My Mother made the best mixed tossed salad and so did my Mother-in-Law. In fact, all the Moms in my family made the same salad. Forget the bottled salad dressings, the mixing bowl and whisk, and the measuring of ingredients! They all would make their salads with a wonderful mixture of salad greens plus top quality extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and toss in additional vegetables or meats to complete the dish.

Their salads would be so fresh and tasty and they never measured or whisked the liquids before adding to the salad. The salad was always made in a large salad bowl that would be passed around the table and as a child I always hoped there would be some left for me when the bowl came around. Everyone loved the salad and it would often be eaten alone or wtih the entrée.

In Mom’s home you would never think of eating salad as a meal. However, today we love having salads for lunch or any time as our main meal. This recipe can be served either way, entrée or side, it all depends on how many ingredients you want to add to the mixture. Their tossing tools were their hands. Get ready for a wonderful salad that you will find easy to prepare. This is dedicated to my wonderful Mom and the world’s best Grandma on Mother’s Day!

Ingredients:

• Any salad greens, alone or a mixture: Romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, Bibb, chicory, arugula, or prepackaged salad greens
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Fresh lemon juice
• Salt
• Black pepper

Additions:

• Cucumbers
• Radishes
• Fresh tomatoes, sliced/cherry/grape
• Onions
• Fresh sliced button mushrooms
• Olives
• Meats and Seafood:
• Tuna
• Shrimp
• Chopped salami
• Cut up turkey breast/chicken breast
• Grilled chicken
• Roast beef
• Cubed ham
• Cheeses: grated parmesan cheese/sliced fresh mozzarella
• Croutons (optional)

Directions:

1. Place salad greens and vegetable additions in large salad bowl.
2. Add meats or seafood if desired.
3. Pour enough olive oil over mixture to coat the greens.
4. Carefully drizzle enough red wine vinegar and lemon juice on salad: enough to taste but not to over power the salad.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and toss with hands till well mixed. Serve cold.

Baked jumbo stuffed shells are a great alternative to serving baked lasagna. You can determine how many servings you will need for your dinner party and not have the worry of baking a huge casserole and having to serve leftovers for days.

With this recipe you can make as many as you want and you can even freeze the unbaked stuffed shells individually for use at a later date and again determine how many you want to bake.

The filling is the same as that used for lasagna, ravioli, and manicotti. I particularly like this dish when preparing a meal for just two. Served with a tossed salad, garlic bread, and a special bottle of red wine it can’t be beat for a romantic dinner for two.

Ingredients:

Serves: 12

• Jumbo pasta shells
• 15-oz container ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tbs chopped Italian parsley
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• Marinara sauce (homemade or store bought) – try my homemade marinara sauce recipe

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. Cook shells in boiling salted water until tender. Do not overcook.
3. Drain shells and place on cookie sheet on a layer of wax paper to keep shells from sticking together.
4. Mix ricotta cheese, egg, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, chopped parsley, salt and pepper.
   
5. Fill shell by tablespoon until it fills shape of shell.
   
6. Coat the bottom of casserole dish with marinara sauce. Use casserole pan that will hold the amount of shells you plan to bake. (9×13 holds 12 or more, 8×8 holds 6 – 8 shells).
7. Lay shells in bottom of casserole dish and do not have them touching.
   
8. Cover shells with marinara sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
9. Cover dish with foil and bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until hot and bubbly.
10. Let casserole sit several minutes before serving.

Directions for freezing shells for baking later:

1. Fill cooked shells and place on a foil lined tray.
2. Do not have shells touching.
3. Cover shells with wax paper and place tray in freezer.
4. When shells are thoroughly frozen place in zip-lock freezer bag and freeze up to 2 months.
   

Baking frozen shells:

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. Place frozen shells in casserole dish coated with sauce.
3. Cover shells with marinara sauce and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
4. Cover casserole with tin foil. Bake 45-50 minutes.

It is amazing to see how many versions of Pasta e Fagioli are printed in cookbooks or on the Internet. I searched many recipes for this delicious Italian traditional dish, but could not find one that was similar to the recipe my Mother made and taught me.

Pasta e Fagioli is Italian for pasta and beans. It can be considered a soup or a stew. It all depends on how much liquid you use. My recipe is more like a stew or as Rachel Ray has coined the expression “stoup”. It’s meatless, quick, hearty, and inexpensive to prepare. How many of you remember Dean Martin singing Amore and the famous lyrics “when the stars make you drool just like pasta fazool”? I guarantee this dish will make you drool! Enjoy.

Ingredients:

Serves: 6

• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 28-oz can crushed Italian tomatoes
• 2 19-oz can cannellini beans (white kidney beans)
• 1/2 lb Ditalini pasta (small tube shaped pasta)
• Olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 2 tbs fresh parsley (flat leaf) chopped
• 2 tbs. fresh basil chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Drain and rinse cannellini beans and set aside.
   
2. Sauté’ minced garlic until translucent. Add crushed red pepper (optional).
3. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, dried oregano, dried basil, fresh parsley, and fresh basil. Stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes until seasonings and tomatoes are well blended. Meanwhile boil a pot of salted water to cook pasta.
4. Cook pasta until al dente and drain.
5. Add pasta and beans to tomatoes and cook additional 10-15 minutes on low.
   
6. Serve pasta e Fagioli hot along with grated parmesan cheese and crusty Italian bread.
   

Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated the next day.

Christmas memories and traditions during the holiday have always meant a lot to me. My family had instilled in me many traditions for Christmas. Naturally, our Italian Catholic heritage plays a big part in these traditions.

We would decorate our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve after all the children were asleep, which meant the tree went up and was decorated very late, practically into the wee small hours of the morning. When the children would awake on Christmas morn they would view with bewilderment a beautiful lighted and decorated evergreen with gift wrapped presents under the tree. Gee, how come they never wondered how Santa had time to do that?

It was a common requirement in Catholic law to abstain from eating meat on Christmas Eve. However, that practice was eliminated in 1983, but many Catholics still practice it today.  Many varieties of fish and pasta are prepared on that day. My two favorites (recipes and videos to follow) are Baccala’ with Tomatoes and Black Olives and Aglio e Olio (Garlic and Oil) which my Mother prepared every Christmas Eve.

These dishes were so special to us; we only had them once a year on that day. The evening meal began with antipasto which included marinated artichoke hearts, sweet roasted peppers, mini mozzarella balls, olives, jumbo shrimp, crab legs and whatever you had on hand to make an attractive, tasty appetizer platter. This was followed by a pasta dish (usually Aglio e Olio) and the third course a fish dish (in some homes 7 types of fish were served) and we would complete the meal with a cup of espresso and Italian pastries.

Baccala is a dried, salted codfish that requires soaking in water for 24 to 48 hours to remove the salt. The water needs to be changed several times during soaking. During my childhood, dried baccala’ was sold as a slab. Mom would purchase the cod at the fish market and soak it for days in a pot and she then changed the water several times to remove the salt. Nowadays, the fish is still dried but is sold in grocery stores in one pound wooden boxes.

The other dish Mom made and which I prepare every Christmas Eve, is Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. Its two main ingredients are garlic and extra virgin olive oil served over pasta, i.e. angel hair, linguine, or spaghetti. Mom added anchovies to the heated oil and for those who hate anchovies believe me you will not recognize the taste. The anchovies fuse with the hot oil thus giving the sauce a nutty flavor. This is the only way I will eat anchovies.

In addition to the anchovies, you can add pignolias (pine nuts), or olive slices, or walnuts. My Mother-in-law who was also of Italian heritage made this identical dish but she added walnuts. It’s a toss-up in our household whether I will add walnuts or not.

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, a Happy and Healthy New Year, and good eats throughout your life!

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

• 1 lb pasta (I prefer angel hair or vermicelli)
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic finely minced or crushed
• 1 can flat  anchovy fillets
• 3/4 cups water
• Coarse ground black pepper
• Red pepper flakes (optional)
• Freshly  grated parmesan cheese (pass separately)

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. While the water is boiling prepare the sauce.
3. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add garlic and heat until garlic turns golden.
4. Add the can of anchovies including the liquid. Add the black pepper (red pepper flakes if desired).
5. Stir until anchovies are dissolved. Do not overcook.
   
6. Carefully and slowly add the water.
7. Set aside.
   
8. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and toss with sauce until well coated.
   

Serve immediately with a good grind of black pepper and pass grated Parmesan cheese at the table.

Baccala with Black Olives and Tomatoes

Serves: 4

• 1 lb (baccala) salted cod filets (sold in wooden box)
• 3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced or crushed
• 1 medium yellow onions sliced
• 1 green bell pepper chopped one inch pieces
• 2 stalks celery sliced one inch pieces
• 1 can large pitted black olives drained
• 2 28-oz can crushed tomatoes (I prefer San Marzano  tomatoes)
• Red pepper flake (optional)
• 1 tbs parsley chopped
• Black pepper
• Salt (only at end if needed)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl cover dried cod completely with cold water. Place bowl in refrigerate and soak for 48 hours, change water at least twice daily.  Taste a small piece after 1 day; if still salty soak one more day. You want it to be pleasantly salty but not overwhelming. Drain and set aside.
   

   

2. Heat oil in large saucepan and add onion, celery and bell pepper. Cook until tender, and then add garlic and black olives. Cook one minute and add tomatoes, black pepper and red pepper flakes (optional).
3. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook about 30 minutes.
4. Add drained cod to sauce and simmer additional 15 to 20 minutes or until fish is tender and heated through.
   

Serve in bowls immediately along with sliced, crusty, and warm Italian bread. Tip: Can be made in advance and reheated.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and do you find yourself going through magazines and television food shows searching for new and different recipes to make for Thanksgiving dinner? Each year I find myself doing just that but in the end I still find myself cooking our traditional favorites.

One recipe which my Mom made every year, and my sister followed the tradition, is her Italian sausage and bread stuffing. Mom always cooked from scratch and I knew my sister made this stuffing every Thanksgiving so when I asked her for the recipe she was happy to pass it on, but her first statement was “I can give you the ingredients and the procedure but the amounts I leave up to you”.

So typical of my family of great cooks, as they ALL cooked from scratch, I figured out the amounts which I will pass on to you, but you do not need to be precise in the amounts as it will be determined by how much bread you start with. I planned this recipe using 8 cups of bread cubed.

Ingredients:

Stuffing for a 12/16 lb. turkey

• 8 cups day old bread cubed (white, whole wheat, Italian)
• 3 or 4 links sweet Italian sausage removed from casing
• 3 stalks celery chopped
• 1 large yellow onion chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley chopped
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 1 1/2 cup chicken broth

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. In a large bowl crumble bread into large cubes and set aside.
   
2. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in large frying pan. Remove casing from sausage and add to frying pan and cook sausage while crumbling with spatula until brown and well cooked. Remove from pan and set aside.
   
3. Add more olive oil to frying pan and sauté chopped celery and onion and cooked until soft.
4. Add sausage and celery and onions to bread cubes and mix well.
   
5. Add salt, pepper and poultry seasoning and mix well.
6. Add mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, parsley, and two beaten eggs to mixture and mix well.
7. Add enough chicken broth to moisten the bread mixture till soft and moist.
8. Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray and place bread stuffing in casserole.
9. Cover casserole with aluminum foil to seal and then cover with casserole lid.
10. Bake in oven along with turkey for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
11. Remove from oven and keep warm until ready to serve.

Note: You can use turkey or chicken Italian sausage as an alternative to reduce the fat.