NEW – Tips for the perfect Pot Roast!

Wondering how to make the perfect pot roast? Look no further, as my friend and blogging partner offers up some fantastic suggestions! Enjoy….

I often get questions from readers on how to make a large pot roast that is not dry and tasteless. I am here to tell you that it is not as difficult as you think to make a juicy, tender roast, out of an otherwise tough piece of beef! The secret is good seasoning and slow cooking.

Here’s my tips:

(DISCLAIMER: I do NOT use specific measurements and directions. The fact that I am Italian is enough of an explanation for that. If you can’t handle my style of cooking, then I sincerely apologize, and feel very badly for your pot roast.)

Start with a seasoning rub that you will coat your roast in. I prefer using a variety of chopped FRESH herbs like thyme, basil, parsley, rosemary, etc. I mix all the herbs with EXTRA VIRGIN Olive Oil and KOSHER SALT and cracked black pepper. Don’t skimp on the olive oil and the be sure to use the Kosher salt, it just dissolves so well and adds such amazing flavor. And DON’T forget the minced garlic!

Coat the meat with this mixture and broil it in the oven until you have a nice brown crust on it. Put in your meat thermometer (You’re gonna want to invest in one of these, they are pretty awesome!) Then turn the temperature down to 250 degrees and bake until your meat has reached an internal temperature of 130 degrees for rare-medium rare. You may cook it until it reaches a higher temperature for a more well done roast.

I personally, just keep watching my meat thermometer until its ready. But as a guideline – you could estimate somewhere around 20-30 minutes per pound of meat. But that is ONLY a guideline!

When you take your roast out of the oven, LET IT SIT! This is a good chance to work on your patience for about 20 minutes:) If you do not follow this step, you WILL end up with a dry roast. When it cooks in the oven, all of the juices travel to the center of the meat. If you cut it right away, you would be losing all this goodness! So let it sit, let the juices redistribute, and you’re golden!

The only other advice I can give you for achieving the perfect mouth-watering roast is to serve it with some mascarpone mashed potatoes. Then, my friends, you’ve got the perfect meal.

Buon Appetito!
Una Mamma Italiano

NEW – Grilled Chicken Breast stuffed with Crab Meat

This dish is a two-for-one special. The seasoned chicken breasts and the crab meat filling are delicious stand-alone recipes. Other options for the crab meat filling are stuffing it in flounder or tomatoes, or serving it up with crackers as a dip. Honestly, I probably ate half of the crab meat filling alone while gazing out my kitchen window, waiting for my grill to heat up.

Yet the taste of the seasoned chicken with the crab meat filling gives you the best of both worlds. Enjoy!

GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST STUFFED WITH CRAB MEAT

4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
8 oz. canned crabmeat*
1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Old Bay Seasoning to taste

Heat butter in a pan until melted. Add onions and celery; heat until soft. Add crab meat, wine and lemon juice; stir. Add breadcrumbs; stir. When warmed, remove from heat, place crab meat filling in a bowl; set aside.

Butterfly cut** the chicken breasts, fill with crab meat filling, fold closed and secure with tooth picks.

Drizzle both sides of chicken breasts with olive oil, then season with salt, pepper and Old Bay seasoning (eyeball seasoning to your liking).

Heat grill to medium-high heat. Spray grill grates with cooking spray to avoid sticking. Place chicken breasts on grill, close lid. Flip every so often until chicken breasts are completely cooked on all sides and throughout, approximately 15-20 minutes.

Serves well with grilled asparagus and a glass of Pinot Grigio.

*I suggest buying the large, 16-oz cans of crab meat that are located in the seafood section of your supermarket. While they can be a bit pricey at times, they are packed with 100% crab meat. The smaller cans that are found near the cans of tuna are packed with about 1/3 water, so you are getting your money’s worth with the larger cans. You will use 1/2 of a can for this recipe.

**To butterfly cut the chicken breasts means to slice the breast open horizontally, almost but not completely through, so you can fold the two pieces open. For specific instructions on how to butterfly a chicken breast, click here.

NEW: Shepherd’s Pie Italiano

Ciao, fellow foodies. Our goal with “The Mamma meets the Cucina” is to keep the Italian recipes and traditions going in future generations of our now American families. We’ve got the rich heritage, but unfortunately, not many of us have real live nonne and small Italian village marketplaces at our fingertips. That’s why there’s “The Mamma meets the Cucina!”

So, we decided to kick off with a recipe that puts an Italian twist on an American classic – Shepherd’s Pie Italiano! Shepherds pie is one of those comfort foods…well, to me, Italian food is ALWAYS comfort food! It makes you feel warm and fuzzy (wait – maybe thats the vino…?) In any case, a hearty meal like this really makes me think of my grandparents and great grandparents. Before they came to America, they ate regionally. By this I mean that they ate whatever foods naturally grew in the climate and soil of their small towns. (Here, I must give a shout out to Guardia Lombardi – my grandparent’s small, small, small town near the tip of the boot) They lived off their land and used those regional ingredients to come up with such amazing dishes. To them it was peasant food – to us, it’s a delicacy hard to find in the states.

I always say – until I retire and move my family into our Italian villa on the Amalfi coast, the burden rests on me and my generation (as usual) to let these traditional style recipes live on in the future. It gives us a link to our past; it acts as a tribute to our ancestors; it keeps us hungry for more… (there’s gonna be a lot of that around here!)

So with an Italian touch, we turned a bunch of meat in a pie shell into a rich, hearty Italian sausage scallopini casserole type thing with a polenta topping! A regular old peasant dish, right?! Tell me your mouth is not watering already? Watch as Chef Condo reveals his Cucina secrets play-by-play for all of you paisans out there….

SHEPHERD’S PIE ITALIANO

For this recipe, I’m taking the traditional Shepherd’s Pie (beef and vegetables in a brown gravy topped with a mashed potato crust) and am adding an Italian spin to it. I’m talking sausage scallopini topped with polenta.

This dish is done in three stages:
Stage One – the scallopini
Stage Two – the polenta
Stage Three – combining and baking the two to make the pie

The scallopini (stage one) can be done ahead of time and refrigerated (up to a day). There is a lot of natural flavor coming from the garlic, onions, peppers, mushrooms and sausage, so you don’t have to season much at all. I added a bit of black pepper and some Italian seasonings, and did not use salt at all. You can season to your liking.

The polenta (stage two) requires some time and effort. There’s only four major ingredients (water, cornmeal, salt, parmesan cheese – I also added a bouillon cube for extra flavoring), but you have to be committed for 20 solid minutes of continuous stirring. Otherwise you risk burning the polenta or having it turn out lumpy. You want a nice, smooth texture What I suggest is to get yourself into a zone. Create a relaxed and happy atmosphere to help those minutes just breeze by. Throw on your favorite CD (my go-to is either the Best of Dean Martin or Dave Brubeck’s Time Out), pour a glass of wine and have at it. You’ll reap the rewards, I promise you!

Stage three is the easy part. Pour the scallopini mixture into a medium baking dish, spread the just-done polenta on top, and let it bake for 20-25 minutes. You can hit it under the broiler for a minute or so to crisp up the polenta, if you like. Let sit and cool for a few minutes before serving.

1 lb. ground sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
2 tblspn olive oil (plus more if needed)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 portabella mushroom cap, chopped
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
fresh ground black pepper
Italian seasoning
1 cup corn meal
3 cups water
1 tspn salt
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan on medium-high heat, add garlic, heat for one minute. Add ground sausage, breaking up in pan, stir occasionally. When sausage is evenly browned, add onion and peppers, stir. Add mushrooms, stir. When peppers and onions become crisp-tender, add tomato sauce. Season with some fresh ground pepper and Italian seasoning (adjust seasoning to your liking). Stir, cover and simmer on medium-low for about 20-25 minutes, until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside (you can prepare the scallopini portion earlier in the day and refrigerate to save time).

In a large sauce pan, place three cups water and bouillon cube, add salt, bring to a boil. Lower water to medium-low. Slowly add cornmeal a little at a time to water, stirring as you add. Do not add cornmeal all at once, or else it will clump. Stir cornmeal into water continuously for 20 minutes. You have to keep up with the stirring to avoid the polenta mixture from burning. About mid-way through, add parmesan cheese, continuing to stir. After 20 minutes, remove from heat.

Pour scallopini mix into a mid-size baking dish. Scoop polenta mixture on top and smooth out (like a cake frosting) to completely cover scallopini. Bake in oven uncovered at 350º for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven, let sit for a few minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Grilled Tilapia Tacos

Is it Memorial Day weekend again? Already? I hate to use the old cliché that time flies…but slap a Superman cape on the clock! The good news is that it’s officially grilling season. I use ‘officially’ lightly, as I have many friends who are die-hard, year-long grill masters.

I am sure that many of you are planning a cook-out at some point this weekend. If so, try to think beyond the old standbye burger and dog. Yes, they are great on the grill and one of the best summer traditions, but don’t be afraid to have some fun. If you look at some of my posts from last year, you’ll find some good suggestions that have become grill-out staples for me.

For this season, my first grill-out suggestion is a fun, yet very healthy dish: grilled tilapia tacos. Tilapia is a very delicate and flaky white fish, with a very mild, not-so-fishy taste. It’s also inexpensive. Because tilapia will flake when cooked, you can risk having it fall apart while removing it from the grill. I suggest grilling it in an aluminum foil pouch. The foil pouch will allow the flavors of any seasonings to marry together, and will also help retain the moisture, so the fish will not be dried out. No flipping necessary.

I recommend using soft corn tortillas, quickly heated up on both sides on the grill. For toppings, fresh cole slaw mix works best. You get a variety of veggies that are nicely shredded and add a delicious crunch. I also recommend adding a drizzle of a nice citrus based dressing, salsa (I have a go-to pineapple salsa that is killer for this!) or a bottled marinade (garlic-lime or tequila lime marinade would work well). Top with a bit of fresh cut mango, and you’re all set.

Disclaimer – steel drum band music not included

Happy summer!

GRILLED TILAPIA TACOS

4 pieces tilapia
2 lemons, sliced and zested
olive oil
sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
corn tortilla shells
1 bag shredded cole slaw mix (found in the bagged lettuce section of your grocery store)
Your choice of citrus based marinade, salsa or dressing
1 mango, cut into small cubes.

Place one piece of uncooked tilapia on a piece of aluminum foil twice the size of the fillet, drizzle with olive oil and season with some sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and lemon zest, top with a slice or two of fresh lemon. Fold the foil over and seal edges with a double fold. Repeat with remaining pieces of tilapia. Place the pouches on direct, medium-high heat for approximately 10-12 minutes.

After you remove the foil pouch, be very careful when opening it. Lots of steam will escape. DIscard the lemon slices, remove the fish and flake it up with a fork, then place it on a dish for serving.

Meanwhile, quickly heat the corn tortillas on the grill just until the get warm. If they stay on too long, they will not fold properly.

Layer the tortilla shells with some tilapia, a bit of cole slaw mix, top with a drizzle of your marinade preference, add a few pieces of mango. Fold up and enjoy.