Tis the season for Thistle – Artichokes that is. Delicious in oh so many ways. If you have never eaten or made an artichokes this is a good recipe to try.
Click on the picture to go directly to the recipe.
Artichoke Before Braising
Cooked Artichoke
Enjoy!
Adding to my menu for Easter Sunday I decided to make Hot Cross Buns for Brunch, Potatoes Dauphinoise to accompany a Baked Ham for Dinner and Carrot Cake for Dinner Dessert. Here are my recipes for all three.
Click onto the recipe title or the photo to bring you to the recipe page.
Easter Eggs and Easter Bonnets. Easter Mass and Easter Brunch. These are the memories I have of Easter as a child growing up in Chicago. Easter was a holiday my Mother cherished. I can say with confidence that Easter was her favorite holiday: She loved it because there was more than food to make this a special day. My Mother, being a devout Catholic, followed the religious traditions and guidelines which went along with this holiest time of the year. For the 40 days previous to Easter, we did not eat meat on Friday, attended Mass every morning before school, gave up something we loved for Lent (for me it was ice cream), did the Stations Of The Cross” on Friday afternoons, and practiced fasting, instead of feasting, for most meals. “We have to sacrifice something,” Mom would say, “since Christ sacrificed his life for us. It’s the least we can do.”
All through the 40 days, Mom would talk about Easter. It was Easter “this and that”. When Easter Week finally arrived, Mom would begin to prepare for the Big Day. First there were Easter dresses, pastel car coats, frilly hats, patent leather shoes and ruffled stockings to buy for me and my sister. A new suit for my little brother. A new outfit for Mom as well. And Dad. Well, Dad just got to sit back and watch the frenzy. After all of the Easter outfits were purchased, she would then concentrate on Easter Brunch and Dinner.
We would start Easter day with attending 9:00 Mass dressed in our Easter finery. Before Mass there were pictures to be taken of us, in our Easter pastel clothes, in front of the house, then we would walk the three blocks together to Mass, weather permitting (I remember snow one year). After Mass we would come home to a table set with our traditional Easter brunch. A brunch Mom would start to prepare on Friday. That Friday of preparation was a day of making Grandma Lucia’s Satoni (aka Calzone, Easter Pizza, Easter Pie) I’m still not sure of the spelling and we pronounced Satoni as Shatone. But the spelling doesn’t matter nor does the pronunciation. What did matter was the amount of time it took to make the Satoni (usually 6 pies) and the way they looked. We knew they would taste great but the look had to be just perfect. No cracked crust for my Mother.
On Saturday Mom would make the Frittata. The question always was “How many eggs?”. The answer, always, “24”. Twenty four eggs, one pound of ricotta, one pound of Italian sausage, one pound of ham. No salt, no pepper, no spices. The giant Frittata’s flavor came solely from the sausage and ham. The sausage always homemade by either Mom or Grandpa and the seasoning of the sausage with salt, pepper and fennel seed always perfect. In the picture below you will see the beauty of the Frittata. Cooking it today is so much easier than when Mom labored over it since the non-stick pans didn’t appear in our home until late in the 60’s. She would stand over that pan for what seemed like hours, stirring it to make sure it did not stick. It would cook over the lowest of heat. She timed it perfectly so it would not turn into scrambled eggs. What a job. Flipping it was another chore. It became a family project especially when my sister and I got a little older. Now, with today’s non-stick pans and my re-creation of the preparation using the stove top and the oven, this is no longer a huge ordeal.
The rest of the brunch would consist of a Baked Ham and Hot Cross Buns (the ham bone would make it’s way to the pot later in the week when Mom would make minestrone). Mom would buy the buns at a local bakery early on Easter morning. That was a time when bakeries were open on holiday mornings.
Along with the five of us, Grandpa, Uncle Dom, Aunt JiJie and her husband Epol where at the brunch table. Sometimes other relatives would join us but usually the rest of the family would gather later in the day for Easter Dinner: not always at our house. Dinner was another story, Pasta, “Gravy” Meat, Leg of Lamb, Potatoes, Vegetables………… On and On it went.
Dinner was always great but it’s the Easter Brunch I remember the most. Sometimes I re-create that wonderful brunch using only my Grandmother’s and my Mother’s recipes. Here are the two staples for Easter – Grandma Lucia’s Satoni and my Mother’s Easter Frittata.
Buona Pasqua!
Serves 4 As An Entree
8 Ounces Fresh Andouille Sausage, Removed from Casing
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
½ Cup White Wine
1½ Pounds Jumbo Shrimp, Cleaned And Deveined (U-15 Size Is Preferred)
2 Cups Cherry Tomato Compote
1 Recipe Cheese Grits
Chopped Scallion For Garnish
In a large sauté pan over medium heat, heat butter until it stops sizzling and add the Andouille Sausage breaking in into chunks as it cook. Cook the sausage until brown and thoroughly cooked through. Drain all but a tablespoon of the fat from the pan. Add the shrimp and sauté until they begin to turn pink. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and reduce by half. Add the Cherry Tomato Compote and blend into shrimp and sausage. Reduce the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook until the shrimp are cooked through and the compote is hot (this will take only a few minutes).
Remove the pan from heat and spoon the shrimp, sausage and sauce over the Cheese Grits. Garnish with the chopped scallion. (You can serve this in individual dishes or serve all of it on a large platter.)
Y’All enjoy now, Y’hear!
I started making this delicious Italian specialty dish when I worked with the wonderfully talented Italian Chef Alessandro Cortini. He was one of the most influential chefs I worked alongside of during my years working in restaurants. He was at one time the chef of the long gone LaPearla Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. Sandro and I worked together at an Italian Market with a gourmet-to-go section and it was there that he taught me the ins and outs of cooking Italian food for the masses. Since I am no longer cooking for large groups I’ve adapted my recipe to feed 4.
Click on the link or photo and you will go directly to the recipe.
If you live in the city and have a great butcher you will have no problem finding veal shanks, or any kind of veal for that matter. Living in SC I have been on the hunt for veal for 4 years. The grocery stores never carry veal and independent butchers seem to have only a frozen product. That is until I found the greatest butcher in Greenville. Revival Butchery on Pendleton is like stepping back in time. They are a group of 30 something men who look like they stepped out of a butcher shop from the 1920’s. The meat cases at Revival look beautiful and the people that work there are super helpful and accommodating. If they don’t have it in the store they will order it for you. I have been on the lookout for veal chops but when I saw the shanks I decided to give my new stove a workout and make Osso Bucco.
I make my own Beef Stock but if you don’t have the time to make your own there are some really great stocks at many of your local grocery stores. IF I were to buy beef or chicken stock my favorite is the 365 brand at Whole Foods.
Enjoy!
I can’t think of a better dish to make on a cold day. This Soft Polenta always reminds me of my childhood. My mother would make polenta once a year and it was always in the middle of a cold Chicago winter. It satisfied our craving for something warm and filling. Since Mom made it only once a year that really made it special. She would labor over the pot of polenta for what seemed like hours. I’m not sure if it really was that long because my recipe is not as labor intensive as her’s. Maybe since I was a child it just seemed like it took her forever to make it. Maybe it was because she would be making her Marinara Sauce at the same time. Whatever the reason my recipe is not as time consuming as Mom’s.
Mom would serve it with her Marinara Sauce and Italian Sausage. With this recipe you can serve it with what you like: Marinara Sauce with Meatballs or Pork, Sautéed Shrimp, Grilled Chicken Breast, Mushroom Sauté. I often serve it accompanying a Fillet Mignon with a Wild Mushroom and Bordelaise Sauce. Whatever way you decide to serve it I hope you will enjoy this creamy, warm and delicious Polenta.
Click on the Title or Polenta Photo for the recipe.
Here is a soup that will warm you when the weather is chilly. It’s hearty and satisfying and adding the wild rice makes it even more filling.
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camille@camillecooksforyou.com
Corn Season is just beginning and within the next month it will be in full bloom. Here are some of my favorite corn recipes. Each Recipe has the proper accompaniment recipe included. Click onto the name of the recipe or the photo and it will bring to the recipe page.
Summer Fruit Crostada
Each of these dessert can be served with White Chocolate Whipped Cream, Whipped Creme Fraiche, Peach Semi-Freddo or any Ice Cream you like. Enjoy!! (For more Peach Recipes click here.)
The temperature is rising here in the South and I am ready to eat light with cool summer salads. Here are a few that are light and cool and refreshing and super easy to prepare. What’s really nice about summer salads as entrees is you can prepare them ahead and serve chilled or at room temperature when ready to eat. No last minute cooking or pan clean up.
You will notice that lemon is a common factor in several of the recipes. Roasted Lemon Vinaigrette screams summer for salads. If you don’t have the time to roast lemons for the vinaigrette you can simply use fresh lemon juice instead. Not bottled please, ONLY freshly squeezed lemon juice. For more vinaigrettes and salad dressings click here.
There you go. Pair any of these delicious make ahead dishes together to make a great summertime meal and keep your kitchen time to a minimum.
Enjoy!
