I’m HUNGRY……….Let’s go to ITALY!!!
Even though our family is a combination of Bahamian, Scottish and American there is something about Italians that speaks to me! I really think I could live in Italy and grow olive trees and make wine!
In preparing our palette for our upcoming Italian holiday with our fabulous friends we thought we would get our family together for a traditional Umbrian Lunch. There is nothing like a five course Sunday lunch with the ones you love. Only thing missing is my family in NC around the table with us.
The menu idea and recipies are taken from www.saveur.com
The Menu
- Pecorino Flans with Tomato Sauce
- Prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella , arugula, basil and tomato salad
- Rigatoni with Pancetta Tomato Sauce
- Pork with Rosemary and Sage
- Athenas Bahamian Guava Rum Cake
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The Flan
1⁄4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28-oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 large basil leaves, roughly chopped
Unsalted butter, for greasing
6 eggs
2 1⁄4 cups heavy cream
1 3⁄4 cups grated Pecorino Romano
Boiling water, for baking
Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high. Cook garlic until golden, 2–3 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper; cook until broken down and slightly thickened, 10–12 minutes. Add basil; cook 5 minutes and keep warm.
Heat oven to 300°. Grease six 6-oz. ramekins with butter and place in a 9" x 13" baking dish; set aside. Whisk eggs in a bowl until frothy. Add cream, pecorino, salt, and pepper; whisk until smooth and pour into prepared ramekins. Pour boiling water into baking dish to come halfway up sides of ramekins; bake until golden brown and slightly puffed, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Divide reserved sauce between 6 shallow bowls; invert 1 flan into center of each bowl. -
The Pasta & Salad
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 (12-oz.) piece pancetta, minced
1 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
1 large yellow onion, minced
Kosher salt, to taste
1 cup dry white wine
3 (16-oz.) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
1 lb. rigatoni
1⁄2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
Heat oil in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium; cook pancetta until browned and crisp, 10–12 minutes. Add chile flakes, onion, and salt; cook until onion is golden, 10–12 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan, until almost evaporated, 12–15 minutes. Add tomatoes; boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook until sauce is thickened, 45–50 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente, about 14 minutes. Drain pasta; stir into sauce with half the pecorino. Garnish with remaining pecorino. -
Dessert
Athena Mabons guava rum cake!
Recipe to follow.....
Thanks Teens.xo
LOL.....
I am always a little confused whether this acronym means lots of laughs or lots of love but for today I am going with LEG OF LAMB!
Lamb always brings back memories of family dinners. My sisters favourite meal was always lamb with roast potatoes and Bahamian gravy.
We opted today for a boneless leg of lamb since it takes less time to cook and instead of plain roast potatoes we are going with smashed potatoes baked in the oven until crispy crunchy!
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Honey and Rosemary
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 pounds whole leg of lamb
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Bathe your lamb in all the ingredients and wrap up your bundle of joy in fresh rosemary. -
Baked and Smashed
Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and roast for 55 to 60 more minutes for medium rare. The internal temperature should be at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) when taken with a meat thermometer. Let the roast rest for about 10 minutes before carving.
Boil your potatoes until fork tender, remove from the oven and use a spoon or back of a knife to lightly smash them. After that all you need is olive oil and good sea salt. -
Aunt Nellies Bahamian Gravy
You can never have too much of this gravy and it is so simple to make!
If you don't have salt pork pancetta works just as well.
A wonderful childhood memory and this 40 year old recipe was hand written by Aunt Nell herself.
Thank you Mom for saving it and passing it on.
Cereal for Dinner...........Why Not!?
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Assembly Line
For the chicken.....
One bowl for the egg
One bowl for the corn flakes
Chicken trimmed and ready to take a double dunk -
The Casserole
Slice the zucchini
1 onion sliced
2 eggs
2 types of shredded cheese
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup of heavy cream
Salt & pepper
Top off with Corn flakes for crunch -
The Meal
Serve with tater tots or any type of rice or potato dish.
Everything bakes at the same temp for the same amount of time.
Supply and Demand!
Back by popular demand and fortunately we have the supply! Thanks to the Melvin’s and their annual summer trip to Great Harbour Cay, we have a wonderful source of freshly caught lobster which we have transformed once again. Today we are going old school and using recipes from the past.
First up is a lobster dip that Stephen and Samantha’s Nanna used to make for us as children and I hope I got it right. It is simply divine and to me the Sherry is the most important component. I think we shall have a wee nip while cooking and raise a glass to Nanna!
The second course is a version of a dish I first tried years ago while on a trip to the Napa Valley. We had splurged all week and this dining experience was no exception. We booked a table at the French Laundry and proceeded to eat eight courses, one of which was butter poached lobster. Not sure we replicated Thomas Keller but it was pretty rich and tasty!
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The Beginning...
Saute onions and garlic down in plenty of butter.
Melt one package of cream cheese,add a tablespoon of sour cream and mayo (optional).
Combine a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce and add Sherry liberally along with the lobster meat and cook on medium to low heat for 10 mins until the lobster is done.
Add salt and pepper to taste along with a few dashes of hot sauce. -
The Middle...
Stephen made this wonderful version of mac n' cheese with lobster. It was spicy, creamy and loaded with lobster!
A great accompaniment to the dip and poached lobster.
Forgot the diet this weekend and simply enjoyed! -
The End...
2 uncooked lobster tails
2 tablespoons water
1 cup salted butter (2 stick), cut into 1 tablespoon chunks
2 clove garlic, very finely minced
4 tomatoes, cut into large chunks
Fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Double up again and again on the ingredients depending on how many you are serving.
Sue Lawrence
Lovely day and lovely lunch. Have a fabulous trip! Think about us suffering here in the hurricane while you drink wine and hunt for truffles.