A Classic!

This delicious Brooklyn dish is easy to prepare and very satisfying. It is not necessarily a side dish but a meal in and of itself. Makes a great brown bag lunch!

What you need

• 4-6 Italian sausages. Hot or sweet, you decide. If you live near a Costco, they have some of the best Italian sausage anywhere. Johnsonville is also very good. If you live in an Italian neighborhood then you’ll want to go to a local pork store.
• A large frying pan
• Grill
• Olive oil
• 2 Green or red bell peppers
• 1 Medium sweet onion
• 2 Garlic cloves chopped medium fine
• 1/2 Tsp salt
• 1 Tsp black pepper
• 1/2 Tsp oregano
• 1/2 Tsp basil
• 1 Long loaf of Italian bread or crusty French baguette

First

Core and clean the peppers so that there are no seeds and no white rind. Cut them lengthwise into 1/4″ strips.

Second

Cut the ends off the onion and then cut it in half lengthwise and slice so that you have half rings.

Third

Heat the frying pan over medium heat until you can pop a drop of water then add about 1/8″ of olive oil. When you can pop a drop of water in the oil you are ready to fry up the peppers and onions.

Fourth

Saute the garlic on medium heat for about 30 seconds and then add the peppers and onions. Add the salt, black pepper, oregano and basil. Stir everything around often until the peppers and onions are tender. This will take a bit of time.

Fifth

While the peppers and onions are cooking , throw the sausage on the grill and cook them until they are done and have uniform black grill marks all around. Some people like to fry the sausage, I don’t. Frying them is O.K. but it does change the character of the recipe.

Sixth

Take the sausages off the grill and let them cool for a few minutes. Cut them lengthwise and add them to the peppers and onions for about 1 minute. Place the contents of the frying pan into a bowl lined with paper towels to absorb the excess olive oil. You are now ready to serve it up.

This makes a great sandwich and can be served with a side salad and a nice bottle of Chianti.

Enjoy!

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Easy To Make

I have been making this family vinaigrette recipe for decades and sometimes bring a bottle of it to friends’ houses when visiting. I like it so much that I thought I would share the recipe with our readers.

What you need

• A wine bottle or any bottle that will hold about 25oz (750ml)
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup olive oil (not extra virgin)
• 1 cup bottled or filtered water
• 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp oregano flakes
• 1 tsp parsley flakes
• 1 tsp dried basil

First

Get all of your dry and chopped ingredients into the bottle

Second

Using a funnel, pour the water, olive oil and  vinegar into the bottle

Third

Tightly cap or cork the bottle and shake it well. Let the mixture sit for a day so that the flavors can blend.

This will go great with a caprese salad or just a plain old lettuce and tomato salad. You’ll want to have some fresh, crusty bread for mopping.

Enjoy!

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I recently posted a recipe for gravy. This recipe is the companion to the gravy recipe. These are really good!

Meatballs

Ingredients

1lb-Chopped veal

1lb-Chopped beef

1/2lb-Chopped pork

½ tsp-salt

1 tsp-pepper

2 tblsp-Grated Romano cheese

2 tblsp-Pine nuts

Fresh Parsley to taste

2-eggs

2-Cloves of crushed, fresh garlic

½ loaf-stale Italian bread

Olive oil

 First: Soak the stale bread in water and when thoroughly soaked, peel off the crust and squeeze with all your might until all the water is removed.

 Second: With very clean hands, mix the meats and all the other ingredients together until you have a nice, well-mixed mound of meat.

 Third: Heat a large frying pan until it is very hot. When the pan is sufficiently hot pour in the olive oil (about 1/8 of an inch deep). When a drop of water can pop in the oil you are ready to cook.

 Fourth:  Keeping your hands slightly wet with water, form the meatballs. Not completely round but slightly oval so they will cook through. Place them in the hot oil and when they are browned on one side turn them over and brown the other side.

Enjoy!

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This takes some time and a little effort to prepare, but it is well worth it.

What you need

• A nice sized stew pot and cover
• 4 well shaped, symmetrical peppers (green, red, yellow or a combination)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup of Progresso Italian Style breadcrumbs
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1 cup of chopped spinach (frozen works great – thawed and drained)
• 2 cans of chicken broth
• 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1tsp of black pepper
• 2tsp of parsley flakes
• 1tsp basil
• Olive oil

Serves 4

First

Cut the tops off the peppers and core them. Be sure not to leave any seeds or white spines. Rinse thoroughly and set aside.

Second

Finely chop the garlic and combine with eggs, breadcrumbs, spinach, cheese, salt, pepper, parsley, parmesan and basil. Knead into a moist, well mixed mound.

Third

Stuff each pepper to about a 1/4 inch below the top. Insert a sliver of garlic in the center of each pepper and sprinkle some grated parmesan on top.

Fourth

Pour the broth into the stew pot and place the peppers upright in the pot and drizzle some olive oil over each one. Cook 30-40 minutes over medium heat until the peppers are soft but not mushy. The pot must be covered and the peppers basted frequently with the broth. Remove the peppers and let them settle for a few minutes.

This dish is very, very filling and need only be served with a salad, French or Italian bread and a nice Chianti

divertiti!

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I love this dish! It is so very easy to prepare and very satisfying as either an appetizer or entree.

What you need

• A nice sized serving platter
• 1lb of fresh mozzarella
• 3 Large , ripe, firm tomatoes
•  A fistful of fresh basil(enough for about 12 good sized leaves)
• 24 black, pitted olives
• A small jar of sliced roasted peppers in olive oil
• 12 Artichoke hearts in olive oil
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Salt
• Ground pepper
• Oregano

Serves 4-6

First

Cut the mozzarella into 12 slices about 1/4 inch thick and distribute the slices evenly around the serving platter. Sprinkle with a little salt and ground black pepper.

Second

Cut the ends off of the tomatoes and put them aside. Carefully slice the tomatoes into 4 thick quarters so that you are left with 12 healthy slices.

Third

Place the sliced tomatoes on top of the mozzarella slices and sprinkle with a little salt and some oregano. Place a leaf of fresh basil on top.

Fourth

Chop up the ends that were cut from the tomatoes and use them as a base for the black olives. Place the black olives and chopped tomatoes, roasted peppers and artichoke hearts in the center of the serving platter. Coat the basil, tomatoes and mozzarella with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and you are ready to serve. You’ll need steak knives and forks.

A nice crusty loaf of warm bread and a bottle of wine tops things off.

Enjoy!

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