Oxtail Stew

When I was in 1st grade and learning about the food groups, we were asked to create a poster showing our favorite and least favorite foods. Like most of my classmates, under favorites I listed pizza and pasta. But while most kids listed broccoli and brussel sprouts under their dislikes, I drew a picture of an oxtail. My mother was mortified.

The truth is, I only remember her making oxtail stew that one time. However, as I got older, I re-discovered this cut and fell in love with its melt-in-your mouth tenderness. My brother and I have both played around with this classic recipe that can also be used with short ribs or brisket.

Ingredients:

3 lbs oxtails
2 tbsp olive oil
3 carrots, peeled, 1 chopped & 2 cut into chunks
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cups beef broth
2 cups red wine
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, peeled, left whole but crushed
1-2 potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks
2 parsnips, peeled, cut into chunks

Heat oil in a dutch oven, season the oxtails with salt and pepper and sear in batches on all sides. Put aside.

Add the chopped vegetables to the pot and saute until just beginning to brown.

Add the wine and deglaze the pan by stirring and scraping up any of  the brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the oxtails back to the pot along with the broth, tomato paste and garlic. Cover and simmer for an hour.

Next add the carrot, potato and parsnip chunks and continue to simmer for 2 more hours.

The stew is done when the vegetables are tender and the meat is falling off the bone.

Chinese String Beans

 

When my younger sister became a vegetarian in her early teens, my mother was challenged to add new vegetable recipes to the family collection. She found this one (not sure where) and it became an immediate hit, especially for my sister, who deemed raw or plain string beans "too furry".

 

 

These remind me of the string beans you would get at a Chinese restaurant or that we always get when we go to Dim Sum. These are slightly healthier as those are essentially deep fried in a wok and these are sauteed. These are also more savory/sweet due to the caramelization of the garlic and onions.

 

 

Ingredients:

1 lb green beans

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sherry

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp butter

4 cloves garlic, chopped

3 scallions, sliced

 

 

Combine soy sauce, sherry and sugar and put aside.

 

Add beans to a pot with enough water to cover. Bring just to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and put aside.

 

 

Melt the butter in the oil in a medium frying pan.

Add the garlic and scallions. Stir fry until just beginning to brown.

 

 



 

Add the beans and toss to coat.

 

 

Add the soy sauce mixture and stir fry until the beans are browned.

 

 

Great served over rice and garnished with scallions.



Hot Artichoke Dip

If there is one thing you can always find in a Schmitt pantry (besides olives, anchovies, and tomato paste) its artichoke hearts. This appetizer always made an appearance at family parties and would go super fast. My younger sister and I also made it a few times as an after-school snack (no joke...that's how we rolled).

 

 

Ingredients:

14oz can of artichokes, in water

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Paprika (for garnish)

 

 

Couldn't be simpler: 

Mix the first 3 ingredients.

Spread evenly into an 8x8 (or 9x9) casserole dish. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until bubbly along the edges.

Sprinkle with paprika.

Serve with tortilla chips or Triscuits.

 

 

 

Mrs. T's Brownies

This recipe comes via the mom of my best neighborhood friend growing up. I was at her house just about everyday after school between the ages of 5 and 10 and I swear her mom made these every one of those days. She probably made them more like once a week. They are best enjoyed straight out of the oven and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Make these once and you will never make (or eat)brownies out of a box again.

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened
2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 c unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 tsp pure vanilla)
1 1/2 c flour
Powdered sugar

A couple of notes about the ingredients:

1) Its very important to use really good cocoa. The brownies will taste exactly like the cocoa you use so its worth it to splurge for the good stuff. I like to use Ghirardelli.

 

 

2) Pure vanilla vs. vanilla extract also makes a big difference. I use vanilla that I smuggled out of Belize but I often see Mexican vanilla in the grocery store.

 

 

Essence of the Gods



Beat butter and sugar together.

 

 

 

Add eggs, vanilla, cocoa and beat until combined. Gradually beat in the flour. The batter will get very thick as you add the flour. Finish mixing with a spoon to make sure all of the flour is combined. Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool slightly. Cut into squares and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Pork Spareribs & Sauerkraut

My mother grew up in this house in Rockland County with her 4 siblings, her parents and her grandmother. Quite a lot of mouths to feed !

Lots of memories

My grandparents made sure to spend every dollar they earned wisely; going to multiple markets to get the best deal each weekend and making dishes such as this, which can feed a whole family with just a few inexpensive ingredients.

This is an easy (1-2-3), one-pot dish, ideal for a weeknight meal or any cold winter day.

Ingredients:

2 lb pork spareribs (you could also substitute pork shoulder or kielbasa)

27oz Sauerkraut

1-2 Potatoes (optional)

1) Start by separating the ribs and add them to a large pot.

2)  Cut the potatoes into large chunks and add them to the pot.

3) Add the sauerkraut and simmer on low for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

The pork should be falling off the bone, of course. As you stir the pot, the pork will combine with the kraut giving it a delicious flavor and cutting down on some of its sourness.

Season with salt & pepper and enjoy !

Stuffed Bread

This dish is something my grandfather, Joseph Martorana, used to make and one that my whole family loves. Its great as a light meal or game day snack.

 

 

Ingredients:

16 oz frozen mild pork sausage roll, thawed (Jamestown or Parks brands)

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 loaf fresh Italian bread (not too skinny, not too fat)

1 egg

garlic salt

 

Begin by browning the sausage, breaking it up with the back of a spoon. Transfer to a medium bowl using a slotted spoon and put aside. Reserve a few tablespoons of the remaining oil for later.

 

 

 

Add the onion and celery to the same pan and saute until browned. Add to the bowl containing the sausage.

 

Next, prepare the bread for stuffing. First, cut off both ends of the bread and put aside. Using a long, serrated knife, begin to cut the bread out of the center of the loaf, trying to get as much bread out as possible without compromising the outside. I try to cut out as much as possible and then continue to run the knife up and down the sides, shaving out as much as I can.

 

Holy Bread

 

Break the removed bread into small pieces and add to the sausage mixture along with the egg. Mix until combined.

 

Now stuff the mixture back into the hollowed loaf. Begin by standing the bread on one end and adding the stuffing with a spoon, pushing the mixture down each time. About halfway through, turn the bread over and stuff from the other side. Make sure to pack the stuffing as far down as possible so that it fills the entire length of the loaf. Depending on the size of your loaf, almost all of the mixture should fit. If you have any leftover, you can stuff the ends that you removed earlier and use a toothpick to attach to the rest of the loaf. 

 

Stuffing Position

 

Place the loaf on a baking sheet. Brush the top with the oil reserved from the sausage earlier and sprinkle lightly with garlic salt.

 

Oven-ready

 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes and then cut into 1 inch slices and serve.

 

 

 

 



Friday Sauce (Tomato Sauce with Anchovies)

Being the good Catholics that they were, the Martorana family did not eat meat on Friday's. This abstinence was meant to serve as a form of penance. It was also thought that meat brought about concupiscence or lust and freeing one from that desire, freed one to worship God more freely. Whatever. We still need some sauce !

In lieu of meat, they made this sauce, appropriately called Friday Sauce, with an anchovy base. I assure you, it does NOT taste like anchovies. The fish dissolves giving it a subtle, savory flavor contrasted by the sweetness from some sugar and added texture from a layer of caramelized bread crumbs. A Holy Trinity.

I'm sure my Great-Grandmother Marianna thought she was doing right by her boys by curbing their desires with this dish. It doesn't curb mine because I LOVE it !

(from Left: Benjamin, Francisco, Rosario, Joseph (my Grandfather), Marianna Martorana)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion

1 can flat anchovies in oil

1 can tomato paste
3 c water

1 tbsp + 1/2 c sugar

1/2 c Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

1 lb Rigatoni

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Cut the onion into half-inch pieces and saute until medium-brown (you want to get some color on the onions to really bring out the flavor without burning them).

Coarsely chop the anchovies and add them to the pan along with about half the oil they came in (if you're scared, you can skip the oil). Stir until the anchovies have dissolved, about 2 min.

Onion/Anchovy Slurry

Add the tomato paste plus the 3 cups of water and stir or whisk until all of the paste has distributed.

It will look like tomato soup at this point.



Let come just to a boil and then lower heat and simmer on low, stirring occasionally for 2 hours. Sauce will thicken.

Meanwhile, caramelize the breadcrumbs. In a small pan, melt the butter. Add the breadcrumbs and sugar and stir continuously over medium heat. The breadcrumbs will take about a minute until they start to brown but once they do, they continue to brown very fast. As soon as they are medium brown, immediately pour them into dish. They should look like this:

Now its time to serve. Place a layer of rigatoni on a plate or in a pasta bowl, sprinkle about 2 tbsp of the breadcrumbs over the pasta and top with sauce.

Enjoy ! (but not too much)