Archive for the ‘food’ Category
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Stuffed Peppers
When I was younger, I missed out on a lot of amazing food simply because my tastebuds weren’t ready; I was always a good “tryer” though, so I was sure that I’d be ready whenever my tastebuds were.
Case in point: I tried sweet potatoes *every* year at Thanksgiving until I liked them. Now I love them!
I don’t remember exactly when I started actually liking (then loving) peppers, but I’m so happy my tastebuds finally caught up to the desire for the flavor.
Indeed, peppers continue to be one of my very favorite foods in the world, especially when included in my mom’s stuffed peppers, today’s What’s Cooking Wednesday recipe.
Note: this is *very* different from how P’s mom makes peperoni ripieni, which are quite similar to her Calabrian stuffed eggplant–meatless and fried.
To give you an idea of how local Italian cooking is:
P’s mom’s recipe is from Badolato; my mom’s recipe is essentially my great-grandmother’s, who came from Isca, the very next town over. I have also eaten stuffed peppers at another Iscatani household, and they tasted really similar to my mom’s–only they had a little surprise chunk of suppressata in the center. Try it!
So when you hear that Italian cooking is regional, think even smaller…it can differ *greatly* by town, just like the dialects!
The recipe below calls for sauce over the peppers as they bake; you can, of course, use your favorite jarred sauce or make your own by frying a clove of garlic (minced) and one small onion (chopped finely) in about two tablespoons of olive oil, adding a can of tomatoes/sauce, and adjusting for salt. It only needs to simmer for about 15 minutes as it’ll also cook in the oven.
If you’re planning on serving pasta with the peppers, use two cans/jars of tomatoes/sauce.
Stuffed Peppers
- 6 small peppers (see photos for size I used)
- 1 cup cooked rice (1/3 uncooked)
- 1 pound ground meat
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)
- Fresh basil, chopped (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
1. Cook rice and preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Wash peppers, cut off tops, and remove stem and seeds. If you’re using larger peppers, you can cut them in half and make double the amount of stuffed peppers by using both halves (just be sure to make more stuffing).
*Note: The parts of the pepper I didn’t use but that were still edible, I sliced up and used for potatoes, peppers, and eggs the next day.
3. Bring pot of water to a boil and drop peppers in, parboiling them for a few minutes. Remove from water, pat dry, and set aside to cool.
4. While peppers are parboiling, prepare stuffing by mixing together rice, meat, and parsley (cheese and/or basil) in a medium bowl.
5. Put some tomato sauce in a small baking dish so the bottom is lightly covered.
6. Sprinkle each pepper shell with salt and then stuff them with mixture and set in baking dish.
7. Cover peppers with rest of sauce and cover dish with foil.
8. Bake in oven for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the meat inside is cooked.
9. If you’ve made enough sauce you can serve pasta with the sauce and then the pepper as a second dish or simply serve the peppers by themselves with crusty Italian bread.
Buon appetito!
Love Thursday: Somebunny Loves Me!
I have a huge sweet tooth, so it’s not surprising that one of my favorite parts of Easter is the candy. More specifically, the candy my mom makes–especially the peanut butter eggs. Yum!
If you’re starting to feel sorry for me because I’m not in the same country code as my mom and therefore can’t enjoy her Easter candy, think again.
My mom continually sends me care packages, but around Easter, one always contains a special treat:
And I swear when I staged this photo, I wasn’t trying to make it look like one bunny was offering his/her love to the other. But it does sort of look that way doesn’t it?
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
When is the last time you received or sent a care package?
P.S. Happiest of birthdays to my mom (yesterday) and my sister-in-law (today)!
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Fried Mozzarella Sticks and Dipping Sauce
Today’s What’s Cooking Wednesday recipe is for those of you who think you have to go to a restaurant or buy the pre-packaged frozen version to enjoy fried mozzarella sticks. You don’t!
All you need is some good, fresh mozzarella and the usual items for breading, and you’re good to go.
What I made are actually disks not sticks, but that’s because our mozzarella comes in small balls, so I thought it would be easier just to work with it rather than try to make sticks.
You’re welcome to cut as you wish.
Fried Mozzarella Sticks
- Mozzarella
- Ingredients for breading listed in Breaded Veal Cutlets (see caveat below regarding measurements)
- Olive oil for frying
1. To prepare the mozzarella, cut it into sticks or disks; you can also buy pre-prepared sticks for this.
2. Dredge the mozzarella first in flour before dipping in egg and then the breadcrumb mixture. Unless you’re making a lot of mozzarella, you won’t need as much of the ingredients as listed in the cutlet recipe, so just play around with the measurements a bit until you get the right mix for your taste.
3. Fry breaded mozzarella in hot olive oil or vegetable oil if you like. Put enough oil in the pan so the sticks are about half-submerged. Let them fry for about 15 seconds on each side and then put them on paper towels to drain.
Fried Mozzarella Sticks Dipping Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, cut into a few pieces
- Small can of tomato sauce or canned tomatoes run through grinder
- 1/4 cup of water
- Oregano
- Salt and sugar to taste
1. Heat olive oil in small pan and then add garlic and saute for a minute or two, but don’t let it brown.
2. Add tomato sauce and water.
3. Add oregano, salt, and a pinch of sugar if you like, which can cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
4. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Serve hot alongside fried mozzarella sticks.
Buon appetito!
Love Thursday: Love in the Lasagne Verde
You know we love Calabrian Stuffed Lasagne around here, but this week we have some extra love for an extra special lasagne, Lasagne Verde.
Emily of My Muffin Thursdays sent along this gorgeous heart of spinach pasta dough, which she made as part of The Daring Bakers’ Challenge:
Aw, don’t you just *heart* this photo?
Do go check out the finished product as well–it looks fabulous!
Have you ever made or eaten Lasagne Verde?
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
P.S. For those wondering what has happened to Cherrye’s My Bella Vita, there are some technical details that she’s working furiously on–don’t worry, she’ll be back as soon as possible!
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Glazed Apple Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins
One of the American magazines my mom so generally sends me from time to time is All You. Have you heard of it?
I *love* this magazine. The writing is casual and comfortable, and it includes many ideas that I’m actually likely to use–not just things that although I find interesting would never attempt.
One of those fabulous ideas was an easy recipe for Apple-Cinnamon Cupcakes in the December 26, 2008 issue, and this week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday recipe is my adaptation.
Aside from making delicious muffins, this recipe doesn’t make very much–so it’s great for those of us who will have to eat most if not all of the muffins ourselves.
I added oatmeal to make them a bit more muffiny as opposed to cupcakey and also to add more nutritional value, although as they were, these were actually respectable as far as sweets go (nutritional information is listed in article on page 114). These came out extremely moist and quite dense–just the way I love baked apple cakes, er, muffins.
Plus I figure with the oatmeal, these are now totally OK for breakfast, right?
Glazed Apple Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins
(makes 5-6 muffins)
For muffins:
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large Granny Smith or other tart apple
- Juice of half a small lemon
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
For icing:
- 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients for muffins.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil, and vanilla, and stir into dry ingredients until just combined.
4. Peel and grate apple into fine mesh sieve over the sink, being careful to stop before hitting the core. Squeeze in lemon juice and mix to distribute among apple.
5. Stir apple and oatmeal into muffin mixture.
6. Grease muffin pan and fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake until golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (about 20 minutes).
7. Let muffins cool for five minutes then remove and place on wire rack.
8. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice, and then drizzle over muffins.
Buon appetito!
P.S. Remember today is Pesce d’Aprile in Italy!
For more fun, check out April Fool’s Backfires!
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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