Tommaso’s Sinful Delights

I can thank my Mother for my sweet tooth.  She always had a fresh baked pie or some sort of homemade confection after dinner.  I still do love a freshly baked pie, a cupcake (from Billy’s Bakery of course) or any Italian pastry, but I always keep my fridge stocked with fresh fruit.  Particularly blueberries, no matter what time of year it is (I’m convinced that they’ll prevent me from aging.) 

Here’s a delicious, healthy dessert that isn’t loaded with sugar and butter and will satisfy your sweet tooth. 

Yogurt with Blueberries, Brown Sugar and Cinnamon

1/2 cup low-fat plain or vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1TBSP brown sugar
dash cinnamon

Top yogurt with blueberries.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Clearly, I’m in a Latin American food mood this week.  I’ve been craving corn cakes for awhile, but couldn’t find one recipe that didn’t call for at least 1/2 stick of butter.  All along, a healthy, low-fat recipe was in one of my Williams-Sonoma cookbooks.  The recipe called for store-bought salsa.  I of course, made my own.  I marinated chicken and grilled it to pair with the corn cakes.

Corn Cakes

5 ears of corn (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 egg
1 egg white
2/3 cup buttermilk
2/3cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2tsp baking powder
1/4tsp baking soda
2TBSP fresh parsley
1/4 c low-fat plain yogurt
Fresh salsa (recipe below)

Cook ears of corn for 5-7 mins.  Allow to cool.  Slice kernals off the ears of corn with a sharp knife. 

In a food processor, combine 1 cup corn, egg, egg white, buttermilk, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Pulse until smooth.  Add remaining 1/2 cup whole kernals and parsley and blend with a spatula. 

Preheat a nonstick frying pan.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Pour about 2TBSP of the batter onto the frying pan and cook for 2 minutes.  Flip and cook for 1 minute more, or until golden brown.  Place onto a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. 

Serve with a dollop of low-fat yogurt (or sour cream) and fresh salsa.

Derived from: Williams-Sonoma Healthy Cooking 

Fresh Salsa

2TBSP olive oil
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalepeno, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in sauce pan.  Add all ingridients and cook for 10-15 minutes.  Allow to cool and serve.

Grilled Lime Chicken

2 limes, juiced
2TBSP olive oil
4 chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste

Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts and place in a casserole dish.  Whisk together olive oil and lime juice in a bowl then pour over chicken.  Place in refrigerator and marinate for at least 30 minutes. 

Preheat grill on high.  Grill chicken breasts 8-9 minutes per side, or until internal temperature reaches 180.

I absolutely hate leftovers, which is why I never have any, except when I have a big party. 

After a BBQ on Saturday, there was a lot of flank steak leftover.  Here’s a simple recipe on what to do with that leftover meat that will never taste the same.  This will only work with leftover red meat that is med-rare, otherwise it will end up dried out and tasteless the 2nd time.

Flank Steak Fajitas

Fajita/Taco Seasoning
3TBSP chili
3TBSP onion powder
2TBSP paprika
1 1/2 TBSP garlic powder
1 1/2TBSP cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper
1tsp salt

Mix spices together.  Keep in an air tight container for future use.

Heat olive oil in fry pan.  Sprinkle 1TBSP seasoning over steak and saute for 3 minutes.

Serve with your favorite fajita toppings:

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 cup shreded lettuce
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2cup cilantro, chopped
Tortilla wraps 
Sour Cream

I eat very clean, which means a lot of white meat.  Like chicken, pork can get very boring.  So, you have to spice it up.  Cooking is similar to interior design; you need to be adventurous!  You shouldn’t be afraid of color, therefore you shouldn’t be afraid to add spices or different flavours.  You’ll never know unless you try.  

 This recipe turns the flavour up a bit with herbs de Provence and the sweetness of the chutney.  Now, you can always make your chutney, but most of us don’t have time for that.  Buy your favorite flavor at a specialty food shop.  (I used apple-cranberry for this recipe.)

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

2TBSP Butter
4TBSP olive oil
2, 1lb pork tenderloins (usually comes in 2)
4TBSP Herbs de Provence
sea salt and pepper to taste
2 large red onions, sliced
1/2c beef stock
1/2c your favorite chutney

Preheat grill on high.  Trim the fat and skin off the tenderloin.  Rub each tenderloin with 2TBSP olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs de Provence.  Grill about 5-8 mins per side.  Continue rotating to be sure the meat doesn’t burn.  During the last ten minutes of cooking, turn the heat down and brush the chutney on the pork (be very careful that it doesn’t burn as it has a high sugar content.)  When pork reaches an internal temperature of 145, remove and tent aluminum foil over it to keep hot.  Let it rest 10 minutes before slicing to reconstitute the juices. 

While you’re grilling the pork,  preheat a large saucepan on med-high heat with 2TBSP butter and olive oil.  Sauté the onions until very soft (about 30 minutes.)  Once the onions are soft and translucent, add beef stock, salt and pepper to taste.  Reduce liquid by half. 

Serve pork, sliced with a spoonful of the sautéed onions.

Most people I speak with are deathly afraid of making risotto.  It’s one of the easiest things you’ll ever make.  I call it a labour of love because it is labor intensive.  Most people are scared of the unknown, so here’s all you need to know: You just have to stand there and stir for 30 minutes, that’s it!  Really, it’s that simple. 

So, if you have a strong arm (or some help in the kitchen) there’s no reason for you not to make this tasty dish.  Now, go enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Basic Risotto with Fresh Basil

2TBSP olive oil
4TBSP butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 1/4c arborio rice
4c chicken stock
1/2c dry white wine
1c grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBSP fresh basil, chopped

Heat chicken stock in a small sauce pan until boiling.  Turn flame to low and keep simmering during cooking process. 

Heat oil and 2 TBSP butter in a large sauce pan on medium-high heat.  Saute onion until soft (about 5 minutes.)  Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes, stirring so it doesn’t brown.  Add rice and saute for 1 minute (it will make a crackling noise.)  Add wine and cook until rice absorbs it, stirring constantly.  Add 1 cup stock to rice and stir until absorbed.  Continue adding stock to rice mixture, 1/2c at a time until you’ve used all 4 cups (about 25-30 minutes.)  Stir constantly throughout the process otherwise the rice will burn. 

Turn off heat.  Add Parmesan cheese and 2 TBSP butter and stir until melted.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve topped with fresh basil.

Ice Cream! 

Since early-April, the sounds of the Mr. Softee truck have been infultrating the house.  Nothing could annoy me more than that jingle.  Furthermore, for those who aren’t lactose intolerant, who wants to eat faux ice cream that comes from a package of dry powder mixed with water?  
 
Everyone knows by now, nothing comes from a box or can in my kitchen (except San Marzano tomatoes from Italy.)  So, I’m going to show you how easy it is to make hommade ice cream.  You’ll need an ice cream maker to start with.  A $50 investment, that will pay for itself in about 10 weeks (that is if you’re an ice cream addict like me.)  Think about it, $5 per quart of premium ice cream every week or so can add up.   
 
Before we get to the recipe, I’ve been making ice cream in my Cuisinart for 1 year now and it was never quite right.  After the mixture is frozen, it results in a hard, ice crystalized substance.  It always tastes great, but was not the creamy consistency like the store-bought product.  I went to the grocery store and read the ingridients on some ice creams and then did some research.  I discovered that guar and xanthan gums are used to prevent crystalization and create that creamy texture.  What are those you ask?  Don’t worry, it’s not a processed food.  Guar gum is a natural fine powdered emulsifier/thickener (8 times more thickening than cornstarch) made from beans. It prevents ice crystals from forming in frozen products and stabilizes oil when mixed with water.  Xanthan gum is a natural food modifier and additive.  It is also used to increase viscosity of a liquid, particularly in frozen foods to create the creamy texture. 
Source: Wikipedia

I decided I was going to play chemistry in the kitchen, so I ordered the powders on Amazon.  After testing the recipe, using the basic one provided in the Cuisinart manual, the end result was perfect!
 
Mr. Softee…do I smell some competition?
 
Basic Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

3c heavy cream
1c whole milk
1tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean, scraped
3/4c sugar
1/4tsp guar gum (optional)
1/4tsp xanthan gum (optional)

Whisk together sugar, guar and xanthan gums.  Add heavy cream, milk and vanilla.  Whisk together to combine.  Add to ice cream maker and mix for 30 minutes, or until thickened.  Freeze for 2 hours or overnight.

Additions:

Strawberry Ice Cream - The last ten minutes, add 1 cup of fresh strawberries or your favorite fruit.

Note: Guar and Xanthan gums are optional.  You can make this recipe without them.
Recipe derived from Cuisinart

 

 

Greek Pasta Salad

1/2 lb of your favorite pasta, cooked and cooled
1/2c cubed feta cheese
1 c pitted kalamata olives
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4c fresh oregano
3TBSP olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1/2tsp dried oregano
1/8tsp salt
1/4tsp pepper

Mix together pasta, feta, olives, tomatoes and fresh oregano in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, prepare dressing by whisking oil, lemon juice, dry oregano, salt and pepper until emulsified.  Pour over pasta mixture. 

Note: Never buy the plain pitted black olives in a can!  Get them at the market, fresh.  Or, I buy a container at the Italian market with the pits intact.  They keep in the fridge for months.  Take them out as you need them and remove the pit with a cherry pitter. Remember once an olive is pitted, it looses it’s flavor.

Grilled Lemon Chicken

4 bonless, skinless chicken breasts
4TBSP olive oil
2 lemons, juiced
2TBSP fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp dried

Salt and pepper each side of the chicken breasts.  Place in a casserole dish.  Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, thyme together in a small bowl.  Pour over chicken and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

Preheat grill on high.  Grill chicken breasts 10-12 minutes per side.

Lets face it, we all love bacon.  Even though its one of the worst foods you can eat, it’s a nice treat to have once in awhile at Sunday brunch.  What I simply can’t stand about it is the odor after its cooked.  It lingers and penetrates every orifice of the house for days.  Gross! 

For those of you who have outdoor barbeque’s, there’s a solution.  Not only will you be rid of that terrible grease smell, but grilling the bacon will infuse a nice smoked flavour. You’ll need a vegetable/fish basket for the grill.  Everyone who grills should have a basket (we’ll get to that in another post.) 

Grilled Bacon

Preheat grill on med-high heat. Spray vegetable basket with Pam for grilling.  Place strips of bacon inside a vegetable basket.  Close basket so the top is close to the the bacon strips.  Grill on each side until desired doneness (about 5 minutes per side.)

After enjoying a relaxing weekend in The Hampton’s, and having an amazing dinner ready in under an hour,  I thought I’d let you in on some of my secrets.  If presented the right way (would Martha approve?) they’ll think you spent hours preparing.  This menu serves 4. 

Crab and Shrimp Cocktail

12oz fresh lump crab meat
20 peeled, deveined and cooked prawns
cocktail sauce
lemon wedges

Spoon lump crab in the center of a salad plate and arrange prawns on the outside.  Spoon cocktail sauce over crab or serve in a ramekin on the side.  Serve with a lemon wedge.

Grilled Steak

4 Prime cuts of beef (Filet Mignon, Porterhouse, Rib-eye, New York Strip)
salt and pepper
olive oil

Let the steak sit out for 15 minutes before grilling.  Prepare grill on high heat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Grill 6 -8 minutes per side for med-rare, rotating 30 degrees halfway into the cooking time for each side (this will create signature crossing grill marks.)  For me, cooking beef beyond med-rare is a mortal sin., but some worry about food poisoning.  Therefore, never cook a steak beyond medium!   Not only will it be tough, dry and tasteless, but consuming charred food is not good for your body (not to mention a waste of money — those prime cuts are not cheap!) 

Take meat off the grill and plate.  Tent aluminum foil over the meat and let it rest for ten minutes. 

*Note:  Never cut into meat immediately (I know how tempting it may be.)  You’ll have a mess from the juices.  By letting it rest, the meat will re-absorb all the juices.

Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary

6 small red potatoes
1 sweet potato
1 TBSP rosemary
2 TBSP olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.  Prepare potatoes by cutting into cubes (leave the skin on.)  Toss in a bowl with rosemary, olive oil and salt.  Roast potatoes on a baking sheet or roasting pan for about 40 minutes or until brown and tender when pricked with a fork.  (Note: convection ovens will take less time.)

Caprese

2 beefsteak tomatoes, sliced
Fresh ball of Mozzarella, sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP olive oil
salt and pepper

Arrange on a platter in this order:  slice of tomato, slice of mozzarella, basil leaves.  Continue to do this until you fill the platter.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Wallah!

*Note for dinnerware:  I always use plain, but elegant looking dishes to present the food.  If you use dinnerware with busy patterns and multiple colors, it takes away from the beauty of the dish you’ve just created.

 

Spaghetti and Meatballs is the ultimate comfort food!  When I make this, the entire house is filled with the wonderful aroma all day long.  This is truly a labor of love. 

 

It’s easier than you think to make homemade red sauce from scratch.  This recipe is easy, but it does take some time to make as it has to simmer for most of the day.  Now that you have been given this recipe below, you have no reason to go waste your money at the supermarket on sub-par pasta sauce in a jar (and some of you Italians out there should be ashamed of yourself for doing this.)  The great thing is when you have time to make it, you can freeze for later use.  Now you really don’t have an excuse not to make it, do you?  

 

Red Sauce

 

4TBSP olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

8 garlic cloves, sliced or minced

1tsp basil

1tsp oregano

1tsp Italian seasoning

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

½c red wine

2 -28oz cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed

1 -28oz can tomato sauce

3TBSP tomato paste

1tsp sugar

2c water

Optional: pepperoncini (read tips below)

 

Adapted from Emeril’s Basic Red Sauce

 

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in 8qt stock pot.  Add onion, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to pot and sauté for 2 minutes.  Then add garlic and cook until softened (about 3-4 minutes longer.)  Deglaze pan with red wine until boiling and reduce (about 2 minutes.)  Add crushed whole-peeled tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar and water.  Add cooked meatballs and sausage.  Simmer for at least 3 hours.

 

Enjoy with your favorite pasta, topped with fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese!

 

Meatballs

 

1.5lb ground beef

½ lb ground pork

1/8 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

¼ freshly grated Romano cheese

¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

¼ c fresh basil, finely chopped

¼ c fresh parsley, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

1cup seasoned bread crumbs or fresh bread crumbs

2 eggs

 

Preheat broiler to high and grease broiling pan.  Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Do not overmix!  Shape mixture into meatballs and broil for 8 minutes, then turn meatballs over and broil another 8 minutes until brown.  

 

Sausage

 

6 sausage links (either sweet or spicy)

 

Sauté sausage links until browned on all sides (about 8 minutes total.)  Do not cook through.  

 

 

Tips:  

 

·     Sugar is a must in a good tomato sauce.  It cuts the acidity of the sauce.

 

·     When working with whole peeled tomatoes, I only use San Marzano from Italy.  They are the sweetest and will make the best sauce.  When breaking them up to crush, place in a bowl and squeeze them with your hands to crush.  Use the water the recipe calls for to clean out any tomato residue from the cans (we don’t want to waste all that goodness!)

 

·     When cooking with wine, always use something you’d drink.  Use the rest of the bottle as you cook or with your dinner if you wish.  

 

·     Garlic can be adjusted depending on your liking.

 

·     To spice it up, toss a few pepperoncini in the sauce.  Leave out if you don’t want the heat.

 

·     Grana Padano is a fantasic, less expensive substitute for Parmesean Reggiano.  (We’ll get to these pantry must-haves in another post.)

 

·     It’s imperative that you use fresh herbs for the meatballs.  It makes a world of a difference.

 

·     Basic red sauce recipe works great if you’re a vegetarian, making lasagna or need it for other recipes that calls for a basic sauce, just omit the meat.  This will freeze well for later use.