For the Love of Cooking

What can you use Roasted Garlic for!

2009-06-03T07:00:00.011-04:00

Roasted garlic: Their are many uses for roasted garlic. It makes a wonderful spread. You can add it to any cream sauces. Use it as a rub for chicken or beef before baking or grilling. Add it to salad dressings. You can make a pesto with it by mixing basil, flat leaf parsley, olive and Kosher salt, roasted garlic, then add it to spaghetti. I will have this recipe available on Thursday. (Spaghetti, oil and garlic).

Home made Tomato Sauce

2009-05-26T17:54:00.007-04:00

We had some friends over for a dinner cooking party and we were making Stromboli. I always keep homemade tomato sauce in the freezer and I wanted to serve some with the Stromboli. I gave everyone their own bowl of sauce. We were all just about done eating when one of our friends said, I am so full. I can't hardly swallow but I’m still eating this sauce as if it were soup.

Braising meat and Deglazing a pan

2009-05-26T17:53:00.002-04:00

I like the way I braise meat. Its a great way to add extra flavor to the meet and get a great broth. Braising….take a roast, trim and cube. Put it in a frying pan with 2 tablespoons of oil. Fry on both sides. Add 1/2 cup of water and reduce down until the meat starts to fry. Let meat fry for a couple of minutes so you get a good dark brown coating on the bottom of the pan. Add ½ cup of water to deglaze the pan. Repeat the process at least three times. Final step is adding 1 cup of water to the meat, cover and slowly simmer for 20 minutes. I use this technique to make pulled beef or park. At this point the meat should be very tender and fall apart. If it’s not falling apart add another cup of water, cover and simmer for an additional 20 minutes. When removing the meat from the pan make sure you deglaze the pan with an additional 1/2 cup of water if necessary and save the broth. This can also be very successful on pork.

A little something about me.

2009-05-12T17:20:00.010-04:00

Hi,

I am Italian and the second generation born in the United States. Typically Italian mothers teach their children how to cook at a very young age. My mother would always have her daughters and son right there helping with dinners and huge holiday meals, and huge holiday meals they were!

My Mother always cooked everything from scratch. Unlike today where you can find so many conveniences that make cooking and the preparation process much easier. Example: For tomato sauce my mother used fresh grown tomatoes for her sauce. Today, I use caned tomato sauce, tomato paste and tomato puree. I have tested these two sauces side by side and I have to say, they are very close in taste and texture.

In my early twenties I opened the doors to an Italian restaurant and Pizzeria. I prepared wonderful homemade dinners and had a great catering business. After being in business for seven years I had gotten a divorce from my business partner. At that point I came to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to get out of the restaurant business.

After the restaurant business I pursued other business endeavors. Through my endeavors I met my husband (Chief) He was a Chief in the Coast Guard. Shortly after we met we were married and he swooped me up and took me 3000 miles away from my hometown. We decided that after the Chief’s four-year tour in the Bay area we would go back home to Florida. 4 years later that is exactly what we did.