Rocco's Perfect Pantry

August 3

I know many of you are overwhelmed by the thought of shopping, prepping and cooking. That's why I tend to de-emphasize equipment, technique and ingredients. So without getting you too caught up with the formalities of cooking, there are some useful tidbits I can share with you. And each week, I will share some useful tips, recipes and personal stories that are meant to arm you with the tools you need to live the good life without too much anxiety.

This week I spoke about my Uncle Amadeo who always seems to pull a rabbit out of a hat when we visit. And the reason he can do that is because he has set himself up for success with a well-stocked pantry. All he needed to make me a great pasta dish was the wild asparagus he picked from the woods behind his house. Here's a pantry that will prepare you for just about anything followed by Uncle Amadeo‘s Magic Spaghettini Aglio Olio recipe.

• Bertolli® olive oil
• Pounds of your favorite pasta (e.g. angel hair, spaghettini, linguini – all cook very fast)
• Garlic
• Bertolli® Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Fresh garlic or puree in a tube
• Jarred roasted red peppers
• Canned chicken stock
• Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Peppermill with black pepper
• Salmarino (sea salt)
• Can of white beans (e.g. cannelini or your favorite)
• Favorite marinara sauce

Uncle Amadeo's Magic Spaghettini Aglio Olio With Asparagus

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Bertolli® Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 lb. of spaghettini
6 to 8 cloves garlic, smashed flat
1 cup canned chicken broth
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
1 pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2TB. plus 1 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground black pepper in a peppermill
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
2 cups asparagus (cut into 1" pieces)

Method:

1. Heat a 12-inch high-sided sauté pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, add the smashed garlic and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Do not let the garlic get too dark.
2. Meanwhile, bring a 6-quart pot of water to a boil over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Add the pasta and stir well. Cook at a low boil for about 5 minutes (check manufacturer's instructions). Stir frequently to avoid sticking.
3. When the garlic is light brown, add parsley and red pepper flakes. Continue sautéing for a half a minute. Add chicken broth. Remove from heat.
4. Just before the pasta is fully cooked, add the asparagus to the pasta. Allow the water to return to a boil and cook until the asparagus turns bright green, about 1 minute. Drain the pasta and the asparagus together and add it to the sauté pan. Turn the heat back on to medium and toss, season with 1 tsp salt and pepper.
5. Serve right away in warm bowls with Parmigiano-Reggiano on the side.

Rocco & Michael Respond

August 10

Hey everybody, thanks for sending in your questions. Check out my answers below and then make sure you read Michael's blog on Mediterranean Style 101.

Morgaine S. asked about how to get more fish into her diet, and the first thing I would do is go to http://www.seafoodchoices.org/smartchoices.php. This is a resource many chefs use to help make responsible menu choices. Fish is an important part of the diet and with all the health benefits it provides like cancer-fighting omega 3 fatty acids, you should eats lots of it. Frozen and canned fish are options not to be overlooked. Tuna, salmon and cod freeze well. Canned sardines and mackerel are superfoods that I love as a snack, on a salad or served on toasted bruschetta.

John B. and Colleen had a few questions about salt, so I thought I'd lump them together. The first reason I add salt to pasta is to make sure the pasta tastes good. Pasta will absorb 5 times its size in the water you cook it in, so it should taste good. You know you have put enough salt in the water when it tastes almost like the ocean. Wait for the water to boil, then add the salt. It will raise the boiling point by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit which makes it easier to cook your pasta. As far as which salt to use, any salt is salty, so it really doesn't matter. I personally prefer fine sea salt, but that doesn't mean you have to as well.

Nicole B. was curious about when to use regular olive oil vs. extra virgin olive oil. Here's what you need to know. You can use Bertolli Classico in most hot preparations, like sautéing or for rubbing on meats and vegetables before grilling. When you are using Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil, you can think of it as a seasoning. You can use it to finish a pasta dish or drizzle on a salad. You typically want to avoid heating extra virgin olive oil to retain the flavors that benefit from the cold press.

Thanks for writing and keep those questions coming in.

Mediterranean Style 101

August 13

Hey, I'm Michael Christiansen, Head Chef at Bertolli, and I'm excited to be a part of this blog. I thought I'd pick up on what Rocco talked about in his first webisode and give you a bit more of a scoop on what makes Mediterranean cuisine different from other Italian food. Let's continue with a little more Mediterranean Style 101.

WHAT'S MED STYLE?
When it comes to Mediterranean-style cooking, there are two things you need to know.

1. Everything is naturally lighter tasting. Rather than disguise their food with complicated sauces, cream and butter, the locals keep their flavors robust and clear.
2. The main ingredients are sun-ripened vegetables and olive oil. Like the easy-going attitude of the region, they keep things simple and flavorful by using ingredients they can find in their backyard.

SUN-KISSED VEGETABLES
The Mediterranean is blessed with good weather year-round making fresh vegetables readily available and abundant. The climate is perfect for growing eggplant, squash, peppers, mushrooms, cucumbers, artichokes, okra, and various greens. Once harvested, these ingredients are handled with care both in preparation and in cooking. Most dishes are started with onions, garlic, and tomatoes surrounded by olive oil, and since all the vegetables are so robust and flavorful, minimal cooking steps are required to really highlight how delicious they are.

LOCAL DELICACIES
Seafood remains the core ingredient of Mediterranean home cooking. All sorts of shellfish, anchovies, sole, flounder, grouper, cuttlefish, squid, monkfish and swordfish are popular.

As far as meats go, the summers are much too hot and intense for cows, and the land is not conducive for larger hoards of animals to live comfortably. So most dairy and meat comes from smaller animals like lamb, goats, and sheep which provide most of the milk for rich yogurts and cheeses. Whole grains and legumes like chickpeas, lentils, fava beans, and white beans are frequently used to supplement their protein sources.

EXTRA FLAVOR
When all of these simple ingredients are combined, they are not finished with heavy butter and mounds of salt. Instead they are topped off with some of the best extra virgin olive oils in the world, and plenty of fresh herbs like rosemary, basil, cilantro, parsley, mint, fennel and oregano. I do the same thing when I'm working in the kitchen at Bertolli.

So there's a quick lesson in Mediterranean cooking. Wanna know more? Just ask!

Rocco & Michael Respond

August 16

1. Amber W. wanted to know what my signature ingredients are when cooking Mediterranean style.

My Mediterranean signatures are olive oil, aromatics like garlic, rosemary and oregano, vegetables like artichokes, eggplant and zucchini, fresh fish and seafood like tuna, rouget, shrimp, and clams. And, of course lamb. I think about grilling over wood, seasoning with sea salt and drinking slightly chilled bright and fruity wines. Throw in a gauzy white T-shirt and some terra cotta and we've got ourselves a party.

2. Thanks to everyone who's been submitting their contest videos. I got a couple of questions from people wondering if you if have to cook in your video, and the answer is no. Here's what I'm looking for:

a) What makes you a great co-host

I am looking for someone who shares my value system when it comes to entertaining. I believe the good life is for everyone regardless of their wealth, social status or education. For me there is always room for one more. As hosts, our job is to make people happy, so every decision we make has to be informed by that idea. Generally that adds up to a lot of carefree eating, drinking and laughing. If you can do that anytime, anywhere then you're the host for me.

b) What Mediterranean style means to you

Mediterranean style means different things to different people. Here are the basics. In the Mediterranean, the sun dictates just about everything. So first and foremeost, Mediterranean style is about light. Both literally and figuratively. The sun makes the days beautiful and the food delicious, so there is not much more we can do to make things better. It's about a light touch when cooking and when interacting with others. Mediterranean people let the things come to them in a generally carefree organic way. Basically it's what every one of us fantasizes about while plugging away at work.

Hope that helps. Keep those videos coming in.

3. Apparently, Lucille M. and her sisters have an ongoing debate about how to know when the pasta is done. One thinks you press it on the top of your mouth until it's soft, another throws it against the wall until it sticks and so on.

Well, Lucille, the true answer to your question is the pasta is done whenever you think it tastes good. The trick is to keep tasting the pasta when you are cooking it to make sure it is done to your liking.

A couple tips in pasta cooking are:

• Salt the water until it tastes salty like sea water. This adds a tremendous amount of flavor to the pasta dish.
• It is also a good idea to slightly undercook the pasta and finish cooking it with your sauce, so the pasta has a chance to absorb the flavor of your sauce.
• Another trick is to use a little bit of the pasta cooking water in your sauce to add flavor and give the sauce a good consistency.

I hope this helps you out. Hopefully now your sister won't have to throw pasta all over your walls.

Seasonal Vegetables

August 17

Now that we established that, I do agree that cooking can be extremely gratifying, therapeutic and even transcendental. There is a part of us that enjoys the process. But I don't want to encourage you to think that there are "right" and "wrong" ingredients, techniques and equipment. Ultimately, that kind of thinking just gets in the way of enjoying having fun with friends around food and wine.

The right vegetables are the ones you like and the ones you can afford and comfortably work with. There are many ways to tell if a vegetable is in good condition. The two best ways are to look for obvious blemishes and to hold them in your hand and weigh them by feel. If they feel heavy in your hand for their size, then they will be good. If they are light for their size, that means that the water inside them has evaporated. Vegetables are almost all water. No water-no flavor.

Summer Vegetables
Vegetables that are in season are packed with flavor. Here's a list of some that are great for the summer months:

August:

• Corn
• Tomatoes
• String Beans
• Eggplant
• Figs

September:

• Brussel sprouts
• Cabbage
• Chinese cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Chicory
• Fennel
• Okra
• Sweet peppers
• Winter squash
• Sweet potatoes

October:

• Butternut squash
• Mushrooms
• Celery root

Penne and Shrimp with Spring Vegetables
Here's the recipe I prepared in the second episode of The Mediterranean Life.

Recipe for Bertolli® courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons Bertolli® Classico olive oil
1 1/2 onions, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
½ cup button mushrooms, quartered
1/4 cup chopped tomato
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup dry white wine
½ cup canned chicken broth
1 pound penne
2 TB. salt plus 2 tsp.
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound pencil asparagus tips, sliced diagonally
½ cup zucchini, cut into small chunks
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 cup chopped parsley

Method:

1. Heat a 12-inch high-sided sauté pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, add the chopped onion and sauté til translucent. About 3 minutes.
2. Add garlic and sauté until it smells good. Add the mushrooms and sauté until just soft.
3. Add the tomatoes, crushed red pepper flakes and white wine and simmer til the wine is almost evaporated.
4. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
5. Meanwhile, bring a 6-quart pot of water to a boil over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Add the pasta and stir well. Cook at a low boil for about 5 minutes (check manufacturer's instructions). Stir frequently to avoid sticking.
6. Just before the pasta is fully cooked, add the shrimp. Allow the water to return to a boil and cook until the shrimp turns bright red, about 3 minutes. Add the asparagus and zucchini to the pasta. Allow the water to return to a boil and cook until the asparagus and zucchini turns bright green, about 1 minute.
7. Drain the pasta and the other ingredients together and add it to the sauté pan with a little bit of the pasta water. Turn the heat back on to medium and toss, season with 2 tsp salt and pepper.
8. Toss gently and add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Toss for a few minutes until cheese is mixed in well and the sauce is thick.

Rocco & Michael Respond

August 23

1. This week, Jackie asked me about the Mediterranean style dish I enjoy most.

For a good Italian mama's boy like me, you might guess that it's pasta. And it's true! My favorite pasta dishes are the ones that combine pasta with seafood, vegetables and aromatics like garlic and herbs and, of course, olive oil. The spaghetti dish with shrimp and vegetables I prepare in the second episode of "The Mediterranean Life" is about as close as it gets to the ultimate Mediterranean dish.

2. Sherri F. wrote that she has a hard time cooking swordfish and was looking for some preparation ideas. Michael responds below with some great tips.

This is a great question! Swordfish, similar to tuna, is very sensitive to over-cooking and can become very dry if even slightly overcooked. The most common way to cook these types of fish if you do not like to sear them is to grill them. Here are a few options. When grilling the swordfish, you can rub it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and place it on a hot grill for about 4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the cut. One trick to check if the fish is done is by touch. Swordfish is done just before it becomes completely firm. Another technique you can use is to cook the swordfish in an aluminum foil pouch. This will actually steam the fish and help maintain moisture. You can actually do this on the grill or in the oven. When you prep the swordfish, drizzle olive oil on top, add some of your favorite diced vegetables and herbs to the top of the fish, and wrap it up in the foil pouch. Now you're ready to bake it or throw it on the grill. Happy cooking!

Blanching and Cutting Vegetables

August 27

Now that Rocco has told you how and when to purchase fresh vegetables it's my turn to talk to you about how to prepare them.

BLANCHING
I have noticed that people love buying fresh vegetables, but are not sure how or don't have the time to prepare them. One trick I have learned over the years is to take the time to "blanch vegetables" - a technique used in all restaurants.

Blanching helps you extend the life and retain the flavor of vegetables. The other benefit is that they're ready to go when you're ready to use them vs. having to chop them and go through the whole cooking process.

The basic technique is this:

• When you get home from the store, bring a pot of water to a boil.
• In the meantime, clean and chop your vegetables to your preferred size.
• Once the water has come to a boil, add your vegetables and cook for a few minutes until they are cooked to your liking.
• Once they are cooked, strain the boiling water out and immediately add the vegetables to a bowl of ice water (a.k.a ice bath). This quickly cools the vegetables to stop the cooking process.

Now that your vegetables are blanched, you can quickly re-heat them over the next few days by sautéing, grilling, or simply dipping them into a hot pot of water.

Blanching works best in more dense vegetables like:

• Artichokes
• Broccoli Rabe
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Brussel Sprouts
• Green Beans

CUTTING VEGETABLES
The other mystery behind vegetables seems to be, what size do I cut them into? The answer is simple - any size you want. Seems too good to be true, huh? The real trick is to keep the vegetables a consistent size when cutting to allow them to cook up more evenly in any cooking application.

Hope that helps you find ways to incorporate more fresh vegetables into your meals. Not only are they tasty, but they are a staple in Mediterranean cooking. Good luck!

Rocco & Michael Respond

August 31

Thanks to everyone who's been asking about Italian food, cooking, etc. This week we got some great questions about sauce and balsamic vinegar, and I included some of my Mom's pasta sauce recipes below, so check ‘em out.

1. Jack wrote in looking for the best vinegar for his summer pasta dish.

Here's what I recommend. When buying balsamic vinegar, get Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale from Modena because it's usually true balsamic vinegar. That is to say, aged in the Solera style in Modena, Italy. It will be a little more expensive, but if you want high quality balsamico, it costs more. Also, there is no need to buy vinegar over ten years old.

2. Clifton C. and Renée had some great questions about the secrets to making a good pasta sauce from scratch.

Here's the deal. Red sauce is an American phenomenon. There are two basic types; marinara and ragout (ragù). Marinara is made quickly without meat and ragù is made with meat and simmered for hours. Use marinara for spaghetti and ragù for lasagna. Here is my mom's recipe for both:

Mama's Marinara
Serves 6

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped fine
3 tbsp olive oil
chili flakes to taste
2 28-ounce cans tomato puree
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1 cup chicken stock
red pepper flakes to taste
salt to taste

Method

1. Cook the garlic and onion in the olive oil in a sauce pot over a medium-low flame, about 10 minutes or until garlic is tender and onions translucent, not brown (this is called "sweating" because it will draw out a lot of moisture and flavor). Add the chili flakes to taste.
2. Add all the tomato products. Pour the chicken stock into one of the 28-oz cans. Fill it the rest of the way with water and add that and the sugar to the pot. Stir and bring to a simmer.
3. Taste and season with salt and cover. Simmer the sauce for about 1 hour. The sauce should be fairly thin, but not watery and very smooth. Uncover and simmer for 3 minutes if it is too thin for your taste; add a little water if it seems thick.

Sunday Ragù

Ingredients
8 slices capicola
8 slices Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
6 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Oil for frying
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 onion, chopped
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 28-ounce can pureed tomatoes

Method

1. Make brasciola: start with slice of capicola, lay a slice of parmesan on the capicola, and follow with garlic and parsley. Roll each pile into cigar-shaped rolls, and hold in place with toothpicks.
2. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil. Add onion, and saute until golden. Add brasciola rolls, pureed tomatoes and crushed tomatoes. Simmer uncovered for one hour. Remove brasciola and serve separately if desired.
3. Taste ragù, and season with salt and pepper according to preference.

Flavor Detonators - Ingredients

September 3

When I went from complicated cooking to very simple cooking, I decided I wouldn't give up great flavor for easy preparations. The only way to get great results quickly was to use ingredients I call Flavor Detonators. Ingredients like mango relish, dijon mustard, herbs, chicken stock, anchovy paste and vermouth all provide big flavor with no effort. Without these ingredients, the simple dishes I created in my last book 5 Minute Flavor and my next book Rocco's Real Life Recipes would just be ordinary.

In webisode 3, I went through an extensive list of flavor detonators, and I encourage you to find and recognize your favorites. They are all around you. And like my family, perhaps you are making your own. Any homemade pickles, jams and jellies are wonderful additions to plain food. Think about what orange marmalade tastes like. It's the perfect balance of sweet, sour and bitter flavors. Add a spoonful of OJ marmalade to your favorite BBQ sauce and see what happens.

Here's a list of ingredients that make great flavor detonators:

• Fresh herbs:

• Basil, cilantro and mint

• Dried herbs:

• Oregano, thyme and rosemary

• Crushed red pepper

• Handy canned/jarred items:

• Marinated artichokes, Harvard beets, pickled peppers and orange marmalade

• Chicken stock, vegetable stock or wine in place of recipes that call for water
• Pastes (e.g, Anchovy)
• Reductions (e.g., Wine)
• Concentrates (e.g., Clams)
• Parmigiano-Reggiano

Red White and Green Cod
Recipe for Bertolli courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito

Number of Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons Bertolli® Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed or garlic puree
1 1/2 pounds cod, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 large can lentil soup
1 7-oz. jar pimientos, cut into strips
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large sauté pan, heat oil. When hot, add garlic and sauté until it begins to turn golden.
2. Season cod with salt and pepper and add to pan. When cod chunks begin to brown, flip them and add the lentil soup and the pimientos to the pan. Simmer until fish is cooked through.
3. Check seasoning and sprinkle parsley on top. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

*Tip: Just prior to sautéing cod, pat down with towel to dry.

Rocco & Michael Respond

September 7

Rhonda B. and Melissa want to know what kind of meal is good for a romantic dinner.

What makes a meal romantic or appropriate for a date is the energy you imbue it with. I can tell you what I think is special and romantic, and I will, but it doesn't really matter if you don't show up ready to have fun. This means you're willing to put yourself out there and be okay with whatever happens. Just the act of cooking for someone is romantic in my opinion. It's one of the nicest things you can do for another human being. Now, if you want to discuss ingredients that are generally considered special or romantic, try these out.

Angel hair pasta has always been a special occasion kind of pasta in my family. It cooks very quickly and requires attention immediately. It has to be eaten hot right out of the pan and I suppose it's that sense of immediacy that gives it its mystique.

A couple of obvious tips on a first date or a re-date with your partner are:

• Avoid heavy garlic dishes, spicy foods, dairy and anything from the cabbage and bean family.
• Do try to serve oysters, shrimp, crab and caviar. Seafood somehow always gets people excited.
• Set your table with ready-to-eat foods so you have more time to talk.
• Serve champagne or prosecco early and often. It's light, low in alcohol and let's face it, on a date alcohol is as important as a shower and deodorant.

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped fine
3 tbsp olive oil
chili flakes to taste
2 28-ounce cans tomato puree
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1 cup chicken stock
red pepper flakes to taste
salt to taste

In my book "Flavor," I described how ingredients fall under different flavor categories. Aimee wanted to know if it's essential to include each flavor into every dish for the perfect balance and how texture can measure into a dish.

I am glad you enjoyed my book "Flavor." In it I try to demystify the most important part of cooking—flavor. No matter what equipment, techniques and ingredients you have, if it doesn't taste good, it isn't good. Our palates are designed to recognize the four basic flavors—sour, salt, sweet and bitter. How you arrange these flavors is entirely up to you. In the book I urge you to discover "your inner chef" through trial and error. Let your palate lead the way. For some, very simple arrangements of flavor are enough, and for others, like the people of Thailand, every dish must have a complex layering of all of those flavors.

It's interesting you mention texture because spice, as in heat, is always confused for a flavor. Capsicum in spicy foods like chilies and horseradish irritates a nerve in our mouths, which gives everything we eat a fuller mouth feel. A richer texture, if you will. Textures are important because they decide how flavor is delivered. A simple rule of thumb is to serve one hard texture with two soft ones. For example, steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. The goal is for every bite to feel balanced.

Jenifer C. is trying to eliminate salt from her diet and had a question about ways to bake or sauté eggplant in a tasty, healthful way. Michael has some great suggestions.

At Bertolli we have done a lot of work in the past couple years developing recipes which are lower in salt and fat, like our new Mediterranean line of dishes. One of the best salt replacers we have found is the use of herbs. In Jenifer's case, it would be great to marinate sliced eggplant with a little olive oil, pepper, basil, parsley and garlic. Once the eggplant has marinated for about 45 minutes, you can either throw it on the grill or roast it in the oven at about 400 degrees. Grilling is a great way to cook food without the use of oil and it develops great flavor. Once the eggplant is browned on each side, you can toss it with some more fresh herbs for different depths of flavor.

Herbs 101

September 10

Today I'm going to give you a quick 101 on fresh herbs. Rocco was speaking about flavor detonators in his last blog, and herbs happen to be some of my favorite flavor detonators.

Once you get your fresh herbs, what do you do with them? Everyone runs into this situation when they get home with their huge bunches of fresh herbs. The biggest issues are typically storing, chopping, and when to use them. Let's start with storing.

Storing herbs
After buying your fresh herbs, the first thing you should do is clean them. One important tip is to make sure you clean them in cold water. Herbs are so fragile, if you were to use warm water, the herbs will actually start to cook and lose flavor and integrity. You can use a salad spinner or rinse them in a bowl of cold water. Once the herbs are cleaned and dried, wrap them in a damp paper towel and store them in a plastic bag in your refrigerator.

Chopping tips
When chopping herbs, make sure they are cleaned and dried. The next step is very important—take the harder stems of the herbs and roll them into a tight ball which you can hold in one hand on your cutting board. Next, hold the ball tightly with your fingers and start chopping the herbs to your desired size. At this point you can use your herbs in your dish, or put them in a plastic bag and store them in the freezer. Here at Bertolli, it's common practice to use IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) herbs in all of our Bertolli Dinners for Two. Freezing the herbs helps maintain their beautiful color and flavor for future use.

When to use herbs
Here at Bertolli and kitchens across the globe, chefs use herbs in different steps of cooking. The most common point is to add herbs just before the dish is served for another layer of great, fresh flavor. This is also a great time to add some of your previously frozen herbs as super flavor detonators.

I hope this answers most of your questions on herbs. If you have any other questions, make sure to send them in!

Rocco & Michael Respond

September 14

Felicia has never made seared scallops, but knows they're a hit on "Top Chef." She wants advice on how a Texas girl can make this elegant dish easily.

Seared scallops are great and getting them nice and brown requires a lot of heat! First, buy "dry" scallops, not "wet" scallops, and then make sure they are very dry when you put them in the pan. You should actually pat them dry with a paper towel. Heat a sauté pan with olive oil – Bertolli Classico is a good one to use - until it's very hot, almost to the smoking point, and lay the dried, seasoned scallops in. Flip them when they are golden brown. Serve with a sweet and sour sauce like orange marmalade melted with lemon juice and you're good to go.

Eileen started a garden this year and is overrun with summer squash. She's looking for any fresh ideas for making them part of a Med Style meal.

Zucchini are difficult to preserve, but if you pickle them, you can hold them all year. Try vinegar and sugar flavored with saffron. Cut them into 1/4's and make sure you remove all the seeds. Later you can put them in anything. For an instant solution make zucchini soup.

Jaime is looking for ideas for quick, easy, low calorie recipes that she can make during the week after coming home from a long day at the office. Here's Michael's suggestion.

This a great and common question and is actually the reason we created Bertolli's new line of frozen Mediterranean dinners. When cooking quick low-cal recipes, it is good practice to use ingredients that will actually cook quickly, like fish and chicken paired with plenty of vegetables and herbs.

The way we try to create great flavor is by simply using quality ingredients and lots of fresh herbs. Creating meals on the grill or in a skillet are great cooking techniques that generally use less fat and provide a quick cooking time. Check out Rocco's "Red White and Green Cod Recipe" I think this fast, easy and flavorful dish will meet all of your needs.

All About Grilling

September 17

When I speak of flavor detonators, I should clarify. There are two types: those you buy, and those you make by cooking food in such a way that you transform their natural flavor into big flavor. When you sauté, brown or grill, you are turning your ingredients into flavor detonators. Whenever you brown or "caramelize," you unwittingly are creating a flavor detonator. The process of browning or charring sweetens natural proteins and makes natural sugars bitter. So next time you sauté an onion or charr a steak on a grill, keep in mind that you are creating big flavors that need to be balanced with the other ingredients in your dishes. Below you'll find a list of vegetables and fruits that are great grilled. No matter what you choose, the result is the same—big flavor, fast and easy.

Big-Flavored Vegetables

• Artichoke
• Asparagus
• Belgian endive
• Red, yellow, green bell peppers
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Leafy greens (collards, kale)
• Mushrooms
• Onions (leeks, scallions, sweet)
• Radicchio
• Tomato

Small-Flavored Vegetables

• Corn
• String beans
• Green beans
• Yellow squash
• Zucchini

Fruit
In the summer I handily grill peaches, pineapples, apricots, melon, pears, figs and plums. Why you ask? For the same reason I grill anything else—to change the flavors. Sometimes fruit isn‘t all you want for dessert and sometimes a too-sweet dessert isn‘t your preference either. When you grill fruit, you create a complexity of flavor that is far more interesting than the fruit on its own. A squeeze of lemon and some whipped cream is a great way to serve any of these grilled fruits.

Seasonings:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Chili oil
• Mustard
• Sherry wine vinegar
• Red pepper oil with red pepper flakses
• Lemon zest
• Freshly grated ginger
• Herbs - Basil, dill

RECIPES
Here are the recipes I prepared in the Flavor Detonator – Techniques webisode.

Grilled Vegetables
Recipe for Bertolli® courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito

Number of Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 red onions
• 2 zucchini
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 1 lb. of green beans
• 2 green peppers
• 2 red peppers
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 Tbs. Bertolli® Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method

1. Cut thick slices of vegetables.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Grill vegetables until evenly browned on all sides.
4. Remove from the grill and season with salt, pepper and olive oil.

Red Wine Reduction
Recipe for Bertolli courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs. Bertolli® Classico Olive Oil
• 1 medium red onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 cups red wine
• 1 sprig of thyme

Method

1. Pour olive oil in pan until hot.
2. Saute onions until translucent. Add garlic. Add red wine and thyme.
3. Simmer ingredients until reduced by 50%.

Rocco & Michael Respond

September 21

We got a lot of questions about the secret to making the perfect meatball and what my Mama's meatball recipe is.

It's hard to say what the secret to the perfect meatball is exactly. Of course, it's good quality ingredients, meat that isn't too lean and not too many breadcrumbs. There is one thing she does that is innovative, and I think makes the difference. She blends chicken stock with the garlic onions and parsley, and it looks like a smoothie. It's a great way to distribute those important aromatic flavors.

A lot of people are asking about their video submissions and when they'll be posted.

I am so excited about this contest! I am amazed at the response and can't wait to pick a winner. It takes a few days for the videos to be viewed, approved and posted, so don't be discouraged if you don't see yours immediately. I promise we look at each and every one of them.

Just a little advice. I am looking for someone whose personality embodies the spirit of the Mediterranean; a light and easy attitude and a great sense of humor. You don't even have to be a great cook. So get your videos in by October 31st and please remember:

• Don't send clips of you on another show
• Don't send clips of you trying out for another contest
• Keep your video to no more than 3 minutes
• Keep your video to 100Mb or less

For more information, see the complete rules. Good luck!

More Flavor Detonator Techniques

Rocco has spoken a lot about flavor detonators. It's one of my favorite topics too, so I thought I'd go into a few more techniques you can use to take your dishes to the next level.

Techniques

One of my favorite flavor detonator techniques is called caramelizing. You can caramelize vegetables by grilling or roasting, but most commonly it is done through sautéing. When you caramelize vegetables, you are actually cooking the natural sugars in the vegetable to the point that they start to candy. You can actually add puréed caramelized onions or other vegetables to sauces to thicken them instead of using butter and flour.

Another simple flavor detonator technique is called reducing. Reducing is a very simple step you can take to add flavor to any sauce, soup, stew, or braise. For example, when making your next tomato sauce, add a little red wine to your soffrito before adding your tomatoes. Soffrito is the mix of garlic and onion you first sauté when making a sauce. After you sauté your soffrito, add some red wine and cook it down until it gets to a syrupy consistency. Once the wine is reduced, add the rest of the ingredients to the sauce.

By the way, making a reduction is also a great way to use less salt. Instead of adding salt when your dish seems to be lacking a little luster, try reducing it a bit and the flavor should be much richer.

Have fun trying out these techniques. And just so you know, when you do you'll be in good company. All of our Bertolli Frozen Dinners have some form of flavor detonator in them, or were created using a flavor detonator technique. And these very same techniques are the "secrets" being used in gourmet four-star kitchens. Enjoy the recipe I've included below, and if you have any questions on flavor detonator techniques, feel free to ask them on our blog!

Red Wine Tomato Sauce

Ingredients
2 tablespoons Bertolli olive oil
1 (14- to 15-oz.) can whole tomatoes in juice, including juice
1/3 cup water or chicken broth
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
3 tablespoons chopped white onion
1/2 cup Chianti (red wine)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flake
1/2 cup rough chopped basil
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Method
1. Sauté garlic, onions and red pepper flake in olive oil until vegetables are soft.
2. Add red wine and reduce by half or until it reaches a syrupy consistency.
3. Add chicken broth and tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Finish the sauce by adding salt and basil

Rocco & Michael Respond

September 28

Valerie asked about the red wine reduction Rocco made in the cooking demo "Flavor Detonator: Techniques" and wanted to know what she can put it on.

Reductions are a great way to make an intense flavored sauce or base for a sauce. The red wine reduction we made would be great over a nice grilled steak or over some grilled vegetables. If you wanted a reduction to use for fish or chicken, you can use the same steps but replace the red wine with white wine. The reduction step is used as a base or (flavor detonator) for most sauces including the sauces made in the Bertolli Mediterranean style meals.

Karen was looking for a dipping sauce for Italian bread to serve at an upcoming dinner party she's hosting. She didn't want a real garlicky taste, or an overpowering herbal blend, but something mild that would go with chianti or assorted "pino's."

In my opinion, good bread and a piece of cheese is all you need. Or perhaps bread wrapped in some thinly sliced prosciutto. But extra virgin olive oil like Bertolli's with a dash of chopped rosemary and a few grains of sea salt is a nice way to add some glamour to the bread.

Kimberlee wants to know the authentic way to cook Pollo Francese, and if it is originally an Italian or Italian-American recipe.

Since my family in Italy has never heard of the dish, I am going to speculate it has some roots in Italy, but it's really an Italian-American dish. The technique of dipping food into flour and egg, frying it and serving it with lemon juice or a lemon sauce can be found in Italy. I have actually seen it done with firm, aged mozzarella. Regardless, it's delicious and simple. I would make it with chicken thighs and a little vermouth as well as lemon in the sauce.

The Lifeblood of Mediterranean Cooking

October 1

The most important point of distinction between Mediterranean food and everything else is the use of olive oil as the base of every dish. As we've mentioned in previous blogs, it's too hot in the Mediterranean for dairy cows to thrive, so butter isn't as common as it is elsewhere. The result is lighter, more naturally flavored foods that are as bright as the sun. When I was growing up, all the food in my house was made with olive oil. As you can see in the three recipes below, it was used as both a cooking medium and a seasoning.

Tip: Try to use cold pressed extra virgin for seasoning and a lighter quality for cooking.

Yummy Bread
Recipe for Bertolli courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito

Number of Servings: 4-5
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
Bread – any crusty type of bread
1 clove of garlic
½ tomato
Bertolli® Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper in a peppermill

Method
1. Toast bread
2. Rub garlic clove on the bread
3. Rub tomato on the bread
4. Drizzle bread with olive oil
5. Add salt and pepper

Grandma's Egg Recipe
Recipe for Bertolli courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito

Number of Servings: 3-4
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
6 Eggs
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
Bertolli® Classico Olive Oil
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper in a peppermill
Red pepper flakes

Method
1. Fill the pan with olive oil
2. Add garlic
3. Crack eggs into the pan
4. Add salt and pepper
5. As it's cooking, tilt the pan and baste the eggs with the olive oil in the pan. They should be bubbly and fried up top, soft in the middle.
6. Plate and pour the remaining olive oil over the eggs
7. Add red pepper flakes to taste
8. Serve with bread of your choice

Light And Easy Vinaigrette
Recipe for Bertolli courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito

Yield: 10 Servings
Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup Bertolli® Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup aged red wine vinegar
¼ tsp dried oregano
1 tb Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Place all ingredients in a empty water bottle, cover, season and shake
2. Pour over escarole or the green of your choice

Rocco & Michael Respond

October 5

John wants to know whether fresh pasta or dried pasta is better and why.
Neither is better. They are designed for different purposes. Fresh pasta is made with eggs and dried pasta is made with water. Dried pasta is used for heavier sauces and fresh pasta for lighter sauces.

Margaret is looking for wine pairings for the Bertolli Mediterranean Style Frozen Dinners. Here are Michael's recommendations.

Everyone at Bertolli was so excited about the new Mediterranean Style dinners that we didn't have enough room on the package for the wine pairings. In the future, we will certainly find space for our wine recommendations like we have for our other frozen dinners.

In the meantime, I can make a couple of recommendations for you. Since the Mediterranean Style dinners are more robust in vegetables and light sauces with lots of herbs, you are going to want to stick to lighter wines. I would recommend a crisp pinot grigio for the shrimp in white wine sauce. For the shrimp primavera, garlic chicken and broccoli, and rosemary chicken, I would recommend a light chardonnay or pinot noir, if you love the reds. Hopefully this helps you out.

By the way, the truth is that you should choose whatever wine tastes good to you with the Mediterranean Style dinners. There are no rules in eating and drinking. Have fun!

Olive Oil Basics

October 8

Rocco has already done a great job describing the heritage of olive oil. So I'm going to give you a little background on the different types of olive oil, how to use them, grades, and what to look for in a good olive oil. Plus, I included one of my favorite pesto recipes at the end.

Extra Virgin
With its perfect taste, extra virgin olive oil is the highest quality of olive oil. It is produced almost all over Italy, and the name actually comes from the process that is used when extracting the oil from the olive. With extra virgin olive oil, the olive is "cold pressed" at specific, controlled temperatures.

Extra virgin is typically used as a seasoning to finish sauces or drizzle on salads. The subtle flavors extra virgin olive oil has are typically a little peppery and slightly bitter with a beautiful, fresh green taste. You can cook with extra virgin, but you start to lose some of these subtle flavors when you heat it.

Virgin
Virgin olive oil is processed in a similar way to extra virgin, but virgin olive oil typically has a little less flavor yet similar characteristics.

Olive Oil
Olive oil is the common name for a blend of refined oil and virgin olive oil. Olive oil is great for cooking. You can toss it with vegetables before grilling, rub it on meats or use it for sautéing.

Olive Pomace Oil
Olive pomace oil is the last processing of olive oil. At this point the olive oil is heated and treated to remove any water and then blended with virgin olive oil. Pomace is typically used for cooking, though sometimes it can be used for making salad dressing.

I hope this helps you choose your favorite Bertolli olive oil. Here is a great basic pesto recipe using Bertolli extra virgin olive oil that can be added to sauces or used as a spread.

Pesto
Ingredients:
3 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano, coarsely grated (2/3 cup)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups loosely packed fresh basil
2/3 cup Bertolli extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. With food processor running, drop in garlic and finely chop.
2. Stop motor and add nuts, cheese, salt, pepper, and basil. Then, process until finely chopped.
3. With motor running, add oil, blending until incorporated.

Rocco & Michael Respond

October 12

Stephanie asked about using lemons in Mediterranean recipes and what my favorite dish that uses lemons, lemon juice or lemon peel is.

Yes, it's true citrus is both a very important part of the Mediterranean diet and crop for southern Italy. I love using citrus in my dishes. I consider it as fundamental as salt and pepper. There is almost no dish that can't be made better with a squeeze of lemon. Scroll to the bottom for a recipe I love from my new book "Rocco's Real Life Recipes" that features grapefruit juice.

Aimee is looking for some simple guidelines to follow when plating and she loved seeing Rocco on The Top Chef Finale!

Thanks, Aimee. I had a great time on Top Chef. Go Hung! I always, and more than ever, believe the visual presentation is as important as taste. A bad looking dish that tastes good is much better than a good looking dish that tastes bad. Ideally, a good looking dish that also tastes good is what you want. Everyone has their own idea of what's beautiful just as everyone has their own idea of what tastes good. So I encourage everyone to follow your own instincts. It's when you try to imitate others that you get in trouble.

White plates, green herbs and olive oil drizzling are all great ways to spruce up a dish. Also try a "broken" sauce of olive oil and something like orange marmalade or vinegar. By broken I mean large droplets of oil and the other ingredient. But ultimately think of it as your artwork. Try to imagine how it would look on you if it were an outfit taken out of your closet. Plating is no different than that. Everyday we wake up and create a look of colors and textures to wear. Plating uses the same muscles.

Renee doesn't like the taste or smell or onions and is looking for some good substitutes.

Renee, sorry for your lack of love for the onion, very understandable though. Onion is a tough thing to replace since it is the base of most types of cooking. One thing you might want to try before getting rid of onions completely is cooking them a little longer until they caramelize. This technique will make the onion sweeter and less pungent. If this does not work, you can try using shallots, which tend to be a little sweeter and have a less potent smell and flavor.

Another idea for replacing onions is to try using scallions or leeks, both of which have great flavor. If none of these suggestions meets your needs, you can always try beefing up the garlic, or other vegetables that are required in your recipes. The key is to build flavor. Hope this helps. Happy cooking!

Chicken Breasts with Cauliflower & Citrus
Serves 4
Recipe for Bertolli courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito

Citrus carries so much weight as a flavoring. Think about it: A squeeze of lemon is often all you need for a piece of grilled fish or chicken. This recipe has a complex layering of citrus flavor that, despite its complexity, is easy to create because it uses shortcut foods like marmalade and ruby red grapefruit juice.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cup butter (3 sticks) can use olive oil if we like as well and just finish with a swirl of butter
1 ¼ pounds chicken cutlets*
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten well
2 cups very small cauliflower florets
1/2 cup orange marmalade
3 tablespoons ruby red grapefruit juice
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Method:

1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add half the butter to the pan and heat until it's foamy but not brown. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Put the flour in a shallow dish. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, then dip in the beaten eggs to coat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook on both sides until golden brown and just cooked through.
2. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep it near the stovetop so it stays warm. Add the cauliflower to the pan and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the marmalade, grapefruit juice, and vinegar, and stir until the marmalade dissolves. When mixture comes to a boil, swirl in the remaining butter and stir to make a smooth, silky sauce. Add the chicken back to the pan and spoon the sauce over it. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if necessary. Sprinkle the chives over the top and serve.

*Note: If you can't buy chicken cutlets, you can make your own: Cut each chicken breast in half the long way (from the thick end down to the narrow end). Place each piece, one at a time, between two layers of plastic wrap. Use the flat side of a meat mallet to pound it, working from the center of the cutlet to the edges, until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken.

Mediterranean Drinks

October 15

When I entertain, my goal is to make people happy. How do you make people happy? Well, first you make sure they feel comfortable and safe from judgment. When planning your table top, less is more. Avoid intimidating your guests with too much silverware and too many stemmed glasses and overdone floral arrangements. Anything that gets in the way of socializing should disappear.

I like to put a plate down with a fork, knife, napkin and a single stemless glass. It's a pure look that reinforces the notion that entertaining at home is all about enjoying the company of other people. This approach is easier to set up, kinder on your guests and not a hassle to clean up. Oh, and use those nice paper napkins whenever possible.

As far as drinks go, wine and water make up most of the beverages at the Mediterranean table, but like all of Europe, Italians have some great mixed drinks, aperitifs, digestifs and cordials. A great way to start is with prosecco, which is Italy's sparkling wine. It‘s delicious and inexpensive.

When I was a kid, my uncle used to let me drink his homemade wine after he doctored it a bit. He would start with ice, half a glass of his wine, half a ripe peach and then fill it up with 7-Up. It was good then and it‘s good now.

And a great way to end a meal is with Limoncello. This iconic drink from southern Italy is the sweetened and distilled juice and zest of wonderful lemons. A small glass served very cold is a nice way to spend an hour chatting with a friend.

Here are some wines I'd recommend that are relatively inexpensive.

• Ceretto
• Livio Felluga
• Bertani
• Ruffino
• Mastroberandino
• Lungarotti

Non–Alcoholic Apricot-Orange Cooler
Recipe for Bertolli courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito

Yield: 6 Servings
Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
3 cups apricot juice
3 cups Italian aranciata
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 ripe apricots, cut in half
Salt (optional)

Method:

1. Chill apricot juice and aranciata.
2. To serve, combine apricot juice, aranciata, and lemon juice; stir well.
3. Place a half an apricot in each glass and pour into individual glasses.

Rocco & Michael Respond

October 19

Rachael is wondering why her egg wash does not keep her hand made ravioli together. She can't pinch the edges enough without them ripping and is looking for suggestions. Here are Michael's recommendations.

Hey, Rachael. This is a problem I used to run into all the time. A couple pointers to start are:

• Make sure your pasta dough stays nice and moist while making your raviolis.
• Don't overstuff the raviolis.
• Use 100% egg when making your egg wash and make sure it is well mixed.

If you follow these three tips and the pasta still doesn't want to stay together, you can use a fork to crimp the edges of the pasta dough after you apply your egg wash. There are also tons of different varieties of ravioli presses you might want to try. Oh, make sure when you add your filling to the pasta, you keep your edges pretty clean of filling. Having filling on the edges might prevent the egg and pasta from bonding. Those raviolis are pretty tricky sometimes, but with a little practice they will become quick and easy to achieve. Good luck!!

Debbie, a big fan of Top Chef, is looking for Rocco's favorite mushroom porcini sauce for pasta.

Hey Debbie, I loved being Hung's sous chef! Here is my favorite mushroom porcini sauce.

Gnocchi with Veal and Porcini Ragu
Recipe for Bertolli® courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito
Serves 6

San Marzano tomatoes are considered the king of plum tomatoes. They grow in the mineral-rich volcanic soil around a small town of the same name near Naples, Italy. They're extra juicy, with firm, rich flesh and fabulous flavor and fragrance. In fact, they're the only tomatoes that can be used on true Neapolitan pizza. They are truly worth seeking out.

Ingredients:
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1/4 cup Bertolli® extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh fennel, chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound veal stew meat, chopped
1/2 pound ground veal meat
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups veal stock or beef broth
1 cup water
1 28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand, plus juices
2 fresh bay leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
6 large Idaho potatoes, scrubbed and peeled, cut into large chunks
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons salt, plus more for cooking water and seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more for seasoning
Pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Method:

1. In a small saucepan bring 1 cup of water and the mushrooms to a boil. Remove from the heat and let stand 15 minutes. Strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter into a bowl. Coarsely chop mushrooms. Set mushrooms and soaking liquid aside separately.
2. Heat the olive oil in large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, fennel, carrot, parsley and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Remove vegetables and set aside.
3. Add the veal stew meat and ground veal to the pan and cooking, stirring, until all sides are browned. Add the wine to the pan. Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the cooked vegetables, chicken broth, veal stock or beef broth, water, tomatoes and juices, and reserved mushroom-soaking liquid. Turn heat down and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Add bay leaves, sage, and mushrooms. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 1 to 2 hours.
4. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan or Dutch oven, boil the potatoes in salted water until they are easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain and let stand just until cool. Press potatoes through a ricer or food mill. Spread on the counter and let cool.
5. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, the 2 teaspoons salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Gather the potatoes in a mound and form a well in the center. Pour the egg mixture into the well. Knead the potato and egg mixture together, gradually adding in the cheese. Add enough of the flour to form a smooth but slightly sticky dough. (Don't overknead, or your gnocchi will be heavy.) Cover the dough with a damp clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and set aside.
6. When the sauce is almost done, bring a large stockpot of water to boil. Add a sprinkle of salt. Pull off little pieces of the dough and drop into boiling the water. Cook until gnocchi rise to the surface. (You'll have to cook gnocchi in batches). Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm until serving time.
7. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over gnocchi.

Nikki is looking for her Italian grandparents' old sauce with green beans recipe. She doesn't know how to make it and wanted to know if I have a recipe that's similar.

Yes, I do know that sauce well. It's delicious. My mom made a great salad with potatoes and green beans all the time. Here's a recipe for a tomato sauce with green beans.

Mama's Marinara
Recipe for Bertolli® courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito
Yield: about 8 cups

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp. Bertolli® extra virgin olive oil
1 clove chopped garlic
1 small Vidalia onion, chopped
1 ½ lb. fresh green beans, tips cut off and cut into 1lb. pieces
1 28 oz. can tomato puree
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Chili flakes
1 tbsp. Granulated sugar
1 sprig basil, roughly chopped

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil and add the garlic and the onion. Sauté until vegetables are soft but not browned. Add the puree, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste. Stir well and bring to a low simmer.
2. Season with salt, chili flakes, and sugar (adding more or less to taste). Add the basil to the sauce and continue to simmer for about 30 minutes, add green beans and simmer for another 30 minutes, until sauce has thickened slightly and flavors are well combined.

Med Style Desserts

October 22

Let's talk about dessert. As you may have noticed, there is a common thread running through the Mediterranean diet, Rocco's webisodes and the blogs. It all comes down to great ingredients and simple preparations. When you have great ingredients, like they do all over the Mediterranean, there is not much you need to do to make simple foods taste great. And this same concept of simplicity carries over into desserts.

Most commonly, desserts in the Mediterranean consist of mouth-watering fresh fruits. As we have spoken about in past discussions, there is not much dairy in this region, and therefore rich, creamy desserts are not commonly found. Around the holidays a lot of fruit cakes are shared amongst friends, but they're made from simple recipes that are bursting with flavor.

If you're trying to duplicate a Mediterranean-style dessert, the most important things to remember are to purchase ingredients that are in season, at peak ripeness, and to prepare them in a simple, low stress manner. One of my favorite desserts from the Mediterranean is a simple fruit salad with mint, honey and a splash of limoncello. Here's a great one from Rocco's Aunt Margaret.

Struffoli

Ingredients
9 eggs
Approximately 3/4 cup olive oil
5 1/2 cups of flour, or more
Vegetable oil for frying

To decorate
9 eggs
1/4 cup of honey
1 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar
Confetti sprinkles
Sliced almonds

Method:

1. Beat together the eggs and oil.
2. Add flour into bowl, then knead for 20 minutes or longer, until soft. (it should be like a ball).
3. Break off a small piece of dough and covering the remaining dough. Roll the piece into a long narrow strip, and then cut the dough into pieces less than a half inch long. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Using a heavy-bottomed frying pan, fill halfway up the sides with vegetable oil. Place dough pieces inside pan, without letting them touch. (Do not overcrowd, put in a only a handful in at a time; you may have to work in batches.) If oil starts to foam, the oil is too cool; raise the temperature. Cook until lightly golden brown.
5. To decorate, combine approximately 1/4 cup honey and 1 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar in a 12 inch frying pan. Cook on high heat until it boils. Add cooked pieces of struffoli, mixing until they are covered with the honey-sugar mixture.
6. Remove from frying pan and immediately mold struffoli into desired shape, traditionally a wreath. Keep cool water nearby for when hands become too warm.
7. Decorate with confetti sprinkles and almond slices.

Rocco & Michael Respond

October 26

Jill is looking for a good pasta fagioli recipe like her grandmother used to make.

As my profound brother-in-law, Jack, said recently, with the appropriate shrug, "Some fazool you eat with a fork, and some fazool you eat with a spoon. It's all good." And it's true—every Italian-American has a different definition of this dish. Sometimes it's soup, sometimes it's pasta. To keep the peace between the two factions, I have been careful to place "fazool" between the soup and pasta recipes. This is my mom's recipe, and I invite you to adjust it to establish your own. But whatever you do, never cover the beans when they are boiling. There are gasses emitted that you do not want going back into the pot.

Pasta Fagioli
Serves 4
Recipe for Bertolli courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup celery leaves, chopped
1 stalk celery, rinsed and diced
1/4 pound prosciutto, thinly sliced and chopped into strips
One 14-ounce can peeled Italian plum tomatoes, diced
Two 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, with liquid
2 cups vegetable broth
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup ditilini
Extra-virgin olive oil for garnish
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for garnish

Method:

1. In a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over moderate heat and add the garlic, celery leaves and stalk, and prosciutto.
2. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the celery is soft, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for 2 minutes.
3. Mix in the beans with the water, broth, and pepper to taste. Raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to boil. Then reduce the heat so the soup is just simmering, and cook until it thickens slightly, 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom (if it does, lower the heat).
4. Pour in the ditilini and simmer for about 10 minutes. Then taste the pasta. Keep tasting it, and when it is no longer hard in the center, turn off the heat and serve the soup with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Janan recently became a vegan, which is not easy for a Sicilian, and is looking for ideas for a Sicilian dish to satisfy a vegan diet.
Italy might as well be all vegetarian with its wealth of wonderful veggies. The Italians really love t