Italian Sausage-Potato Soup
January 29, 2009
5 lbs of potatoes, peeled, cubed and boiled until tender, drain
1 lb bulk Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1 stick butter
3 to 4 cups of milk
1 tsp dried parsley
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
While boiling the potatoes, brown sausage in large skillet but do not drain. Add onion to the sausage and simmer about 10 minutes. Add butter to drained potatoes. Add sausage to potatoes. Add milk, salt, pepper and parsley. Continue to simmer for 30-40 minutes on low heat. Just before serving add cheese.
Orange Roughy Italian Style
December 19, 2008
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp grated Romano cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powered
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb orange roughy fillets
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a medium baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
In a shallow bowl, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic powder and salt.
Brush both sides of orange roughy fillets with butter and dredge in the bread crumb mixture. Arrange fillets in a single layer in the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with parsley
Bake in preheated oven 10 to 15 min, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
After a meal like this there really isn’t room for a heavy drink. This drink is very light and is a great compliment with fish. It’s called Minty Bubbles. Pour yourself a glass champagne ? full, let the bubbles settle and add a splash of white crème de menthe. Stir quickly and enjoy.
Tasty Tips from Tina - December 2008
December 19, 2008
The holidays are upon us. How do I know that? My neighbor and I made our yearly trip to Delallo’s Italian Marketplace in my hometown of Jeannette, PA. Delallo’s is to Italian food what FAO Schwartz is to toys. The first thing that grabs you when you walk in is the aroma. There is nothing that can trigger a memory more vividly than a smell. Once you wipe the tear from your eye you get past the registers and gaze upon yard after yard of every Italian cheese and meat imaginable. The place is organized chaos. There are at least a 15 people behind the counter slicing, chopping and sampling while chatting with the customers, answering all of their questions about the huge variety they have. If you can tear yourself away from the meat and cheese counter, past the 25 different homemade breads, some of them the size of a small watermelons, you run into the bakery. It’s not your American bakery with chocolate chip and sugar cookies.
This bakery has real Italians making real biscotti, pizzelles and tiramisu. As fabulous as all this is, I was on a mission. I was there for a special fish called baccala. Baccala is a dried cod fish that starts out as hard as a table top and after 3 to 5 days of soaking in cold water reconstitutes to a beautiful white filet. This is the corner stone of my Italian Christmas Eve feast or as Grandma called it, la vigilia [the vigil]. The Italians celebrate this feast with seven fishes. The significance of the number seven has said to be the number of days for Creation, the number of days in the week or the number of Catholic Sacraments. Growing up, the extended family got together at Grandma and Pap’s house. We had baccala of course, smelts which are tiny little fish, anchovies with linguine, fried calamari, another cod fish, clams and tuna. There was a ton of food which was a good thing because there was a ton of people. The house was small and the volume was loud. Sometimes stereotypes have a hint of truth to them. We could have been a scene off of the Sopranos. But what I wouldn’t give to walk into that kitchen and see my mom and Grandmother arguing over how much salt goes into the batter. The years have passed and so have many of the people who gave me a sense of tradition and heritage. I still honor la vigilia on Christmas Eve. For me it’s a bittersweet day. I get melancholy for the people who have passed through my life that I dearly miss but it’s also a day I treasure. My family looks forward to that night. They look forward to the “special food” they only get once a year. More importantly they enjoy the bonding and laughter that is shared with stories of past Christmases. I hope one day they too will celebrate la vigilia with their families and create their own memories.
Tasty Tips from Tina - November 2008
November 18, 2008
Growing up in an Italian family we never had the traditional Thanksgiving extravaganza. We had ham, candied sweet potatoes, cream cheese stuffed celery and stuffed shells and homemade garlic bread. The ham was always served on the same Jewel Tea platter and the celery was served in a small, silver serving dish. The first time Ron had dinner with my family he quietly leaned over and asked where the turkey was. I told him my dad didn’t like turkey so we had ham. Then on Christmas when we had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and lasagna and homemade garlic bread, he leaned over and said, “I thought your dad didn’t like turkey?” Well, he likes it on Christmas. The man still married me. I guess the important thing about holidays is that there is some tradition involved.
My recipe this month isn’t going to be a traditional Thanksgiving Day recipe but one for the day after. After the first leftover turkey sandwich I’m about done with the bird. This is a quick one dish recipe that hits all the food groups.
Cheesy Veggies and Turkey
November 18, 2008
2 packs of frozen California style
vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower and
carrots)
1 block of Velveeta cheese
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers crushed
2-3 cups of diced leftover turkey
1 stick of butter melted
Spray casserole dish or 9 x 13 cake pan with non stick cooking spray
Cook vegetables according to package directions and drain
Cut up cheese in cubes
Mix veggies and turkey in pan. Stir in cubes of cheese. Sprinkle crackers over top and drizzle butter over crackers.
Cook at 350 degrees for about 30-45 min. until cheese is bubbly and crackers are golden brown
This is also a great side dish without the turkey.
My drink recipe is an after-dinner drink. There are two types of after-dinner drinks. One is sweet, like a dessert and the second is a digestif which aids in digestion. This is supposed to help the stomach relax after a big meal.
1 pint lemon sorbet
3/4 litre Italian prosecco [or any sparkling wine]
4 1/2 ounces of vodka [optional]
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tasty Tips from Tina - October 2008
October 13, 2008
Hello Everyone,
Unbelievably, October is here. That means one thing in our house. FOOTBALL!!!! There is nothing better than a chilly Sunday, in front of the TV, watching the Steelers kick someone’s butt!! Yeah, yeah I know I’m in Indian country but you can take the girl outta Pittsburgh but you can’t take Pittsburgh outta the girl!
I can remember when Ron and I first got married. I was going to be a good wife, make snacks and watch Monday night football with my man. Poor guy. I tried to make homemade mozzarella cheese balls and caught them on fire. While putting the grease fire out I burned the pizza bagel bites in the oven and I tried making a cake in the shape of football. By the time I got done, it was a little bigger than a cupcake. Ron walked into a smoke filled apartment, looked at the kitchen and just shook his head. He was such a good sport.
Well this month I am going to share another crock pot recipe from one of our readers. I receive many recipe suggestions which I truly appreciate. Keep them coming!
This recipe comes from an old friend who got it from her mother-in-law, who in turn got it from a lady in Walkersville. It’s called Crock-Pot Pizza. It’s quick and easy and would be great for any football party.
Crock-Pot Pizza
October 13, 2008
9 cup [12 oz] wide egg noodles
1 1/2 lb. ground lean beef [for the hunters out there you could substitute deer meat]
1/2 c. chopped onion
28-32 oz. spaghetti sauce
4 1/2 oz. sliced mushrooms, drained
1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
3 1/2 oz. sliced pepperoni, halved
3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Cook noodles according to pkg directions and drain. Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over med. Heat until meat is no longer pink, then drain. Sir in spaghetti sauce, mushrooms and Italian seasoning. In 5 qt. slow cooker, coated with non-stick cooking spray, spread 1/3 of the meat sauce. Cover with 1/3 of the noodles and pepperoni. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheeses [mix together first, each layer will use 2 cups of cheese]. Repeat layers two more times. Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours or until heated through and cheese is melted.
This month I had a request for a non alcoholic drink. This sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to try it!
Hot Buttered Drink Mix
2 cups Butter, softened
4 cups Light Brown Sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon Pumpkin pie spice, plus 2 teaspoons
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1. Cream butter in large mixing bowl; gradually add sugar and spices, and beat until smooth at high speed. Stir in vanilla. Store in airtight containers for 1 month in refrigerator or 3 mos. In freezer.
Now you can add 1 cup of boiling apple cider or juice and 1 tblsp Hot buttered Mix. Garnish with a slice of orange and a dash of nutmeg.
Or, add the mix to 1/2 cup of hot milk and 1/2 cup strong coffee and top with Whipped cream.
Harvest Cider
September 10, 2008
1 1/2 oz Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum
1 cup hot apple cider
Combine in a warm mug. It smells wonderful.
Or…
Instead of Captain Morgan’s Spice Rum use Peach Schnapps and add a cinnamon stick as a garnish and call it a “Peach Cobbler”.
Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes
September 10, 2008
Ingredients:
1 boneless pork loin roast, about 3 - 4 pounds
2-3 large sweet potatoes
1 green bell pepper
? cup apple cider
3 tbsp Brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Put pork in slow cooker. Cut sweet potatoes and green peppers in large pieces and add them. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over all; cook all day on low or about 4 hours on high. Serve with rice. You can also use a cornstarch and water mixture to thicken the sauce if you would like.
Serves 4 to 6.
Since you had to buy a whole bottle of apple cider you might as well not let the leftovers go to waste so here is a hot drink to take away the first chills of fall.
Tasty Tips from Tina - September 2008
September 10, 2008
Thank you again for all the wonderful comments, emails and suggestions. I get so excited when someone lets me know that they have tried the recipes and have enjoyed them. I think my family will be happy when the zucchini crops finally dry up. It seems like everything I cook has zucchini or squash in it.
The kids are getting ready to go back to school and in our house that means the kids are going to turn my husband and me into a taxi service. Mom, take me to the football game..Dad, pick me up from practice..well you get the picture. But I have to admit I absolutely love it even though it makes planning dinners a challenge. With both of us working by the time Friday gets here I don’t even want to think about cooking dinner. I remember one Friday night I was at the stove cooking and there was a knock at my door. I yelled for them to come in. It was the Rocky’s delivery girl holding a pizza. I said hi, she said hi and she looks at me kind of funny. “Mrs. Terpko, what are you doing?” she asked. “I’m cooking,” I said. Then I asked her what she was doing. She told me they had a pizza without a name on it and since it was Friday night they just assumed it was mine. Ok, so I’m not going to get voted “Mother of the Year”. But it was a wake up call that maybe it was time to pull out the crock pot and learn how to use it.
I want to thank one of our readers who suggested a crock pot recipe. Great idea! So our recipe this month is going to be Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes and Harvest Cider.
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