Any "Pasta-Fazul" fans out there? Aka pasta e fagioli. This is one dish we always have left overs. Be sure it is from the night before so the pasta absorbed all liquid and is dry and pasty.

Place leftovers in a large bowl and add a couple of eggs, Maybe three eggs or more depending on the left overs. Estimate about one gg to aevery bowlful. Season with lots of parmigiano , chopped parsley, a bit of chopped raw garlic.

Use an empty tuna can( if you can't remove the top and bottom, simply make a small hole in the back center as shown in photo 4).

Pack the can 1/2 way ( or centers won't cook).

Heat a good splash of vegetable oil / or olive oil  and simply tilt the frying pan so oil flows to base one side to prevent splashing and place the filled can and begin frying on med heat. Allow to cook for 1-2 min remove can and continue to cook till it begins to get crispy. Flip the patties when crispy on one side and fry the other side till very crispy also.I prefer to use a cast iron pan for this to get great flavor.

When serving slice very ripe tomatoes, place on a serving dish season with some salt pepper and a splash of good olive oil . Place fritters on top and garnish with basil and parmigiano cheese ( optional).

 

Sauté lots of onions with Jalapeños until golden.

While the onions are sautéing cut chicken into bite sized pieces.

Add chicken and continue to cook until meat is cooked through, stirring occasionally . Shut off flame and put aside.

In a food processor, add about 2 cups of heavy cream and fill the rest of the space with fresh Spinach. Pack it a bit and purée using the pulse option (for 30 seconds maximum or cream will fluff too much).

While your pasta is boiling pour the spinach purée to the chicken mixture and continue to cook. Keep over low heat until pasta is ready .

Add pasta, and raise your flame to reduce liquid. Toss some Parmigiano cheese to help thicken the sauce. When serving top with crispy bacon.

For the fresh pasta recipe go to the D-F section or search "Fresh Pasta with Altan" 

In a large frying pan sauté some chopped onion and garlic till golden . Add a good amount of fresh cut tomato , cabbage and about 1/3 cup of water or chicken broth. Cover and summer for about 25 minutes stirring from time to time.

Add a good amount of basil pesto and mix well. Add boiled pasta a good splash of olive oil and toss with some chopped parsley.Serve with parmigiano cheese and a touch of hot pepper (optional).

Before starting, have a good amount of steamed shrimp cut into bite size ready and room temperature cooked penne pasta. Put aside

In a large mixing bowl add about 5 ripe avocado ( remove seeds and save shells) , 1/4 of chopped onion, 1 bell pepper sliced thin.

Add a splash of olive oil , juice of 2 lemons, season with salt/pepper and whisk well breaking up the avocado until it looks like a puree.

Add lots of chopped cilantro and continue to mix. Add the shrimp and another splash of olive oil. Season with salt pepper and mix well using a wooden spoon.Add the penne and mix some more coating the pasta. Taste for seasonings.

Serve in the avocado shells or in a large bowl.

Slice a good amount of red onion and saute on low heat until 1/2 way cooked .

Add a good amount of cauliflower ( bite size) and continue to saute stirring occasionally until cauliflower is very soft . Taste for seasonings and put aside.

In a blender add about 1/3 cup of olive oil on the bottom 1/2 clove of garlic, 1/2 cup walnuts and fill the rest up with fresh spinach.

Purée and begin seasoning with parmigiano cheese. Add a good sprinkle of nutmeg. Keep adding more and more spinach along the way turning blender ( or food processor )until you get a thick pesto looking texture. Taste for seasonings.

Add the the cauliflower onion mixture back on the stove on high heat and add the spinach pesto. Continue to cook about 10 min before adding any pasta. Taste for seasonings , and toss preferred pasta.

Chef note; When serving top with some roasted walnuts and parmigiano cheese . If you really love meat, saute the onions in step one with your favorite meat; bacon goes very well or even spicy ground beef !

Takes a certain palate.For those who grew up with pig ear or have an adventurous palate 

Heat a good splash of olive oil and pan sear the ears on all sides

Add lots of thinly sliced onions and continue to sauté on med heat until onions brown and become semi soft.

Add lots of chopped fresh rosemary.

Add red wine( enough to fill 1/2 the frying pan) and reduce by almost 1/2 on high heat and add 1/2 the amount of balsamic vinegar and continue to cook . Add about a cup of water and bring to a boil

Place pig ear in large sauce pot, add some more fresh rosemary springs ( no stems) and continue to simmer on med heat covered about 20 min. Remove the ears from the liquid.Add about 5-10 sheets of gelatin and boil for about 5 more min.

Pour the liquid over the ears place aluminum foil tightly so no air escapes. Bake at 350 for about 2hrs.

Separate the ears from the liquid and allow to cool down a bit . Slice the high parts of the ear so you get uniformed leveled pieces. Begin layering in med sized rectangular containers and put a good amount of liquid in between every layer.

Be certain to fill the containers with liquid to cover the pork as much as possible and put a little weight on top to allow a bit of pressing ( some liquid will escape , this is normal ).

Place in the refrigerator overnight.

When removing the terrine the following day from container, simply turn it upside down and run some hot water along the back of the metal to help loosen a bit. You will need a slicing machine or simply cut the terrine into 4 pieces  and slice as thin as possible.

For the marinate; add about a cup of olive oil in a frying pan and add lots of sliced garlic. Once it begins to brown immediately, remove from heat and place in a stainless steel bowl . Allow to cool down and add a good splash of white balsamic vinegar, lots of chopped parsley ( chop large ) , dash of dried pepper flakes.

For easy service place preferred  quantity of sliced ear in a bowl.Gradually add the garlic marinate toss, taste for seasonings and allow to marinate a bit before serving.

Chefs note:for the main photo presentation you will need a slicing machine . Slice thin, gently place layers in a dish and top with he marinate .

Don't throw away that peel.

Take the pomegranate peels and remove some of the excess white part. Place in a dry place and rotate from time to time. This will take a couple of weeks. 

Once dried, boil with water and get your boost of tea goodness.

Wondering what to do with your left over pumpkins?

No matter what the variety , remove the skin, remove the seeds and cut the pumpkin into cubes. Portion accordingly and place in zip lock freezer bags and freeze for another day.

Baby Food - boil the pumpkin down with 30% peeled apple. Don't use to much water .Drain excess water, mash , season to your liking . Place in ice cube trays and pop out the cubes into zip lock bags.

Delicious Cream of Pumpkin Soup. In a soup pot sauté with lots of onions , add sweet potato , pumpkin and cover with water. Allow to get extra soft and purée. Add a splash of cream and season with nutmeg, honey, salt/pepper

Garlic Lovers Pumpkin-Brussle Sprouts and Spicy Sausage. Cut the pumpkin into bite sized cubes. Use a large frying pan and add a good splash of olive oil , add a heaping amount of sliced garlic ( optional ), add pumpkin , spicy sausage meat , lots of cut chives . Begin sautéing , summer on beth low heat stirring from time to time.Season with preferred spices . Serve with bread or polenta .

Pumpkin Base Crusted Salmon  . Sauté the pumpkin with lots of onions on low heat until super soft and cooked through. Should look like chunky baby food . Put aside to cool down . Using a wooden spoon, mash the pumpkin as much as possible . Season with honey , salt , pepper and nutmeg( preferred spices) place this base over Salmon Filets, top with seasoned bread crumbs and bake . Serve with lemon on the side to get that savory / sweet.

Chef Guerrieri gets your kids to eat their greens.

Remove the skin and seeds from the pumpkin. Cut into small strips or pieces. Heat a splash of olive oil in a frying pan and add the pumpkin and some cut up hot dogs or preferred sausage. Continue to sauté together on medium heat stirring occasionally until sausage gets very crispy.

Remove this combo from frying pan leaving some of the excess oil .Lower your flame and add some sliced garlic with sliced brussels sprouts . Continue to sauté on low heat for about 5 min until brussel sprouts are cooked to preferred texture. Join cooked sausage and pumpkin. Season with salt pepper and a small  touch of balsamic vinegar to deglaze pan ( optional ).

Roasting Pumpkin seeds is easier than we a think. No need to peel these babies , the homemade skin are way more eatable and tasty than those we buy !

Preheat the oven to 325.Place your pumpkin seeds in a strainer and wash well. Allow to drain well.

Place on a baking pan and season with preferred salt. Place in oven stirring from time to time till golden brown and toasty and serve.

Place about 1 cup of compressed sliced prosciutto in a food processor. Add 1/2 of garlic clove and about 1/3 cup of olive oil. Puree till smooth. Add about 1/2 cup of bread ( no crust, use only the enterior).Continue to puree and put aside when smooth. -

Sautée 2 sliced onions till very soft. Season with salt and pepper. Put aside.

Cut an average filet of red snapper in 1/2 and then butterfly both fillets of fish. Place a good amount of prosciutto spread in the center and close top flap.Repeat with other filets.

In a large bowl, mix 75% fine polenta with 25% breadcrumbs.Season a little salt and pepper. Not to much due to the prosciutto stuffing having a lot of salt.Repeat with other stuffed filets.

Place top side of fillet down in the polenta mix and press so it sticks well to the fish.

Using a non stick frying pan, add a good layer of olive oil and heat. Place the fish filet breaded side down and allow to become crispy. Remove the fish with a spatula and place on flat baking pan. Repeat with other filets.

Preheat oven to 375 and bake about 8 minutes or until fish is ready. 

For the Sauce: In the meantime frying pan saute a little chopped onion with butter until golden.Add some capers and some heavy cream and bring to a low boil. Add a good amount of mustard and stir using a wooden spoon until sauce becomes smooth.Add a good amount of fresh ground pepper and taste for seasoning. 

When serving add some sauce on the bottom of dish, add some sauteed onions and then the filet. Slice a bit of prosciutto to add some color with a spring of parsley.

Rice Cakes

Guess what Chef Guerrieri, mamma Guerrieri and grandchild Gabriella are making?

Try these one of a kind cheesy rice cakes - a little work but SO worth it , your loved ones will thank you!

Make a good amount of rice (1lb) and allow to cool in the frig for next day use. Next, we need to make some becemel  sauce. On medium heat melt about 4-5 tablespoons of butter and gradually adding flour - continuing to cook and whisking enough rue until it thickens (you may need more or less a cup of flour in total).

Should look like this in the end- thick and pasty .Remove 1/2 and put aside. 

Add about 2-3 cups of milk to the the rue and continue cooking , constantly stirring with a wire whip .Should come to a very low boil and continue to whisk in more rue to get it to a very thick consistency ( should look like sour cream thickness - put aside to cool ).

In a large sauce pot sauté chopped onions with diced prosciutto until onions are soft.

Add a good amount of ground veal meat and ground beef meat. Continue to cook stirring from time to time 

When the meat is cooked through cover with white wine and reduce almost all the liquid on high heat 

When all the liquid is reduced, add some sliced basil.

Remove from heat and add a good amount of grated parmigiano cheese, good amount of asiago cheese and some bread crumbs.Mix well. Place mixture in a large bowl .

Add the same quantity of rice to balance the meat mixture, mix well .
Add a few eggs and mix

Add some becemel and a little more bread crumb and continue to mix. Taste for seasonings .

Add a good amount of paprika and mix . At this point , add some more breadcrumbs if needed until the mixture becomes manageable and sticky enough to roll into balls .

Make balls about the size of golf balls and place a couple of cubes of dried mozzarella cheese in center sealing the balls all around.

Pass the rice balls through panco and repeat.

Place the rolled rice balls on a tray.

Press the rice balls down a bit before frying for easier cooking on both sides . Fry in vegetable oil till golden on both sides.

Roasted Yam

Go for it, yams are healthier than potato.

Place some sliced yam in a large bowl with some largely sliced onion, a splash of olive oil , salt and pepper and a touch of brown sugar . Toss well to coat everything .

Simply place on a roasting pan and cover with some fool . Bake at about 375 for about 20 minutes . Remove foil and allow to top broil another 5 minutes to brown.Serve with meats fish or on its own .