It’s the end of January and we had a brief respite from cold and snow, but now it’s back to the teens and the white is everywhere. I finished ordering the last of my seeds and the pictures have me pining to dig in the dirt. Something to look forward to!
New Recipes This Week
Fresh Tomato [...]
Portfolio Archive
Last Week of January
Tomato Gorgonzola Soup
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
garlic (to taste, a few cloves, through a garlic press)
3-4 tbsp. olive oil
handful of basil, chopped
tomatoes, depending on how many people, allow for 2 roma’s or one large hothouse per person
3 c. chicken stock
salt/pepper
at least 1/2 c. cream (will vary based on consistency of reduction)
1/4 c. Gorgonzola (more or less depending [...]
Second Week of January, 2010
New Recipes for this Week
French Onion Soup — Barefoot Contessa — incredible, the best ever — substituted gruyere though for parmesan (it is a French soup after all)
Butternut Squash Soup — a family favorite: saute onion in butter, throw in 16oz. of squash, cover with chicken stock, cook until soft, buzz down with blender with [...]
Bourbon Balls
2 1/2 c. finely crushed vanilla wafers
2 tbsp. cocoa
1 1/2 c. confectioners sugar
1 c. finely chopped walnuts
1/2 c. bourbon
3 tbsp. white corn syrup
Combine all ingredients. Mixture should be stiff and a little sticky. Shape into 1″ balls and roll in confectioners sugar. Store in air tight container at room temperature. Note: they are strong, but [...]
Escarole Soup (Italian Wedding Soup)
(2-3) 32 oz. boxes of organic (low sodium preferable) chicken broth
1 head of escarole, chopped into “bite” size chunks
at least 1 lb. mini meatballs (see my meatball recipe)
salt & pepper to taste
to make it “wedding soup”
4 tbsp. grated parmesan
2 large eggs
Since we were making meatballs for our Thanksgiving feast, we used some of the meatball [...]
Gravy, enhanced
5, 15-oz. cans tomato sauce
(I use Muir Glen, no salt added, Organic Tomato Sauce)
1, 6-oz. can tomato paste
2 whole medium onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 c. red wine
1/4 c. sugar
fresh basil, salt, pepper to taste
Empty the cans into your pot, making sure there’s plenty of room to add meatballs (or additional sausage, etc.) Do not throw [...]
Ravioli
4 eggs
4 – 6 cups of flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 recipe, Ravioli Filling
Place the flour on a board or in a very large bowl. Create a well (or hole) in the center of the flour mound. Break the eggs into the center. Add the oil and salt to the center of the well. [...]
Grandmom’s Ravioli Filling
2 cartons (15-16 oz.) ricotta cheese
1/2 c. grated romano cheese
2 egg yolks (1 per lb. of ricotta)
4 tbsp. sugar (2 tbsp. per lb of ricotta)
3 – 4 tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Mix all ingredients thoroughly by hand. Can be used as a ravioli filling or, as I have often done, used [...]