Crown Figs)
- 1&1/2 cups waters
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 medium Pink Lady or Gala apples, peeled and chopped (2&1/4 cups)
1 bag (12 oz.) cranberries (3 cups) picked over
Directions
1. (This first step is only necessary if you buy fresh pearl onions. For the frozen ones, I used the simple stove top cooking instructions on the package. This undoubtedly makes the preparation much faster.)
Fill 3-quart saucepan with water; cover and heat to boiling on high. Add onions and cook uncovered for 2 minutes. Drain onions and add to medium bowl of ice water to stop cooking; drain again. When cool enough to handle, slice off and discard root end of onion; squeeze from opposite end. Onion will slip out of skin. Repeat with remaining onions.
2. In a 5-quart saucepan, stir together figs, water, sugar, vinegar, and coriander seeds until sugar dissolves. Heat to boiling; then add onions and apples. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 25 minutes or until apples are tender. Add cranberries and simmer 10 minutes or until a few cranberries pop; stirring occasionally. (Instead of just letting a few cranberries pop, I waited until most had popped, creating a thick sauce.) Spoon chutney into serving bowl; cover and refrigerate 3 hours or up to 4 days.
There were 10 of us for for both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. This was enough for all, with lots left over. My wife and I enjoyed the leftovers for 3 days.
Ingredients
- 5 oz. of pearl onions (1&1/2 cups) (I bought the Birds Eye all natural frozen version)
- 8 dried Calimyrna figs, chopped (1 cup)(I used Kalamata Crown Figs)
- 1&1/2 cups waters
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 medium Pink Lady or Gala apples, peeled and chopped (2&1/4 cups)
1 bag (12 oz.) cranberries (3 cups) picked over
Directions
1. (This first step is only necessary if you buy fresh pearl onions. For the frozen ones, I used the simple stove top cooking instructions on the package. This undoubtedly makes the preparation much faster.)
Fill 3-quart saucepan with water; cover and heat to boiling on high. Add onions and cook uncovered for 2 minutes. Drain onions and add to medium bowl of ice water to stop cooking; drain again. When cool enough to handle, slice off and discard root end of onion; squeeze from opposite end. Onion will slip out of skin. Repeat with remaining onions.
2. In a 5-quart saucepan, stir together figs, water, sugar, vinegar, and coriander seeds until sugar dissolves. Heat to boiling; then add onions and apples. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 25 minutes or until apples are tender. Add cranberries and simmer 10 minutes or until a few cranberries pop; stirring occasionally. (Instead of just letting a few cranberries pop, I waited until most had popped, creating a thick sauce.) Spoon chutney into serving bowl; cover and refrigerate 3 hours or up to 4 days.
There were 10 of us for for both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. This was enough for all, with lots left over. My wife and I enjoyed the leftovers for 3 days.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Chutney's Sarasota - A Dining Paradise
There are most restaurants, and then there are extraordinary restaurants like Chutney's of Sarasota, which serves Greek, Middle Eastern, Indian and other cuisines. It is not easy to serve such diverse cuisines, but Chutney's does it remarkably well. It is run by husband and wife team - Ash Shukla and Denise May, and has been a fixture of the Sarasota restaurant scene for some 27 years. We have not met her, but he is the perfect restaurateur - charming, gregarious, creative, customer-focused, etc., etc.
We had not eaten there for a number of years, but decided to try it last night when we were in the area of Sarasota Memorial Hospital for a late-afternoon doctor's appointment. It turned out to be the perfect choice. Every morsel was superb, and the wine was very nice.
Most of what we had were specials for the day. It was very hard to chose because there were so many delicious-sounding dishes.
My wife started with the Greek salad that came with her meal. This "Greek Salad" was the Americanized version of Greek salad because it had lettuce, which one does not find in true Greek salads.
I had bowl of Persian spinach and lemon soup. Its ingredients included split peas, turmeric, onion, and pomegranate. Every spoonful was superb. The pomegranate added a very nice sweetness that complemented the other ingredients.
We both chose the same main course - Bo Bo Tie, a South African dish which dates to the 17th Century, and whose origins are in Indonesia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobotie). Early versions were made with mutton or pork. Later versions with beef or lamb. The version we had was with ground breast of chicken.
It is a mild dish with a nice mixture of spices. Its ingredients included ground breast of chicken, madras curry spices, milk, and panko bread crumbs. It was topped with a mango chutney. It was fantastic. The consistency was that of a meat loaf.
As an accompaniment to the Bo Bo Tie, we both had cranberry rice pilaf, whose ingredients included rice, dried cranberries, cashews, and sautéed onions. It too was superb.
The Bo Bo Tie, Cranberry Pilaf, and Salad were $21.95. The servings were huge.
We had a very nice red wine with our dinner - Marchesi Biscardo Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso for $42. The retail store price of this wine is about $23, so $42 is a very reasonable restaurant price. Mr. Shukla spent a generous amount of his time discussing some of his wines, and his philosophy of reasonable pricing of those wines. We really enjoyed chatting with him. We watched him as he managed to devote attention to all of his diners. It was clear that a number of the diners were repeat customers, who loved Chutney's and felt very much at home there.
The pita bread served with our meal was very nice, not like the faux pita sold in supermarkets.
We took home a dessert- a New Orleans bourbon bread pudding, for $6. Like all of the other dishes we had, it was marvelous - sinfully rich. It seemed similar to one I have made (http://viaggiviniecucine.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-orleans-bread-pudding-with-bourbon.html)
One nice feature of the Chutney's menu is that diners can create multi-course Middle Eastern or Indian entrées.
The owners close for a month each year to travel and enjoy other cuisines. This year, they traveled to Italy and spent time in Umbria around Lake Trasimeno. We discussed Umbria and Tuscany with Mr. Shukla.
We highly recommend Chutney's and intend not to wait so long before returning.
Chutney's is located at 1944 Hillview St. Phone 941-954-4444. They do both lunch and dinner. I recommend making reservations.
We had not eaten there for a number of years, but decided to try it last night when we were in the area of Sarasota Memorial Hospital for a late-afternoon doctor's appointment. It turned out to be the perfect choice. Every morsel was superb, and the wine was very nice.
Most of what we had were specials for the day. It was very hard to chose because there were so many delicious-sounding dishes.
My wife started with the Greek salad that came with her meal. This "Greek Salad" was the Americanized version of Greek salad because it had lettuce, which one does not find in true Greek salads.
I had bowl of Persian spinach and lemon soup. Its ingredients included split peas, turmeric, onion, and pomegranate. Every spoonful was superb. The pomegranate added a very nice sweetness that complemented the other ingredients.
We both chose the same main course - Bo Bo Tie, a South African dish which dates to the 17th Century, and whose origins are in Indonesia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobotie). Early versions were made with mutton or pork. Later versions with beef or lamb. The version we had was with ground breast of chicken.
It is a mild dish with a nice mixture of spices. Its ingredients included ground breast of chicken, madras curry spices, milk, and panko bread crumbs. It was topped with a mango chutney. It was fantastic. The consistency was that of a meat loaf.
As an accompaniment to the Bo Bo Tie, we both had cranberry rice pilaf, whose ingredients included rice, dried cranberries, cashews, and sautéed onions. It too was superb.
The Bo Bo Tie, Cranberry Pilaf, and Salad were $21.95. The servings were huge.
We had a very nice red wine with our dinner - Marchesi Biscardo Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso for $42. The retail store price of this wine is about $23, so $42 is a very reasonable restaurant price. Mr. Shukla spent a generous amount of his time discussing some of his wines, and his philosophy of reasonable pricing of those wines. We really enjoyed chatting with him. We watched him as he managed to devote attention to all of his diners. It was clear that a number of the diners were repeat customers, who loved Chutney's and felt very much at home there.
The pita bread served with our meal was very nice, not like the faux pita sold in supermarkets.
We took home a dessert- a New Orleans bourbon bread pudding, for $6. Like all of the other dishes we had, it was marvelous - sinfully rich. It seemed similar to one I have made (http://viaggiviniecucine.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-orleans-bread-pudding-with-bourbon.html)
One nice feature of the Chutney's menu is that diners can create multi-course Middle Eastern or Indian entrées.
The owners close for a month each year to travel and enjoy other cuisines. This year, they traveled to Italy and spent time in Umbria around Lake Trasimeno. We discussed Umbria and Tuscany with Mr. Shukla.
We highly recommend Chutney's and intend not to wait so long before returning.
Chutney's is located at 1944 Hillview St. Phone 941-954-4444. They do both lunch and dinner. I recommend making reservations.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Delicious & Easy Salmon with Philippine Flavors
In doing an Internet search for an easy salmon recipe with turmeric seasoning, I came across this very nice, mild-curry recipe on http://salu-salo.com/, a Vancouver-based blog devoted to Philippine cuisine. I did not include the cilantro leaves, which I did not have at home. That would certainly have made the dish even better for us. The blog's author suggests that any fish steaks would work.
Ingredients
- Salmon steaks or any fish steaks. (I used two 8-oz. fillets.)
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce (I used about a cup of chopped canned tomatoes)
- chopped cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Sprinkle salmon steaks with salt. Place steaks on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic; cook until soft and brown. Add the coriander, cumin, and turmeric; and stir fry for 30 seconds. (I had premixed the spices in a small dish.)
- Add the tomato sauce and simmer for 1 minute. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with rice.
Ingredients
- Salmon steaks or any fish steaks. (I used two 8-oz. fillets.)
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce (I used about a cup of chopped canned tomatoes)
- chopped cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Sprinkle salmon steaks with salt. Place steaks on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic; cook until soft and brown. Add the coriander, cumin, and turmeric; and stir fry for 30 seconds. (I had premixed the spices in a small dish.)
- Add the tomato sauce and simmer for 1 minute. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with rice.
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