Trish Giordano

Friday, November 9, 2018

Me and Martha

I am sure I have alluded to this before......Martha Stewart was my inspiration.

She has been admired, revered, admonished, beatified, deified, parodied, scorned, taunted, ......
but she is still here!

It was way back in 1982.....my Aunt Betty presented me with Martha Stewart's Entertaining book.
What a beautiful book it was! Loaded with lovely photos.....how to's......oh, it was right up my
alley! Everything I did was right there!....in her book!

But, truth be told.....the initial inspiration would have to be my Mother, Barbara. She did not
fiddle with fancy hors d'oeuvres , nor did she struggle with complicated desserts.......she planned
and cooked lovely meals that tasted wonderful! Every night we were served a salad that was
unique and interesting. It might be a pear filled with cream cheese on a bit of lettuce.....or, one
of my favorites, a vegetable- filled gelatin on a bed of greens. Her meals were a cut above
the ordinary and always full of flavor. Her desserts were simple.....grapefruit halves with a
cherry or a piece of homemade banana cream pie.

My Mother never asked me to help in the kitchen. That was her personal domain......no one
was allowed! Therefore, I was never privy to her magic out of that kitchen.

But, back to Martha! I had collected wonderful lace doilies and antique linens, silver knives from long-gone families of wealth, (complete with their initials), marvelous serving pieces. Martha showed me how this all could be set forth to complete the most amazing table setting, buffet presentation, culinary offering.

Therefore, armed with my Mother's downhome flavorful cooking and Martha's innovative style,
I was on my way with what would become Creative Catering by Trish Giordano!

The Passing of Time

It has been absolute ages since I have posted on this blog!

What have I been doing, you may ask? Well, I have been going through (finally!) all the collected
recipes to see what I will keep and what I will discard for my future book.....

having lunch with various friends and acquaintances......

cooking for different church functions.......

I don't know.....the time is just flying by!

I thought, when I retired, that I would have so much time on my hands!

I thought I would exercise ,visit, experiment with new recipes, entertain family and friends, create the ultimate photo gallery in our second floor loft and hallway, perhaps get massages (never yet have had one!), perhaps take some cruises, perhaps travel within the United States..........well, my list is not getting crossed off but I am not just sitting still!!!!

Where does the time go?

I do find it harder to get up each morning.....the arthritis has not crippled me yet, but near so!
I need to have my banana half, warm drink (either lemon water or coffee), and perhaps a piece
of cheese and listen to the news, check out the Wall Street Journal and the weather and, finally,
get a nice hot shower ( which is so very soothing to the joints) before I am good to go for the day.

While I may have been awake since 5:00 a.m., I am not usually set for the day til 9:00 a.m. or so!!!!

Do you have trouble sleeping? I can usually fall asleep all right but then I awake around 2:00 a.m.
and either doze and awake every hour thereafter or remain awake til said 5:00!!!!! How very
annoying that can be! (Thank goodness I don't have to be somewhere at 8:00 a.m. on a regular
basis!)

Have you been experiencing the "invisible" phase yet? That is when everyone you encounter
at the stores, etc. looks right through you. Of course, you have to be almost 70 for this to occur.
Most annoying.

I have begun to "play up" on this age thing. When I encounter sales people, I act the "old lady",
personified! I find they are more helpful, eager to give me the discounts ( you know, you must
ask for them, they will not be offered!) and I then walk away a happy customer - with a lower
priced item! (There has to be some benefit to being "older"!)

Most folks my age are "purging"......all those old cards, photos, remembrances. (My girls tell
me, "Mom, we are just going to throw all of this away!".) I do start to do so......I have such good
intentions! And, then, I look at a card or a photo or a drawing and I reminisce about that period
of time and, before I know it, the afternoon is over and I have a huge pile for "definitely keeping,
no matter what!" and 3 items I have put into the "discard" pile.

Clearly, I am not capable of purging.

My one greatest joy, however, is watching and listening to my three daughters. All three are wonderful, intelligent, innovative, caring, funny women........not because of, but despite me!.......they are truly the best! They are passionate, compassionate, honest, sincere, dedicated.....oh, I could go on and on! I admire each of them more than I can say. They have handled whatever Life has thrown
their way admirably. They are extremely loyal. They are totally supportive of each other and that
warms my heart more than I can ever verbalize.

The passing of time does have its perks......watching the next generation (and the generation after
that) hold on to our traditions, values and, yet, voicing and instilling their own beliefs and innovations
into their lifestyle and that of their children's.

It really is as it should be.

Monday, August 27, 2018

Roma Tomatoes

I recently went to the farmers market and ran into a school chum (and practically a life-long friend!)
and she told me she was going to purchase a bushel of Roma tomatoes and roast them in the oven for
soups, stews and sauces all winter long.

What a great idea!

The following market day, the one stand I patronize had a basket for $5.00.......25lbs!!!!

Once home, I cut the tomatoes and placed them cut side up on a baking sheet. I sprinkled them with
kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, fresh thyme, drizzled olive oil over the tomatoes and put them in a slow, low (300*) oven for 2 hours.

The kitchen smelled absolutely divine!

The tomatoes were a bit soft. I bagged them and froze each bag flat......for the winter!!!

The next day, I finished off the tomatoes (the never ending bag of tomatoes!). This time I placed
the cut side down on the baking sheet. I sprinkled the kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, and fresh
basil, then drizzled liberally with olive oil. I baked these tomatoes at 400* for one hour.

I can't begin to tell you how wonderful that smell was!!!

Once cool, I processed the tomatoes, oil, basil, everything on the baking sheet.......and the result was
the very best, best ever, oh my! tomato sauce ever!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, the yield was only two (2) quarts!!!!!

Eggplant! Eggplant!! Eggplant!!!

As a young girl living in Manhattan, I had a friend from "da Bronx". We would go to Tucci's (in the Bronx) on Friday evenings after work. It was there, for the first time, I had Eggplant Parmesan.

Now I had had fried eggplant at home in Pennsylvania many, many times. My Mother served it as a side vegetable dish. I always, always loved eggplant.

It's funny.....it seems you either love it or hate it.

But Tucci's! They did wonderful things with the eggplant and I was in heaven.

Fast forward many years and it is still one of my very favorite dishes. Most of my pals enjoy it
as well.

I recently prepared an Eggplant Rollatini with no ricotta cheese. Yep, no ricotta cheese. That is
almost sacriligious, is it not?

I also did not fry the eggplant in oil.

Instead, I sliced the eggplant lengthwise and placed it on a parchment-lined baking sheet I had
sprayed with Pam. Then I placed the eggplant slices on the baking sheet and sprayed each
slice with Pam. I also sprinkled just a small bit of kosher salt on each slice.

The pan went into a 400* oven for about 20 minutes. (some of the slices were a bit too thin and
were over-baked but most were just right).

After the slices cooled, I placed a beautiful, thin slice of prosciutto on top of each slice of eggplant.
Then I added a rolled-up slice of Fontina cheese and rolled up the eggplant slice.

This was placed on a bed of Roma Tomato Sauce (another blog posting), topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese, and baked for about 25 minutes. (Mozzarella cheese is another good option).

Heaven!!!!

Monday, July 16, 2018

The Art of Letter Writing

I am an insane hoarder of letters.

I have every card and letter sent to me in the last fifty years.

Yes, you read correctly, fifty years. Letters and cards neatly preserved in boxes.
Every once in a while I peruse them, with much enjoyment.

I could not wait to learn to write. In my elementary school there was always a childhood illness
(Measles, mumps, chicken pox, etc.) making the rounds and the teacher would
not begin and/or continue our lessons in cursive until all were present. This, seemingly,
went on forever.

I have always prided myself on having a neat hand writing but, alas, these days the arthritis
has definitely altered my style.

My great, great Aunt used to write notes to me and at the bottom of the note she would tape
two dimes, for an ice cream treat. Friends who moved away would write to me and it was
always such fun and great anticipation to open and read the letters.

And then the internet was created and, along with it, email.

I must admit that, initially, emails were fun. They were instantaneous and that, in itself, was amazing. I confess, however, that to this day I treat an email as a letter, usually complete with
a salutation, etc.

As we all know, the downturn in postal mailings occured due to emails. And then texts became
the new form of communication, complete with its own symbols and abbreviations.

And then the public schools chose to discontinue teaching cursive. (That makes me so sad).

There are now students who only know how to print. I don't know how they sign a check but then those are becoming a thing of the past as well! They do not know how to compose a
personal letter or a business letter.

And, they certainly do not know the joy of holding an envelope containing words written by someone, perhaps from another city, state or country.

If you really want to brighten someone's day, sit down and jot a little note letting them know
you are thinking of them. I guarantee you will be sending more than words!

Chicken and Waffles

Growing up in Central Pennsylvania, Chicken and Waffles was a menu item we had quite often.

My Mother would poach a chicken, debone it, and, using the chicken stock, prepare a creamed
chicken. She would then make waffles, using a waffle iron. The creamed chicken would be
served atop the homemade waffles.....hmmmmm, comfort food!

Every Sunday I take my ninety-one year old Mother and sixty-one year old brother to Sunday
Lunch. My brother has Downs Syndrome and food is his hobby! We go from restaurant to
restaurant each Sunday - some days it is Olive Garden, some days it is Red Lobster, others it
might be a diner.

Early this morning my brother called me. He informed me he was in the mood for Chicken
and Waffles. I told him I would see what I could do to make that happen.

I then punched in "Chicken and Waffles near me" on my ipad. Many, many restaurants and
diners appeared. I then zeroed in on the closest restaurants and was quite surprised at the
photos of Chicken and Waffles.

Instead of a Chicken in Gravy over Waffles, what appeared at these restaurants was Fried
Chicken and Waffles on the Side with Maple Syrup. (What??????)

No where was there a chicken in gravy over a waffle.

Apparently the Fried Chicken with Waffle on the Side is a Southern specialty.

I must confess, I never heard of that!

Digging further into the internet, an article appeared regaling the wonders of the Amish
Chicken and Waffles, only to be found east of Pittsburgh!

Aha! Our Chicken and Waffles!!!!!

Little did I ever realize that this was a regional dish peculiar to Central Pennsylvania.
(although I must admit, I thought, as a youngster, that everyone in the world ate pork and sauerkrout
on New Years Day!!!)

With the advent of the rotisserie chicken, available to everyone, we do not have to cook our
own chicken, make our own stock, etc. to enjoy this dish.

I found a wonderful recipe from good food stories that nails it!

Amish Chicken and Waffles
(4 servings)

1 3-4 lb. rotisserie chicken

Waffles:
1 large egg
4 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 cup milk
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. granulated sugar
1/4 t. kosher salt

Gravy:
4 T. unsalted butter
1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup milk (or heavy cream, for extra richness)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Pull the meat from the roasted chicken and cut or shred into bite-sized pieces.
Keep warm in a low oven til ready to assemble.

Make the Waffles:
2. Preheat a 4 square waffle maker.
3. Separate the egg yolk and white and reserve the egg white in a small bowl.
4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and remove from heat to cool slightly.
5. Whisk the egg yolk and milk together in a large bowl, then add the melted butter, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Whisk together til just barely combined; some lumps may remain.
6. Beat the egg white by hand or with an electric mixer til soft peaks form. Gently fold the
egg white into the batter with a spatula.
7. Grease the waffle maker, if necessary, and pour the batter evenly into the waffle iron; depending on the depth and size of your waffle maker, you may have a bit of leftover batter. Cook according to your waffle makers' specifications.

8. Alternative: purchase frozen waffle and heat according to directions.

Make the gravy:
1. Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the melted butter and whisk to incorporate into a roux.
2. Cook, whisking frequently, til roux turns toasty golden. It will remain pale for a few minutes,
then toast quickly so keep an eye on it.
3. Drizzle in the chicken stock, whisking constantly as it is added. The flour will clump, but
continue to whisk and the gravy will smooth itself out. Add the milk and cook, stirring frequently,
until the gravy thickens and comes to a simmer.
4. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken pieces to the
sauce.

Assemble:

1. Place a waffle on a plate, spoon chicken and gravy over the waffle.
(Sometimes served with a side of mashed potatoes)

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Crostata

One of my all time favorites is the Crostata, or Italian Fruit Pie.

In days gone by, pasta frolla (pie dough) was rolled and filled with homemade jam.
There would be some with fancy lattice, some quite rustic with just the ends turned up.

My personal favorite is filled with fig jam. The traditional in Tuscany is blackberry jam.
Right now I have peach jam- filled Crostata in the oven. The house smells delightful!

This is a dessert that is so basic, so simplistic and so very delicious!

I make a batch of the dough and put it in my freezer so I am ready at a moment's notice
of friends coming for coffee or luncheon. It does not take long to defrost and I always
make sure I have a jar of jam in the pantry.

The pasta frolla must be very cold. Many recipes will say to chill for 30 minutes but I
have found that is not near enough time. The dough is still too soft and will fall apart. I
allow the dough many hours, even overnight, to get a proper chill.

You can prepare a free form tart with the ends rolled in over the filling or you can use a pie
pan. I use a French tin with a removeable bottom for my Crostatas.

You can fill the tarts with the traditional blackberry jam, or peach, apricot, raspberry.....
whatever suits your taste. You can also use Nutella, which my grandchildren love!

The dough:

1-1/4 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 C. granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
dash salt
2 C. all purpose flour

I put butter in mixer (yes! the mixer!) and then add the sugar. I then add the eggs, dash of
salt and, finally, gradually add the flour. Pop the dough out onto the saran, wrap it up and
give it a good chill. (there is no water in this dough! and it rolls like a dream!)

Fill the tart with the jam (or Nutella) of your choosing. Add some lattice strips. (I like
to brush some eggwash on the strips but be careful! They can brown very easily!)

Bake in a preheated 350* oven for about 30 minutes. The dough should be golden. The
jam will be bubbly.

Let cool and enjoy! I sprinkle a bit of 10-x when serving.