Italian Week: Day 3 - Bavettine

Welcome to Day 3 of our tour of Italy. This has been a great few days filled with savory dishes and delectable foods that can be cooked right in your kitchen. Today, we are going to do a delicious pasta dish tossed with salmon and arugula. This dish will have your mouth watering and your stomaches growling to eat it. So, enough chatter. Let's get cooking!

Bavettine with Smoked Salmon & Arugula

You will need:

• 12 ounces dried bavettine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
• 4 ounces smoked salmon, cut into thin strips
• 2 ounces arugula
• salt and pepper

NOTE: All items can be found at your local market or specialty store

1. Bring a large heavy-bottom pan of slightly salted water to a boil.
2. Add the pasta, return to a boil, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until Al-Dente.*
3. Just before the end of the cooking time, heat the olive oil in a large skillet.
4. Add the garlic and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Do not allow the garlic to brown or it will taste bitter.
5. Add the salmon and arugula. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
6. Remove the skillet from the heat.
7. Drain the pasta and transfer to a warmed serving dish.
8. Add the smoked salmon and arugula mixture, toss lightly.
9. Serve!

NOTE: You can substitute the arugula for baby spinach leaves if you see necessary

We have completed Day 3 and boy, I feel fantastic about this dish! I sure hope you will all come back and join me for more Italian Week. Enjoy your dinner and caio!

Italian Week: Day 2 - Pasticcio

Benvenuto! Today poses as day two of our International tour of Italian food. Today, I'm bringing to the table a sort of meat and pasta dish. It's called pasticcio. The term was coined in the 16th century as just that: a meat and pasta pie. The main area that uses this name for this dish is Cyprus. It is very similar to lasagna. Now, let's grab our aprons, oven mits, and chef's hats and let's get cooking!

Pasticcio

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
• 2 cups fresh ground lamb
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1.25 (1 and 1/4) cups chicken stock
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 ounces dried, short-cut macaroni
• 2 beefsteak tomatoes, sliced
• 1.25 (1 and 1/4) cup strained plain yogurt
• 2 eggs, beaten lightly

Ready? Let's go!

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottom skillet. Add the onion and the garlic, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until softened.
3. Add the lamb and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until completely browned.
4. Next, add your tomato paste and sprinkle in the flour. Cook, stirring for 1 minute, then stir in the chicken stock.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the cinnamon. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and cook for 25 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, bring a large heavy-bottom pan of slightly salted water to a boil.
7. Add the pasta, return to a boil, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until the pasta is Al-Dente*
8. Spoon in the lamb mixture into a large casserole dish and arrange the tomato slices on top.
9. Drain the pasta and transfer to a bowl. Add the yogurt and eggs and mix well.
10. Spoon the pasta mixture on top of the lamb and bake for 1 hour.
11. Serve!

NOTE: This dish can also be made with ground turkey or chicken

*When referring to Al-Dente, please note other pasta related blogs from previous dates

So, we have tackled another great and new Italian dish. I can only hope that you all come back and join me for more Italy week. It's going to be chock full of delicious and surprising dishes that may or may not intrigue you. I might even throw in an Italian dessert recipe, or we might keep that for dessert week... Who knows? For now, caio and have a great evening! 

Eh Mambo! Mambo Italiano!

Caio e benvenuto! Yes, as I'm sure all of you smart cookies out there have guess, we are entering Italy once again. Do you know why? Because it's Italy week here on Everyday Meals. That means 1 full week of colorful, delectable dishes from the pasta mainland herself. To kick off this glorious celebration, I have decided to make a little something called Pizza Margherita. We will start from scratch, making the dough and then move on to the actual pizza and ingredients. Here we go!

Pizza Margherita

For this dish, you will need:

(For the dough):

• 1/2 ounce dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 9 fluid ounces hot water
• 12 ounces white bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

(For the pizza):

• 6 tomatoes, sliced thinly
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, drained and sliced thinly
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons shredded fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Now we will begin with making our dough...

1. Put the yeast and sugar together in a measuring cup and mix with 2 fluid ounces of the water. Leave the mixture in a warm place for 15 minutes or until frothy.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt and make a well in the center. Add the oil, the yeast mixture, and the remaining water. Using a wooden spoon, mix together to make a smooth dough.
3. Turn the dough onto a floured counter and knead for 4 to 5 minutes until smooth.
4. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean, damp dish towel, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Knead the dough for 2 minutes then stretch the dough with your hands to form a round. Then place it on an oiled baking sheet, pushing out the edges until even. The dough should be no more than 1/4 inch thick because it will rise during cooking.

Back to our pizza!

1. After you have turned out your pizza dough and placed it on the baking sheet, arrange the tomato and mozzarella slices alternately over the pizza base. Season to taste with salt and pepper, sprinkle with basil, and drizzle with olive oil.
2. Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is crisp and the cheese has melted. 
3. Serve!

There you have it. A simple pizza and dough recipe. Did you know, the red, white and green colors and ingredients of the pizza were created to honor Queen Margherita? This was in 1889. Her name literally means "daisy". Anyway, this pizza recipe can be the base for more elaborate pizzas. The choice is up to you. Conquer and eat my friends! See you all soon! Caio!

Hola Amigos y Amigas

Hola y bienvenidos al blog de hoy! That means "Hello and welcome to todays blog!". I'm excited because we have a special request from a facebook viewer named Mercedes. She is from the Dominican Republic, which is in the Caribbean. It shares a boarder with Haiti.
As you could have guessed, with it being an island surrounded by water, Mercedes has requested a meal with fish. Actually, she requested fish and pasta. Well, I am going to treat her today with two dishes based around fish. One with pasta and the other not. So, grab your cook books and sigueme! (That means follow me).

Fish Pasta

You will need:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 12 or so oil cured olives, de-pitted and chopped
• 1 pound white fish, like striped bass or snapper
• 1 tablespoon salted capers
• half a glass of white wine
• 4 big and fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 packet linguine
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped roughly
• salt and pepper

You Ready?

1. Chop tomatoes roughly and dice your garlic
2. De-skin your fish and chop into tiny chunks
3. Saute 3 tablespoons of oil and and garlic over medium heat for 2 minutes or so
4. Add your fish, stirring very carefully (as to not break up the fish) until it is browned
5. When browned, add salt, pepper and half a glass of wine, then turn up your heat. Stir carefully until the wine is nearly evaporated.
6. In the meantime, boil salted water in a big pot for your pasta.
7. Now, back to your other pan with your fish. When your wine is nearly evaporated, reduce your heat, add your tomatoes and cook or 10 minutes or so.
8. Add capers, parsley and olives; again stir carefully because you don't want to turn this into fish puree. When the tomato juice is released and the sauce is just thickening, turn off heat, you want the tomatoes a little raw.
9. Cook your pasta Al-Dente (if you don't know what that means, please take a few moments and read over my past blog entries with pasta in them)
10. Carefully add your sauce to your pasta over medium-low heat and stir gently for a minute or two
11. Serve!

Okay. Now, let's take a breather and we will begin on our next dish.

Arenque Con Huevos

Herring with Eggs

You will need:

• 2 lbs of salted, smoked herrings
• 4 eggs
• 2 green bell peppers
• 1/2 cup of chopped celery
• 1 small red onion chopped into small cubes
• 4 plum tomatoes cut into 4 quarters
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of mashed garlic
• Salt

NOTE: Buy your herring the day before and soak it in a pot of water overnight

And here we go!

1. Begin by boiling your herrings until they are tender
2. Take a fork and flake the herring making sure to set it aside afterwards
3. In a pot, heat the oil, add your onions, celery, garlic and tomatoes and saute them.
4. Pour in your herring and stir everything together
5. Add one cup of water, reducing your heat to low afterwards and let simmer for 3 minutes.
6. Break your eggs into the mix and stir, making sure to cook them well
7. Add salt for flavor and serve

See? That was easy! Now, you can serve this Dominican dish with tostones (which are fried plantains) or arroz blanco (white rice). Enjoy and see you all soon. Adios!

African Sizzle

Good evening and welcome to todays blog. We are going to take an adventure down south. No, not Australia, but Africa. This meal is simple and very similar to meatloaf. It's called bobotie. It most likely originated from the Dutch East India Company colonies in Batavia. This dish has become widely popular in Cape Good Hope, South Africa since the 17th century.
Well, we have the honor of making this popular dish today. So, put on your aprons, oven mits, or just grab some bowls and let's get rocking and rolling!

Bobotie

You will need:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup milk
• 2 slices Texas toast thick-sliced bread
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 teaspoon apricot jam
• 1 tablespoon hot chutney
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 bay leaf

NOTE: All items can be found at your local market or store

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions in the hot oil until soft.
3. Break the ground beef into the skillet and cook until brown
4. Place the milk in a shallow dish. Soak the bread in the milk. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread. Set the milk aside.
5. Add the bread to the beef mixture. Stir in the raisins, apricot jam, chutney, curry powder, salt, and black pepper. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
6. Bake in the preheated oven 1 hour.
7. While the bobotie bakes, whisk together the reserved milk, egg, and a pinch of salt. Pour over top of the dish.
8. Lay the bay leaf onto the top of the milk mixture.
9. Return the bobotie to the oven until the top is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.

All in all, the total time it takes to make this dish, including prep time and cooking is 1 hour, 55 minutes. It seems like a long time, but the end result will leave your mouth watering and wanting more from this sweet and savory dish. I hope you all enjoy this dish. Have a great night! See you all tomorrow for another adventure!

Deutsch Delight

Guten morgan! That's German for "good morning". I'm doing an early morning blog for all of you wonderful viewers. As you have guessed, we are tapping into German food today. I like German food, mainly because it is my heritage. I promise, I won't have you all make anything wild or absurd, like goat belly or anything...

Instead, we are going to be making:

Pork Chops with Apple and Sauerkraut

Schweinekoteletts mit Sauerkraut und Äpfel

You will need:

• 2 large ( 8 oz ) or 4 small Pork Chops
• seasoning salt 
• 1 medium onion chopped 
• 2 apples, tart preferably
• 1 quart sauerkraut 
• 2 tablespoons fresh or 1 tablespoon dry, sage or thyme
• 2 cups apple wine (apfelwein), apple juice, or beer. 
• Salt and Pepper 

And here we go (Und los geht's!)

1. Chop the onions and the apples into 1/2 inch pieces. If you are using fresh spices, chop them into the same size as well.
2. Heat a large skillet with a little oil, season the pork chops, and brown them on both sides. Add the apples, onions and herbs.
3. Cook the onions and apples till they are tender.
4. Add the apple wine (or apple juice or beer), and sauerkraut, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
5. Serve! 

NOTE: You can serve this dish with boiled potatoes and chutney on the side

And there you have it, an early morning post to get your taste buds salivating and your stomach screaming for dinner time. I'll see you all later, possibly with another post tonight! Gute nacht!

Gumbo Madness!

In celebration of Mardi Gras, I've decided to grace you all with a specialty dish that was made famous in Louisiana. Can you guess which dish I'm talking about? No, not fish. Let's try again. Yes! I'm talking about gumbo.
Gumbo is a full flavored soup or stew. Most gumbo recipes vary due to the fact that you can add any meat you like in them. Some people add turkey, some add chicken or sausage. Others leave out meat all together and the beans take home the victory. Not today though. Today, we are going to be using two favorites: chicken and sausage. Let's get our chefs hats and get cooking!

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

You will need:

• 1 cup oil 
• 1 cup flour 
• 2 large onions, chopped 
• 2 bell peppers, chopped 
• 4 ribs of celery, chopped 
• 4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced 
• 4 quarts chicken stock 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning, or to taste 
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves 
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 
• 1 large chicken (young hen preferred), cut into pieces 
• 2 pounds andouille or smoked sausage, cut into half inch pieces 
• 1 bunch scallions (green onions), tops only, chopped 
• 2/3 cup fresh chopped parsley 
• Filé powder to taste 

NOTE: All items can be found at your local market or grocery store

1. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning and brown quickly in a large pan.
2. In another pan, brown the sausage and then drain the fat from the pan.
3. In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil and cook the flour in the oil over medium to high heat, stirring constantly, until the roux reaches a dark reddish-brown color, almost the color of coffee or milk chocolate for a Cajun-style roux.  If you want to save time, cook it until it is a tan color, over lower heat if you're nervous about burning it.
4. Add the vegetables and stir quickly. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes.
5. Add the stock, seasonings, chicken and sausage. Bring to a boil, then cook for about one hour, skimming fat off the top as needed.
6. Add the chopped scallion tops and parsley, and heat for 5 minutes. Serve over rice if desired.

And voila! You have made a delicious gumbo that you and your family can savor. After you eat, pile on some beads and dance the night away, Mardi Gras style. That is, without shedding clothes, since you already have beads... ^_^ Enjoy!