Tag: recipes

homemade pesto tortellini with jerk chicken breast and fried red peppers

Homemade Pesto Tortellini with Jerk Chicken Breast and Fried Red Peppers
Prep/Cook Time: 1 Hour
Difficulty: Medium-Easy
Homemade Pesto Sauce
Garlic
Juice from 1 lemon
Fresh basil
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese
Ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes
Directions: Combine all in food processor, drizzling in olive oil until desired consistency is reached.
Tortellini
Frozen Tortellini
Cherry Tomatoes
Directions: I buy the pasta frozen… follow directions on the packaging. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and set aside until plating.
Jerk Chicken Breast
Thin-cut chicken breast(s)
Cajun/jerk seasoning (Emeril’s Essence works great – make it or buy it)
Directions: Rub the spice on the chicken and press it in good. Use the excess spice. Grill on med-high heat. Alternatively, fry them on high heat in a pan on the stove in a little bit of olive oil. I used the same oil I used for frying the peppers…
Fried Red Peppers
Red Bell Pepper(s)
Directions: Slice peppers about 1/4″ thick and 2″ long. Fry in olive oil and a touch of salt until skin is black and peppers are relatively soft.
Mix the pesto with the drained tortellini in a big bowl/pan. Slice the chicken almost all the way through so it still stays together a bit. Plate as shown in picture with cherry tomatoes, leaf of fresh basil, fresh ground black pepper, and grated parmesan cheese as garnishes. Serve with lots more parmesan cheese.
Drink: Glass of red wine, ice cold Amstel Light, or glass of cold 2% milk. Holla.

three great flavors

I admit that I am seriously addicted to spices and condiments. It’s not that most food is bland to me, but I love the inclusion of and mixture of many flavors. Spices and sauces and condiments, to me, are the window to infinitesimal permutations of flavors that will never leave the palate bored.

That being said, I want to hit on three great raw spices/herbs. What makes a great spice? A great spice can either be very versatile, or so infrequent in use that when that time comes around to use it, you find yourself in a daze. A great spice is one that you can long for by just thinking of it. A great spice is one that you can associate with events, pictures, places, or feelings.
#1) Basil – The “king of herbs”. Literally, the word basil comes from the Greek “basileus” which means “king”. Although there are several varieties of basil (lemon, thai, etc) I tend to stick with sweet basil in my cooking. The scent is strong yet it does not overpower a dish (unless you want it to). Love me some pesto. Love me a caprese salad. Reminds me of walking through my grandfather’s front door to the kitchen where he always has a big italian feast ready. Great color and shape, and goes well with many dishes. And because bay leaves make me very mad, I’m glad I can eat a whole leaf of basil and be happy.

#2) Cumin – It’s biblical so it has that going for it (Isaiah 28:25). Such a distinct smell. Love it on chicken, love it in chili, love it with hot sauce, great in/on burgers, and unique in salads. Good sprinkled on grilled corn on the cob too. Reminds me of summer cookouts making our own fajitas on the back deck. A good spice to take out of the depths of your cupboard and place near the stove. You’ll find more opportunities to try it out in soups, salads, sandwiches, and other dishes. I’ve probably opened it up just to take a whiff more than any other spice.
#3) Saffron – Although not very well known and very expensive to buy, saffron is purely awesome. It takes a football field of flowers (50,000 – 75,000 flowers) to produce one pound of saffron. One pound of saffron costs at least $1000 (compare to $10-20 for dried basil). It reminds me of New Year’s Day where my grandfather makes huge pans of spanish rice (paella) for the family. I remember when my father bought a few ounces for my grandfather for Christmas and had the tin of saffron sitting in his trunk. Within 30 minutes, we could smell that great aroma in the car in the dead cold of winter. Pretty powerful stuff. Flavor is unreal in any rice dish and great with some seafood dishes as well.

Note: I know there are lots of cilantro haters out there but for me it gets a close honorable mention. Let this be my official declaration of awesomeness to cilantro, for its unique and lovely flavor.

These days, easy access to food should be considered a privilege. For that reason, it’s certainly a privilege to have easy access to a variety of foods with a wide variety of spice and herb options to boom up a nice dish. Thanks, Earth, for making nice flavors and letting me love them when I want and as much as I want.

pop’s baked ziti

Below are the instructions from my dad on how to make a huge pan of baked ziti. I’ve made baked ziti for the past few years for St. Calzone’s Day and it has been pretty tasty. But like many dishes my father has taught me to make, it’s one of those that gets infinitely close to tasting like his, but never gets there. He’ll say the same thing about his father’s (my Nono’s) dishes too.
As a note, this picture has three of my all-time favorite things: Baked ziti, beef cutlets, and sausage and pork. Apparently my Nono made some spider potatoes too which nobody can beat.

“I bought at Walmart what was called something like a huge disposable “Hefty brand professional catering pan”. It was $2.98. If you can’t find that, then from having checked the sizes and volumes of the pans that were available at Walmart, a large, deep turkey roasting pan is almost the same size (3/4 – 7/8 the size of the catering pan). I used 3.5 lbs of ziti, but I suggest you use 3 lbs. and it would be just right. I didn’t use Barilla and the Anna brand I used was fine, but Barilla just holds up better in the long run and suggest using Barilla. To mix in with the cooked pasta you will need the equivalent of 5 jars of sauce, then have another 1/2 jar reserved to spread on the top of all it before baking to make it look good (plus some grated cheese sprinkled on top), and then the remaining half jar plus a sixth jar to have heated and in a pan or bowl on the side for optional use when served.

I used Francesco Rinaldi Original jar sauce (was .99 a jar at Price Rite), but their Marinara is great too. You just need to add more grated cheese (mixed in after it’s all in the big tray pan) if using the Marina because original has grated cheese in it already and Marinara doesn’t. FR brand is great because they don’t use high fructose corn syrup in it. More on the sauce in a bit.

I also used 4 lbs. total of whole milk ricotta and almost 2 lbs. of shredded mozarella (used about 1 2/3 lbs. out of a 2 lb. bag). I didn’t put any mozzarella on top after it was all mixed in the pan because that always goes to waste by sticking to the foil after baking.

In preparation, the day before I baked 4 lbs. of hot italian sausage and used 3 lbs. low fat ground beef to make and bake meatballs. I sliced up the sausages lengthwise and then across. I used a potato masher to crush up/break up all the meatballs after they cooled and after removing the grease from the pan..

I then ate 2 sausages and 2 meatballs for a late lunch on Saturday while they were still hot. Mmm…they were sooo good! Highly recommended.

After the sausage and meatballs are all set, here’s my sequence of events including the very important special sauce process. This time I bought a package in the produce area of already peeled garlic cloves – there were approx. 30 but 20 or 40 would be just fine (a jar of already crushed or minced garlic would also be fine). While a fairly generous amount olive oil was heating in a VERY large pot, I used the mini processor to grind up all the garlic (not necessary if your using jar garlic) and then sauteed in the oil at a med temp making sure not to burn, just soften. Then I added all the cut up sausage and meatballs and sauteed it with the garlic till it was all heated through and sauteed a bit. Then I added the 5 jars of sauce, mixed and stirred a lot and let that heat on low on one of the smaller burners while I got another LARGE pot to cook the pasta ready with hot water from the faucet so that it would boil faster. I salted the water.

Once the sauce and meat was all heated through together, I put a small amount in the bottom of the tray pan and when the pasta was ready and drained I dumped the pasta in the tray pan from the colander (took 3 times to drain it all because my colander isn’t very big). Then I added a bit of olive oil to the pasta and mixed. Then I added all the ricotta, mozzarella and a little grated cheese (grated cheese amount depending on if original or marinara sauce used or how your judgement depending on the sauce you make/use). After all the cheeses and pasta are roughly mixed together, I added all of the sauce/meat mixture and mixed all together well. Once mixed, I spread the 1/2 jar of sauce on the top, sprinkled some grated cheese on top, covered with foil and then baked in pre-heated oven at 325 for approx 1 hour 15 min. Took it out when I was ready to leave for Nono’s house so I’d say it’s OK for it to sit for at least an hour – 1 1/2 hours before serving and it was still very warm.

With these approx. amounts of ingredients it fed close to 20 people on Sunday as the main meal (although I had an additional 1/2 lb. of cooked pasta but if you have a turkey pan instead of the catering pan, then the reduced amount of pasta should make it all just about fit. It’ll be close. If it’s not all fitting, take some of it out at the point you realize it and refrigerate for your use another day). After the feeding frenzy, along with Uncle Mark’s cutlets (were awesome), additional sausage and pork that Nono made and some spider potatoes (the extra meat items were not really necessary because there was a lot in the baked macaroni), there was still somewhere between 1/2 and 1/3 of the pan left over and that was without even having appetizers first). Everyone took some home and I too had enough that I took home for lunch on Monday and dinner Monday night and tonight!”

stomach rumblin, mind a tumblin

I love the feeling of going to the grocery store with not a clue what to get: Stomach rumblin’, mind a tumblin’. Fortunately, most grocery stores are designed in the same way, and I have to give Lord Henry von Supermarket the kudos for smart design.
Most grocery stores will have the produce section first. For someone with no idea what to make for dinner, I think this is ideal. It gives off the nice colors and smells and aura of freshness that get the mind thinking of some good combinations: potatoes and corn, tomato and basil, squash and pepper, onion and garlic, are some traditional ones. But then I usually take that all in and move right to the butcher. Meat is the simplest way to begin designing a dish. I like to think of flavors and meats, marinades and spices. If I’m not in a hurry, I’ll take a gander around the hot food and international food sections to gather up some more flavorful ideas as well. Then back to the butcher.
Last night I wanted something simple, flavorful, and mixable. I’m the type to take a little bit of everything on my plate onto each bite and kick it up with some sauce/condiment/spice before devouring. Here’s what came out:
Center cut boneless pork loin (cut about 3/4 inch thick)
Yellow squash
Sweet potato (California yams)
1. Make a spice rub for the pork. I used cajun blackening spice, fresh ground coarse black pepper, salt, rosemary, thyme, savory spice mix, and a bit more garlic powder. They say not to over-spice your meat? I disagree with that one. The only rules in cooking is to eat or share all that you make and to make sure the kitchen is clean before and after cooking.
2. Rub the spice into the pork, on both sides and edges too.
3. Chunk up the raw yams and boil. You’ll lose some sugars by boiling but you can always add it back in! When potatoes are cooked, drain the hot water, add a big chunk of butter, some brown sugar, and mix. Keep the skin in there, it’s the best part.
4. Chop the squash and cook in a frying pan in butter on med to med-high heat. You’ll get some good brown edges which have the best flavor.
5. Cook the pork. There should be some leftover butter in the pan after removing the squash, but if not, add some butter or a little bit of olive oil and heat it up. Toss the pork in and cook a few minutes on med-high heat. Flip and cook until middle is barely pink / white.
6. Frank’s Red Hot sauce is perfect for this and/or throw some applesauce on your plate too.
I served with a random on-sale cabernet sauvignon called Pepperwood Grove (2006, California). Don’t listen to wine rules, just get what you want. If you don’t want wine, 2% milk hits the spot.
Main advice here is you don’t always have to pre-plan. Try the walk-in approach and let your senses guide you to dinner preparation. Then you won’t be a rumblin’ no more.

a simple recipe that teaches a lot

In conjunction with my post on cooking, here’s a simple yet delicious dish to make. It touches on a lot of basic cooking concepts that serve as a foundation to many meals: marinating, chopping, sautéing, grilling, seasoning, and plating.

“Grilled Center-Cut Pork Loin With Fresh Tomato, Basil, Onion, & Squash Sauté Over Rotini“

First I sautéed one sweet onion with one chopped summer squash, adding lots of garlic when the onions start to brown. I added spices including salt and black pepper, oregano, thyme, cayenne pepper (you can really add whatever you want here to get a taste that satisfies you). 
I then added fresh chopped vine tomatoes. When chopping, I usually remove the majority of innards & seeds as they bring too much acidity to the sauce. I like a thicker, chunkier consistency as the chunked tomatoes will cook down into a nice sauce texture and not make a soup on your plate. 
Then I added fresh chopped basil leaves and re-seasoned to taste. Cook on medium-low until it reaches a desired consistency. Such a great aroma.
Meanwhile, I grilled up butchered-thin, center-cut boneless pork loin that had been marinating for an hour or so (in italian herbs & spices, hot pepper vinegar, oil, spoon of dijon). Grilled on high heat to get some good crispy edges. 
Finally, I plated the tomato/basil/onion/squash over rotini, with the pork on side. I add lots of parmigiano reggiano to top and garnish with ground black pepper and a basil leaf or two on top. Served best with some good old 2% milk or a glass of your favorite red wine.