COOKING FOR A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

My daughter was having the gang to celebrate her husband and Mom's birthdays. Both on the same day. So the cook made a hearty meat sauce to put on the tortellini. Chicken thighs and legs, hot and mild sausage along with potato chunks sprinkled with rosemary were cooked in the oven. While the food was hot, it was transported to her home. Easy food but good. A salad and appetizers were additions to the event. Barb bought a bottle of prepared Sangria for the ladies present! Of course cake and coffee for the b-day celebrants.

                       Fruit with whipping cream for dipping topped off the evening!

MAPLE WALNUT FUDGE-LOVE THAT MAPLE SYRUP

So we have lots of maple syrup in the house. Barb thought we should make some fudge for a work due she was to attend. It reminded her of her childhood so a recipe was found.

Using real Ontario maple syrup is a must. The recipe called for sugar, maple syrup, corn syrup.

The trick is boiling the mixture long enough while stirring it so it does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Let it cool for one hour. do not touch it or stir it! While cooling, crack some fresh walnuts.

Chop them very fine.

Adding the walnuts to the mixture, blending and stirring it in, Barb saved a few to use later.

It is important for the fudge not to solidify in the pot.

Barb put it on greased tin foil in the pan. She sprinkled some walnut flakes on top. Letting it set before cutting into bite size pieces. Really too sweet for me! Trying to find a substitute for the walnuts is important. She was taking it to her workplace so it was okay. With nut food allergies in the family, she would not make it with walnuts for a family dinner. But fudge is a fun activity. She told me as a child her Mom would make fudge often and everyone would fight over who would scrape the pot! Good for the cook to have someone else make a dish!!

A GOOD WINTER VEGETABLE SOUP

A hearty vegetable soup simmering on the stove is welcome during the cold winter months.Barb loves the aroma in the house. Making a large pot it could be a side dish for several meals as well as Barb can take a container for her lunch.
So what is in my soup- a little of everything. Peas, beans, potatoes, tomatoes-the ones there were frozen from the summer, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, garlic and maybe another item or two.
Healthy, eh?

2015 NEW YEAR'S EVE DINNER WITH SEAFOOD

Although the main seafood meal for Italians is the Christmas Eve Seafood dinner, we finished the year with a New Year's Eve  with a wonderful lobster, scallops wrapped in bacon and shrimp meal.

Barb set a nice table in the dining room for our New Year's Eve feast.
Using up the Christmas napkins was a good idea. Our little white butter pot to dip the lobster was close for us to use.

I boiled some brussel sprouts to finish cooking them in EVOO- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, chopped garlic and some hot peppers. Little button mushrooms were cooked in EVOO with some garlic.

Ready to be cooked.

On a nice platter on the table to be eaten with some white wine. A fresh bun was the carbs portion for the meal. No pasta!

The best part of the meal for the cook is sitting down and eating it. I bought a pecan cheesecake for dessert which was eaten later with an espresso coffee. Barb stayed up to midnight to welcome the New Year. I was asleep beside her in bed. She awoke me for a quick kiss and I went back to sleep. The year started well. A new year! A new chance to cook some old dishes but the cook may just be looking for some new ideas to add to the daily meals. Send me your ideas and I just may try them and add to my blog.

THE STORY OF PORCHETTA

So Barb asked why is porchetta so meaningful to me. Well according to some research and to validate what I thought it is a dish of the Lazio region- the area of my birth! Central Italy near Rome. Now other areas of Italy may make their own version of the dish. Basically the meat from the pork is used. The skin is used as a base. It gets stuffed with layers of the meat and fat. Spices are added like garlic, rosemary, fennel, salt, pepper and perhaps a herb or two depending on the chef! Rolled in the pig skin and tied to keep everything in. The skin becomes crispy after hours of cooking in the oven. The meat is very tender. The one bought for the party that was my previous post is a speciality of Vicentina Fine Foods.  I do not know what herbs and spices they use. It became popular in North America when Italians immigrated here. Pork is a popular dish of Canadians too. Pork roasts and pork chops are cooked by many Canadian families coast to coast as staples. Although Italians will call a pork roast porchetta, it really refers to a special way of cooking the pork not just a regular pork roast in the oven. The modern pulled pork sandwiches sold in sandwich stores  are porchetta. Many Italian-Canadians in Ontario love porchetta. It can be bought in slices for everyday lunches or on meat platters. However, made as a big porchetta for a party it is better.

Don't you think? #vicentina
Vicentina

PORCHETTA FROM VICENTINA'S FINE ITALIAN FOODS VAUGHAN ONTARIO

My daughter and son-in-law hosted a wonderful Family and Friends Christmas party December 13th. For our contribution, a porchetta roast was provided for it.

Vicentina is a wonderful location in Vaughan that serves Fine Italian foods. #vicentina
Vicentina

A porchetta roast- 15 lbs. was bought for the celebration. So what is porchetta? Pork or from the porco-pig, it a " boneless pork, slow-roasted to perfection and seasoned with traditional Italian spices" according to the Vicentina brochure.

So early Sunday morning, the friendly staff provided our roast and our bag of a dozen buns.

Neatly wrapped for easy transport, it stayed warm before it was ready to be served.

Barb bought some mustards- regular french, dijon and a mustard with some herbs to complement it. The skin is crunchy and can be eaten if wanted!

In a bun as a sandwich or just some pulled pork on a plate, it was a delicious addition to the feast.

Granpa loves to cook but also loves to eat! The porchettta was a big hit. Maybe Barb and I will go to the Vicentina lunch room for a quick sandwich sometime on one of our outings.

BUON APPETITO!

PIZZA AND MORE PIZZA ALONG WITH CAKE

My little granddaughter turned 2 on Thursday. So a quick pizza dinner and cake to share in the event at her home with the other grandchildren was fun. Then her birthday party with friends at a playground setting Friday with more pizza, fresh vegetables and dip, fruit and cake. Celebrating was more important than staying on my diet. So today no more pizza and just the veggies and dip. Well maybe- Barb did bring some pizza home from the party!!