Summer is here and a way to show off your body is by shedding off a few pounds. What other way to do this than exercising and eating healthy. Here's a great salad to start your meal or as a meal in itself.
Ingredients:
1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 tomato, sliced
1 toasted French baguette and cubed
1 small red delicious apple, peeled, halfed and sliced
1 onion, sliced
3 slices of cooked bacon
Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Salad dressing:
1/3 cup virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 pcs. anchiovies or "tuyo"
1 teaspoon grey poupon
lemon
Mix all the dressing ingredients in a processor and blend. In a salad bowl mix the salad ingredients by tossing while slowly adding the dressing. Add the parmesan cheese before serving. Enjoy!!!
Back then, when people used to hunt and gather, fowls like chicken, partridge, turkey and duck were simply roasted and simply placed in a pan and drenched with wine until the meat becomes tender and the sauce reduces then eaten with potatoes. In today's version, little has changed so let me share this simple recipe for your enjoyment:
1/4 chicken leg quarter
1 large potato
4-5 cloves, unpeeled garlic
1 cup red wine
a few sprigs of rosemary
a dash of salt and pepper
olive oil
Massage the chicken with salt, pepper and rosemary and set aside. Peel the potato and slice into 3/4 cubes. Saute the chicken on a roasting pan until brown. Place the garlic and potato cubes around the chicken and pour the wine and place in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. When done, place the potatoes on a plate, unpeel the garlic and mix with the potatoes. Layer the chicken above the potatoes and pour in the reduced wine sauce...and serve. Bona Petite!
The secret in creating a good burger is by following the basic rule...K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple Silly)! A good burger is bringing out that meat flavor and it just needs to have the basic seasonings...salt and pepper. To have that added punch, you may add a dash of Worstershire sauce and cook it on a charcoal grill medium rare or medium well.
For condiments, just the basic lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheddar cheese, mayo, ketchup and mustard. If you want to have a bit of an added flavor, instead of ketchup you can use barbecue sauce or for an added kick, mix wasabi to your mayo.
What goes well with burgers? Well, no burger can be without french fries, but if you are outside barbecuing a burger, coles slaw and baked beans go well with it. So next time you plan on cooking a burger...keep it simple!
A good friend of mine, Jamie Anzalone, whom I met 25 years ago in Chicago invited me to her parents house for dinner after we got acquainted. I arrived at their house with this aromatic scent of ragu consisting of a variety of meats simmering in a pot for 3 hours and after dinner, I must say, I had my first taste of a typical Napolitan meal...it was fabulous!
Ingredients:
1 lb. pork ribs chopped into 1-1/2 " length
1 lb. Italian sausages sliced to 1-1/2 length
1 lb. ground beef
4 small cans of tomato paste
1 large can of chopped tomatoes
fresh basil leaves
1 bottle of red wine
6 cloves of garlic
grated parmesan cheese
1 lb mozarella cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 cup olive oil
Mix the bread crumbs, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese and ground beef,a dash of salt and pepper and form into 1-1/2 size meatballs.
Using a soup pot, brown the pork ribs and sausages in olive oil for 3 to 5 mins. Then pour a bottle of red wine, and chopped tomatoes and basil leaves. In a container, mix the tomato paste with water and pour into the pot and bring to a boil for 5 to 8 mins.
Simmer the pot to low heat and add the meatballs and cover the pot and let cook for 2-1/2 hours. Serve over any pasta of your choice by adding slices of mozarella cheese.
Buona petito!!!
I never liked this dish... until I tasted my Aunt Vern's recipe when I visited her in New Jersey 15 years ago. It was her secret ingredient --balsamic vinegar, that got me hooked into craving this dish for more, and now I am proud to share you part of her legacy!
Ingredients:
1 lb. pork butt, chopped
1/2 lb. pork innards, chopped
1/4 lb. pork blood
2-3 links of pork blood sausages, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
1 cup balsamic vinegar
5 green chile peppers
1-1/2 tblspns brown sugar
1 cup water
1 large onion, diced
Using a deep pan, saute onions and garlic for 2 minutes. Put in meat, innards and sausages and stir until meat is cooked or until oil oozes from the meat.
Add 1 cup water and pork blood and bring to a boil. Add the brown sugar and peppers and simmer for an hour or until the meat is tender. Add salt and pepper and the balsamic vinegar until the desired taste and simmer for 15 minutes and serve. Enjoy!
