| Linda's Italian Table

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Food Photos By Tommy Hanks Photography

Filed Under: On the Patio, Soup, Vegetarian · Tagged With: cauliflower soup, cold soup, healthy soup, roasted cauliflower, soup, summer soup

August: Spaghetti with Crab and Mascarpone Sauce

July 30, 2012 by Linda Leave a Comment

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Things that crawl make great pasta!

Buon giorno!

I suppose you could make pasta with anything. I find that some of my favorite sauces are made with things that crawl and are usually found in the sea – like shrimp, clams, lobster, and crabs! SPAGHETTI WITH CRAB AND MASCARPONE SAUCE is definitely a dish that I especially love. It’s good anytime of year. For some reason, it just seems to taste better in the summer when my thoughts turn to things “beachy”, and of course, the patio would be my top choice of serving destinations. For me, this beautiful dish screams: OUTDOORS! Throw in a little “Come Back to Sorrento”, and I’m there!

About Mascarpone: For those unfamiliar, Mascarpone Cheese is the Italian version of cream cheese – a little sweeter – a little softer – a little better in my book. Let’s get off to a good start and try to pronounce this beautiful mellifluous Italian word correctly. It astounds me how many times I hear it mispronounced by accomplished chefs and on the Food Channels where they should know better. It’s like running nails down a chalkboard in “Linda’s Italian Table-Land” every time I hear it mangled. What it is not: MARS –ka – pone. What it is: MOSS-car-po-ne!! There I’ve said it, and I feel better. As if the crab and tomatoes which go together like Martin and Lewis needed any embellishment – the addition of the beautiful velvety Mascarpone Cheese just puts it right over the top!

Ingredients: This is a truly beautiful dish and one that has all the ease of most Italian recipes. As always, the ingredients are key. Your dish will reflect them. Don’t cut corners. Just use the right stuff, and success will be yours! One point of note – your crab is critical. I do not recommend the canned stuff near the canned tuna at your grocer. You won’t taste it. Use fresh if you can get it or packaged fresh in containers from your fishmonger. Not everyone lives in Maryland like my friend, Peggy, who is surrounded by the little creatures and has daily access. Those containers of fresh packed crab in the seafood department work very well. I like Jumbo Lump or Lump Crab, as they both come in larger pieces and stay together nicely when you toss the sauce, usually with fewer shells. Backfin is okay but will be less distinguishable in the sauce, as it is shredded. There is nothing like biting into those large sweet chunks of Lump Crab and really tasting its sweetness. Most grocers carry it – also Whole Foods—and Costco (for a good deal!) etc.

Pasta: This lovely sweet sauce begs for a long graceful strand of pasta: spaghetti, linguine or capellini. Of course, Pasta Fresca is ideal!

Oh! And no grated cheese with this – please!

I absolutely cannot wait another second. I MUST make this subito!

SPAGHETTI WITH CRAB AND MASCARPONE SAUCE

Serves: 4

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb. Spaghetti, linguine, or capellini cooked according to package directions

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

3 Large Cloves Fresh Garlic

1/2 c. Dry White Wine

1 28 oz. Can San Marzano Tomatoes – crushed with your fingers

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

1 lb. Fresh or Packaged Fresh Jumbo Lump or Lump Crab

2 Tbsp. Chopped Fresh Basil

8 oz. Mascarpone Cheese

1/4 c. Chopped Fresh Basil Leaves for garnish

Instructions

Cook the garlic in the olive oil for a minute or two – do not burn!

Add the wine and cook another minute or two.

Add the tomatoes. I like crushing them with my fingers to get a more controlled consistency. Cutting them makes big chunks and blending makes them too fine.

Add also the salt, pepper, and red pepper.

Simmer at medium high, stirring occasionally, for about 20-25 minutes reducing the sauce and cooking out most of the liquid. You are left with a very condensed flavorful sauce.

Add crab and all juices that accompany it and the 2 Tbsp. Basil. Cook another minute or 2.

Turn off the heat and spoon in the Mascarpone. Stir in well until entirely incorporated. The sauce should turn a beautiful coral color.

Add the sauce to the pasta and garnish with plenty of Fresh Basil.

SPAGHETTI WITH CRAB AND MASCARPONE SAUCE should not, as with most seafood sauces in Italy, be served with grated cheese. Enjoy with a lovely Soave or Chardonnay perhaps? Even a beautiful summer dry Rosé – Fantastico!

PARLA COME MANGI!

Comments are welcome in the “Speak Your Mind Area” beneath this post online.

Food Photos By Tommy Hanks Photography

Filed Under: On the Patio, Pasta, Recipes of the Mo · Tagged With: mascarpone sauce, Pasta, pasta and crabmeat, pasta with fish sauce, pasta with seafood, Recipe of the Month, seafood sauce, spaghetti with crab sauce

Ginger Fig Preserves

July 22, 2012 by Linda 6 Comments

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Figgy Jewels For the Freezer!

Buon giorno!

No doubt! Italians love their figs. Ask any Italian for a fig wrapped memory, and you will get a story that probably goes back a generation or two. This Italian is no different in that respect.I grew up with a father who spoke of figs with emotion and intensity. He looked forward to their season, sought them relentlessly, and worshipped their very existence. Maybe that is why I named my fig tree “Tilly” after my father, Attilio. He would have loved my GINGER FIG PRESERVES and probably might have preferred them to the more common fig jam because of their spicy essence and also because the figs in this recipe retain their shape and are not mashed as in the jam.

Attilio planted the “seed” in my heart for these loveliest of fruits as he spoke of them so often and with such affection. His passion for them launched a life long love affair within me for figs of all types. Having my own tree was finally a wish fulfilled. Fig trees grow and bear fruit rapidly. They love the Southern temperatures and soil which is the reason you find so many growing in the Southern US. However, many in the Northern US grow them as well with some success. Many pot them and cover them when the Northern winds and biting temperatures become too severe. Watching a fig tree grow and produce is fun and takes little effort.

The effort comes with making wonderful dishes with your figs. GINGER FIG PRESERVES is a favorite for me as its uses go beyond the expected toast and biscuits or muffins. I love that their shape is partially retained, and you get a large piece of fig in your mouth to enjoy instead of just jam. They look like precious jewels in their presentation, as the large fig gems shimmer and shine.They are a beautiful accompaniment to pork dishes and even lamb or roasted chicken on their own or as a glaze or sauce. One of the loveliest uses for them, and my personal favorite, is with a savory cheese like a Rosemary Asiago or a Manchego. There is nothing better than a bite of salty, sharp cheese on a cracker along with a big juicy fig from my GINGER FIG PRESERVES – a perfect flavor combo – as well as an easy cocktail treat.

These preserves are so easy. I make them for the freezer which is so much faster and easier than canning. You can use any type of fig. I used Mission Figs for the demonstration. They are very sweet and the combination of the fresh and candied ginger gives them a spicy kick that rockets the flavor to heights you won’t believe. It’s rapture!

GINGER FIG PRESERVES

Makes: about 1 1/2 quarts

Prep: about 10 minutes

Cook: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

3 lb. Fresh Figs

3 cups Sugar ( I like this level of sweetness with the spice. Use less sugar if you like.)

1 inch “knob” or chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thinly

Zest of one Fresh Lemon

Juice of one Fresh Lemon

A Second Fresh Lemon, sliced into rounds

1/4 Tsp. Salt

1 1/2 c. Candied or Crystallized Ginger – chopped into small pieces

Instructions

Rinse your fresh figs and drain. Then cut off any woody or green stems.

Slice the figs in 1/2 lengthwise. If the figs are large, you can quarter them. I like large fig pieces in my fig preserves. You can make them smaller if you like.

Place them in a pot.

Peel and slice the fresh ginger.

Add the sugar, fresh ginger, lemon juice, lemon slices, and salt.

Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring a little and cover, reducing heat.

Simmer covered for 1 hour. Stir the mixture occasionally during this process.

After the hour, remove the cover, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes more. The mixture will condense and thicken.

Then add the candied ginger while the mixture is hot. Stir in.

Cool completely. You want to leave the lemon slices and ginger in the preserves, as they soften and “candy” during cooking and add wonderful dimension and flavor.

Fill your containers and freeze the ones you are not intending to use right away. (You can follow your own directions for canning if you prefer to can them.)

The GINGER FIG PRESERVES makes delicious crostatas. Also, they are wonderful with gelato, biscuits, pound cake, on French Toast, as well as with meats and cheese. The possibilities seem infinite. However, one thing is sure—they are soooo delicious. Try this recipe soon and let me know your favorite ways to enjoy them!

PARLA COME MANGI!

Comments are welcome in the “Speak Your Mind Area” beneath this post online.

Food Photos By Tommy Hanks Photography

Filed Under: Desserts · Tagged With: fig jam, fig preserves, fig recipes, Figs, ginger fig preserves

Burgers Italian Style With Tomato Pesto

July 16, 2012 by Linda 2 Comments

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Buon giorno!

Burgers are definitely an American standard when it comes to summer grilling. BUT – at our house, the burgers were Italian Style all the way. When I was growing up, we enjoyed grilled burgers frequently, but they were much different from the burgers of the other neighborhood cookouts. My mother, Loretta, never made anything “just plain”, and that included our burgers. The burgers of my youth were spicy and chock full of Italian herbs, grated Italian cheese, chopped garlic etc. – In other words, they tasted much like my mother’s meatballs. They were really tasty and never “just plain meat”. My BURGERS ITALIAN STYLE WITH TOMATO PESTO are not Loretta’s version, but like hers – there is nothing plain about them. In fact, the Burger Snoots around my house like them so much, it’s hard to get anyone to eat a plain burger any more.

When you think about it, a pile of ground meat squashed into a patty isn’t very interesting on its own. But – dress it up a little – maybe show a little cleavage without going beyond the bounds of good taste – give it some spice without “tarting” it up too much? Stay classy, babe, and you’ve got yourself a very competitive little number on a bun that no one can turn down. The cool thing is that you don’t really have to work very hard to achieve this. Take good ground chuck that contains about 20% fat, add a few select ingredients, and your “just plain” burgers will transform. You will own your family and guests with these flavor packed “burger bombs”.

Hey – you can even make them ahead and freeze them if you like. I MUST ALWAYS have some hanging around my freezer for that special moment when I’m having a burger craving. We’re thinking Italian here, with the ingredients, for sure, but I am also suggesting an amazing topping of TOMATO PESTO. Now, you didn’t think I was going to let you put ketchup on these power bundles – did you?

Fire up the grill – here we go!

BURGERS ITALIAN STYLE

Makes: about 4-5 burgers

Prep: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb. Ground Beef Chuck – preferably with about 20% fat

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

3 oz. Feta or Goat Cheese broken into pieces – not too small

1/4 C. Fresh Basil Leaves – chopped

1/2 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

4 oz. (about 1/2 c.) Sundried Tomatoes, packed in oil – cut into small strips or julienne

1 beaten egg

Instructions

Mix all of the above ingredients together.

Form patties of your desired size.

Freeze or take them straight to the hot grill.

Tip: Try grilling your buns – They are so much better that way.

Top with Tomato Pesto!

TOMATO PESTO

Makes: about 1- 1 1/4 c.

Prep: 10 minutes

Ingredients

3 Ripe Medium Plum Tomatoes – (approx. 9 oz.)

1 Fresh Garlic clove

3/4 c. Fresh Basil Leaves

1 Tbsp. Mayonnaise

1/4 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

1/2 Tsp. Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1/4 c. Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese

2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions

Coarsely chop tomatoes and garlic and add to blender.

Add the basil, mayonnaise, red pepper, salt, black pepper, and Parmigiano to the blender.

Blend and, at the same time, slowly drizzle in olive oil.

Refrigerate.

Make up some BURGERS ITALIAN STYLE WITH TOMATO PESTO for this weekend. You’re gonna love ‘em!

PARLA COME MANGI!

Comments are welcome in the “Speak Your Mind Area” beneath this post online.

Food Photos By Tommy Hanks Photography

Filed Under: Meat, On the Patio · Tagged With: grilled meat, hamburgers, Italian, italian burgers, pesto, stuffed burgers, tomato pesto

Malted Hazelnut Gelato

July 7, 2012 by Linda 4 Comments

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The Old Malt Shop Experience – Italian Style!

Buon giorno!

There is something about summertime that makes you crave things icy cold – gelato, granita, iced caffe. All the better if they are also smooth and creamy, tasty beyond belief, and make you daydream for summer days gone by at the Malt Shop, Ice Cream Shop, or Gelateria. MALTED HAZELNUT GELATO is one of those amazing chilly taste treats that is all wrapped up in nostalgia. Malted Milks are almost things of the past – certainly of my past. I daydream about sitting on those revolving stools in the ice cream shop slurping a chocolate malt while listening to Frankie Avalon, Bobby Darin, and Connie Francis on the jukebox. Who??

At the same time, my nostalgia takes me longingly to that tiny gelateria near the Trevi Fountain in Rome – where I loved to drop a coin or three on the most perfect Hazelnut Gelato – one of my faves! Anything hazelnut reminds me of Italy anyway - the Perugina Chocolates with the creamy hazelnut centers, the gianduia (chocolate with hazelnut paste) fillings that permeate so many of the sweet treats, and the devine hazelnuts of Piedmont.

These memories and creamy delights are all wrapped up in my new favorite frozen treat: MALTED HAZELNUT GELATO! Just wait til you taste THIS ONE! You won’t believe the creaminess of this gelato. Throw in some chocolate covered malted milk balls, close your eyes, and you are there, baby! “Memories are made of this!!”

MALTED HAZELNUT GELATO

Makes: about a quart

Ingredients

1 C. Heavy Cream

1 C. Whole Milk

1 C. Half and Half

4 Egg Yolks – beaten

1/2 C. Sugar

1/3 C. Sifted Powdered Malted Milk ( I use Nestle Carnation “original”)

3/4 C. Nutella

1 C. Chocolate Covered Malted Milk Balls (Whoppers) – partially crushed

Instructions

In a pan or double boiler, mix together: cream, milk, Half and Half, beaten egg yolks, sugar, and sifted malted milk powder (sifting gets the clumps out)

While stirring, carefully heat the mixture at just below a simmer until it thickens. It takes about 10 minutes to do this. Do not heat too quickly or forget to stir. You are making a custard. If it overheats, it will curdle.

You know it is ready, when it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Turn off the heat and cool down a little.

In a separate bowl, stir the Nutella to loosen.

Add a small amount of the custard to the Nutella and stir well. Add more and stir.

When it becomes more liquid, add the rest of the custard to it and combine. It will turn a beautiful chocolate color. Make sure the mixtures are completely incorporated.

Sometimes it retains some solids. You can strain it to get a perfectly smooth consistency. This is optional.

Chill your custard, covered, in the refrigerator overnight.

Put your malted milk balls in a plastic bag and seal. Then hit the bag a few times with a mallet or something heavy like a tomato can. Don’t completely crush the balls. You want them chunky. It only take a few “hits”. I like to refrigerate the crushed balls so that when I am ready to add them to the gelato, they are ice cold.

The next day, pour the custard (it will be thicker) into an ice cream maker and follow directions to make your gelato. My ice cream maker takes about 35 minutes to get the gelato to a soft serve state.

When this occurs, add the chilled, crushed malted milk balls.

Freeze to your desired consistency. I do not like my gelato frozen hard. If it becomes too frozen, let it sit a couple of minutes before serving.

Take just one spoon of this Malted Hazelnut Gelato and drift off. Can you hear the jukebox now?? “VOLARE—OH OH, CANTARE O-O-O-O…”

PARLA COME MANGI!

Comments are welcome in the “Speak Your Mind Area” beneath this post online.

Food Photos By Tommy Hanks Photography

Filed Under: Desserts, On the Patio · Tagged With: chocolate dessert, Gelato, hazelnut dessert, hazelnut gelato, ice cream, nutella recipe

Baked Stuffed Zucchini

July 2, 2012 by Linda 2 Comments

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A Gift From the Italian Garden

Buon giorno!

OK! Going out on a limb here – but I don’t usually do this unless I know I am on terra firma.On this one, I can safely state this is the BEST BAKED STUFFED ZUCCHINI you’ll find anywhere. YUP! I said it, and it’s true. This stuff is the bomb! It will be the “side” that goes first at your cook outs and barbeques. So, run out now and get all the zucchini you can find or harvest, and make extra. This is the one!

Zucchini is definitely one of the wonders of the Italian garden. In fact, it can safely be said that you can’t have a truly Italian garden without growing some. If you haven’t considered planting it in your garden, give it a try. It kind of grows on its own – a no-brainer! Also it makes an attractive plant in any setting, even if you don’t have a vegetable garden. Its flowers are legendary, beautiful, and you can cook them as well – stuff for another post.

You know how zucchini really is kind of lifeless and rather tasteless on its own? Well this zucchini dish takes it to a new level where everyone will want more.

It is so darn easy too!

Make room for this one next to the potato or macaroni salad or beans or whatever. Happy to report that it is also comparatively healthy. So what are we waiting for – ?

It’s a done deal! You and this dish will be heralded in the annals of barbeque legend for centuries to come. Wellll.. ok maaaybe not centuries?? I do get carried away when I’m excited about some dishes, and yeah, this is one of them. Suffice it to say, this one is a winner. So go for it!

BAKED STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Serves: 2 - or more if cut into smaller pieces

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 40-45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 Medium Zucchini – split in half lengthwise, seeds scooped out with a spoon

1 Beautifully Ripe Fresh Tomato – skinned: drop in boiling water for a couple of minutes & peel skin off easily

Olive Oil

1 Clove Fresh Garlic – chopped

1 Tbsp. Fresh Oregano – chopped

2 Tbsp. Fresh Basil – chopped

1 ½ Tbsp. Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese

2 Tbsp. Fresh Breadcrumbs

Salt & Pepper to taste

Extra Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling

Instructions:

Oil a baking dish and also oil both sides of each zucchini half. Place the halves cut side up in the baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Chop the fresh tomato and mix with the chopped garlic and the herbs. (If for some reason, you must use dried herbs, remember that you use less of the dried than fresh.) Add some salt and pepper to this mixture and spoon it all along the top of the zucchini halves.

Top this with the grated cheese.

Spread the fresh breadcrumbs on the top of the cheese & sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Finally, drizzle some good Extra Virgin Olive Oil over each half.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until a fork penetrates the zucchini easily. (Time may depend on the size of your zucchini.) During the baking process, check the baking dish for dryness. Add a little water to the baking dish ,if needed, to prevent browning of the bottom of the dish.

When finished baking and still hot, give the zucchini one last drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. That finishing touch will give it one last nudge into heavenly!

Try this BAKED STUFFED ZUCCHINI at your next cook out or whatever. You’ll want to take this one to the patio immediately. They’ll love you for it!!

PARLA COME MANGI!

Comments are welcome in the “Speak Your Mind Area” beneath this post online.