Tomato Bruschetta

421.  Tomato Bruschetta is a lovely appetizer, a first course, tapas, or light meal.  It is also complimentary to any Italian meal and is so satisfying.  From the crunch of the toasted bread, cool tomatoes, fresh basil, hints of garlic and pulled together with olive oil.  Each bite is a delight.

Bruschetta is delicious!  Simple, satisfying and each bite is like the first bite!

"I'm into very colorful food.  Obviously lost of flavor, but I think we eat with our eyes first, so it has to look great.  The presentation has to be great."

~ Giada De Laurentiis

Bolognese

359.  Italian Meat Sauce is a favorite for me often called Bolognese.  It is a one dish wonder and always is satisfying.  Here is my Bolognese recipe

To save recipe select and drag to desktop and print as picture or print as a photo from mobile device.

There are many different Bolognese recipes out there.  Some call for bay leaf, carrots and celery, fennel, wine, prosciutto, cream, leeks, and the list trails on.  Truly, it is a recipe that varies from person to person.  You can place in your Bolognese whatever you want...to your liking.  So go ahead and experiment, try different recipes and see which one you like the best.

"Mangia Tutti Mangia!"

"If kids can learn how to make a simple Bolognese Sauce, they will never go hungry.  It's pretty easy to cook pasta, but a good sauce is way more useful.  ~ Emeril Lagasse

Green Tomato Salsa

344. Garden Diaries..."The end of the growing season on Long Island has come to an end.  So, my tomato plants will not be giving me any more tomatoes or ripen the tomatoes on the vine.  My father would take his green tomatoes at the end of the season and place them in a brown shopping bag and put them under the sink in the kitchen.  This would cause them to ripen from the warmth of the house and the lack of light in the bag.  I tried this method many times but this year I wanted to use the tomatoes right away.  My solution, make salsa...green tomatoes and all."

Here is my process...Green tomatoes and all!

I chopped the whole tomatoes into cubes then placed all in a saucepan and followed my pico de gallo salsa recipe Here.
I brought the mixture to a boil then immediately placed in sterile canning jars and sealed them.
How great to pull these jars out in the middle of the winter!
If I need a quick salsa but don't have all the ingredients, I will open one of these canned jars, pour into a serving bowl, add 5 chopped tomatoes, 3 chopped green scallions and chopped cilantro adding salt and pepper to taste.  Perfection!

"Canned tomatoes are like summer saved....all that deep sun kissed flavor ready to be enjoyed."
~Better Homes and Garden

Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls

201. Recently, our family meals have been "meat-free" meals. After making a large varieties of soups, salads and veggie casseroles, I decided to make stuffed cabbage. But, without ground beef??? Why, yes!

I prepared the cabbage as I usually do (recipe here), and then mixed up the filling next.

Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage

cabbage rolls:

1 large green cabbage, cored

filling:

2 cups long grain rice

1 container tofu, rinse and crumble into small pieces

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, minced

1 egg

1/2 cup chopped tomato

1/4 cup chopped parsley

salt/pepper

sauce:

1 small onion, chopped

1 large can chopped tomatoes

1 clove garlic, minced

olive oil

salt/pepper

Prepare the cabbage by dropping the whole cabbage in a pot of boiling salted water. As cabbage leaves come away from the head, remove each one from the pot and place in a cold water bath. Drain and set aside.

Prepare the sauce in a large dutch oven or deep, wide sauce pot. Saute onions in olive oil. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Add can of tomatoes and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer

Mix the filling ingredients together. Fill the cabbage leaves with a heaping tablespoon of filling. Wrap the cabbage leaves loosely to allow for rice to expand. Place wrapped cabbage leaves in the simmering sauce.

Cover the cabbage rolls and allow them to simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.

Cabbage rolls will be tender, rice will be soft and cabbage color will be faded.

Delicious and no meat was used.

I kept the "tofu" a secret and my 12 year old gobbled them down. She really liked the flavor.

“One of the delights of life is eating with friends,

second to that is talking about eating.

And, for an unsurpassed double whammy,

there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.”
~Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking'

Winter Vegetable Soup

193. Any time is a good time for soup. But winter is especially the perfect time for a hot bowl of soup made with fresh vegetables. This recipe is easy, quick and very satisfying. It is vegetarian but chicken could be added during the first stages of the cooking process.

Winter Vegetable Soup

2 carrots, peeled, sliced

3 stalks celery and green tops, chopped

1 large shallot, chopped

3 potatoes, peeled and diced

2 cups mushrooms, washed and quartered

2 cloves garlic, crushed

14 oz tomatoes, canned or fresh puree'

3 cups vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried herbs or 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, basil, oregano

1/2 cup corn, fresh or frozen, optional

3 cups green cabbage, washed and shredded

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

fresh basil, chopped, for garnish

olive oil

Place oil in a stock pot and heat.

Add the carrots, celery, shallot, potato, mushrooms and garlic. Saute' for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil.

Drop in bay leaf.

Cover and let simmer for 25 minutes.

Add corn, cabbage and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Return to a boil then reduce the heat. Cover and simmer till the potato and cabbage are tender. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season to taste.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh chopped basil or parsley serving immediately.

Serve warm bread and butter or crackers and brie cheese as a perfect accompaniment.

Mom's Kitchen: "Love Served Here"

~Anonymous

Pizza Toppings

181. We've been experimenting with a variety of pizza toppings. Although I love to order pizza or go to a pizzeria, homemade pizza is just as delicious.

When we make pizza at home, I usually make my dough from "scratch". Yes, flour, yeast, water. You can find my recipe here. You could also purchase a pre-made pizza dough from your local pizza shop, find dough in the freezer section of your grocery store or shop Trader Joes Market in the prepared food coolers for pizza dough.

We tried two different toppings, broccoli and tomato.

Broccoli Topping for Pizza

2 cups chopped, fresh broccoli

2 cloves garlic crushed

olive oil

salt/pepper

parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese

pizza dough

Saute the broccoli in olive oil till bright green, add garlic and seasoning. Set aside to cool. Spread broccoli on prepared pizza dough and sprinkle parmesan cheese over broccoli evenly. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake in a 450 degree oven till cheese is browning lightly.

Stewed Rosemary Tomato Topping for Pizza

4 fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, remove rosemary leaves from stem

salt/pepper

olive oil

mozzarella cheese

pizza dough

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil for approximately 3 minutes, add tomatoes and seasoning. Saute till tomatoes begin to break down but color is bright. Set aside to cool. Spread stewed tomato on prepared pizza dough and sprinkle rosemary leaves evenly over. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake in a 450 degree oven till cheese is browning lightly.

The type of cheese you use is important. Whole milk mozzarella will give you a better overall covering and will add flavor to your pizza. Finding a cheese mix with mozzarella, provolone and parmesan is a great combination as well.

For a large pizza I will use 2 to 3 cups of cheese.

I made this pizza in my Pampered Chef bar pan.

Once the pizza was done I sprinkled whole fresh basil leaves over the top.

This was scrumptious!!! We really like using the stewed tomato topping on grilled pizza and crusty bread slices also.

"I am always doing that which I cannot do,

in order that I may learn how to do it. "

~Pablo Picasso

"Take risks: if you win, you will be happy;

if you lose, you will be wise."

~Author Unknown

Shaker Bean Soup

179. I have the perfect soup recipe for you on a chilly autumn day. This recipe was in an old "Taste of Home-Country Woman" magazine many years ago. If you know anything about ToH, they include pull out recipe cards for you to place in your recipe box. And that is where this jewel is...in my "favorites" file.

When you first read the ingredients, it is difficult to assimilate the tastes with the finished product. But trust me, you will be in awe as you take the first couple bites and the richness and full body flavor of this soup surprises you!

Fresh ingredients are always my first choice, but frozen or canned substitutes work just as well.

Shaker Bean Soup

Country Woman (Taste of Home) Jan/Feb 1992

Grand Prize Winning Recipe

1 pound dry great northern beans

water

1 meaty ham bone or 2 smoked ham hocks (don't use a ham bone from a ham baked with cloves or spices.)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 large stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, shredded

kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes in puree, or 6 fresh tomatoes chopped and crushed

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 cups finely shredded fresh spinach leaves, or one frozen package of spinach, thawed

Sort and rinse beans. Place in a Dutch oven or soup kettle; cover with water and bring to boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; let stand 1 hour. Drain beans and discard liquid. In the same kettle, place ham bone or hocks, 3 quarts of water and the beans. Bring to a full rolling boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until meat easily falls from the bone. Remove bones from broth and, when cool enough to handle, trim meat. Discard bones.

Add ham, onion, carrots, salt pepper and thyme. Simmer covered, 1 hour or until beans are tender.

Once beans are tender, continue with remaining ingredients.

Add tomatoes and brown sugar. Cook for 10 minutes. Just before serving, add spinach. This gives the soup a beautiful color with the bright green of the spinach.

The cook who shared this homemade recipe was Deborah, of Michigan.

You will be delighted to serve this delicious and beautiful, colorful soup. It is very hearty and filling. Perfect on a cold evening. And you will wait in line for seconds!

"Omit and substitute! That's how recipes should be written.

Please don't ever get so hung up on published recipes that you forget that you can omit and substitute."
~Jeff Smith (the Frugal Gourmet)

"Recipes are like poems; they keep what kept us.

And, good cooks are like poets; they know how to count."

~Henri Coulette