Eating Sicily

Sorry about not posting recently, but I was eating my way around Sicily.  We arrived in Catania, Sicily on May 20th and departed on June 2nd.  We had a wonderful trip.  To all the Sicilians who shared their culture with us, thanks.  I hope when you to travel to the US, we will show you the same hospitality. 

Over the summer, I will be sharing some of my favorite Sicilian recipes on this blog.  I had some very good and memorable foods. 

I must say Sicily had the most beautiful and biggest garlic bulbs I have ever seen.  If only I could have brought a few back to the states.

Eggplants, well, I think Sicilians have mastered using eggplants.  We saw variety after variety of eggplants.  We had eggplant lasagna, eggplant roll-ups, ricotta cheese sandwiched between eggplant slices.

Veal Involtini - essentially this is meat rolled around breadcrumbs and either fried, baked or grilled.  These were very thin slices of veal.  This dish makes good use of breadcrumbs and a small amount of meat.

 

And, finally dessert.  Most desserts tended to be lighter and refreshing. 

If you've got a favorite Mediterranean recipe, let us know.  But check back over the summer and see what is happening as a result of my trip. 

More Green Beans

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about that ever present Thanksgiving dish – Green Bean Casserole.  This week, before the Thanksgiving holiday, I decided to post another green bean recipe for people who just can’t fall in love with the green bean casserole.  I found this recipe after a few failed attempts.  I must say it is my favorite recipe.  I could not stop eating them.  Now how many times can you say that you have been unable to stop eating green beans?

There are a couple of things that I like about this recipe – it can be partially prepared ahead of time and it is cooked completely on the stovetop.  It is quick and simple. 

Green Beans with Lemon and Garlic

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

1½ pounds green beans, trimmed

1 teaspoon salt, divided

1½ Tablespoons olive oil

1½ Tablespoons butter

1 clove of garlic

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, minced 

Directions:

1.     Fill a Dutch oven about half full of water and bring to a boil.  Add green beans; cover, reduce heat.  Simmer for about 10 minutes or until tender.  Drain beans.

2.     Heat oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and sauté for about 1 minute.  Add beans, juice, salt, and pepper.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Sprinkle with parsley. 

Note:  If desired green beans can be cooked ahead of time and sautéed just before serving.

Semester Leftovers

Late last week I was in a quandary over what to write about this week. Nothing sparked my interest. It’s that time of year – you are at the end of winter produce (or you are sick of it) and spring hasn’t quite sprung.

It is also almost the end of the semester and as usual, we have too much of some stuff and are scrounging around for other stuff. This year we had potatoes left over. They are about ready to sprout. So of course I had to save them. At least this way, I would have part of my lunch taken care of.

I decided to make mashed potatoes. Since we have other odds and ends around the food lab, I decided to throw in a couple of other things. I roasted some garlic. There is also ½ of a package of cream cheese dying a slow death. I have a colleague who puts cream cheese in her mashed potatoes. So I thought I would try that too. Afterall, I do have that ‘waste not, want not’ mentality. Off to the kitchen to make my ‘End of the Semester’ Mashed Potatoes.

‘End of the Semester’ Mashed Potatoes

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 pound Russet potatoes

5 to 6 cloves of roasted garlic

4 ounces cream cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Peel and cube potatoes. Rinse potatoes. Drain. Add to a medium sized saucepan. Cover with water and place the lid on saucepan. Cook until potatoes can be pierced with a knife.

2. Drain and leave on burner until potatoes are dry.

3. In a large bowl, combine garlic and cream cheese. Add potatoes and mashed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

If you would like to tell us what you do with your 'end of the whatever' food, please do so.  We relish the ideas of other foodies.

To all you heading off someplace fun for the summer, enjoy! And please read the blog occasionally. We will be posting over the summer.