When the stars make you drool
Joost-a like pasta fazool (Pasta Fagioli)
That’s amore
When you dance down the street
With a cloud at your feet, you’re in love
When you walk in a dream
But you know you’re not dreamin’, signore
‘Scusami, but you see
Back in old Napoli, that’s amore
Pasta Fagioli Soup
We all remember Dean Martin singing That’s Amore, either on television if you’re old enough, or in the movie Moonstruck if you’re not. It was raining here today in Glendale, and I had a PTA meeting to go to, so I thought that soup would be an excellent idea.
I have a wonderful book, The Mafia Cookbook, where I know I can get very authentic Italian recipes. This soup can either be an appetizer, having very little meat, as it is in the book, or you can add meat like I did and have a full filling meal.
When I was in grammar school at Cheremoya Avenue Elementary School in Hollywood, California, about once every two weeks we had Hamburger Gravy and Mashed Potatoes. I really loved that dish, it was my favorite. All the other stuff was pretty bland, and actually kind of nasty, especially the paper thin cheeseburgers. For years and years, I have been trying to replicate the special taste of that gravy, and have been pretty much successful.
Years ago, when I first met Chef John Farion, he treated some friends and I to dinner at another chef’s restaurant on Melrose . I ordered the filet mignon with blue cheese sauce. It was truly fantastic, and I have been pairing blue cheese with beef ever since. I guess I’m not the only one, even Carl’s Jr. now has a steakhouse burger featuring blue cheese.
I get my blue cheese at the Armenian stores, for several reasons, 1) because the cheese is of a superior quality, 2) because it is much less expensive than the major chain supermarkets, and better quality. I just bought a half a pound brick a few days ago, and it was sitting in the cheese drawer waiting to be the star of some dish.
I had an epiphany! Why not make hamburger gravy and add blue cheese at the end? I tried it, and it was, well, fantastic! This was much, much better than the gravy I had had when I was a child. Now, just because Spane gave it a big thumbs up, I can’t guarantee that every child will like it as much as we did.
I was thinking today that school is going to start soon, so it is time to start making quicker dishes, eat dinner earlier, and get Spane to sleep earlier. That way, going back to school will not be such a big adjustment.
Our dinner tonight reflected a holiday dinner, but was much simpler, and not any where near as much food. Having a ham steak lets you get a nice thick slice of ham, with the bone if you like the marrow like I do, without having to buy the whole ham.
Did you know that the long, red skinned, orange fleshed vegetables Americans call yams are in fact sweet potatoes? They are. I like the orange sweet potatoes a little bit more than I like white sweet potatoes. They have more sugar and are moister than their whiter cousins. Even though American grocers label them incorrectly, they are not even distantly related to yams.
When I was a little girl, my mother would get sweet peas in their shells, and we would sit and shell them. The peas never made it to the stove, though, we ate them as we shelled them. I have yet been able to find big fat sweet peas like those, but I did find some with smaller peas, whose shells were still soft enough to eat, and I used those.
I also had some lovely peaches in the refrigerator, ice cream and a new jar of rose preserves. I made Peaches Raleigh for dessert.
Risotto with saffron and mushrooms is a real treat. The rice used is Arborio, from Italy, although most supermarkets carry it these days. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world – but fear not. You can usually find very small amounts of saffron in markets like Trader Joe’s. Luckily you don’t need much.
These Fennel Pork Chops will remind you of Italian sausage. They have a lovely wine sauce and go beautifully with risotto. Enjoy them with a nice glass of Shiraz and an antipasto salad to start.
Chicken Croquetas Croquettes are very tasty and make a great appetizer. They are also a wonderful way to use up leftover chicken. If you’re tired of chicken salad, this is the way to go.
This lasagna with ricotta, spinach, and sausage is rich and delicious. It’s time-consuming but a lot of it can be made ahead, so enjoy it with friends, a big salad, and a bottle of red wine.
Risotto with saffron and mushrooms is a real treat. The rice used is Arborio, from Italy, although most supermarkets carry it these days. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world – but fear not. You can usually find very small amounts of saffron in markets like Trader Joe’s. Luckily you don’t need much.
