Corn, Tomato & Basil Salad

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day!

Here at the Jersey Shore, Memorial Day weekend is the official start of summer.

And I am psyched to break out some new summer recipes with you guys.

This one came from my friend Pauline, who got it from her mother-in-law.  I'm not sure where she got it from, so I apologize in advance for not properly crediting the source.  But I had this at their house last summer, and had to get the recipe.  It is super easy, has simple ingredients, and is really refreshing.

In fact, this salad is so delicious that The Mini actually reversed her ban on tomatoes.  Yup - cut up tomatoes were a food I tried early and often, but to no avail until I gave her a bowl of this salad.  I think it's the garlic and basil, which obviously makes everything delicious. (Although now she will even eat tomatoes plain, go figure.)

I can't complain too much though, because she has actually been a great eater for the most part.  I am just crossing my fingers that toddler-hood doesn't ruin that!  I know most kids get more fickle with age, and I was pretty much the poster child of picky.  Family folklore tells me that when I was a baby, I actually ate (and enjoyed!) a wide variety of foods.  My only memory, however, is subsisting on chicken nuggets, yogurt, and mac & cheese for about the next 12 years of my life.

Ugh.

I cringe just thinking about it.  I really don't know how that happened because my parents both love food.... but let's hope we don't repeat that.  Although I'm sure my mom is somewhere chuckling & saying, "Ohh, just wait.  She's only 1 1/2!"

So until then I guess I'll just be happy that we can all enjoy this summer treat together :)

Corn, Tomato & Basil Salad

• 12-oz. bag frozen corn (about 3 cups, or the kernels removed from about 6 cobs)
• 2 T. olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 C. fresh basil, thinly sliced
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 T. white vinegar
• kosher salt & ground pepper, to taste

Season tomatoes with some kosher salt, stir, and set aside in a colander to draw the juices out.  (This is an optional step, it just takes some of the liquid out of your finished salad).

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add minced garlic, and saute about 1 minute - do not brown.  Add corn kernels (still frozen is fine) and saute about 4 minutes, until just cooked through.

Remove pan from heat and add half of the sliced basil.  Season mixture with salt & pepper & transfer to a bowl.  Stir to combine.  Allow to cool slightly, stirring occasionally.  Stir in tomatoes, vinegar, and remaining basil.  Adjust salt & pepper to taste.  Cover & chill 3-8 hours, or can be served immediately.

Family Recipe - Origin Unknown

Grapefruit & Basil Soda

Happy Father's Day to all the papa bears out there! I got to have breakfast with mine and Mr. Vittles (who just celebrated his first, yay!)

Soon we will be leaving for a barbecue to celebrate with my father-in-law.  Didn't get to see my stepdad today but hopefully I'll see him this week.

Hope you all got (or have plans) to celebrate with your favorite dads in your life!

Mr. V and I usually don't get too crazy with the presents, especially now that we're married.  But his first dad's day is a special one, so I thought he deserved something really neat.

It's tough to find gifts for him that do not involve tools (something I know nothing about) or fishing/hockey equipment (something I might know even less than nothing about).  But I do know that he loves Adirondack chairs, and loves rocking chairs, and has been talking about both of them for our deck.

I didn't even know they made this, but I was actually able to find him a rocking, adirondack chair.  How cool is that?

Perfect place to sip a nice, refreshing Grapefruit & Basil Soda this summer!

Grapefruit & Basil Soda

• 1 oz. basil simple syrup (see recipe below)
• 5 oz. plain seltzer
• 3 oz. grapefruit juice (I used the refrigerated, 100% juice but freshly squeezed would be great)

Mix ingredients in a tall glass.  Add ice to fill, and garnish with additional basil leaves if desired.  Serve immediately.  Makes one drink.  **Feel free to experiment with the ratio of ingredients here- I happen to like my soda a bit less sweet than others may enjoy.  You can adjust to your liking.  (Can also add a little vodka or other liquor to make this a tasty "adult" beverage!)

Basil Simple Syrup

• 1 C. water
• 1 C. sugar
• 6 large basil leaves, torn in half horizontally

Place ingredients in small saucepan over high heat.  Bring to a boil, and stir until all sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat, let basil steep until syrup has cooled.  Strain out leaves.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Original Recipe, inspired by Club Monaco's Culture Club Blog

Pasta Caprese

As you all now know, I am a reality TV junkie.

I've seen about 70% of the Bachelor/Bachelorette seasons.  Name a "Real Housewives of..." and I've probably seen it.  Actually, I've watched probably half of the shows on Bravo.

Yikes.

I'm not proud of it, but those are the facts.

One of my favorites is Real Housewives of New Jersey - for the obvious reason, that NJ is my home state.  And as crazy as some of the ladies on there are, I feel like I can relate to them more than any of the other Housewives.

But it worries me sometimes that people get the wrong idea about Italian-Americans... especially ones from Jersey. 

Growing up, I never thought much about it.  But these days, between the housewives, Jersey Shore, and even The Sopranos, I wonder - does the rest of America think we're all crazy, fist-pumping 'guidos' & 'guidettes' with weird accents and an uncle in the Mafia?

I've noticed it becomes much more obvious whenever I leave (what we call around here) the "tri-state area".

I attended college in Florida, and was in for an eye-opener when I got questions like "Oh you're Italian? From Jersey??  Is your family in the mob?"

And my response was usually an extremely confused, "Huh??"  In 18 years, no one had ever asked me that question before.

Then during my senior year, I was standing outside the office of one of my Sociology professors, and she had up a map of the breakdown of most common ancestries in the US, by county.   And I saw that the only counties where Italian ancestry was dominant was a small scattering in the Northeast - mainly New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

So that kind of put things in perspective for me... but it didn't make it any less disconcerting!

My dad's not in the mob.  We don't give people cement shoes to sleep with the fishes.

We don't flip tables at dinner, or start fist-fights at christenings (ahem, Teresa Giudice?)

We don't gel our hair into sharp points, or 'GTL,' or fist-pump to awful dance beats.

At lunch a couple months ago, I was talking to my co-worker & friend Lou (@LouRinaldi) who has pondered this very same issue.  How is being Italian-American perceived by others who don't share this background?  Especially considering the way the culture is portrayed in movies and television?

And how does that affect our own sense of identity in relation to our families & traditions?

He even made what I found to be an extremely interesting mini-documentary about it (shown here courtesy of Current TV).

So naturally Lou was the first person I told when I got an email from Yummly that they were featuring my baked ziti on their blog... in a post that was entitled "The Ultimate 'Jersey Shore' Dinner (After You GTL)," in anticipation of the season premiere of Jersey Shore on MTV.

Ok.  Not that The Best Baked Ziti isn't the perfect recipe to gear up for a night of Snookie & Pauly D.  And I was both flattered & extremely excited that something on V&B was noticed by the writers of Yummly's blog.

But I guess it just caught me a liiiittle by surprise to see V&B and "The Situation" in the same post, especially in light of this recent conversation with Lou.

Then this past weekend, I went to my cousin George's wedding in Connecticut.

Lindsay & George

And let me tell you something.

My family is awesome.

my cousin's fiance, my aunt, my cousin, myself, and my grandmother

The day was filled with laughter, dancing, tons of food, and so much love.

my cousin Sandi's son Dylan

my dad & George

And you know what?  That's what it means to me to be Italian-American.

my cousins & I, May 2008

That... and fresh mozzarella.

What??  I'm just sayin'.

Pasta Caprese

• 1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 t. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 t. minced fresh garlic
• 1 1/2 lbs. grape tomatoes, halved
• 12 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut in 1/2" cubes
• 1 lb. penne or other tubular pasta (I like to use whole wheat)
• 1/4 C. chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 t. to 1 t. sugar (depending on how sweet your tomatoes are)
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Whisk oil, lemon juice, garlic, 1/2 t. salt, and 1/4 t. pepper in large bowl.  Add tomatoes and gently toss to combine; set aside.  (Do not marinate tomatoes longer than 45 minutes).

While tomatoes are marinating, bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a stockpot.  Add 1 T. salt and pasta, stir to separate, and cook until al dente.  Drain well.

While pasta is cooking, place mozzarella cubes on a large plate or platter, and freeze until slightly firm (about 10 minutes).

Add sugar, partially-frozen mozzarella, and pasta to bowl with tomato mixture and gently toss to combine.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Stir in basil and sugar, and adjust seasonings with salt, pepper and sugar.  Serve immediately.  Serves 4-6.

Recipe Slightly Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

The Best Baked Ziti

Being from an Italian-American family, I've both made and eaten a lot of baked ziti in my day.

Now, don't tell my grandma - but I have honestly never had it taste this good before!

I always enjoyed baked ziti, but let's be honest - it's usually nothing special.

Half the time it comes out kind of mushy and grainy, and the pasta sucks up all the sauce.  Or I've also had the opposite happen, where it comes out way too soupy and the mixture never sets.

Grr.

Now the method below requires a little more work than your typical baked ziti, but it avoids all of the above problems... so it's totally worth it.

What's worse than putting in all this effort, then taking that first spoonful out of the pan only to realize it didn't come out the way you were hoping?

Yeeaah.

Been there, hated that.

So... trust me on this one?

I know.  It's hard.  The cottage cheese weirded me out too.  But seriously, just give it a try.

Mr. Vittles could not tell that there was cottage cheese in this, and you won't be able to either.  I promise.

Just do me one favor, ok?

Don't use crappy tomato sauce.  You'll be sorry.

And then you'll complain to me that this doesn't taste any good, and you'll think it's the cottage cheese that you SWORE was a weird idea, when the truth is that nothing can ruin a dish like this quicker than God-awful tomato sauce.

So just don't do it.

Spend the extra couple bucks on a good brand with simple ingredients, or better yet - make your own!

The Best Baked Ziti

• 16 oz. whole wheat ziti (or any other tubular pasta, such as penne)
• 2 C. small-curd, lowfat cottage cheese
• 2 eggs (or 1/2 C. egg replacement)
• 1/2 C. freshly shredded parmesan or romano cheese, divided
• 3 1/2 C. tomato sauce, divided (I used this recipe, but cut the crushed red pepper in half)
• 3/4 t. cornstarch
• 1/2 t. garlic powder
• 1/4 C. heavy cream
• 3/4 C. lowfat or whole milk
• 1 1/2 C. freshly grated mozzarella cheese, divided
• 2 T. chopped, fresh basil
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Combine cottage cheese, eggs, and 1/4 C. parmesan cheese in a small bowl.  Set aside.  Grease a 13x9 baking pan and set that aside as well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook only 5 or 6 minutes. (You want it to half-cook now, and do the rest of the cooking in the oven.  This prevents it from getting mushy.)

Drain pasta in colander, and return now-empty pot to stove over medium-low to medium heat.  Add cornstarch, garlic powder, cream, and milk.  Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes.

Remove cream sauce from heat, and add cottage cheese mixture along with 1 C. tomato sauce and 1 C. mozzarella cheese.  Stir to combine, then add pasta.  Stir to coat thoroughly with the sauce.

Transfer pasta to prepared baking dish, and spread evenly in dish.  Pour remaining 2 1/2 C. tomato sauce over top, and spread in even layer.  Sprinkle chopped basil, freshly ground pepper, and remaining 1/4 C. parmesan over the top.  Then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 C. mozzarella (feel free to use more if you like it super cheesy!)

Cover dish tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and take foil off top of dish.  Bake an additional 15 minutes uncovered, then remove from oven and serve.

Recipe Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Strawberry Basil Mojito... and a giveaway!

*The giveaway has now ended.

I was contacted a couple weeks ago by the publisher of a book entitled DIY Cocktails: A Simple Guide to Creating Your Own Signature Drinks, asking if I would be interested in reviewing it for my blog.

(PS I know there are many bloggers out there whose in-boxes are brimming with emails like this, but me... not so much.)

I responded, "Sounds great, I will give my honest opinion though - if you're still interested, here's my address."

And... then I ever heard back.

So imagine my surprise when I get home from work on Friday evening to find a copy of the book on my doorstep!

Which was extra great because as I've said before, I'm not much of a drinker - so if I'm gonna do it, 95% of the time it's on the weekend.

Saturday afternoon I thumbed through, checking out all the photos and recipe titles, and the Strawberry Basil Mojito jumped out at me.  (Much like coconut and chocolate peanut butter, you can always entice me with a recipe that has fresh strawberries.)

The recipe definitely did not disappoint, and honestly neither did the book.  What I like about it is the fact that along with the recipe they give you the ratio of ingredients that should be in the drink- like '3 parts strong, 2 parts sweet, 1 part sour' etc.

This is an especially handy tool for people (i.e. me) who need Cocktails for Dummies because they have no idea what goes well with what.

For this one I just followed the recipe exactly as it was printed, but it's nice to have the option to customize your beverage with different ingredients using the ratios as a guide.

Hence the name "DIY Cocktails" I suppose?  (Ah ha!)

I also specifically looked up Sangria, another of my favorite adult beverages, and they have a lot of tips for putting flavors together.

All in all... this Cocktail Dummy gives the book two thumbs up.

So while I was feeling sassy on mojitos, I decided it would be fun to do a giveaway of the book (sponsored by yours truly by the way - I'm just barely cool enough to get one copy of the book for free so let's not push it.)

If you are interested in entering the giveaway, please leave me a comment below telling me your favorite cocktail... and make sure you leave me a way to contact you if it's not in your Google profile!

To get extra entries, you can also:

• become a follower of V&B, and leave me another comment telling me you became one or you already are
• follow Vittles & Bits on Twitter and leave me a comment that you did or that you're already doing so
• "like" Vittles & Bits on Facebook and leave me a comment that you did or that you're already a fan
  
  

You'll get one entry for each of the above.  I will choose the winning comment randomly - which means Pam you can enter the giveaway too (that's my mother-in-law :).  The giveaway ends this Sunday, May 15 at noon, EST and I'll announce the winner later that day.

So get to it.

And if you're not interested in entering, I'm not hatin' ... but give the Strawberry Basil Mojito a try anywho.  It has fruit & green things in it so technically it's good for you.

At least that's what I like to tell myself?

Strawberry Basil Mojito

• 3 basil leaves, torn
• 3 small strawberries, sliced
• 1 1/2 oz. white rum
• 1 oz. simple syrup (see note below)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice (from 1/2 medium lime)
• 4 oz. club soda

Muddle basil, strawberries, and simple syrup at the bottom of a highball or Collins glass.  Add rum and lime juice, then fill with ice.  Top off with club soda.

*To make a simple syrup, you can place 1 part sugar with 1 part water in jar or coverable bottle and shake vigorously until sugar is dissolved.  If making in advance, you can also boil water, then add sugar & simmer until dissolved.

Recipe from DIY Cocktails, by Marcia Simmons & Jonas Halpren

Note: While I did receive a copy of the book, I did not receive any other compensation to write this post- the opinions are my own.

Lighter Chicken Parmesan

So the good news is my surgery went fine and I have not had any complications.

The bad news is, I am already going crazy and I still have weeks left to go!

I had a double bunionectomy, to remove the bones on the sides my feet ... you may have already noticed this problem on the post about Greek Panzanella Salad when I showed you the tattoo Mr. V gave me?

I knew that the surgery was going to be painful and that recovery was going to be a very slow process.   And it will totally be worth it in the end when I am walking around pain-free.

But right now is pretty miserable.

As anything in life, though, it has its good & bad points.  Let's review the pros & cons:

These are my feet right now, and it's NOT cool.

AHH.

Food-wise it actually hasn't been bad so far, because my dad & mother-in-law were kind enough to make us some home-cooked meals.  But now that we're getting down to pizza, tacos, and frozen foods things should get interesting.  Maybe Mr. Vittles will be more appreciative of the things I do now that he has to take care of me!

But since you are presumably not hampered by mummified feet & velcro boat shoes, I think you should make this chicken parm & enjoy it in my honor!  I picked a light recipe in anticipation of some New Year's resolutions you may have  :)

Lighter Chicken Parmesan

• 1 1/2 C. panko bread crumbs
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 oz. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup), plus extra for serving
• 1/2 C. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 t. garlic powder
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 T. water
• cooking spray
• 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 oz. each), trimmed of excess fat & sliced into cutlets
• 2 C. tomato sauce, warmed 
• 3 oz. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 T. minced fresh basil

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 475 degrees. Combine the bread crumbs and oil in a 12-inch skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Spread the bread crumbs in a shallow dish and cool slightly; when cool, stir in the Parmesan.

In a second shallow dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together. In a third shallow dish, whisk the egg whites and water together.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, place a wire rack on top, and spray the rack with vegetable oil spray.

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the cutlets in the flour, shaking off the excess, then dip into the egg whites, and finally coat with the bread crumbs.  Press on the bread crumbs to make sure they adhere. Lay the chicken on the wire rack.

Spray the tops of the chicken with vegetable oil spray. Bake until the meat is no longer pink in the center and feels firm when pressed with a finger, about 15 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the sauce onto the center of each cutlet and top the sauce with 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella. Return the chicken to the oven and continue to bake until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil and serve, passing the remaining sauce and Parmesan separately.

Makes 6 1-piece servings.  Cal 310; Fat 8 g; Sat fat 2.5 g; Chol 75 mg; Carb 20 g; Protein 38 g; Fiber 1 g; Sodium 790 mg

Recipe from Cooks Illustrated

Three Cheese Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna

Tonight was one of those nights where I looked in the fridge & realized I had a multiple things open that were about to go bad.

More specifically, I had roasted red peppers and ricotta that needed to be used STAT.  I also had some provolone on it's last legs.  And last week I noticed a package of no-boil lasagna noodles hiding in the back of a cabinet that were only half-used.

From, oh, a year or so ago.

I guess it doesn't matter?  But still, they are taking up precious storage space in my cabinets.

Hmm... what to do, what to do.

Clearly all signs were pointing to red pepper lasagna.  So I decided to wing it and see what I came up with.

The results were pretty stellar, if I do say so myself.  Super cheesy and a little zippier than your usual lasagna thanks to the roasted red peppers.

I was wondering if Mr. V would notice anything different, but I just asked my usual "How is it?"

"Good."  Pause.  "Really good."  Longer pause.  "What's in it? Jalapenos?"

Which of course cracked me up, but I guess he was on the right track.  He said it tasted "way better than regular lasagna, which is usually really boring."

Maybe it's the Italian in me, but I love when I find new ways to get the V Man to enjoy pasta :)

Three Cheese Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna

• 1 C. roasted red peppers
• 1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
• 8-10 fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 t. onion powder
• 1 t. minced garlic
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 C. ricotta cheese
• 1 C. grated mozzarella, divided
• 8 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 8 slices provolone cheese
• 4 T. freshly shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In blender or food processor, pulse red peppers, sauce, basil leaves, onion powder, garlic & black pepper briefly until red peppers are pureed & leaves are chopped throughout sauce.  Set aside.

In small bowl, combine ricotta and 1/2 C. mozzarella (reserve other 1/2 cup).

Lightly grease a 2-quart square baking dish with non-stick spray, and pour 1/2 C. of the red pepper sauce on the bottom of dish.  Top with two of the noodles, side by side, so bottom of pan is covered.  Then layer ingredients as follows:

-spread half the ricotta mixture over the noodles
-top with 2 T. parmesan cheese
-pour 1 C. red pepper sauce on top
-place 4 slices provolone
-place two more noodles on top
-remaining half of ricotta mixture
-two more noodles
-4 slices provolone
-two more noodles
-the rest of the red pepper sauce
-sprinkle with other 2 T. parmesan
-sprinkle with reserved 1/2 C. mozzarella

Cover dish tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes.  Then remove from oven & let stand 15 minutes before serving. 


Original Recipe