ROASTED STUFFED VEAL BREAST

The veal breast at the butcher looked very appetizing. Although I've cooked various veal dishes I had no experience stuffing the veal. I first removed the breast bone (it might have been a mistake, I don't know) but I proceeded to prepare the stuffing anyway. I used cubed stuffing bread and mixed it with 1/3 cups of  melted Cheddar cheese (other cheeses can be used as well), a few sprigs of chopped parsley, dash of cumin, curry powder and sage and mixed them altogether with 2 tablespoons of white wine.

Next I placed the butterflied breast of veal on a tray, spread it with one large crushed garlic and the stuffing mixture.

 Then I rolled and tied the meat with a kitchen string. Well, I have to admit that I tried several times to tie it and finally was successful. ( I tied a loop at the beginning and twisted the long end of the string from under the meat over to the top and continued to do so while making loops in between until I reached the other end). Well, that was my technique. After this I brushed the top with a mixture of a tablespoon of pepper paste mixed with a tablespoon of olive oil. (See below)
Then I roasted the stuffed veal it at 350 degrees oven for two hours. Rice pilaf and mescalin salad were good side dishes for this meal.

EASY BREEZY SUMMER DISHES

The weather changed from cold and wet to hot and humid overnight this week-end causing me to  change my plans for the back-yard barbecue. We moved indoors to enjoy the comfort of  the air conditioner so we had an indoor picnic and no ants...  I made potato and rice salad, deviled eggs, corn on the cob. Nothing fancy but eye pleasing and easy to make. Ofcourse my husband was in charge of the barbecue and he didn't complain about the heat,  so that was good. 

POTATO SALAD:
4-5 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, diced and boiled
1 Cup of  mayonnaise
1/2 Cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons of  Dijon mustard
1/2 Red Onion finely chopped
2 Stalks of celery finely chopped
1 Hard boiled egg
10  Pimentos or  green olives sliced (save some for decoration)

*salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl  mix boiled potatoes with onions, celery and olives. In a separate bowl combine mayonnaise, mustard, and sour cream and pour over the potato mixture stirring gently. Decorate with eggs and olives. Enjoy.

RICE SALAD:

2 Cups of rice, boiled and drained
1/2 Cup each, red, green and orange peppers, chopped
2 Cloves of garlic minced
4 Sprigs of dill and parsley chopped
Vinegrette dressing

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl cover and refregerate. Enjoy
*salt and pepper to taste. 

DEVILED EGGS

After separating the yolks I mixed them with mustard, mayonnaise and curry powder and topped them with olive tapenade and sprinkled with red pepper.  Enjoy!

PASTA BOMBA

Upon my husband's request I went back to my Sunday classic pasta dish we call the "Bombe" or bomb beacuse of its round shape. It is almost like preparing lasagna but  is done with spaghetti and is light. It's certainly going to be my side dish for a couple of  more times. It is also a great dish to bring to a "pot luck" dinner. I paired it with barbecued steak and steamed green beans with Cesar dressing from the jar !!!! (oh my.!),   a nice hearty salad and an ice cold mug of beer to go with.....

1 Lb of spaghetti

2 Cups milk warmed

1 Medium onion finely chopped

3/4 Cup flour

3 Tbsp tomato paste diluted with water or 1/4 cup red wine (optinal)

4 Cups tomato sauce

2 Tbsp butter

2 Eggs beaten

1 1/2 Cups shredded cheese ( I used mozzarella)

1- 2 Cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsps each of dried oregano and basil

For the mold you'll need lightly greased 2-3 inches high round oven proof dish.

Cook spaghetti  according to package directions, drain on a sieve.

For white sauce:

In a medium size pot sautee onions in butter until soft and translucent. Add flour and warm milk, stirring rapidly until pudding consistency is reached. Set aside.

For tomato sauce:

In a separate pot sautee garlic in oil,  add tomato, tomato paste, oregano and basil and simmer  5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir  half of the tomato sauce into the white sauce.

Stir pasta, sauce mixture, eggs and cheese in a large pot and pour it into the prepared dish. Bake in at 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove and carefully invert it onto a plate. Use the saved half of tomato sauce for individual portions and/or pour it over the whole thing...  Come and have a seat at our dinner table. Mangia....

SUNDAY EVENING FARE

 Sunday night dinners in our house are a bit festive. After having a large breakfast we are quite full until later in the day. This gives me time to plan and cook our Sunday dinner.  I usually make something that will last for at least a couple of meals for the up coming week. One of my husband's favorite recipe is this pork roast. I coupled that with mashed yams, cheesy green beans and added a healthy cabbage salad. We washed all this down with a nice glass of Zinfandel.

Pork Loin Rib-End Roast with Apricot Glaze

2- 2 1/2 Lbs. pork loin
1 Medium onion roughly chopped
1 Clove of garlic minced

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 Tsp. cumin

1/4 Tsp. curry
1 Tbsp. tomato paste diluted with  1/2 Cup red wine

1/4 Cup orange juice

8-10 dried apricots

Braise the pork on all sides in oil with onions, garlic and spices. Return it to an oven safe baking dish. Dilute the tomato paste in wine and pour over the pork. Add orange juice and the apricots. Cover with aluminum foil, bake in 350 degrees oven for 1 hour. Remove roast from the oven and place it on a platter. Drain the cooking liquid from the baking dish to a pot using a strainer. Add 2 tbsp. butter to this mixture and cook until bubbly. Turn off heat and pour the sauce over the sliced pork.

STEAMED GREEN BEANS:                                           

Cut both ends of green beans and place them in a steamer. In a medium size bowl, mix 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon each grated Asiago and Parmesan cheese stir well. Add drained beans to this mixture and toss well.

MASHED YAMS:

4 Medium size Yams or sweet potatoes 

1/2 Cup whole milk

2 Tbsp. of Maple syrup  

2 Tbsp. of butter

1/4 Tsp. ground ginger

Peel and boil yams in a pot until soft. Drain and return to the same pot. Add butter, ginger and milk and maple syrup.  Smash until smooth. 

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HAM AT EASTER???

 I woke up to a beautiful morning with sunshine and birds chirping outside my window.  I thought to myself "it is  going to be a great day". After breakfast with my husband  I set my table for our family gathering. Then went into the kitchen to prepare our Easter meal. My menu was, ham, mashed sweet potatoes, asparagus bundles, lasagna and my first attempt at Easter bread which I had baked a day before (thank God for that). I put the ham in the oven and happily started cooking my vegetables. Everything was going as planned, ham was cooking happily in the oven with lasagna, my vegetables were almost done. All of a sudden something didn't feel right. The delicious aroma that was wafting from the oven through the house had stopped. What was wrong?? I opened the oven door and the oven was cold. Oh no, oven malfunction on a holiday is not so pretty!!!. My husband tried different things to fix it but still there was no heat. The funny thing is the stove was working fine. This forced me to go to plan B/ to use my toaster oven. I had to slice the ham and put it  in a smaller pan to cook in a small space. But what about my  lasagna?? I had to improvise on that one also. That's why I do not have pictures of my ham or lasagna although they tasted great but they weren't picture worthy.

However, my Easter bread was a hit as was the little chickadee place cards I had made a day before.  

The honey mint glazed carrots received good marks from my husband and the asparagus bundles with their very subtle lemon oil dressing got a good mark from Beverly.  

Mashed sweet potatoes with garlic and  cream cheese was my favorite. It was comfort food at its best. At the end of the day what matter the most was to have our family around to celebrate this holiday.

SPAGHETTI WITH WHITE WINE CLAM SAUCE

This is a quick and delicious meal to prepare and an alternative to that prepared with fresh clams. You can prepare the clam sauce while the pasta water is boiling. This is my husband's favorite dish and it has become a staple on Friday nights when I am pressed for time to prepare dinner. I make garlic bread and a hearty salad to complete the fare.

1 package of whole grain or regular linguine

1 10 oz can of whole baby clams

1 large clove of garlic

1 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp of butter

1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup of white wine

10-15 stalks of parsley chopped (reserve some for topping)

Zest of one- half lemon

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a medium saucepan cook garlic in olive oil until golden. Add clams with juice to heat and stir for few minutes. Stir in wine, parsley, butter and half of the cheese and lemon zest.

Drain pasta and return to pot. Pour garlic mixture over pasta and toss with reminder of the cheese and parsley till coated. Serve with additional cheese if so desired.