Stuffed Artichokes

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri

Unintended Consequences

“Hello Peeta…..this is your mother”. This is the way my mother starts her conversation when she calls me on the telephone and leaves a message on my answering machine. How many children are out there that would not recognize their own mother’s voice that she would have to identify herself in that way? Even a lost baby caribou recognizes its mother’s call among a herd of thousands. I don’t get it. My sister has the same habit. But she goes a step further. She’ll say, “hello Peeta….this is your sister….Annette”. I ONLY HAVE ONE SISTER! When I call them and get their answering machine I just say “hi, it’s me” If they don’t know who “me” is after 55 years of hearing my voice, well, they should take a lesson from the caribou.

Now, I know my mother recognizes my voice because the one time I downloaded a canned message on my answering machine from the internet I almost had the cops show up at my door. I was living in Hackensack at the time and I downloaded a “Rocky” sound alike on my answering message. It went something like..”Yo….there is no one in right now. ERR…when you hear the bell just talk in the phone….ya know.” I thought it was cool to have that on my answering machine. I never thought in a million years that it would almost cause an Amber Alert!

My mother called me that day and got “Rocky” on the answering machine. She hung up! She called back a second time, and again hears “yo, there is no one in….”. She hung up again. Now she got worried. Did she dial the right number? Maybe she used the wrong area code. Did someone break into my apartment and kill me and changed my answering machine message??? Because there was a rash of that going on in the country at the time….especially in Hackensack. I kid you not. This is what was going on in her mind. She finally calls the operator and tells her that “every time I dial my son’s number a stranger answers the phone! Can you please try this number and let me know if everything is ok?” I’m sure Ma Bell operators get these requests every day and are specially trained to deal with these dire situations.

The operator dials and gets “Rocky”. The operator explains to my mother that it’s an answering machine that sounds a little slow, like it’s winding down, but it’s the correct number. At that point my mother’s thoughts resemble that of an insane woman. I don’t know what was going on in her head but she thought that something had happened to me. And that someone broke into my home and took over my answering machine. It upset her day. 

THANK GOD I called her that afternoon or the cops would have shown up. She answered the phone and I said “hi, it’s me”, not knowing what just occurred.

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT” ?!?1? .she screamed. “Sure mom, why, what’s wrong?”

“I TRIED CALLING YOU ALL DAY AND SOME STRANGER KEPT ANSWERING THE PHONE. I THOUGHT SOMETHING HAPPENED TO YOU! I CALLED THE OPERATOR AND SHE GOT THE SAME THING!”

I tried to calm my mother down and explain to her that I recorded a Rocky answering message. She screamed “WHO’S ROCKY? WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH YOU?? WHY CAN’T YOU HAVE A MESSAGE LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE?”

I once heard that actions have unintended consequences. And when you least expect it, something very innocent can occur that turns your mother into a lunatic. Maybe it comes out of love.

Oh, by the way, the reason my mother called me that afternoon was to let me know her and my father were coming up to visit me over the weekend…..and bringing me stuffed artichokes…. It was worth the aggravation.

 

My Mother’s Stuffed Artichokes

  • 3-4 artichokes
  • 2 Heaping cups plain bread crumbs
  • 3/4 cup grated cheese (Locatelli Romano)
  • 1 clove garlic finely chopped
  • 4 Tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 Take off the bottom small leaves of the artichoke and cut the stem off so the artichoke sits flat.

I save the stem and cook with the artichoke. Just cut off the “woody” outside layer of the stem. Rinse the artichoke in cold water. Shake off any excess water.


Cut off about 1/3 of the top. A serrated bread knife works well here.


Now open the leaves by spreading with your fingers or turn upside down with the top of the artichoke on top of the counter and with your palms press down hard to open the leaves. Now the artichokes are ready to stuff.


To the bread crumbs add the grated cheese, chopped garlic, chopped parsley, salt and black pepper. Mix well.


With a teaspoon, stuff each leaf of the artichoke with the bread crumb mixture. Holding the artichoke in one hand, pull the leaves back with your thumb and spoon in the bread crumbs and shake till they settle to the bottom. Go all around the artichoke and make sure each leaf is filled from bottom to top with the mixture.


When every leaf is filled place the artichokes in a large enough pot to fit.


There is no measurement here, slowly drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over each artichoke until absorbed by the bread crumbs. For 4 artichokes you can easily use 3/4 cup of olive oil. Fill the pot with water about a quarter of the way up the artichoke. Do not pour water over the artichoke. Turn the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to low and simmer with the lid partly covering the pot. 

Check the pot from time to time and add more water as needed. Pour the water into the pot, but not over the artichokes. They should cook about 50 minutes or until you are able to pull a leaf from the center easily.

For those of you that have never eaten an artichoke before here is how to do it. Pull off a leaf. With the bottom inside of the leaf against your front bottom teeth, bite down gently and as you pull the leaf out of your mouth, scrape the fleshy part from the leaf. As you get closer to the center of the “choke”, the leafs will be more tender and you will be able to eat the softer bottom parts of the leaf. When you get to the center scrape off the “hairy” part till you get to the heart of the artichoke. That is my favorite part! Including the stems you cooked with the artichokes.

These are best eaten at room temperature or slightly cooled. They also travel well.



(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Posted in vegetable | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Scacciata Catanese

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri

Christmas – A Magical Time of Year


Too bad Christmas comes only once a year. Unfortunately, I don’t feel that way now as an adult, but as a child it was a magical time.

On Christmas Eve I could remember anticipating the arrival of all my Aunts, Uncles and cousins. The house was full of different aromas, dishes covered in foil on the kitchen table, pots boiling on the stove. My mother and grandmother joining forces to feed the hordes of relatives scheduled to arrive. And they pulled out all the stops. They even had my sister, who was challenged boiling water, join in the preparation.(in her defence, she was young then and only had boys on her mind) The fact that the cooking took place on two floors, my Grandparents lived on the second floor of our two family brick row house, my brother Richard and I were kept busy jockeying finished dishes and needed ingredients from one floor to the other. And if you count the basement, where we had a table big enough to sit everyone, my brother and I would run marathons delivering chairs, dishes and antipasto platters. And those were long flights of stairs! No wonder everything tasted so good when we finally sat down to eat. After a good cardio workout who needs Cynar to open your appetite!

For some reason, my mother only used the oven in the basement when she baked or roasted something. Of course we had a full kitchen in the basement, complete with refrigerator. The oven in the main kitchen was never used in my lifetime, ever. She stored her pots and pans in that oven. The stove top was fine. Yes we did have plastic slip covers on our living room sofas, but that’s another story. The only oven she used was the oven in the basement. I remember the reason my mother gave for such a set up…she didn’t want to heat up the kitchen. One would think that my brother and I would be spared from carrying hot roasted chicken or roast beef from the basement during October through February. Never happened! She had too many pots and pans stored away in the main oven for her to empty it and ever use it again.

And then they arrived. The door bell started ringing and my mother became even more animated. Grandma calling from the top of the steps to open the door, as if I couldn’t hear the bell. My cousins were the first to barge into the house, Johnny and Ralph, Georgina. Then came Aunt Mary and Uncle Sal, Aunt Angie and Uncle Benny. This was the first wave. All carrying gifts and packages in shopping bags. But the real prizes were coming in under the cover of dish towels and pot holders. I could smell the aroma of fish and lemon as they walked past me. All my aunts made something special that we would always have on Christmas Eve.

This dish is a specialty from my Grandmother’s town of Catania, which is in eastern Sicily. There are many variations to the filling. This is one of them. I’ll post others in the future.  My Mother Rose was a master at making this along with my Aunt Mary, my Grandmother’s sister. This was usually a staple we had on Christmas Eve along with a dozen other dishes at a time when you could not eat meat on Christmas Eve. Scaccia or Scaciatta essentially is a pizza dough filled with all sorts of savory things and rolled up like a “jelly roll”. This is how my family made it.

1 pound Pizza Dough, recipe follows
2 cups of Pizza/Marinara Sauce, recipe follows
2 medium onions, thinly sliced, sautéed in olive oil
1/4 pound sliced pepperoni, except on Christmas Eve
1/4 pound of sharp imported Provolone Cheese, diced into small cubes.
2 tablespoons of grated Romano Cheese
Fresh flat leaf parsley
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Roll out pizza dough on a floured surface into a 12-15″ oval.
Spread the pizza sauce over the dough, spreading it around with the back of a spoon, go to within an inch of the end.
Spread the sautéed onions over the sauce, distributing evenly.
Put the pepperoni all around the pie
and sprinkle on provolone and Romano cheese.
Pull off the leaf ends of the parsley and spread around the pie.
Now comes the tricky part. Starting from the end closer to you, roll up the pie like a jelly roll.
When it’s completely rolled up, pinch the ends to your left and right of the roll. Pinch the seam closed and
place the “roll” seam side down on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. It might be difficult to lift the roll but if you slide one hand under each end you can lift it to the cookie sheet.
Poke holes on the top with a fork to allow steam to escape. Place the Scacia in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. After about 10 minutes of cooking time, poke a few slits on top with a knife to allow steam to escape. Rotate the pan half way through so it browns evenly.
Let the Scacia cool slightly before slicing it into three-inch slices. Use a spatula to loosen the scacia from the bottom.
If you have any sauce left over you can always use it for a dipping sauce with the scacia.
BASIC PIZZA DOUGH
Makes about 15 oz. of dough, enough for one Scacia.
Dissolve 1 teaspoon of dry yeast in 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of warm water. Set aside for 5 minutes. Combine 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Blend with yeast mixture. Mix with electric mixer on low-speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until dough rides up dough hook. Add a teaspoon of water at a time if dough is too dry. Hand knead the dough for an extra 5 minutes.Dough should be smooth and elastic. If mixing by hand, first stir with wooden spoon, then knead with hands for 10 minutes. Dough should be slightly tacky. Lightly oil a 1 quart bowl with 1 tsp of olive oil. Place dough in bowl then flip dough over to oil the other side. Seal with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour or until double in size. Keep covered until ready to use. If you are not using it right away you can keep the dough covered in refrigerator and take out two hours before you use it.
PIZZA SAUCE
1 28 oz can of peeled tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil or 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Puree tomatoes in blender. Heat olive oil in pan and cook garlic for 1 minute. Add purée tomatoes, basil, oregano, sugar and salt and pepper. Cook uncovered on medium low flame stirring occasionally for about 25 minutes or until thickened.

Posted in pizza | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Breaded Steak

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri

My Grandfather had a cast iron stomach!

God bless them, both my Grandparents lived well into their 90’s. They worked hard all their lives. My Grandmother, in addition to raising a family, my mother Rose and my Uncle Sal, she always helped my Grandfather at the butcher shop. At one point in his life my Grandfather had three butcher shops going at one time. As an immigrant with a 6 th grade education he certainly knew how to run a business.


Now, one would think that a butcher’s family would eat nothing but the best cuts of beef. Not true…he saved that for his customers. Till this day my mother complains (at the age of 92) that we never had a good steak in the house. I have to tell you though, when my Grandfather ate steak it would only be “Chuck Steak 1st Cut – Bone In”. I would challenge him with other cuts of beef, like Rib Steaks, or T-Bone Steaks, or Fillet Mignon. He would always say in his authoritative voice. “NO! chuck-a steak is-a the best.” Maybe it’s the fat content, maybe it’s the bone. But for his money, that was the best steak he would buy. That was the only steak he would buy! He was very particular about the meat he ate. I remember him telling me to never eat a hamburger in a restaurant. Now this was before McDonald’s became a national sensation. He would say you never knew what they would put in the chopped meat. I’m sure he knew something non of us ever wanted to know. Other than that, I never knew my Grandfather to restrict his diet. He ate all the beef with all the fat and the chicken with the skin, and Italian sausage, and pigs feet and knuckles and pig’s skin. He would make today’s “health Gurus” die of a heart attack. Yet he lived almost a century. Did I mention he smoked?


I’m sure his longevity was due to both genetics and lifestyle. His secret? Lord only knows. I could tell you what he ate for breakfast everyday, religiously. Every morning he would have 1 soft-boiled egg, a bowl of coffee, not a cup, a bowl, with about 3/4’s of it milk, a slice of toasted bread and a half a grapefruit. He would have a glass of wine with lunch and dinner, and in the mid morning a shot of sweet vermouth. Hey, it worked for him!


So, let me get to the wine and beef. This dish combined  both. Whenever my Grandmother Lily made this dish I would instinctively know it and rush upstairs to get my taste. Again, a very simple recipe with wonderful results.


Here is what you’ll need:


1 Half inch thick chuck steak, 1st cut, bone in. (or any boneless steak you prefer, 1/2 inch thick)
1 cup red table wine
1 teaspoon garlic powder
seasoned bread crumbs
salt
olive oil


You can use prepared Italian seasoned bread crumbs but I prefer to make my own. To about 1 1/2 cups of plain bread crumbs add 1/2 cup grated cheese ( Romano), one clove of garlic finely chopped, 2 tablespoons of chopped flat leaf parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Combine all ingredients well.



If you are using the Chuck Steak remove the bone.


In a large bowl place the steak. Cover the steak with the red wine and sprinkle about a teaspoon of garlic powder over the steak. Allow the steak to marinade in the wine for about 5 minutes, no more.


Shake off the excess wine from the steak and coat the steak in the prepared bread crumbs, pressing the bread crumbs into the steak.



In the meantime heat a large non stick frying pan over medium heat. Add about 4 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Before the oil starts to smoke add the steak. Depending on how well done you like your steak, a half-inch thick cut of meat should cook about 5 minutes on each side for medium.





Turn the steak only once to avoid the breadcrumbs from falling off. Add a sprinkle of salt at this point.





My Grandfather always put fresh squeezed lemon juice on his broiled steak. It also works well with breaded steak.

Posted in Beef | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Caponata/Caponatina

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Peter Bocchieri
Sicilian Caponatina

Honoring Tradition

I always thought that there should be a place where family recipes can be shared. What’s old is new again and over time the dishes and recipes of our grandparents and parents have become lost in our busy lives . I myself have a long tradition of cooking Italian. I’m sure each person can name a number of dishes that they remember eating as a child. Or that special comfort food that Grandma used to prepare. In the passing of generations these dishes have become lost or forgotten. I hope to bring you a host of recipes that I grew up enjoying. Maybe some might sound familiar. Maybe your family prepared it a little different. But in all, what ever came out of Grandma’s kitchen was warm and comforting. I dedicate this blog to Grandma Lili Verga and to her constant love and affection. And to the way she always showed it by saying, “MANGIA FIGIU MIA!, MANGIA!

I’m second generation Italian. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York in an area called Bensonhurst. I was raised by two Italian mothers – my mother and grandmother. We lived in a two family house that my grandparents owned. I always enjoyed two dinners growing up. When I finished what my mother cooked I would always run upstairs to see what Grandma was preparing and she would always put another plate on the table and pleaded for me to “mangia”.

My father was a carpenter and my grandfather had his own butcher shop a block away from where we lived. We would have huge family gatherings for the holidays that were celebrated in the basement of our home. That was the only room large enough to hold a table that my father would fabricate to accommodate all the Aunts ,Uncles and cousins that would show up for the feast. And it was a feast that would always end with a card game as we cracked nuts, ate fruit, drank wine and listened to the elders argue over whose town in Sicily was more beautiful. These are my roots.

So to get started I would like to share a recipe that is a long standing tradition of Sicilian cooking and my grandmother – Caponata – or as we used to call it – caponatina – a mixture of eggplant, onions, celery, capers and pine nuts in a savory sweet/sour sauce of tomatoes.

  • Two Large Eggplant
  • 1/2 pound of green olives packed in brine and pitted
  • 6 stalks of celery, strip the filaments(strings) from the celery sticks
  • 2 large onions
  • 1 – 14.5 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes with juice
  • 1 – 15 oz can of tomato sauce
  • 6 oz of capers, rinsed
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar
  • 2-4 tablespoons of sugar
  • olive oil
  • kosher salt

Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds. Cut the rounds in quarters. Place the cut eggplant into a strainer and sprinkle each layer liberally with salt. Let them sit, covered with a plate, for at least an hour.

While the eggplant is sitting, blanch the celery sticks in salted water for 5 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to cool. Cut the celery sticks into bite sized pieces.

Rinse away the salt from the eggplant and pat the pieces dry with a paper towel. Fry them in small batches in a light olive oil till they are golden brown.  Place the cooked eggplant on paper towels to absorb the oil. 

Slice the onion very thin length wise. Sauté in a 6 quart pot or larger the onion and celery in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil till translucent. Add the capers, pine nuts, olives, diced tomatoes with their juice and tomato sauce. Continue cooking on medium heat, stirring until the tomatoes are done, about 15 minutes. Stir in the eggplant. Cook for several minutes over low flame, stirring gently. Add 2-4 tablespoons of sugar (add more or less according to taste) and 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar. This is a sweet/savory dish. Continue cooking, stirring gently until all ingredients come together, about 5 minutes. Taste for salt and sweetness Dish should be slightly sweet.

Stop at this point and do not eat yet. The dish must sit covered in a container in the fridge for at least overnight. The taste mellows with time and gets even better. You can toast slices of Italian bread and top with the Caponata. Makes a great side dish with a loaf of Italian bread and some cheese and olives. This should be eaten cold or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Posted in Antipasto, vegetable | Tagged , | 9 Comments