Nanny's Special Touch - Danielle's Reflection

My sister Danielle wrote a few words describing her memories of Nanny. Stay tuned for the recipe and photos of Nanny's Baked Rice.


"Wow…I have so many memories of Nanny. She really was such a special person to everyone. When it comes to food, Nanny was on the top of the list of the yummiest, quick, creative and simple dishes. I think about the things she made all the time and wish that I was smart enough to pay more attention to all the things she made so well. My food memories of her go from the littlest of desserts to the large meals she prepared.
Nanny had a way about her cooking that no matter what it was she made, it just tasted better because she made it. Even when she would make vanilla pudding and tapioca pudding it just tasted better. I remember she would call up to me at night from the bottom of the stairs telling me to come down to the basement. She would have a little serving of the pudding waiting for me and we would enjoy it together. Even breakfast was delicious. She would make farina from a box but put an egg in it and who knows what else and it was so good. I really wish I knew what it was because I think my kids would enjoy it. When she didn’t know what to make for lunch, I remember her making a little bit of pastina and you would just crave more of it. She would add an egg, then she would take out a frozen container of sauce from the freezer and just scoop some out (frozen and all…for an elderly person she was very strong) and add it to the pastina. Oh my gosh…it tasted DELICIOUS!!!! This is what I mean when I say she was creative. She would just mix a few things together and there you have it….an outrageous lunch or dinner.
One of my favorite dinners that Nanny made was her Baked Rice. Again, it was nothing complicated but it was so good. It was rice with chopped meat, mozzarella cheese, grated cheese, and sauce all mixed together in a pyrex dish. She would put it in the oven and there you have it. It was so good I can taste it now. That is one recipe of hers that I make often in the winter. Sofia and TJ don’t eat it (they don’t eat anything) but Thomas, myself and Emily really enjoy it. My food memories of Nanny go on and on. I could write a book with just the little things that she did. Thinking back I see how lucky we were to have her living with us thoughout our childhood. Because she was always there we are able to keep her memory alive even with the little things."

Fried Zucchini Blossoms

When we lived in Brooklyn, Nanny had a beautiful vegetable garden. She grew tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, eggplant, string beans, figs, rasperries, grapes and of course, zucchini. Zucchini plants grow beautiful vibrant orange flowers that are edible. I've seen them on menus in restaurants and I've watched Chefs like Mario Batali make them, however, I've only seen them stuffed which was not the way Nanny made them. She mixed them in a batter, fried them and topped them with sugar. Strange you make think but I assure you, they are very delicious. If you just give them a chance maybe they will become part of your summer food memories as they are an important part of mine.

My mom has taken over making the fried zucchini flowers (as she called them) since Nanny has passed and I have to say, I'm impressed. She figured out on her own how to make them and they taste just like I remember. This past weekend I visited my parents in Staten Island. My mother had a big bag of blossoms in the fridge that she picked off the zucchini that she and my father grew this year. She kept her promise to teach me how to make these treats and on Sunday we made them together. Here's what we did.

Nanny always said to pick the flowers in the morning while the blossoms are open. I don't know why this matters since they close once they are picked but that's what she said so that's what we do. So first you pull off the bottom piece that holds the flower together. Then you gently tear open the delicate flower and pull out the bud. You then wash off all the pollen and any insects that may be inside. Let them dry in a colander and then drain excess water on a paper towel. (I had pictures of all of these steps but they were taken with my mother's camera which didn't come out very well. The pictures that we did get were taken with my brother's new high tech camera. Thanks Gennaro!)



Make batter by mixing 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of water, 2 eggs, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp of baking powder.



Add blossoms and gently mix them until coated with batter. Some pieces may break off but that's okay.




Heat a pan with vegetable oil. When oil is hot drop a large spoonful of batter into the pan. Try to get one blossom per spoonful if possible. When browned turn and fry the second side.



When they are done let them drain on a paper towel and then sprinkle with granulated sugar. Eat them while they are warm. I couldn't get a great picture because everyone was eating them before I could get a nice pile on the plate! I think this made at least 20 and they were devoured within minutes.



So next time you consider throwing out those zucchini flowers think of me and my Nanny and give this recipe a shot. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Thanks Mom for figuring out this recipe. If you didn't it would be lost!

Stracciatella Soup

Nanny was great at using leftovers to make an entirely new meal. She was a big fan of adding an egg to soups or pasta for extra flavor and as she always said "to give you strength". I used some of the leftover ingredients from the bakespace challenge to make an incredibly hearty soup that Nanny would be proud of. This recipe just came to me in a dream. I'm not kidding. I woke up several times throughout the night because I was so excited about the soup. I don't have an exact recipe with measurements since I used leftovers but feel free to change this up however you like. In my mind this is a kicked up stracciatella soup (roman egg drop soup).

I sauteed onions, celery and carrots in extra virgin olive oil until they were tender. Then I added water and chicken bouillon and the rind from a hunk of parmigiano reggiano cheese. When that came to a boil I added the spinach, some shredded rotisserie chicken and a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce. That's a trick my mom always does to add some color to soups and stews. We usually use very small cans of Del Monte tomato sauce but this time I had some in my fridge that I already made myself. In a seperate bowl I beat two eggs with some grated locatelli romano cheese. I lowered the heat and beat in the egg and cheese mixture in a slow stream to create little egg "rags". This is similar to the look of chinese egg drop soup but without the thickness you get from the cornstarch. I then cooked some tortellini right in the pot with the soup and veggies.

Hearty and delicious!

The Mysterious Migas

What is a Migas you ask? I asked myself the same question when I saw it was what Rachael Ray was cooking on her daytime tv show yesterday. Migas is the spanish word for crumbs and apparently that's all it takes to make this dish. A little of this and a little of that plus eggs. My grandmother made frittatas which is similar to the quiche. This is along the same lines, as it is hearty enough to be served for dinner, however, it looks more like kicked up scrambled eggs.

I didn't follow Rachael Ray's recipe exactly since I read that a Migas is a great way to use up leftovers and I wanted to use up what I had on hand.

This was Rachael Ray's ingredients list and I will post mine below. If you want her exact recipe you can find it at http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/mighty-migas/

Mighty Migas

2 tablespoons EVOO

1/3 pound Mexican raw chorizo, casings removed

4 6-inch corn tortillas, torn into bite sized pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated

8 eggs, whisked together

Hot sauce, to taste

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 avocado, diced

Juice of 1 lime

1 cup shredded smoked cheddar or Montery Jack Cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

Yields 4 servings

My Migas Recipe

2 tablespoons EVOO, plus more as needed

1 chorizo, casings removed

4 6-inch corn tortillas, torn into bite sized pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

6 eggs

a couple shakes chipolte sauce

salt and freshly ground black pepper

about 1/2 jar prepared salsa

1/2 green pepper

2 scallions, sliced, green parts only

1 large handful shredded mexican cheese blend (sargento)

I sauteed the chorizo in 2 tablespoons of EVOO until crispy as per Rachael's directions.

The next step was to add the tortillas to the pan so they would crisp up. This is where I came upon my only problem with the recipe. The chorizo began to burn and the tortillas were taking forever to crisp up. I removed the chorizo and threw away the unedible burnt pieces. This made me mad because the chorizo in my opinion is the BEST part of this recipe...sigh...but what could I have done...using the burnt pieces would only result in an awful tasting dinner. Anyway, I then added in a little more oil and sauteed the tortillas until crispy.

This is when I added the onion garlic and pepper. I believe this is the same order that Rachael Ray used but I didn't really refer to the recipe anymore.

While that was cooking I whisked the eggs, chipolte sauce, salt and pepper. When the onions were soft I added the chorizo back to the pan and then added the eggs. I pulled the eggs in to the center with a spatula and let them cook over a low flame.

When the eggs were almost done I added the salsa and cheese and let cook until cheese melted and eggs were cooked.

This was a very easy, fast, inexpensive and delicious meal! This served me and my boyfriend, Steve. One helping for me and two for him. As usual, I asked Steve if I could make this one again and he said Yes! It was a hit!

Bakespace Challenge Number 1

As you all know I'm new to the blogging world. I was inspired of course my by grandmother but learned about blogging from my friends at bakespace.com. I learned about a cooking challenge from reading Amber's blog (http://amberskitchen.blogspot.com/). She and some friends on another social networking site participate in hell's kitchen type challenges. I thought this would be fun to do on bakespace and so the first challenge was announced a couple of weeks ago. Here are the rules we came up with as a group on the forums.

1. Twice a month someone will post a list of 5 ingredients in a new thread (ex. BS Cooking Challenge #1) the challenges will vary and get more creative as we get more comfortable. Everyone who participates will get a turn to decide on the challenge.

2. You can use the ingredients to make one or two dishes. Whatever you decide.
3. The recipe will be an original recipe, your own creation.

4. We will have two weeks to make a dish and post your recipe and a picture if you can.

5. Most importantly...have fun!!!! This is purely to get our creative juices flowing and to get some great new recijpes!!! Even if your recipe is a flop, please share your experience with the group.

Here are the five ingredients we had to include in our recipe...chicken, puff pastry, spinach, eggs and onions.

I decided to make stuffed puff pastry triangles and they came out really great. I didn't have a lot of time so I bought a cooked rotisserie chicken and shredded the breast. The only thing I would change next time is the flavor of the chicken. I bought a Tuscan Spice chicken and it was too salty. I think the original flavor would have been perfect.



Sauteed onions, mushrooms and garlic in extra virgin olive oil and butter.



Add Spinach until wilted.



Add shredded chicken and stir to combine mixture.



follow directions on box for defrosting puff pastry.
Then roll out dough and divide into 6 pieces.



Add heaping tablespoon of mixture on center of pastry dough.
Add cheese.



fold over in order to form a triangle. Brush sides with egg wash to seal.
Once you have made 6 triangles brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until golden brown.



This is what they look like when they are all done!
I'm very happy with the outcome!



Now who wouldn't want a bite of that???

If you'd like to give these a shot here is the complete recipe which received great reviews from Steve. Sweet Success!!!

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, shredded (I used store bought rotisserie)
1 package cremini mushrooms, diced
5 oz fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Shredded cheese blend (I used mozzarella, asiago, fontina and provolone, romano, parmesan) Salt and pepper, to taste
1 sheet puff pastry
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon water
Approx 1 tablespoon butter
EVOO

Directions:

Sauté onions in a combination of EVOO and half of the butter. When they start to soften add the rest of the butter and the mushrooms, sauté until brown.

Add garlic and let it cook for a few minutes and then add spinach. Turn in mixture until spinach wilts and all the veggies are combined.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mix in shredded chicken.

Roll out puff pastry on a well floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Roughly shape them into squares.

Put a heaping tablespoon into the center of the dough, sprinkle with cheese.

Brush edges of dough with egg wash and fold over to form a triangle, crimping edges with fork to seal.

Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with some grated parmesan or romano . Bake at 400˚ for 25 mins or until brown.

Enjoy!!!

Now let's hear from my brother

Since I got such a great response to my first blog entry, I thought it would be nice to hear from some of my family members. We each were touched by Nanny in our own way and she had a way of making us all feel special. What we do share, though, are the memories of her in the kitchen and all her wonderful creations. Here's a memory that my brother wanted to share.

"I have to say that one of my favorite food memories of my Nanny was from when I was in grammer school. I attended a Catholic school and every Wednesday we had a half day so that the public school children could use the school for Religious instruction. I used to race home because I knew that Nanny would be there with a pot of sauce and a plate of linguini waiting for me. I have to say that she cooked the best sauce. She used to make a whole pound and I used to eat most of it sharing the rest with my sisters and some friends if they were there.

I also remember Saturdays in the summer when she used to cook the flowers from a zucchini plant and make little fried cakes with sugar on it. There was never enough to go around and my family and I used to fight for the last one."

The zucchini blossoms were incredible! In fact, my mom has started making them the last couple of summers. It took her a couple of tries but she finally got the consistency just right! Later this summer when my mom makes them and teaches me, I'll post the recipe along with some pictures!

Fresh

Figs and plums, picked yesterday by my landlord. He gave them to me today, after we weeded the rows of corn growing kitty-corner to both my apartment and his photography studio. I just put them on my desk. They look nice next to my mug of coffee, which steams next to my computer while I write.