GUIDO GIRLS DINNER #3 - in Queens!

In a worried tone Nonna asks when I go to Manhattan, "Jane you gotta go to New York?" I always find this funny, but then again I myself call it "the city," as if there aren't 4 other boroughs in New York City besides Manhattan. Most of my friends think visiting me in Queens is like traveling to another planet.

So when I proposed an Eyetalian Girls Dinner in my new Queens place, Meredith basically said, "Thanks for the offer, why don't we have it at my place?" (which is in Brooklyn). I held my ground, which is not easy with strong brained crazy Sicilian broads, and everyone made it here without a problem. Enter the new "awesome" phase of our friendships, because anyone willing to visit me in Queens from another borough is automatically an awesome friend.

Markus started off everyone's unique Queens dining experience with some professional Old Fashioned Cocktails he made with the Tuthilltown Manhattan Rye Whiskey we brought back from our "wine" tasting along the Shawangunk Wine Trail. If you haven't gone wine tasting along this trail, go! It was so much fun. But beware, after a few tastings you will get loose with your credit card and come home with an obscene amount of wine.

Markus takes his cocktail making very seriously and even watched an instructional video on how to make a proper Old Fashioned, the cocktail so named because people would ask for a whiskey cocktail made the "old fashioned" way. That day he put me on the hunt for oranges with oily skin, which I thought were appropriate for a greasy Italian dinner party. The cocktails were perfect, strong, enough but not too sweet with a nice citrus hint.

For appetizers I made local Sunchoke Bruschetta and served it alongside some Sicilian cheese, olives and sun dried tomatoes.

For the pasta course, I made a Creamy Mushroom Sage Sauce over Campanelle. This is such an easy sauce, perfect for company and in my opinion there is not a better flavor combination than shallots, mushrooms and sage. I also made an vegan version for my special Sicilian vegan guest that stood up to the creamy version. It had more of a mushroom flavor.

For the main course I served Panelle, which are chick pea fritters, with Italian bread, Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Brocolli Rabe. This was my best panelle effort yet.

On our way to Ikea Rocco and I had stopped at Ferdinando's in Red Hook, which is one of the only places in the city where you can find panelle. I asked the panelle guy for some advice. He just said chick pea flour and water, with a little salt and fry them in canola oil. And at Ikea I found this great pan to use as a panelle form for $6. I followed his advice and didn't use lemon juice or parsley, I salted the paste well and I deep fried the panelle in Gemma oil, which is a vegetable oil about 10% olive oil. I was very satisfied with the results.

Melissa Love, of Crema Fatale, our favorite Vegan Pastry Chef brought over an unbelievable Salted Caramel Chocolate Mousse Martini with Almond Praline. It was so delicious we practically licked the salt rimmed martini glasses clean. The almond praline was outstanding, so crunchy and chewy. The chocolate mouse was so smooth and there was a nice soft caramel surprise waiting on the bottom. The sea salt with the sweet was perfection and I don't do justice in this photo of the remarkable presentation. The dessert along with some really nice Cava, a white spanish sparkling wine that Meredith brought over was the perfect ending to our Crazy Eyetalian Girl's Dinner #3.

Thanks for coming to Queens my awesome Eyetalian friends!

Recipes from Eyetalian Girl's Dinner #3:

Old Fashioned Cocktail

To a cocktail glass add:

2 oz. rye whiskey

2-3 spoonfuls of simple syrup (For simple syrup dissolve 1 C. sugar in 1 C. water and cool)

2-3 dashes of Angostura Bitters

Ice

oily orange peel, twisted to express the oils and used as garnish

maraschino cherry (optional)

Sunchoke Bruschetta

1lb of Sunchokes or Jerusalem Artichokes

Olive Oil and/or butter

Salt and Pepper

1/2 loaf Italian Bread, sliced

1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 whole clove of garlic

Preheat oven to 450.

Wash and peel the sunchokes and chopped into small pieces. Drizzle olive oil and salt and pepper on top and roast for about 15-20 minutes until they are soft.

Chop 1-2 pieces of garlic. Roast the chopped garlic with the sunchokes during the last 5 minutes of roasting.

Remove sunchokes from the oven and melt a few pats of butter on top (optional). Season to taste with salt and pepper and additional olive oil.

Toast sliced Italian bread. Upon removing from the toaster rub each slice with a clove of garlic.

Top each slice of toasted bread with the roasted sunchokes and serve.

Creamy Mushroom Sage Sauce with Campanelle Pasta

2 packages of fresh mushrooms (baby portobello, crimini or shiitaki), sliced

2 shallots, chopped

bunch of fresh sage, chopped

olive oil and butter

salt and pepper

about 1/2 C. cream or regular milk or soy milk

about 1 C. vegetable or chicken broth

1/2 lb. pasta, campanelle or penne

Sautee shallots and sage in butter and olive oil until softened. Add sliced mushrooms.

Once soft, season with salt and pepper. Add vegetable broth. Reduce for 5 minutes. Add cream of soy milk. Reduce until thickened about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste and add a few pats of butter. Serve over campanelle pasta.

Panelle Revised

1 lb. chick pea flour

4 C. water or 1 Liter of Water

Salt

Oil for Frying

Boil the water. Add the chick pea flour slowly stirring constantly. Lower the heat if it starts to boil over. Keep boiling until its thick. Keep stirring. Once it pulls from the side of the pot, season with salt. Pour the paste into a greased mold. Cooking spray works best.

Let the panelle paste cool for a few hours in the fridge. Once its cool remove it from the mold and cut into thin 1/8 in. slices. Fry in canola or gemma oil and season with sea salt. Serve with Italian bread.

Brocolli Rabe

1 bunch broccoli rabe

1 clove of garlic

1/2 tsp peperoncino (red pepper flakes)

extra virin olive oil

salt and pepper

In a large pan with a lid, sautee garlic and peperoncino in olive oil. Before the garlic browns add the broccoli rabe season with salt and pepper and put the lid on so it can steam. Stir after a few minutes so the greens on the bottom don't burn. Cook until the greens are softened. Serve with Italian bread.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

1lb. Brussels Sprout

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and cut bottoms off the brussels sprouts. Cut each brussels sprout in half. In a baking dish season with a generous amount of olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake about 20 minutes until tender and the outer edges of the leaves are browned and caramelized.

Lenny's Clam Bar

     Would you guess the above photograph was taken in NYC? More specifically, Howard Beach, Queens, that sacred landscape on the way to Rockaway filled with gaudy houses with marble columns and individuals who redefine what it means to be I-talian American. And during Christmas its a destination for overly insane Christmas lights displays. Can't wait! I always joke that I'm a guido, but when I go to Howard Beach I realize I am sadly far from it. For one I have zero tan. To be proper you need to apparently be bordering on orange and glowing. And my Queen's accent is embarrassingly pathetic. I really need to work on it. My brother Mike teaches a course in Guidonics, I will have to freshen up. Next time I'm there I'll rock my guinea horn so I can fit in better.

     I made myself feel less inadequate with some fried clams from where else but Lenny's Clam Bar. This place has been here forever, slinging seafood and Italian American favorites. I got it to go, and it was oh so fried and good even out of the take-out container with the paper bag as my place mat.

Lenny's Clam Bar

161-03 Cross Bay Blvd.

Howard Beach, NY 11414

(718) 845-5100

HERB FARRO SALAD

     Right off Rustichella D'Abruzzo's Whole Farro Cereal Grain package reads, "Farro is recognized as the first cereal grain to enter the human alimentation and dates back to the Latin period. The poet Virgilio even mentions it in the Georgics" (Book 1, Verse 73) referring to it as the "blond farro". It is a very rustic and hardy plant and so does not necessitate the use of either chemical fertilizer or pesticide treatments. Farro is a grain which is strongly coated with gluten, so to obtain a flour further stone milling and cleaning with fresh air ventilation is required." Sounds good to me.

   My brain is in whole food finding mode, after just finishing Michal Pollan's In Defense of Food and this grain is the perfect way to get on track to eating "real" food, as opposed to processed "food-like substances" as described in the book. Farro agrees with all of the rules for defining food. It is something my great great grandmother would recognize as a food, it does not contain ingredients that are unfamiliar, unpronounceable, more than five in number and it does not contain high fructose corn syrup. Last the packaging makes no health claims. Another score is that it was not treated with pesticide or herbicide. 

    And farro tastes fantastic, so nutty and gooey, and delicious prepared like a wild rice salad. Just go crazy and throw whatever fresh herbs and veggies you have around. And enjoy it while you are reading In Defense of Food. What? You haven't read it yet? Eat your farro then go to the library and get it. Its a super must read!

HERB & FARRO SALAD

1 lb. Farro cereal

2 big shallots

2 cloves of garlic

1 yellow (or any color) pepper

1 C. grape tomatoes cut in half

chopped fresh parsley

chopped fresh mint 

chopped fresh fennel fronds 

chopped fresh basil

lemon zest

1/2 C. raisins

1/2 C. walnuts (or any nuts, pignola would be great!)

Extra virgin olive oil

Balsamic Vinegar

 

    Follow the directions on the package to cook the farro. First you soak it in cold water for about an hour. Then rinse it and put it into a pot and pour in just enough water to cover it. Add salt and olive oil. Bring it to a boil then simmer for about a half an hour uncovered until its soft and all the liquid is absorbed. 

   While the farro is cooking prepare the rest of the ingredients. Roughly chop the veggies and herbs and put everything together in the bottom of a bowl. Then pour the warm farro over it so all the flavors steam together. Zest an entire lemon on top and season with salt, pepper, lots of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, to taste. Enjoy warm or cold. 

PASTA FRITTATA WITH LEMON

This Pasta Frittata can also be called considered a pasta omelet. It is a great nourishing way to use leftover pasta. My father doesn't eat chicken or eggs because he thinks that chickens are modern day dinosaurs and mom isn't a big egg eater either, so this wasn't a dish I ate at home as a kid. The vivid memory of eating Pasta Frittata was formed at a great family friend Cathy Ruocco's apartment on Sullivan Street when I was very young, and I can't somehow get it to come out as delicious as I remember it, but its still really good. Usually, I make it plain, but today I added lemon zest, chopped garlic and parsley for some extra flavor and I topped it with the leftover frittatini from the other night. 

PASTA FRITTATA

1 C. leftover cooked pasta

2 eggs

1/4 C. grated cheese

1/4 C. milk (i use soy)

salt

pepper

lemon zest

1 chopped garlic clove

parsley

olive oil

basil for garnish

In a bowl beat the eggs with milk, grated cheese, salt pepper, lemon zest, chopped garlic and parsley. Add the cooked pasta and mix it until the eggs coat the pasta. Add the mixture to a hot skillet coated with olive oil. When browned on the bottom flip it. (Flipping is not my expertise and the whole thing usually falls apart on me, but today I flipped it onto another hot skillet, which worked well but made for more dishes.) Cook until brown on bottom. Serve topped with fresh basil and extra grated cheese or some leftover sauce.

MIKE'S PIZZA

    Mike is obsessed with pizza. If he could eat at his favorite pizzeria Una Pizza Napoletana everday he would. It is the best pizza I have ever had in my entire life. So, when he can't have Una Pizza he makes his own pizza. He uses dough from Trader Joe's and fresh mozarella from there, too and he makes his own special sweet sauce and tops it with fresh basil. Its really tasty. Today he topped it with sopressata. It came out really good.

     So what makes a good pizza? Some people argue its the water in the crust, New York City tap water being the best, but I have had really bad pizza in New York, so it can't only be the water. I have also had great pizza outside of the city, so the water can't make or break it. Others would say its the best fresh ingredients. I have had some really terrible slices where the mozzarella is just a rubbery nasty mass and the sauce is worse than Ragu, so you definitely need the good stuff, thats obvious. And, everytime Mike makes the pizza he is always complaining that the oven isn't hot enough, because to make an amazing pizza with the best ingredients and a perfect crust you need the right oven, a really hot even burning over, like the one Anthony built himself at Una Pizza. Thats why when Mike makes his own pizza for lunch, often he will go to Anthony's for dinner!