October 23rd, 2022

Delaware Cooks, Family & Friends Fall Feast, Delaware Beaches, Who is Joe Tuna?

“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.

Aboutmybeaches is on Facebook and on Instagram. Check it out.

January 26th, 2015

Meatless Any Day! Spinach Gratin, Casserole, Easy, Recipes Begged, Borrowed & Stolen….Gluten Free, Delaware Beaches Eat!

Meatless recipe….but the day is perfect for a nice hot chili!!

This recipe is totally stolen.  Cannot take any credit for it.  It is a recipe from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa.  It comes out so good and it can be served by itself, or, as a side dish for meat, chicken or fish.  I have served it with a Turducken and I just served it for Christmas Eve dinner with my small standing rib roast from Hickman’s in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Spinach Gratin and sliced tomatoes on the side…yummy!  It is by no means a low fat, low cal recipe but some adjustments can be made….substitute the butter for something lighter.  The heavy cream can be half and half, and the milk can be low fat, as well.

SPINACH GRATIN

4 tablsps. usalted butter

4  cups yellow onions, chopped

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp nutmeg, grated (I used ground)

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups milk

5 10-ounce packages of frozen spinach, defrosted

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon Kosher salt (optional)

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until translucent.  About 10 minutes.  Add the flour and nutmeg and cook stirring for a few more minutes, making a roux.  Add the cream and milk and cook until thickened.

Squeeze as much liquid as you can from the defrosted spinach.  Add the spinach to the sauce.  Then, add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and mix it well.  Season with salt and pepper if you want to.

Transfer the spinach to a baking dish, 9 x 13, and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 Parmesan and the Gruyere on top.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Serve and enjoy!!

I made this recipe gluten free.  Please grate your cheeses to make sure there are no additives containing gluten.