Proud Italian Cook

Sunday Morning

July 31, 2010 by Marie 23 Comments

Potatoes and Eggs with Onions, We grew up on this stuff, my husband still craves it and once and a while I’ll make it for him. Great for a lazy Sunday morning or a lunch with a salad.

I guess you could call it a frittata, but we just call it potatoes and eggs. Four simple ingredients blended together make a wondrous combination!

Eggs

Thick sliced red onion

Pre-cooked red potatoes

Romano cheese

Saute your potatoes and onions in olive oil, add a very generous amount of romano cheese to your beaten eggs then pour over all and cook til set. Sprinkle with fresh flat leaf parsley.

Or you might want something like this! Toasted Italian bread, ( I love that smell) slathered with fresh basil pesto, now go ahead and add a thick slice of a nice juicy summer tomato and then top it with an egg.

Whatever you decide, it’s all good.

Happy Sunday morning!

Rustic Fig and Ricotta Tart

July 28, 2010 by Marie 29 Comments

Again I struck gold at Whole Foods, this time it was with fresh organic figs and even better than that was the price, only three dollars a pint!

Sometimes when I buy fresh figs even though they look and feel ripe, when I get them home they have no flavor at all, does that ever happen to you?

Not the case here, they were all you would ever want in a fig, perfectly ripe, plump and oh so sweet!

I’m dedicating this post to my friend Stacey because she is a true figaholic, if you don’t believe me go check out her blog she has a ton of fig recipes, sweet and savory, all good! If we lived closer I would have brought this over to her house to share.

I love making rustic tarts, nothing sophisticated about them, easy to make, very casual and homey. You can make your own pastry dough or use a good refrigerated one as I did, I’ve had it both ways and it’s equally as good.

For the Ricotta Filling:
1lb ricotta
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
Orange zest
Heaping tablespoon of orange marmalade
Pinch of cinnamon
Beat together on low speed until all incorporated

On a baking sheet place parchment paper, then place your dough round on top of that and prick the bottom with a fork.
Spread ricotta mixture all over except where you’re going to be folding the edges up. Then place figs on top.
Brush the top with a beaten egg or milk, bake at 375F until golden brown, check the bottom with a spatula to make sure it has a nice brown color.

While still warm you can glaze the top with a warmed up preserve if you like.

I had a few figs left over so I decided to make myself a little afternoon treat, this time I decided to caramelize my figs by dipping them cut side down on a plate sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon then placing them down on a grill pan for just a few minutes until caramelized. Place them in a pretty bowl on top of some fat free greek yogurt add a drizzle of honey and crunchy pistachios! It was sinfully good, hope you give it a try!

Buon Appetito

29 Comments Filed Under: Desserts Tagged: fig and ricotta, fig and yogurt, fig tart, figs

Roasted Cod with Cherry Tomatoes

July 24, 2010 by Marie 28 Comments

My local Whole Foods had a 3 day sale on Alaskan cod this weekend so I scooped some up and made this for dinner, I couldn’t resist the pristine white fish that was sitting all pretty in the showcase window.

If you’re a reader of my blog you know I love roasted tomatoes of any kind especially those little cherry and Campari tomatoes. I use them often adding them to many dishes I cook, I just love the deep robust flavor they add.

My garden is filled with all different varieties and colors and I’m just now beginning to reap the benefits, so I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll be posting more upcoming recipes using them.

My husband said this was the best fish I ever made, but then again he says that often, he’s a good guy! But I must say the flavors were really awesome, so awesome that I ran out today to pick up more fish before the sale was over.

For this dish do your tomatoes ahead of time. I like to roast mine on a small sheet pan covered with foil it’s seems to hold all the juice from the tomatoes and olive oil much better and that’s a good thing, because I just can’t bare for any of that to burn off. I also always add shaved garlic and some kind of a fresh herb like thyme, basil or oregano. Roast at 400 until they split and blister and the juice runs out.

To prepare the fish, place the fillets in a shallow baking dish drizzled with olive oil.

Season the fish with salt, pepper, and a little paprika.

Squeeze half a lemon all over, then cover the fish with a few thin slices of lemon and a quick drizzle of olive oil.

Add fresh thyme branches and kalamata olives.

Now take those luscious roasted tomatoes along with all the juice that’s infused with garlic and olive oil and place that in amongst the fish. Bake in a hot oven at 450 until fish is opaque. Let it rest for 5 minutes then garnish with parsley.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and Buon Appetito!

28 Comments Filed Under: Fish Tagged: Alaskan cod, cherry tomatoes and fish, roast tomatoes