Broccoli Rabe - Right In Your Front Yard

An Italian tradition in my family is picking wild broccoli rabe in the spring time. In addition to spring, is a late summer/early fall crop, however not as plentiful. Broccoli rabe are common in the  Northeast in the spring. They grow plentiful in yards and farms when the grass first turns green. Essentially, they look like a weed with a small broccoli head. However, they are absolutely delicious. The heads will turn yellow, and are not good for picking. You have to pick them early as seen in the picture to the right.

I use to go with my dad when I was a child to pick broccoli rabe. My children and I continued the tradition. Picking broccoli rabe in the spring gets them fresh air and teaches them about tradition. I started picking them again over 10 years ago. Part of the tradition is a proper cleaning. Being that it is found in fields and lawns, cleaning is a long process. On my first trip out since I was a kid, I found a wonderful crop on a river bed. Unfortunately, I did not clean the first batch very well, and some small river rocks were a part of my first attempt to clean them. Needless to say, I spend much more time since then cleaning them, and am happy to say they have been cleaned and screened much better! (They are easy to clean using a colander - I just forgot how to clean them properly my first attempt. I forgot to re-rinse after boiling which is very important.)

Broccoli rabe is the original broccoli that comes from the cabbage family. The leaves can look similar to cabbage. Rich in iron, you have to boil them for about 10 mins. Your boiling water will look dark green from the iron. This takes the bitterness out of the greens. Essentially, you prepare broccoli rabe like greens once cleaned and rinsed. (Collard, Utica Greens....etc)
 Due to the water retention of the green, you can freeze them after boiling and have broccoli rabe throughout the year. It is a tough green, and it takes a lot to have them freezer burn.


Here is a simple recipe for wild broccoli rabe.

1-2 quarts boiled and cleaned broccoli rabe
3-5tablespoons of Olive Olive
2-3 cloves of minced fresh garlic
Cracked Pepper
Cracked Sea Salt

You can also add a diced Prosciutto, Salami and finely diced tomatoes.

Warm your stove top to a med heat. In a skillet, add the broccoli rabe with the oil and garlic on top to slowly drip into the mixture. As the rabes heat up turn and saute until tender. Season with cracked pepper and salt to you liking. Towards the end, add the garnishments to add flavor to the mixture. Set aside, let cool and serve as a tasty addition to a main entrée.

Skittles Pancakes: an Easter Delight! By: Caden Giardino

These special pancakes are sure to make the whole family's Easter a sweeter holiday!

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups flour
3.5 teaspoons Baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter (melted)
and about a package of skittles to make these pancakes pop!

If you want to make these pancakes feel even more like Easter, add in a package of marshmallow peeps!

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Make a well (take your two fists, clamp them together and pound in the middle of the bowl)
Add combined milk, eggs, and the melted butter in the well.
Then, mix all the ingredients together until there are no more lumps. (do not over mix)
Dont forget to add the skittles! (also marshmallow peeps)

Happy Easter and remember: you can always cook with your kids.

Eggs St. Peter - Breakfast Just Had A Makeover

Continuing with a Louisiana tradition, I recently made a breakfast with the boys from a southern tradition that we absolutely enjoyed eating. I named it Eggs St. Peter, after a dish I tried in New Orleans that was very similar. You will absolutely enjoy this recipe.

Ingredients

Grits (Instant Or Regular)
2-3 oz of cheese (Cheddar)
16 oz of Chicken Broth

Diced Red Potatoes about 5-6
3-4 Diced Cubanelle Peppers
16ozs of Dice Ham (From the Bone)
Olive Oil
2 cloves of oil

Slap Yo Mama Mix
Pinch of Salt
Scallions
3 Eggs Sunnyside Up
Louisiana Hot Sauce
In a skillet, add the potatoes, peppers, Diced Ham with minced garlic cracked pepper olive oil. Ove a medium heat, cook and sauté to crispy. Add seasoning based on the heat of the peppers and how you like your food to be spicy. Take the mixture out of the pan and set aside in a bowl.

In a separate pan, make the grits by bringing the chicken broth to a boil. Add the grits. Simmer on low and stir on the cheese. You will have a thick consistency within 5-7 mins. Take the grits off the stove.
In a skillet prepare 1-3 eggs Sunnyside up.

On a plate, create a small circular base of grits on the bottom. Add the ham, potatoes and peppers on top of the base. Top the mixture with a sunny side egg. Leave some of the brine from the pan of the vegetables for extra flavor. Serve with Louisiana Hot sauce on the side.

Shrimp and Grits

I recently travelled to Louisiana last year and discovered the best cooking this country has to offer. So many dishes to try, you need multiple vacations just to experience it all. What you quickly learn is grits is a very popular base to dishes. Grits make for an amazing experience. A basic recipe that I first tried when I came home with the kids was Shrimp and Grits. The first attempt at grits was so good. We expanded to try other recipes after this first experience. Try it with your kids. You might be surprised how easy it is to make, and how flavorful shrimp and grits is to the palette.

Ingredients

Grits (Instant Or Regular)
2-3 oz of cheese (Cheddar)
16 oz of Chicken Broth

Medium/Large sized shrimp.
Olive Oil
Lemon
2 Cloves of Garlic
Cracked Pepper
Slap Yo Mama Mix
Pinch of Salt
Scallions

In a skillet, add this shrimp, minced garlic cracked pepper olive oil and seasonings and cooked the shrimp so that it is lightly browned. Squeeze the fresh lemon over the shrimp as you are cooking. Set aside when cooked.

In a separate pan, make the grits by bringing the chicken broth to a boil. Add the grits. Simmer on low and stir on the cheese. You will have a thick consistency within 5-7 mins. Take the grits off the stove.

On a plate, create a small circular base of grits on the bottom. Add the shrimp with some of the brine on top of the grits. Chop a few scallions and add the fresh on top of the shrimp base. Serve with Louisiana Hot sauce on t he side.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

St. Patrick's Day is upon us. That means corned beef and cabbage season around this house. I have to share that we LOVE corned beef and cabbage any time of the year. My goodness, a good corned beef is easy to make. My kids love the vegetables as much as the corned beef. And believe it or not, they like the cabbage. So good.  Try this easy recipe for a great dinner with the kids.

The fun thing about cooking is you can share the history of food with your children. It get's them engaged in the process. For example, kids might ask, "Dad, why do they call it Corned Beef is there is no corn." We actually looked it up and discovered:  Originally the word “corn” came from the Germanic word “kurnam,” meaning “small seed.” In the 17th century, salted beef started taking on the name “corned beef” in some parts of England because of the large “kernels” of rock salt used to preserve it.  (Google search - it's there when you need it) 

Getting started: First, I make my corn beef in the slow cooker. Let me explain why. Corned beef is traditionally done in the oven. I find it to be a bit tough when cooked in the oven. Others do a boiled version which I find is great. However, the best way to make corn beef is in a slow cooker. A slow cooker takes advantage of cooking all day, which makes the corned beef very tender. I will explain why that is important as we proceed.

Ingredients

Corned Beef - Flat or Point Cut
Cabbage
Flavor Packet
Baby Carrots (1 bag)
Red Potatoes (small if you find them)
Celery
1 bottle of beer (Stout is amazing, however any beer will due)

Add the corned beef to the crockpot, along with one bottle of beer and the flavor packet. Slow cook on low for 4 hours. Next, add the vegetables and slow cook for another 90mins on low. For the next 30-45 mins, place the cabbage on top of the corned beef and veggies and cook on high. Check to ensure that the cabbage is tender.

Cabbage Option #2 - Add the cabbage and veggies together with the cabbage on top after 4 hours. The cabbage will be much more tender and will absorb more of the flavors within the brine.

This is a very simple recipe. We serve the meal with the brine at the bottom. Everything is served together. We use yellow mustard for the corned beef and the vegetables for additional flavor.

Panettone French Bread

For years, I would get a Panettone Bread for a gift and have no idea what to do with it. For those new to Panettone, it is a bread in a box that consists of a dough similar to sourdough, and has candied oranges, raisins and lemon zest. It is commonly a dessert. Not one I or my kids are particularly fond of at all.

One day, my son and I thought it would be a good bread to use for French Toast. We cut thick slices of bread and the BAM....what a great version of French Toast. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

3 eggs
4 tsps. of Brown Sugar
1-2 tsps. of Cinnamon
A dash of pumpkin spice or nutmeg (optional)
Panettone Bread
Stick of butter

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, brown sugar, and spices. Whisk for about 1-2 minutes. Preheat a 12 inch skillet to medium heat. Melt a mad of butter to coat the pan. Next, cut thick longitudinal slices of the bread. Dip both sides of bread into the bowl and lightly cook on each side until a light golden brown.

Serve with Maple Syrup and enjoy.