1.22.2013

Paella Mista for six hungry people!


Ingredients

Meats

6 drumsticks (cleave the bottom portion of the drumstick off)
6 large shrimps
1/2 pound of calamari rings
1/2 pound of bacon in cubes
1/2 pound of pork in cubes (pork chop meat)
1 pound of mussels
6 sea scallops

Vegetables

1/2 chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced or garlic pressed
1 small tomato, cubed in 1cm peices
1 cup of cooked fava beans
The juice of one lemon

Herbs/Spices

1 gram of saffron (3grams if it's powder)
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tea spoon of smoked paprika

Other

Short grain rice (bomba is the best!)
3-5 liters Fish or vegetable stock (amount depending on the heat and other factors)
2 cups of white wine
Salt and Pepper


Making the Paella



At a low heat, heat the olive oil until is hot, but not smoking.  Add the chicken first, then the pork, then the bacon, then the onion and finally the garlic.  The pan will begin to turn brown on the bottom, add the tomatoes to 'clean' and prepare the pan for the next ingredient.  After the paella pan is 'clean' again, add the calamari and fava beans.  When the calamari are white, add the stock until it covers the rivets.  After the liquid evaporates, you will see the rivets again.  When you can see the rivets, add the rice (see picture).  With the spoon, lightly move the rice, without stirring too much.  Add all the herbs and spices. Add the wine, stirring a little bit in a crossing gesture with the spoon.  When the rice is almost cooked, add the shrimps, sea scallops and the mussels.  Turn the heat off!  Immediately cover the pan with tin foil (the vapor will cook the seafood).  The big secret for a perfect paella is allow the bottom of the pan to get brown, being very careful not to burn too much!
After the paella is ready, allow the dish to rest for 5-10 minutes before eating.  Remove foil, squeeze a lemon on top and it's ready!!!








Yiayia's Olives


Yiayia's Olives

Olives (whichever are your favorite, but yiayia only eats Kalamata olives!)
Olive oil
Red wine Vinegar
Garlic
Celery
Dried oregano

Cut 4-6 garlic cloves in half lengthwise and chop one celery stick into 1cm slices. (note not to introduce ANY water to the jar or it can spoil).  Drain off all the brine from the olives, place the olives in a jar.  Add to the jar, the garlic, the celery and the oregano.  Shake and mix the ingredients up.  Slowly, add the olive oil and the vinegar until cover the olives (50% oil, 50% vinegar in the jar), and let sit for one week before consuming.  Periodically shake the jar to mix the olive oil and the vinegar.

Limoncello


Ingredients:

  • 9 Organic Lemons (This is a must)
  • 4 cups Grain Alcohol (You can use vodka or grappa)
  • 6 cups of water
  • 3 1/2 of white sugar

Utensils:

  • 1x Strainer
  • 1x Pot
  • 1x Big Jar with sealed tap

Cooking Method:

Step One
  1. Peel 9 organic lemons. Make sure you only peel the skin without getting the white part of the lemon.
  2. Place the lemon skins in a big jar and add grain (pure) alcohol. Seal the jar and let it infuse for approx 30 days.
  3. The lemons need to soak in this liquid for 30 days in order for the Limoncello to be bold yellow in colour and full of flavour.
Step Two (After 30 days)
  1. Bring water to a boil and add sugar.
  2. When the water cools add the marinated yellow alcohol to the water using a strainer so the lemon skins don’t go into the limoncello.
  3. Put a glass of water into the jar, mix it around and add it to the mix. This will get the most flavour out of the lemon mix for the limoncello to be full of bold flavour.
  4. Now mix the limoncello really well for a couple of minutes.
    Step Three
    1. Fill up empty glass bottles with the limoncello.
    2. Put one bottle of limoncello in the fridge and store the other ones in a dry cool place.

      How to Serve it:

      • Serve the Limoncello in small glasses. Some Italians enjoy to drink it in a cold glass. To do this, place the glass in the freezer for about 20minutes before you drink the limoncello.

        You can use the same process to make other liquors like (Cherries, Strawberries, Orange, Mandarin, Kiwi, Infused herbs etc etc).

1.10.2013

Schnitzel with beer and speck sauce, served with Sauerkraut


Schnitzel

1 1/2 pound of pork chops
1/2 cup of flour
2 eggs
1 Tbsp of minced parsley
2 Tbsp of milk
1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
1 cup of sunflower oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Place each pork cutlet between two pieces of plastic wrap, and pound with the flat side of a meat mallet until about 1/4 inch thick. Dip in flour to coat.
In a medium bowl, stir together the eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg and milk. Place bread crumbs on a plate. Dip each cutlet into the egg mixture, then press in the bread crumbs to coat.
    Fry the breaded cutlets until browned on each side, about 3 minutes per side.      Remove to a serving platter.

Beer and Speck sauce

1/2 an onion chopped
1 cup of your favorite beer
1 cup of bechamel
1 Tbls of butter
4 leafs of sage
5 slices of speck
4 oz of Asiago cheese in cubes
Salt, nutmeg and pepper to tas


In a big sauce pan, brown the onions, three sage leafs and speck.  Sauté the speck until crispy.  Add the beer over medium heat and allow liquid to reduce half it's beginning amount.  Add one cup béchamel sauce, and the cubed pieces of Asiago cheese and the nutmeg.  Sauce is complete!





Sauerkraut

1/2 an onion chopped
1 clove of garlic chopped finely
3 cups of sauerkraut
Butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a pan, heat olive oil and butter over medium low heat and brown bacon and garlic together.  Add the sauerkraut and stir occasionally.  Cook until hot, add salt & pepper to taste.


Pizzoccheri

1/2 pound of pizzoccheri 
3 big potatoes
5 leafs of Swiss chard
1/2 pound of fontina cheese
5 oz of Grana Padano cheese
4oz of butter
A clove of garlic
4/5 sage leafs
Salt and pepper to taste

Clean the the chard and cut a V-shaped cut along the veins of the leaves, then remove the stem.  Cut into sticks of a width of 1 cm so that are cooked faster.  
Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks.  Cook the potatoes and the Swiss chard for 10 minutes in a vegetable stock; in the same pan (with the chard and potatoes still inside) cook the Pizzoccheri pasta for another 10 minutes. 
 After 10 minutes of cooking, drain the pizzoccheri with a slotted spoon and pour some in a hot oven safe pan, sprinkle with grated Grana Padano and Valtellina Casera (you can use Fontina, Puzzone di Moena or Emmental), and continue alternating pizzoccheri and cheese.  In a separate pan, melt the butter with the garlic cloves uncut and sage until the garlic gets brown, remove the garlic and pour the melted butter on pizzoccheri (do not forget to take out the garlic cloves or they will overpower the dish).  Serve the pizzoccheri hot and with a dusting of freshly ground pepper.

Pizzoccheri

1/2 pound of pizzoccheri 
3 big potatoes
5 leafs of Swiss chard
1/2 pound of fontina cheese
5 oz of Grana Padano cheese
4oz of butter
A clove of garlic
4/5 sage leafs
Salt and pepper to taste

Clean the the chard and cut a V-shaped cut along the veins of the leaves, then remove the stem.  Cut into sticks of a width of 1 cm so that are cooked faster.  
Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks.  Cook the potatoes and the Swiss chard for 10 minutes in a vegetable stock; in the same pan (with the chard and potatoes still inside) cook the Pizzoccheri pasta for another 10 minutes. 
 After 10 minutes of cooking, drain the pizzoccheri with a slotted spoon and pour some in a hot oven safe pan, sprinkle with grated Grana Padano and Valtellina Casera (you can use Fontina, Puzzone di Moena or Emmental), and continue alternating pizzoccheri and cheese.  In a separate pan, melt the butter with the garlic cloves uncut and sage until the garlic gets brown, remove the garlic and pour the melted butter on pizzoccheri (do not forget to take out the garlic cloves or they will overpower the dish).  Serve the pizzoccheri hot and with a dusting of freshly ground pepper.

Pizzoccheri

1/2 pound of pizzoccheri 
3 big potatoes
5 leafs of Swiss chard
1/2 pound of fontina cheese
5 oz of Grana Padano cheese
4oz of butter
A clove of garlic
4/5 sage leafs
Salt and pepper to taste

Clean the the chard and cut a V-shaped cut along the veins of the leaves, then remove the stem.  Cut into sticks of a width of 1 cm so that are cooked faster.  
Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks.  Cook the potatoes and the Swiss chard for 10 minutes in a vegetable stock; in the same pan (with the chard and potatoes still inside) cook the Pizzoccheri pasta for another 10 minutes. 
 After 10 minutes of cooking, drain the pizzoccheri with a slotted spoon and pour some in a hot oven safe pan, sprinkle with grated Grana Padano and Valtellina Casera (you can use Fontina, Puzzone di Moena or Emmental), and continue alternating pizzoccheri and cheese.  In a separate pan, melt the butter with the garlic cloves uncut and sage until the garlic gets brown, remove the garlic and pour the melted butter on pizzoccheri (do not forget to take out the garlic cloves or they will overpower the dish).  Serve the pizzoccheri hot and with a dusting of freshly ground pepper.

Radicchio & Pancetta Sauce ( 4 Servings)

Pancetta (bacon) in cubes
1 Chopped onion
2 cups of radicchio in big pieces
1 cup of dry white wine
Thyme
Salt & pepper to taste

In a sauce pan, saute the pancetta until crispy and brown.  Add the onion, thyme and radicchio.  Let cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.  Then add the white wine and simmer.   Grind fresh pepper over the sauce and salt to taste (keeping in mind the pancetta is already salty).  Allow sauce to simmer for one minute.  Add the al dente pasta to the sauce and sauté for another minute.  The pasta is ready to be served. 

san patrizio


Dill and Lemon sauce (2 Servings)


1/2 box of cream (panna)
1 chopped onion
3 Tbls of olive oil
1 juicy lemon
1 tbls of dill
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan, sauté the onions until lightly browned.  Add the cream (Panna), the lemon juice, the dill and add salt and pepper to taste.  If the sauce is too thick, add small spoons of the water from the pasta that is cooking.  Add the al dente pasta to the sauce and sauté for a minute.  The pasta is ready to be served.

Pasta dough



Semolina dough (1 portion)

1/2 -1/3 cup of Semolina flour
1 egg


Using a fork, begin mixing in the egg with the flour.  The egg will absorb into the flour and once it has integrated enough and there is not much runny egg left, begin using your hands to work the dough.  Continue until reaches a smooth consistency, adding a light dust of flour if necessary.  It should feel similar to kids “playdough.”   Cover the dough with plastic wrap to protect from drying.  For best results, let the dough rest for at least 10 minutes.
Roll the pasta in the pasta machine starting from the thickest mode, progressing one step thinner each time, until desired thickness is reached.