Sunday At the Giacomettis

Ingredients: One large bunch Escarole (about one pound or so) 4 tablespoons olive oil plus more to drizzle on plate 2 clove of garlic 3 cups of cooked white beans (Fagioli, great Northern or Cannellini) One cup escarole stock (reserved from cooking your Escarole) Pinch of baking soda One tablespoon of salt for your water in oder for it to come to a boil. One additional teaspoon to sprinkle on your Escarole and beans when it's ready. Side dish or soup, this is such a healthy go to dish this time of year.  Even my son enjoyed it last night. I wonder where he gets that from? Plenty of Fresh Escarole is rinsed, cut up and blanched. I even like to add a pinch of baking soda to help the Escarole retain it's pretty green color.  Salt the water and cook for a good 5-6 minutes.  Remember that once you add your Escarole, your timing begins when your water is boiling again.  Drain well.  Set aside. Thaw your beans (about 3 cups). I keep a good amount in the f...

I love it when a certain food just "Stirs" up all kinds of conversation.  I am not sure what it is exactly about the crab cake that gets everyone excited, even me.  Maybe it's that delicious, unexpected flavor that one gets from each and every crab cake.  It's always fun to come up with your own and break from a traditional recipe.   I came up with this in my kitchen on the coast a few years back.  I just had very little ingredients around the kitchen but had one container (One pound of crab meat), and one vivid imagination.  Makes 15-20, 2-3 inch crab cakes Ingredients:  One pound, picked and rinsed,  lump/claw meat mixed crab meat (it doesn't have to be the most expensive). One cup of bread crumbs.  (I make my own with left over bread, toasted and various herbs and salt). Plus extra bread crumbs for your plate to coat before frying. One handful of chopped, diced parsley (just use what you like) 1/3 cup mayonnaise One teasp...

Ingredients: 2 whole 3-4  pound Fresh whole Snapper.  Cleaned and di-scaled. 2 large lemons  (One sliced for cooking, one cut in half) 2 teaspoons of salt. Pepper to taste For the stuffing: One cup of bread crumbs (I like to make my own) several sprigs of parsley 2 cloves of garlic  diced 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 cup of pitted black olives Extra parsley for garnish Method: In a food processor, process your bread crumbs, garlic, parsley and olives adding your olive oil a little at a time.  Stuffing should hold together nicely.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper to tast.  Preheat your oven to 375. Make tiny slits all over your fish with a paring knife.  Squeeze lemon juice all over your fish and pat dry with paper towels.  Lay on a baking sheet and gently insert your stuffing into the center of fish using about 1/2 for each.  Pack it in.  Do not worry that it comes out of your fish a little.  Add sev...

On a night when nothing goes as planned, it's nice to know you can always rely on a great pasta dish.   It's a big challange aquiring any kind of fresh seafood here in Mississippi except by mailorder.  I came across these Coquina clams frozen in a box at the Grocery.  To my suprise, they were quite delicious, flavorful and quite deceiving too.  You would never know they came out of a box.    As I always say, fresh is best, but sometimes you must do what you can.  What a wonderful surprise. Ingredients for 4 people: 12 oz of Spaghetti 4 tablespoons good quality olive oil One tablespoon salt (for the pasta water) One large pot filled with 8 quarts of water One large skillet to cook your fish sauce One plus 1/2 teaspoon salt for the fish optional pinch of red pepper flakes or small pinch of fresh chile pepper 1 pound Clams (any small variety will do) One pound of cleaned, cut, calamari (squid) One cup of white wine 3 cloves of diced...