Italian Dinner Party

This past Sunday my husband and I hosted a mafia/italian dinner party. It was a lot of fun with a lot of food. I even made cannoli's. Though when i made the filling for the cannolis (i bought the shells) after following the recipe exactly the filling was not stiff and more liquidity. I filled them the best i could and then put them in the freezer to stiffen up and it worked well. They tasted great but if anyone has any ideas as to what to do next time that would be great. What did go over really well were our chanterelle mushroom puffs, mushroom cream sauce for pasta, and home made pesto made from fresh basil from our farm. Recipes are listed below. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Chanterelle puffs ( if you dont have chanterelles you can use other mushrooms like shitake or crimini)

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 pound chanterelles, minced
• 1/2 cup (1 stick ) butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs

Heat the chicken broth in a heavy medium saucepan. Add the chanterelles, butter, and salt and allow to come to a boil. Stir in the flour, mixing constantly until the mixture is smooth and almost leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat. Beat one egg at a time into the mixture. Drop tablespoons of the dough onto a buttered cookie sheet, spacing the spoonfuls about 2 inches apart. Bake in a preheated 450º oven for 15 minutes or until firm and golden. Cool the puffs on a rack.

Pesto Sauce

2 bunches of fresh Basil
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of olive oil
about 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts (can substitute maracona's and/or pistachios)
salt
lemon juice (just at the end)

Very simply put all the ingriedents into a blender and food processor until well blended like a paste. Taste till its at your liking. Add a dash of lemon juice at the end to keep it fresh.

Mushroom cream sauce
about 1 1/2 cups of chopped mushrooms (usually about 1/2 #)
1/3 stick of butter
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of whole milk
1 1/2 tbls flour
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Melt the butter and garlic over med heat. When butter is melted slowly add the mushrooms. When they cook down add the milk and stir. To thicken the sauce add flour. When flour is mixed in add the parmesan. When your sauce is at the consistency and texture to your liking then add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with your favorite pasta and enjoy.

roasting time error

The time to roast the veggies should be 25-30 min. Just test with a fork and if it goes in easily its done. I think its best when it starts to brown on top almost like BBQ.

easy roasted veggies

Roasted Veggies
My husband and I make this at least once a week and its one of my favorites and very easy to do.
The ingredients can vary to your likes and the season.

Ingredients:
small roasting potatoes (if med size just cut in half or in quarters)
4-5 med size carrots cut into small pieces
romanesco cauliflower (or any other type) cut up into small pieces
1 large yellow onion
1-2 cloves of garlic
olive oil (about 1/4 -1/2 cup depending on how much veggies you have)
rosemary and tyme (sage is good too)

Preheat oven to about 350
After rinsing and cutting veggies place them in a large bowl.
Pour in olive oil so it is coating all the vegetables.
Dice up garlic and place in bowl.
Add a sprinkle of rosemary and tyme
Toss all ingredients together so its all coated and mixed in.
Spread onto a baking sheet so nothing is over-lapping.
Bake for about 25-20 min or until soft and crispy. (I like it a bit brown ontop)

It is ready to serve and enjoy
*For a little finishing touch you can sprinkle your favorite type of cheese on top (Gruyere or a sharp goat cheese)

Intro

My name is Alison Peitso and I am married to an organic farmer in southern California. I was raised by parents who always believed in eating healthy and cooking at home. Now that I have a family of my own I have been learning more about eating fresh, local, and organic as much as possible. I work at farmers markets and after talking to customers and other vendors I have learned that its really easy, fun, and most of all healthy to eat and cook with fresh, local ingredients. After viewing the film Food Inc. I was inspired to share my thoughts and ideas about food and try to get the word out there that you can eat well with out spending a lot of money. I created this blog to share some recipes my husband and I come up with at home that are very simple and good as well as to share whats going on in the farming business including local farmers markets. Let me know your thoughts and opinions and if you too have any recipes you would like to share.