Limone is Italian for lemon, and when you combine it with spaghetti, the end result is a fast, refreshing, delicious dish of pasta…perfect for a hot summer evening.
To begin, squeeze the juice from one lemon (ensure to discard the seeds).
Place the lemon juice in a bowl and add 1 1/2c grated Parmigiano cheese (or more) and mix well. Slowly drizzle in a good 1/2c extra virgin olive oil and continue to mix well.
Season with salt and pepper. At this point, the mixture should resemble a paste. Set aside until the pasta is cooked al dente. Drain the pasta and reserve some of the cooking water. Place the pasta in a serving dish and add the lemon juice mixture. Mix well and add cooking water to thin the sauce if needed.
I am all about quick tomato sauce for pasta…especially when it gets hot outside. The last thing I want to do is stand in front of a hot stove and cook. Last night, dinner took literally 25 minutes to make…it was delicious, and I hardly broke a sweat!
As the water heats up for the pasta, finely chop one or two shallots. Then thinly slice a cup of small green olives with or without pimentos. Add a good drizzle of olive oil to a sauté pan, then add the onion and olives and sauté on medium heat until the shallot softens. Add a 1/4tsp (or more if you like more heat) of red pepper flakes and stir well.
Then add 1 can of crushed tomatoes (I actually quickly pureed them in a bowl with an immersion blender first and then added them to the sauté pan). Reduce heat to medium low, season to taste with salt and pepper, and allow the sauce to simmer partially covered while the pasta cooks. When cooked al dente, drain the pasta and add it directly to the skillet. Give it a good mix and enjoy! (As always…I used 1Lb of pasta).
Pork tenderloin is a great choice for a quick dinner. When I feel lazy, I am a huge fan of the pre-marinated variety that is readily available in most grocery stores. It can be grilled or baked and is usually very good.
Tonight I decided to make my own marinade. For this recipe, the pork tenderloin is cut into 1/4″ thick slices and then flattened with a meat mallet….be gentle as it does not take much to pound the slices flat.
Arrange the slices in a baking dish. For the marinade, in a small bowl combine a bit less than 1/4c olive oil, 3Tbsp Balsamic vinegar, 3Tbsp honey, 2Tbsp Dijon mustard, and a splash of soy sauce.
Mix well and pour over the pork slices in the baking dish.
Then sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper to taste and some dried rosemary. Let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before placing in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until the meat is browned. There are always a few slices of Italian bread just sitting around to mop up the juices in the pan…
What is Sunday without sauce? Growing up, nothing said “Sunday morning” more than the unmistakable smell of sautéing onions, carrots, and celery. The process involved adding ground meat. or cubed beef, or Italian sausage, or meatballs (or all of it) and letting it cook for what seemed like forever. The pot was huge and the sauce just bubbled away. The end result was well worth it…trust me..you have not lived if you have not eaten a piece of thick bread dipped in a pot of simmering sauce.
Thankfully, a good meat sauce can be made any day of the week and it really doesn’t have to take all day.
Finely chop one small yellow onion, one small carrot, and one small celery stalk. Heat about 4Tbsp olive oil in a medium sized pot on medium heat and then add the onion, carrot, and celery.
Stir and allow to cook until the vegetables soften. Do not let the onion brown, so stir often. Add a small splash of water (this helps the veggies steam and break down). Add 1Lb any type of ground meat.
Ground Turkey Breast
You can use turkey, beef, veal, pork, even lamb. Allow the meat to brown and cook through. Use a wooden spatula or spoon to completely break the meat up…no big clumps. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1 minced clove of garlic and 1/2c wine (white or red) and cook until the liquid almost completely evaporates.
Add 3 1/2c pureed tomato. I usually puree whole peeled tomatoes with an immersion blender. If using crushed tomatoes, puree them as well with a blender to loosen the sauce or it will be too thick.
Once the sauce begins to boil, turn the heat to low, partially cover the pot with a lid, and allow to cook for about 30 minutes. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Stir occasionally to prevent the meat sauce from sticking. Enjoy with any pasta…but rigatoni, fettuccini, or penne rigate work best. This recipe makes more than enough sauce for 1Lb of pasta.
Salmon is a great mild flavored fish that happens to be very good for you. It is an excellent source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. It is delicious cooked on the grill and in the oven, and its preparation requires very few ingredients. As with any fish, the fewer the ingredients, the better.
Place the salmon filets (skin side down) on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. I prepared 4 filets. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl combine: 3Tbsp olive oil, 2Tbsp soy sauce, 3Tbsp lemon juice, and 2Tbsp dijon mustard. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well and pour over the salmon. Add a small dusting of dill weed to each filet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. The salmon is best when it is flaky and not overcooked.
They are great sautéed, stuffed, grilled, and especially in a quick cream sauce for pasta.
This recipe is super easy and it takes no time to prepare. It can be made with any kind of mushroom, but today I opted for just run of the mill baby bella’s. I used an 8oz package.
First, remove any loose dirt from the mushroom caps with a damp cloth. Avoid submerging the mushrooms in water to rinse them off… no matter how great the temptation. Then finely slice the mushrooms, including the stems, if you wish. Also dice a small yellow onion. In a large sauté pan melt 3Tbsp butter in 3Tbsp olive oil on medium heat. This prevents the butter from browning and burning. When heated, add the diced onion and allow to soften a bit.
Then add the mushrooms. Stir well and allow the mushrooms and onion to cook until the mushrooms begin to brown a bit and release any liquid. Continue cooking until all of the liquid is evaporated. Stir often so the mushrooms do not stick.
Season to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Finally add 16oz of heavy or light cream and stir. Allow the cream to reduce by about half. Adjust seasoning if needed. Serve over any shape pasta with PLENTY of freshly grated Parmigiano.
Meatloaf is definitely hit or miss. It can be tender and full of flavor, or it can be tasteless and dry like a brick. I picked up this particular recipe from my mom in Italy, and it is truly delicious. While it is prepared like a traditional meatloaf, it is basically braised in a Dutch oven instead of being baked in the oven. The result is a-MAZ-ing.
To begin, remove the crust from three slices of white bread and place in a small bowl and pour on enough milk to cover. You don’t want the bread necassarily swimming in the milk, but there should be enough milk that the bread can sit and soak it up. Set aside for a good 15 minutes. Then take a pound of meatloaf mix or an equal part of ground veal, pork, and beef. Place in a large bowl. Add one large egg, 3/4c grated Parmigiano, salt, pepper, 1 minced clove garlic, and the milk saturated bread. Using your hands (not my favorite thing to do) mix the meat mixture until all of the ingredients are combined. Form into a loaf. Next finely chop one small yellow onion, one small celery stalk, and one small carrot. Lightly coat the meatloaf all over with olive oil (again using your hands). Place 3Tbsp olive oil in a Dutch oven and add the prepared meatloaf. Allow to heat up on medium low heat. Then very gently, roll the meatloaf so that it begins to brown on all sides. I used two spatulas and a lot of swear words to do this…but feel free to do what works for you. Be careful that the meatloaf rolls as a unit or it will fall apart. When the meatloaf is lightly browned on all sides, add the chopped vegetables, 1/2c water, and 1/2c white wine. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and allow to cook one hour. About half way through, uncover and check that there is still liquid in the pan. There should be a bit of liquid in the bottom of the Dutch oven, but if it evaporates too quickly as the meatloaf cooks, add a splash more of wine or water. After one hour, partially remove the lid and allow to cook an additional 15 minutes. Slice and serve with chopped vegetables and any remaining liquid.
Tender and flavorful, this meatloaf does not disappoint.
When the weather gets warmer, cooking should get easier. No one wants to stand in front of a hot stove with 18 pans going full force. Spring and summer are the best times for pasta salads and pasta dishes made with sauces that require no cooking. Pesto is one example. It requires a few basic ingredients and a food processor…no pots, pans, or stovetop.
Another great example is this artichoke sauce that I threw together one night many moons ago. It basically came to be as I ransacked my pantry one night after coming home from one of the boy’s baseball games. With no real idea what to make, I grabbed pasta and a can of artichoke hearts…the rest is history.
Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. While the water heats, begin the sauce by draining one 14oz can of artichoke hearts. Add the artichoke hearts to the bowl of a food processor. Then add 1/4c walnuts, 3/4c grated Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano, 1Tbsp lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Begin to process and with the machine running, add about 1/2c olive oil. Process until fully blended and smooth. Reserve some of the pasta water, and add the artichoke sauce directly to the drained pasta. Add the reserved water a little at a time to thin out the sauce as necessary.
Easy. Fast. Deliciousness… with no cooking. Total winner.
Caponata is a cooked eggplant stew that is very popular in Sicily. It basically consists of eggplant, celery, olives, capers and a sweet and sour sauce. It can be used as an appetizer with crostini, a spread over grilled meat, and even in sandwiches. We eat it as a side, but it can definitely be a quick meal (just add a salad and a few slices of crusty bread to sop up all the eggplant goodness).
I make my own version of this that basically eliminates all of the ingredients except for the eggplant and olives (eyebrows raised)….hence the title of this post.
To begin, trim three medium eggplant by removing the stem, leaving the skin on. Give them a quick rinse and then cut in half, stem to tip.
Cut each half into 1 inch thick slices, cut the slices in half again long ways, and then cube.
Add to a large skillet. Roughly chop a medium yellow onion and add to the eggplant with an extra large drizzle (1/4c) of olive oil. Eggplant is like a sponge, so it is okay to be a little generous with the oil. Place skillet on medium heat. Stir to coat the eggplant well and add a small splash of water.
As the eggplant begins to cook, stir occasionally to prevent it from sticking. Add two well-minced cloves of garlic, 3Tbsp tomato paste, 1/4c white wine, and 1/4c kalamata olives (preferably halved). Stir to combine. Season well with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover and allow to simmer about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally and if the eggplant is dry or beginning to stick, add another splash of water (less than 1/4c).
Caponata…even my version, is one of those dishes that the longer it sits, the more flavorful it becomes…so it is a great make ahead recipe!
Asparagus is quite nutritious. It is low in calories, but packs quite a punch when it comes to nutrients. It is a great source of fiber, and protein, as well as Vitamins C, A, K, and Folate.
Roasted asparagus is one of my first options when it comes to making a quick and easy vegetable that I know everyone will eat.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
I always gravitate toward asparagus that is on the slender side. The thicker the stalk, the tougher it is. There is nothing less appealing than trying to gnaw your way through a tough stalk of asparagus!
Rinse the asparagus tips (I used 1Lb) after removing the thicker bottoms. (I usually just snap the ends right off). Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper to taste and give a good drizzle of olive oil.
Place in the oven and allow to roast for 20 minutes or until the asparagus begins to brown. Remove from the oven and place in a serving dish. Add 2Tbsp fresh lemon juice and about 1/4c crumbled goat cheese. You can also use crumbled blue cheese or gorgonzola. Give a gentle toss and voila!
Fresh and versatile. this is a great side for grilled meat….Buon Appetito!
Curls and Carbs 