Minestrone (Bean Soup)
Ingredients:
2 cups dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight and
drained
2 smoked ham hocks
1 stalk celery with leaves, peeled and sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
About 1 cup broken spaghetti
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Salt Pepper
Method:
Fill a large stock pot with water. Add salt and pepper to
taste; soaked beans, and ham hocks. Heat to a boil, then reduce
heat to low. Cover and simmer until the beans are tender
(about 45 minutes). Remove from heat.
Remove the ham hocks and cut the meat from the bone. Chop
into small pieces and reserve. Discard the bones. Smash the
beans with a potato masher. Add vegetables, ham, and spaghetti
to the mashed beans. If soup is too thick, add a little more
water to thin it out. Heat to boiling, reduce the heat. Cover
and cook 15 more minutes.
Add fresh basil and stir until slightly wilted. Add salt
and pepper to taste. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Serve with crusty bread or crackers.
Serves six to tenTo menu
Torta Di Risso
Torta Di Risso
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked aborio rice
6 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method:
Combine garlic, eggs, rice, cheese, salt and pepper in a
medium mixing bowl. Stir until well mixed. Pour extra-virgin
olive oil into a 9-inch pan, about an inch deep. Spoon mixture
into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30 or 40 minutes at
350º F. Let cool and then cut into squares.
Serves six
To menu
Vegetable Soup
Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
1 can (28 oz.)whole tomatoes, with juices
1 can (28 oz.) tomato sauce
1 quart water
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 green bell peppers, sliced
4 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 cup fresh sliced button mushrooms
1 sprig rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. pepper
Chopped walnuts, optional
Method:
In a large stockpot, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add
onions, peppers, carrots, and mushrooms. Cook until tender--
about 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic slices during the last minute
of cooking.
Add the tomatoes, sauce, water, and potatoes. Heat to boiling;
reduce heat. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender--about
24 minutes. Add herbs and seasonings. Garnish with walnuts, if
desired.
Serves eight to ten
To Menu
Salsa Alla Puttanesca
Ingredients:
1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes with their juices
Several tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup pitted, diced oil-cured olives
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1 tablespoon minced basil
1/4 cup flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground tellicherry peppercorns
3 rinsed, chopped anchovy fillets
Cooked spaghetti
Method:
Heat oil in a large saucepan and add garlic and red pepper.
Cook, stirring, until the garlic is soft but not brown, about a
minute. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add
olives and capers. Cook over medium-low heat for 15 to 20
minutes, breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add the
herbs, salt and pepper, and anchovies; cook for five more minutes. Serve over cooked spaghetti.
Serves six
To MenuChicken Cacciatore
Ingredients:
One cut-up fryer chicken
1/2 cup light olive oil
Flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper
1 (28 ounce) can of tomatoes with juices
1 package (8 ounces) sliced button mushrooms
1 can olives, drained
3 cloves sliced garlic
1 onion, chopped
Fresh basil, oregano, and parsley to taste
Cooked spaghetti
Method:
Wash the chicken and pat the pieces dry. Reserve the back,
neck, gizzards, ect (the can be used later in stocks). Mix
together flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste and coat
the chicken pieces with this mixture. Heat the olive oil in a
large saucepan until very hot; add the chicken pieces. Cook
them until they are browned. Put the chicken pieces on a paper
towel-covered dish and then drain all but a tablespoon of oil
out of the pan. Add the mushrooms, onions, and garlic to the pan
and cook over medium heat for about five minutes. Add the
tomatoes, olives, and chicken pieces. Heat to boiling and re-
duce heat. Cover and simmer (on medium low) for about 40 min-
utes, adding more water as needed. Stir in the herbs and cook
a few minutes more. Serve over hot spaghetti.
Serves sixTo MenuVegetarian Sauce
Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
One whole red pepper
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (12 oz.) can chopped tomatoes with their juices
1 tbsp. minced basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Method:
Heat the oil in a suacepan until hot and add the vegetables.
Reduce heat to medium and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 5 or 8 minutes. Add the sauce, tomatoes, pepper, and
vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to to lowest setting and simmer, covered, for about an hour. Add the basil, salt, and
pepper and serve over cooked pasta.
Makes about 2 cups.To menuChickpea Salad
Ingredients:
2 cans (8 oz.) chickpeas, drained
3 small shallots, diced
1 sprig rosemary, leaves removed and chopped
1 small clove garlic, squeezed through a press
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 can black olives, drained
Method:
Place the chickpeas, shallots, and black olives into a mixing
bowl. Combine the remaining ingredients in a screw-top jar and
shake until well mixed. Pour over the salad and toss the ingre-
dients together. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24
hours.
Serves four
To Menu
Fresh Fruit Floating Island
This is not Mrs. Mack's recipe, but is probably very similar.
It comes from an old cookbook: Treasured Recipes from
Seattle, published in 1945 by the Women's University Club
of Seattle, WA. This particular recipe was submitted by a Mrs.
A. Winsor Johnson.
Ingredients:
2 tsp. cornstarch
4 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. almond extract
Few grains nutmeg [a pinch?]
2 cups well-drained pitted cherries or sliced
peaches, plums, pears, or blueberries
Method:
Combine cornstarch, sugar, and salt; add milk gradually.
Cook over hot water [IE: In a double boiler], stirring
constantly until slightly thickened. Beat egg yolks, add hot
milk mixture to egg yolks slowly. Cook over hot water, until
mixture coats spoon. Cool. Add vanilla and almond extracts and
nutmeg. Pour into a shallow serving dish, add one cup fruit.
Chill. Top with meringue crown [recipe follows]. Fill crown
with remaining fruit.
Serves four.
Meringue Crown
Ingredients:
3 egg whites
6 tbsp. sugar
Few grains salt [a dash?]
Method:
Beat egg whites [until] stiff but not dry. Add sugar and
salt gradually beating constantly. Pile meringue in ring on
greased 9-inch pie plate. Set in shallow pan of warm water.
Bake in very moderate [?] oven 325º [for] 20 minutes.
Cool. Slip meringue crown off pie plate with a spatula onto
the custard. Then inside the crown [sic], pile some of the
fresh fruit.
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