It’s Nigiri! It’s Maki! No, it’s…Antipasti?!?

It’s almost New Year’s Eve! If you’re hosting a party, this means you’ve got to upgrade your appetizers—your taco dip may be delicious, but it doesn’t quite go with the gallons of champagne you’re bound to pour. Special holidays call for dishes that are unique and presented with some flair!

Try my twist on the traditional antipasti platter, where rich cheese, prosciutto, and roasted red peppers and eggplant are shaped and formed into Roasted Eggplant and Prosciutto "Maki" rolls and Roasted Red Pepper "Nigiri." Perfect for a festive occasion, these delightful nibbles will certainly surprise your guests!

To save time on party day, prepare the cheese blend and roast the peppers and the eggplants in advance.


Cheese Blend for Antipasti “Sushi”

15 oz. / 425 g. whole milk ricotta, drained
8 oz. / 225 g. mozzarella, finely diced (pieces should be about the size of rice grains)
1 small clove garlic, pressed
1 t. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch dried oregano

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well so that the garlic is evenly blended throughout. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate until ready to use.


Roasted Eggplant

1 t. salt
1 t. dried oregano
½ t. freshly ground black pepper, fine grind
1 small eggplant, sliced lengthwise into ½” slices

Combine the salt, dried oregano, and pepper in a small bowl and set aside. Lay the eggplant on a wire rack, and sprinkle with the seasoning. Rub the seasoning into the eggplant slices.

Preheat the oven’s broiler. In the meantime, line a baking sheet with foil and place the wire rack with the eggplant on top of the foil. When the oven is ready, place the eggplant under the broiler and broil for 5-7 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool until ready to use.


Roasted Red Peppers

2 red bell peppers*, cored and sliced lengthwise at natural rib

Preheat the broiler on high. Arrange the peppers on a baking sheet covered in foil (this makes clean-up much easier). Put the peppers under the broiler for 5-10 minutes, or until the peppers' skins have turned black and charred.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Using tongs, place the roasted peppers in a bowl. Cover the bowl and let the peppers cool.

Once peppers have cooled, gently peel off the charred skin and discard skin. The peppers are now ready to use.

* For this recipe, use the boxiest, most evenly square-shaped peppers you can find


Roasted Eggplant and Prosciutto “Maki”

Roasted eggplant, as prepared above
4 oz. / 115 g. prosciutto, very thinly sliced
Cheese blend, as prepared above

Prepare the eggplant by slicing lengthwise into thin batons, then slicing in half crosswise so that the batons are about as long as the prosciutto’s width. Set aside.

Lay a slice of prosciutto on your work surface. Heap a spoonful or two of the cheese blend onto about half of the prosciutto and spread until it is about ¼” thick. Place 2-3 eggplant batons about an inch in (see photo below), and roll up.

Using a sharp knife, slice each roll in half (see photo below), then trim the ends so that they will lay flat on a serving tray.

Repeat with the remaining eggplant, prosciutto, and cheese.

* Nutritional info per piece: 58 calories, 4 g fat, 2.7 g carbohydrates, 4.7 g protein.


Roasted Red Pepper “Nigiri”

Roasted red peppers, as prepared above
Cheese blend, as prepared above

Slice the roasted red peppers into rectangles, approximately 1 x 2.5 inches.

Place 2 heaping spoonfuls of the cheese blend into your hands and shape into pieces that are about an inch thick, and inch wide, and 2 inches long. Handle the cheese as little as possible, as the warmth of your hands will cause the cheese to soften.

Place a red pepper slice on the shaped cheese piece. Repeat with the remaining peppers and cheese.

* Nutritional info per piece: 97 calories, 7 g fat, 1.7 g carbohydrates, 6 g protein.

Nothing on my "To-Do" List But Eating, Drinking, and Relaxing!

Peter Gibbons, my hero!
taken from examiner.com

It’s not very often that I find myself able to simply sit down, relax, and watch a movie. All too frequently, my free time is spent at the gym, in the kitchen, or locked in my room furiously scribbling away thoughts and stories in any one of a dozen active notebooks. But on Friday night, after a jam-packed week at the office, I treated myself to a night of nothing.


Once the work day was finally done, I bolted out the door, scrambling to get to Salumeria Italiana before close. I made it in time and filled my basket with an assortment of goodies, including burrata and taleggio cheeses, farro pasta, and a jar of eucalyptus honey produced by Alce Nero, a group of organic farmers based in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region. Somehow I resisted the salumi counter―no small feat, considering what a rare occurrence it is for me to leave this shop without at least a few strips of their 24-month prosciutto.

Treats in tow, I rounded the corner onto Hanover Street, on my way to The Wine Bottega, where the team was pouring French, Italian, and Portuguese wines from Oz Wine Co., a Massachusetts-based importer of organic/biodynamic/sustainable wines. I left with two wines: an Aglianico-based red from Campania featured in the Oz array, and a recommended Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that I passed on my way to the cash register but couldn’t pass up when I saw that it was only $12.00.

Next stop? Mercato del Mare, because a food-gathering excursion to the North End that doesn’t include oysters is like a martini without an olive. I left with 6 Onset oysters from Buzzards Bay, MA, as well as a half-pound of local cod and inspiration for an interesting mignonette (recipe below).

Finally home!  I changed into pajamas, uncorked the Montepulciano, threw “What About Bob?” in the DVD player, shucked my oysters, plated my cheeses, kicked up my feet, sipped my wine, and basked in the glory of doing nothing. It was everything I thought it could be!



Curry Mignonette for Oysters

1 t. malt vinegar
1 T. mild white vinegar
1-2 drops vanilla extract
Dash hot curry powder

Stir the ingredients together in a small bowl; use a few drops to season oysters on the half-shell.


 

Onset oyster, Buzzards Bay, MA

 

Onset oyster with Curry Mignonette



Burrata - Cow's Milk; Puglia, Italy

Taleggio - Cow's Milk; Lombardy, Italy - drizzled with Alce Nero Eucalyptus Honey

Risotto Primavera

Ahh, spring!  It's been on deck for weeks, but I feel like it's finally official.  Time to open the windows and take the chance that it won't snow if I take my warmest coat to the dry cleaner.  Time to start asking bartenders if they have Sam Summer on tap.  Time to revel in the fact that both hockey and baseball are on TV!

The most wonderful aspect of spring is that everything seems to be coming back to life.  The world is waking up and beginning to bloom.  The Italians celebrate the vernal equinox by cooking pasta primavera, a dish encompassing the crisp, bright flavors of young vegetables at their peak in the springtime, seasoned with a bit of garlic and parmesan.  This weekend, I took the idea of primavera and stirred it into a great risotto.  Try this recipe when spring's bounty is at its best!

Risotto Primavera
1 T. butter
1 shallot, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup white wine
1 small clove garlic, halved
1 T. chervil
1 T. very finely minced sun-dried tomato
4 cups chicken broth, heated
1 cup each:
    -ham or canadian bacon, cut into 1/4" dice
    -sliced blanched green beans
    -sliced blanched asparagus spears
    -sliced green onion
    -artichoke hearts (don't use the kind with seasoning added)
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
handful chopped mint
salt and pepper to taste
sprigs of fresh mint, for garnish

In a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the shallot and arborio rice, stirring until the shallot has softened up a bit.  Now, add the lemon juice, white wine, garlic, chervil, and sun-dried tomato.  Bring to a boil, stirring intermittently, then reduce the heat to low.  Continue to stir until all the liquid has been absorbed. 

Next, add a half cup of the warmed chicken broth.  Again, stir until the liquid has been absorbed.  Repeat this with 3 out of 4 cups of the chicken broth. 

Now, add the final cup of the chicken broth, along with the ham, green beans, asparagus, green onion, and artichoke hearts.  Stir as you did in the previous step, until all the liquid has been absorbed. 

Finally, add the swiss cheese, mint, salt and pepper.  Stir until the cheese is melted and well-blended.  Serve hot, garnished with sprigs of fresh mint.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye Like A Big Pizza Pie, That's A Dinner...

Pizza Night!  I perfected last weekend's dismal yet edible ranch pizza, and I also decided to make a 2nd pie topped with figs, shredded prosciutto, and smoked mozzarella.  Yes, I made two trips to the store, and yes, both were worth it! 

I do have my mom's recipe for pizza dough, but when you're in a hurry and haven't planned in advance, Whole Foods sells pre-made dough.  Each 1lb. package will make two 12-inch pies.  You can buy it fresh or frozen, but honestly, if you're going to wait for frozen you might as well make your own.  You can cook the pizzas on a cookie sheet, or you can buy a pizza pan with holes in the bottom, which will help you achieve a more evenly cooked crust. 

Ranch Pizza
1/2lb. pizza dough
cornmeal
2-4T. ranch dressing
1-2c. shredded mozzarella
4-6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
6 thin slices fresh tomato

Preheat oven to 465.  Stretch the dough out so that it forms a thin circle.  Sprinkle cornmeal on the bottom of the baking dish, then place the dough on the cornmeal, stretching it thin to create an approximately 12" diameter crust.  Brush the uncooked crust with the ranch dressing, then top with the shredded mozzarella, bacon crumbles, and tomato slices.

Bake the pizza for 14-16 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden.  When it is done, remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, then slice into six slices so that each slice contains one tomato.  Enjoy! 

Fig, Prosciutto, and Smoked Mozzarella Pizza
1/2lb. pizza dough
cornmeal
olive oil
1c. smoked mozzarella
4 slices prosciutto, shredded or sliced into 1/4" strips
3 fresh figs, each cut lengthwise into four slices, as shown

Prepare the pizza dough as directed in the Ranch Pizza recipe.  Brush the uncooked crust with a thin coat of olive oil, then top with the smoked mozzarella and shredded prosciutto.  Next, arrange the fig slices in a decorative pattern, either as shown in picture, or create your own.  It should look like an edible kaleidoscope.




Bake the pizza as directed above, and once it is cooked, slice into 6 pieces so that each slice contains two figs. 

When making pizzas, the possibilities are endless.  If you have leftover roasted garlic, combine it with some olive oil to form a paste and top with a mixture of Italian cheeses.  Roasted red peppers would go well with  mozzarella, mild Italian sausage crumbles and chopped parsley.  Try olive oil, gorgonzola crumbles, thinly sliced ham, and fresh sage leaves. 

What do you put on your pizzas?  Contact me at baconbutterbooze@gmail.com and share some of your favorite toppings and combinations!