Sweet Potato and Celeriac MashUp

I had a small dinner party last week and had some sweet potatoes and half a large celery root (celeriac) left over. When I opened the fridge, I knew what I had to do: invent something yummy with these vegetables! I have to tell you that what's on the cutting board isn't all of what's in this recipe. I made it up as I went along, tasting and adjusting. I'll explain, but here's the dish.

ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



Three sweet potatoes cut in chunks, half of a medium-sized celeriac cut in chunks, crushed hazelnuts, Italian parsley, butter, garlic, salt, pepper, butter. Not shown are tarragon, rosemary and balsamic vinegar.

STEP ONE:



STEP ONE:

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a slow simmer. Place a steamer in the pot and add the potatoes and celeriac. Steam for about 12 minutes until a knife can easily pierce through.

STEP TWO:






Okay, here's where things get tricky: place 1/3 of the vegetables in a bowl, add a T. of good butter, 1/2 tsp WHITE pepper (a black pepper mill is on the cutting board), 1/4 tsp of sea salt (or to taste), 1/4 tsp of minced garlic. Mash and enjoy!  BUT....

STEP THREE:



I had some tarragon and rosemary that needed to be used, so I divided the rest of the potatoes into two bowls. In one I mashed the vegetables as before with the original ingredients but added tarragon, and in the other the same but with rosemary and a little balsamic vinegar.  My husband served as my taster. His taste buds told him that the one with tarragon was the best with the rosemary and balsamic a close second. Me? I liked the original recipe the most. (in the middle of this photo). It just had a real comfy food quality that appealed to me. I don't necessarily like sweet potatoes but was moved to make sweet potato and celeriac fries to go with the rockfish I had cooked for the dinner party. The mashed celeriac cut the sweetness of the  potato just enough to allow the earthy root flavor of the celery root to shine through. With the butter, salt and pepper and a touch of minced garlic, it was enough for me! All are good though, and is a matter of taste. This recipe calls for lots of experimentation! And I never used the hazelnuts until I decided to...

STEP FOUR:





I ended up just mashing all three flavors together mixing in the hazelnuts (about 1/4 cup) that I pulverized in my NutriBullet. Place in a bowl and garnish with parsley.  It was very good. I served it with sautéd shrimp and mushrooms and a green salad.

I love to experiment when faced with stuff in the fridge that needs to be cooked. You never know what you'll come up with. I encourage you to fool around in your kitchen too as you use up what you have on hand.

ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!

Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Crushed Hazelnuts

Greetings!

Figuring out what to make for dinner was easy because all I had were some vegetables and chicken cutlets in the fridge and a fair portion of fresh herbs. The evening before, I had hosted a small dinner party and had the herbs and some crushed hazelnuts left over, so I set them out as well. I thought breading the cutlets using the hazelnuts was an interesting idea so decided to try it. Here's the recipe:

ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



Chicken cutlets, half a lemon, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, garlic, crushed hazelnuts (about a third of a cup), plain bread crumbs, organic whole milk, hot paprika, chili powder, kosher salt.

STEP ONE:

Whisk one egg into 3/4 cup of milk in a medium bowl. Mix 1/2 tsp. hot paprika, 1 tsp. chili powder, about six springs of thyme leaves, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. garlic powder* into 1 cup of plain bread crumbs and the crushed hazelnuts.



STEP TWO:



Immerse the chicken in the egg mixture and then dredge in the bread crumbs. Set aside until you prepare all the cutlets.

STEP THREE:




Heat 3T. of olive oil in a pan (I love my cast iron pan!).
When the oil is very hot, place as many cutlets as can fit without touching into the pan. They should immediately sizzle when they touch the oil.



Shallow fry the cutlets for 3 minutes on each side. They should be golden brown. Drain on paper towels and keep in a warm oven while you fry the rest.

STEP FOUR:



STEP FOUR:

Arrange on a plate, garnish with lemon slices and parsley and serve (I served with roasted brussels sprouts and an avocado and tomato salad).

* I decided to use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.

ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!

That Cabbage's Been Sitting Around Too Long

Greetings!

After searching around my fridge, I saw that cabbage, the one that had been sitting there for about two weeks. I just never got around to cooking it. But I was down to very little in the fridge, and this is what energizes me to create something delicious with what I've got at the end before I stock up at the market.

There were some very thinly sliced pork chops left from a package I bought four days ago. I had some sundried tomatoes and asparagus in the fridge along with what was left of a package of fresh tagliatelle pasta. I had plenty of onions and garlic on hand and grabbed some basil from the garden.

Here's the recipe.

ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



Thinly sliced pork chops, cabbage, asparagus, onion, garlic, fresh basil, tagliatelle, sundried tomatoes, fish sauce

STEP ONE:



Heat a T. of oil (I used grapeseed) in a large skillet or wok. Add 1/2 of a large onion, sliced, and cook
until soft and slightly browned. Add 3 cloves chopped garlic. Stir fry for a minute until garlic is fragrant.  Fill a large pot with water for the pasta.

STEP TWO:



Chop a small head of cabbage in long strips and add to skillet with 3 sliced sundries tomatoes. Stir fry
for a couple of minutes.

STEP THREE:





ADD 1 T. fish sauce plus an extra squirt and add a generous grind of black pepper. Stir for 30 seconds or so and add the asparagus. Stir for one minute.



Add a generous bunch of fresh basil and stir.

STEP FOUR:



Heat a grill pan or skillet with 1 T. oil and add the pork when the pan is very hot. I decided to spice up the pork a bit, so I quickly added about 1/2  tsp. of cumin and 1/2 tsp. of dried chives. Stir fry the pork for about 5 minutes until it's lightly browned. The pork will cook quickly because it is so thinly sliced.
While pork is cooking, add pasta to boiling water and cook for about 4 minutes or until al dente.

STEP FIVE:





Add the pork to the skillet or wok and incorporate into the vegetable mixture.  Drain pasta and add to wok (sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the pasta!). Stir to mix.  Serve immediately. I made a salad too.

This dish was delicious!  You could easily adapt for a vegetarian entree.

ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!

Greetings from Sicily!

Well, this has been an excellent week in my cooking life. I am posting a blog from the kitchen of Collegio de Maria di Cefalu, a convent in Cefalu Sicily. If you're looking for a unique experience, I recommend going to www.monasterystays.com to book a room in a monastery or convent. There are rooms for rent in many locations around the world. I'd only heard good things about monastery stays so decided to try one myself. Not only was the room affordable and nice and clean with a private bath, but it was right on the edge of the sea. Look at view from our bedroom window!



If you want something different and can live without a TV or wifi in your room, this type of accommodation may be for you.

I wanted to cook something simple with fresh ingredients from the market. I found a stand in the center of town and bought some basil, tomatoes and an onion. Next, I went to a market and bought some pasta and some fresh parmesan reggiano cheese.  That's it! All you need are good ingredients to create something delicious. The convent kitchen was fully stocked with pots, pans, cooking tools, plates, glasses and utensils. I also found olive oil, salt, dried red chilies and a jar of dried chives. This is what I made:



ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



Fresh tomatoes on the vine, fresh basil, small onion, parmesan
region cheese, pasta, dried red chilies, olive oil, dried chives and salt.

STEP ONE:



Heat a T. of olive oil in a pan and chop onion. Add to pan when oil is hot and then add two red chilies. Start the water for the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve about 3 T. of the pasta water when draining after it's cooked.

STEP TWO:





Chop tomatoes in half (these were small roma tomatoes ) and add to the onions and chilies. Add salt to taste. Cook for several minutes until tomatoes soften.

STEP THREE:







Chop a large amount of basil (I used an entire carton) and add to the tomatoes
and onions. Add about a tsp. of dried chives and cook for another couple of minutes.

STEP FOUR:





Grate the cheese and add a very generous portion to the tomatoes. Cook for another couple of minutes.

STEP FIVE:



Add the cooked pasta to the pan and mix. Add the 3 T. of reserved liquid. Pour in another T. or two of olive oil. Mix.

STEP SIX:





Serve and enjoy! My husband Sadegh and I ate on the terrace just off the kitchen. It was late, and I didn't even make a salad. The key to this dish is the very fresh and flavorful ingredients and the quality of the olive oil.  Don't skimp on olive oil. Always buy high quality. It's worth every penny.

After we ate, we brought a plate down to the entrance where a nun was running the front desk. She was very happy to see us!

Cefalu is a beautiful place. If you go there, be sure to climb La Rocca that has a fortress dating to 70 AD. It's has gorgeous views when you reach the top. Here's a photo from the top along with a few other pictures of Cefalu:





After climbing steps with railings about 1/3 of the way up, you then travel the remainder on dirt trails. There's also a temple on La Rocca that celebrates the goddess Diana.







ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!

Post From Amber's Kitchen

My good friend Amber invited me to dinner and asked what I'd like to have. My response was: "let's cook together, and we'll make it a blog post!" She loved the idea so we got together yesterday evening and went to work.  Amber knew the premise of the blog was to cook what's on hand, so she left it up to me to pick through her fridge and cupboards. I brought the flounder and scallops that would be cooked around the ingredients in Amber's kitchen.

I was delighted to see the large batch of fresh herbs on her balcony growing in large pots. She picked some lemon thyme, oregano, basil and mint. I had brought a small piece of ginger I needed to use as well as some parsley, kale and swiss chard from my garden.

Here is the simple, fast and delicious meal we made.

ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



 Flounder, scallops, small onion, garlic, ginger, kale, swiss chard, parsley, oregano, lemon thyme, basil, mint, a carrot, dried red chilis (found at the bottom of a basket on my kitchen counter -- they used to be fresh), dried coriander, paprika, turmeric, white pepper, cayenne pepper, sea salt.

STEP ONE:





Heat 1 T. of olive oil and 1 T. of butter in a large skillet. When butter is melting, chop half an onion, mince 3 small cloves of garlic, a quarter of one of the dried red chilis and about 1/2-inch piece of ginger.  Add to pan when butter is melted and starts to sizzle.



Add 1 tsp. of turmeric, 1/2 tsp. dried coriander, a pinch of cayenne, 1/2 tsp. of paprika and 1/4 tsp. of white pepper. Stir and simmer until the onions and garlic soften.

STEP TWO:



Add flounder and cook for a few minutes on one side. Flip and cook the other side and add the scallops. Poor in a little olive oil if the mixture is too dry.



Add the lemon thyme, oregano and basil to the pan. Stir and let simmer for a minute and then add the kale and swiss chard.  Add salt to taste. I added 1/2 tsp. Stir the greens and allow to cook for a couple of minutes.

Plate the fish and add your extras. Amber made some red rice dressed with a little olive oil and lemon and some roasted brussel sprouts mixed with her fresh herbs. We also made a salad with tomato, carrot, cucumber, red onion, fresh basil, mint and parsley dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and a little sea salt. Did I mention I love olive oil?







This event was especially fun because I made the meal with a friend. Try it sometime! And thank you Amber for opening up your wonderful kitchen and making a delicious dinner with me. I want to do it again!

ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!