Scaloppine di vitello al Marsala

This dish is easy to cook. I try to use Boronia brand marsala, which is sweet and syrupy, but gives you should use a dry marsala. However I find that the sweet one gives the best results. Try it.

Ingredients:

Enough slices of veal scallopine to feed the numbers.. (Get the butcher to cut it for you if he doesn’t have it. Make sure that he doesn’t give you the scrag ends. I always ask to see each slice.) It is best to cut the veal into serving size pieces.
2 medium onions- finely chopped.
seasoned flour.
beef stock powder.
and of course, marsala
butter for sauteeing and frying.

Sautee the chopped onions very well(caramellise), and remove from the pan.

Dust the veal pieces with the seasond flour and brown in the butter – don’t over cook) As you fry just sprinkle a little of the beef stock powder on the pieces. It will blend with the meat juice and go sticky.

When all the meat is cooked put the onion back in the pan with the veal on top. Pour the marsala over the meat (it usually takes about half a bottle or so) and just simmer slowly for about 15 minutes, reducing the liquid to a syrup. Serve with mashed potatoes and peas.

MORE PASTAS.

 

Joe the Cook in the middle

 

This is one of my favourites and really is good for you, all those peas.

Ingredients:

Shelled peas- fresh or frozen – I prefer fresh but sometimes I use a mixture – say about 1 kilo of fresh and a handful of frozen
1 onion finely chopped
Wee bit of oil
couple of ripe tomatoes or a can – chopped well
small pasta – I use a pasta called Ditali or Ditalilni but small elbow poasta will do – about 500 gms

So simple. Sautee the onion well and add the peas and quanity of water. Bring to the boil and add the pasta, stirring well. When it comes back to the boil add the tomatoes. Add sal and pepper to taste, will take quite a bit of salt usually. simmer until pasta is cooked. Serve with cheese of your choice.

Pasta with Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower – cut into small florets
a little olive oil
water pasta – small pasta again

Bring quanity of water to boil with cauliflower. Add pasta and a abit of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer until pasta is cooked

EGG PLANT PIE (Joe’s)

This takes a lot of preparation and cooking time – and a lot of olive oil,
and the way you guys eat it amounts to substance abuse.

INGREDIENTS:

Eggplant
Tomatoes, either canned or fresh, to make a sauce, about 4 cans pureed
and a can of puree as well. (The sauce needs to be thick).
Small onion finely chopped
Couple of cloves of garlic – crushed
7 or 8 slices of bread – crumbed
Heaps of PECORINO cheese – or parmesan or romano – but preferably
pecorino
Peel 3 or A large eggplant and slice about 5mm. thick, and soak in a large bowl of water, sprinkling salt between each layer. Leave for about half an hour or so, and then drain and wash all the salt off and pat each slice dry with paper towel – uses a lot of paper towel.
While eggplant is soaking make a sauce with the tomatoes and onion and garlic – the usual way – saute the onion and garlic in oil, then add the tomatoes and puree and leave to simmer until you finish the eggplant.
After you pat the eggplant dry, fry It in olive oil until both sides brown.
This takes heaps of olive oil but if you prefer you can brush both sides with oil and grill it. This takes about a third of the amount of oil but isn’t quite the same. As the eggplant cooks drain it on paper towel.
When you have finished cooking the eggplant put some extra oil in the pan and fry the breadcrumbs. This is important, and make sure the breadcrumbs all pick up a bit of oil. Fry them until they start to brown and crisp.
NOW – start assembling. In a pyrex dish put a layer of eggplant, a layer of sauce, a good sprinkle of cheese, and a layer of breadcrumbs. Then repeat until the dish is full or you run out of ingredients. Finish with a layer of breadcrumbs and a sprinkle of cheese over the lot.
Bake in a moderate oven until top browns and you can see the layers
bubbling.
While it is baking you can clean up the mess.

CHICKEN SOUP WITH MEAT BALLS

This is a dish that is hard to make in small quantities as it takes a lot of
chicken to get the flavour in the soup.
I use chicken pieces so that I have only the bits that everybody wants.
Several chicken pieces – say 4 drumsticks
6 wings
1 whole breast ( the bones are necessary )
and about 300 to 400 grams of giblets and
livers. These really give the soup a strong
chicken flavour.
2 carrots – sliced
couple of sticks of celery – sliced
couple of onions – finely chopped
couple of tomatoes – chopped ( I usually use canned tomatoes )
pepper to taste – just a sprinkle
parsley – several whole stalks
Put all ingredients in saucepan with plenty of water and bring to boil,
then reduce to simmer.
In the meantime, make the meatballs –
quantity of good minced beef – usually about 500 grams – this makes
about 18 meatballs.
About 4 slices of bread – crumbed.
About 1 or 2 cups of PECORINO cheese ( pecorino gives the best flavour –
not parmesan or romano although these will do in a pinch)
sprinkle of pepper
some beaten egg – 1 whole egg is usually too much and will make the
mixture too sloppy.
Combine all these ingredients well and make into meatballs – use your
hands.
When the soup is boiling well drop the meatballs into the pot carefully, a
few at a time and just give a gentle stir.
After about half an hour just try the taste and if necessary add some
chicken stock or about a dessert spoon of Vegemite if required.
About half an hour before serving transfer some soup without the solids
to a big saucepan and when it comes back to the boil add some small
pasta. Simmer well, stirring frequently, until pasta is cooked al dente.
Serve with meatballs etc.
a

POP’S CHICKEN SOUP – AND OTHER THINGS

Writing these recipes down is a labor of love – my love of food, rough cooking, and you who will read them. They are the sort of dishes my mother and grandmother made without referring to recipe books, and without measuring any ingredients. Some I have developed over the years usually from books, but I never seem to have the right ingredients on hand, so I have had to modify and experiment, and sometimes adjust the ingredients to include what I like and exclude what I don’t like. Some recipes were developed with your mother, and I am pleased that everyone has grown up liking them although you really didn’t have much choice.
Don’t necessarily stick to the recipe, but add or subtract as you like. No dish I ever cook turns out the same way twice. If you don’t get the right result it will usually be edible anyway, or you can have beans on toast
You will realise that I don’t like Nouvelle Cuisine, and that most dishes are quick but traditional. Don’t be stingy when you cook or serve food, and use the best ingredients you can afford. Not much food ever got thrown out in our place so leftovers are not a worry – fry it up for breakfast, you know how nice vegetable fritters are. The pasta recipes are meant to be fast food, quick to cook. Pasta is religion with me and I like it with almost any kind of sauce (except seafood). My mother spent every Sunday morning making tomato sauce for pasta, boiling up kilos of tomatoes in a big boiler, and reducing the sauce until it was thick. And then she would often make fresh pasta which would be hung all over the kitchen and dining room to dry. Thank God for canned tomatoes and fresh pasta from the shop. (Although I don’t think it tastes the same).
And if we didn’t have pasta for Sunday dinner (lunch) we had baked
dinner – lamb or beef or we went for a picnic and had steak and breadcrumbs and salad. Always. And then we got to take the leftover steak and breadcrumbs to school for lunch the next day – woggy food – dagoes but the other kids didn’t mind scrounging it in preference to their soggy tomato sandwiches, after they had called you all the appropriate names of course. No way! But in fact a lot of the things we took to school for lunch weren’t woggy, just different, because my mother grew up in the bush and that was the way it was done. Cornish pasties, home made pies, bacon and egg sandwiches, pig’s trotters, and of course salami and mortadella, and Italian sausage and even bread and cheese. Beats peanut butter and vegemite. Although I did like grated Kraft cheese mixed with tomato sauce on my sandwiches. Still do, and Camp pie.

Just a few tips.

In general, the recipes that follow don’t give specific quantities – I don’t worry about this as I use whatever is available, and cook for the moment, i.e., I cook according to the crowd and conditions. If you have any leftovers don’t worry, it will be eaten tomorrow- or sometime, so buy a lot, cook a l0t, and eat a lot.

Where I mention pecorino cheese this is pretty important. Pecorino is made from sheep’s milk and is sharper and stronger than parmesan or other grating cheeses. It comes in several types but I always try and get soft fresh cheese if I can.
Try not to use packet grated cheese as it is not a nice. Some Continental deli’s will grate it for you, this is OK. Also pecorino cooks without going stringy.

When you make a chicken or meat soup try and make it the day before and leave it in the frig overnight. Then you can skim any fat off the surface before finally cooking it, and leaving it adds to the flavour. When you make chicken soup it is hard to trim all the fat off the chicken pieces so leaving it overnight makes it easy to skim the fat off.

Pop’s Chicken Soup and other things

While my brother says that writing down the recipes is a labour of love this is going to be a greater labor of love. How to get his book into my blog. My brother Joe loved food with a passion and really it was this passion the took him to an early grave. He wrote this book for the family. I don’t think Blogs were available when he was alive or if they were he didn’t know about them but I feel sure he would be pleased a punch having it put here for all and sundry to view and enjoy. I just have to work out how to do this. I am sure there is a way without having to type it out myself. I can’t get the scanned copy to come across but I will persevere. Where there’s a will there’s a way.
Stay posted….

You will might notice some of his recipes are similar to mine or have the same name. I have modified mine now to suit the busy cook and I don’t always have the same ingredients. They are still the family favourites, certainly my family anyway. I use Campbells chicken stock instead of boiling up bones etc to make stock. Joe is probably turning in his grave. It is your choice which way to go.

LENTIL SOUP WITH PASTA

This is ideal for the big family and these ingredients will do for 6 people.

It is my friend Diana’s recipe and is very yummy.

  • 185g brown lentils – Soak for 2 hours
  • 30grams of bacon or ham – sliced
  • 3 – 4 large chopped tomatoes
  • stick of celery cut into bits
  • 1 large onion finely sliced
  • several cloves of garlic
  • Bacon or ham fat for frying (go the cholestrol)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Parsley and mint

Method:

Fry onion in fat.  I prefer oil myself

Add tomatoes, garlic and celery.

After 10 minutes add strained lentils and mix well so that they absorb the fat.

Season with salt and pepper.

Cover with 31/2 (three and one half) pints of water and cook fairly fast for 1 hour.

Add little pasta and cook

Check the salt

Enjoy.

ZUCCHINI AND ONION FRITTATA

This seems to be a family favourite.  I am always asked to bring this when there is something on.  Good for the family Vegetarian (Stephanie)

  • 3 tabsp of virgin olive oil
  • 1 large white onion finely chopped
  • 4 zucchini approx 550g unpeeled and finely sliced
  • 7 eggs
  • 100g grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
  • salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

Heat 1 tabsp of oil in a large non stick pan and add onions (23cm in diameter and rounded sides) and saute gently until soft

Add zucchinis turn frequently until they begin to wilt.  They should remain slightly crisp.

Lightly beat the eggs with a fork.

Add Cheese and fried zucchini and onion.

Mix well and add salt and pepper.

Heat remaining oil until hot but not smking.

Pour in mixture. Cook on medium heat 5 – 7 mins.  Finish under grill for a bit until set.

Turn out onto platter and serve warm or room temp with a crisp green salad

PUTTANESCA DI ANGELO

This is something I cook occasionally for a quick meal when I am running late as I alwyas have the ingredients in the cupboard.  It was a Joan Campbell recipes from Breakfast with Phillip Clark in 1977.

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 segment of garlic, chopped
  • 1 small dried chilli, chopped
  • 6 or so of capers chopped
  • 6 small anchovy fillets, chopped
  • 10 to 15 large black olives chopped in half and stones removed
  • 2 x 440 tins crushed tomatoes
  • 1/3 tin water
  • enought pasta for however many people you need it for.

Method:

Heat the olive oil with garlic anf chilli until there is a perfume.  It takes about 1 minute.  Add the capers, anchovies and black olives.  Cook for 1 minute stirring often.

Add the tomatoes plus the water.  Bring it to the boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 45 mins without covering.  Mix in with the pasta and scatter over with comtinental parsley if you have any however we have cheese on because I never have and continentinal parsley and can’t be bothered to go down stairs and get the curley kind from the garden. 

  •  This sause makes enough for about 5 people

CHICKEN INDIENNE

 

 

 

 

CHICKEN INDIENNE

 

2 x Steamed chickens for 4-5lbs chicken (or 2 x B-B-Q Chickens)

2 x onions finely chopped

3 tabsp oil

2 cloves of garlic

1 – 2 tabsp curry powder

2 –  3 teasp tomato paste

2 – 3 slices lemon

Salt and pepper

3 tabsp of apricot jam or chutney

1 pint mayonnaise

¼ pint fresh cream = 1 small carton

 

 

Heat oil add onions and garlic until transparent.  Add Curry stirring for 2 minutes.  Blend in tomato paste.  Add lemon and salt and pepper and cook gently 1 or 2 minutes.  Cool and remove lemon.

When cold add chutney, mayonnaise and cream.

Mix well with the broken up chicken.  Add more salt and pepper if necessary

Serve with Salad

 

I think I originally got this recipe from my friend Esther.

This is a good recipe for a party as it makes a lot however it always gets eaten.  Someone once thought they had to  heat it up and it was delicious anyway.  It is fairly fattening so I only every made it for parties. 

 

 

BRANDY FRUIT

I think I originally got the recepie from my friend Esther.  I only make this at Christmas time for Christmas Pressies.  It is always a great hit and is yummy with ice-cream.  However it is pretty boozy and should be taken into consideration if driving soon after consumption.

 

 

  1. 6 cups of water
  2. 2 cups of orange juice
  3. 12 fine strips of orange rind
  4. 6   fine strips of lemon rind
  5. 8 whole cloves
  6. 1 cinnamon stick about 5 cm
  7. 750 grams of dried fruit salad mix
  8. 1 1/2 cups of brandy or more if you want
  9. 1 1/2 cups of sugar

 Method:

 Heat water, orange juice with fruit rind, cloves and cinnamon in a saucepan.

Put fruit into a basin and pour hot syrup over and leave stand for 4 hour

Return fruit and syrup to the saucepan and add sugar and cover and cook until it comes to the boil.

Return to the basin and cool

Add brandy and stir through

Spoon into clean sterile jars pushing fruit down into the syrup so it is all covered.

Leave stand for at least 3 day before using.

I have had this for well over 12 months and it is just fine.

Probably tastes better really

 

Note:  I find this is too much liquid so I use only 3 or 4 cups of water and double the fruit.  I then use a bit more sugar and about half a cup and a few more cloves and extra cinnamon stick

MY MUM’S MAYONNAISE.

This is a mayonnaise I make when I want something a bit different from the stuff from the Supermarket.  It is great on home made coleslaw and I like it on an old fashioned salad. (one that is just lettuce, tomato etc on you plate.)  I usually make triple quantities.

This will keep for months if kept in the fridge.  It does sometimes curdle when you add the vinegar but it will come out smooth in the end.

You Need:

  • 1 egg
  • 2 tabsp of sugar
  • 1 teasp of mustard
  • 1/2 teasp cornflour
  • salt.

Beat all the ingredients together well and then add

  • 2 tabsp vinegar
  • 3 tabsp milk

stir constantly over heat until mayo thickens and comes to the boil.  Cool and refrigerate.

EGGPLANT PIE

EGGPLANT PIE

 

 

I usually only cook this for something special as it takes a while to do and it is very fattening as it is full of calories but delicious. It is also fairly rich.

It needs to be cooked a couple of days before to be really yummy.

You Need:

  • A couple of grilled eggplants – I cheat here and buy it cooked from Norton Street Grocer.
  • A good quantity of spaghetti sauce.
  • Fresh white breadcrumbs
  • And pecorino cheese.  Quiet a bit.

Cook and prepare the eggplants by peeling slicing into reasonable slices by that I mean not paper thin and cook either on the bar-b-que or in a pan with olive oil

For the sauce I sauté a few cloves of garlic add a couple of tall jars of Passata and a handful of basil.  S & P.  Simmer for a while until a little thickened.  If you have too much you can always use it for spaghetti and it will freeze.

To do the breadcrumbs:  You will probably need 1 loaf of bread.

Heat a good quantity of olive oil in a pan.  Needs to be fairly hot so the crumbs sizzle. 

Drop a good handful of crumbs into the oil and keep stirring around and turning until brown.  It soaks up lots of oil so you need to keep adding more.  Keep doing this until all the crumbs are done.

  • Now you should have the eggplant done
  • The sauce ready
  • The crumbs done.

Now start layering it all into a pie dish.

  • Cover the bottom of the dish with the sauce
  • Then a layer of eggplant
  • Then a layer of cooked crumbs
  • Then sprinkle cheese all over it and start again
  • Sauce, eggplant, crumbs, cheese.
  • Sauce, eggplant, crumbs, cheese.
  • Finish with crumbs and cheese when you have a few layers.  I usually have 3 or 4 depending on the depth of the dish.

Then cook in the oven for about 1 hour for it all to soak up.

Serve with crusty bread and green salad.

CHEESE AND MACADAMIA BISCUITS

CHEESE AND MACADAMIA BISCUITS

250 grams of grated cheese (I used half tasty cheddar and half pecorino)

250grams butter

2 cups plain flour

Pinch cayenne pepper

100g or so of well chopped macadamia nuts

Cream butter and cheese.  Add flour, pepper and chopped nuts.

Roll into thin logs and wrap in glad wrap. Freeze

Cut and cook on papered tray in 250 degrees for about 10 minutes or until done.  (It seems to take longer more like 20 mins in my oven)

I will make about 3 logs out of this mixture and keeps well in freezer.

Chicken and Leek Pies

CHICKEN AND LEEK PIE

 

Ingredients:

 

½ cup flour

½ teasp white pepper

1 teasp salt

500g diced chicken breast fillets

2 tabsp olive oil

25g butter

2 leeks (white parts only)

2 cloves garlic crushed

1/3 cup wine

1 cup chicken stock

½ cup cream

1 cup defrosted peas

1-2 tabsp tarragon

¼ cup chopped parsley

 

 

Method:

 

Place flour, pepper and salt in a bowl and stir.  Add chicken and toss well.  Shake off any excess flour.  Heat oil and butter in a frying pan over high heat.  Add chicken pieces and stir fry until lightly browned and sealed, but not cooked all the way through.  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.  Place leeks and garlic in the pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until soft and wilted.  Add wine and boil for 1 minute.  Add stock and cream and simmer gently for a further 5 minutes.  Add chicken, peas and tarragon and cook for a minute longer.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Stir in parsley. Put into pie cases.

I doubled the quantity but used only 3 leeks.  It made 26 pies in the pie maker

 

Hollie’s Musings on 12Words.com.au

nonna’s spaghetti bolognaise for lunch yum yum in my tum delicious spaghetti

Orange Cake

Whole Orange Cake with Citrus Icing

 

1 medium whole orange (240g)

200g melted butter

3 eggs, beaten lightly

1 cup (220g) caster sugar

11/2 cups of self raising flour

 

  1. 1.                Preheat oven to moderate (180C/160C fan forced). Grease and line 20cm cake pan with baking paper
  2. 2.                Wash and dry orange; cut into quarters and remove seeds. Process in a small food processor until it becomes pulpy.
  3. 3.                Transfer orange to a medium bowl, stir in butter, eggs, sugar and sifted flour until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake in mod oven for about 50 mins or until cooked when tested.  Stand for 10 mins before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

 

CITRUS ICING

 

1 medium lemon (140g)

1 small orange (180g)

1 cup of icing sugar mixture

1 teasp of boiling water

 

Using a zester remove strips of rind from lemon and orange.  You will needl2 teasp of each

Squeeze juice from fruit you will need 2 teasp of both orange and lemon.  Sift icing sugar into a bowl and stir in juices and enough water to make a smooth paste. Stir in rind.

Pour citrus icing immediately over cake; stand until set.

 

 

I usually serve this with just icing sugar sprinkled over it and a blob of clotted cream on the side as I didn’t like the icing that comes with this recipe.

Perhaps it might be OK with a thicker icing

 

 

SALMON AND EGG MORNAY.

 

2 oz butter (I just use a big spoonful)

4 tabsp plain flour

s & p

¼ teasp dry mustard

Pinch cayenne

2 ½ cups milk

3 gherkins

2 hard boiled eggs

7 oz can salmon (I just use the big size)

1 chicken stock cube

4 shallots or spring onions

Melt the butter and add flour, S & P, mustard cayenne and cook stirring 1 minute. Gradually add milk and stir until sauce comes to boil and thickens, cook 1 minute.  Remove from the heat and add finely sliced gherkins and roughly chopped eggs, drained salmon, crumbled stock cubes and chopped shallots.

 Spoon into greased ovenproof dish.  Sprinkle topping on top and bake in mod oven 20-25 minutes till heated through and golden brown on top.

TOPPING

 

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

2 tabsp butter

4oz (30g) cheese 1 tabsp chopped parsley

Combine ingredients and sprinkle on top

I don’t really measure anything in this recipe.  I just guess and it always turns out.

Aunty Marge’s

ANZAC BISCUITS

 

2 cups of rolled oats

11/2 (half) cups coconut

2 cups of plain flour

3 teasp bicarbonate soda

5 tabsp boiling water

1 cup of sugar

2 tabsp golden syrup

250g butter

Combined rolled oats, sifted flour, sugar and coconut in bowl

Combine butter and golden syrup in saucepan stir over heat until the butter is melted.

Mix soda with boiling water and add to melted butter mixture.

Stir into dry ingredients

Roll teasp of mixture onto baking paper lined trays and flatten with fork.  Allow room for spreading

Bake in slow oven for 20 minutes until golden and cool on tray.

Mixture makes about 6 doz.

Warning:

Be careful when adding soda and water to butter as it froths up everywhere and makes a bit mess.  After the first mess I learnt to do it over the basin of dry ingredients.

This is where you will find the family favourite recipes when I work out how to do it

NONNA’S  SPAGHETTI AND BROTH

Quantities for David’s family. (5children and 2 adults) This makes qute a lot.

 

 

Depending how many you are cooking for but this will feed a large family

3 large pkts of chicken stock. (Campbells is best) Get one unsalted as they are salty.

 

Pour into large saucepan and just bring it to the simmer.

 

Add a couple of chopped up tomatoes a handful of chopped parsley (I do this in my little whizzer) and a couple of sticks of celery leaves and all

 

In the meantime make the meatballs and prepare the chook

 1 kg of mince

2 eggs should be enough

11/2 slices of breadcrumbs

A generous amount of cheese. Probably a big cup. (Pecorino)

Salt and pepper

 

Mix well and roll in to balls.

 

Get the chook ready by cutting into pieces or just buy drum sticks.

I like to pull the skin off and cut the fat off where I can.

 

Gently drop the meatballs into the simmering stock and then bring back to the simmer and drop the chicken pieces into it.

 

Stir in a desert spoon of vegemite only because this is what mum used to do and it does make it a bit richer

 

You can add a cup of water along the way if you want and I usually do this when I am making a large amount I probably add a couple of cups.

When ready to eat cook up whatever quanity of pasta you think you need. Little shapes work best. When very al dente drain and then return to the pot and finish of cooking by spooning the simmering broth over the pasta.

Do not cook the pasta until you are ready to eat because it will soak up all the broth.

 Best cooked the broth the day before however if necessary use kitchen paper to skim the fat off before adding to the spaghetti

 Love

Nonna

 

David:  You will need 3 pkts of chicken stock probably and add extra water to it.  You will probably need 1½ k of mince for all your mob

 

 

 

 

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