Janice Tripepi

NO MATTER HOW BAD LIFE IS TREATING YOU

JUST WALK WITH HEAD HELD HIGH !!!!

I will be giving you all a short break from my pasta / noodle / offal ravings!!! Off to Cape Town to attend my son’s final year Movie Premiere!!!!  I won’t have to cook through the night in a brick factory – or serve breakfast in a parking lot!!!  I am sure that I will miss movie set catering though!! 

I am planning a fab Sundowner Picnic on Signal Hill to celebrate the South African equilvalent of the Italian al Fresco dining – THE PICNIC!!!!  Staying at the Table Bay – so I shall let you all know what their breakfasts are like – Loooove breakfast – PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET THERE BE CHAMPAGNE!!!  Also – being hounded already by Daniele’s fellow students for “pesto” and pasta etc.  so will def invent another student pasta!!

Have my camera – my charger and gonna have a wee holiday with my son!!!! 

Ciao for now!!

Jan

We had a clash of the Titans here again last night!  Hubby and I did the kitchen fandango – and I lost!!  He made the best Pasta alle Vongole that I have ever tasted.  I have to admit that my hubs has the hands for pasta sauce!!  I don’t know – like you get some people who can bake – he can make pasta sauce.  I had cooked a batch of satay again as I had lots of the dipping sauce left – and a salad ……… myself and my girlfriend Karen seremoniously munched away at our satay and salad but both landed up with our forks in the pasta pot … before long we were all up to our elbows in it.  Here is his recipe.

INGREDIENTS

half a cup Olive Oil

1 Onion chopped

6 cloves of garlic chopped

half a bottle white wine

1 bowl of roasted rosa tomatoes (the antipasto recipe i have already posted)

clams – defrosted and rinsed

chopped chilli

1 or 2 jars (or tins) of clam meat in brine

1 chicken stock cube

1tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 packet of spaghetti

In a large frying pan – using half a cup of olive oil fry the onions – garlic and chilli. 

When the onions are golden brown – add the stock cube and pepper and simmer

for one minute to let the flavours blend.

Add half a bottle of wine and the clams.

Cook off the alcohol and add the clams meat with the brine.

Simmer until the clams open up – add the tomatoes – simmer until the

sauce reduces slightly.  Cook your pasta – drain well and add to the pan.

Give the pasta a good stir and enjoy “the orgasmic tastes of Tricky Ricky’s Pasta alle Vongole”

PS: he made me write this.

Buon Appetito!!

You must serve this with plenty of hot ciabbata – to dip in the communal pot

and soak up the awesome sauce!!!

This is for Jenny our Giggling Gourmet!!  Phoenix is my best friend – she has just gone deaf so we are busy trying to teach her sign language!!!  She is one sexy sassy old girl!!

Yesterday was a manicly busy day in the office, so I just didn’t get to posting the above promised recipe.  Apologies – today isn’t going to be much better so I better get it done now!!!  I am sitting here fresh as a daisy – as Karen and I have just got back from our swimming.  It’s a totally awesomely glorius day in Durban today!!!  Sun’s out – blue skies and even the grass looks a little greener this morning!

SATAY

Soak 8 bamboo skewers in some water (to stop them burning during cooking)

2 chicken Breasts cut into strips

Peanut Oil

Salt & Pepper

Cut the chicken into strips and feed the skewer through each piece.  Brush them with some

peanut oil or sunflower oil and season with salt and pepper.

Fry them in a hot griddle pan – until cooked. – turning them three or four times.

PEANUT CHILLI DIPPING SAUCE

1 can of coconut milk

3 tbl spoons of thai red curry paste

3 tbl spoons of brown sugar or cane sugar

2-3 tbl spoons of fish sauce

squeeze of lime or lemon juice

3 Tbl of crunchy peanut butter

This sauce is sweet and sour and spicey – you can adjust any of the above ingredients to your liking.

Fry the curry paste in a tiny little bit of either sunflower or peanut oil.

Add the coconut milk – sugar and fish sauce – remove from the heat and

add in the peanut butter – keep tasting.  Put back on the heat

and cook on a moderate heat for about 5 minutes. 

When its to your liking remove from the heat and add a squeeze of lime or lemon.

Serve warm with the satay.

Fruity Prawn Thai Salad

Chopped Melon

Chopped Mango

Chopped Cherry Tomatoes

Chopped Cucumber

Chopped Coriander

Chopped Spring Onions

Crushed chopped Peanuts

Cooked Prawn Tails – optional from Woolies

Bung the above into individual serving bowls.  You could vary the above to suite what you have in your

fridge – chopped green beans would be lovely – or mange tout – chopped pineapple – what ever

is seasonal and available.

Dressing

2 Tbl Fish Sauce

Juice of 2 lemon or limes

2tbl spoons brown sugar

chopped chilli

chopped ginger (not quite a whole Jan-Thumb!!!)

chopped garlic

1 tbspoon of peanut oil

Mix this together and keep stirring until the sugar dissolves the pour over the

individual salads – finally garnish the salad with a few crushed peanuts.

Buon Appetito!!!

I had the night off last night!!! Whooo-hooo, so I decided to indulge myself and cook totally Jan-Food!!!  I love the clean flavours of Thai food and have wanted to give the soup a go – and the rest kind of happened!  Fresh crunchy salad with fruit – prawns and chilli sweet and sour thai style dressing.  My girlfriend phoned me on her way home from work – and she has a bad head cold – so she agreed to join me – lest I sit pathetically all on my own and eat!!!  It’s no fun creating a whole fab dinner and not having anyone to share it with!!!!  So while – hubby and co. downed hamburgers after their golf day !!!  we dined on crunchy energy rich lekkerness……  you snooze you lose Tricky!

THAI CORN & CRAB SOUP

2 tbl spoons of thai red curry paste

freshly ground black pepper – 1/2 tsp

4 large cloves of garlic

1 thumb sized piece of ginger – grated (i use a big thumb sized piece – i like it)

2 tins of crab

1 tin of corn – or 1 large cup of frozen corn

1L of chicken stock

1 tin of coconut milk

2 pieces of cane sugar or 2 tbl spoons of brown sugar

4 tbl spoons of fish sauce

2 sticks of lemon grass (bashed with the back of a knife to release the flavour)

1 bunch of coriander

the juice of 2 limes or 2 lemons (limes are better but i couldn’t find any)

1 large onion finely chopped

I added the thai curry paste to this recipe – traditionally it doesn’t have the curry paste in but i like it hot and spicey.  Gently fry your curry paste – lemon grass – black pepper – ginger –  chopped onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. 

The frying of the curry paste really gets all the flavours in the paste going.

Add the chicken stock, crab (with bring)  and corn and bring to the boil – add the coconut milk – sugar – fish sauce and

simmer for about 15 minutes. 

Give it a taste – and adjust to your liking!

Just before serving add in the coriander and lemon or lime juice and you can add

chopped red chilli for garnish and a little extra heat if you like.

Enjoy!

I will post the other two recipes tomorrow – gotta do some work and

get to the shops!!!

My dear mum sent me to ballet lessons – she herself was a ballerina back in the day in London.  She vowed NEVER to allow is to take this form of dance up in any way, siting emphatically that this was NO CAREER for us.  However!!!  There was one exception to this rule – MOI!!!!  I begged and pleaded and cried etc. etc. Being that I was not particularly “elegant” or “graceful” mum renegged and off I went ….. sadly dear blog pals – it didn’t really do the job.  I am clumsy – and add sharp knives – boiling oil and kitchen tongs to this precarious equasion – DANGER with a capital D. 

A good few years ago – about 8 – I purchased a pair of those vey cheffy – shiney – fab kitchen tongs that you see the connoscienti chefs of the wereld slinging around with great dexterity.  I could NOT wait to get home and try them out!  In hindsight I should maybe not have tried them out while deep frying Tempura fish – BIG MISTAKE!!  Needless to say I didn’t manage to elegantly insert a piece of fish in kinko bread crumbs ino  the boiling oil – i dropped it in – not away from myself like the great chefs do – you know when you jump up – ball your legs underneath you – and do a bomb into the swimming pool ………

Yep – i burnt my whole hand as the tongs sprang open – the fish bombed into the boiling hot oil – and burnt the bejivers out of my whole hand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Within an hour or two my hand looked like an inflated surgical glove …….. einaaaaaaaaa!!!

Eventually once the shock had subsided I fortunately remembered the Bulbinella growing in my garden.  People of South Africa – this humble little fleshy indigenous Saaarfafrican darling grows here in our scorching hot climate for a reason.  It is known as the Cat’s Tail – Burn Jelly Plant – and in Zulu Ibhucu or Intelezi in Zulu.  The fleshy cool green leaves hide burn muthi within.  All you do is take a leaf and squeeze out – like toothpaste – the clear cooling – pain relieving gel!  The moment i applied the gel – i had instant relief and to this day all i have is a very very faint scar on one finger.  I applied the gel all through the night and for a good ten days after.

Most of us have this plant in our garden without even realising the healing qualities it possesses.  I have found myself out in the bush – with no sun protection and used it as a sun screen.  It’s great for bee stings – ulcers – cracked heels and and and.  It requires very little attention but offers up her healing gel voluntarily.  I always have a few going in my garden – ready for any emergency.  But this little natural medicine chest is pretty too – loves the sun – and flowers all year round either little yellow or orange flowers. 

You are always ready to treat little burns – etc from spitting oil or touching the grill in your oven – any burn at all!!!!  A great kitchen aid – an ideal christmas gift I think for it will grow in a pot on a window sill for those who don’t have a garden.  All hail Bulbinella for she is amazing!!!!

Finally  – I have remembered Meat Free Monday!!!  This is a great way to re-cycle stale croissants.  I keep a ZipLock packet in my deep freeze and as I have stale croissants and such I pop them in until I have enough to make bread and butter pudding.  My gran always made me bread and butter pudding when I visited her during school holidays.  Nana would make it with stale bread and currants – it looked quite a bit different to mine – but the smell of it cooking always reminds me of my dear gran who passed away many years ago.  So this one’s for you Nana XXX  This is one of those puddings that can be adapted and change to suite your grocery cupboard.  I am one of those people who cannot resist buying jars of fruit soaked in booze!  So my bread and butter pudding always reflects what I have in my cupboard!!!  You can add fruit – nuts – chocolate – Go Wild!!!

Bread & Butter Pudding

Stale bread or croissants or chelsea buns – I used 4 stale almond croissants

6 eggs

1 cup of sugar – brown is best

1 vanilla pod or 1tsp of vanilla extract

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

475ml fresh cream

1 cup of full cream milk

butter

icing sugar for dusting

1 jar of pears in brandy or soak some dried pears in the alcohol of your choice – I have done this

with calvados before (yummy)

1 bar of Lindt White Chocolates 

Pre-heat your oven to 160d

In a large bowl – beat the eggs together with the cream and milk 

add the nutmeg – cinnamon – pinch of salt – beans from the vanilla pod

Cut the croissants in half – like a bread roll – and generously butter each slice

Put them into the egg mixture and leave to soak for 10 minutes

Arrange them in an oven proof dish – placing two pears

between each croissant half with two blocks of white chocolate

Pour over the residual egg mixture

and sprinkle some sugar over the top

Cook for about half an hour when the egg has set to a soft wobble. 

Dust the top with icing sugar and serve with

either custard or double thick cream.

Go for a either a run or to the gym to pay for your sins!!! hehehe …

It was Poker Night @ Casa Tripepi last night!!! AGAIN!!  Now, I kind of see myself as a willing and able home maker, but I TOO have my limitations.  The prospect of 6 screaming and haggling Italians throwing poker chips around – did just not appeal to this Kitchen Diva last night.  A few phone calls later and I bunged my Lamb dish in the oven around lunch time – turned the dial to around 120 degrees and forgot about it.  A whole meal in a pot!! No fuss No bother.

As the clock struck 5.30pm, BEFORE the players arrived  AND BEFORE the espresso machine starting grinding and heaving and spitting out hundreds of espresso’s and capuccino’s – i hit the road!!  Bottle of ice cold Sauvignon Blanc in my bag – I met my girlfriend Kamie and Sista-in-law @ The G-Spot in Glenwood!!!  Amid hilarious FABULOSITY – of passion pink feathers and much giggling and laughter all three of us – sipped on our wine – munched on TOTALLY DELICIOUS fresh crusty Fillet Steak – Caramalised Onions and Salad or Devine Ham – cherry tomatoes – beetroot – cheese and avocado Rolls!!!  – whilst being miraculously beautified!!!

Gary – or Gerty as we like to call him – is a total darling diva.  He understands that we have – husbands and jobs and kids and shopping and cooking and and and - SO by appointment ONLY – he will kindly open his fabulous passion pink and purple paradise aka the G-Spot – up after hours and with a deft and fabulous flick of his scissors and perfectly poised wrist – turn us from exasperated – frustrated – under rated wives – employees – mothers and wild women from BORNEO  into CHARLIES ANGELS!!!!  I think I may have put my neck out from flicking my newly coiffed trusses around so much!! 

On most of these wonderful pampering nights Gary will produce something OUT OF THIS WORLD to eat!!  From the Gucci Rolls above to amazing Blue Cheese and Broccoli quiches to fabulous chicken lasagne!!!!  He gives us a group rate – and for very little of our hard earned sheckles – we eat – drink – do some all important Babe Bonding – AND WALK OUT LOOKING AND FEELING JORJUS!!!!!!!!  What a win!!!  Chat with your hair dresser – this is a BRILLIANT idea – and goes a long long way to “pampering” to our busy needs…………. Food – Hair – Fabulousness-ness!!!! And a glass of wine!!  What more could a girl want?

We love you Gerty!!!!!!

Penne all’Arrabbiata – a roman classic has enjoyed a revival in recent years.  With a preparation time of not more than 5 minutes – it’s a winner for the modern cook who is often running between – job – children – shopping – job and home!!!  You should serve this spicy tomato sauce with penne “rigate” – meaning lines.  The lined pasta creates lovely little crevices for the spicy sauce to hide in.  I posted the recipe for pomodori arrostiti – essentially an antipasto, but you could use those blood red juicy babies in this sauce – the chilli with the sweet condensed flavours of tomatoes — ITALY ON A PLATE!!!!  Now my mouth is watering!!! This was one of those 5 minute wonders followed by a cooling berry blitz for a quickie informal dinner with eight friends …….. organised at 4.30pm – cooked served and eaten by 7pm!!!  Basta finito!

TOMATO SAUCE

5 red chillies chopped (if you don’t like it too hot – dont chop them leave them whole) or use less!

5 large cloves or garlic chopped

1 large onion finely chopped

Olive Oil

3 tins of peeled tomatoes

2 chicken stock cubes

pepper

In a pan – put about half a cup of olive oil – fry the onion garlic with the chilli – stock cube – salt and pepper- unitl nicely browned

In a bowl – empty the peeled tomatoes and using your (clean) hand squash them to a pulp.

Add the tomatoes to the onion garlic etc. and Walla!!! done.

Let this bubble away nicely on the stove while you

prepare the pasta. 

As ALWAYS – a big pot of salted rapidly boiling water -

pasta gives off lots of starch – so if you use a small pot with

only a little water – your pasta will be stodgy on the outside and raw on the inside!!!!

Which is a cardinal sin in an Italian kitchen.

When the penne are ready – drain them and mix with the sauce!!!

Serve steaming hotwith a good grating of parmesan cheese!

What could be easier!!!!!

Buon Appetito!!!

Everfresh are selling two bunches of beautiful bright green plump asparagus spears for R10.00 – now THAT is a bargain!!!  I always make this dish in asparagus season – the combo of asparagus with the chicken napped with a sauce made with chicken stock and marsala wine is frankly irresistable.   I love asparagus – just steamed with garlic butter – i can woof down a whole bunch easily.  The stuffed tomatoes was to satisfy one of hubby’s desires.  I think he was having a Mamma moment this

week – so this  is Nonna Lilly’s recipe for which I thank her!  Isn’t it amazing how – when under pressure or perhaps when one is not feeling quite tip-top – we all crave something that Mamma used to make.  Comforting and nostalgic food.

The Chicken

6 deboned chicken breastes – with a sharp knife open them up like you would a bread roll and flatten

them out a bit with a meat hammer or rolling pin.

12 steamed asparagus spears

6 slices of parma ham – or your favourite smoked ham

6 thin slices of cheese – a nice creamy well flavoured cheese is best – such as pecorino or stracchino

1 glass of marsala wine

1 glass of chicken stock

flour to dust the chicken

salt & pepper

On each chicken breast place one slice of ham – cheese and two asparagus spears – season well with lots of pepper and

a little salt – close them up and tie them with string. 

This keeps all the melting cheese inside and not all over your frying pan.

Ligthly dust each one with flour and fry them gently – turning them frequently until all sides

are golden brown.

Remove them from the pan and keep them covered and warm.

In your pan – wack up the heat to max.  The residue in the pan – is full of lovely flavour

and you add about 1 red wine glass of marsala wine and allow the

alcohol to cook off.  Add one more glass of chicken stock – and some pepper and

reduce the sauce until it has thickened slightly. 

Pour the sauce over the chicken – garnish with freshly cut parsley and serve.

Buon Appetito!!