Pumpkin' Pickin' Fun!

Although a week has passed since we sailed over to the great pumpkin patch, the memories are just as fresh as the apples we picked that day. This was Lilia's first time and we all held our breath with anticipation of meeting the Great Pumpkin, alas, just like Linus, we will have to wait another year.

After riding the hay wagon and listening to our drivers favorite spots to pick, we selected our perfect apples, pumpkins, pumpkin flowers and headed home as the sky grew dark and the heavens opened up. On the way home Angela and Christina teased us with talk of how they were going to prepare a home made apple pie and Erika played coy about her mother's recipe for the pumpkin flowers.

On the menu that evening was the Zuppa di Cavolfiore a soup recommended by our Captain served with three styles of grilled bread – Fett’unta, Bruschetta, and Pan con tomate. These recipes were selections that Mario and I picked from our Captain's app. We both agreed that there is something comforting about creating a meal knowing we have at our disposal a "play by play" video that can guide us through if we should fall off course.

The first step was to clean the cauliflower, and cut it into bite-sized florets. We then heated up some olive oil over medium heat and added the cauliflower, onion, bay leaves and salt. Once it had browned, we then added the garlic, tomato sauce, chicken stock and brought it to a boil and then left it cooking until the cauliflower was very tender. While the soup cooked we started our grilled bread – learned how to pronounce Bruschetta thanks to the video – and Mario made small signs on tooth picks so that everyone knew what style of bread they were eating. After about 25 minutes we added in some more water and added the mezzi rigatoni. On a side note, we wanted to thank the Kokoros family for sharing with us a wonderful homemade olive oil from their family farm in Greece. Although you may see a bottle of Fillipo Berio olive oil, rest assured that we are using this family's treasured recipe.

As Mario and I prepared the soup, Angela and Christina prepared a homemade apple pie using a cookbook passed down to Angela from her mom. Now, from what I understand Angela and her mother used to cook out of this very cookbook when she was a little girl.  Although the cookbook is not in the best shape it has some of the best recipes for baking.  Angela and Christina began by peeling, coring, and cutting the apples.  While Angela cooked the apples over a slow heat and added sugar, nutmeg and flower to the mixture, Christina rolled out the homemade dough for the crust.  Once the apples were cooked the pie went into the oven for about 35 minutes.

The aroma in the kitchen was a pleasant mixture of the Zuppa di Cavolfiore and the homemade apple pie. Everyone gathered around the kitchen table to enjoy the hearty bowl of soup and bread. As the meal came to an end we all agreed it was a success and looked forward to Angela cutting the first slice of pie.

Caio,
Mario & Mario

The Three Tocayos

Fist Full of Pesto

Our captain has developed a wonderful iPhone app called Mario Batali Cooks! which includes recipes, photos, and in-depth videos that help inexperienced cooks like us jump right in and get started. Excited by our new discovery Mario and I went through the 63 recipes and selected the Spiedini di Gamberoni – Shrimp Skewers with New Potatoes and Pesto. The app features a cool shopping cart that lists your ingredients and allows you to check them off as you go through the grocery store collecting your items.

Our guest list increased by one this evening as Erika – a college friend – joined us for dinner. We quickly put her to work using her HTC-Evo phone to snap shots of the evenings events (our Canon Rebel has been on the fritz and out of commission as of late). Erika was a trooper, hopped on board the ship and quickly found her footing as we sailed thought the night on a mission to complete our Captain's order.

The most amazing feature about the app was the video. Mario and I both loved watching the videos for the shrimp, pesto and aioli. Having our Captain show us step by step instructions was like standing in the same galley with him and getting a personal demonstration on how to prepare the meal. If at any time we got lost or off course we could simply hit rewind and go over the steps. Our confidence level was high and we had all of the fresh ingredients in place. The rosemary, basil and mint filled the house with such delightful aromas, everyone was excited and looking forward to dinner.

Mario and I quickly moved through the pesto and aioli. We had to split the recipes in half to accommodate our smaller food processor but the additional step was not to cumbersome. Once our pesto was prepared, we cut some slices of Italian bread and dipped them into the green sauce for a flavorful appetizer. We then moved onto cleaning the shrimp, piercing them with rosemary skewers, brushing them with the pesto oil and placing them onto the grill.

We placed the shrimp on top of the pesto coated baby potatoes and drizzled them with the chickpea aioli. Everyone took a bite and unanimously agreed that this meal was worthy of 5 Crocs. Smiling faces surrounded the dinning table and Mario and I knew we had once again hit one out of the park. A lively conversation filled the room and as our guard lowered, Lilia, not wanting to be left out and sitting on Angela's lap reached over her plate and grabbed a fist full of pesto.

Ciao,
Mario & Mario
The Three Tocayos

No Flash Photography, Please!

Pull the anchor and set the sails, our Captain has given his orders and off to Westport, Connecticut we go! We were headed to experience the Slice of Saugatuck Festival. During the festival, 20 dining establishments served free fare from their menus, including our Captain's newest restaurant Tarry Lodge. The festival began at noon and lasted until 3pm. We arrived around 1pm, found parking, unloaded the crew and began our journey.

It just so happened that the parking we found was right around the corner from Tarry Lodge. We only hit one other restaurant before we saw the line going around the pizzeria. Mario and I looked at each other and tried hard to hide our excitement. As we pulled into the line a server came around the corner and offered us prosciutto on a stick and slices of pie. The taste took us over the top and we decided to give into our cravings and go in and have lunch.

Angela and I went inside to see if we could get seated with a group of five and baby. As I spoke with the hostess Angela snapped away taking photos of the pizzeria's interior. As the flash went off once, twice, and then three times Angela was met by another hostess who discretely whispered in her ear "No flash photography, please." Oops, we thought the flash was off and by the time we realized it was on, the camera had clicked off three quick bursts of light. No harm, no foul and we were kindly taken to our seats.

We started off with a seafood appetizer and ordered two pizzas. The first included prosciutto, tomato, mozzarella and arugula and the second was made up of Guanciale, black truffles and egg. Just writing these ingredients down makes my mouth water all over again. We all dug in and enjoyed both pizzas. We had a great time and as we left the restaurant we realized that we missed the rest of the festival as the time was now 3:15 pm. None of us seemed disappointed and we were all smiles as we walked through the now empty streets. Fall is in the air and as the crisp air swirled around us we all looked forward to the coming season.

Ciao,
Mario & Mario
The Three Tocayos

Welcome back!

Mario and I went back to basics for our first meal back, get our feet wet again if you will. We decided on a recipe with simple ingredients but great flavors, or so we hoped. Enter the Sgombro con Melanzane – Grilled Mackerel and Eggplant with Salsa Verde (page 304).

Joining us this evening would be two special guests, Mario's aunt Christina and my beautiful goddaughter Lilia Marie. We all took a trip into the big city, grabbed a bite to eat at Tony's DiNapoli and then headed over to Eatlay to purchase the ingredients. To our dismay they did not have any mackerel! After speaking with the fish monger, a quick google search with our iphones, we decided on the wild striped bass as a substitute. It was a beautiful summer day and after purchasing all the ingredients we took a walk around the city. Upon arriving home later that evening we all agreed that we were still to full from lunch and decided to cook the following day.

The next evening Mario and I swung into action. We put on our clean and crisp aprons, orange crocs and turned on the music. We started by grilling the eggplant and preparing the salsa verde. The salsa was fairly simple to prepare but very flavorful. It consisted of Italian parsley, mint leaves, anchovies, a hard boiled egg, capers and lemon juice. Mario and I agreed we found another staple to add to our growing list.

The fillets of stripped bass were grilled and served on top of eggplant with the salsa verde drizzled on top. Amazing!

As we enjoyed our meal we took time to thank the brave men and women serving in our Armed Forces. Our thoughts go out to Brock and we can't wait for you to get home so we can cook you a special dinner!

Ciao,
Mario & Mario
The Three Tocayos

It's Summer... With Some of Our Favorites

Mario and Mariesa had already spent a few weeks in Texas prior to Angela and I flying down. They spent a couple of weeks with Nana & Grandpa and a few weeks with Manize and Grandpa. Our week in Texas was spent fishing, cliff-diving, relaxing and trying to beat the 100° plus heat with Angela's parents and brother at Lake Amistad in Del Rio, Texas.

We were asked to prepare two of our favorite dishes (taking into consideration Grandpa's unique palette). Mario and I decided on the Spaghetti alla Gricia and The Black Rooster.  We knew that purchasing guanciale would be a challenge, so we purchased it at Chelsea Market, froze it and shipped it overnight. Luckily for us it arrived on time and still cold to the touch. Thank you FedEx!

We had a special guest chef in the kitchen, Manize. Mario's grandmother had been looking forward to us cooking together and we all had a great time preparing the meals. All the "oh's" and "ahh's" as the house filled with the flavorful aromas confirmed that we had chosen the perfect recipies. Both meals were a hit, although we were told next time to ship more guanciale. We took that as a compliment.

As the week wrapped up, Angela and I could not believe how fast it had gone by. It was nice to slow down and spend time with family favorite activities, family favorite foods and of course family.

New Entrées Coming this Fall

This summer has proven to be more challenging in continuing our journey than first expected. I thought we would have more time to plan and prepare but with weekend sleepovers, birthdays and the kids heading south for the summer we have decided to take a cue from the TV networks and go on a summer hiatus. My loyal Sous Chef and Mariesa will be headed down south to spend time with both sets of Grandparents. We will join them later and have a special Lake House edition in the coming weeks.

We look forward to the fall as we will continue our journey with new and exciting recipes from our Captains log – Molto Italiano – and new recipes from a new log – The Babbo Cookbook – as well as visits to new restaurants.

Ciao
Mario & Mario
The Three Tocayos