Antipasto

I'll begin my Martorana Cooking Weekend posts the way most Italian holiday meals begin - with Antipasto. Literally meaning "before the meal", its a way to curb your guests' appetites while the aroma of Roast Turkey or Sunday Sauce fills the air.

Antipasto was always a part of our holiday meals no matter at whose house we gathered and we still follow that tradition today - every time, no question about it.

Traditionally, antipasto is a mixture of pickled vegetables, meats and cheeses. In my family, we always include the exact same things, and always served on a dish especially made for antipasto, with separate compartments (so that your pepperoni doesn't taste like anchovies) and with small dishes and teeny, tiny forks.

 

My mother and I were in Italy just before my brother got married. We were in a ceramic store on the Amalfi Coast looking for something to buy as a shower gift. As soon as we spied an antipasto dish we knew it was the perfect choice. No better way to teach the newest family member what was expected before Easter Dinner !

 

It was only natural to enjoy some antipasto during our weekend at the Cape. We included the usual store bought items: anchovies, artichoke hearts, olives, pepperoni, sharp provolone and made two from scratch which you will find directly after this post: Marinated Mushrooms and Roasted Peppers.

 

So good - every time !

 

Curbing appetites

 

 

Aerial View

 

 

Marinated Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1lb fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup wine vinegar
1 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, cut in half
2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. oregano
Dash of pepper

Wash the mushrooms and cook in a small amount of boiling salt water until slightly tender, about 5-10 minutes.

 

 

Drain and add to a bowl with the remaining ingredients.

 

The remaining ingredients


Marinate in the refrigerator over night. Remove the garlic before serving.
 

 

Roasted Peppers

Ingredients:
Bell peppers (any color)
Olive oil
Fresh garlic, minced

There are many techniques for roasting peppers. In the old days, they would hold them over the open fire of a wood stove. The modern equivalent would be the open flame of a gas stove (using tongs of course). A much simpler way is to lay them flat under the broiler.

 

Cut the top off of the peppers, cut in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place skin side up on a cookie sheet and press down so that they lay as flat as possible. 

Broil on high until the skin becomes mostly black and blistered. WATCH THEM. They should take between 5 and 10 minutes.

Remove from the broiler and place them in a paper bag. This will allow them to steam and the skin will come off much easier. Wait 15 minutes, remove from bag and rinse under cold water while rubbing the skin off with your hands.

 

Cut the peppers into slices and toss with garlic and olive oil. Refrigerate over night.

Martorana Cooking Weekend

Eat, Play, Love

 

That's exactly what I had the pleasure of doing one recent weekend this summer with my Mom and her 4 siblings. My Aunts Marian, Martha and Jane and Uncle Frank all travelled to my parent's house on Cape Cod for a weekend of cooking, storytelling, eating, drinking and even a little impromptu dancing.

 

They don't look much different now (Jane, Carolyn, Frank, Marian and Martha)

 

The weekend began with a review of the menu (in case anyone thought they would get out of actually cooking).

 

 

Everyone was eager to start and so I handed out some "I'm Italian" aprons and we got to work.

 

 

 

 

We shared and cooked some of our favorite family recipes telling stories about the past and their place in our family lore.

 

We cooked our way right through the weekend with some time off for shopping and the beach on Saturday and a little more shopping on Sunday (after which we may have also stopped for a cocktail- c'mon we worked hard!) 

 

 Cooking my way through these family recipes can be a bit of a lonely process and I've been happy to share them with guests and co-workers on occasion. But to be able to cook them alongside family and learn from those who have helped pass them down ? Priceless.

 

Thanks to my Mom, Carolyn for being the logistics-queen that she is and for doing all of the shopping and lending her kitchen, to Marian for her Italian-cooking expertise and her home-canned tomatoes, Martha for her humor and plethora of stories, Jane for her sous chef skills, pictures and family history and Frank for spending his weekend with a bunch of woman and doing the least popular job of manning the deep fryer. Thanks also to my Dad for putting up with all of us and for of course, tending bar.

 

I look forward to sharing the results of our labor on these pages and keeping the Martorana culinary quest alive.

 

Thanks again to Team Martorana - I had a blast !

 

 

 

Stuffed Zucchini

Late summer means lots of great vegetables from the garden or farmer's markets. My father had a huge garden in our backyard in Glen Rock. He always grew tomatoes, peppers, string beans and zucchini among other things. He has an equally large garden today at my parent's house on Cape Cod. He tends to it like a delicate piece of art resulting in beautiful, colorful and delicious produce.

 

This is one of many zucchini recipes made in the Schmitt household and the one I make at the first sign of local squash. The zucchini is hollowed out and stuffed with onion, tomatoes and cheese - it tastes like summer !

Ingredients:
1 medium zucchini
1 small tomato
1 small yellow onion
salt and pepper
1 oz Swiss cheese, grated or cut into small pieces
Parmesan cheese, grated

Local is best

 

The first thing you need to do is hollow out the zucchini "boats". Cut the ends off the zucchini and then in half length wise. Using a small spoon, scrape out the soft pulp and seeds. Chop the flesh into small pieces and set aside.

 

 

Blanch the zucchini halves in boiling water for 3 minutes and remove.

 

 

Meanwhile, chop the onion and tomato.

 

 

 

 

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the tomatoes, onion and zucchini flesh and sauté until the onions are just beginning to brown.

 

 

Turn off the heat and add the Swiss cheese until just beginning to melt.

 

 

 

Spoon the mixture into the zucchini boats and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

 

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the top is lightly brown.

Captain Ed's Boat Salad

My father is a great dad and almost as good of a sailor.

 

Water was a constant theme when we were growing up - whether playing in the brook behind our house or trips to the Jersey Shore and Cape Cod. We have all re-located from our home town of Glen Rock but one thing is consistent: we all still live near the water. From Maine down to Virginia and points all over the globe, we play in it, eat from it and in my sister Catherine's case, write about it.

 

I have a quote hanging in my office written by "Anonymous" that I reference often:

 

"The point is, to be in the water, by the water, or on a bar stool with the water splashing gently at your feet"

 

One of my fondest memories is going out on my Dad's sailboat 

 on the Long Island Sound and Buzzard's Bay.

 

 

You could never predict how the winds would be on any particular day but you could always count on 3 things: good company, great tunes and my Dad's famous "boat salad".

 

Inspired by a lunchtime favorite when my Dad worked in Midtown, Manhattan, Boat Salad was always a staple aboard "About Time". My dad said  "Most people who have joined me on the boat will say that they are not sure about the sailing but the "Boat Salad" was great". I disagree.

 

Passengers were always put to work: steering, tacking, anchoring. But the pleasure of being on the water, the peacefulness and the time spent with family and good friends made it a pleasure. And The Captain made it so. Boat Salad was merely the delicious side dish.

 

 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of pasta mini shells or rotini

8 oz frozen peas

8 oz imitation crab, flaked

4 tbsp. mayonnaise

fresh cracked black pepper

 

 

Cook the pasta al dente and mix with the remaining ingredients.

 

 

 

Set sail.

 

Relax.

 

And let the wind carry your sails.

 

(Happy Father's Day!)

 

 



Chocolate Ladyfinger Torte

For someone who often claimed to be "not a baker", my Mom has made some great homemade desserts. Sure, you could cheat and make this with instant pudding and cool whip but I promise you, this tastes much better. This is a great warm weather dessert as it is nice and light and requires no baking. I think it would also be great with some strawberries.

The glue to this dessert is the lady fingers (the soft kind). When I was little I always remember giggling a little over that name - "lady fingers" - because they look like anything but. Man fingers, maybe, but not a lady's. Turns out, many countries originally called them "cat's tongues" which is more descriptively accurate to their size. I wonder why that didn't stick ?

A special shout out to my great friend Lisa for her assistance on this one. Turns out, its a lot easier to take pictures when someone else is doing the cooking !

Ingredients:
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
3 tbsp water
4 eggs separated
1/4 lb margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
10 double ladyfingers

Mix 7 oz of the chocolate (save the additional ounce for garnish) with the water in a mixing bowl and melt over a pot of hot water (double boiler).

Remove and beat in egg yolks one at a time. Add vanilla.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and gradually add sugar.

Fold meringue into chocolate mixture.

Beat 1 cup of cream until stiff and fold in.

Yum!

Stand ladyfingers around buttered 8" spring pan.

My Sous Chef, Lisa

Spoon in filling.

Chill overnight. Top with remaining cream (whipped) and grate chocolate over the top.