Rocco's Kitchen

Hello my fine friends! Thought it was about time to get back to writing and sharing my recipes. I have quite a few I want to share, but I’ll start off easy for now.

When it starts to get a bit cooler out, like it is in Chicago, my mind starts to wander to comfort food and nothing says comfort to me like piping hot MEATBALLS!!

I grew up in a Irish-Italian household, and most of the time the hearty Italian meals were reserved for my Nana Jo’s house or my Aunt Marlene’s. My Nana Jo told me the secret to moist (ew, I said it) meatballs had 2 parts to it; the first part was a nice, sweet yellow onion diced pretty finely, and the other was something called a panade, simply a mix of milk and bread. Some folks use breadcrumbs, but I find that tends to make the meatballs a little tougher. So like my Nana, I tend to use fresh white bread. Hamburger or hot dog buns can be used in a pinch. Just as long as it’s not stale.

The other key to a tender meatball is a light touch, and mixing by hand. Save your wooden spoons for the marinara sauce. You want to get in the bowl and lightly mix everything until it comes together.

One other note – do NOT use more than 1 egg. Trust me. 1 egg, if scrambled before adding to your mixture, will suitably bind everything together. More than that, and you’re making meatloaf.

Some folks sear them in a skillet and then finish in the oven. I prefer to just bake them completely in the oven. 1 less dish to wash!

Below is my usual go-to recipe, but feel free to mix up the proteins, or even the spices. Your choice.

Hope you try my recipe, either alone or on some fresh bread with cheese and sauce, or even on top of, you guessed it, spaghetti.

And tell em Rocco sent you!

Recipe – serves 4-8 folks, depending on how hungry they are!

1 lb ground chuck (fat is flavor!)

1 lb ground pork

1 lb Italian Sausage, either mild or hot

2-3 pieces of white bread

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 small onion, diced

1 egg

Italian seasonings, such as Basil, Thyme, red pepper flakes, parsely

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and make sure the rack is in the middle of the stove .

2. Scramble the egg in a separate dish, and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the milk and the bread, until the bread is thoroughly wet. You may need a little more milk than what i’ve indicated. Set aside for about 5 minutes.

3. Add the meat to the bowl with the panade and then all of the other ingredients, and lightly mix together with you hands until combined. Roll into same-size meatballs.

4. *This is the baking option: On either a sheet pan lined with foil or parchment paper, or a greased broiler pan, space meatballs on pan with a little space in between. Place in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes, until a light crust forms on one side.

5. Remove pan from oven and flip the meatballs so the other side gets a crisp outer shell, too. Cook for another 20-25 minutes, or until the meat thermometer reads 165.

6. Remove from the oven and either let cool for storage, or submerge into your favorite sauce. Eat and enjoy!

*If you prefer to pan fry, simply place meatballs in a greased pan over medium heat and fry, turning every once in a while to get desired crust.

Yes, I admit it. I haven’t posted in over a year. Life sort of “happened” and I haven’t had the time or the wherewithal to post but I’m back! And after reading thru this recipe, I think you’ll be glad that I am!

I was flipping thru the channels yesterday and landed on one of my favorite shows, Mexico: One Plate at a Time, Rick Bayless’ homage to great Mexican food and low and behold – the whole episode centered on one of my favorite dishes, Chilaquiles! “Chris, what are Chilaquiles,” you may ask? Only one of the most comforting and satisfying dishes you can have. Especially after a heavy night of drinking. Ahem. It I digress.

It’s a dish consisting of (usually) leftover taco chips or stale tortillas, fried in oil, and then drenched in your favorite type of salsa (mine is ALWAYS salsa verde, and usually homemade), topped with your choice of eggs/meat (I use eggs and soy chorizo), fresh quest fresco and served with a side of refried beans (again, homemade if at all possible) and rice. See? Yummy!!

Since I watched that episode yesterday, I woke up this morning knowing what was on the menu today for breakfast and I thought I’d share with you. Please note that using canned refried beans, prepared salsa and regular tortilla chips works just fine. You can make this “regular” with meat, or you can go veggie with soy chorizo like I did, or even go nuts and go vegan omitting the queso fresco and the eggs and swapping in scrambled tofu. Either way, you owe it to yourself to try this dish and be as creative as you’d like! Words of advice from an Italian!

Enjoy and tell em Rocco sent you!

Salsa Verde

Again, feel free to use prepared salsa. But fresh is always best

1. 6-8 tomatillos
2. 1 poblano pepper
3. 1 jalapeño
4. 1 bunch cebollitos (bulb onions)
5. 1 head of garlic
6. Juice of 1-2 limes
7. Cilantro
8. 1 tbsp sugar or agave
9. Salt and pepper to taste

Throw ingredients 1-5 on a hot grill and cook until tomatillos, peppers and onions start to char. Remove from grill and put peppers in paper bag to help remove skin

Get out your blender and throw the tomatillos and onions plus a few cloves of the roasted garlic in and process for 10 pulses.

Once peppers have cooled, remove the skin, seeds (unless you like your salsa REALLY spicy), and the inner membranes. Throw those into the blender and pulse again 10-15 times.

Add the juice of 1 lime, the sugar, some salt and pepper and blend until it becomes smooth. Taste and adjust sugar, like juice, salt and pepper. Add some cilantro and blend. Put aside.

Refried Beans

1. 1 15 oz canned black beans, drained and liquid reserved
2. 1/2 red pepper, diced
3. 1/3 yellow onion, diced
4. Cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper

Heat 10″ skillet on medium heat and add 1 tsp oil. Add peppers and onions and sauté 2-3 minutes until they start to become soft. Throw in about 1 tsp each chili powder and cumin, and about 1/2 tsp garlic powder and stir to release oils.

Add the black beans and start to warm them, using a potato masher or the back of a large spoon to mash them. Slowly add in the reserved liquid and stir and smash until you start to see the consistency of refried beans. Add salt and pepper, tasting, and adjust accordingly. Set aside.

Chilaquiles

You can make your own tortilla chips by frying stale/regular or corn tortillas in hot oil. But I used some baked corn “chips” that I made.

1. 8-10 tortilla chips
2. 1/3 cup salsa verde (above)
3. 1/4 cup refried beans (above)
4. 1-2 eggs
5. 1 oz queso fresco, or more depending on your tastes
6. (Optional) prepared chorizo/soy chorizo
7. (Optional) prepared Spanish or regular rice

1. In a 10″ skillet, pour about 1/3 cup salsa verde and gentle heat.
2. In another skillet, heat on medium and prepare your eggs any way you like – scrambled, over easy, etc
3. To the warmer salsa, add the tortilla chips and flip in salsa until they start to get soft and warm
4. On a plate, layer the tortillas in salsa, then the eggs and (optional) meat, and top with queso fresco Add the beans and (optional) rice to the side and serve

You can also top the whole thing with crema/sour cream/non fat Greek yogurt, as well as diced onion, tomato and cilantro

ENJOY!

That’s been my mantra as of late. I’m still not having any luck at finding my next gig, so I’m trying to stay busy by getting back into working out, and cooking. And the latter demands the former!

I’m trying new recipes but also revisiting old ones, and even improvising my own thing every once in a while. I’ll share one of the more successful endeavors with you in my next post.

For now, I’d like to share one of my favorite sort of spring pasta dishes that combines sweet and savory with salty and spicy. It’s a pretty simple dish but absolutely explodes with flavor.

The whole recipe takes about an hour to prepare, depending on how toasty you like your cauliflower. And you can mix and match ingredients to your liking.

I came across this recipe a few years ago thru a great cookbook, Olives and Oranges, and I’ve sort of adapted and streamlined to my tastes.

Ingredients

• 1 medium head of cauliflower
• Olive oil, salt and pepper for roasting and seasoning
• 1 cup pitted olives, chopped
• 1/2 cup capers
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 Tbsp red chili flakes
• 1 1-lb box of pasta
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or aged Asiago Cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400. Core and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Place on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook cauliflower until slightly browned, about 40 minutes, stirring 1/2 way thru roasting time

Once cauliflower is cooked, set a pot of salted water on your stove top. Bring to a boil and cook until al dente.

In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil and add garlic, stirring until garlic starts to turn golden. Add the chili flakes and chopped olives, stirring to combine. Next add the cauliflower and capers, just until combined.

Once pasta is done, drain and add directly to the pot. Stir to incorporate all of the ingredients. Add 1/2 of the breadcrumbs and the Cheese, stirring once more.

Finally top with the remaining breadcrumbs and Cheese and serve.

This recipe will feed about 6-8 folks, and it also freezes ver well.

Enjoy!

Okay, okay, I know I shared something sweet yesterday, but I wanted to give you a grown-up recipe this time! And I’m betting that everyone, children and grown-ups alike, will like this one, even if you haven’t liked it in the past.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with Italian dessert Tiramisu. It’s one that is native to the Veneto region of Italy.  The word literally translates to “pick-me up,” “cheer me up,” or “lift me up.” Unfortunately, I’m sure most of you are also used to either the store bought kind, or a bad facsimile of the real deal. And none of those will do anything of the sort.

I’ve tried dozens of recipes, some using (gasp) store bought vanilla pudding to approximate the custard filling, and others using cream cheese. Nasty nasty nasty.

Tiramisu should be silky smooth, set like a traditional vanilla custard, not too sweet and not too heavy.  I know that sounds like an oxymoron, especially given the very rich ingredients, but you need a slight hand and here is that word that my friend Drina hates to hear, you need patience.  Yes, folks, the best tiramisu relies on a French term, Sabayon, in order to create the best filling. You need a light hand when you are creating it so as to not over beat the egg and sugar mixture while it’s heating on the stove. Don’t worry, we will go over this shortly.

This recipe also calls for whipped cream, preferably the kind you make yourself in your trusty stand mixer. Or in a chilled bowl with a whisk. I like to assign this task to the child that’s been the naughtiest that day. I’m kidding.  You can use pre-made whipped cream, just drop the overall sugar in the custard filling from a cup to about 3/4 a cup, or you will get too sweet of a taste.

Once you’ve got the hang of the Sabayon and the whipped cream, you will be an expert at this fancy looking dessert in no time. And imagine the looks on your friends’ and family’s faces when you present them with this masterpiece!

Let’s get this rolling!

The Absolute Best Tiramisu

(Recipe courtesy of Chef Dennis)

Ingredients:

• 6 large egg yolks

• 1 cup sugar (3/4 cup if using prepared whipped cream)

• 1 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese – room temperature

• 1 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

• 2 -7 oz packages Italian Lady fingers (Savoiardi)

• 1 cup cold espresso or strong coffee

• 1/2 cup coffee flavored Liqueur optional OR rum extract

• 1 ounce cocoa for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler, over boiling water. Reduce  heat to low, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. This is your sabayon, remove from the heat and whip yolks until thick and lemon-colored.  Allow to cool briefly before mixing in mascarpone. Here is the before

And After

Add Mascarpone to whipped yolks, beat until combined.

Cover with cling wrap (to avoid creating a “skin” on top of the custard) and chill for at least 1 hour. This will also help thicken up the custard.

In a separate bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks.

Gently fold the whipped cream in the mascarpone sabayon mixture and set aside. The     mascarpone does not have to be at room temperature, but it will help it mix in easier if it is.  Take it out of the refrigerator as you gather ingredients to make the recipe.

Mix the cold espresso with the coffee liquor OR rum extract and dip the lady fingers into the mixture just long enough to get them wet, but do not soak them!

Arrange the lady fingers in the bottom of a 9 inch square baking dish (or container similarly sized)

Spoon half the mascarpone cream filling over the lady fingers.

Repeat process with another layer of lady fingers

add another layer of tiramisu cream

Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Dust with cocoa before serving and ENJOY!!!

NOTE:  If there is any dish or dessert that you’d like me to share, by all means, drop me a note here. I will respond asap.

I’ll have another dessert for you sometime this week for my absolutely decadent Hazeltnut Truffle Cheesecake.  In the meantime, Buon Appetito!!

The picture above doesn’t do justice to the delicious breakfast the kids just got to enjoy.

I’m the mom of 2 girls, and “stepmom” to 2 amazing boys. And boy howdy, those kids like to eat. Especially on Saturday mornings. Usually I treat them to either homemade chocolate chip pancakes or waffles, but every so often I whip up the breakfast they really want, a Dutch Baby.

Some of you may be asking, “Chris, what is a Dutch Baby?” I’d explain that it is one of the simplest but grandest breakfast treats you can make for your kids, family or friends. It’s a 4 ingredient spectacular wonder that when cooked, becomes a warm, puffed up pancake.

You can serve it plain, with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or my kids’ favorite – sautéed apples with cinnamon, butter and brown sugar.

I was introduced to this yummy treat a few years back when my sister Cathy was visiting. It took me a couple of attempts at making this to get the true puffiness the pancake begs for. With a little bit of patience and a piping hot oven I think you will agree, this is one breakfast you don’t want to miss! I hope you try this sometime this weekend. Enjoy!

Dutch Baby

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp butter

Preheat your oven to 425. Mix the first 4 ingredients and blend until smooth. In a 10″ oven-proof sauté pan, melt the butter until it is bubbling. Pour the batter into the pan and cook, undisturbed, on the stove top for 1 minute.

Put the pan into the oven and let cook 12-15 minutes until puffed and golden in color. Remove from the oven and slide onto a plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Note: you can also serve this with sautéed apples. Just dice 1-2 apples, and squeeze a bit of lemon juice on top. In a sauté pan, melt 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp brown sugar. Add apples and a few dashes of cinnamon and cook until desired consistency. Serve warm over your Dutch Baby and enjoy!

So as I was saying yesterday, I’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time during this holiday season/lack of employment period searching out old recipes I wanted to revisit, as well as new ones.

One thing you need to know about me is my love for soup – ANY kind of soup, cream, broth, chowder, you name it – and Bread. Oh thank the Heavens above I am not the recipient of gluten allergies (sorry to those of you who are). I could literally live on bread and soup alone. And with a few minor ingredients lying around your house, almost anything can become soup.

And bread. I had the opportunity a few years back to stumble onto a no-knead bread that you baked in the oven in a Dutch Oven, creating (supposedly) this deep, crisp crust.

The problem was, mine never came out that way. I mean, it was good, just not great. Until now.

My lovely and uber talented friend/work buddy Flora posted a no knead bread recipe in her amazing blog, The Urban Domestic Diva, and it got me revisiting some of the recipes I had tried already. I finally realized why my bread failed to achieve that incredible crust; I hadn’t let the dough just sit. I mean really, really sit.

So yesterday after starting my other two recipes that I shared with you, I attempted once again to create the crusty, heavenly bread with little to no effort. This meant making the dough yesterday mid-day and letting it sit, untouched on my counter, overnight. Popped it in the oven this morning and O.M.G. THIS is the bread I aspired to create. Crusty, chewy. Delicious. 4 ingredients. 18 hours + cooking time.

Trust me. Try this bread. Make yourself have patience. It’s truly worth it. And then share this with your favorite soup and your favorite people. They will thank you. Your tummy will thank you.

No-Knead Bread

(Recipe courtesy of JoCooks.com)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 3/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

• 1 1/2 cups water room temperature

Directions

1 In a big bowl mix the flour, salt and yeast together. Pour water into the bowl and using a spatula or a wooden spoon mix it until well incorporated.

2 Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on your counter for 12 to 18 hours. It should look like this

3 Preheat oven to 450 F degrees. Add your cast iron pot to the oven as it’s heating and heat it as well until it’s at 450 F degrees.

4 Remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid from it. If you want to make sure your bread doesn’t stick to the pot you can sprinkle some flour or cornmeal on the bottom of the pot.

5 Flour your hands really well and also sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough. With your floured hands gently remove the dough from the bowl and roughly shape it into a ball. Take the ball of dough and drop it into the pot. Cover the pot with the lid and place it back in the oven.

6 Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, after which remove the lid and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

7 Remove the bread from the pot, it should fall out easily. Let cool completely before slicing into it and serving.

Seems like a good time to get “back on the horse,” so to speak, and relaunch my blog. Hard to believe it’s been a year since my last post.

What have I been doing, you may ask? What haven’t I been doing is a better question. Last year I started a new job, lost my father after a 4-1/2 year battle with liver cancer, moved myself and my girls back to the city to live with the love of my life, and actually enjoyed living for a while. I was able to help acclimate my girls to their new neighborhood and adjust to their new schools while showing them some of the Best that Chicago has to offer: street fests, North Avenue Beach, the “El…” Okay, maybe not that last thing, but they have managed to navigate our fair city via our expansive train and bus system. So they have that going for them. Which is nice.

Then, of course, I lost said Job due to the loss of our main client (whatever) and have been busy trying to re-imagine myself as something. Whatever that is, I’ll let you know when I figure it out.

In the meantime, I’m back to my crazy cooking, trying new AND old recipes, re-imagining and adapting food I’ve tried elsewhere, and keeping myself and my expanded family happy. It’s a big job, but I’m fully up to the challenge!

For your dining pleasure, I’m keeping today’s recipes relatively simple and hearty to accompany the nasty cold snap we seem to all be experiencing. Minestrone soup and rosemary herb focaccia. Both can be made nine ways to Sunday, but I like to think that my recipes have a bit more “punch” to them. The only caveat is you should really let the minestrone sit in your fridge overnight to let all of the flavors meld.

So, without further ado, here are my two recipes for you to create and enjoy!

Focaccia

• 1 package active rise yeast
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp warm water
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 5 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup milk, heated to 105
• 1 large egg
• 1-1/2 – 2 cups all purpose flour
• Olive oil to coat bowl

Mix sugar, yeast and warm water in a small bowl and let proof 5-10 minutes, or until frothy. In large bowl, mix milk, butter and egg. Add yeast mixture. Add salt and 2 cups flour until well incorporated. Gradually add additional flour and knead until dough is slightly tacky, and smooth, about 10 minutes. Add oil to bowl and roll dough ball in oil to coat. Place plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel over the bowl and set in a warm spot. Allow dough to double in size. Punch down dough and let rest 30 more minutes. Grease the bottom of a jelly roll pan liberally with olive oil. Place dough in pan, stretching and pushing into all four corners. With your finger, make indentations across the dough every inch or so. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for an additional 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425. Remove plastic wrap and generously drizzle olive oil over the top of the bread. Sprinkle course sea salt, rosemary and any other herbs (if you want) over the top. Place sheet pan in the oven and cook for 25 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown. Let cool and slice into pieces for serving. Yields approximately 12-16 pieces, depending on how you cut it

Minestrone

• 1/4 pound pancetta, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 carton chicken stock
• 1 carton vegetable stock
• 1 can whole plum tomatoes, broken into small pieces with liquid
• 1 can cannelloni beans with liquid
• Bunch of Swiss chard, cut/torn into small pieces
• 1-2 carrots, diced
• 1 medium red potato, peeled and diced
• 1 cup green beans, diced
• 1 can red kidney beans, drained
• 1/2 cup small shell pasta
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Parmesan Cheese rind OR 1/4 finely grated Parmesan
• 1-2 tsp red pepper flakes

Start by drizzling some olive oil into a large Dutch oven and add diced pancetta. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the onion and garlic. Cook until onion starts to get translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, green beans and potato and cook for approximately 5 minutes. Add the chicken and veggie stock and the can of tomatoes and liquid, stir, and then add the Swiss chard. Let this simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the chard starts to wilt. Add both types of beans to the pot and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste, and the red pepper flakes along with the grated cheese. Let this go for a good 10 minutes, stirring to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add the pasta and simmer for another 10-20 minutes. Refrigerate overnight, and have this hearty meal for lunch or dinner tomorrow!Yields about 8 or so bowls of soup. NOTE: when you are sautéing with olive oil, try to use the “regular” grade of olive oil, not extra virgin. Save the expensive stuff for when you want to taste the oil, don’t waste the good oil. And don’t forget to tell them Rocco sent you!