Italian Summer Squash

Have a gargantuan zucchini or an abundance of squash in general? Make this zesty Italian version of summer squash. Good as a side, or serve with pasta. Don't forget the crusty buttered bread to mop up all the yummy broth!

I used a huge zucchini, and some patty pan yellow squash I had.

• Lots of zucchini/squash (peeled and chopped into chunks)
  
• 1 small onion, or 1/2 large (chopped big)
• 1 tomato, chopped small, plus its juices.
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 TB oregano
• Olive Oil
  
• salt to taste
  
• pepper to taste
  

Over med high heat, add the oil to coat the bottom of a deep skillet. Add garlic, saute til fragrant.
Add onion, saute til almost translucent. Add tomatoes, squash, salt, pepper, and oregano. Cover and simmer on med-med high for about 20 mins. Stir occasionally. The squash and tomatoes wil make their own savory broth.

Serve with pasta or as a side. Enjoy! (Excuse the photo, it was done with my iPhone.)

Beef Taquitos

This is one of those quickie meals I whipped up one night I was craving Mexican. I have tons of that shredded beef in the freezer. I happened to have some corn tortillas, chihuahua cheese, sour cream, and some leftover ranchero sauce. Perfect!

I wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for about 30 seconds to make them pliable.

In a corn tortilla, add the beef and cheese. Roll tightly. If it wont stay, fix with a damp toothpick. Spray with Pam Canola Oil, and bake on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven, for about 7 mins, then flip. Bake for another 7 minutes.

Serve with desired sides.

Eggplant Parmesan

I don't enjoy eggplant. It's probably one of the only foods I've completely managed to avoid. It doesn't offend me, I just don't enjoy it. I find it tasteless, and the texture is unpleasant.

But when someone proudly hands you an eggplant from their own special garden, you can't turn it away.

Since I'm not a huge fan, I am not familiar with the different varieties. But I'm pretty sure I used a graffiti eggplant. It had a short, wide base and kinda striped. It wasn't big, but it sure went a long way.

The only thing I could think to make with it was Eggplant Parmesan. It would surely mask the lack of taste, and hopefully the crispy edges would override the weird texture.

What a pleasant surprise! I liked this meal so much, I'd never turn my nose up at another graffiti eggplant :) Here's what I did...

Eggplant Parmesan

• 1 graffiti eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 cup of italian bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 eggs + 1 tsp water, whisked in a bowl
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• any marinara sauce (I made mine from a 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes)
  
• fresh mozzerella

Heat a non-stick skillet on med high and coat the bottom with a good amount of olive oil.

In a deep plate or bowl, add the breadcrumbs. Mix in the Parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to the mixture.

Dip the eggplant rounds in the egg mixture, then coat with the breadcrumbs. Do this for all the rounds.

Add the rounds to the skillet, and fry on each side about 3-5 mins or until browned and crispy.

Plate onto a nice pool of marinara sauce, and top with more sauce and cheese.

I served this with a side of whole wheat pasta - very satisfying!

Serves approx 3.

Short Rib Ravioli

For the filling, follow this recipe. Set aside the sauce that is leftover - you will use this as a base for your ravioli sauce.

Shred the meat and set aside in a bowl for stuffing the ravioli.

Make the dough:

• 3 large eggs (lightly mixed)
  
• 2 cups flour

In a kitchen mixer with a dough hook attachment, mix the eggs and flour until a sticky ball forms. If it's very wet, add a little more flour. If it's too dry, add a tiny bit of scrambled egg. Sprinkle some flour on your work surface and knead the dough until it's workable, but no longer very sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Break out that pasta crank!


Set the crank to #1 setting and break off a handful of dough. If it's still very sticky, sprinkle with some flour. Pass the ball through the crank, then fold and pass through again. Do this until you have a nice, wide strip like in the picture above. Time to set crank to #2 setting. Sprinkle with flour, and pass though once again. Set to #3, pass through again. Set to #4, pass through again. You can stop here if you like a thicker ravioli, or change the setting to 5 if you like them thinner, but the dough is harder to work with. I did mine on #4.

**Keep the reserve pasta dough covered until you are ready to roll it out**

Once you have a long, wide strip of pasta, lay it flat on the table and start placing about a tablespoon of beef filling about 3 inches apart, but only do this down half the length of the pasta. Grab the opposite end of the dough and fold it over the side with the filling. Press gently, removing any air pockets around the filling.

With a pizza cutter, cut squares around each ravioli and put the excess dough back under the plastic wrap to reuse.

Lift each ravioli off your work surface gently with a spatula, then crimp the edges with a fork. Place on a floured platter and refrigerate uncovered for up to a couple hours. When ready to cook, boil for 12-14 minutes.

Sauce:

• Reserve short rib sauce
• 1/2 cup marinara
• 1/4 cup beef broth
  

Take the reserve sauce from the short rib recipe, and place it in a large skillet. Over med heat, add about 1/2 cup of any marinara sauce. Let simmer for about 10 minutes until it thickens, then add the broth. Let thicken if desired, add more broth for a thinner consistency. Season to taste. Serve over ravioli and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

How to remove the membrane from a rack of ribs.

I updated the Braised Baby Back Ribs post with pics that show how to remove the membrane on the baby back ribs prior to braising. Some skip this step, but I think it makes for a super tender result.

Limoncello Ready!

Molto bene! It's a beautiful thing. I had to make extra this time...many parties on the Italian side to attend!

Guinness Bangers and Mash!

This is a "meat & potatoes" meal if I ever saw one. It was eeeeasy, but there is one thing I would do differently next time...

Bangers
2 bangers (mild italian sausage would do) - I got these bangers at Booth's Corner Farmer's Market
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 can Guinness beer
2 TB olive oil
1 TB butter

Mash
5 red potatoes, peeled with some red left, and quartered.
1/4 cup milk
1/8 cup half and half
2-3 Tablespoons butter
Salt
Pepper

Fill a large pot half way with water, and add the potatoes. Sprinkle some salt in the water. Once boiling, boil for 15-20 mins or until potatoes are fork tender. Depends on how big you cut the potatoes.

In the meantime:
In a large, deep-sided skillet, pour the Guinness and turn heat to med. Add the bangers. Poach the bangers until the Guinness starts to evaporate. (NOTE: I let the Guinness completely evaporate, but I wouldn't do this again. It left a strange aftertaste on the banger.)

While the bangers are poaching:
Heat the oil and butter in a skillet and saute the onion til nicely browned.

When Guinness is about 1/2 way evaporated, remove the bangers and add to the onion pan for some browning.


While bangers and onions are browning:
Strain the potatoes and dump into a mixing bowl. Add the milk, cream, butter, salt & pepper and mix until mashed. (I used my Kitchen Aid).

Serve the bangers & onions over the mash. Don't forget the Guinness to wash it down!