New Garden on Maple Street
Buon Pasqua on Maple Street
An unusual Easter dinner. I cooked a mini Bolito Misto. Boiled chicken for the broth and meat. First course a matzo ball soup. Second course was the chicken, cotechino served with whipped potato, lentils, sautéed cicoria in garlic and olive oil and accompanied with condiments of my homemade mostada, salsa verde and chilled Lambrusco. Desert consisted of Lemon Sponge direct out of the Joy of Cooking. Delicious!
Recipe for the Pasta cooked in “Pasta Made Simple”.
Ingredients for 4 persons
I decided to give you this recipe from Roberto, who gave it to me after he made it for a group of us at the home of a friend for a late night dinner. This is his mothers recipe who lives in Sicily.
I did not edit but left it in his language and pretty much in his style.
– 452 grams of pasta (1 pound penne style)
– 1 aubergine (eggplant)
– ½ pound of sausage
– 1 onion
– 1 clove of garlic
– 1 pound of tomatoes
– one quarter of chilli pepper
– 1 red pepper
– a touch of oregano
– parsley(hand full)
– half glass of dry white wine
– olive oil (3 tablespoons)
– salt& pepper to taste
– gratedParmisan Cheese
Preparation
Chop the aubergine into little cubes and leave them into water and salt for an hour
Chop the tomatoes.
Chop the parsley and the garlic together
Scald the red pepper and then skin it and cut it into little stripes.
Scald the sausage, then skin it and scramble it.
Chop the onion and fry it with 2 spoons of oil until it gets golden colour, then add the scrambled sausage leaving everything to fry just for a few minutes, then add the white wine and let it evaporate. Then take the cubes of aubergine out of the saulty water, dry them with a towel and add them into the pot.
Then add the stripes of red pepper and the chili pepper, mix it and cook it for 5 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes, the oregano, salt and pepper and let everything cook at low flame for 20 minutes in the pot with cover on.
Finally sprinkle the chopped parsely and garlic, keep cooking it for further 10 minutes and then dress the pasta together with grated Parmisan Cheese.
What is Italian Food vs. American Italian?
I am an American Italian, but feel I am more Italian. My grandparents and two aunts Mary and Alfonsina came from the old country, North of Bologna a small town called Renazzo in the Province of Farrara. They settled in Sagamore. My father, mother and I lived with my grandparents until I was eight years old. “Nanna” as I called her cooked the “real” Italian cuisine. Every thing was made from scratch. Grandpappa had his own garden, grape arbor and made wonderful homemade wine that he stored in the cellar.
So, I know from this experience at a very young age, and in later years, through my month long stays in Bologna what “Italian food” really is. In Italy I am know as Giovanni the Italo/Americano because I have my dual citizenship with Italy.
Italian American food is not Italian it is American’s version of what people think Italian food is or should be.
Hot Italy!
I arrived in Bologna last Wed.and will here for a month coming back middle of October. The extreme heat is worse than NYC! I registered for an intense two, four hour classes at a language. I will also will be researching and writing articles and traveling on weekends hopefully.
I will continue this later as the days pass.
Ciao for now.
It is Sat 17 September. This time the adjustment has been a little difficult. A year ago I stayed in the same building, happy and content. It was one room, kitchen and bath, with shower. Quiet over looking a garden. This time the owner described two places in the building. I could stay in the first one until the 18 and move to the other one after. NOT True! Got here rules changed.
I will not go into her screaming at me last night but the whole building heard her hieratic, tantrum.
She comes off as this sweet old (looks old) heavy Italian. Anybody’s grandmother.
I will not go into what this apt. Is like can i say worst than monastery! I do no need luxury, but thing have to work like a shower! It is beyond bare minimum.
So, here I am trying to make the best of this situation. I had my first meal here. A farro salad al forno, two breaded tomatoes, a few pieces of mortadella, a marinated artichoke, the famous horn bread from the area and of course a wonderful glass of wine, a sauvignon from the Alto Adige And pleasant music on my iPhone.
That made my evening! Taking care of oneself with food and music is important and works in difficult times.
Later.
Preserving For Winter
I preserved these multi colored tomatoes. They were given to me by Susan & Jim at Miss Scarlett’s Blue Ribbon Farm in Yarmouth Port. They grew fifty-four varieties. In the small jars is the recipe from Mary ann Esposito, dehydrated tomatoes. Check out her blog in previous entry.
Figs and More Figs
Last year I bought a fig tree at the local grocery store for $16, put it in a large pot and placed it on my sunny deck. When the leaves fell off, I put it in a large bucket, wrapped it with insulation and plastic and put it in the garage. This spring, March to be exact, I wanted to see if it survived. When I unwrapped it there were new buds on all of the twigs. I pulled it to a sunny spot in the garage, gave it water and fertilizer. When it was warm enough I placed it back on the sunny deck where it got full sun. It is now September and the tree is loaded with beautiful Turkish figs! Last night I sliced some of them, put a little gorgonzola on each fig, placed them under the broiler for a few minute’s and served them as a appetizer. What a treat!
Disaster on the Farm
It is almost the end of summer here on my farm. I fenced in the ten blueberry bushes, netted them and the chipmunks and birds still had a feast. My apple tree that I pruned and sprayed for two years dropped all the apples prematurely. The five heirloom tomato plants gave me three small tomatoes. I am totally rethinking this farming situation. The last straw was when one of the six chickens had its head bit off by a wild animal who tried to pull it through the small whole in the fence. Not a pleasant sight.
As far as the tomatoes go, I bought 20 pounds for canning. One recipe came form Mary Ann Esposito Ciao Italia. My partner and I were invited to have dinner with her and husband Guy. She told us about dehydrating tomatoes and preserving them in olive oil, basil, peppercorns and a little salt. check out her site www.ciaoitalia.com for the video and recipe.
Today I am picking the 6 pears, one peach and 4 plumbs. This has been my harvest this year, but if I net the raspberries we might get some of those.
Summer Entertaining
SUMMER ENTERTAINING
al Fresco
by John F. Carafoli
Photos by Mark Willard, styled by John Carafoli
| MENUBagnat (Cooked Salsa Verde) Mussels Mixed Green Salad, with a simple dressing of chopped fresh herbs with oil & vinegar Escabeche Striped Bass with Jasmine Rice Summer Berry Pudding with Rose Geranium Cream |
Summer on Cape Cod is short. It’s our time to play, be outdoors and take advantage of the bounty our area offers us. One of the ways of doing this is through cooking as an extension of the way we live. It is creating a moment, a sensation, a memory through the senses.
Whether I’m cooking for friends or styling food for the camera, I feel a connection to my ingredients and techniques. I love experiencing the textures, smells and sounds that are so essential to cooking. Each aspect of preparation—from conceiving the menu to selecting ingredients and wines, to setting the table—can be a personal expression of your own style.
Having friends and family over for a festive outdoor gathering, sharing the day’s activities over a glass of wine or serving a meal on the deck are all part of the summer experience. I suggest starting with the fresh produce in our local farmers’ markets or farm stands. Purchase seasonal fish from your fishmonger. Joes’ Lobster & Fish Market on the canal is my favorite for striped bass and mussels, if I don’t gather them myself. Whenever possible, use the herbs, vegetables and fruits from your own garden.
Relaxed entertaining is all about planning and organizing. Setting the table, creating an environment and ambiance and, most of all, timing the meal, come next. For a stress-free menu, you want most of it to be prepared ahead of time. That way your party will flow easily, and everyone can enjoy the event, including you, the host.
Since it is summer, most of the dishes on this menu can be served at room temperature as is the tradition of Italy and most Mediterranean countries. The food can be made ahead of time and set out on a table or tablecloth—colorful or white, depending on the color of the plates and serving dishes. guests will be able to serve themselves.
The setting should be playful and festive. use your imagination. Mix glasses and dishes that have been stored away for years; they do not necessarily have to match. I sometimes use a table of assortedcolored Fiestaware.
As a food stylist, I am very conscious of how food looks on plates. For this menu, select serving plates of all different shapes and sizes. The appetizer works well with the toast points on a colorful platter (if the tablecloth is white) and the Bagnat itself in a white bowl, either placed off to the side or centered on the platter with a serving spoon. You want to make the food the hero, it should look as appetizing and appealing as possible.
For the salad, use a variety of different greens, nasturtiums and flowering herbs for color. A simple oil and vinegar dressing will bring out the flavors of the lettuces, but you can also use freshly chopped herbs like tarragon, thyme, parsley, and sprigs of cilantro or mint. Remember that the lettuces are the heroes.
Place the plates at one end of the serving table with silverware, napkins and glasses. Arrange the serving dishes in the order you want your guests to select the food.
Use a wood cutting board for the bread, a copper kettle or an unusual container filled with ice for the wine. For atmosphere, fill a clean terra cotta flower pot with sand, and place a small votive candle inside under a globe to protect the flame from the wind. (You can also do a similar thing with paper bags.) Place the pots or bags around the patio or deck and a few on the table. Creating a setting and feeling of abundance is important. Make it playful and fun.
Leslie and Kevin Plumb of Town Center Wine & Spirits in Eastham provide the wine paring for this menu. They specialize in small handcrafted and artisanal wines. When we tasted the wines with the food, we were amazed by how beautifully they complemented the dishes. You can sign up for Leslie and Kevin’s wine newsletter atwww.towncenterwine.com.
| RECIPES BAGNAT (OR SALSA VERDE) SALSA CRUDA (UNCOOKED TOMATO SAUCE)| ESCABECHE FISH SUMMER BERRY PUDDING |
John F. Carafoli is an internationally-known food stylist based in New York and Cape Cod. He wrote Food Photography and Styling, has presented papers at the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery, published in Gastronomica, is a contributor to The New York Times and was profiled on the Food Network.