Sunday At the Giacomettis

 Buon Natale! Merry Christmas!  By far, the most popular post on the blog. These Pinoli cookies are so easy, just takes a bit of pratice and patience.  Remember, good food can not be rushed.  Buon Appetito! Ingredients: 8 ounces almond paste Made fresh or available out of can (See previous post on Home Made almond Paste). DO NOT USE THE TUBE VARIETY. 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup confectioners sugar 1/2 cup white sugar approx. 8 ounces pinoli loose in a bowl 2 large egg whites Method: In a bowl of a food processor, pulse your almond paste a few seconds to break apart. Then add your sugars and pulse.  Add your flour and pulse again.  Cover the top of your bowl while you do this for a few seconds. Slowly add your egg whites with your machinue running on low. In a few seconds, notice your mixture softening and creamy. Your mixture should come together into a sticky ball.   Add some more flour if need be.  Remember, the mor...

What a great day preparing my Veal Osso Buco.  I am not sure why people are so intimidated when it comes to this dish.  It is really rather simple.  Patience is not easy for a hungry cook.   I always suggest several things to my students and to anyone trying to cook this for the first time.  The first, never cook anything when you are starving.  If this is an issue, peel yourself some fruit and take a break.   (My mother lives by this rule).  Secondly, one needs patience in the kitchen.  Don't be in a rush.  Allow yourself plenty of time to make mistakes.   We all make them.   I assure you. You will be making this dish again and again.    Special note:   I love the suggestion Mary made tonight on the http://www.facebook.com/sundayatthegiacomettis fan page. Be prepared, veal shanks can be expensive.  Her idea?  Buy them one at a time and tuck them away in the freezer.  Several w...

Had to place a conference call to Mom in NY today about this recipe.  For almost every Sunday of my life, I can remember this dish being made on Sunday Morning.  My mother's meatballs are so inviting.  You can smell them down the street. You can smell them in the garage. I was craving comfort food today. This was perfect.  I don't now how it happened.  I was was wondering if I had added enough cheese to the recipe and my phone rang.   It was my mother again, in that sweet, authoritative voice, demanding that I add more cheese. How did she know? Ingredients:  3/4 pound veal 3/4 pork (you can omit the pork and use Ground Turkey.  This sauce was traditionally made with whatever was left over from the week). 3/4  beef 2 eggs Into a bowl place your meat, 2 eggs, one cup of Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup parsley chopped fine 1 clove of garlic chopped fine (optional) 1/2 cup red onion chopped fine 1 cup of fine b...

Good Morning everyone, A cold rise bread is a great way to help make bread when you just don't think you have time.  It's not that complicated.   If you have a mixer or a food processor, it does all the work for you.  The hardest part is done.  We do not like to wait for anything these days.   Here the longer you wait the better the result.  So be patient.  A cold rise dough extends the life of the fermentation. The acid content in the bread dough is increased.   It helps to add wonderful texture as well as great flavor to your end result.   The longer it's refrigerated, the more flavor it will have.   If you like your bread a bit more sour, leave it to rise a longer time.  It's best to leave it to rise for one long rise in the refrigerator.   It can stay refrigerated for up to 3 days.   For this recipe, I used white flour.   You can substitute bread flour, or use equal amounts of both.   The bread flour w...

 This is from a previous post.  It was part of Nonno's ritual to bring the bread to Sunday lunch.  Bakeries on Sunday were always open.  Lines were around the block, after church, on Sunday morning.     Not much was available as far as Italian bread was concerne.d  in the local supermarkets in the 1970's, even in New York.   Local bread bakeries began expanding their territories and delivering to the local markets  (outside of Manhattan), in the early 1980's as many began to move out of the city.    Not ever locality was included as there was only so much supply to go around.  Most bakeries would run out early on Sunday morning,  having sold their supply.    We had almost nothing in Scarsdale, New York, except the local bakery, which happened to be French.  Not acceptable, as they did not carry the Panella bread that we were accustomed t...

I love it when fans get excited about simple dishes. I am not sure why we don't eat more carrots.    My carrots created quite a stir the other evening both online and on the table.  The key to great carrots is there overall freshness.   Be sure and look for carrots with their green stems attached.  Spend the time to cut and clean them yourself.  They are so worth it.  Try to cut them down in even pieces. Their natural sweetness depends on freshness, so never mind the bagged variety.   If that's all you can find, you may have to give them a longer boil first.   Do yourself a favor and forget them if you can.   The stemmed kind are also a little cheaper both at farmers market and in the grocery.  Look for bright green stems and a firm carrot. Recipe:  3 pounds fresh carrots cleaned and cut into pieces. One large pot filled with enough water to cover the carrot pieces. One whole yellow or white onion dice...

I am not sure when my mother started cooking her meatballs in the oven.  My father requested it one day I believe.    I am not even sure if it makes any sense at all.   They do get nice and crispy under the broiler in the oven.  How can you eat just one?   Getting the temperature right is key along with keeping a watchful eye on them.  Here is the recipe: Ingredients: One oven proof pan about 12 inches in diameter 3/4  pound of ground  beef (lean 90 percent lean) 1/2 pound lean ground pork, veal or turkey 2 teaspoon salt one teaspoon pepper 2 eggs plus 2 tablespoons milk  1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese grated 3 tablespoons  diced yellow or white onion 1 clove garlic diced One handful of parsley diced sprig of fresh basil 1 cup of fresh bread crumbs made from day old bread Into a deep bowl, mix together your ingredients.  Make the meatballs about 1-2 inches in diameter....

  Make no mistake about it.  I treat myself well.  My husband and son really missed out. I am eating alone.   A few simple ingredients is all you need for a fabulous Risotto.  I quickly Roasted a half of each color I had.  A few minutes under the broiler is all you need.  When the skin turns black,  quickly remove them from the oven and into a bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let cool. In the meantime Heat about 3 cups of broth.  I prefer to keep vegetable broth in the freezer, always ready to go.  I opened up a great bottle of white wine and set aside a cup for my recipe.  I planned on having plenty of leftover for some Arancini for a future post.  What a great surprise and all for me! Ingredients: 1/2 yellow 1/2 red 1/2 orange  Bell pepper 1/4 cup diced red Onion 12 oz of Arborio Rice fresh basil and fresh parsley for garnish 3 cups of broth one cup white wine 3 teaspoons sa...

Who can remember watching those PBS cooking shows here in the States in the late 1970's and early 1980's?  Mom's favorite? Believe it or not, it was the Frugal Gourmet. Jeff Smith, was an interesting character in his approach to cooking.  I recall how fascinating it was to watch him work his magic on the kitchen.  Although he wasn't Italian, he had a great appreciation for Italian food.  He believed minimizing ingredients helped to maximize flavor.   It was never about several hundred ingredients in a recipe.  It was about the freshness of seasonal ingredients. Thankfully, I was paying attention. His methods for cooking a deep, rich,  broth was quite inspiring.  Use the same method when making Beef or Veal stock. Oven Roasting gives "Character" to a soup,  great color, flavor and richness.  It's great for using in recipes all week long.  You can freeze it for later to use in risotto's or adding richness to sa...

My Mom tells me to this day that a little can go a very long way.  With unexpected company dropping by to watch me cook, not the Superbowl, I knew I better think fast.   I like to keep Ramekins in all shapes and sizes.  With many other foods being served, I wanted to be sure and have something warm and hearty to satisfy everyone.   One pound of Pasta can feed 10 people and here is how. What you will need: 10/ 5ounce ramekins (you want to have them deep enough for volume without boiling over) 4 oz of Taleggio cut up.  Any, soft, cheeese you like will do.  One pound of fresh asparagus (trimmed (wood ends removed), blanched, water reserved,  cut the tops and reserve/dice the rest into small pieces. One pound of mixed mushrooms.  I used 8 ounces each of oyster and portabella/ sliced thin.  Cooked until reduced in 2 tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. 2 cups of Bechamel (prepared in the Method of Marce...

I remember what a treat it was to have French onion Soup.  It was a rare occasion we even went out for dinner,  as my father hated Restaurants.  Long before there were cooking shows, recipe magazines, and fancy restaurants,  there was this soup. It dates back to Roman times.  It was oddly considered a peasant food, since onions could  easily be grown and were plentiful.   It was not until the 18th century that it made a more sophisticated appearance in the French kitchen.   The onions were cooked in butter and a good splash of Cognac or sherry.   Who could blame them?  I seem to remember making this ahead of a Prime Rib Roast to be served for Christmas dinner and I had not any wine in the house.  I grabbed the Sweet Vermouth.  Today, it seems many are already on the bandwagon of vermouth.  A sweet, fortified wine, a bit herbaceous, gives this soup that wonderful tas...

  I was so surprised last night that our son, requested this soup.  I just had to make it.  My mother saids it cures the common cold.  It cured my hunger for sure. My guess is Massimiliano misses his Nonna. Here are the ingredients to a simple soup that will always make you feel a little better. Serves 4-6. 4 chicken breasts / skin removed / boneless or bone in 1 large Spanish onion 4 celery stalks 4 medium carrots 4 red potatoes or 2 medium Yukon gold one teaspoon of salt Parsley for garnish or celery leaves 8 quarts of water one large pasta pot (for your soup) one smaller pot to cook your pasta 6 oz of pasta or Pastina  any one you like One 2 inch piece of Parmigiano Reggianno.  The end, back piece, cleaned and trimmed.  The back piece is harder (closest to the rind),  and is just in the soup pot for added flavor. Tonight I made Version number 1 with chicken breasts.  A very small percentage of fat still remains on your ...

My mother would often tell me "A good Minestrone solves everything."  I have always thought, it had more really to do with cleaning out one's refrigerator with items that really needed to be used up.   When it comes right down to it, minestrone can be made with any vegetable.   Some garlic, onion, tomato paste and some olive oil is always the basis for any good Minestrone. I have several versions here on my blog.    It is a very pretty, colorful dish, full of flavor.   The important thing to remember, when dealing with baby greens is to always add them during the last few minutes of cooking.   When your greens wilt, turn off you soup and get ready to serve.  This helps keep the vitamin content where it belongs, in the vegetable.     I will be pureeing the leftovers today, enough for 2 more cups.   All you need is about 45 minutes and about 15 minutes of prepping your vegetables.   More pictures will c...

The olives in the Marche Region of Ascoli Piceno are rumored to be the best in all of Italy.  The meaty and mild tasting flesh along with the smaller than usual pit, makes them ideal to snack on.   It was the ancient Roman writer, Martial who described that olives from this region were served at every banquet both as an appetizer and at the end of the meal to cleanse the palate.   It was also rumored that Nero and his entourage were big fans.  Who could blame them?   It wasn't until the 18th century, in the Southern Marche,  that some inventive cook decided to stuff them.   What a wonderful idea. The variety is called Tenera Ascolana and only grows in the chunky soil of Ascoli Piceno.  Today, the variety is hardly exported at all.   I like to substitute pitted, Spanish Manzanilla, readily available in almost every market around the world.  They are fairly easy to handle in the kitchen and very forgiving. ...