A Little Italy

I was looking through my recipe magazine and saw a recipe for calzones. I looked at it and then forged ahead on my own. They were quick, easy and tasty.

Calzones (inspired by EveryDay Food magazine but my own creation)

4 sausages, sweet or hot
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 can (28.8 oz) Italian-style tomates
oregano, bay leaves, white pepper, basil to taste
two tubes pizza dough
8 oz mozzerella cheese
coarse salt and pepper
olive oil

1. Remove sausages from the casings and roll them into small meatballs, about 6 meatballs per sausage. In a large saucepan, brown the sausages in olive oil. When they are almost browned, add chopped onion, cook until onions soften, about 4 minutes. Add can of tomatoes and juices. Stir and break up tomatoes as you go. Add spices to taste and simmer. Allow to cool (can be made ahead.)

2. Lightly grease two cookie sheets. Preheat the oven to 425. Unroll each tube of pizza dough and cut into four pieces. Flatten each piece of dough and fill with cheese and sauce mixture, leaving half and inch along the edges. Fold the dough over and press the edges shut. Place calzones on the cookie sheets and lightly brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

These were very fast and tasty. Both my guys loved them. You could fill them with almost anything. I had planned to add spinich but I forgot to buy cheese and had to run to the store and ran out of cooking time. They could easily be vegetarian. You could even make them smaller as appetizers. They're a wonderful, quick dinner accompanied by a salad.

Viva Cubana!

So I got a new EveryDay Food magazine in the mail and I found a Cuban meal I just had to try. I am happy to report it is a major winner. I, unfortunately, had to forgo the recommended accompanying Cuba Libre as I had my first Tae Kwon Do class and needed all the balance I could muster.

Pico de Gallo (all recipes from EveryDay Food magazine)

3 medium tomatoes, diced medium (2 cups)
2/3 C finely diced red onion
1/2 C roughly chopped fresh cilantro
2 TBSP lime juice
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (optional)

Combine all ingredients and season with coarse salt and ground pepper.


Baked Plantain Chips

2 lbs green plantains or green bananas, scored, peeled and sliced thinly on the diagonal
1/4 C vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 with racks in lower and upper third of the oven. Divide plantain slices between two rimmed baking sheets. Toss with oil then arrange in a single layer on the sheets. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Bake until golden and crisp, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating sheets and flipping plantains halfway through. Drain plantains on paper towels. (To store, place cooled chips in an airtight container, up to 2 days.)


Roasted Pork with Onions and Citrus

3 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
1 lg white onion, diced medium (2 1/2 C)
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and roughly chopped
1 1/4 C strained fresh orange juice (from 4 juice oranges)
1/3 C fresh lime juice (from 6 limes)
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 C fresh oregano leaves, roughly chopped
1 boneless pork shoulder roast (3 1/2 to 4 lbs) fat trimmed

1. Preheat oven to 450 with rack in lower third. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to soften, four minutes. Add orange and lime juices and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, stir in oregano, and remove from heat.

2. Pat pork dry with paper towels. Season generously with salt and pepper and place in a heavy-bottomed ovenproof pot (pork should fit snugly). Pour onion mixture on and around pork, leaving some on top. Roast, uncovered, 30 minutes. Remove pot from oven and reduce temperature to 350. Ladle onion mixture and juices over pork. Cook, uncovered, until cooked through (an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the pork should read 155), 1 1/2 hours, basting pork with onion and juices every 30 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing. To serve, skim fat from cooking juices and spoon sauce over sliced pork.


Cuban Red Beans and Rice

2 TBSP olive oil
1/4 white onion, diced small (1/2 C)
1/4 green bell pepper, diced small (1/2 C)
2 garlic cloves, minced
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 TBSP chopped fresh oregano leaves
1 C long grain white rice
1 can (15.5 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 C low-sodium chicken broth

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook until onion is soft, 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add cumin, oregano, and rice; stir, and cook one minute. Add beans and broth, stir, then season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover. Reduce to a medium simmer and cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

All of these items were delicious. I would recommend making the pico de gallo and plantain chips ahead. Otherwise, you are competing for oven space. if you want to use the plantains to scoop up the pico de gallo as intended, cut them on a pretty extreme diagonal. I will warn you that they are not all that easy to peel, but worth the effort. The pork is simple to prepare, just be sure you have two and a half hours to attend to it. The mojo is perfect over the pork and the red beans and rice are excellent on the side. My five year old ate both and loved it. The red beans and rice could presumably be made vegetarian with vegetable broth. It could be great as a light main dish.