Stuffed Peppers

Here's a nice dish that has become a Sunday staple for us. Nice and filling, goes great by itself or with a side of pasta (and, of course, some red wine). One of my favorite dishes to end a long weekend!

There are a number of stuffing recipes to use for Stuffed Peppers. This recipe originally called for ground beef, but we like to use ground turkey. Ground sausage removed from it's casing would also work well and add a nice punch (hmmm..think I'll try that next time). I've only used rice as my base, but am interested in trying other stuffings (breadcrumbs, etc.). Do YOU have a good Stuffed Pepper recipe? If so, please pass along! Ciao!

STUFFED PEPPERS

1 pound ground turkey (or ground beef if you prefer)
1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 cup water
6 large or 8 small green bell peppers
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350º.
Place the rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 20 minutes. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground turkey until evenly browned.
Remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the bell peppers. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward. (Slice the bottoms of the peppers if necessary so that they will stand upright.)
In a bowl, mix the browned ground turkey, cooked rice, 1 can tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Spoon an equal amount of the mixture into each hollowed pepper. Mix the remaining tomato sauce and Italian seasoning in a bowl, and pour over the stuffed peppers.
Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, basting with sauce every 15 minutes, until the peppers are tender.

Egg White Lobster Omelette

Another get-together for my wife and her friends...another chance for me to have some fun in the kitchen! Since Julianna had just come off of an exceptionally good week, she was treated to a Happy Meal and a Shamrock shake. I know, blasphemy to umpteenth level for an Italian American parent who loves to cook. But the door was wide open for me to get creative with my dinner.

I was in the mood for some sort of jacked-up omelette. I'm a big breakfast fan, and can eat a breakfast meal any time of the day. Plus, Italians can mix just about anything with an egg to make a great meal (potatoes, peppers, asparagus, ham, hot dogs...you name it). I had just bought a pack of lobster meat earlier in the week. Although it wasn't 100% pure lobster meat, but rather pollock mixed with lobster, the taste and texture isn't bad at all. Plus, I'm sure it's much better than the Loobster that was served at the Hungry Heifer (Norm's favorite restaurant on Cheers). Obviously, I would prefer real lobster meat, but hey, we're in a recession!

I decided to try an egg white lobster omelette. With just a few spices and a chopped up green bell pepper, I had a very tasty and filling meal in a matter of minutes. I'm sure I'll experiment more with the spices the next time I make this dish. However, it was quite tasty as is. If you're a fan of omelettes and seafood — or if you can't make it to the Hungry Heifer for it's Roast Biff and Loobster surf & turf meal — I'm sure you'll like this.

Egg White Lobster Omelette

1 package imitation lobster meat (or real lobster meat if you prefer), chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
3 large egg whites
1 teaspoon parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon milk
Spices to taste: salt, pepper, paprika, Old Bay seasoning

Drizzle vegetable oil to coat bottom of a medium size skillet; heat on medium. Add chopped peppers; saute until crisp-tender. Add chopped lobster meat plus dash of salt, pepper and paprika; stir until heated. Remove from skillet, set aside.
Mix egg whites, parmesan cheese, milk, dash of salt, pepper and Old Bay. Pour mixture into a heated non-stick or greased pan. Flip egg once, then immediately top with lobster mix and fold egg into a half circle. Remove from pan and enjoy!

Traditions

I am a person who values tradition. It plays an important part in our family. As the seasons change, we look forward to special events, family visits, road trips and of course, special meals!

A few years back, my Uncle started a tradition of making his own home-made wine. Like many Italians from generations past, he takes great pride in crafting his wine and passing out the bottles for all to share. His passion and dedication inspired me to start my own tradition - making home made orangecello. The recipe I chose takes about 3 months to age, so this is the perfect time of year to prepare the liqueur in order to enjoy it during those hot summer nights. I made my first batch last year and named it Domenicello. We had the ceremonial unveiling after the birth of our second daughter, Ava Lynn. I have to say...I was very pleased with the end result, as were everyone else who shared in drinking it. There was no doubt that making orangecello would become an annual event for me.

As I was sitting in my kitchen just the other night, shaving down the orange peels for this year's batch, it occurred to me that I was not only starting my own tradition, but also carrying on the tradition of my grandfathers. My Grandpop Condo was a brick layer, responsible for helping build many of the churches, schools and some of the most famous sports facilities in the Philadelphia area. My Grandpop Ricciuti was a chemist and a professor at Drexel University, whose works and studies have been documented in chemistry books. Here I am, many years later, using my hands to carefully craft and scrape the key ingredient to my orangecello, and eventually I will be measuring and scaling the remaining ingredients, making sure to that the end result is balanced out to perfection. While a simple bottle of orangecello is not nearly as impressive as the works that both of my grandfathers helped create, it has taught me to appreciate the love and dedication that they both showed for their craft. And I'll be sure to toast them both with my first sip of my 2009 Domenicello.

NOTE - While I love posting recipes and hearing great feedback on your great dishes, Domenicello is my own special little baby. So, I've decided to keep that recipe to myself. However, I am always more than happy to share a glass with you! Salute.

Rustic-style Chicken, Sausage and Potato Bake

A cold and dreary Sunday afternoon, with the potential of a major snowstorm on it's way...what better excuse than to stay in and cook a hearty meal! Today, I decided to make a a rustic chicken, sausage and potato dish. Our friends Lorena and Mike made a similar dish for our group's annual holiday dinner that they hosted this past year. It's a filling and tasty dish, with lots of delicious and juicy chunks of meat and potatoes. Goes perfect with a nice glass of red wine or a good, dark winter beer.

Rustic-style Chicken, Sausage and Potato Bake

6 potatoes, cut into chunks
4 lg. onions, halved
6 chicken thighs
1 lb. Italian sausage, cut into 3 inch pieces
2 handfuls baby carrots
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
4 tbsp. olive oil

Combine olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Coat potatoes, chicken, carrots and onions with oil and spices. Add sausage, stir together, and spread out in a medium-size roasting pan. Bake high heat, 425 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, lower heat to 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

Romantic Red Wine Risotto

Looking for a recipe to "WOW" that special someone with on Valentine's Day? Here's a fantastic Red Wine Risotto with Peas recipe that I found on the Giada De Laurentiis website. My wife and I made this dish together a few years ago when the bad weather squashed our Valentine dinner reservation plans. It is tasty, filling, smells fabulous and is the perfect dish for two!

RED WINE RISOTTO WITH PEAS
Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

3 1/2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup arborio rice, or medium-grain white rice
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/3 cup frozen peas, defrosted, optional
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus additional for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring the broth to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover the broth and keep it warm over very low heat.

Melt the butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the rice and cook for about 2 minutes until the rice is toasted. Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of hot broth; simmer over medium-low heat until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 6 minutes. Repeat, adding 3/4 cup of hot broth 2 more times, stirring often, about 12 minutes longer. At this point, the risotto can be made 4 hours ahead. Refrigerate the risotto (the rice will still be firm) and remaining broth, uncovered, until cool, then cover and keep them refrigerated until ready to proceed.

Bring the remaining broth to a simmer, then cover and keep it warm over very low heat. Stir 3/4 cup of hot broth into the partially cooked risotto over medium heat until the broth is absorbed and the risotto is hot, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining broth and simmer until the rice is just tender and the mixture is creamy, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in the peas and parsley. Add the 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Spoon the risotto into bowls. Sprinkle additional cheese over and serve.

For more information on this dish, please visit the Giada De Laurentiis wbesite.

Sambuca Shrimp Wrapped in Prosciutto

Here's an incredible appetizer suggested by my friend and co-worker, Rachel. It's a top-shelf dish that's sure to impress your guests — in name, taste and presentation. Plus, anything wrapped in prosciutto has me listening!

I had given this recipe to my friend, Kerry Jo, as a suggestion for a New Year's Eve party. It went over so well, she immediately decided to make it again for another party. Less preparation time was left for round two, so instead of wrapping the shrimp in prosciutto, she decided to go rustic-style by chopping all of the ingredients and serving it with crackers. Whichever method you decide on, I'm sure it will go over extremely well.

SAMBUCA SHRIMP WRAPPED IN PROSCIUTTO
Submitted by Rachel Renshaw

1 pound large or jumbo shrimp
8 slices of prosciutto (or more, depending on how wrapped you want your shrimp)
Sambuca
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 TBSP Fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Devein shrimp; peel, leaving tails on. In a shallow baking dish, arrange shrimp in one layer and pour in enough Sambuca to cover shrimp. Marinate for at least 4 hours. Drain shrimp. Combine finely chopped rosemary, 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in bowl. Rub on shrimp. Use prosciutto in strips, tearing these with your hands, wrap and secure with a toothpick.

In a TBSP of olive oil, saute shrimp over medium-high heat until pink through and the prosciutto is crisp.

Eggplant Parmesan

"Try it, it tastes just like pizza!" That's what my mom always used to say when she made eggplant parmesan when I was a kid. I never bought it. Pizza isn't grown from the ground and it doesn't have all those little seeds in it. Plus, I knew it had to have some sort of vegetable tie-in for her to be that insistent on me eating it. She was never that enthused when we ordered a pepperoni pizza from Celebre's!

Today, eggplant parm is one of my favorite dishes. I am also proud to say that it is a dish that my 4-1/2 year old daughter, Julianna, enjoys making with me. To quote my friend Tiffany Longo from her recent article, Family Fun for Less..."When children realize that everyone is participating in an activity for them, it fills them with pride and excitement. Suddenly, they are the chefs; they are proud to be in charge of the kitchen, and whatever we make is their masterpiece." I couldn't agree more with this. Jules is at the age where she enjoys making cookies with my wife, pouring her own cereal, stirring and adding creamer to my coffee or honey to my tea...you name it. To have her show such enthusiasm to help me cook a main dish is simply amazing and makes me extremely proud.

The big benefit from Jules' participation is that, although she will not eat the final product as a whole (too "messy" for her), she is always anxious to eat a bunch of "her" cooked eggplant cutlets. Pretty awesome for someone who rarely strays away from chicken nuggets and pasta. Of course, I could also kill off at least a dozen of the cooked cutlets myself before assembling the parm dish...they are just so good! Also, this is a great dish to enjoy a glass of wine with while both preparing and eating it. Crank up a little Sinatra or Bocelli, and you're all set!

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

• 1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 cup flour plus salt and pepper to taste
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• olive oil
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 2.25 can sliced black olives
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 cup Italian parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• splash of red wine
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, minced
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Step 1 - the Cutlets
Place flour w/salt & pepper, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs each in a separate bowl. Dip each slice of eggplant first into the flour mix, then into the egg, then into the breadcrumbs. Place breaded slices on an ungreased baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over all of the pieces liberally (the eggplant will soak up the oil). Bake slices at 350º for about 20 minutes or until golden and slightly crispy.

Step 2 - the Sauce
Drizzle bottom of a large skillet with olive oil, add onion; stir until onion is soft. Add garlic; stir about 1-2 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, olives, Italian parsley, salt and crushed red pepper; stir. Add splash of wine. Reduce heat to medium-low and gently simmer uncovered, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, add basil.

Step 3 - the Assembly
In an 8x8 baking dish, alternate layers of sauce, eggplant and cheese. You should end up three layers deep. Cover with foil and bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 5-10 minutes.

COOKING TIP #1: Like the meatballs and sausage from my Gravy blog, I also bake my eggplant cutlets in the oven. It's a healthier alternative and it frees up some time. If you prefer frying, have at it. If you do decide to bake the cutlets, be sure to drizzle them with olive oil prior to baking. Otherwise the cutlets will dry up.

COOKING TIP #2: The sliced olives are optional. They don't add much more of a taste, but I like olives and feel that they give a nice and interesting texture to the dish.

BONUS DISH!!!
Here's another great meal that we make using the breaded and baked eggplant cutlets. I love it so much, I've actually requested this from my wife as my birthday dinner. Slice up one yellow and one green squash into 1/4" chips, place on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Bake at 375º for 10-15 minutes or until slightly crisp. Serve on a nice, crispy Italian roll with cooked eggplant cutlets, roasted red peppers, sauteed spinach or broccoli rabe and a slice of sharp provolone cheese. Goes great with a nice beer or a glass of wine. Make me a sandwich like this, and I'll be your best friend!