Rolattini

333.  Here is a simply easy and great meal for any night, Rollatini.

My process is simple and easy to follow, and you can make a meatless variation with spinach, kale, broccoli rabe or any other veggie you choose.  I made a similar meal a while back with spinach and prosciutto.  You can find that post here

Rollatini

1 16 oz container of Ricotta Cheese

2 cups hand shredded Mozzarella Cheese or 1 16 oz bag shredded

3 cups Marinara tomato sauce homemade or 1 16 oz bottle of prepared Marinara tomato sauce

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

Salt and Pepper

1 box Lasagna Noodles

1 lb ground pork or beef sautéd and drained, set aside to cool

options:   Spinach leaves, onion sautéed, Shredded cooked chicken, Kale leaves, Broccoli steamed

Boil a large pot of water and partially boil the Lasagna Noodles till flexible.  Drain and place in a cold water bath.

In a bowl place ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, egg and salt and pepper.  Mix till incorporated.  Set aside

Assemble:  

In a large greased baking dish spoon about 1/2 cup sauce onto the bottom and spread around.  

Take one lasagna noodle, spread 2 Tablespoons of ricotta cheese mixture across the noodle, then place 2 Tablespoons of meat.  Take one end and roll the noodle up to form a rollatini.  Place flat side down in baking dish.  Repeat till all the noodles and filling has been used.

Spoon remaining sauce over the rollatini then sprinkle with parmesan cheese and remaining mozzarella cheese.  Cover with tin foil.

Bake in a 350∘ oven for approximately 1 hour or till bubbly and cheese is melted.  You may remove the tin foil in the last 10 minutes of baking to brown the top of the cheese.

 

Now...how hard was that?

"When your Italian mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it is mere formality.

It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no.

You're going to get advice anyway."

- Anonymous

Garden Canning

316.  Canning tomatoes is a must each autumn.  My tomato plants were great producers with constant tomatoes on the vine from May through November.  I purchased the plants in March at a plant distributor in Brooklyn, NY.  It was very early but I brought them home and kept them warm and watered till May.  These plants were significantly hardy and healthy as opposed to plants that I would buy locally in town.   Along with tomato plants I purchased flowers and herbs, which were also good quality and productive.

Each week would produce a basket full of tomatoes and cucumbers.  There are only so many tomatoes you can eat fresh.  The rest were destined to be sauce, salsa and marinara.  Towards the end of the growing season, when the temperature stayed below 70degrees, the tomatoes that were green were very useful for green salsa.  And can I say, the green salsa turned out "magnificent"!

 I still use some of the old canning jars my mom gave to me and others purchased at flee markets and yard sales.  My funnel was purchased in my first year of marriage when we lived in Seattle, Washington.  We loved to go to Remlinger Farms, pick apples and enjoy the beautiful scenery in Carnation, Washington.  Here is the link:  https://remlingerfarms.com/wholesale.htm

I was able to put up 3 batches of tomato sauce and marinara as well as 2 batches of salsa in pint jars.  This was the best tomato growth I can remember in many, many years.  Not to mention the great fresh basil, parsley and oregano growth as well.  Ahhhh, homemade sauce, nothing like it!

"There ain't nothin' better in life than true love and a home grown tomato."

-Old Saying 

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

281.  Recently, we tried several "Pintrest"recipes with a Mexican flair. 

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps from Mels Kitchen Cafe and Avocado, Cream Cheese, and Salsa Puffs from Averie Cooks.  

Both recipes were easy to follow and were yummy.  My favorite were the Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps.  

So as we made the recipes, I decided to change them a bit.  Just reading the ingredients I was concerned the chicken would be too dry. 

 This is our version:

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

2 chicken breasts, bone on or boneless, boiled in salted water for an hour till falling off bone, shredded

    (or cooked shredded pork, shredded beef, ground beef)

2 green scallion onions, chopped

1/2 green pepper diced  

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 clove garlic, minced

ground pepper

1 cup sour cream

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

10 medium size flour tortillas

Mix all together and taste for seasoning.  Lay a tortilla flat and place 1 cup chicken mixture down the center of the tortilla making it into a log shape.  Do not go all the way to the edges.  Fold over all four sizes starting on a short side tucking the edges inside. Fill all tortillas till chicken filling is used up.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon olive oil.  When oil has heated up place tortilla seam side down.  Toast each side and transfer to a serving dish.  

 Avocado, Cream Cheese and Salsa Puffs were good but they lacked flavor *note to self-add more flavorful seasoning next time*.  They looked beautiful but we followed the recipe too close.

 If I made them again, I would add green onion, lime, fresh tomato instead of salsa, cilantro or parsley and garlic salt.  We added a little lime to the avocado and chili powder to the cream cheese but they just needed help in the flavor department.

Next time I'd like to try the chicken filling in the puff pastry...now that would be perfect!!

 We had a delicious meal with all the extras.  Finished with a game of "Spoons", coffee and yummy crumb cake from Front Street Bakery.

 "Who loves a lot, forgives a lot."
~Amadeo Nervo

Applesauce Homemade

233. Homemade applesauce is a wonderful addition to a meat and potatoes meal.

With apples in season and fall rapidly replacing summer, it is time to consider all the possibilities you have in using apples.

My father loved to make homemade applesauce. He would gather his bag or basket of apples next to him. Spread out newspaper on the table. Collect his small paring knife and a bowl to capture all the apple slices. Then, would begin to peel every apple, without a peeler, but with his small paring knife. Round and round he would go around every apple making only one long curly peel from every apple. I loved watching him and would be amazed that he would never break the continuous peel and would get so close to the apple so as not to waste a bit of apple flesh. He would chop up his apples in hand right over the bowl and every slice or chunk was perfectly chopped. My father was neat and so particular. I would watch him make his applesauce. He would place the chopped, peeled apples into a saucepan and add about 1 1/2" of water to the bottom.
,

Then add about a cup of sugar...or more, depending on the tartness of the apples. He would sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and I hate to say, an entire stick of butter. I use about 2 teaspoons. He would turn on the heat to medium and place a lid on top.

The apples would steam and cook in the saucepan. He would check on them to make sure they wouldn't stick or to see if they were evenly cooking.

Once the apples were tender and rendered juice, he would begin to mash them.

A potato masher would work just fine. He would stir and mash the apples till they were smooth, and consistently mixed.

Now, I like chunks in my applesauce and do not like it puréed. The type of apples you use will dictate the finished product as well. Some apples maintain their shape even after baking or cooking, while others tend to fall apart and soften. This site, the Natural Hub, is helpful with understanding types of apples.

Applesauce is task oriented with peeling, coring and chopping. Once you place the apples on the stove to cook...you are home free. But it is the flavor that is the most rewarding. You will not reach for another store bought jar again. You may also make applesauce and process it in sterile jars to set aside for the future.

I love the fact that applesauce reminds me of my father and good memories as a child.

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table.

~ Ronald Reagan

"Why do we need so many different kinds of apples? Because there are so many different kinds of folks. There is merit in variety itself. It provides more points of contact with life, and leads away from uniformity and monotony."

-Liberty Hyde Bailey in 'The Apple Tree', 1922

Culinary Institute of America

229. The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York was our destination today. What a lovely drive up the Taconic Parkway as we drove away from the dark rain clouds over NYC. This is a wonderful experience for the eyes and the palate.

The Culinary Institute is open daily to visitors to tour the grounds and sample the fare. With multiple Restaurants and Cafe for you to eat the sumptuous foods prepared by the culinary students, you come away completely satisfied.

The grounds are impeccable!

There are beautiful planter urns all around filled with beautiful flowers and greens.

But if you look closer...you see the planters are not only filled with flowers and greens...they are all edible! Nasturtiums, Cherry Tomato Plants and Peppers growing in planters.

And here, Red Leaf Lettuce, type of Zinnia and Golden Marigolds.

The view is beautiful overlooking the Hudson River.

The air is filled with delicious scents. Foods being cooked in many kitchens.

We ate in the Apple Pie Bakery Cafe' which is ala carte and very casual.

As you wait to order, there are prepared items to purchase.

These Peanut Butter Pound Cakes looked absolutely wonderful.

The cases are filled with prepared desserts and baked items. The Culinary Students suggested we select items for dessert as we order our lunch. Because when they sell out of an item, it is gone for the day.

So our luncheon meals consisted of: Truffled Grilled Cheese Sandwich served with Kale Chips

The sandwich was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! So cheesy with an earthy flavor from the black truffle spread. And the kale chips were light, salty and so tasty and beautiful!

Grilled Chicken Sandwich with a Baby Mixed Green Salad and Remoulade Sauce

Specialty Baked Macaroni and Cheese with tubetti pasta, gruyere and parmesan cheese. Fantastic!

Smoked Salmon Salad with Mâche Greens. The bottom layer was gorgeous smoked salmon that tasted like butter, then fingerling and peruvian potatoes sliced and covered with pickled red onions, ending with the greens. The most fascinating element was the boiled egg yolk lightly crumbled over the top.

The dressing was a honey mustard vinaigrette and whole wheat sourdough bread came cradled in a napkin.

Every bite was delightful!

Then there were the desserts...we just had to sample several. So we selected a variety of French Macaroons.

Pistachio and Cherry and Cream & Orange Cream Macaroons. The Students strongly suggested the mini Apple Pie Cupcake with Caramel Butter Cream! Wow!

Blueberry, Goat Cheese and Apricot and Coffee Macaroons. All were served to your table on individual tapas plates.

Frozen Sampler: Pistachio Ice Cream, Blueberry Sorbet (my favorite!), Mascarpone Ice Cream and Raspberry Sorbet. They were all so delicious!

Brioche Pecan Sticky Bun!

Frozen Strawberry Macaroon Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich. This was so fantastically delicious, with the delight of a giant macaroon filled with rich homemade ice cream.

All I can say is...if you love tasting good food...this is the place to visit. The Students were so very eager to please, help and describe what we were eating.

There is also a gift shoppe where you can pick up kitchen items, cookbooks and CIA memorabilia.

Plan a trip to Hyde Park, New York...and you can also visit the Vanderbilts Mansion and FDR's Estate. Well worth the trip!

"In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way."

~Franklin D. Roosevelt