GREEN BEANS WITH PINE NUTS

The combination of green beans, garlic, shallots, pine nuts, and lemon zest is a delicious side dish. Fagioli Verdi con Pignoli.

½ cup (125 ml) pine nuts
2 lbs (1 kg) green beans, root end snapped off

1 T (15 ml) extra-light olive oil or grape seed oil

1 large shallot, cut in half and thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 t (10 ml) lemon zest

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a deep dry skillet, toast the pine nuts over medium heat until golden.
They can burn quickly so toss or stir them often.

Pour into a small bowl and set aside.

In the same skillet add water to about ¼^th full. 

Bring to a boil, add a little salt and then add the beans.

Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Drain the beans in a colander and set aside.

In the same skillet, add the oil and sauté the shallot for 3 minutes.

Add the garlic and sauté another minute.

Pour the beans back into the skillet with the shallot mixture and heat through while mixing with a spoon.

Add the lemon zest and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Scatter on the toasted pine nuts, spoon into a serving bowl, and serve.

Serves 6

BRIE, FIG, PROSCIUTTO & APPLE PANINI

The saltiness of the prosciutto, the sweetness of the fig jam and apple, and the creaminess of the melted brie make a delicious and interesting sandwich. I made a couple of small jars of Fig and Orange Jam last summer, but now you can find fig jam in your grocery store. I served these delicious sandwiches with a Greek Salad. Did you know that one Italian sandwich is a panino and two or more are panini?

1 T extra-light olive oil

2 large shallots, thinly sliced

4 slices good crusty bread

1 T unsalted butter, softened

4 T fig jam

6 oz Brie cheese, thinly sliced

6 thin slices Prosciutto di Parma

1 apple, thinly sliced into circles

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the sliced shallots and sauté until caramelized, stirring often, about 10 minutes.

Spread butter on outside of each slice of bread.

Spread a tablespoon of fig jam on the inside of each slice of bread.

Layer the brie, prosciutto, apple slices, and shallots. Top with the other slice of bread.

Grill in a panini grill or in a cast iron skillet until golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Cut sandwiches in half and serve with a salad or soup.

Serves 2

CHRISTMAS ON THE ISLAND

Victorian table Christmas tree in my sunroom, which is now a 'snow room'.

Country Christmas tree cut from our property.

My little kitchen Christmas tree.

Christmas Eve with our daughter

Christmas Eve with my husband

RED SKY AT MORNING, SAILORS TAKE WARNING

PORCHETTA-STYLE PORK ROAST

Sunday is the perfect day for a roast pork, especially an autumn Sunday. The pork roasting in your oven will fill the house with an incredible aroma. I served it with twice baked potatoes and Harvest Escalloped Apples, recipe follows.

1 (4 to 4 ½ lb) boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)

2 T fennel seeds

1 T sea salt

2 t black peppercorns

1 t red pepper flakes

2 T fresh rosemary leaves, chopped

4 large cloves garlic

2 T extra-light olive oil

1 cup Marsala or white wine

½ cup chicken broth or stock

Pat pork dry with paper towels and place in a cast-iron skillet or heavy roasting pan.

Place fennel seeds in a small skillet and toast over medium-high heat until slightly darker in color and fragrant (about 3 to 4 minutes).

Remove from heat and let cool.

When cool, pour into a spice grinder along with salt, peppercorns, and red pepper flakes.

Grind to a medium coarseness.

Place in a small bowl and add the chopped rosemary.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Cut each clove of garlic into 4 slivers.

Using a small paring knife, make 16 holes in the roast.

Place a sliver of garlic into each.

Rub entire surface of pork with olive oil and then spread the spice mixture over the surface.

Place in oven and roast for 30 minutes

Turn down oven temperature to 300 degrees and roast for another  2 to 2½ hours, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 150 degrees.

Transfer pork to a cutting board to rest while making the sauce.

Place skillet or roasting pan on the stove.

Add the wine and chicken stock.

Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Boil until wine mixture is reduced to about 1 cup.

Pour sauce through a mesh strainer into a bowl or gravy boat.

Carve pork into ½ inch thick slices and pour a little of the sauce over.

Serves 4 

Harvest Escalloped Apples
3 Granny Smith or Jonathan apples, peeled, sliced, and slices cut in half
2 T unsalted butter
2 T brown sugar
1 T granulated sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
½ t ground ginger
¼ t ground nutmeg
1 t fresh lemon juice
Pinch of sea salt
1¼ cups apple juice

1 T cornstarch

2 T water

In a large skillet, add the apples, butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, lemon juice, salt, and apple juice.

Cook over medium heat until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Mix the cornstarch with water and add to the pan with the apples.

Cook until thickened.

BLOOD ORANGE SORBET - Sorbetto di Arance Rosse

Blood oranges are a rather gruesome name for deliciously sweet oranges with a deep scarlet colored flesh. They contain a powerful natural flavonoid that exists in red and purple fruits and vegetables. These flavonoids protect the human body from various diseases. Blood orange trees were originally grown in the fertile soils surrounding Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy.
Sorbetto is the Italian name for sorbet. Sorbetto does not contain dairy and is like biting into a fresh piece of fruit. Adding a little Campari gives the sorbetto a sophisticated and very Italian flavor!
Campari is an Italian aperitivo blended with equal parts of alcohol, sugar syrup, distilled water, and an infusion flavored with oranges, rhubarb, ginseng, and herbs.

¼ cup cold water

½ cup granulated sugar

2 cups blood orange juice (about 8 to 10 oranges), room temperature

1 T Campari or fresh lemon juice

Pour water into a heavy saucepan.

Add sugar and heat while whisking until sugar is melted.

Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Juice oranges into a 2-cup measuring pitcher and then pour into the saucepan.

Add lemon juice or Campari and whisk to combine.

Refrigerate for 1 hour and then pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s direction.

Serves 4

HONORABLE MENTION IN THE ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARD

Honorable Mention

Big Mamma's Italian-American Cookbook, Lee Casazza, Lee Casazza Cooking - When Italian immigrants come to America, they bring with them their treasured family recipes from the regions of Italy where they have lived. As these immigrants become immersed into American culture, their cuisine begins to change naturally to reflect the inspiration of their new way of life. Lee Casazza has compiled a cookbook lovingly filled with mouthwatering family recipes that have been passed down through the generations. The book includes family photos and untouched recipe photographs. Notable dishes include Roasted Pork Tenderloin Wrapped in Bacon, Big Mammas Sunday Braciole with Gravy, and Mussels with Tomatoes, Fennel & Wine. Helpful hints shorten the time on some dishes, and there are recipes that can be made in thirty minutes or less.