Peperonata (Italian Ratatouille)

 

This is the perfect Summer dish to use up and enjoy all of those delicious garden veggies! Peperonata is the less "vinegary" cousin of Caponata and a close relative to France's ratatouille. Peperonata mostly uses bell peppers as its flavor base and is jam packed with flavor, full of health and beautiful to look at making it the perfect "last hoorah" dish of the summertime!

Ingredients

1 pound red and/or yellow or even green bell peppers (red is traditional as they are the sweetest)

1/8- 1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes OR  calabrian paste or 1 small hot pepper red or green

2 medium tomatoes

1 zucchini

1 small eggplant 

1/2 -1 large potato

1 glass white wine

pinch of sugar

salt and pepper to taste

optional herbs: dried oregano, fresh parsley and/or basil etc..

Directions 

Cut all of the large veggies to about same size, not too small or too big, you want some toothsomeness.

Heat up oil medium low in large pot and saute onion and garlic and oregano if using along with a little salt to prevent browning until onion is translucent, don't burn garlic.

Turn up heat to medium/high and add wine and cook until you don't smell alcohol, lean over the pot and smell, you'll know.

Add in the hot pepper, bell peppers, and potatoes and more salt (layering the salt is important) cook until soft stirring here and there, about 15 minutes. Add a little water here and there if its sticking as needed.

Add the tomatoes, eggplant and zucchini season with and pepper this time and stir here & there to cook down  until ALL veggies are soft, check each one. It will take around another 20-30 minutes give or take depending on size of veggies.

Add the chopped fresh  herbs at the end and taste for salt & pepper.

Serve on bread for an antipasto, as a "sauce" for pasta or in a sandwich, this is really good with a sausage or meatball sub!

Neapolitan Breadcrumbs for fish, veggies , pasta meat etc…

 

These breadcrumbs will keep in the fridge all week ready to top fish, stuff vegetables, top simple pasta dishes or coat meat for frying! They taste and smell like the Mediterranean Sea with the essence of lemon anchovies! 

Ingredients 

1 lemon zested and juice of

2-3 cups plain bread crumbs 

Olive oil to entirely coat bottom of sauté pan

3 anchovies filets 

2 garlic cloves minced 

Handful Italian  parsley chopped fine ( about 1/8-1/4 cup after chopped)

Salt and black pepper 

Directions 

Heat oil over medium heat and add anchovies and melt into oil, add garlic and soften, add the rest of ingredients and stir until toasted and the smell fills your kitchen! It should not be too wet or too dry and Keep stirring constantly. 

Turn off heat and leave to cool and dry out. 

Store in container in fridge for a week or a little longer.

Uses: stuff mushrooms and add parmigiana and bake/ topping for pasta that’s coated in olive oil and garlic (aglia olio)/ use instead of bread crumbs for coating chicken or fish or eggplant or zucchini before sautéing or frying/ 

Cooking Vegetables the Italian Way!

 

The way to eat more vegetables as the Italians do is to make them taste delicious and the Italian way of doing this is simple, use more olive oil than you think and cook until soft.

Pour that olive oil on and then add some more! Then some sea salt, whole garlic cloves (not minced) and lemon at the end, or vinegar, and enjoy!!

You can roast or saute but either way please cook until soft, Italians don’t like crunchy raw vegetables unless they are eating a salad. 

Using more olive oil will satiate you actually causing you to eat less of the entire meal so don’t fear getting fat from olive oil. 

Roasted Asparagus in Olive Oil

Trim bottoms by snapping off first then lining up and cutting the rest at the same spot.

Peel 3-4 garlic cloves

Place in a pan with the garlic and sea salt liberally then pour in the olive oil and coat.

Roast at 400 for 15-20 minutes then flip and continue until soft, another 15-20 minutes. 

Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon all over. 

Italian Beet Salad

 

This is Italian Beet salad as best as I can remember my Mom's, Carol Ann Sasso, recipe, she used to make it for holiday meals and she used my Great grandmother’s , Filomena DeMaria Cornaccio’s, recipe. As you can tell I like to eat it on top of greens (arugula is my fav) using the juices to dress my salad and maybe some goat cheese crumbled on, yummy!! It’s also good on hearty thick wholewheat bread with goat cheese and Arugala for a delicious sandwich. 

Try to make this recipe a little ahead so that it will slightly pickle. 

My Beautiful Mommy :)

Ingredients

2 large beets roasted and peeled  (I use precooked beets from Costco but even canned will work!)

1 large onion

1 garlic clove  minced

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil (EVO) 

1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional: if you like it on the sweeter side)

salt to taste and lots of fresh ground black pepper!

Directions 

Make dressing in large glass container that you'll be storing it in (glass is better with pickling)

Slice the beets and onion very thin (I use a mandoline) 

Mix and taste for salt and pepper.

This will keep in the fridge for a good week or two and only get better!

Taralli (Southern Italian Crackers)

 These crunchy and addictive crackers are found all over southern Italy and often eaten at breakfast with un cafe or after dinner dipped in wine! I was first introduced to these addictive little crackers as a small child at My Mother's Father's table, Grandpa Pasquale  DeMaria, whose parents were from Calabria & Napoli. He would dip them in his espresso (plain or anise versions) in the morning and wine in the evening. My father, Andrea Casolaro, who was from Napoli used to dip them in his wine in the evening and then give me a taste. 

My Grandpa Demaria with My Mom in the front & her siblings.

I can still remember those rich grown up flavors swirling around in my mouth and feeling guilty that it very much reminded me of Communion at church, which I secretly enjoyed the taste of. When I make these with the seeds, the oils release a smell in my kitchen that reminds me of being a child sitting on my dad's lap and enjoying our snack together : )

I always was a Daddy's girl : )

They can be made plain, with cracked black pepper, with fennel seeds or my favorite, with anise seeds!

Ingredients

7 cups all purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

1  1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup hot water mixed with 1 cup cold white wine making it lukewarm to the wrist (That's where I always check the temp)

3/4 cup olive oil added to the water wine mixture

1 1/2 - 2 heaping tablespoons anise seed or fennel seed or 1-2 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper

In the mixer mix dry together then add wet and seeds or pepper.

At this point you may need to add more luke warm water, once it forms a nice smooth dough is then knead 8 minutes.

Cover and rest 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375

Separate in to 4 pieces and and cover 3 of them.

Cut this piece in to 16 pieces. 

Roll each piece into a pencil thin rope around  8"

Join the ends together to form a ring and seal by twisting and pressing ends.

Bring a very large pot of water to boil, add in 1/4 cup olive oil (this makes them shiny)

Now boil 8 at a time for 15 seconds, using a slotted spoon remove & place on kitchen towel or paper towels to dry for a few seconds, remove quickly or they will stick, ask me how I know lol!

Bake on parchment lined sheet pan for 10 minutes, then lower to 350 for 25-30 more minutes (rotating pans half way if doing 2 pans at once, or until golden brown. They must be golden brown and crispy!

These must be left out for a few hours to completely cool and dry out slightly. 

You can store these at room temp in a tin for 1 month but I remember my Grandmother keeping these uncovered or loosely covered with a cloth in a basket on her table. Just don't use anything that is airtight or else they will get soft and the refrigerator will make them too dry.

Bacci a tutti xxx

Roasted Garlic in Olive Oil

 

I've tried every which way to roast garlic and this is the best way for soft, buttery and smashable Garlic! I spread this on to toasted bread like its garlic butter!

Ingredients

2 garlic heads (I always do 2 at a time but 1 is fine)

Olive Oil

Aluminum Foil

Directions

Rip off a square of foil

Peel the outer loose leaves off and cut off the tops of the garlic bulbs (This will enable you to squeeze the garlic out afterwards) 

Drizzle oil on foil and place the bulb upside down drizzling more oil on top.

Bake at 350 for 50-75 minutes (May take less time or more depending on size of garlic cloves/bulb and on your oven so check after 50 minutes and add time accordingly, it will be soft to the touch if you gentle press a clove, not hard at all) 

Open foil and allow to cool.

Place your hand in a ziplock baggie and pick up the bulb open side down to squeeze out into a bowl that has a lid.

Pour over olive oil, add salt and any other herbs you like!

This keeps one week at room temp or 2 weeks in the fridge. 

Marinated Artichoke Hearts & Capers (Carciofi Marinati)

 You know those jars of Italian marinated vegetables you get at gourmet stores that cost quite a bit? Well I have had fun making my own over the years at a fraction of the cost! My latest recipe uses a bag of frozen artichoke hearts (Trader Joes) and every time I open a bag and dump out all  those wonderfully perfect little hearts I think of all those hours I wasted cutting away at all those artichokes before Trader Joes : )

Ingredients
One 12 ounce bag frozen artichoke hearts (Trader Joes)
a few teaspoons capers
1/2 cup olive oil

a few pinches of Italian seasoning
1 garlic clove
salt to taste
red pepper flakes
juice of half a lemon

Directions
Rinse off the artichokes, bring to a simmer in some water and simmer for 10 minutes.
Drain off all the water.
In the same pot add them back with all the ingredients except the capers and lemon juice. Simmer on low for 3-4 minutes .
Remove the garlic, add the lemon juice and capers (I like to allow some of the caper juice to get in as well) and stir.

Serve these with some crostini or other small slices of bread as an antipasto or snack.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. 

I like to make these a few hours ahead and leave at room temp covered for the flavors to meld.

These will keep in fridge for a week.

Neapolitan Risotto Balls (Palle di Riso)

Pall'e Riso or balls of rice are a classic street food sold all over Naples, Italy. They are essentially Rice croquettes made from left over risotto. I can not wait to return to Naples in May I love love the down to earth people and food and  believe they are simply the best in Italy : )
Ingredients (For about a dozen or so balls)
left over risotto (2 cups) I make a double batch for dinner and set half aside the night before )
1 egg
1/4 cup Parmesan (If the risotto already has Parmesan than add only a tablespoon or so)
1/4 cup grated or preferably diced mozzarella
2-3 few slices of salami or ham diced (This dish is already very rich so just a little bit of meat goes a long way)
2-3 tablespoons chopped very fine parsley
optional: 1 teaspoon truffle oil (This makes them heavenly!)
For coating: 2 eggs beaten, 1 cup plain panko bread crumbs, and 1/2 cup flour
olive oil for frying
Directions
Mix the risotto (If you are cooking the risotto just for this recipe first refrigerate allowing it to cool and set) along with the egg, cheeses, parsley, optional truffle oil, and meat.
Set up the dipping station by placing 3 shallow bowls in this order: Flour, Egg, Bread Crumbs
Heat up 3 inches of oil in a frying pan and set up a paper towel lined plate near by.
Now take enough risotto to make a golf ball sized ball and roll gently, this mixture is very tender.
Dip in flour shake off, egg shake off, and finally bread crumbs. If working alone I like to set up a piece of wax paper and dip all the eggs first in flour and set aside n wax paper, then dip all in egg setting up on wax paper etc... this is best when working alone but if you have  helper it goes much smoother and quicker : )
Now fry on each side until very very golden golden brown.  Drain on towels and they are ready to mangia!
Note : These can be made ahead and kept in a lowest setting oven on a rack lined pan until ready to serve. In Italy they are eaten alone but sometimes in the states they are served with a side of marinara sauce for dipping.

Carote in Agrodolce (Sweet & Sour Carrots)

You not might think of a carrot as something you would find in an Italian Cucina other than in a sofritto maybe..... but it is and the way Sicilians like their carrots are cooked tender with a sweet and sour sauce or Agrodolce which literally translates to sour and sweet. The wonderful thing about agrodolce is that it can take a simple inexpensive vegetable and raise it to another level. You can use this recipe for all sorts of vegetables such as cipolline onions, zucchini, or eggplant.
Ingredients
1 pound carrots
1/2 stick of butter
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons red wine balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
salt to taste
Directions
Peel and cut your carrots into 3 pieces and then quarter each piece. You want thin sticks.
Melt your butter over medium high heat, add sugar, vinegar, and flour and stir to combine.
Add carrots, water, salt, stir and cover to simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Remove lid and cook stirring every now and then for 15-20 minutes or until the sauce reduces and coats carrot sticks.
Allow to cool slightly before serving, it is best lukewarm.

(Olivi ai Finocchio) Olives Marinated with Fennel Seeds & Garlic

I love to take regular ordinary olives and marinate them in olive oil and a few other ingredients to make my very own signature Olive Marinate. In this marinade I crushed fennel seeds and garlic together along with some olive oil after I had read about these wild fennel growers in in the tiny village, Campodimele, Italy who used their wild fennel seeds in olive dishes.This village, Campodiemele,  nestled on a hill between Naples and Rome is  known as The Village of Eternity due to the fact that most of the residents live an average of 95 years.Experts say it's probably due to genetics mixed with their hyper Mediterranean diet which happens to contain an abundance of olives and olive oil! These olives had a very unique flavor that tasted of the hills of Italy that I remember zooming past on my short road trip from Rome to Naples.I would ask my Zio to please stop and allow us to visit one of the tiny villages built up on the hills like I could have only imagined in fairy tales but he would just wave his hand and say that nothing was there worth seeing, next time I will stop off in one of those tiny villages. Marinated olives are best if you make them 12 hours or at best a whole day ahead allowing the olives to really pick up the wonderful flavors.

Campodimele rises up out of the hills like magic!

Ingredients
1 cup Olives drained and dried
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 small garlic clove
olive oil (enough to cover)
Directions
Crush your seeds along with the garlic but do not bother chopping since you want to eventually remove the garlic.
In a shallow bowl (the shallower the bowl less oil you need) place your very dry olives along with the fennel and garlic. Now pour on enough oil to coat and toss a few times.
Cover and leave in fridge for at least 12 hours.
Bring to room temp before serving as an antipasto or snack.
These will keep for a few weeks n the fridge.

You Just Might Be an Italian/American if..... you have a Fig Tree in your back yard : )

My Fig Tree : )

There is a curious connection between Italians immigrants and fig trees, did you know for instance that NY and NJ have some of the largest fig tree populations in the US? Italian immigrants who had grown up with a fig tree in their own backyards brought the seedlings over and planted a tree as soon as they moved in to their homes to remind them of Bella Italia, sometimes even before hanging the curtains. I believe it may have also been a way of identifying them as Italian American, sort of like flying a flag of your birth country along side the beloved American flag. My Mom's grandmother, Nonna Cornaccio, grew fig trees in her backyard and my Mother has very fond memories of eating plump juicy figs straight from the tree, a great source of replenishment, as she ran around out back, it was like having a little piece of Italy in the middle of Bayonne, NJ! We were blessed to have in inherited a fig tree in our own SC back yard when we bought our currant home in 2000 and if we ever have to move we will also plant a fig tree in our new backyard.

Figs are great in salads, spread on bread with butter, wrapped with some prosciutto, or eaten alone!

~Figs in my summer salad~

Leaning Tower of Onion Rings

Love Inn Pizza Owner's look- alike Joe Namath!

This recipe is for my Mom. When I was a young child growing up in Charleston in the early 1970's we used to go out to eat every payday like clock work. One of our favorite restaurants was Love Inn Pizza in West Ashley, SC. It was owned by an alleged New York Mobster who looked like New York Jet's Joe Namath who happened to be my childhood crush- must of been those blue eyes and that cute little chin dimple. Oh but I digress.....anyway, he used to come to our table and make funny noises with his mouth kind of like that guy from the Police Academy movies and then he would do a few magic tricks and end by pulling a shiny coin from behind his ear and he always handed it to me not any of my three sisters : ) On their menu they had these Leaning Tower of  Onion Rings served with marinara sauce, these were my Mom's favorite. She said not only were they the lightest, crispiest, onion rings ever but they would actually come to the table stacked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa! We enjoyed eating there for many years and my Mom especially enjoyed seeing all the very glamorous women dressed to the nines with their fancy jewelry, wigs, and fur coats and one in particular had a striking resemblance to Liza Minelli. Then my Dad burst her bubble upon informing her that they would come here for dinner before heading to the  Drag Queen Bar down the street........ we immediately stopped eating there. So Mom, these are for you!
Ingredients (2 huge or 4 medium towers)
2 large or 4 small/medium onions
oil for frying
all purpose flour
4 eggs
salt
Marinara sauce for serving
Directions
Note: I have found that this double dipping process makes a crispy & light onion ring!
Peel the onions and then slice into 3/4-  inch slices, for the tower you need large rings, the separate into rings.
Heat up your oil to 375
Place the eggs and a bit of water in a pie plate and beat together.
Place some flour in the 2 other pie plates, use a a lot so that you don't have to get more with sticky hands in the middle of the process.
Now set up your plates next to the hot oil so you have an assembly line in this order: flour-egg-flour-frying oil.
Now dip each individual onion slice in the flour shake off excess
Then dip into the egg dripping off excess
Lastly the flour shaking off excess
Now fry a few until golden. I usually do about 2-3 at a time.
Place on cookie sheet and salt immediately then place back in oven to stay warm and crisp.
Once you have finished frying you can keep the rack in the lowest heated oven for up to an hour to stay warm and crisp.
Assembling the Tower: All you do is stack staring with the largest working your way up to the smallest, if you want the whole "leaning tower of Pisa" effect then start to place the rings un-evenly just slightly here and there. They seem to stack better if given a chance to harden up a few minutes on the cookie sheet.

Aioli (Olive Oil and Garlic sauce)

 Aioli is a sauce that goes back to the Ancient Romans it has since been adopted and tweaked by the French and Spaniards and with it many different uses.It is served over potatoes in Italy, over seafood in France, and with lamb in Spain where it is made without any eggs. I like to serve it over baked fish, roasted pork and beef, and with vegetables as a dip, Italians use it as a dressing for a flavorful potato salad. The name comes from the Italian language where AI means garlic and OLI means oil, eggs were eventually added to the recipe to simplify the emulsion process.

Ingredients
2 egg yolks large (Pasteurize your eggs in the microwave for safety: see how here!)
1 garlic clove minced (You can use 2 cloves if you like it really garlicky but I prefer 1)
3/4 cup olive oil
salt
juice of 1 small lemon or half of a large lemon
1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
Directions
Place the lemon, garlic, mustard, eggs, and salt in a blender and blend altogether.
Now here is the main thing: add oil in small drops allowing each drop to blend in completely before adding the next while the blender is running on high.
Once you have used about 3/4 of the oil you can add the oil faster.
Blend until light and fluffy  like mayonnaise.

Italian Onion Marmalade (Marmellata d' Cipolla)

  My Mom saw this marmalade recipe on an Italian cooking show on the Italian television station RAI and immediately called me translating the recipe from Italian over the phone while she watched, not missing a beat, this is a very common scenario for us. I mean we must talk about food over the phone, she lives in FL while I live in SC, at least 4-5 times a week, not kidding you. So as I thought about this I couldn't help but ask myself, Why do we Italians  love food so much? Talking about it, reading about it, writing about it, thinking about it, preparing it.......and most importantly.......eating it, but why? I do know that as Italians we are a sensuous people who enjoy all pleasurable things such as: music, poetry, art......but I would have to say food is always at the top of the list. I can remember landing in Rome and immediately asking my Zio Alfonzo  if we could drive by the Roman Colosseum before we headed south to Naples. To which he replied, "Prima si mangi, poi guardiamo." First we eat, then we look.  I never did get see the Roman Colosseum......but I did get to eat : )
Ingredients 
3 large yellow onions sliced thin (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins
half cinnamon stick or a few shakes of cinnamon
1 bay or sage leaf
1/2 cup white balsamic wine vinegar
Directions
Mix all the ingredients except for the vinegar together and bring to a simmer, cover and simmer for 1 hour. The raisins will plump up from the onion liquid and the onions will become soft and tender. Lift the lid and give it a quick stir once or twice during the hour cooking time. Smell that? I bet you can't wait : )
Add 1/2 cup white wine vinegar and simmer uncovered 35-45 minutes or until the onions are a rich golden brown and thicken up and the liquid is starting to caramelize. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick and bay or sage leaf.

Serve as antipasti on a cheese tray perhaps with some goat cheese mmmmm can you imagine the sweet onions with the tangy goat cheese spread on a crostini or maybe some mascarpone cheese on some bread or use as a spread on top of a roasted pork loin.
This recipe is my adaption of the one My Mom saw on RAI.

This can be served right away, canned, or kept in a tight fitting container for a several weeks in the fridge.

My sweet Mama!

My Zio Alfonzo during my above mentioned trip.

Caponata (Mama Sasso's)

~Extra Large Jar of Mama's Caponata Just For Me!~

What is Caponata? It is an ancient Southern Italian dish with a sweet&sour taste that consists of fried eggplant, onions, celery, capers, tomatoes, and olives and it is the perfect thing to make in the Summer time when you have an over abundance of eggplant!  It is mainly served cold as an appetizer “antipasto” with bread but I also like it served warm as a "sauce" for spaghetti. Naples has it's own version and even though both of my parents are Neapolitan my Mom always made this Sicilian version. She would make it in the summer time when eggplant was at its best and can it, then we would have it around Christmas/New Years. Now she gives it to us as gifts every Christmas. To me New Years Eve just isn't the same without some Caponata on the antipasto tray!

~Ingredients~
11/4 cups quality red wine vinegar
2 1/2 pounds eggplant
1/2 cup olives (green or black)
1-2 tablespoons capers
1 bunch celery diced (My Mom always uses white celery)
1 Spanish onion diced
3 ounce can tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
salt & pepper to taste
Olive Oil for frying
~Directions~

Sterilize your jars & lids (I use the dishwasher) and set up a large pot of water for canning.

Set 2 saute pans up with 1/4  olive oil and the second with 3/4 cups olive oil.
Slice the eggplant leaving the skin on. Salt the eggplant and place in a colander with a heavy pot on top in the sink to allow some of the brown water to be released, this takes 30 minutes.
Rinse each piece off removing all the salt and dry well with paper towels.
Dice the eggplant into bite size pieces.
Fry eggplants in the first pan till golden brown.
Dice the celery and fry in same oil and discard this oil if any is left.
Saute onion in the second pan till it changes color.
Dilute tomato paste with a little warm water. Stir into the onion. Taste for salt and season if necessary, cook for 15 minutes.
Stir in the sugar, vinegar, capers, olives, eggplants and celery. Taste to see of if it needs more sugar.
Sprinkle with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and salt if necessary (taste to see) and simmer for 10 minutes.
Pack into the clean, hot small canning jars.  Seal and process in water bath for 20 minutes.

Or you can just place in  plastic containers in the fridge without sealing for up to a few weeks.
Let the cans rest for at least a week before eating to mellow out, believe me this part is a must, if you eat it right away it will taste way too sour!

Italian Orange Salad

This orange salad has naval oranges, tangerines, celery, parsley, and capers.

I love how Italians can make a delicious tasting salad out of just about anything in season and just as long as the produce is at it's peak it doesn't really need to require any fuss. So since it's just about the end of orange season (Peak Orange Season is the Winter months) I got my final box of tangerines form Costco the other day and they were just perfect, not too sweet or sour so I decided to make an Italian orange salad.  
Directions:  Dice your oranges cutting away the white pithy parts so you are only left with juicy pieces.
Then add a little chopped fresh parsley, olive oil and salt, black pepper if you like, then toss to coat. Since the oranges are naturally acidic you don't need any vinegar.
It is also traditional to add in some black Calamata olives, or some peeled (use a vegetable peeler to remove the stringy part) and sliced celery or fennel. Something I like to add in when I don't have any olives is a few capers!

Favorite Vinaigrette (My House Dressing)

Making your own salad dressing is so easy  once you learn the basic rule for any vinaigrette: 1 part vinegar to 2 parts olive oil. Then you can add any seasonings your family likes to make your own Family House Dressing : ) This can be made right in your salad bowl and whisked before adding your salad or you can make a larger batch straight in a jar skipping the whisking and shaking instead and then storing in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.  I also have a tweak for a  Lemon Dressing, Blue Cheese Dressing, and a Creamy Vinaigrette below.
Ingredients
2 ounces (2 parts) olive oil: extra virgin
1 ounce (1 part) wine vinegar: white or red wine or balsamic

1/4- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard (This is the emulsifier)
1 good healthy pinch of salt
fresh ground black pepper
Seasonings: 1  garlic clove minced (Or you can use anything your family likes: Italian Seasonings, Herbes de Provence, Fresh Cilantro or Parsley, Minced Shallot or Onion etc....)
Directions
In the salad bowl whisk together the garlic, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper and any other seasonings you like.
While whisking, slowly add the olive oil until the vinaigrette is emulsified.(Or make this in a jar and shake to blend keeps in fridge for 2 weeks, it must be set out a few minutes before using to De-solidify the oil.)
You can now add the salad right on top and place in the fridge, but do not toss or coat it until ready to eat.
Just before serving toss and coat the salad with the dressing.
Creamy Vinaigrette
Add 1/4 cup sour cream, yogurt, or buttermilk to the mixture after the oil has been added and whisk until smooth.
Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
This is much lighter version than you find usually served with Hot Wings which makes it perfect for salad, all I do is make the basic vinaigrette and then I add about 1/4-12 cup crumbled (into very small pieces) Gorgonzola or Blue Cheese.You can just whisk smooth and keep some of the chunks or give it a wiz in the blender for a richer smoother dressing. This vinaigrette version also has much more flavor due to the garlic and Dijon.
Lemon Dressing
Whenever you make a lemon or any citrus based dressing you use half juice and half olive oil since citrus juice is not as strong as vinegar.You will also omit Dijon Mustard since it is too strong for the light lemon flavor.

Hints & Notes

• If you are making a large batch do not add too much garlic, 1 clove will go pretty far!
• I use a mini measuring cup I got from the Dollar Store that is marked in ounces this makes it very easy to  figure out the 2 to 1 ratio as needed.

• You can find those old Good Seasonings Salad Bottles, the kind used to make your own dressing with pre- packaged spice packets, at thrift stores and they are already marked  for the oil and vinegar by the correct 2 to 1 ratio.

• This photo is of my favorite Dijon Mustard and Balsamic Vinegar to use in my vinaigrette, I get both from Trader Joes and each is under $2.

Potato Crocchette (Crocchette di Patata)

~Shaped like patties perfect for the home cook ~

~Shaped like the traditional crocchette in Naples~

Potato Crocchette (pronounced crow-kettay) is another example of good food being good enough! When my Mom first visited Naples in 1962 to marry my Father she was most impressed by all of the wonderful street food like these potato crocchette and being a North Jersey girl she already knew that street food was the best kind of food. When I arrived for my first visit in 2005 I was so excited about tasting all of these delightful street foods but was quickly disappointed to realize the street vendors were all gone. That was until my Zio explained to me that you can still get the same foods but now they are through the restaurants outdoor stands. These potato crocchette are traditionally served as a antipasti before the pizza in Neapolitan pizzerias. They are easy to prepare, you can whip them up for a snack in no time, and very economical since you can use left over mashed potato if you have any lying around in the fridge.
Ingredients
2 pounds baking potatoes (About 4 large)
salt
3 eggs: separated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 -2 teaspoon fresh parsley chopped fine
Italian seasoned bread crumbs
olive oil (1/2 inch to fry in)
optional fillings: chopped ham or salami and or grated mozzarella or provolone cheese
Tools
2 pie plates or other shallow bowls
skillet
Directions
Wash and pierce the potatoes and bake at 350 until soft, about an hour. Or peel and chop and boil until tender,15-20 minutes.
If you boiled them then just mash.
If you baked them you can peel and then mash or cut in half each potato and squeeze them through a ricer/food mill or peel and mash them by hand. This photo shows a ricer "ricing" the potatoes.
Add the salt, parsley, and cheese.
Beat the egg yolks and add them as well. Beat all of this together well, you can shape them now or cover and leave in the fridge for an hour or until ready to use.
Shape into patties, balls, or ovals each about 21/2-3 inches or so.
Beat the egg whites until foamy and light, pour into in a shallow bowl like a pie plate.
Put the bread crumbs into a separate pie plate..
Heat up a pan and then add enough oil to fry the crocchette in.
Dip them in the egg whites and coat. Then dip in the bread crumbs to coat. Shake off the extra crumbs before frying.
Allow these to sit out and dry for atleast 30 minutes before frying, they will hold up much better.
Fry until golden on each side, total frying time is 4 minutes, and then place on a rack to cool slightly or a paper towel.
Sprinkle a little salt on top of each one while still hot.
If you want to make several batches ahead of time place on a rack on a sheet pan in a very low oven until ready to serve.
Tips & Notes:
These are best served warm not cold or hot.
You can make these ahead of time and refrigerate on the rack then place the rack in the oven at 350 for a few minutes to reheat.
You can use left over mashed potatoes.
These are delicate so handle gently and use a small spatula to turn and serve.
This recipe cooks in 3 batches in a standard skillet but you may need to wipe it out and reapply oil after the first frying or else it may burn the little bread crumb bits.

Pasta Salad alla Caprese

 This is my basic pasta salad made Caprese style which came to me at our family reunion lunch, I had a bunch of Insalata Caprese left over so I used it in a pasta salad the next day. My awesome daughter Danielle and I made 10 pounds of this pasta salad for my son's Wedding  Rehearsal Dinner and we had to mix it in a huge beverage bucket! See what a Caprese Insalata is here.
Ingredients
1 pound short pasta (shells, fusilli, etc..)
1 garlic clove minced
4 ounces sun-dried/marinated tomatoes & the oil in the jar (chopped)
3-5 anchovy fillets (chopped fine)
3 ounces Calamata/Kalamata black olives (pitted and mashed)
8 ounces Fresh Soft Mozzarella (cubed)
15-20 basil leaves (torn)
3 ounces or 6 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste (start with a good healthy pinch and taste)
Directions
Basically you want everything about the same size except for the anchovies which must be chopped fine.
Place the anchovy fillets and garlic in a large bowl, add oil and whisk briskly.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes & their oil from the jar, olives, healthy pinch of kosher salt, and basil leaves then stir gently to combine. Taste for salt adding more if needed.
Cook pasta, drain, reserving some water (1/2 cup) to add if the salad is too dry. Allow the pasta to cool off a bit but do not rinse off with water, to prevent it from sticking while cooling toss with a bit of olive oil.
Mix the pasta in with the dressing and see if it needs a little of the water.
Refrigerate until chilled, then take out 1/2 hour before serving and then add the diced mozzarella just before serving. I always taste for salt once it is cooled off as well since warmer food tastes more of salt.

Italian Stuffed Mushrooms

This is based on my Dad's recipe for stuffed mushrooms which I have tweaked a bit over the years.. They are one of the first things I ever made for a potluck type meal at church when I was only 22 years old. I remember calling my Dad up and asking for the recipe and he said, "You know honey, you just mixa some bread crumbs, Parmigiana, garlic, and olive oil and stuffa the mushrooms. Then you cook em until they are done." That is how most recipes are passed on in an Italian family! You will be happy to know that I have since written the recipe down a bit more precisely.
These are wonderful to make for an appetizer or to bring along as a side dish for a potluck. You may want to double the batch as they go quickly!
Ingredients
20 large mushrooms such as cremini or 40 small button mushrooms
1 large egg
3/4 cup Parmigian Reggiano (Parmesan cheese)grated (reserve a few tablespoons to add to tops at end)
1 cup plain bread crumbs (You can use dry or freshly processed)
1 lemon (the zest the juice)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 small cloves garlic - finely minced or grated
salt and pepper
about 6-8 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 350

Wipe each mushroom off with a damp rag but do not run them under water.
Remove the stems and discard.

 Zest the lemon and set aside.
In a large bowl dump the oil and add the cheese, egg, garlic, parsley, lemon zest, and salt and pepper, squeeze in half the juice of the lemon in as well.
Mix until well incorporated and slightly moist. If it is not moist enough to hold shape add some more oil but do not overly soak it.
I like to add a drizzle of olive oil all over the mushrooms and inside the cavities before stuffing.
Grab the mixture with your hands and stuff into each mushroom allowing some to heap out a bit and then place them into a shallow baking dish that you have wiped down with olive oil.
Top each mushroom off with the rest of the lemon juice, some more olive oil and a small amount of cheese on top of each,.
Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 20-30 minutes or until just starting to turn  golden brown but not dry.