A Blast from the Past...Heirloom Tomatoes

Have you ever tasted heirloom tomatoes? We're actually trying to grow them in our garden this year, the ones pictured here are not mine, I bought these beauties from Whole Foods the other day, I just couldn't resist that fluted one! Normally a whopping $5.00 dollars a pound, the day I was there they were just 2.99! Such a deal!!

Heirlooms are grown from seeds handed down through generations, somewhere between 50 and 100 years old. There's no genetic modifications, they are cross- pollinated, and they are not cookie cutter hybrids.

They come in all shapes and sizes, lumps and bumps, hundreds of varieties, with almost every color of the rainbow to choose from.

Heirlooms generally have much more flavor than hybrids, it's that good old fashioned taste of a real tomato I remember as a kid. Don't get me wrong, I have tasted some duds, but that was mainly because of where they were grown.

When you see them popping up at the farmers markets ask to taste them, you'll quickly pick out your favorite ones. Or better yet, trying growing your own if you can!

I loved how the fluted one looked after I cut into it, I didn't want to hide it with a bunch of cheese. They look beautiful on a platter dressed up with the simplest of ingredients, don't you think?

With some good crusty bread, a glass of wine, you can make a meal out of these, they're that good!!

Have an enjoyable weekend, and Buon Appetito!

Grazing on a Sunday Afternoon!

Hope all of you had a great Memorial Day weekend, we opted for a nice antipasto bar instead of grilling, you know, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. The weather here in Chicagoland was picture perfect on Sunday, a great day to sit out in the fresh air.

No fuss, everything made ahead of time, and all could be eaten at room temperature. Assorted olives, cheeses, salami, some good Italian bread, marinated artichokes, peperonata, zucchini parpadelle, green beans and pesto potato salad, orzo pasta salad, grilled eggplant with a smear of Boursin cheese then rolled up, and Stacey Snacks stuffed tomatoes with ricotta. Note* (hers looked better she had panko on top, I didn't have any at the time).

Oh, did I mention the pitchers of frozen Margarita's were awesome too! I couldn't resist taking a few sips before I shot the photo!

Buon Appetito Everyone!

Spring Rolls, Italian Style!

I love spring rolls, but have always been intimidated by them. Maybe it's because it's an Asian thing and that's totally out of my league. I heard horror stories of spring roll skins ripping and sticking together, but even so I was determined to try them!

I wanted to make these for our annual picnic at Ravinia last August, but chickened out at the last minute for fear I would ruin it all. Spring rolls are light, not fried, usually filled with fresh veggies, chicken or shrimp, always accompanied by a delicious dipping sauce, and best of all, everything is enclosed in a pretty little package, easy to handle, great to transport, perfect for a picnic, as a light appetizer, or even a light lunch.


Well I'm happy to say the whole process was very easy! I actually made Asian spring rolls first, with shrimp, shredded carrots, cabbage, cilantro and a little hoisen sauce in each. We dipped them in a great Asian sauce I got from Trader Joe's.

But since this is an Italian food blog I wanted to do a little twist on the classic and try making them Italian style!

All you do is take your wrappers, place them in warm water til they melt a little and become limp. I then laid each wrapper on a clean dish towel and padded them dry
.
I had all my ingredients ready, cooked shrimp, marinated artichokes, (drained), roasted red pepper strips, and raw zucchini, julienned. Next, I placed everything onto a wrapper with a dollop of basil pesto, a drizzle of olive oil, a little salt and pepper, then rolled it all up like a burrito!

For my Italian version I used basil pesto as a dipping sauce, but I want to experiment with other things. Do any of you have any idea's? I would love your input.

Next time you're hesitant about trying something out of your comfort zone, don't be, give it a try, because these were amazing!!

Have a relaxing weekend, and Buon Appetito!!

Grilling Sides!

BBQ season is now upon us, and eating Al fresco is one of the highlights of summer for me.
Simple and inexpensive vegetables can become delicious sides for your main course with just a little tweaking. Try these for your next cook out, your guests will be very happy and so will you!

Balsamic Glazed Onions

I like to use a sweet onion, like a Vadalia, cut it into about 1/2 inch disk, make your own balsamic vinaigrette. Take 1 or 2 wooden skewers and pierce through the onion so all layers stay in tact while flipping on the grill. Generously brush your onions on both sides with the vinaigrette, season with salt and pepper.

Corn Cobs with Parmesan Garlic Butter Crust

Cook your corn in salted water, drain and cool down. In a bowl melt butter, add 1 crushed garlic clove, a little olive oil, salt and pepper. In another bowl add a hand full of panko breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese. Roll corn in butter, then breadcrumb mixture, and cook on a hot grill for about 10 minutes till golden brown.

Grilled Potato Disks

Cut your potatoes into round disks, I used red potatoes here but any kind would do. Toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper and add fresh snipped rosemary. Place on your grill and cook till fork tender, crusty and golden brown. You could even cheat a little and nuck them a little first in the microwave before you toss them in the oil till tender, and then throw them on the grill to crisp up.

I served these with your classic BBQ chicken, how can you go wrong with that!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Buon Appetito, and Happy grilling!

See the gate hubby built for the garden? Not bad huh?

Taking a Little Break...

Taking a short blog break to reflect on the memory of my dear sweet aunt that passed away this weekend. She'll forever hold a special place in my heart.

xox,
Marie

Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper Tapenade

This is a great little appetizer to have while your leisurely waiting for something to cook on the grill this weekend. It can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and kept in the frig, in fact it tastes even better that way because all the flavors blend together perfectly.


This is not your typical recipe for tapenade, this is rustic and chunky minus the olives and
capers. Don't get me wrong, you can certainly add those things if you want, but for me, I just like the taste of eggplant to shine through.


Ingredients are simple, eggplant, onion, red pepper, and basil. I roasted mine in the oven but you can also grill them too.

Heat your oven to 425F, take 2 nice size eggplants and cut around the skin in a zebra pattern, taking some off and leaving some on. Cut into 3/4 in. disks. Chop 1/2 of a large onion and 2 red peppers the same size.

Drizzle both sides with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast till tender on the inside, and slightly crispy on the outside. Cool and cut into big chunks.

Place everything in a bowl, add 1 finely chopped clove of garlic, and a dressing of emulsified fresh lemon and olive oil, keep tasting to your desired amount, adding more or less. Lastly, add some freshly torn basil leaves and toss in some toasted pine nuts.

Make sure you toast up some good crusty bread so you can smear the tapenade on top, and be sure to open up a nice cold bottle of your favorite wine. Aaaah, this is living!!!

Have a great weekend and Buon Appetito!!

Sunday Brunch!

If your not a brunch person you will be after you see Gale Gand's new cookbook, "Gale Gand's Brunch". The other day I had about a half hour to kill before an appointment so I walked into Barnes and Noble bookstore and was immediately drawn to the cover of her new book. One look at the cover and I knew I was going to make this for brunch on Sunday!

Baked eggs, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and pesto all wrapped up in a pretty little package of smokey ham. I quickly scribbled down the recipe on the back of a receipt I had in my purse.

This was so simple to make and the flavors blended perfectly together, it's great for a Sunday morning, or a nice brunch party. I don't have the recipe word for word but basically you take a muffin tin and butter it, purchase the biggest piece of ham you can find at the deli, fold it in half, and half again and fan it out into the tin.

Place a dollop of pesto on the bottom, gently crack and egg on top, one egg worked for me better, but Gale used two. Tuck a couple of cubes of fresh mozzarella on the side and a cherry tomato. Bake in a 375F oven for about 20 minutes, but mine actually took about a half hour.

When cooked through remove from muffin tin, place in a bowl and put another dollop of pesto on top! I'm telling you this is so good, give it a try! We loved it so much, and can't wait to make it again! I need to get this book, she also has a great breakfast torta I'm dying to try!

Buon appetito!