Creamy Orecchiette with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil and Garlic!

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I've fallen in love with a married man!  Well, not really with HIM, but rather with the authentic Italian recipes that he prepares, as well as his TV show, Dolce Vita, filmed in Tuscany!  I'm talking about my obsession with the cooking methods of David Rocco, a Canadian-Italian who now lives with his young family in Italy.  David takes us on his escapades throughout Italy alongside some of his crazy Italian friends, and always speaks to them in Italian . . . he speaks in English during the cooking portions of the show.  The only other celebrity Italian chef that even comes close to this level of authenticity of actually filming in Italy in all of it's food culture is Lidia Bastianich; but even Lidia films the cooking portion of the show in her kitchen here in the States.

Finally, after waiting for six months, his first cookbook that parallels the television show is once again available on the market.  I just received it last week and couldn't put it down!  I have also pre-ordered his second cookbook which will be out this fall sometime.

So what to prepare for dinner today?  How about a new recipe that I can use up some of the baskets of cherry tomatoes that we harvest every morning?  I have a great recipe for roasted cherry tomatoes that has been prepared with positive reviews, Sweet Cherry Tomato Basil Pesto Sauce on Farfalle Pasta, but I'm always wanting to try something new.  Flipping through the Rocco cookbook, I found this recipe for orecchiette (little ears) pasta in a smooth, creamy, velvety cheese sauce.  I tweaked it quite a bit because Bill and I found it to be just a little too bland for our taste buds.  I doubled the tomatoes, added lots of garlic, and replaced the cilantro with basil from my garden.  It is simply delicious!  I highly recommend this recipe for all of you pasta and tomato lovers!

Creamy Orecchiette with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, and Garlic
(very adapted from David Rocco's Dolce Vita)

1 lb. box Orecchiette pasta
4 Tbsp. olive oil
40 cherry tomatoes, washed, cut into halves (David Rocco used only 20 tomatoes)
2 - 3 large garlic cloves, minced (my addition)
30 leaves fresh basil, chopped (my addition, David Rocco used cilantro)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of the saved pasta cooking water
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (my addition)
salt and pepper to taste

Boil a large pot of water.
Add a few tablespoons of salt.
Cook the orecchiette for about 9 minutes, just before the 'al dente' stage is achieved.
Drain pasta and reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.
While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan.
Add the cherry tomatoes to the oil and cook for a few minutes (3 - 5 minutes).
Add the minced garlic.
Add the chopped basil.
Add the pasta and ricotta.
Add the red pepper flakes
Use some of the saved pasta cooking water to make the mixture a little more creamy.
Blend everything well until the sauce is creamy and smooth.
Serve immediately.

Below is a glimpse of the beautiful bake ware from Lydia Bastianich.  

Gorgeous, huh?

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Stuffed Tomatoes with Spinach, Basil and Six Italian Cheeses!

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Pomodori!  Tomatoes!   With the heat we've had, an early harvest of these large red orbs signals the time to begin using them in delicious summertime recipes.  The perfect round shape of several varieties this year inspired me to bake them with a cheesy, spinach-basil, garlic-y filling.  These stuffed tomatoes are simple, flavorful and can be a delightful luncheon entree or a superb accompaniment to an omelette, frittata, or grilled entree!

Below is shown the stuffed tomatoes before baking in a muffin pan to help them stay upright during baking.

Stuffed Tomates with Spinach, Basil, and Six Cheeses
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1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach
2 tsp. "Better Than Bouillon" chicken base or 2 chicken bouillon cubes
salt
5 large tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 cup shredded 6-blend Italian cheese
1/2 cup diced onion
15 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 jumbo egg
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. freshly grated pepper
1/4 tsp. sea salt
Freshly grated parmesan cheese.
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Prepare spinach according to package instructions with the chicken bouillon added in.
When cool, squeeze all of the liquid out of the spinach.
Cut about 1/4th to 1/3rd of the tomato out of the inside.
Sprinkle salt on the tops of the tomatoes.
On a paper towel, place the tomatoes upside-down to drain liquid.
In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, spinach, cheeses, onion, basil, egg, garlic, salt and pepper.
Blend well.
In a muffin pan, place the tomatoes.
Top each with a heaping mound of the spinach-cheese mixture.
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes on 350 degrees or until the spinach has a golden brown edge on top.

Stuffed Tomates with Spinach, Basil, and Six Italian Blend of Cheeses

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Fresh Food Friday and Seasonal Saturday!

Welcome back to another delicious showcase of recipes and gardening tips that some of the best food bloggers are sharing during this fine first week of Summer, 2011!  The recipes and photos are always so amazing!  Kudos to all of you and your culinary talent!  I always come away with so many new ideas and inspiration from each of you who share the fruits of your loving labor here on Fresh Food Friday and Seasonal Saturday!  I hope that you do too!

Just look at these beautiful Featured Posts from last week!  

click on 'read more' beneath my signature below to read all of the Featured and shared posts from last week!



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Fresh Blackberry Cobbler with Sweet, Tender Biscuits!

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The local Farmers' Market is where you can find my husband and me on the weekends.  This is fun and recreation to me, as it is to most foodies!  There was so much fresh produce and so many local farmers to select from that we didn't know where to start and/or stop!  Even sweet corn and watermelons were ripe and for sale which I'm not used to seeing in June!  Southerners are so fortunate to be able to have two growing seasons in spring, summer, and fall versus the North where fruit and veggies ripen so much later and only one crop is harvested due to a shorter season.

First stop:  just-picked-from-the tree peaches!  They weren't the cling-free or freestone variety that we prefer (will be ready in a few more weeks), but the young lady said to me, "Just take a bite and taste how sweet these are!"  No problem-o!  She was so right; and that one bite compelled us to buy a small bushel.

Next I picked out some cucumbers, then beets, and green onions the size of golf balls.  We didn't plant any of these in our garden, so into the basket they went.  But the best of all were the gigantic, nearly 1-1/2 inch long, fresh, glimmering blackberries.  After all it is fruit cobbler season, and I just couldn't resist them!  Bill reminded me that we don't have that much room left in our refrigerator and to buy only what I was going to use right away.  He's a good control feature when we're in the market.

Here's a cobbler recipe that can be used for any fruit.  The cobbler topping is delicate, tender, sweet, and cream-based -- in other words, there is no shortening in these cobbler biscuits, thus creating a more light and tender topping.  I found the base recipe years ago in a old, classic Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and tweaked it a little bit through the years.  I don't use either lemon zest or juice with blackberries because they won't brown like apples or peaches, and they tend to be sour with the addition of lemon.  If you use apples or peaches, then I do recommend the addition of some lemon juice.  If you use cherries, than adding almond extract is a must for us.  Make any changes that you prefer as well to call it your own!  That's part of the fun of baking and cooking!

Juices of the blackberries dripping over the baking pan and under the golden cobbler topping.

See what I mean about how huge these berries are?

Fresh Blackberry Cobbler with Sweet, Tender Biscuits

Blackberry Mixture:

4 cups berries, rinsed and drained

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch (or tapioca if you prefer)

Sweet Cobbler Biscuit Topping:

2 cups all-purpose flour

6 - 10 Tbsp. sugar (taste to get to the sweetness you prefer & we like ours on the sweeter side)

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

6 Tbsp. cold butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 beaten eggs

extra sugar to sprinkle on top

In a large mixing bowl, gently blend the blackberries with sugar and cornstarch/tapioca.
In another large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Cut the butter into the flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a separate bowl, combine heavy cream with the beaten eggs.

Add the cream-egg mixture to the flour-butter mixture.

Stir just to moisten; do not over stir.

Pour berry mixture into a baking dish.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes to get the berries partially cooked and thickened.  This prevents the biscuits from absorbing the juice before they're fully baked.

Remove the hot berries from the oven and spoon cobbler biscuits on top in nice-sized mounds.

Sprinkle the biscuits liberally with sugar.

Turn the oven temperature down to 375 degrees and bake for another 20 - 30 minutes on the lowest rack to prevent the biscuit topping from burning.  

** You want the biscuits to cook completely and slowly, so check on this when you pull out the cobbler.  If the bottoms of the biscuits are not cooked enough, place it back in the oven to cook for another 10 minutes and check again.

** Also note that the juices will continue to thicken up by the next day.

Serve with your favorite ice cream!

Vanilla ice cream melting and oozing into the warm berries . . . time to dig in!

Blackberry Cobbler with Sweet, Tender Biscuits

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Fresh, Sweet Strawberry Ice Cream

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Yes, another recipe for ice cream in the world of food this month . . . and yes, it IS strawberry!  I don't know what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but it is a whopping 98 degrees today with a sticky 93% level of humidity.  So what do we do in the South to endure these scorching temps?

• Well, Bill and I don't have a pool to jump into to cool off (but he has promised that when we win the lottery, I get my dream pool)!  
• It's too hot to go out on the lake, even to sit in the shade (just ask the fish!).
• And I don't run through yard sprinklers anymore (maybe I should!).

So the next best thing for the two of us to do in this heat, is to relax indoors with something chilly and cold!  What better thing to enjoy than fresh, homemade ice cream!
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It's Father's Day and food is what my husband craves!  Bill is a crazy, almost maniac, ice-cream-loving guy. Not one day goes by in this house that he doesn't have a bite of ice cream!   And his very favorite flavor of all is simply strawberry . . . nothing fancy at all . . . just good, old-fashioned, plain strawberry ice cream.

So two years ago for Father's Day, it was a no-brainer for what I chose to give him for a gift - - his very own automatic ice cream maker/machine. You may have read in other posts that I'm a brand loyal Cuisinart fan. I've just never been disappointed with Cuisinart ever since my very first Cuisinart food processor that I bought in 1979 that I still use to this day. Last year there was even a more powerful, almost commercial-level Cuisinart ice cream maker placed on the market, but it commands a price well over $200 which is far too steep for our budget.
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Making fresh, home-made ice cream is just one of the easiest things to prepare now that we have these automatic gadgets.  Simply gather up all of your ingredients, do a little mashing/pureeing tango dance with your immersion blender (which we lovingly call our 'boat motor'), pour everything into the pre-frozen container, flip the switch and let it whirl!  After a half hour, put the ice cream into the freezer to harden further if you so desire.  If you like soft ice cream, then you'll be thrilled with the half hour results.  It's just a little too runny for us, but I'm sure that it would be great over a simple pound cake or angel food cake.

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The strawberry season was very early this year due to high temperatures in the spring, but still graced us with lovely, huge berries. They grew bigger this year because of the slower speed in which they grew compared to last year.

You can tell that someone went nuts at the berry farm purchasing strawberries, but I'm a freezing, put-up, canning maniac and love to buy produce in season, only to be able to enjoy them throughout the year from the freezer or the jar.

Here is a simple recipe that we use, and as I said, it is pure and simple. I hope you enjoy this cold, creamy treat on a hot summer day!


Fresh, Home-Made Strawberry Ice Cream

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3 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced

4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1-1/2 cup sugar, divided

1-1/4 cups whole milk

2-3/4 cups heavy cream

1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

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In a small bowl, combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the sugar.

Stir gently and allow the strawberries to macerate in the juices for 2 hours.

Strain the berries, reserving juices.

Mash or purée half the berries.

In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and remaining granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in the heavy cream, reserved strawberry juice, mashed strawberries, and vanilla.

Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Five minutes before mixing is completed, add the reserved sliced strawberries and let mix in completely.
The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture.
If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours.

Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Gently wash the strawberries.

Remove the green stems from the clean strawberries and remove any bruised areas.

Slice the strawberries to your desired thickness.

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Pour all of the ingredients into an electric, automatic ice cream maker (this is my beloved Cuisinart).

Be on the look out for hungry, strawberry lovin' golden retrievers hanging out in the kitchen. "Buckeye" and "Abby" are being so polite and patiently waiting. They know they'd be in big trouble if they ever took something off my table . . . they have superb manners, and very begging eyes, huh?

One last peek at a perfect and beautiful strawberry! Just amazing!
Hope you are able to make some home-made, cold, creamy goodness this summer! M-mmmm!


Fresh, Sweet Strawberry Ice Cream

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Roasted Garden Vegetables with Garlic and Rosemary!

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I've always thought it would be so wonderful to live like people in Italy, India, and Thailand, where one visits the local fresh markets in the morning to see what is being offered by the various food vendors.  This traditional, cultural experience influences what one will prepare for that day's meal by what is available in the market.

The only thing fresher than a local or farmers' market is to take a stroll through your own garden and harvest what is ready to use that day  . . . and that's just what I did yesterday!  I just love going out to my vegetable gardens that are right next to my kitchen.  All I have to do is walk out the side door with a basket and a pair of clippers and I'm able to return with nature's freshness to cook with!  It's such a rewarding feeling!  And I always, ALWAYS think about about my grandparents and great-grandparents who were avid gardeners whenever I'm in the garden!

Currently, my bell peppers are growing very well, so I knew I needed to include red, green, and orange bell peppers in a side dish.  The herbs are going strong and so something from that garden bed could join in for added flavor.  I already had on hand some new baby red potatoes, a red onion, and garlic (purchased from the local farmers' market).

A cookbook or a recipe is not always referred to in my Italian family.  The cooks in my family, more often than not, cook and add ingredients as they go.  With that said, I poured some olive oil into a large mixing bowl . . . about 2 Tbsp.  Into the olive oil went two very huge minced cloves of garlic and I gave it a whirl.  Then I cut up the red potatoes into wedges and threw them into the olive oil - garlic mixture, stirring so that they were all evenly covered with oil and garlic.   Then I added the chopped peppers and onions.  Finally, I tossed in about 3 Tbsp. freshly snipped, and finely chopped rosemary.  Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper were sprinkled liberally all over these ingredients.

After tossing well, I just placed everything in a medium-sized baking dish and baked them in the oven for about 40 minutes on 375 degrees.  To brown the potatoes, the oven was switched to "Broil" for about 5 - 10 more minutes, with a constant eye on things so that they wouldn't burn and to pull the baking dish out of the oven and toss everything around once to brown everything evenly.

A colorful mixture of the fresh veggies before baking in the oven.

.Golden brown and ready to enjoy!

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Roasted Garden Vegetables with Garlic and Rosemary

2 Tbsp. olive oil 
2 very huge, minced cloves of garlic
10 - 15 red potatoes, cut into wedges
1 each of green, red, and orange bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, cut into small 1/2" pieces
1/2 an onion (I used red simply because that's what I had on hand), chopped
3 Tbsp. freshly snipped, and finely chopped rosemary
Generously amounts of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

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Place oil and garlic in a large mixing bowl.
Toss in all of the ingredients and mix well for everything to be thoroughly covered with oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper.
Put everything in a medium baking dish.
Bake on 375 degrees for 40 minutes, or until a fork can easily be inserted.
Turn oven to "Broil", with a watchful eye, brown the veggies for about 5 - 10 minutes, stirring once, and then brown for another 5 - 10 minutes.  
Do not let these burn under the broiler.

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Serve warm and enjoy your fresh bounty!


Roasted Garden Vegetables with Garlic and Rosemary

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Seasonal Saturday and Fresh Food Friday!

Summer is flying by and there's so much fresh produce available right now.  What a fun time to cook, bake, grill, and preserve!  I'm lovin' it!  It's also the end of the week and time to come together to share ANY post, no matter when you published it, related to food and gardening.  We've developed quite a friendly and consistent circle of friends who love to share about what they have enjoyed making in their beloved kitchens!  If I haven't thanked you yet, please know that I truly am grateful for your blog friendship and participation in this weekly party!

Please use the URL address of your blog post and not your blog in general.
To be considered for one of the featured blog posts, you need to have either the button/badge to this get-together and/or a linky with 'la bella vita's Fresh Food Friday' shared in your post.

Thanks for your kindness!  You are so appreciated; may God bless!

And now here are the featured posts from last week!  Enjoy!

This beautiful Triple Berry Pound Cake is from Claudia of "What's Cooking Italian Style?"  What a treasure of a cake from Claudia's grandmother!

Jane from "Cottage at the Crossroads" brought her fresh Zucchini Fritters!  Can't wait until the zuk's are ripe so that I can fry up some of these guys!

Oh my what a treat that Misty from "Bake Me Away" shared with us!  A freshly baked Rhubarb Cake with Warm Butter Sauce!  Oh my gosh, I know what I can now bake with all of my rhubarb growing out of control!

And just take a look at this gorgeous Lemon Tart with Fresh Raspberries, Blueberries, and Blackberries from Gloria of "Canela's Kitchen"!

And lastly, Miz Helen of "Miz Helen's Country Cottage" shared her gorgeous Roasted Chicken with us . . . looks so juicy and delish!

For those of you who were featured last week and this week, please GRAB THE NEW "I'VE BEEN FEATURED" button and post it on your blog.


<a href="http://bellavita-bellasblog.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i432.photobucket.com/albums/qq47/bellavitaspix/freshfoodfeatured.png" /></a>
 

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Almost Wordless Wednesday on the Acreage!

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The first bountiful harvest of a variety of bell peppers!

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Ooey, Gooey Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp or Topping

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The rhubarb hasn't stopped producing large quantities of huge, tall stalks!  I think I'm going to have to resort to freezing and canning whatever is left rather than continually preparing another dessert (which my waistline cannot handle).  When I freeze rhubarb I simply fall these easy instructions {link}.  But if dessert with rhubarb is what you're craving, then here is a sweet and savory treat blended with fresh strawberries!  Some people call it a crisp, but to my husband and me, it is more of an ooey, gooey topping.  If you like it a bit more tart, than add another cup of diced rhubarb.

Oh yes, the ice cream IS melting!  After all, it's a mere 92 degrees today and we still haven't officially begun summer.  Stay cool, my friends!

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Believe it or not, that's a bedding (above) of composted horse manure that rhubarb thrives on!  If you let your horse manure set for one year it won't burn your plants, nor will it smell (too badly).

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I love taking my harvesting basket out to the garden in the cool morning when the mocking birds and cardinals are singing to pick whatever is currently ripe and ready to enjoy!

A variety of rhubarb's pretty pink, ruby red and lime green colors!

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Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp/Topping

5 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
4 cups rhubarb, diced
1 cup sugar
5 Tbsp. flour

1 - 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup cold butter

Add diced rhubarb to the sliced strawberries.
Add sugar and flour and gently blend well.
Spread this mixture into a 9 X 13" baking pan.
In a medium-sized bowl, blend together the oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Add the butter in with a pastry cutter.
Layer this topping mixture evenly over the strawberries and rhubarb.
Bake at 375 for 40 minutes, until crisp, golden brown and bubbly.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!!!

Yum-alicious!!


For more extensive information on Rhubarb from plant varieties, to planting, to harvesting, to recipes . . . check out this great web-site:  http://www.rhubarb-central.com/index.html


Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Topping

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