Blog – Chef Philomena

Shepherds Pie

Few dishes say warm comfort food like Shepherds Pie. It’s easy, delicious, and a welcome friend at the table during these cold weeks of February. Traditionally made with lamb, I prefer ground beef, if you like lamb ( I don’t) you can certainly use it.

I start by sauteing 1 small white or yellow onion chopped, and 1 medium carrot, chopped in about 3 T olive oil. Cook for about 10 minutes. To that, I add 1&1/2 lbs of lean ground beef, add 2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and a pinch of dried thyme. Stir well for about 8 minutes. Add 1 T Worcestershire, 3 cloves minced garlic ( I use my frozen garlic cubes) 2 T flour, 2 T tomato paste. Mix together well until flour is incorporated and no clumps remain. Add 1 C beef broth and 1 1/2 C frozen peas. Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Set mixture aside and preheat oven to 400.

For the mashed potatoes I use about 1 1/2 lbs russet potatoes, I stick butter, 2-3 cloves minced garlic, 4 ounces of cream cheese, 1 C grated parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste. TIP: If you are using fresh garlic I recommend roasting the garlic in some foil in the oven first. The frozen cubes work well too. Whip until smooth and creamy.

Add meat mixture to a casserole dish, I use one of my deep glass pie dishes, round, square doesn’t matter. With a spatula spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the meat mixture. Bake uncovered 35-40 minutes. I then turn on the broiler for just a quick minute to get that golden crust. This dish is a total crowd pleaser and is even better the next day for leftovers!

Creamy Potato Soup (with no cream)

This is my wife’s favorite of all the soups that I make. It’s also one of the easiest and is one of the soups we especially love in these chilly Fall and Winter months. I have also discovered that this soup goes particularly well with Bourbon……but that’s another story! The best thing about this soup is that I cut the calories without compromising the taste but simply omit the cream and use an immersion blender instead. If you do not have one of these wonderful tools, get one it will change your life!

First I dice about 4 slices of thick peppery bacon and add it to my pot and cook until the bacon is crisp. Remove bacon and set aside. I leave about 1 T of the bacon fat and add 2 T butter. Once the butter is melted add 3-4 leeks that have been cleaned, trimmed, and chopped. Keep your heat low so as not to burn the leeks. Add about 2 lbs of Yukon Gold potatoes that have been roughly chopped and 6-7 C of chicken or vegetable stock. Season with salt & pepper and add 2 bay leaves and bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat to low, simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove the bay leaves and puree the soup with an immersion blender. If soup is too thin, simmer longer, if too thick add more stock or water. Once the desired consistency is achieved you can add a bit of cream but trust me it’s not necessary.

Serve with bacon bits and chives or scallions and for an extra treat some shredded smoked gouda. I highly recommend serving this with some fresh rosemary bread and sweet butter, divine!

One Pot Roasted Tomato, Orzo and Feta

So it’s no secret that I love roasted/blistered tomatoes. I made this recipe as a main course but it can also be a great side dish. The orzo cooks right in the sauce which makes it a simple and minimal clean-up. I used my cast-iron dish skillet for this.

Chop 1 medium onion and add it to your skillet with about 3 Tbs olive oil, add a bit of salt and pepper. Cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes. To this, I added 2 pints of cherry tomatoes, one yellow, one red, and 4 cloves of garlic. Cook until the tomatoes have completely collapsed and add 2 Tbs of sweet balsamic vinegar and 1 Tbs of tomato paste. Stir and let cook for about a minute more then add 2&1/2 C water or stock and bring to a simmer. Add 1&1/4 C orzo and about 1/2 tsp salt stir and turn the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 12 minutes, stir and scrape the bottom of the pan, the pasta will begin to look creamy (if you need to you can add 1/2 C more water or stock) Once orzo is done add some crumbled feta, toasted pine nuts, and chopped basil. I added a pinch of crushed red pepper for a little extra kick!

Eggplant Parmesan

My wife tells me that I am “picky” picky about my groceries, picky about restaurants on that rare occasion that we eat out, and picky about how things are prepared. Well after over 30 years in the food business, I reserve the right to be picky and I am very picky about my eggplant parm! So I have a bit of love, hate relationship with this dish. I love to eat it but I hate making it! But there are just those times when a girl is craving her own fabulous eggplant and I have to make it. I tend to make it in small batches because it is such a pain (unless you have a kitchen pal to help). I never order it when I go out because ultimately I am highly disappointed, too thick, too slimy, the sauce is watery, and way too much gloppy cheese on the top. I like it thin, crisp, and not over cheesed. As with most dishes I make, I do not have a recipe but rather a process that I will happily share with you.

The Sauce: Check out my blog post of April 13 and you will find Classic Marinara, not my recipe but always the one I use. For eggplant, I usually at least double if not triple it because eggplant takes a lot of sauce. And you simply cannot ever have too much red sauce!

The Slicing: Using a very sharp serrated knife I slice the eggplant very thin, I do have a great slicer but it lives in the basement and I’m usually too lazy to bring it up! I layer the eggplant on a sheet pan lined with paper towels and liberally salt it. I usually weigh it down with another sheet pan, (you don’t have to do this) a little side note here: this process was taught to me by my lifelong bestie Donna Parisi Etkin’s mom, Bert Parisi. Mrs. P made the best eggplant parm ever and she swore this was her secret! The combo of salt and pressure “sweats” or takes a lot of the moisture out of the eggplant, making it way crispier. I let the eggplant sit for at least a couple of hours, I have even left it overnight and fried it in the morning.

The Batter & Frying: For this, I use the traditional egg wash and breadcrumbs, I like to make my own bread crumbs but store-bought will certainly do. I like the finer breadcrumbs because they seem to adhere to the eggplant better. I also season my breadcrumbs with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and grated cheese. The oil needs to be hot and I “flash fry” on each side just to get a little color, then drain excess oil on a paper towel.

The Layering: I begin with sauce, a layer of eggplant, and then I sprinkle with a mixture of parmesan and romano cheeses, repeat until all eggplant is layered, top with more sauce and cheese. No gloppy mozzarella for me! Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes.

Favorite Summer Salads

In my house, summer means no inside oven if I can possibly help it. These last few days have been just so hot and sticky so I thought I would share one of my favorite go-to summer salads. This salad is super simple and delicious and requires little time. As a kid this bread and tomato salad was a staple for us, we always had a ton of tomatoes in the garden and the stale bread drawer was always full of crusty bread that is perfect for this!

Panzanella is a Tuscan chopped salad of soaked stale bread, onions, and tomatoes that is popular in the summer. It often includes cucumbers, sometimes basil, and is dressed with olive oil and vinegar. For the bread part, I like to use crusty Italian.

2-3 large ripe tomatoes cut into cubes ( I like to use Heirlooms if available but any large sweet tomato will do)

1 yellow and 1 orange bell pepper cut into cubes

1/2 red onion sliced thin

1 medium cucumber sliced into chunks

1/2 C kalamata olives (capers are also a nice addition)

2 C cubed Italian or another crusty bread preferably a bit stale ( Perrecas works perfectly for this) sorry if you’re not local!

I also add fresh chopped basil and parsley which right now are on steroids in my little garden.

Toss everything into a bowl and drizzle with 1/2 c olive oil and about 1/4 C of vinegar, either red wine or balsamic

Salt and pepper to taste Side note: I am hooked on the olive oil from Fred the Butcher, it is their brand pressed in Italy and bottled and sold here and is some of the best and sweetest I have ever had!

Lemon Lover Greek Chicken & Potatoes

If I had to choose a favorite cuisine besides Italian it would definitely be Greek. I love the savory spices and the constant infusion of lemon in the Greek dishes. One of my favorite dishes in Greek restaurants is roast chicken and potatoes. In this house, we are lemon lovers, and any recipe that uses lemons is usually a staple around here. We even tried to grow our own lemon tree but being the plant killers that we are well….. When I visit my friends on the West Coast and see bounties of citrus growing outside their windows I am highly envious and I start plucking them off the trees like a crazy woman it’s like Christmas morning for a chef to see all that beautiful citrus fruit just hanging there waiting to be plucked! This recipe is not only delicious but it’s a one-pan endeavor, add a salad (greek of course) or a vegetable and you have a perfect yet simple meal.

I start with 21/2 lbs chicken, a mixture of white and dark meat, bone-in skin on, in 1/2 C olive oil, 3 Tbs of lemon zest, 1/2 C lemon juice, 6 cloves garlic, 1 Tbs of oregano, 1 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp paprika, and 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper. Let chicken marinate in the mixture for about 2 hours. In the meantime peel about 1 1/2 lbs potatoes, and slice into wedges. I like to use yellow potatoes for this dish. Pour chicken with marinade into a roasting pan, add the potatoes and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 425 for 40 minutes. Uncover pan and spoon juices over chicken and potatoes, add lemon slices and about 1/2 C green & black olives, pitted. Bake for an additional 25 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley and just because I’m a lemon freak, I add a hand full of lemon zest.

I like to grill some flatbread and serve with Tzatziki

Tzatziki Recipe:

2 cups grated cucumber (no need to peel or seed the cucumber first, grate on the large holes of your box grater)
1 ½ cups plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint and/or dill
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 medium clove garlic, pressed or minced
1/2 tsp salt
Lightly squeeze the grated cucumber between your palms over the sink to remove excess moisture. Transfer the squeezed cucumber to a serving bowl, and repeat with the remaining cucumber.
Add the yogurt, olive oil, herbs, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to the bowl, and stir to blend. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Red Pepper Love

It would be really difficult to pick one of the five senses that we have and single out a favorite. I mean they are all equally important right? But I think I would have to single out the sense of smell as the one that can totally transport me to a place of long, long ago. When I was a kid my grandmother used to drag bushels of peppers into the basement and roast them on an old gas stove. The smell would permeate the entire house and I absolutely LOVED it! I love everything about peppers and these days when I roast them over a flame in my kitchen I am immediately transported back to those days in the basement and that wonderful aroma. Usually, after roasting them, I peel off most but not all of the black part, slice them and add garlic and olive oil. I keep them in a jar ready to add to sandwiches and salads or just to eat as a snack. Throw in some chunks of sharp provolone and you have a yummy appetizer!

The dish I am sharing today is made with my favorite….red bells and is super easy and delicious, you can either flame roast or oven roast, both equally wonderful.

First I slice about 6 red bells into 8 slices each, drizzle them liberally with olive oil and add salt, pepper, and oregano. If oven roasting I place them in a baking dish and set the temp at 450. I roast for about 30 minutes, then add capers and roast about 10 minutes longer. I finish them off with grated parmesan and another drizzle of oil and serve. I do these a lot outside in my wood-fired oven (you can also use your grill) and it takes them to a whole new level. For an extra added delight I sometimes add fresh burrata and let that melt over the top then add some toasted bread crumbs made with bread out of the stale bread drawer. Serve with crusty bread and you have instant happiness. Every time I bring these to a dinner party everyone goes nuts and they are gone in minutes!

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

It’s no secret that I have a real thing for blistered tomatoes and I use them in many recipes. This season, I will try my hand at actually growing my own…..gardening has never been my strong suit, but hey I’m willing to give it a whirl! This soup is a favorite in my house, as with all of my recipes it is so easy and quick to prepare and really delicious. I start with a soffritto, you remember that right? It’s the holy trinity of starters for soups, sauces and a host of other dishes. Here is all you will need for this wonderful soup.

1 large carrot peeled and diced

1 stalk of celery diced

1/2 C white onion diced

16 oz cherry tomatoes

2 C crushed tomatoes

2 C chicken or vegetable stock

2 Tbs pesto

salt & pepper to taste

Spread cherry tomatoes on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, roast in the oven at 375 for about 30 minutes or until they look nice and blistered. While tomatoes are roasting make the soffritto. Add soffritto to the pot with about 1/2 C olive oil and saute for about 10 minutes. Once tomatoes are done add them to the pot along with the crushed tomatoes and stock. Let that all simmer for about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth and creamy. Feel free to add a bit of 1/2 and 1/2 if you like but you certainly don’t need it. Add pesto and S&P to taste and that’s it! I like to drizzle a bit of pesto on top for serving as well as a few toasted pine nuts. Some fresh warm bread and a glass of wine and you pretty much have perfection!

Eggplant Caponata: Ode To Stanley Part 2

I love eggplant and apparently so does my dear Stanley Tucci. This recipe is from his first cookbook and is a recipe of his mother’s. In fact, Stanley’s mother made this caponata and served at his first wedding to his late wife Kate. Caponata should be “agro dolce” which means slightly sour and slightly sweet and this dish is just that.

I did make one change however, I never cook eggplant without first salting and sweating it. This will remove moisture and bitterness from the eggplant and it will cook much crisper and taste much better. I must say this dish was delicious and what a great accompaniment to fish, chicken, pasta or just some crusty bread!

1 medium eggplant diced

11/2 C onions chopped

1 C celery chopped

1 28 0z can whole plum tomatoes

1 Tbs capers ( I added two)

1 Tbs pinenuts ( I added two)

1 Tbs sugar

3 Tbs red wine vinegar

1 Tsp salt

Ground black pepper

Dice eggplant and salt liberally. Allow eggplant to sweat for about 1 hour Sidenote: I place a strainer with the eggplant over a bowl to catch the moisture coming out, you will be amazed at how much liquid you will get.

In a large skillet, heat about 1/2 cup olive oil, brown eggplant for about 8 to 10 minutes until soft and slightly browned. Don’t let eggplant get too soft. Remove and place in a large saucepan.
Fry onion in the same skillet, adding more oil if necessary, until wilted. Add celery and tomatoes, crushing slightly. Simmer for about 15 minutes until celery is tender but still crisp. Add capers and pine nuts. Combine mixture and add to eggplant in a saucepan. In a small saucepan dissolve sugar in the vinegar and warm until the sugar dissolves. Add to eggplant, cover, simmer over low until tomato is cooked and vegetables are tender but not mushy about 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow cooling before refrigerating. Can be prepared several days ahead. Can be frozen. This appetizer should be served at room temperature.

Classic Marinara Sauce

When I used to teach classes my students would always ask me about my red sauce. In particular how long did I cook it. Italians are somewhat known for cooking their sauce or “gravy” as some refer to it for hours and hours. In my family, we never did that, I do remember my grandmother making her sauce very early on a Sunday morning and letting it simmer for a few hours, she would add beef and pork pieces for flavor and it was absolutely delicious, but I never remember her or anyone else in my family cooking it all day long.

Italians love to argue about this, (arguers by nature) some swear by the fact that a good red sauce has to cook for 10-12 hours, really? Hey if you have the time I say knock yourself out! These days people are busy but still want really great food that is relatively simple and can go from oven to table in an hour or so. I discovered this recipe in my bible the New York Times. This is a Lydia Bastianich recipe that has been adapted by NY Times writer Julia Moskin. It is simply the best marinara sauce I have ever made and I make it every Sunday. Everyone who has this sauce at my house leaves with a copy of the recipe. Yes, it’s that good and you’re going to love me for this! I double this recipe and I make it in my cast iron skillet, it is always perfection.

1 28-ounce can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, certified DOP if possible. (These are not hard to find so don’t fret) Sidenote: DOP is short for Denominazione di Origine Protetta (literally “Protected Designation of Origin”). As the name suggests, this certification ensures that products are locally grown and packaged.

1/4 C EVOO

2 garlic cloves, peeled and slivered

Small dried whole chili or pinch of crushed red pepper flakes Sidenote: I prefer the crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp Kosher salt

1 large basil sprig, or 1/4 tsp oregano, more to taste. Sidenote: I also add fresh ground black pepper and I use both fresh basil and the oregano

Pour tomatoes into a large bowl and crush with your hands. Pour 1 cup water into the can and slosh it around to get tomato juices. Reserve.
In a large skillet (do not use a deep pot) over medium heat, heat the oil. When it is hot, add garlic.
As soon as garlic is sizzling (do not let it brown), add the tomatoes, then the reserved tomato water. Add whole chile or red pepper flakes, oregano (if using), and salt. Stir.
Place basil sprig, including stem, on the surface (like a flower). Let it wilt, then submerge in sauce. Simmer sauce until thickened and oil on surface is a deep orange, about 15 minutes. (If using oregano, taste sauce after 10 minutes of simmering, adding more salt and oregano as needed.) Discard basil and chile (if using.[videopress GTGUFfRt]