Mangia!

The Garibaldi girls; Romilda, Vera, Rena,

my Grandma, Rosalie & Angie.

Here I am with my sister, cousins and Grandma in 1979.

(Notice I seem to have the same haircut as my boy cousin Ryan.)

Tonight I am having my cousin Jenny over for dinner. I love spending time with her because, like the rest of our family, she is really energetic and funny. I thought it would be appropriate to prepare some Garibaldi family recipes. Its gloomy outside and we could both use some comfort food. Tonight's menu will include pumpkin ravioli topped with our Great-Grandma's pasta sauce, and roasted brussell sprouts on the side. Oh, and for dessert? Biscotti of course. Jenny has been working insane hours lately so I decided to make extra sauce that she can take home with her for an easy weeknight dinner.

Pasta Sauce


1 lb lean beef, cut into small chunks
1/2 cup olive oil
2 medium chopped onions
1 cup chopped parsley

1 cup chopped basil

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 26 oz boxes of tomato sauce

splash of red wine

1 tsp water

sprinkle nutmeg

salt and pepper

Sear the meat in olive oil. Remove meat. Saute onions, then add herbs, mushrooms, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Add meat and simmer for 1 hour or more (more is better) on a very low flame. Keep it thin enough by adding a little water (or wine) as needed. Season with salt and pepper. **Disclaimer to fellow family members: This recipe includes a few alterations to the original that my my mom makes, and now a few of my own minor changes. Thats part of the fun of family recipes, as each generation gets to put their own mark on it! :)

Biscotti

This recipe comes from my Grandma, via my Great-Aunt Romilda. There are no words that describe how sentimental I feel when I bite into one of these cookies. Its the same feeling you get from smelling a lost loved one's perfume or trying on your grandmother's wedding band. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

3 cups flour, sifted

3 eggs

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp sweet anise (scant)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

3 (rounded) tsp baking powder

1 cup slivered almonds

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and remaining ingredients. Knead lightly on floured board. Form into long narrow rolls and place on greased baking pan. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes, or until brown. Remove from pan and slice rolls about 1/2 inch thick. Place slices on cookie sheet and return to oven till browned (about 10 minutes). As Grandma would say, "Mangia, mangia!!"

Zinnias

I picked these Zinnias up at the Farmer's Market in Union Square yesterday. Then I assembled a bunch of simple posies and spread them around my apartment. Luckily I have lots of leftover jam jars that make perfect vases.

Tomato Pie

Last May my husband and I were lucky enough to celebrate our 2 year anniversary in Aix en Provence, where we ate the most incredible tomato pie for dinner one night. I have been daydreaming about that dinner ever since! Here is a quick and easy version of it.

Crust Ingredients:

2 cups flour

generous sprinkle of salt

1/2 cup iced water

1/4 cup olive oil

Filling:

6 ounces goat cheese

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

2 large tomatoes, sliced

handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced

herbs de provence

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the dough ingredients in a food processor, then form a ball of dough with your hands. (If necessary, add more water or flour to attain your desired dough consistency). Spread into the bottom of a pie dish, then refrigerate for 10 minutes. Spread the mustard over the pie dough and sprinkle with herbs de provence. Arrange the cheese in dollops, then cover with tomato slices. Bake for 30 minutes, and let cool before serving. Pie time!

Corn Soup

Its starting to get a little chilly here in New York, which means one thing to me...soup season! Last night we had friends over for tacos so I decided to serve my corn soup on the side. Its quick and easy, and I will have leftovers for lunch the rest of the week.

Ingredients

6 medium corn on the cob, husked

olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

2 medium jalapeno peppers, minced

1 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup celery, finely chopped

1 1/2 tsp cround cumin

1 tsp ground tumeric

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

salt & pepper

cilantro for garnish

1. Remove corn kernels from cobs and reserve cobs.

2. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add jalapeno and onions; sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add celery, cumin and turmeric, cook for about 1 or 2 minutes more.

3. Add broth, water and cobs; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Relmove and discard cobs. Add corn, salt, and pepper to soup, & simmer for 15 minutes more.

4. Puree soup until smooth. Garnish with cilantro.

Fig figs figs!

Figs are my favorite fruit, partly because of their sweet mild flavor, but mostly because they are so pretty inside! I love to eat fig jam with goat cheese and crackers, so I thought I would try to make my own. Today was my last summer Friday at work, so I decided to take advantage of my afternoon and make another batch of jam. There were two steps I changed in the process today:

1. I bought a funnel, which REALLY helped to eliminate a mess when I poured the hot jam into the jars. (I fear I may have temporarily died my wooden countertops hot pink from a few strawberry incidents last night.)

2. I "processed", or boiled the jars for 10 minutes after closing the lids. Apparently this helps to extend the shelf life.

Ingredients:

5 cups figs (cut in half and stems removed)

1/2 cup water

1/4 c lemon juice

generous sprinkle cinnamon

1 1.75 ounce box pectin

7 cups sugar

I followed the same instructions that I outlined in my strawberry rhubarb jam recipe, adding the final processing step.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Last night I made jam for the first time. The recipe below yields 1 batch, which is six 8 ounce jars of jam. I had plenty of fruit so I ended up making 2 batches. It only took one frantic phone call to my Mom!

Ingredients:

2 cups smashed strawberries

2 cups finely chopped rhubarb

1/4 cup lemon juice

5 1/2 cups sugar

1 package pectin (1.75 ounces)

1. Sterilize the jars, lids, and rims by boiling them all in a large saucepan. Keep the heat on low as you make your jam. It helps if the jars are warm when you fill them with warm jam.

2. Chop and smash the fruit, then mix with lemon juice in a saucepan over high heat. Slowly mix in the pectin, stirring constantly. Once the fruit has come to a boil pour all of the sugar in, and bring it back to a boil for 1 minute. Dont stop stirring...

3. Remove jam from heat, and fill the jars leaving only 1/4 inch at the top. Take a warm wet towel and wipe off the rims of the jars. Place the lids on top, then screw on the lids. Turn the jars over and leave upside down for at least a half hour.

Here comes the fun part....

I bought a bunch of fabric scraps at my favorite fabric store, Purl. After cutting the fabric into 5x5 inch squares I topped the jars and tied them tightly with bakers string. Then I simply labeled the jars. Now I cant wait to enjoy it on my PB&J today!

Mini Fruit Tarts

On Saturday I had family over for brunch. In addition to serving bagels, lox, and a green salad I decided to make these little fruit tarts for dessert (alongside black and whites purchased at our neighborhood bagel shop...yum!). They were a total experiment but turned out to be a big hit!

Fruit Tarts (serves 6)

6 pre-made puff pastry shells

9 blackberries

1 peach, peeled and sliced

2 extra large egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2/3 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Place the pastry shells face up on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake according to package instructions. Cool on a wire rack then pluck out the centers of the shells. To prepare the custard filling, start by beating the egg yolks and sugar for about 3 minutes. Beat in the cornstarch. Boil the milk in a saucepan, then slowly pour it into the egg mixture. Now pour it all back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick. This should only take a few minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the butter, vanilla, and cream. Refrigerate the custard until cold. Once it has been chilled, spoon it into the pastry shells and arrange fruit on top.