Heart Healty

There are a few of things that will practically guarantee a danger of heart disease.  Live in America...that is the big one!

The Mediterranean diet is fairly heart healthy.  Italians like my mother and her family are not heart disease free, but the odds are fairly low.  As we Americans export our food habits overseas, we tend to add a little gift of heart disease along with it.

Eat lots of fat to get a nasty heart condition. 
We can probably boast one of the healthiest fats there is in our Italian diet.  That is olive oil.  Most foods contain a bit of fat, even things as unlikely as onions.  Try to steam foods, boil them, or grill them on an open fire or a dry or lightly olive oil brushed, grill pan, instead of frying.  We need about a tablespoon of fat a day just to function, so do not be a fanatic. 
Choosing good, or at least better fats will go a long way toward remaining healthy.  Fish oils are pretty good as well.. Omega three oils are in a number of fish.  Before dropping all the bad meats, find out on the Internet, which fish have high, heavy metal content so you can avoid them.

Eat a lot of red meat for better chances of a heart problem. 
Our relatives did not eat all of this beef and pork or even chicken.  These were all very special treats and the meat was hard to get and hard to store.  Wild game would have been more likely in their diets...you know the ones that have little fat in them.  Fish would be more common too.  Eat meat on Sunday or on holidays and special occasions...like when the priest visits...  Let him get heart disease!

If you must eat meat, make the portions small....no more than three ounces a day and lean at that.  Lean meats, long cooked, tend to be tastier as well, though fat does add flavor, save the fat for the TV chefs and the restaurants.

Cook a few vegetables on a grill pan, then remove them and grill a bit of meat on the same pan without any more fat...lower the temperature as soon as you get color on the meat.
Stew meats after grilling in their own fat, then drain off the fat and add veggies.

Cook meats at about 185 degrees to make tough cuts tender.   Also, do not raise internal temperatures of meat above the recommended internal temperature to make them safe to eat.  They will stay moister and more tender that way.

Toss pasta in chopped Broccoli or Cauliflower instead of meat sauces.  Be especially vigilant, and remove the fat from tomato sauce before serving it, because you do not think of how bad it is in sauce because it is simmered in liquid.  We tend to think it will automatically be healthy.  Let the sauce cool, skim off fat, then reheat.  Frozen vegetables are a good and cheaper alternative to expensive fresh.

Eat plenty of sugar to end it all quickly. 
I have a sweet tooth, and I have to admit it. but you(and I) have to cut it out.  The old timers did not eat that much sugar.  European sweets are remarkably less sweet than here in general.  But sugar and honey, boiled down wine, etc. , were not cheap, and most of us were not wealthy.  Sugary sweets were, again, for special occasions.  Probably like the red meat.    Italians did not do sugary tea party treats like in England.  What sugars were common were the ones in dried fruits etc..
Sunday is also a good day for these sweets.
 
Have a little red wine...dilate your blood vessels a bit...it helps if not in excess.  People did not get big glasses of alcohol in most homes...We had thimble sized glasses of Anisette etc.. A skim on the bottom of a snifter is enough...Mmmm...Malvasia!  The rule in my house was:  Sip...just wet your lips and tongue...don't gulp it.

Bill Mitchell's Version of Apple Dumplings.

I do not believe that I have not posted these earlier.  I guess that since I lost the original recipe for the syrup, that I have not had the confidence to do my own half-assed version.
I made them today and they came out perfectly for a Christmas Eve lunch with John's family.
Soooooo...Here goes.

This is a very old fashioned dessert, so do not be surprised when I tell you to boil pastry.  Some people try to avoid the soggy bottom of the crust, and go to all sorts of lengths to make hybrids, like apples cooked in pastry with sauce poured over it.  No, you have to have it the old way...at least the first time.  Dumplings by definition are soggy masses.  This, however, has a thick brown and crisp topped crust with the soggy bottom swimming in syrup.

Pastry:
5 cups flour
1 1/2 cups shortening 1 hour in the freezer and cut up into chunks.
1 t salt
1 T sugar
1 cup water icy cold

Mix the salt flour and sugar.
Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter or use your fingers to smear or pinch the shortening into the flour till it resembles soft bread crumbs and there are still tiny bits of shortening showing here and there.
Add the water, a few tablespoons at  a time.  Toss the mixture with a fork trying to incorporate the water without getting big wet spots.  Repeat till all the water is in and the dampness is evenly distributed.  Press the mass together into a log without over working it.
Cover tightly and chill for an hour or so. and bring back to cool room temp.

Cut the log into 8 pieces.  As you use them, roll each out on a pastry board or marble slab into a rough triangle.

Cut 4 very large Granny Smiths or Cortland apples in half after peeling.  Try to use an apple that will not readily cook to a mush...avoid Macintosh.

Use a melon baller or a spoon or knife to cut out the seeds and membranes.  A grapefruit spoon works well.

Press a small amount of chopped pecans or walnuts into the hole along with a candied or Maraschino cherry if you have them.

Smear 1 T butter over the hole to hold the filling in the hole.

Mix 2 T cinnamon, a pinch of clove, 1/2 t ginger, 1/4 t nutmeg into a cup of brown sugar.

Put a generous tablespoon of the sugar mixture over the butter and wrap the whole thing in a piece of the pastry.

I dip the bottom of the apple in flour to help contain the juices inside the pastry.  Lay the rounded part of the apple in the center of a triangle of dough.
Brush all the edges with a bit of ice water.  Bring the points up to the center over the apple and pinch the seams together wet side to wet side.  Seal up the pastry by pinching together any way you can the first time.  You can figure out the neat way of doing it the third or fourth time you do it.
Lay in a lightly greased lasagna pan.  Fill the pan with the dumplings but try not to let them touch.  If you run out of room, do more in a loaf pan.
Brush the tops and especially the seams with beaten egg.

Bake for 10 to 15 min in a 375 degree oven.
Pour syrup around the apples in the pan and continue to cook up to 35 minutes or until a skewer meets no resistance when you pierce the apple inside.  The syrup should come about 1/3 to 1/2 way up the side of the dumplings.
Brush occasionally while baking with some of the syrup to form a glaze.  Allow to cool before serving, but make sure they are warm when removing from the pan as the syrup can harden.  Warm over in the oven or microwave to serve with ice cream, milk, whipped cream or cream.


Syrup:
3 cups water.
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup Caro light or dark syrup
1/3 cup butter
add any left over spices or sugar not used in the filling.

Boil five minutes till all the sugar is dissolved.

If this does not remind you of wood stoves, long tables surrounded by farm hands and family, Christmas, Thanksgiving and grandmothers, then nothing will!
I am truly sorry I do not have a photo, but they were gone before I had a chance!!!!

How to Poach an Egg

I have always hated poaching eggs.  This is made more complicated because I would not eat one if my life depended on it.  I cannot stand any part of the egg being less than hard cooked.  Over the years, I have learned how to do them because others like them that way.  the one weakness in my method has nothing to do with the recipe, but rather my own taste taking over,  I never trust myself to get them cooked to the proper doneness...I always have to ask the recipient to look at them to make sure.  That is my issue.  If you do enough of them and eat them yourself, you should not have a similar problem. 

 

I use a non stick skillet.  the shallow water and ease of approaching the surface with your hands make much more sense than a deep pan.  The non stick will help release the egg from the bottom if it touches...and it usually does a bit.

 

Bring the water just to a simmer.  Too violent a boil will scramble the eggs in the water.

 

Add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the water.  A flavored vinegar would work, but it may add a flavor that you may not like.

 

When it is simmering  you are ready, lower the heat and wait a second or two if it is boiling too fast.

 

Break the egg into the water.  The shell should be just touching the water when you break it and allow the egg to drop into the water.

 

As the egg begins the go opaque, spoon some of the water over the yolk area of the egg to set and cook the top of the egg a bit.  You may have to repeat this a couple of times.

 

when the entire egg seems close to being set, but not cooked at the top, use a spatula to just release the egg from the bottom of the pan and floats freely.

 

When the top of the egg is opaque from the hot water spooned over it, and your designated eater approves, lift the egg out with a slotted spoon.  you can lay the egg on paper towel to absorb the excess water. 

The egg white should be completely cooked through, but the yolk should still be soft to liquid, according to the taste of the person who will eat it.

 

If you like, you can float a number of cooked eggs in ice water for a time.  Make a dozen or so at a time if needed and hold them in the water.  When it is almost time to serve, just float them in good hot water till heated through only.

Now, serve several of them over a plate of hot spaghetti, on a bed of roasted multi colored peppers and sausage!

Janice Cafarella Crossen and My Wedding Cake.

Janice arrived with he husband Ken, who has been dutifully tasting the cake and filling as she worked.
Ken carried the major construction project into our house today, about 11 hours before the wedding.  Thank you Janice this was a big job and very kind of you to do, especially just after the death of your father Rudy on 9-11-2013.
I have a long list of exceptions to the current rules in cake...
No fondant(I got just a few pearls at the bottom of each layer.).
Butter cream frosting
Grand Marnier flavoring in the filling
and an All White Cake.
there is just a tinge of yellow as she used butter for the frosting, but after that...All white.

Caramelizing Veggies in a Sweet and Sour Sauce.

Use tiny onions, baby or cut carrots, other firm vegetables for this recipe.  Possibly Brussels Sprouts would work, taking care not to overcook.  If they are getting soft, remove and continue to reduce the sauce till thick and syrupy and pour back over the veggies.

For about 2 cups of vegetables

Coat the bottom of a frying pan with a generous amount of olive oil. 
When hot, add butter and melt till the foam disappears.
Saute the vegetables till browned.
Add:
1 T sugar
1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/4 cup tomato sauce or chopped tomato flesh

Boil till thick like syrup.
add fresh herbs of your choice at the end.
Serve warm or cold.

If using Cippolini onions, blanch them briefly in boiling water to aid the peeling process.  There is no way to hide the fact that this job is a real bitch, but the rewards are great.  You can also use frozen pearl onions, just be careful of the cooking time.  You can use quite large onions for this, and the onions become apple-crisp...delightful.

Apple Walnut Cake

3 Cups all purpose flour
2 cups light brown sugar lightly packed
3/4 cup oil or melted shortening
3 to 4 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix all together.  Adjust to VERY heavy batter by adding the fourth egg if necessary.

Dice 3 1/2 cups of apple in 1/2 inch pieces
Add to batter
Add 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

grease or spray a 9x13 inch pan
Pour batter in and level

bake at 350 for one hour.  Toothpick should come out clean though it may be damp from the apple.

Lobster or Other Seafood Rolls

My father was not a rich man.  He was alive through the depression and was raised in the early part of the century in a rather rural and humble area of New Brunswick.  He had a tough life, but was very hard working and died at 47.  I understand that one of the things he did to make money was to drive to the coast of Maine.(We were living in Littleton, Maine in the far north and right on the Canadian border.)  He would evidently take my brother with him and would buy lobsters or other seafood(someone may correct me on this) and drive them back north to sell them.  The trek to the coast, that only takes three hours or less now, would take MANY more hours then without highways(Thank you, Mr. Eisenhower).  On the way back, he would have to put my brother on his lap and let him drive part of the way north...Dick was quite young.
This issue with seafood is simplicity.  The best seafood, whether it is in Maine or Italy, is keeping the ingredients simple, fresh and plentiful, if you can afford it!
I have to say...I do not like most seafood, but I am learning.  I like shrimp...but love the cocktail sauce more.  Scallops are OK, but in moderation...Pan seared!!!!  I could care less about the rest!
However...Lobster rolls(shrimp, and scallops can be done exactly the same way) are very easy. 
Drop the lobsters, head first, into the pot of salted water(like sea water or unsalted).  Boil for about 20 minutes and lift out(so you can boil more presumably).  Cool slightly.
 Tear off the tail.  Remove enough of the tiny tail fins to allow you just enough room for your finger to push the meat out from end of tail to the open end.  Use a finger or a wooden spoon handle. (You can cut the tail shell open on the underside with shears if you like) Split the tail lengthwise with your fingers or tear off a thin little flap of the meat at the big end to reveal the sand vein or intestine.  The place on the opposite end from where the tail fins attached,  on the highly colored side of the tail has the flap to peel off.  Do not discard the flap after removing the vein.  it is good meat.  Remove the vein and discard.
Remove the claws and crack open with nut crackers and remove the meat. 
Remove the little(thumb) part of the claw and pull out the meat if it does not come out with the rest.  Remove the hard cartilage.   Tear off the knuckles of the claw(arms).  Either crack them open, push out the meat with a finger or cut them open with kitchen shears or a big knife...a good way to sever a finger if you are not careful...or push the meat out with a slender wooden spoon handle etc..  
If you do not want the tomalley, rinse it off the meat in the water from the pot. 
Pull the body apart and look for lumps of meat along the area where the legs attach.  Tear off the little legs and struggle to remove the tiny bits of meat inside.  All of my relatives save the legs in the refrigerator for later and suck out the meat and juices while watching TV etc.
The very best meat is in the body.  Try to only use MEAT from inside, as it can be confusing in there.  A thorough search will render a bit of meat, but there is also dry feeling lung tissue etc..  The green is liver or tomalley, and sometimes there will be Roe or coral.  Both can be eaten and are often included in sauces for the lobster.(Not my cup of tea!)
Chill the meat till using it, if you can keep yourself from eating it then and there.
Serve with hot!!!! butter and/or lemon.  Cocktail sauce or tartar sauce can be used, but most Mainers would faint dead away!

Butter a simple hot dog roll(other rolls work of course, but simple is usually best...Brioche would be wonderful)   Use the type of roll with the flat, exposed white bread on either side.  Grill on a charcoal grill, griddle or frying pan till toasted.  Do this as you serve them to keep the roll hot and steaming inside and the lobster cool but not icy cold.

Cut the meat up into manageable bite sizes, but not too small.  Mix in a tiny amount of Mayonnaise to taste(remember tiny amount but your family taste will rule) and stuff into a roll.  Sprinkle a bit of Paprika on top and that is it.  Some people will just drown the lobster in butter, lemon butter, Old Bay butter etc. instead of mayo.  That is perfectly valid, but you can always count on the plain mayo being best.  A bit of lettuce, or coleslaw is not uncommon, especially when the lobster is expensive and needs extending.

A bit of celery...sliced thin, not in chunks...or even onion might suit your taste...the crunch of the celery would be nice.

A mixture of seafood in the rolls would be very nice...not as coveted, but nice, and might make them more affordable depending on the local prices.