Summer Rolls

I am a huge fan of Vietnamese and Cambodian cooking. Slowly, my kids are starting to appreciate it. My daughter has embraced it the most. She taught me, how to make Summer Rolls. Summer rolls are one of my favorite appetizers/meals. I added basil from an Asian Market, that is a common ingredient in Pho and our first batch was amazing.

Ingredients

Rice Paper
Rice Vermicelli Noodles found in the freezer/refrigerator case. They usually require a 5-10 sec quick boil. Run under cold water after the quick boil.
Cooked Shrimp - Large
Vietnamese Basil  (Asian Chinese has many names - Large Purple/green leaves)
Thinly sliced carrots strips
Thinly sliced Cucumber strips
Green Onion Thinly Sliced or in a long thin sprig as in the picture

Prepare all of you ingredients and set them up as an assembly line.
Prepare the rice paper by placing in on a plate with warm water. They will soften within a few minutes. The lines in the paper will disappear.
Place the rice paper (careful not to tear) on a new plate.
Add the noodles as a base and the rest of your ingredients.
Roll towards you. Be sure to use a rolling motion to ensure that the roll is tight and holds the ingredients.

Some variations - Summer rolls can be made with Chicken and Pork. The same is true for the vegetables. You can use regular cilantro in place of the Vietnamese basil. Some add the peanut sauce in the roll. I like it as a dipping sauce. (See Dipping Sauce Recipe)

Pepper and Eggs Pizza .....ooooof so good.

Pepper and Eggs pizza. That's right. A new creation that was inspired by the peppers and egg sandwich. We took some leftover pepper and eggs and created the ultimate pizza you can eat for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Ingredients

Pepper and Eggs Recipe
Dough Recipe or Premade Dough
6-8 Doz Eggs
1/4 cup milk or half and half
2-3 Long Hot Peppers
8oz of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Cracked Pepper
Cracked Sea Salt


Stretch the dough and overlap on a cookie sheet. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. As  the oven warms, place the dough on the stove top or a warm surface to rise. Prepare the peppers and eggs. Use a medley of sweet peppers for this recipe. Set aside. In a another bowl, scramble the eggs with 1/4 cup of milk. Next, shred the cheese and set aside.

Once your dough is properly stretched, add the scrambled eggs. spread the peppers and eggs consistently over the dough. Next add the cheese. On a separate cutting board, dice a few long hot peppers and place on top of the ingredients. The long hots should not overwhelm the pizza. The pizza itself will tone down the long hots, however you will know their presence.

Bake for 12-15 mins.
Broil for 2-3 minutes.

Season to your liking. Enjoy!

Pepper and Eggs Sandwich

Pepper and Eggs are an Italian tradition. Easy to make, and very good as a meal on it's own. I grew up with pepper and eggs served as a sandwich. And now, I am passing that tradition on to my children.


Ingredients

6-8 large eggs
Cracked Pepper
Granulated Garlic
Cracked Salt
Sweet Red Peppers about 6

Slice the peppers in squares. In a saute pan, fry the peppers using olive oil. Add the salt, pepper and granulated garlic as the peppers are cooking. The peppers sh
ould be cooked to your taste. I like my peppers to be slightly blackened on one side.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs for scrambling. As the pepper are nearing completion, add the eggs. You will scramble the eggs with the peppers. Once completed, add to bread either toasted or untoasted and you have a great sandwich.

Variations: You can use any sweet or hot peppers with this recipe. I vary it up a bit every time I make them. Experiment with the recipe and you will find the right variation.

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.