Blog - Proud Italian Cook

Citrus Fruit Ideas to Brighten the Winter Blues

January 4, 2018 by Marie 4 Comments

It’s the beginning of a new year and as I look forward to spring I must admit one of the things I do like about winter is all the beautiful citrus that is available. Maybe it’s the way it makes you feel after over indulging during the holidays, it’s fresh, bright and very healthy for you, and who doesn’t need a good dose of vitamin C during these cold winter days.

Every time I go food shopping I fill my cart with orange citrus, my three favorite varieties are navel, Cara Cara and blood oranges, each have a unique and special flavor on their own and I love to mingle them together.

While I patiently wait for my summer tomato caprese salad, this winter caprese has become my cold weather favorite.

You don’t need a recipe, just layer your favorite sliced oranges with fresh mozzarella, just like you would a tomato caprese. Lay it all on a bed of arugula with an optional sliced red onion ring in between.

The dressing is simply fresh squeezed orange citrus juice that is whisked with good olive oil, ( you could add a little white balsamic or champagne vinegar to the mix if you wish) the bitterness of the arugula against the sweetness of the orange and the creaminess of the fresh mozzarella is the perfect combination, especially when the dressing mingles all over it.

I’ve been making a few other citrus salads as well, one has sliced oranges with fennel, red onion, creamy avocado, a little bit of arugula and toasted hazelnuts.

The other one is a huge bunch of arugula, orange slices and toasted hazelnuts, I love the bitter with the sweet. Both are simple to put together and they compliment any protein you might be eating, I especially love it with fish and seafood.

On New Years Day I made this salad along with crab cakes, they complimented each other perfectly with the richness of the crab and the brightness of the citrus.

Citrus in the form of salsa is outrageously good, make it like you would any other salsa only with various varieties of orange segments, chopped jalapeno, cilantro or parsley, red onion and a drizzle of olive oil.

The salsa’s are wonderful to top off scallops, shrimp, salmon, whitefish, basically any fish, plus it’s light and healthy something we all need after the holidays.

Here’s a one pan meal that is so delicious and it will surely brighten a cold winter day, my baked cod with blood orange, fennel and olives.

Citrus fruits are not only refreshing they actually make you feel better, there must be a reason why these sunny fruits are available during the darkest time of the year. How many more days til spring?

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4 Comments Filed Under: Fruit, Winter Tagged: blood orange salad, cara cara, citrus, citrus caprese, citrus salad, navel orange, winter citrus

Italian Seafood Salad

December 23, 2017 by Marie 5 Comments

Seafood salad is traditionally served on Christmas Eve, actually as far back as I can remember this salad was always the first course to a massive Christmas Eve spread, it wasn’t often that we had lobster as kids so this salad was extra special to us and one we looked forward to having. Those flavors and memories have stayed with me my whole life and I love continuing the tradition in my own family.

But I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to wait until Christmas Eve to make this amazing salad, actually any special occasion will do, it’s perfect for entertaining as well as having it for a delicious light meal on a hot summer day. Just pick and choose your favorite seafood and put it together, it’s easier than you think!

For my salad this year I chose bay scallops, calamari, lobster, and two different types of shrimp which have distinctly different tastes. Many Italian families add octopus, baccala, (salt cod) mussels, clams and scungilli or conch, but this is my favorite mix and one that all my guests love, but again you can make it your own with your favorites.

To save time I always get cleaned calamari and peeled and deveined shrimp it makes the process go quick and easy and a little more enjoyable.

You’re going to poach all the seafood one at a time in an infused poaching liquid and it’s not going to take very long, just a minute or two. I like to use a spider strainer so I can remove the seafood really fast then directly stick it into an ice bath to stop the cooking process, when cooled down place the seafood on paper towels to soak up the excess water.

The simple bright and fresh lemon and olive oil dressing is what brings all the components together harmoniously.

When tossed together you want those flavors to marinate for at least a few hours but even better overnight, just pull it from the fridge and let it warm up a bit before serving.

This salad will become your go to special occasion salad and your guests will go crazy over it. This will grace my table this Christmas Eve and throughout the year.

Wishing all my Dear Readers a Very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy Holiday!

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Italian Seafood Salad

You can choose any seafood combination you wish, the amounts really don't matter, just adjust the veggies and dressing to accommodate

Author: Marie

Ingredients

This is my seafood combination which made a big platter full.
1 lb. bay scallops
1 lb. shrimp, some whole, some sliced horizontally for a nice presentation, make sure tails are pulled off
1 lb. calamari with tubes and tentacles, tubes sliced into ½ in, strips
2 small lobster tails, removed from the shell
2 fennel bulbs sliced thin
½ large red onion, diced small
3 whole celery stalks with leaves, chopped in small slices
a big handful of pitted castelvetrano olves or any of your favorite
4 cloves garlic, crushed
lemon slices from one lemon
lemon juice
olive oil
chopped parsley
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
POACHING LIQUID
water in a medium stock pot, a good splash of white wine, 2 bay leaves, 1 of the 4 cloves of crushed garlic, salt, pepper and 3 lemon slices.

Instructions

Prepare poaching liquid, get it to a boil then place seafood in one at a time. Bay scallops about 2 minutes, taste one to make sure, calamari, one or two minutes, shrimp until they turn pink and the lobster three to five minutes depending on the size, it will turn pink and curl up.
Use a spider strainer to take them out of the liquid then place directly into an ice bath to stop the cooking process, you want all your seafood to be tender and not overcooked.
Drain onto a paper towel lined baking sheet.
When seafood is all cooked, chop up all your veggies and place into a big bowl, along with the olives.
Add the prepared seafood into the large bowl.
Add the three remaining garlic cloves and toss gently.
MIX UP YOUR DRESSING;
Half lemon juice to half olive oil with a squeeze of dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk it up until it's nicely incorporated.
Drizzle over your salad coating all the seafood and tossing so the garlic and veggies get incorporated.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley, taste for seasoning.
Spoon it into a pretty platter, add some lemon slices, more parsley and a drizzle of olive oil all over.
Cover and let it sit in fridge for at least a few hours or overnight, let it warm up a bit before serving, but don't serve at room temp it needs to be cold.

5 Comments Filed Under: Party Foods, Salads, Seafood Tagged: 7 fishes, calamari, Christmas eve, lobster, seafood salad, shrimp

Make Ahead Manicotti with Tips and Tricks

December 13, 2017 by Marie 31 Comments

Manicotti is a great dish to make and prep the day before you’re having a party, all the work and mess will be finished and cleaned up and you’ll be left with your perfect pan of piped manicotti ready to be popped into the oven the next day.

Many Italian families make their homemade manicotti crepes-style, but in my family we always used the dry manicotti pasta tubes that come in a box, it’s what I grew up on and what my family prefers, so in this post I share with you some of the tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years in making them.

Many issues can come up in making the pasta-style manicotti, issues like over cooking, tearing pasta, collapsed tubes which are difficult to stuff and the actual process of stuffing them which can become a big mess, but if you follow my tips you should have no problem at all!

I have a box of Wilton, twelve inch disposable decorating bags, I use them every time I need to stuff pasta neatly, I use them whenever I make homemade ravioli for all my fillings plus it makes the process go much faster and cleaner.

No tip is needed for the bags, you’re just going to snip a little off the end so the filling can flow through smoothly. Test it out by holding the manicotti tube on a slight angle making sure it flows in nicely, if it doesn’t snip a little more off the end.

To fill the bag easily without the cheese mixture falling out all over the place, I always place the bag into a tall glass which will give you stability when filling it, as noted in the picture above. Fill it 3/4 of the way with a spoon and then grab the bag and squeeze from the top so the filling can fall down to the shaft of the bag where you cut it. The glass also acts as a holder for you and everything stays nice and neat during the whole process.

You can stuff these tubes with just about anything, but I prefer the creamy cheese manicotti with an addition of either spinach, parsley or basil. By prepping ahead of time with your sauce and cheese mixture it’s really then all about the assembly.

When making a large amount of manicotti for a party I only boil up one box at a time, then I scoop them out with a spider and quickly rinse with cold water, drain them onto a paper towel lined baking sheet and gently pat dry, then believe it or not I like to place the partially cooked pasta back into those individual slots they lay in from the box, this way it gives you more control and will insure them not sticking together while you’re preparing to stuff them. I do the same procedure if using only one box as well.

By scooping them out you’ll still have your hot pot of boiling water going for your next batch. Depending on how much your making you might loose some of the water but just add to it if needed and let it reboil again.

A very important tip is to cook them only for 5 minutes, I repeat, 5 minutes! Then scoop them out and rinse them under cold water. I don’t care if the box says cook for 8 minutes or 11 minutes I’m telling you just 5! Besides, they’ll spend more time baking under foil in the oven so when finished they’ll have the perfect bite.

Oh, and never ever pour them out into a strainer because they’ll stick together and break for sure.

It’s holiday time and baked manicotti is a delicious pasta course to have for your next party or get together. A beautiful individual portion that stands up well by itself or next to anything else you might be serving on the plate, besides there’s always room for pasta!

5.0 from 6 reviews

Make Ahead Manicotti with Tips and Tricks

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1 box of manicotti pasta tubes, 8 oz.
2 quarts prepared marinara, preferably homemade or a good quality store bought
4 cups ricotta, drained of any liquid
½ cup or so grated romano cheese plus extra for garnish
1½ cups of shredded blend of 4 cheeses, Quattro Formaggio ( Trader Joes) or something similar or all mozzarella if you can't find it.
2 egg yolks
½ cup of chopped frozen spinach, (completely drained of liquid) or fresh chopped parley or basil plus
salt and pepper to taste
( 12 inch disposable decorator bags) a must
Everything can be doubled or tripled for a large crowd

Instructions

Cook manicotti shells in boiling salted water with a teaspoon of olive oil for 5 minutes only, no matter what the back of the box tells you.
After 5 minutes scoop out pasta with a spider then run them quickly under cold water to cool down.
Spread them onto a paper towel lined baking sheet, let them drain a little and gently pat them dry with a paper towel, then lay each tube into the individual slotted holder that they came packaged in the box.
In a large bowl combine the ricotta, romano, shredded cheeses and spinach or herbs, basically everything except the egg yolks, use a hand mixer to get it nice and smooth.
Taste it for enough cheese, salt and pepper, when you are satisfied with the taste add the 2 egg yolks and incorporate it with the hand mixer.
Place a disposable decorator bag into a tall glass for stability ( no tip required) then spoon some of the ricotta mixture into it, filling it three quarters of the way up. Snip off the bottom enough so that the filling squeezes through with ease into the pasta hole.
Spread enough marinara to cover the bottom of your baking dish.
Pick up one pasta tube and tip it on an angle and with your decorator bag start piping the ricotta mix in as far as it goes, if it doesn't reach the other end just flip to that side and fill it up.
Lay it down on top of the marinara sauce and repeat until all are filled.
When all the manicotti are filled spoon more marinara on top with some grated cheese.
Cover with foil.
At this point you can refrigerate the whole pan and the next day take it out a good hour or so before baking to get it close to room temperature.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees, keep pan covered with foil and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until heated through because ovens do vary.
Remove from the oven, take off the foil and let it set for 5 minutes, spoon some warm sauce on top and garnish with more grated cheese.
Ready to serve!