04/24/13 Beef Braciola
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"Toccare il fuoco con le mani degli altri." (To touch fire with someone else's hands.) Welcome to another recipe edition from Angela's Organic Oregano Farm!
This week's Italian recipes:
-Potatoes with Rosemary
-Portobello Mushroom Omelette
-Beef Braciola
"Ciao a tutti!" How is your day coming along? Please don't change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the authentic you. Thanks again for finding the time to read your recipe newsletter! I look forward to connecting with you again in the coming days.
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Yours Truly,
Angela Reina
Recipe: Potatoes with Rosemary
Potatoes with Rosemary
Patate al Rosmarino
Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 lbs new potatoes
3 and 1/2 fl oz (100 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 garlic clove
1 oz (25 grams) butter
Salt
Directions:
Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan.
Add the rosemary, garlic and potatoes.
Stir and cover.
Cook over a low heat until golden brown.
Remove and discard the garlic and rosemary.
Sprinkle with salt and serve. Serves 4.
That's it!
Recipe: Portobello Mushroom Omelette
Portobello Mushroom Omelette
Frittata di Funghi di Portobello
Ingredients:
4 large eggs
3 baby Portobello mushrooms, stemmed, caps thickly sliced
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano cheese, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons drained capers
Directions:
Preheat broiler.
Whisk eggs, 2 tablespoons Parmigiano cheese, basil, oregano, Dijon mustard, pepper, and salt in medium bowl to blend.
Heat olive oil in small ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.
Add mushrooms and capers.
Saute until mushrooms are brown and juices evaporate, about 6 minutes.
Pour in egg mixture.
Reduce heat to low.
Cook without stirring until eggs are almost set, about 4 minutes.
Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cheese.
Broil until top is brown and set, about 1 minute.
Cool frittata 5 minutes.
Run spatula around edges to loosen and slide out onto plate.
Cut in half and serve. Makes 2 servings.
That's it!
Recipe: Beef Braciola
Beef Braciola
Braciola di Manzo
Ingredients:
Twelve 6 by 4 inch slices boneless beef chuck, pounded to 1/16 inch thickness
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
Two (28 oz) cans whole, peeled tomatoes in juice, crushed by hand
5 tbsp. chopped parsley
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano cheese
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 tsp. red Chile flakes
1 bay leaf
Directions:
To make the filling, mix together 4 tbsp parsley, pine nuts, Parmigiano cheese, and garlic in a bowl.
Set aside.
Place a slice of beef on a work surface perpendicular to you.
Season with salt and pepper, and place about 1 tbsp filling on the bottom half.
Starting with the filled half, roll beef up around the filling into a tight cylinder.
Secure roll with toothpicks, and repeat with remaining beef and filling.
Heat olive oil in a 6 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Working in batches, add beef rolls, and cook, turning as needed, until browned on all sides, about 5-6 minutes.
Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Add onion to pot, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add wine, and cook, stirring to scrape bottom of pot, until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes.
Stir in chile flakes, tomatoes, and bay leaf, and then return beef rolls to pot.
Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low.
Cook, covered partially and gently stirring occasionally, until meat is cooked through and tender, about 2 hours.
Remove meat rolls from sauce, remove toothpicks, and transfer to a serving platter.
Continue cooking sauce until reduced and thickened, about 20 minutes.
Pour sauce over meat rolls, and sprinkle with remaining parsley. Serves 6.
That's it!
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Only In Italy!
"Only In Italy" is a daily news column that translates & reports on funny but true news items from legitimate Italian news resources in Italy. Each story is slapped with our wild, often ironic, and sometimes rather opinionated comments. And now, for your reading pleasure, a sample of today's edition:
Italian Police Finally Catch 'The Blonde'
Calabria – March 31, 2012 – Italian police have arrested a 56-year-old woman nicknamed "The Blonde" on suspicion of ordering three mafia killings.
One of the deaths was the grisly chainsaw hacking death of a rival mobster, police said.
"She was a real regent of the clan, including taking decisions on executions to be carried out," said Mario Parente, deputy head of the anti-mafia police, adding that a total of 58 people had been nabbed in "Operation Spider Web".
According to investigators, Nella Serpa rose through the ranks following the mob war killing of her brother Piero and has been the 'de facto' head of the Serpa clan since 2003, organizing the gang's extortion racket and ordering hits.
The police said she had "wide decision-making powers" in her clan and was involved in the killing of gangster Luciano Martello in 2003, with two mafia turncoats saying she was part of the team that actually shot him.
She is also alleged to be responsible for the death of another mobster, Rolando Siciliano, shot in 2004 and then hacked to pieces with a chainsaw.
Investigators said that a key indication of her importance in the crime organization was the fact that a rival clan had ordered a hit on her.
She also allegedly built up ties with other clans in the powerful 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate as well as with the Naples-based Camorra.
The 'Ndrangheta, whose name comes from the Greek for courage or loyalty, is one of the most powerful and secretive mafia groups in the world. Because of its tight-knit family structure it has been notoriously difficult to penetrate.
The group, based in the Calabria region in southern Italy, has been hit by a series of recent investigations and a trial earlier this month convicted 93 of its members, including the 81-year-old reputed boss of the whole organization.
Its annual turnover is estimated in the billions of euros.
"Porca Eva", what a captivating woman. Her family makes the Corleone crime family look like the Waltons. Although roles have changed for women in Italy, the mother remains the dominant figure in the Italian home. She typically runs every aspect of domestic life, and you will see her helping her family in ways you consider excessive or unnecessary. Of course, Signora Serpa is no exception.It may have seemed excessive to have had Rolando hacked to pieces after being shot or to have personally participated in the shooting of Luciano, but why go against an Italian mother's impeccable intuition?Once a year, your mother and harassing aunts get together for that tomato sauce bottling party. Now, if the sauce has been slow cooking the entire day and YOU insist it has to be ready, your mother will say, "Just 10 more minutes". That's her intuition telling YOU to step away from the gigantic boiling pot…and mind your own business.But YOU don't."Another 10 minutes?! 'Fanculo, what planet am I on?! This is insanity!"The sauce is bottled. And when the first bottle is cracked open a couple of months later, your family discovers the sauce is not so great. Congratulations. YOU ruined every dish that calls for tomato sauce for an entire year. The 10 minutes didn't seem excessive or unnecessary, did it?Here's some more advice for any of you who have a habit of challenging these godforsaken intuitions:– Don't touch the saved junk in the spare bedroom.
– Mind your own business and you'll appreciate the sauce…and the quiet.