A friend I used to work with (Bob Torti- nice Italian boy) asked if I had the Utica Greens Recipe. Unfortunately I do not, but I did some online research and found that most of the recipes posted are exactly like this one or very similar. These greens will go nicely with Chicken Riggies which you will find at the Recipes/Articles tab.

Ingredients:

1 large escarole (or 2 small heads)
4 slices prosciutto, thin slices, chopped
1 to 2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 long Italian hot peppers, seeded and julienned
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Clean and rinse escarole twice; chop in large pieces.
Boil down for 5 or 6 minutes so it’s tender and wilted.
Place olive oil in a saute pan and heat.
Add chopped garlic and prosciutto and render for 2 or 3 minutes. Do not burn garlic.
Add seeded peppers and cook another minute or so.
Add the escarole and all the other ingredients in the pan.
Gradually add the breadcrumbs and grated cheese, tossing gently until blended.
Taste for final salt and pepper seasoning.

Place in a casserole; sprinkle a little of the breadcrumbs and place under a broiler for 3 to 4 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Check out my newsletter at the link below for this fabulous dish just in time for the Holiday! Adios Amigos!

Check out the recipe here – Open Faced Taco

I’m often accused of always sharing Italian recipes. Well I’m not ashamed to say that I think Italian food is the best-est and that I’ve learned a lot over the years from grandmothers, mothers, and others, but okay I give. Actually I like to cook Chinese food because I refuse to eat take out Chinese, and I like to cook Mexican food as you will see. So here’s something a little different I whipped up in my head one night on the way home from work. It’s easy and it’s good for you! This will take 10 minutes to prepare and can cook all day.

Ingredients

1 can of black beans
1 can of corn or feel free to use frozen or fresh corn of equal amounts
1 can of chili beans
1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1/2 can of crushed tomatoes (14.5 oz)
Chili powder to desired heat
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 TBSP sugar
3 sliced scallions, sour cream or shredded cheddar and tortilla chips for topping
Flour Tortilla’s

Rice – follow directions on the box for the amount you want to make.

Directions

In a slow cooker drizzle the bottom of the pot with olive oil, add the beans, and a couple shakes of salt and pepper, add the corn and a little more salt and pepper and the sugar, fold in the diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes and stir altogether. Add chili powder – go light at first because you can always add more after this is cooked, but you can never take it out.

As I said this will take you 10 minutes – I prepare it before I leave for work, put the slow cooker on low, and when I arrive home dinner is done. It’s great for hectic schedules like mine.

Remember before serving, taste it making sure there is enough salt, pepper and chili powder. Also if it seems too acidic you can add a little more sugar. Serve over rice and top with the sour cream and/or cheddar cheese and scallions. If you so desire you can fry some flour tortilla’s and serve them on the side. Enjoy!

Oh and take note – I still serve this in an Italian pasta bowl

P.S. With Cinco de Mayo coming up stay tuned for a fabulous recipe in the next couple of weeks coming out in a long awaited newsletter. This was a show stopper when I served it to the family and I can’t wait give the recipe to you!

Another lazy Saturday afternoon as summer winds down.  Today was a waste of time as I sat around engrossed in the coverage of Hurricane Irene!  How many times can one watch some foolish TV reporter trying to brace himself in the whipping winds and rain?  I hate to admit that was me today sitting there chuckling each time the reporter was flashed up with big breaking news!  However, I am not making light of a very serious situation and I hope all of my friends and relatives in those areas remain safe. 

So when 4:30 came around I realized I didn’t have dinner planned I started to scan the refrigerator contents in my mind hoping I could concoct something out of nothing!  I remembered I had some fresh sage and BINGO I also had some ravioli in the freezer.  Okay I’ve got it!  Brown Butter and Sage Ravioli it is.  I love when that happens.

Before I give you the recipe I want to dedicate this post to my Godmother and Aunt Irene.  For those of you who don’t know she was my Dad’s sister.  Aunt Irene was the 4th child and 4th girl of the Kane Seven.  My Dad was the next child and of course the first born son and he lived up to that very important role.  There were two more sons after him to round out the Kane Seven. 

Aunt Irene was a fabulous cook and I used to love, love, love her Thanksgiving dinners.  She definitely took after “Grammy Kane” when it came to her cooking skills.  And the other thing about Aunt Irene – like Hurricane Irene and any good Irish woman she sure packed a punch and you definitely knew when she was mad.    Nothing wrong with that!

Ingredients:

1 lb of frozen ravioli or fresh if you are real ambitious!

1 stick of sweet unsalted butter

8 fresh Sage leaves – chiffonade – meaning cut in long strips by rolling leaves and cutting across the leaves

1/2 red onion – sliced

3 garlic cloves – minced or grated

1/2 c Parmigiano cheese

1/2 tsp of lemon zest – zest means to grate the clean lemon rind with a cheese grater

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a generous amount of salt to the water – add the ravioli and bring to another boil.  In a large skillet over medium low heat melt the butter and add the grated garlic, when the garlic becomes golden brown, add the onions and a dash of salt and pepper.  When the onions become translucent, add the sage and cook for another 3 minutes.  At this point you should notice that the butter is browning – when you note this immediately take off the heat and then add the walnuts and lemon zest.  By now the ravioli should be boiled.  Drain the ravioli and add right into the skillet, mix well and the add half the Parmigiano cheese.  Use the rest of the cheese for those who want extra to add at the table.  Mangia! Enjoy!

This sandwich is a great go-to for a summer night or perfect for a small lunch with a few friends.  It hit the spot for my family as they were begging for rights to the last bite!

This one is for my cousin Patrick Kane because he got down on me about all the hot Italian comfort food recipes I’m posting during the hot summer months.  Patrick is an excellent and creative chef and I hope he will soon share some of his recipes with us.  He is another lucky kid who spent many days with his “Nonna – or Grandma Rose” in the kitchen.  She was a great Italian Grandma and she and my Grandma Sue were best of friends.  Pat and I are actually related through the Irish side of the family but our Dad’s sure did know how to pick women!   They knew they struck gold with the Italian women who came from a tradition of great family and great food!  However, I must add that my Dad and Uncle Larry were pretty darn good cooks too.  Grandma Kane taught them well and honestly they learned very well.  So why wouldn’t Patrick and I think we can host a cooking show.    Stay tuned for that.

Okay now enough pumping up our egos!

Grilled Corn on the Cob 

                                                                                                                                                                                      

Ingredients:      

8 ears corn

Garlic butter, recipe below    

Grated Parmigiano Cheese                                                                                                        

Directions:

2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped or grated

Sugar – just a pinch

This one is for my neice Mallory.  She makes my ego get real big because she begs me to make her chicken riggies every time she is home from college.  Mallory has just completed her sophmore at LeMoyne College where she is majoring in Communications and Journalism.  In fact, I can see into her future and will tell you that she will be a co-host on the Today Show down the road and she will be inviting me to join her on the cooking segments  

So back to the Chicken Riggies.  These were made famous in Utica, NY and Rachael Ray even talked about them on her 30 Minute Meals, but these are the Denise Mironti version and I make them extra special for Mal!  Now that the 4th of July is on the books for 2011, we have had our craving for b-b-cue fulfilled and I can move on to some old family favorites!

Ingredients:

1 lb of rigatoni

1 can of crushed tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion – sliced wedges or chopped

2 cubanelle peppers – sliced

1 red bell pepper – sliced

2 boneless chicken breasts

salt, pepper, garlic powder – all to taste

red pepper flakes

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp all spice

1/4 stick of butter

About 3 Tbsp of Parmigiano Cheese

3 or 4 fresh basil leaves

About 2 to 3 tbsps of Half and Half

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with a generous amount of salt which should be a good tbsp or two.  Add pasta and boil until al dente or a little hard.

Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat.  Cut the chicken into small strips and add to the pan with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Fry until golden brown and set aside.  In the same pan add a little more olive oil and the garlic cloves and fry until golden brown.  Then add and fry the onions and peppers until almost cooked. 

 The next step is to add the crushed tomatoes and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, sugar, all spice, butter and red pepper flakes.  Simmer for about 20 minutes and then add chicken back into the pan.  Simmer again for another 10 minutes at which time you can add the Parmigiano cheese.

At this point taste the sauce to make sure it is seasoned to your liking.  When seasoned to your taste –  fold in the half and half and keep sauce on low.

The pasta should be al dente which is slightly hard. At this point reserve a half cup of the cooking water, drain pasta and add right into the pan of sauce. add a little of the starchy cooking water.   Simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes which gives the pasta and sauce to marry each other!  They fall in love so easily!

Transfer to a pasta bowl, top it off with Parmigiano cheese and chopped basil!

Mangia!

I’m not sure how many of you are addicted to watching the Food Network or Cooking Channel like I am, but I rarely watch anything else on television.  You probably know by now that Rachael Ray is my favorite because as I’ve said before she and I have grown up in very similar situations.  Italian families with grandparents who love to cook and teach about cooking. 

Rachael has a new show  called “Week in a Day.”  Rachael spends an hour preparing 5 meals that store well in the refrigerator for later in the week.  This concept is perfect for busy men and women in the workforce because you have your meals ready to pop in the oven after work. 

I have provided a link to a recipe that I tried and it was absolutely out of this world.  My family loved it and it’s really very easy to do.  It would be great to try right around now with all this cold weather we’ve been having.  Give it a try I really think you’ll like it. 

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/rachael-ray/grandpas-braised-beef-recipe/index.html

My suggestion is you make this on a day where you can put it in the oven early because it has to slow cook for several hours.  This is a good Sunday dish because you can put it in the oven and forget about it until dinner time.

My picture doesn’t do it much justice but it is so good.  Don’t forget to serve with a piece of Italian bread to soak up all those juices! 

Enjoy

Check out this page for a lot of last minute Easter ideas – it has everything from appetizers to desserts!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/easter/package/index.html

Have a Happy Easter with a lot of great food and time with your family!

Denise

This sauce is so easy to make you aren’t even going to believe it could taste so good!  I had other plans for dinner last night, but it was such a cold, windy, rainy night that I didn’t want to go out and get the ingredients I needed so the men in my house are always happy to have pasta.  I always have the ingredients in the house to whip up some good sauce or “Italian concoctions” as my Grandma Sue used to say!  

No more sauce out of the jar people just follow this recipe!

Ingredients:

Olive Oil – 2 turns of the pan

Garlic – 4 cloves cut in half

Onion – 1/2 medium – sliced

Parmigiano Cheese – 3 Tbsps

1 15 oz Can of crushed tomatoes

1 Tbsp of sugar

1 Tbsp of unsalted, sweet butter

Salt, Pepper and Garlic Salt to taste

A palmful of chopped parsley

A palmful of chopped basil

1 lb of Short cut pasta of your liking – I like Ziti or Penne for this sauce

Directions:

In a large pot bring water and a generous handful of salt to a boil – don’t add the pasta until you have the sauce prepared and simmering for about 15 minutes.

In a large skillet over medium heat add two turns of olive oil and the garlic and cook until the garlic turns golden brown, then add the sliced onions and some salt, pepper and garlic salt and caramelize the onions.  At this point add the crush tomatoes, sugar, butter, and more salt, pepper and garlic salt.  I usually start light and taste it until it is pleasing to my palette – you will need to do the same.  Simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes and taste it again.  It is important to make sure the acid of the tomatoes has been cut down and if not add a little more sugar.  In addition at this point add the chopped parsley and the half of the Parmigiano cheese.  Simmer for another 10 minutes, taste, add any salt, pepper, cheese, etc that may make this more pleasing to the soul   By now the pasta should be boiled – reserve one cup of the starchy water, drain the pasta, add the pasta right into the pan of sauce and about half of the reserved starchy water.  Fold the pasta into the sauce, add a little more Parmigiano cheese and at the last minute add half of the chopped basil.   If the sauce is too thick add a little more of the starchy water. Put the pasta in a serving dish, sprinkle more cheese and basil on top and I add a sprinkle of hot red pepper flakes to mine as well.  Call the family to the table and enjoy the compliments.  That’s the best part for me!