Me and Italian food, we go way, way back; all the way back to the dusty, faded, Polaroid-tinted memories of my early youth in the 70’s. I spent my single digit years in one of Montreal’s most ethnically diverse neighborhoods, Park Extension, or Park Ex to those who have more pressing matters to attend to and don’t have time for three syllables.

Park Extension has always been a gateway neighborhood for new immigrants to Canada, and in the 70’s, the cultural landscape was largely made up of people from Greece, Italy and other Mediterranean countries. It was and still is a lower income working-class neighborhood, poor of means, but still rich in tradition and a strong a sense of community.

Both Dad and Mom worked outside the home, which wasn’t all that common in those days. There were no school buses to take me to and from school, no after school programs, and I walked home for lunch every day because the school didn’t have the staff or the facilities for the children to eat there.

Just in case you were wondering, yes, we had electricity, yes,  there was indoor plumbing, and no, we did not use clay tablets to write on. 

I do remember one extra special day, a day when there was a solar eclipse schedule to happen right at the time we went home for lunch. Apparently the school believed that if young children were caught out on the street during the eclipse, they would succumb to the urge to look at the sun, and their eyeballs would melt right out of their heads, or something to that effect. So for that one day only, I was allowed to eat lunch in my classroom with all the other antsy, excited children and one slightly bemused and frazzled teacher. This was undoubtedly the most thrilling thing to happen to me in my young life up to that point. Unless you count getting my first goldfish, may he rest in peace.  My second goldfish followed a few months later, after I had learned a few things about feeding, tank cleaning, and goldfish carcass disposal.

Sorry, the mind just wanders when you get to be as old as me. Right, so where was I?

With Mom working days and Dad working the hours a fireman works, I needed safe harbor after school and at lunch when they weren’t home. Mr. and Mrs. Ciaramellano and their two children lived next door to us. Literally next door, since we shared the same front balcony. I was instructed by my mother to head directly to their house at lunch time and after school. I did this unerringly and without question, because I was a good little girl, and because I greatly valued the hide that my Father would flay off my backside if I didn’t. Mrs. Ciaramellano didn’t speak English very well, but that was ok, because I didn’t speak Italian very well either. She sure knew how to cook though, and that’s what was really important to a hungry six year old. After the walk home from school, I barely had the chance to knock before she would be opening the door to usher me in, always with the prerequisite kiss to each cheek. I would then follow her and her white apron to the kitchen from which the most wonderful aromas always escaped. Sometimes she would let me help make the pasta or gnocchi for that night’s dinner, and I remember the joyful sense of accomplishment I felt the first time I rolled a piece of gnocchi off the tines of a fork and it looked just like the ones she had made, and not like an albino garden slug. She tended a vegetable garden on her postage stamp sized piece of cultivatable land, and grew herbs and even fruit trees in pots she would haul back into the house every winter. I can still smell and taste the deceptively simple sauce she would cook from her garden tomatoes and herbs. Served over a bed of freshly made pasta, it was a bowl full of the earthy-fresh flavors of a well loved summer garden.

This stracciatella soup is another one of those simple yet soul-warming dishes that are at the heart of Italian cooking. Eggs and parmesan cheese are whisked into the rich broth of slow cooked bollito di manzo to make a soup that will warm you up from the tip of your nose to the tips of your toes.

And to you, Mrs. Ciaramellano, wherever you are, I say thank you; for your generosity of spirit, and for teaching me to love and cherish good, simple food.

If you have the time and the inclination, take a peak at this wonderful series of pictures on Flickr of Park Extension today from urbanphoto.net.

Roman Egg-drop Soup – Stracciatella
Adapted from Livia Tistarelli via Gourmet

4 large eggs
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
8 cups of  broth from bollito di manzo

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, cheese, nutmeg, pepper and 1 cup of the cold broth.  Bring the remainder of the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Pour in the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute, continuing to whisk. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with additional parmesan on the side, if desired.

Printable Recipe

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Chicken Noodle Soup Remedy
2. Thai Curry and Coconut Butternut Squash Soup
3. Bollito Di Manzo – Italian Boiled Beef with Tomato, Anchovy and Caper Sauce

©EclecticCook.com, 2010. | Permalink toRoman Egg-drop Soup – Stracciatella | 12 comments |

When someone at All-Clad tells you that something new and revolutionary is coming, you tend to perk up and listen. I definitely perked. And when someone at All-Clad asks if you would pretty-please mind trying out this new and revolutionary thingy and giving them some feedback on what you think about it, who am I to say no? This would be how the shiny new All Clad 3 quart saucepan with d5 technology found itself a new home on the shelf next to my cast iron skillet.

The Technology:
What is this revolutionary d5 technology that sounds like rocket science, you ask? Here is a nifty diagram:

The d5 is for the 5 bonded layers as opposed to the usual 3. The inside layer is corrosion resistant, non-reactive 18/10 stainless steel. The inner stainless steel core is sandwiched between 2 aluminum layers which are responsible for the even heat distribution and the ability of the pan to quickly attain and maintain its temperature. The outer layer is shiny enough to use to put on your makeup. Oh and it’s magnetized, so you can use it on induction burners. Not that I have an induction burner. In fact I’m not really sure how an induction burner works. But I felt I should mention it, and so I did.  As you can see from my pictures, they’ve also redesigned the handles on the pan and the lids, which I really like. The new design makes it easier to use potholders or towels to grab the handles.

And that’s about all any cook who doesn’t have a PhD in Metallurgical Engineering needs to know about that. I’m guessing that what you really want to know is what this all means in kitchen speak.

The Performance:
To put the saucepan through some paces, I decided to make polenta, which can go really, really wrong in the wrong kind of pot. Not that I would know anything about sticking, burning polenta. Nope, not in my kitchen.  If you feel inclined to give it a try, you can find my decadently creamy, cheesy polenta recipe at the end of this post.

I really think I could have walked away from the cooking polenta for 30 whole minutes and not have had a single bit of it burnt or stuck to the pan. It would probably be a lumpy mess, but it would be an unstuck lumpy mess.  As it was I whisked it only occasionally during the cooking and had no problems. Zero, zip, nada.  I did have to lower the heat a bit once the pan got going, or risk a volcanic polenta eruption. This tells me that the heat retention capabilities of this cookware have not been exaggerated, which can mean having to adjust cooking temperatures for your recipes. If you are used to cooking a dish on medium high, you may have to knock that down to medium once the pan heats up.

If you don’t want to get those little scratches like I have on my pan above, just use a silicone whisk instead of a metal one. Me, I’m perfectly content with my scratches; they show that it’s a well used, well loved pan. And they in no way affect the performance.

To sum it up: No hot spots, even cooking, better heat retention, lower cooking temperatures and it’s darn nice to look at too. And did I mention that I have run it through the dishwasher a few dozen times by now, and it’s just as pretty as the day we met?

Miscellaneous (But Still Useful!) Info:
As someone who is working her way through a bad case of tennis elbow -  which I got from playing Super Mario Brothers on the Wii, not from playing tennis – I do have to mention that the saucepan is surprisingly heavy. I’m not talking cast iron heavy, but it could probably take out a small mammal if I accidentally dropped it on one. This is, of course, an indicator of a great piece of cookware, but my elbow isn’t quite as convinced.

The Bottom Line:
I find myself using this saucepan for just about everything saucy, soupy and stewy, and it invariably performs without fail.  My other saucepans are thinking of leaving me, and frankly, I wouldn’t be at all sad to see them go. I have a stainless fry pan, but I am putting a new d5 pan on my wish list for the very near future.

Where to Buy:
As of December 26, 2009, the new All-Clad line is available exclusively at Williams Sonoma.

Full Exposure Disclosure:
And finally, just so you (and the FTC) know, if I had turned out that I didn’t like the saucepan, I wouldn’t be writing about it. I did get to keep it, but the people at All-Clad would have had to pry it out of my cold, dead hands to get it back anyway.

The Recipe:

Polenta Mascarpone

5 cups water
3 tbsp butter
⅓ cup heavy cream
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 cup yellow cornmeal
½ cup mascarpone cheese
½ cup parmesan, finely grated

Bring water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add butter, cream, salt and pepper. Whisk in the cornmeal and continue to whisk until fully incorporated and free of lumps. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in the mascarpone and parmesan.  Serve immediately.

Printable Recipe

Try serving this creamy, rich polenta with a big heaping spoonful of my Bollito Di Manzo – Italian Boiled Beef with Tomato, Anchovy and Caper Sauce.

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Bollito Di Manzo – Italian Boiled Beef with Tomato, Anchovy and Caper Sauce
2. Risotto with Smoked Italian Sausage
3. Roman Egg-drop Soup – Stracciatella

©EclecticCook.com, 2010. | Permalink toPolenta Mascarpone and the New All-Clad with d5 Technology | 9 comments |

I’ve learned eleven really important things over the past few weeks:

1. Just because this is Kansas does not mean that that it can’t get cold enough outside to freeze my eyelashes together.
2. Sometimes, snow will stay on the ground for way more than a day in Kansas.
3. I need winter boots. With a soft, fluffy lining.
4. I fully and completely understand the term “wind chill”.
5. The warmest part of my dog is her belly.
6. My dog squeals like a stuck pig when cold feet contact warm belly.
7. Braising meat on the stove for a good long time will really warm up my kitchen.
8. The condensation from all that braising liquid will freeze my patio door shut, and my dog will invariably need to go to the bathroom at that exact moment.
9. When my dog really needs to go to the bathroom, she will use her cold nose as a weapon to get me up off the couch.
10. It’s a long, cold walk through the unheated garage to the other backyard door.
11. I really need to make sure the children are out of earshot before grumpily threatening to sell the family dog on eBay.

If you’ve been dying for a recipe good enough to freeze your patio door closed, look no further! If you haven’t, or if you are one of those extremely annoying people who live someplace where the thermometers don’t even have temperatures below 32°F marked on them, I suggest you stick around anyway. I promise you, it’ll be worth it. This recipe will take care of dinner on the first night, and make a great soup for lunch or dinner the next day.

You’ll need some beef, beef bones, various vegetables and a broiler.

A little time under the broiler makes the magic happen.

Boil for a ridiculously long time and you will be well rewarded. Check out that broth. Yes, it really was as rich and beefy as it looks.

Bollito Di Manzo – Italian Boiled Beef
Adapted from Livia Tistarelli

2 lb beef chuck roast or brisket
2 lb beef soup bones
3 quarts water
1 large onion, Quartered
2 large carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup canned, diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp fresh basil (1 tsp dried)

Place the beef, beef bones, onion, carrots, celery and garlic on a roasting pan or rimmed cookie sheet. With oven rack about 6 inches from broiler, broil the beef and vegetables for about 5 minutes per side, flipping once. The meat and vegetables should be nicely browned, but not cooked through. Place the roasted meat and vegetables, and the remaining ingredients in a heavy pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer, covered for about 3 hours or until meat is pull-apart tender. Remove the meat and slice thin or chop. Strain remaining the stock through a fine sieve or double layered cheesecloth, I use a cotton cloth. Discard the vegetables and beef bones. Reserve one cup of broth and store the remainder in the refrigerator to make stracciatella soup (Recipe coming soon to a blog post near you).

Printable Recipe

The boiled beef is traditionally served with various condiments such as salsa verde. But since I’m about as traditional as burgers and fries on Thanksgiving, I decided to do things my way, as usual. Sometimes this works out wonderfully. Sometimes – not so much. Just ask my husband.

If you Really, REALLY feel the need to do things the old fashioned way, this recipe for salsa verde from Whole Foods is really quite good.

If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, scroll down for my Italian Boiled Beef with Tomato, Anchovy and Caper Sauce recipe. It also has crushed red pepper flakes which are absolutely essential, since they help to defrost the windows. I served this over  Polenta, but you could also serve it with a penne or tagliatelle pasta, if you really want to go there.

The essentials. Without them the sauce is nothing. Less than nothing. Like, negative even.

If you really like the salty, fishy taste of anchovies, feel free to use 2 or (gasp!) 3 fillets. Mince ‘em up fine.

Ditto for the capers.

If you are feeling especially daring -and you don’t have children that hate them with a passion only a preteen can muster- you might want to add in some black olives.

Italian Boiled Beef with Tomatoes, Anchovies and Capers

2 tbsp olive oil
1 med onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 or 2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 tbsp capers, chopped
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup broth from bollito di manzo
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Boiled beef from bollito di manzo recipe, coarsely chopped

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large, heavy bottomed skillet. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Add the remainder of the ingredients, except for the boiled beef. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the boiled beef and simmer until heated through. Taste for seasoning and serve over polenta or pasta.

 Printable Recipe

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Roman Egg-drop Soup – Stracciatella
2. Risotto with Smoked Italian Sausage
3. Asian Beef Sandwich with Ginger Wasabi Mayo

©EclecticCook.com, 2010. | Permalink toBollito Di Manzo – Italian Boiled Beef with Tomato, Anchovy and Caper Sauce | 12 comments |

There is a sausage crisis in my freezer… If I don’t bring down my sausage population soon, there may be a revolt, or a mass migration to the freezer next door.

I can’t really help myself. I have a passion for that moist, sometimes juicy, perfectly seasoned, perfectly packaged meat product that is the humble sausage. I don’t discriminate; any sausage will do just fine. With the summer grilling season well under way here in Kansas, there are great deals to be had on a plethora (bonus points for using that word in a sentence) of sausages at the grocery store, farmers market and butcher shops. I have andouille, chorizo, Italian, smoked Italian, kielbasa and brats a plenty.

So blinded by my need to cull my sausage herd, I decided to cook a sausage risotto; in the summer, in Kansas, when even the thermometers are sweating. I was forced to contemplate my sanity as I stood over my boiling pot of risotto, stirring for all I was worth, and praying for a stray breeze from a passing cat. I love this recipe though, so I suppose my brush with heat stroke was worth it in the end. My husband, who was parked in the cool comfortable basement for the entire ordeal, certainly thought so.

This recipe calls for sweet Italian sausage, but I used a smoked Italian style sausage this time around. Both versions are very good. The smoked sausage version is a more earthy and complex tasting, while the sweet Italian is fresher, with a simpler flavor.

Risotto almost always starts the same; cook the rice in some fat (usually oil or butter) for a few minutes, add wine, then add a boiling liquid a bit at a time, making sure it gets absorbed after every addition. Any variation to the theme after that is up to the individual.

Did I mention the stirring? Yeah, it’s a bit of a pain. I have to admit I slack off on the stirring, at least during the first half. I stir when I add the liquid, then maybe once or twice more. I pick up on my stirring during the last half of the cooking, and I haven’t really had an issue.  My risotto still comes out nice and creamy.

If you add the spinach right at the end, after you have taken the pot off the heat, it stays bright green and fresh-picked tasting. Sorry Popeye, but I like my spinach much better this way.

Risotto with Smoked Italian Sausage
Adapted from Everyday Food
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 lb smoked Italian sausage, cut into a ¼ inch dice (can substitute regular italian sausage)
1 cup Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine at room temperature
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes with their juice
2 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cups water
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 9-10 oz bag baby spinach, washed
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the tomatoes and their juices, the chicken stock/broth, the water and the Italian seasoning and bring to a bare simmer in a small pot.
Heat the olive oil in heavy saucepan or Dutch oven and add the onions, garlic and sausage. Cook over med heat until the sausage starts to brown and the onions are tender, about 5 minutes.  
Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil and cook for about 3 minutes. The rice will start to become translucent around the edges. Add the wine and stir until completely absorbed.
Start adding the tomato/broth mixture about a cup at a time, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is almost absorbed before adding another cup. For the last few additions of liquid, stir the rice almost continually. This will help make the risotto nice and creamy. The total cooking time should be about 25 to 30 minutes, and the rice should be just tender. You may not need all of the tomato/broth mixture.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter, cream and parmesan. Add the spinach and mix until the spinach is just wilted.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve right away.

(Printable Recipe)

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Bollito Di Manzo – Italian Boiled Beef with Tomato, Anchovy and Caper Sauce
2. Couscous with Raisins and Toasted Almonds
3. Affordable Beef Stroganoff

©EclecticCook.com, 2009. | Permalink toRisotto with Smoked Italian Sausage | 10 comments |