Monthly Archives: June 2010

Italian Summer Wine Trilogy

Summer is officially here tomorrow. But for most of us it’s been here for weeks already. Especially in Florida. And when the heat of the summer takes over and everyone is enjoying outdoor parties, barbecues, deck parties etc. the last thing we want is a heavy wine. Which many Italian wines can be. But Italy also produces many varieties of lighter more refreshing wines which are perfect for a hot summer day on the veranda! I have only listed three wines which I think are best for the summertime. There are a couple other wines that are less known here in the U.S. and they are pretty hard to find so I will not list them. If I had to choose one of these three over the others, my vote is for Prosecco. Riondo Prosecco is our favorite.


Riondo Prosecco

PROSECCO: My favorite Italian wine for any season is actually a sparkling wine, Prosecco. Prosecco should be on everyone’s summer wine list, in my opinion. It’s made for the most part from the Prosecco grape which grows in the northern Veneto region of Italy in the foothills of the Alps. Sometimes the Prosecco grapes are mixed with a small amount of Pinot Grigio or Pinot Blanc grapes as well. Prosecco is made using the Charmat method rather than the Champagne method that the French use. The Charmat method lets the wine go through the second fermentation in pressurized tanks rather than in the bottles like champagne is done. No turning the bottles everyday like champagne. This method preserves the freshness and flavor of the Prosecco grapes!

Prosecco Grapes

Prosecco is usually very affordable, light and fun. Much easier on the wallet and palate than Champagne. The fizz in Prosecco is not overwhelming, it’s just right. It is usually dry with citrus (lemon and grapefruit) overtones and just a hint of honey. Did I mention I love Prosecco? You can serve it with pastas with light sauces, fish, seafood, salads etc. Pretty much everything goes with Prosecco if you ask me and John! It should be served well chilled! It’s best to serve Prosecco within 3 years of its vintage date but the higher quality ones can be aged up to seven years! Not in my house! We’re lucky if a bottle lasts a few days before we open it and drink it! The Venetians say Prosecco is an ideal appertivo or ombrette (pick-me-up). Remember you can also add fresh peach nectar to it and make…Bellinis!!! There are many brands on the market in all price ranges from $7+ usually. We have many favorites in all price ranges.


Pinot Grigio Grapes

PINOT GRIGIO: Pinot Grigio is one of the best known Italian white wines. It’s a light, dry wine with an almost lemony flavor with slightly nutty overtones. The Pinot Grigio grapes are also grown in the Veneto region (like Prosecco) as well as the Fruili region, both in northeastern Italy. Pinot Grigio is usually pale in color, almost straw-like and it’s best to drink it close to its vintage year. It’s not a wine you want to age. It’s best served with seafood, light pastas and cheese. I would stay away from acidic dishes such as vinegar-based salad dressing and citrus-based sauces. It’s not a good combo. It’s a great wine to have before dinner. In the United States Pinot Grigio is usually a summer favorite. It’s another wine that is very reasonable in price. You can get a good bottle for as low as $5 or $6 and of course the prices can get much higher.


Trebbiano Grapes

SOAVE: Soave is another well-known Italian white wine here in the United States. When I hear Soave I usually immediately think of Soave Bolla. The Bolla vineyards have made Soave a household name here. Soave is a light, crisp wine. It’s made from the Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave grapes that again grown in the Veneto region in northeastern Italy.  I’m sensing a trend here. Soave is produced as a still wine as well as sparkling or sweet wine as well. Most of the imported Soave we get here in the U.S. is the still variety. Soave usually has a slightly green color with very distinct perfume-like tones. It goes great with light pastas, salads or fish. Or just drink it on its own while sitting on the patio relaxing after a long hard day! I tend to favor the Soave over the Pinot Grigio myself.  It’s a little more fruity than the Pinot Grigio which is why I like it. Soave gets its name from a small town nestled among the vine-covered hills in the shadow of a handsome and well-preserved castle. Pretty cool! It is also a wine that should not be aged. Drink it no more than three years from its vintage year.

Garganega Grapes

Mussels Ala Genua

I never knew I liked mussels for most of my life until I had them at a friend’s house about 10 years ago. Who knew I’d love them so much! We have tried mussels in most of our favorite restaurants in our travels and have found such a range of styles and tastes! In Florida our favorite place to get mussels is at our favorite Italian restaurant EVO in Tequesta. (www.evoitalian.com). And strange enough our all time favorite place for mussels was in one of the oddest places you would think, North Conway, NH at a wonderful place called The Muddy Moose Restaurant and Pub (www.muddymoose.com)! We were there at the outlets a few years ago on while on our trip to Maine and decided to get a beer, they are a microbrewery also so they have great beers. We were hungry as well so decided to give their mussels a try and they were outstanding! Go figure, a local pub serving bikers and tourists and they all loved the mussels! A full pound of Maine mussels sautéed with garlic, shallots, white wine, butter, lemon juice and crushed red pepper. Incredible to say the least! We compare everything to theirs now. EVO’s recipe is fresh Prince Edward Island mussels pan sautéed with white wine, roasted garlic, pecorino romano and tossed with a touch cream, finished with fresh basil and toasted crostini. Also to die for! But mine is my own recipe and it’s still really good. I have been actually buying my mussels frozen from Wal-Mart, no joke. I get two whole pounds for $3.50! They are already cooked and frozen! And they are really good! Go figure! I always have some on hand in the freezer for a quick snack when company comes by. They don’t take too long to cook and they are pretty low-calorie too. It’s the cream sauces and bread that makes them higher in calories. Anyway, without further ado (as my Dad always says…) here’s the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds of frozen mussels

2 -15 ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes with garlic and basil

olive oil

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup wine, red or white, which ever you have open

thin sliced italian bread toasted, if you wish

grated parmesan cheese


DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large sauté pan, pour enough olive oil to coat bottom of pan and heat on medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté until lightly brown. Careful not to burn it.

2. Add the wine and sauté with garlic for a minute or so.

3. Add the tomatoes to pan and stir well. Cook for about 5 minutes until heated thoroughly.

4. Add the mussels and mix thoroughly. Cover and heat for about 7 minutes. Remember they are already cooked so don’t overcook.

5. Serve in a large bowl with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Serves 6 (or 3 really hungry people!)

**Check out the Muddy Moose when in North Conway, NH!! You won’t be disappointed!

Linda’s Orange Razz Tini

As promised, here is the martini that my cousin Linda had several times when we ventured into the Tini Martini Bar (http://tini-martini-bar.com/) at the Casablanca Inn in St. Augustine. As I said John and I had stayed at the Inn 3 years ago and had fallen in love with the place. Especially after we found out they just opened a martini bar! We were sold. So when we went back the first time it was great. The martinis range from $10.50-$12.50. Yes a little on the higher end BUT they were definitely more than 6 ounce martini glasses. I would say 8 ounces and they filled them to the tippy top! None of this space at the top as most places do. So after we took Linda there the first time we knew we’d be back during our visit. And one afternoon during the daily thunderstorm at about 2pm, we sought shelter at our favorite bar. Thanks to our bartender Jason we were very happy indeed! Ghosts and all! So here is the tini martini that Linda had. I am using measurements that will make a 6 ounce martini. As always feel free to add more depending on your glass size!

INGREDIENTS:

3 ounces orange vodka

3 ounces raspberry vodka

Splash of Chambord

Splash of Cranberry Juice

DIRECTIONS:

Place ingredients in cocktail shaker filled half with ice and shake, shake, shake!! Strain and pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with an orange slice! Nice!

Makes 1 martini

Happy Hour in Hobe Sound

It’s Friday so that means it’s the weekend! Woo Hoo! Okay, yes, even without a job I still look forward to the weekends! And that means happy hour begins when John gets home! I will be posting today’s cocktail shortly but want to know what is everyone’s favorite cocktail, drink, wine, etc. If you have more than one, awesome! Let me know! If it’s a cocktail I will post a recipe of your fave in an upcoming entry. Just comment at the bottom of this blog and I’ll take it from there! Get writing! Or should I say drinking? It is after all, “Five O’Clock Somewhere!”

Piña Colada Cupcakes

One of my favorite drinks is the Piña Colada. And not one made from a mix either, made from scratch. The flavors are so much better. But like all things we LOVE to eat or drink, most likely it’s loaded with calories and fat. One way to get that coconut/pineapple fix is with cupcakes! Using lower fat items we can still get that piña colada taste with fewer calories. Granted, it is not the same as the real thing but it’ll do in a pinch! On average an 8 ounce piña colada has about 350 calories and over 10 grams of fat! One of these cupcakes has about 120 calories and about 2 grams of fat! You do the math! The cupcakes are sweet and I can’t wait to make them again!

(Photo for illustrative purposes only)

INGREDIENTS:

For Cupcakes:

2 cups moist-style yellow cake mix (½ of an 18.25 ounce box)

12 ounces crushed pineapple in juice (not drained)

½ teaspoon coconut extract

For Frosting:

4 ounces crushed pineapple in juice (drained)

1 sugar-free vanilla pudding snack

1½ tablespoons fat-free or light cream cheese, room temperature

1/8 teaspoon coconut extract

1 packet Splenda (sucralose)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all frosting ingredients and mix till well blended. Refrigerate until cupcakes are ready to be frosted.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix with pineapple. Add the coconut extract and mix until thoroughly blended.

4. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups. Pour cake mixture evenly into cups.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean.

6. Allow cupcakes to cool completely and frost. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 12 servings.

Sour Cream & Onion Tilapia

I made this dish for the first time last night and it was incredibly delicious! Quick, easy and healthy. Usually when I make tilapia I fry it with panko bread crumbs but I had just cleaned the stove and didn’t want the mess of oil all over it again! So I looked around online for tilapia recipes that were baked. I found quite a bit but none of them had everything I wanted so I took a little bit from a few of them and came up with this recipe. There were no leftovers and there was a request to make it again! Always a good thing! It is a light and refreshing twist on a baked fish dish. And did I mention it was really easy and quick? I wish I had leftovers for lunch! Cleanup was also a snap because it was all in one dish. I just served it with some veggies and dinner was served!

Sour Cream & Onion Tilapia

INGREDIENTS:

6-8 tilapia fillets

salt and pepper

½ cup light sour cream

1/3 cup light mayonnaise

2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill (1 tsp dried)

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley (1 tsp dried)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Parmesan Cheese for topping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350º. Grease or spray a 13×9 inch baking dish or baking dish large enough to hold the tilapia in a single layer.

2. Place tilapia in the baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Combine remaining ingredients (except for parmesan cheese) and spread evenly over the fillets. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese evenly over the fillets.

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. When done you can broil for a couple of minutes to brown the cheese on top if you wish.

Serves 3-4

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff (Light Version)

I really love beef stroganoff but with all the fat calories in the sour cream and other rich ingredients I never make it anymore. Till now that is. This recipe uses a slow cooker or crock pot. Most of us have one somewhere in our cabinets so take it out and get ready to make this simple dish. I used to use our crock pot to heat wine for my mulled wine recipe in the fall. No more! Now I use it all the time. I even went out and bought a brand new one! I have an old one from my first bridal shower way back when and it still works but I wanted a more up-to-date model.

Serve this dish with no-yolk noodles or my favorite Shirataki Tofu Noodles keeping it low cal! This recipe calls for fat-free sour cream and 98% fat-free soup, but you can substitute the lightversions for it as well, adding a bit more fat to the recipe but it’s still lower calorie.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ lbs. lean beef stewing meat, trimmed of fat, cut into bite size pieces

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped (use 1 clove if you don’t want too much garlic)

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 pound fresh mushrooms (small white or baby bellas are a good choice), sliced or chopped

10¾ oz. can 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup

1 cup water

1 cup fat-free sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine all ingredients except for the sour cream into the slow cooker. Best size slow cooker for this is 4-quart but any size is ok.

2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

3. Stir in sour cream.

4. Cook on high for a few minutes more to heat the sour cream. Serve!

Makes 6 servings

Per serving (if made as shown above): 240 calories; 7 grams fat, 15 grams carbohydrates, 800mg sodium, 1 gram fiber, 6 grams sugar, 27 grams protein, 75mg cholesterol.

If calculating points the each serving is 5 points, without the noodles.

Caponata (Eggplant Salad)

Eggplant is a very versatile vegetable. There’s more to eggplant than eggplant parmigiana. Caponata is served cold on pita bread triangles or crusty bruschetta. It can be used in antipasto as well, again many uses! One of the best things about this little dish is that it can also be frozen! So if you make too much it won’t go to waste. Caponata is primarily a Sicilian pheasant dish but there are many other regional varieties. This is also a great vegetarian dish and healthy one as well! Bonus!

INGREDIENTS:

1 large eggplant

½-¾ cup olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped red onion

8 ounces tomato sauce

½ cup kalamata or black olives, chopped

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut unpeeled eggplant into small cubes after washing well. In a large skillet, heat ½ cup olive oil over medium high heat and add eggplant.

2. Saute until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the onion, celery, and red pepper. Cook and stir until the vegetables are crisp and tender.

3. Add more oil, if necessary. Stir in tomato sauce, olives, vinegar and salt. Simmer uncovered, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Remove from heat. Cool and refrigerate.

Makes about 4 cups

The Italian Kitchen (Part 3)

Today’s post is all about what should be in an Italian Pantry.  By stocking your kitchen with a few basic ingredients you’ll be ready to prepare most Italian and Tuscan recipes. Our supermarkets are much better at carrying the ingredients than they used to be. But if there’s still something you can’t find, there’s always the “pork store.” You know the place, it always smells so good when you walk by. Basically any Italian specialty store will have anything you need. Remember, using high-quality ingredients at the best price you can get them at is crucial. The better the olive oil, tomatoes and cheese, the better the simple dishes will taste!

This list is just a basic list of what is found in most good Italian kitchens.

Olive Oil: An essential in Italian cooking. Stick with extra-virgin olive oil for most recipes.

Dried Pasta: Use pasta imported from Italy such as Barilla and DeCecco. For the most part any imported pasta products made from semolina flour are good choices. For egg pasta, stay away from the so-called “fresh” pasta sold in refrigerated cases. They aren’t so “fresh” as they would have you believe. Either use homemade or buy the dried noodles packaged in nests.

Tomatoes: When fresh, ripe tomatoes are not available, use good canned tomatoes (unless recipe specifically calls for fresh). Choose whole, peeled tomatoes rather than chopped or crushed. Imported Italian San Marzano tomatoes are the best if you can find them.

Onions and Garlic: Generally, white or yellow onions for cooking and red onions for salads and dishes that do not need cooking because they are milder. Garlic should not be an overwhelming presence.

Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese: Expensive but worth it. Excellent grating cheese as well as a table cheese. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil over it and have it with some crusty Italian bread.

Cheeses: Cheeses are very important for Italian dishes. The basics like Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, mozzarella, ricotta, and provolone are a good choice to have around.

Legumes (beans): Dried cannelini beans, lentils and ceci (Garbanzo/chick peas) are always good to have on hand. Canned beans work just as well especially if you’re in a rush.

Cornmeal: Use a medium textured cornmeal for polenta. Keep it in a tightly closed container and it will last for months. It’s also good for dusting the pan when making pizza.

Rice: Arborio is the most common in making risotto but others are used as well.

Balsamic Vinegar: There are many different balsamic vinegars. Depending on its age, it can be very expensive. You can use the inexpensive  one for salads as long as the quality is good.

Anchovies: (I love these salty little buggers!)It’s good to keep a jar of these in the fridge to add a special zip to certain dishes. You can also find anchovy paste in a tube, which is milder in taste and very convenient to have. (I use the tube)

Dried Porcini Mushrooms: Look for packages that have slices of whole mushrooms. They can be a little expensive but a little goes a long way. Keep it in an airtight container and they’ll keep for a long time. If you rehydrate them, keep the water, strain it and use it to add some flavor and depth to soups, sauces and stews.

Capers: (My husband’s favorite) You can find two kinds of capers. The smaller ones that are pickled in vinegar, and the larger ones that come packed in salt. The larger ones are very flavorful and need rinsing of the salt before using. They are also harder to find. A few chopped capers can add a nice flavor addition to dishes that seem to need just a little something.

Olives: Both black and green varieties are good. If they are packed in brine and imported from Italy, even better. We like the stuffed ones. Stuffed with bleu cheese, anchovies, garlic, peppers…

Herbs and Seasonings: For the most part fresh herbs are preferred in everyday cooking, but this is hard to do and they are generally more expensive and can go bad quickly if not used. So always keep on hand dried herbs and seasonings. Keep dried oregano, rosemary, thyme, and sage. I also always keep garlic powder on hand. Whole black pepper to be ground at the moment of use, sea salt and red pepper flakes are also important to have in your pantry.

Flour: All-purpose flour is good to use for making pasta and pizza dough. Bread flour for cakes and semolina flour for pasta is also very useful.


Baked Stuffed Shrimp (Shrimp Aragonate)

This dish can be used as an appetizer or as a side dish to steak for “surf and turf”. Double the recipe because I am positive these will disappear really fast. (Especially if our friend Andre is around! No shrimp is safe then!) You can use freshly made bread crumbs but most of us don’t have the time to do that these days, so I recommend using Italian flavored Panko breadcrumbs. They crisp up better and have a really great flavor also. This can be served hot or at room temperature.

Baked Stuffed Shrimp

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Italian flavored Panko bread crumbs

1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

About ¼ cup olive oil

1½ pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined (tails left on)

2 large lemons, cut into wedges

salt and freshly ground pepper


DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Oil a large baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in ¼ cup olive oil, or just enough to moisten the crumbs.

3. Arrange the shrimp in the pan in a single layer, curling each shrimp into a circle. Spoon a little of the bread crumb mixture onto each shrimp.

4. Bake until the crumbs are browned and the shrimp are cooked through when cut in the thickest part, about 10 minutes.

Serve hot or at room temperature, with the lemon wedges.

Serves 6

1 2 3 4
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