The weather hasn’t quite turned cooler yet, but I am already starting to shift into more comfort food type cooking. Every Sunday is pasta night in my house, so this past Sunday, I decided to make something a bit more special than my usual Spaghetti and Meatballs. This recipe for Sicilian Braciole is very loosely based on the Braciole my mother-in-law makes.
I’ve made Braciole in the past, but the addition of pine nuts and raisins is what makes this recipe specifically Sicilian Braciole. The pine nuts become nice and soft in the sauce, and the raisins appear to almost melt away, adding just a touch of sweetness to balance the dish.
This recipe takes a good 5 hours to make, so plan accordingly!
Ingredients:
Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup dry red or white wine
4 (12.5 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste
Sicilian Braciole:
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup dry red or white wine
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup olive oil; divided
1 medium onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 pounds braciole meat (at my butcher, they were referred to as beef roll ups)
My CSA share has been full of tomatoes lately. And as much as I love tomatoes, I’m even having trouble getting through them all! Sounds like a perfect excuse to make some Tomato Jam!
If you’ve never tasted tomato jam before, it is quite the tasty little condiment! It works so nicely with grilled meats; I love it slathered on a burger instead of using ketchup.
This Tomato Jam recipe, adapted from a Mark Bittman recipe, has a wonderful spice profile and a nice amount of citrus to deliver a not-too-sweet, flavorful condiment.
Ingredients: (makes about 1 cup; multiply as desired)
1½ pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
This recipe for Rosemary White Beans with Onions and Tomatoes has quickly become a staple in my house this winter.
It is quick to prepare, I tend to have most of these ingredients already on hand, and it is so darn comforting! It is also a one pot meal so there are less dishes to clean up when you’re done cooking and enjoying your meal!
Well. It became fall weather basically overnight, which means it is time for more slow cooker recipes! This recipe for Slow Cooker Short Ribs is melt-in-your-mouth tender and is basically the most comforting meal ever made when served over mashed potatoes.
This recipe is adapted from Delish and will definitely serve a crowd or can be made ahead of time and frozen.
Ingredients:
5 lbs bone-in beef short ribs, sliced crosswise
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos to make gluten free)
Warmer weather is nearly here, and we can all use more recipes that won’t heat up the whole house. This recipe for Herb Rice with Peas Prosciutto and Ricotta is largely a no-cook recipe – you only have to make the rice!
Ideally, you can use day old rice so there is no stove use at all, but I personally have a hard time thinking a day ahead for a meal, so I wrote the recipe below to be made all in the same day. Feel free to make the rice the night before, refrigerate, and assemble everything the night you plan on having this for dinner for a quick and easy make ahead meal.
My husband absolutely loves Pasta in Vodka Sauce. I don’t make it terribly often, but it is a really simple and delicious dish to make at home, so I figured it was time to share my recipe for Rigatoni Alla Vodka!
“Traditional” vodka sauce includes tomatoes, herbs, and vodka, although every one I’ve ever come across also has a cream element to it as well.
The history of this sauce doesn’t go terribly far back — it was invented in the 70’s either in New York or Italy, depending on who you ask.
This version adds a bit of smokiness from pancetta and some heat from red pepper flakes to the luxurious tomato vodka cream sauce to make a truly wonderful pasta dish!
I think fall cooking might be my favorite kind of cooking. I love comfort food meals that make the whole house smell good! And anything I can put over pasta is guaranteed to be a winning recipe in my house. So this Pressure Cooker Puttanesca Pork Ragu is right up my alley.
I came across a recipe for a puttanesca-style ragu and knew I had to try out my own version! Puttanesca sauces typically have a bunch of brine-y ingredients in them — capers, olives, anchovies — in a tomato sauce that may have a little heat to it as well. I honestly don’t make many puttanesca-inspired dishes because, well, I don’t love olives. But my husband does, so I figured it was worth a try!
This recipe uses a pressure cooker to get that cooking all day flavor in much less time. You’re still looking at a just under 2-hour recipe though, so plan ahead!
Chicken Riggies is a pasta dish native to Utica, NY consisting of chicken, peppers, and rigatoni in a spicy tomato-cream sauce. So why exactly is a Philadelphia-based blog posting a version of Smoked Chicken Riggies?
I had my first taste of this dish while visiting Utica earlier this year and loved how comforting the dish is!
A few months prior, I also had the opportunity to try some dishes from Cry Baby Pasta, an Italian restaurant that recently opened in Queen Village. Since then, I’ve been back for dinner as well, the food it awesome!
Source: Drew Callaghan
The restaurant, owed by restaurateurs Bridget Foy and Paul Rodriguez, offers a casual and warm atmosphere with a menu focusing on Italian fare prepared by husband-and-wife team chefs David Gilberg and Carla Concalves. (Gilberg and Concalves’ previous restaurant Koo Zee Doo was one of my absolute favorite restaurants in Philadelphia!)
Source: Society Hill Farms
The menu’s Italian fare is a mixture of traditional Italian dishes along with influences from Gilberg’s upbringing in Rochester, NY. Favorite items of mine include the meatballs with tomato and smoked ricotta, Bainbridge greens (Gilberg’s twist on Utica greens), the grilled sardine brochette, and, of course, the Rigatoni with vodka sauce, pancetta, smoked chicken and cherry peppers– an elevated version of Chicken Riggies.
Source: Kory Aversa
My version, Smoked Chicken Riggies, is an at-home version of Cry Baby Pasta’s dish. Chicken Riggies (especially when using smoked chicken sausage and pancetta) has a ton of flavor and comes together in no time, perfect for weeknight meals!
Note: I was sent a ZOS wine saver for review. All opinions are mine alone.
Using wine in recipes both adds and enhances flavor. I love cooking with both red and white wine, but I really only drink red wine. Which means I keep a re-corked bottled of white wine in my fridge, which over time, begins to oxidize and change taste (and not for the better!)
So when I was contacted to try ZOS wine saver, I was intrigued. The ZOS wine saver is a solution that eliminates 100% of the oxygen from an opened bottle of wine, which can preserve the bottle for weeks or months. The ZOS wine stopper has an oxygen-absorbing cartridge that allows you to use a small amount of wine and still maintain its flavor for future use.
Source: zos.wine
The ZOS wine saver is made of an oxygen barrier stopper attached to a replaceable cartridge. You just insert the ZOS stopper into an open bottle of wine and the cartridge absorbs all of the oxygen in the bottle. Each cartridge lasts 5 to 15 bottles and is easily replaceable. The ZOS wine saver (paid link) can be purchased on Amazon.
With the weather warming up, I wanted to make a yummy seafood recipe that’s hearty but light. Cioppino is a fish stew originally from San Francisco, utilizing whatever was caught that day at sea. This recipe for Cioppino (Seafood Stew) includes making a broth and then making the actual soup. The broth can be made a couple of days ahead of time. Both parts of the recipe use white wine, so this recipe is the perfect test for the ZOS wine saver.
Ingredients:
Broth:
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
2 8-oz. bottles clam juice
4 sprigs parsley
2 dried bay leaves
salt and pepper, to taste
Soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 lbs mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1 lb clams, scrubbed
¼ cup dry white wine
1 lb sea bass, skin removed and cut into 1” pieces
1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails on
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes (or margarine for dairy free)
For whatever reason, I do not cook with broccoli. In fact, the last recipe I posted on my blog that included broccoli was in 2012!
I don’t exactly love broccoli, but I started feeling bad about my lack of broccoli in my cooking. So. Here’s a simple but delicious pasta recipe that comes together fast enough for busy weeknights!
It probably goes without saying that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love spending time with my family and digging in to awesome food! My aunt and uncle have hosting Thanksgiving for years now, and they always make a point to make more than we could ever eat so we have leftovers.
I could eat Thanksgiving leftovers every day, but sometimes its nice to switch up the presentation a bit.
This recipe for Thanksgiving Leftover Skillet Pizza makes the most of whatever leftovers you have on hand!
Romanesco is an intriguing little veggie. I don’t come across it terribly often, but when I do, I love using it in recipes like this recipe for Pasta with Roasted Romanesco and Capers.
Romanesco is similar to normal broccoli and cauliflower, and can be prepared the same ways. However, the flavor of Romanesco is much more muted. I personally love it roasted and tossed with pasta. The below recipe is heavily inspired by Bon Appetit’s Pasta with Roasted Romanesco and Capers recipe.
I received Romanesco in my latest Hungry Harvest (note: this is a referral link) and couldn’t wait to make this recipe!
Ingredients:
¼ cup sliced almonds
¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil; plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons drained capers, divided
Salt, to taste
1 medium Romanesco, cored, cut into small florets
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more for serving
½ cup dry white wine (or chicken/vegetable broth, if preferred)
Note: I was sent a box of Vidalia onions to make this post for Farro with Vidalia Onion and Asparagus. Opinions are mine alone.
I’m still working through my box of Vidalia onions. No complaints here, they are incredibly versatile! These sweet onions are perfect for low and slow cooking that allow the sugars to caramelize and develop another layer of flavor.
I know it’s difficult to even see the Vidalia onions in the final photos of this Farro with Vidalia Onion and Asparagus, but I promise you, they are the star of this dish — their flavor is in each and every bite, and results in one of the best sides I’ve made in a long time!
This recipe for Farro with Vidalia Onion and Asparagus from Trisha Yearwood is definitely a keeper. Plus, it comes together pretty easily!
Note: I was sent a bottle of Chabé® Sambal Chili. All opinions are mine alone.
We are big fans of spicy foods in my house. So whenever I am given the opportunity to try a new hot sauce or paste, I always jump at the chance.
Since the moment this little bottle of Chabé® Sambal Chili entered my home, my husband has basically put it on everything. Sambal is a hot sauce or paste made with chili peppers found in Southeast Asian cooking. Chabé® Sambal Chili’s secret formula uses fresh chilies, garlic and a unique artisan technique that adds an explosion of heat and flavor to just about anything you add it to. It’s fairly thick and is incredibly flavorful, so a little bit goes a long way. What I really like about this sambal is that it has a balanced heat — you get the hit of spiciness up front, but it has a hint of sweetness toward the end.
The story of Chabé® Sambal Chili begins in the late 1900’s in the lush islands of Indonesia. The founder’s late grandfather developed one of the earliest recipes for sweet soy, a flavorful base ingredient that was once only available to the locals & chefs in Southeast Asia. Passionate about introducing more sauces that boast indigenous ingredients of Java and share a rich culture with the world, the founder launched a 50-year-old family recipe of Chabé® Sambal Chili. A flavor-rich, savory & sweet blend of fiery Cayenne and Bird’s Eye chili peppers, harvested from the tropical, mountain-side farms of Indonesia, combines with fresh garlic and tropical spices.
source: https://www.chabechili.com
This Spicy Cucumber Salad really shows off the flavors of Chabé® Sambal Chili, and would be awesome as a side at a barbecue. It’s also great as a snack!
Ingredients (makes 4 servings, multiply as needed):
8 mini seedless cucumbers
1/2 cup chopped scallions, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
To make, cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and then chop crosswise into bite-sized pieces.
Add to a medium-sized mixing bowl along with the scallions, cilantro, and chopped peanuts. Toss to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix together the Sambal Chili, toasted sesame oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and garlic cloves.
Pour the mixture over the cucumber mixture, tossing to combine.
Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Add to a serving bowl and top with more chopped scallions, cilantro and peanuts. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes on top, and serve.
I really love spicy cucumbers. The crunch of the cucumbers with the spicy dressing is just so satisfying!
The Sambal Chili is the start of this dish. It complements the freshness of the cucumbers nicely. The peanuts add another layer of crunch and flavor as well.
You can make this ahead of time, just keep in mind the longer it sits the more time the sauce has to soak into the cucumbers.
This Sambal Chili clearly has a permanent home in my fridge. You can pick up your own bottle on the Chabé® Sambal Chili website.
But I’m sick of waiting for spring to arrive to make delicious spring food!
So this recipe for Spinach Lemon Ricotta Pasta has spring ingredients that are still comforting in chilly weather – spinach with a lemony ricotta sauce over fettuccine.
