“If you think big, then it’s going to be big.” Emeril Lagasse
Meet Chef Joe Tuna. He is everything you would think a chef should be; bigger than life. A New Yorker, direct, funny, and he came to his sister and brother-in-law’s house to spend the weekend and cook for eight of us. Wait a minute, we did help.
As I was saying…Benedette surrendered her clean kitchen, Jeff was the Sous Chef, I brought a Spinach Gratin, and followed directions on how to take food photos and how to sprinkle parsley on a plate to make it presentable. I had never done anything like that ?
It was a gorgeous day in Delmarva so here is what we had.
We could have fed an army.
First things first…A good chef travels with his kitchen arsenal.
Appetizers:
Clams stuffed with clams and crabmeat. Spinach Pie.
I truly love Grilled Octopus. Joe Tuna did a fantastic job. Off the grill and into our mouths.
The Homemade Fetuccini with shrimp and grape tomatoes was a combined effort, making that day that contraption to dry the noodles.
Joe Tuna cooked and I tasted.
Doesn’t that parsley look amazing on the plate? I thought you would like it.
Now that we had the appetizers out of the way, we took like a half hour break where we talked, well, Joe did, cracked jokes but not for long. There was still some eating to do.
Main Course:
The Brisket with a peppery rub. Perfectly cooked.
My contribution of the Spinach Gratin.
Collard Greens which are a specialty of Jeff’s with ham and bacon.
A sweet ending to this feast was a Pumpkin Pie which everyone raved about courtesy of Jeanette and Jeff (not sure how much Jeff contributed?)??
What can I say? In our blessings before dinner we all thanked for the ability to share a meal together. That’s what’s important.
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It is formed into large blocks, and aged in brine. Its flavor is tangy and salty. It ranges from mild to sharp. I am talking about Feta Cheese.
A friend sent me a recipe that she had not made but a friend had and fell in love with it. It is a baked Feta pasta. I made it last night. Never knew that Feta could melt this way.
I made the recipe just like it was supposed to be made. It is probably going to be my summer go to recipe. Very easy.
Check this out: BAKE FETA PASTA
8 ounce block of feta cheese. Buy the block and not the crumbled feta
1 1/2 pounds cherry or grape tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine. It is optional but I used it.
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes. That gives it a little bit of heat so you may use 1/4 tsp if that is a concern.
8 ounces uncooked pasta of your choice. The recipe showed a short pasta which I think will be better for this recipe. I bought a pasta from a company I had never used. It turned out great. Can’t turn the photo around so sorry for that but you can see it, right?
3 large cloves of garlic, pressed or minced. I was at Fresh Market in Rehoboth Beach and got already roasted garlic which I proceeded to chop.
1 large handful fresh baby spinach. Take stems out.
1 cup loosely-packed chopped fresh basil
shaved or grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Make the Feta sauce by placing the block of feta in the center of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan or other baking pan. I had a round baking pan. Arrange the tomatoes around the feta, then drizzle everything evenly with the olive oil and white wine. Give the ingredients a brief toss so that they are evenly coated in oil. Sprinkle the crushed red pepper flakes evenly over the feta, and season just the tomatoes with a pinch of salt and black pepper.
Bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes. You want to see the tomatoes burst and are nice and juicy.
Cook the pasta about 10 minutes before the Feta and tomatoes are done. Use a nice large stockpot and salt the water generously. You want the pasta to be shy of al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water and set it aside for later, then drain the pasta.
Remove the baking dish from the oven and immediately add the garlic and basil and stir the mixture together until the feta has melted into a creamy sauce. And, it will.
Add in the cooked pasta and spinach and gently toss until the pasta is evenly coated and the spinach has begun to wilt. If by any chance the sauce seems too dry, add in some of the reserved starchy water. Not much until it reaches the desired consistency. Mine was fine but I was ready to add the water and even some white wine if needed.
You can taste and season but I don’t think you need to add anything else.
Serve it warm and if you want you can garnish with the Parmesan cheese.
This recipe is a keeper. Enjoy it and make it your own.
Have a great week-end.
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The easy entertaining time of the year is about to arrive. Barbecuing, outdoor dinners, backyard entertaining. Something easy is what calls for summer.
I love the name of this recipe. Peacock Vegetables. It is a recipe from 2002 and I have made it a lot. It is so simple. Vegetables and the rest you have in your pantry already.
Pre heat oven to 425 degrees
2 purple onions, cut into eighths
2 small yellow squash, cut in 1/2″ strips
2 small zucchini, cut in 1/2″ strips
1 each red, yellow and green bell pepper, cut in 1/2″ strips
4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley ( I like Italian)
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp dried oregano or 3 tbsp. fresh oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Place onion, squash, bell peppers and garlic in a bowl and toss well.
Combine remaining ingredients in a lidded jar and shake well. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss.
Spoon into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
The photo above is before going into the oven.
Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
I served these veggies with my Cornish Game Hens, whose post was right here on March 28th.
Goes well with everything. Great tasting too.
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