SUSTAINABLE EATING - Leftover Turkey Burgers

Bored of leftover turkey sandwiches?  Why not try these healthy turkey burgers.

Images: ©2010 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

Ingredients
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 green and 1 red pepper finely chopped
6 scallions finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
2 medium eggs slightly beaten
2 tablespoons of parsley chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Procedure

In  a food processor, finely grind the leftover turkey (white and dark meat).

In a small pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, saute' scallions and peppers (about 6 to 10 minutes).

Add the pepper and scallion mixture into the ground turkey.  Mix well.  Add the eggs and parsley and continue to mix well.

Place the breadcrumbs on a piece of wax paper.  Take enough of the turkey mixture to make a burger.  Place the burger on the breadcrumbs and press lightly.  Turn over and do the same.

In a non-stick frying pan, add the additional oil and saute' the burgers few at a time, turning once with a spatula. Approximately 10 minutes. Serve.

Some Dishes from My Thanksgiving Dinner

A lot of work ....and a lot of love .....

Images: ©2010 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

Braised asparagus

Stuffed mushrooms

Shrimps and clams oreganati

Fried calamari

Cheese and fruit platter

Fresh fruit

Manicotti

SUSTAINABLE EATING - Soup from Turkey Carcass

The day after Thanksgiving, while I am cleaning up I take the turkey carcass and make a rich broth that can be used in a delicious soup with herb and egg dumplings.  It has become yearly ritual!


Turkey carcass

Remove all the meat from the turkey carcass and brake up the bones somewhat. Place the turkey bones and skins in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently until the broth is rich and flavorful, 2 to 3hours. Remove the bones.

Herb-Egg Dumplings

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup Parmiggiano Reggiano

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon dill, chopped

1/4 cup celery leaves, chopped

1/4 cup fennel, chopped

Bring the broth to a boil.  Slightly beat the eggs, add cheese and herbs and pour into boiling broth.  Do not stir.  Cover and simmer in low heat for 10 minutes.  A lump like dumpling will result.  Cut into smaller pieces and serve together with broth.

The rewards:

Images: ©2010 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb







Savory Apple Stuffing - Ripieno di Mele

Granny Smith Apples

This stuffing is a favorite of mine because I love the tartness of the apples. It's great for stuffing a goose. I make as an alternate for people who do not like the sausage stuffing.

Ingredients

1/2 cup pancetta, diced or butter
Celery leaves and stalks, chopped 1 cup
Red onion, chopped 1 cup
6 Granny Smith apples
1/2 teaspoon of fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon of fresh sage
1/4 cup parsley chopped
1 cup stale bread crumbs

Fry pancetta in a large skillet until almost crisp; remove from pan.
To the grease, add celery, onion and parsley and cook over low heat.
Add diced apples and seasonings and cook about 10 minutes.
Add bread crumbs and fried pancetta.  Stir lightly over low heat about 2 minutes.
Place the stuffing in a casserole and baste occasionally with turkey juices.

Images: ©2010 - casa-giardino picasaweb

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Our Italian Thanksgiving – We Skipped the Turkey and Opted for Capon

Up until I got married, it was traditional in our Italian home to cook a capon rather than turkey on Thanksgiving. .

Capon

For your information, a capon is a castrated young rooster.  Since the capon gets a more diverse feed including free range forage, it is fatter and develops more flavor than a turkey. Being fatter, it is very moist, with very white meat and, best of all, it is self-basting. My parents preferred capon over turkey.







Giblet and liver stuffing for Capon - Cappone Ripieno

Ingredients
½ cup olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 cup cooked giblets and livers
1 cup celery chopped
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon sage chopped
1 teaspoon thyme chopped
½ cup Parmigiano
½ cup blanched almonds

Cooking Giblet: Simmer the chicken giblets, allowing 1 hour for gizzards and 10 minutes for livers. Chop coarsely and measure. Follow procedure below.

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When my children were old enough to understand, we switched from a capon to a turkey and we also adjusted the stuffing to satisfy everyone’s taste.

Sausage stuffing for Turkey

1 lb. sausage meat
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon sage chopped
1 teaspoon thyme chopped
½ cup Parmigiano

Heat oil in a large skillet, add onion and cook until soft, add broken chunks of sausage meat and brown lightly. (or substitute cooked giblets). Add celery and cook for 10 minutes in low heat. Remove from heat, add egg and Parmigiano and mix well.

Roasted turkey

Cabbage and Brown Rice - Verza con Riso Integrale

Of all the cabbage varieties, I like the Savoy cabbage.  Its crinkly leaves are known as the most tender and sweet of the different varieties.

Did you know that the Savoy cabbage originated in Italy?

Cabbage is a low calorie food and full of medicinal properties.

Cooked Savoy Cabbage

Cooking Cabbage:  Soak cabbage in salt water for about 10 minutes to remove any insects from the packed leaves. After soaking, rinse the head thoroughly in cold running water. For the mildest flavor and tenderness, cut out and discard any fibrous thick ribs from the outer leaves.  Cook cabbage in a pot of salted water until it is just tender crisp. Cabbage that is cooked tender crisp will remain sweet. Overcooked cabbage will lose texture and flavor.

Ingredients
4 cups of cooked savoy cabbage
1 yellow onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium can of tomatoes
1 cup of brown rice (uncooked)
Parmigiano Reggiano

Cook brown rice.  See Spinach and Brown Rice
In a pot, add olive oil and saute' chopped onion and garlic.  When golden, add tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes. Add cooked cabbage and keep on simmering in low heat.  Add cooked brown rice.  Mix well and simmer an additional 10 minutes.  Add some shaved Parmigiano Reggiano and serve.

Savoy Cabbage and Brown Rice
Images: ©2010 - casa-giardino picasaweb

How I kicked my $$$ coffee habit by switching coffee makers

Like a growing number of espresso lovers, few years ago I have figured out that I can have my coffee and drink it too.  I chose to become a at-home-do-it-yourself espresso, cappuccino, and latte maker.  And why not.  Today’s high tech, superbly designed, and easy-to-use European automatic espresso machine giving every home barrista the equipment they need to create espresso drinks.

I have been an espresso coffee lover for many years. To me, espresso is more tasteful than regular coffee. I love it in the morning with hot milk and plain in the evening after dinner. To prove it, here is my collection of espresso coffee makers which I have acquired over the years.

But two years ago, I was seduced by a company and accepted, one of the automatic, high tech, well-designed and easy to use espresso maker – you know the one that uses capsules.  At .55c per cup, I developed a $4.00/day habit.  I think they give away the coffee maker so they can sucker people like me and others into buying capsules for five times the price of  'regular' coffee (You know, like inkjet printers. I purchased a good printer for $150.00 but pay $45 for each ink refills).

This summer, I received several pounds of Lavazza coffee as a gift from Italy. 

Images: ©2010 - casa-giardino picasaweb

Now, I simply spoon out the coffee into the Moka, steam milk to 180 degrees (no higher or it might taste scorched) and enjoy a coffee shop latte for almost nothing.


My mother's Moka

 Not only have I cut my coffee cost to one-fifth but by using my mother's coffee maker, I keep her memory alive.

RIGATONI WITH YELLOW AND GREEN ZUCCHINI - (Rigatoni con Zucche Gialle e Verdi)

As you can see from the photo, the rigatoni are quite large.  In our town, they are referred to as "Maniche di Prete" (Priest's sleeves) or depending which town you go in Abruzzo, they are also called "Maniche di Frate" (Monk's sleeves) or "Maniche di Suora" (Sister's sleeves). 

Images: ©2010 - picasaweb

Ingredients

2 yellow zucchini (sliced)
2 green zucchini
1 lb. Rigatoni pasta
1/3 cup olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 fresh tomatoes (if available) or 1 can of tomatoes
Sprigs of basil and Italian parsley
Parmiggiano Reggiano
Salt and pepper to taste

In a pan add olive oil and saute' onion until golden.  Add chopped tomatoes, basil and parsley.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Add sliced zucchini and continue to cook over low heat until tender.  In the meantime, cook pasta and drain.  Pour zucchini sauce over the pasta and shave some Parmigiano Reggiano.

A Singer Sewing Machine, Vogue Patterns and a Little Style

My mother sewed most of my clothes from childhood to adulthood.  She also sewed curtains, embroidered, crocheted and knitted.  Growing up, I had one-of-a-kind dresses and enjoyed the fact that there were no copies.  As a result, my sense of fashion and style was unique and original.

We owned a vintage Singer sewing machine. 
( I still have it to this day).








Our kitchen table doubled as a sewing room. Spools of thread, yards of fabric, buttons, and many, many patterns – Vogue, Butterick, McCalls and Simplicity.

In the early 60’s, like many other young women, I was influenced by Jackie Kennedy’s look – her simplicity and sophistication. I wanted to look and dress like her. My mother and I every Saturday would go to a fabric store and eagerly thumb through catalogs looking for just that “look”. With my mother’s sewing skills and Vogue patterns, it was possible to copy the latest Paris fashions. I would cut out the patterns and read the instructions and my mother would do the sewing.

Easter 1962 - White Wool Sleeveless Dress with Cape

Today, when I see young ladies dress like hookers with short, stretchy and curvy attires leaving nothing to the imagination, I think that perhaps they should go back and learn what makes a true style icon.  True style does not age but remains "forever young".

Related Links:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/28/jackie-o-style_n_903934.html

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/fashion/dusting-off-the-sewing-machine.html?src=me&ref=style

Sustainable Eating - Means Branching Out

Changing one's eating habits is not easy. You need a diet that you can't "break" - one that's flexible enough to adapt to new changes.

Try a fruit or vegetable that you did not think you liked when it's in season or at its peak. I have seen people converted to foods from zucchini to asparagus just by tasting them freshly picked and simply prepared.



Pasta with Asparagus - Fettuccine con Asparagi
Images: ©2010 - picasaweb

Ingredients

1 lb. thin asparagus

2 cloves of garlic chopped

4 ripe tomatoes or 1 can plum tomatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil for sauce

1/4 cup of olive oil to saute' asparagus

Salt and pepper

1/2 lb. fettuccine pasta

Cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces.  Throw away hard ends.

In a pan add 1/4 cup olive oil, add cut asparagus, salt and pepper and saute' for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender.

In a medium pot, add 3 tablespoons olive oil and chopped garlic. When garlic is golden, add tomatoes and simmer for approximately 15 minutes, add the asparagus, and simmer few more minutes.  Adjust salt and pepper.

In the meantime, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta and drain. Pour sauce with asparagus over pasta and serve.





Baked Potatoes with Skins and Charred Peppers

One of my mother’s special treats that I loved as a child was potatoes with skins roasting in glowing embers in the fireplace. She would bury them nude and raw among the embers making sure they were well covered. They had such particular scent and flavor. Today, baked potatoes with skins remain one of my favorite but instead of a fireplace, I bake them in the oven.

Roasted potatoes with skins (Patate arrostite)
Images: ©2010 - La Casa e Il Giardino -picasaweb

Ingredients

4 potatoes red or white

1 charred red bell pepper(see charred peppers)
1 charred green bell pepper
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
1 clove of garlic chopped
Salt and pepper

Wash and dry potatoes. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, leaving skins on.  Bake 30-35 minutes at 400 degrees or until crispy.

Immediately, cut hot potatoes into uneven chunks with the help of a fork and knife. Add charred peppers, olive oil, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

It makes a wonderful side dish.