VALENTINE'S DAY BROUGHT A WEEKEND OF GOOD EATING

I made Barb and me a seafood feast Friday night.

Shrimp sautéed in butter, garlic and parsley, lobster tails broiled, asparagus, mushrooms cooked in olive oil with garlic, rapini, baked potato with sour cream and of course some fresh Italian bread. Barb topped her meal off with a glass of her favourite white wine.

Goodies for the family. Nut free cookies from Longos, Smarties and some heart chocolates. A little purple teddy bear for the youngest granddaughter.
A get together at a daughter's house with all the family.
Gnocchi with a meat sauce, salad, chicken and stuffed red peppers.

Since sweets are the reason for the day.

A big cookie with a heart.
And the romantic in me did buy my wife roses for the day.

Maybe it is a created Hallmark Day but a much needed break to the winter months.

GRANPA-IL NONNO COOKS FOR JANUARY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

With my wife Barb's and son-in-law Domi's birthdays January 22, my daughter Natasha always has a family get together to celebrate. So last Saturday January 18, this cook offered to make most of the meal to help with the preparations. Keeping the mess at my house!! Making chicken legs and breasts sprinked with rosemary-rosmarino, hot and sweet sausage as well as a hearty ground beef red sauce-sugo to fulfill the protein requirements the aroma in the kitchen was great for the senses.

The sauce was added to the tortellini with cheese-formaggio, as the pasta dish for all. Everyone in our family group love vegetables so I made broccoli, mushrooms-funghi, rapini, peas-piselli and roasted potatoes-patate.

Natasha made a large bowl of Greek salad along with boccincini and olives on the table as appetizers. Lots of healthy eating.

Of course no birthday celebration would be complete without a cake or two accompanied by a large platter of fruit!

Happy Birthday Barb and Domi! Buon Compleanno! Now to have another event so this cook can show off his culinary skills!

MY EGG ROUND ROAST

The other night I wanted to use the round roast I had in the freezer. I decided to make it the way my mother would make it.
Boil an egg, peel it, wash it off then put it in the middle of the roast. Cook the roast either in the oven or on the stove in a covered pan.

Slice it so there is a piece of egg in each slice.

Add some gravy and side dishes of your choice. I used some leftover sauce making a few noodles.  Rapini with olive oil and garlic, and sliced anise with red vinegar made the additional side dishes. Salt and pepper to taste. Not bad for a week night meal!
#eggroast#mama'sspeciality#weeknightfood#roastwithanegg#rapini#anise

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

I had some canned tomatoes left over from my meal with mussels and tomatoes on Friday night. So I decided to make chicken cacciatore on Saturday night to use up the tomatoes. Cacciare means to hunt and cacciatore means hunter. So in English does this dish mean the chicken of the hunter? Well I did not hunt my chicken but bought it at the grocery store.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken Thighs. ( or you can use any part of the chicken you want like breast, leg etc.)
Can of whole tomatoes.
Olive Oil.
Garlic- a couple of buds chopped. Parsley- some sprigs or dried-a tablespoon.
Oregano tablespoon or two.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Mushrooms if you have some. Fresh or canned.

DIRECTIONS

Take the chicken and fry it in olive oil with chopped garlic and  a sprig of parsley.

Using canned tomatoes.

Mash the tomatoes adding them to the pan of chicken. You can drain some of the oil off the chicken if you wish to reduce calories and fat. Some people like to keep the oil-your choice!

Add oregano. If you grow it in the Summer, fresh oregano is best.  Salt and pepper to taste. Cook the dish until done. The chicken should be cooked completely. Usually 20-30 minutes.

It looks rather lonely on the plate. You can serve the chicken and tomatoes over a long pasta like spaghetti or linguine. Or with a side dish.

For our Saturday night meal along with the chicken cacciatore, I made rapini salad with farfalle pasta.  Not a meal for a king! But for this peasant it was very tasty. Barb topped it off with some chilled white wine. And yes- some dessert! A bowl of ice cream!  It was Saturday night!

#chickencacciatore#leftovertomatoestoagooduse#sidedishwiththechickencacciatore#garlicoreganoparsley#grapalovestocook#adolphdimambro

RAPINI- MORE THAN ONE WAY

One of my favourite vegetables is Rapini. It is like an Italian Broccoli.

Since being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes a few years back, I have had to increase greatly the amount of vegetables in my diet as well as considerably lowering the intake of Carbs. Thus one of my favourites. I make Rapini since I can prepare it several different ways and therefore eat it a couple of times a week.

When selecting a bunch of rapini at the market choose a bunch which does not have any yellow flowers or leaves on it as this indicates the vegetable is not fresh and is past its prime. Therefore it reflect the taste.

I-RAPINI SALAD

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch rapini

1 garlic bud chopped

3-4 tablespoons( 45-60 ML) EVOO- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 teaspoon( 5ML ) salt

DIRECTIONS

Cut off approximately 1 inch(3mm) of the rapini stems.

Cull any old looking leaves and soak the long pieces of rapini in water in the sink for an hour or more until the rapini becomes very crisp.

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil.

Add the rapini and cook for 10-15 minutes to your preferred texture.

Drain and rinse in cold water to cool and stop the cooking process.

Drain well and place in a serving bowl.

Add chopped garlic, olive oil, salt and stir well.

Ready to serve.

II- RAPINI STRACINATI

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2-4

1 bunch rapini

2  garlic buds diced

4 tablespoons( 60 ml) EVOO- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 teaspoons( 2.5 ml ) pepperoncini (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Prepare, boil and drain as in I.

Heat olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat.

Add garlic and peperoni's and saute 5 minutes until garlic starts to turn brown.

Add the rapini- sprinkle with salt and mix well with remaining ingredients.

Simmer for a minute or two then it's ready to serve.

III RAPINI-ADOLPH STYLE

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch of rapini.

1 garlic bud chopped

3-4 tablespoons ( 45-60 ml) EVOO- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 teaspoon ( 5ml) salt

1/2 teaspoon ( 2.5ml)pauperising (optional)

2 cups (  500 ml) of water

DIRECTIONS

Prepare the rapini as in I.

In a saucepan put the olive oil and chopped garlic.

Saute for a minute until garlic is brown.

Add the raw rapini to the oil.

Add the two cups of water to the saucepan and salt to taste.

Cover the pot and let cook until tender. It cooks and steams the rapini.

I like the strong taste of the vegetable as well as it saves much needed nutrients as the water and rapini cook together.

When cooked the rapini is ready to be served.

RAPINI PASTA

Buy, prepare and cook the rapini as Adolph's style.

Cut the rapini into pieces when cooked.

Boil a favourite pasta of choice but I like rotini( rolled ) or the farfalla ( butterfly) pasta for this dish. Use as much as needed for the number of people you are serving. ( 1 cup-250 ml per person )

After cooking, drain then add the rapini to the pasta.

Serve individual plates. Top with Parmesan cheese and with hot pepper flakes to taste.

Makes a good quick veggie pasta.

As you can see, rapini can be one of your vegetables at any lunch or dinner throughout the week.
#rapini3ways#rapinipasta#farfallapasta#rapinistracinata#rapiniforhealth#greenvegetablesarebest#rapinithatversatilevegetable