A potpourri of recipes – From Florida to the Broadway Market

Grand Island Dispatch, May 18, 2007

An excited voice rang in my ear as I answered the phone.

“Joanne, I love your column!” At first, I didn’t tune in to just who it was. Then I found my wits and answered, “Laurie, nice to hear your voice.”

Laurie is a daughter-in-law who lives out of state. We don’t see each other as often as we might – Florida isn’t on our let’s-go-and-visit list. We have, but not lately.

Laurie is Italian and Swedish. The Italian side of her family was paramount in her upbringing. She cooks Italian, mostly.

Laurie was responding to her family’s new subscription to the Island Dispatch.

“I have some recipes if you would like to use them in the column. They are pure Italian, I think. I know how to pronounce the names, but I don’t know how to spell them,” she said. “One is Froja; another is cheese and macaroni bake. We also have a good recipe for orzo and chicken soup. So, with the phone propped against my ear, I took down the recipes that Laurie dictated.

My supermarket was out of Romano cheese. Laurie was very specific. Romano is the way to go.

Forgive me, anyone who is Italian, speaks Italian or cooks Italian – for a possible misspelling of this recipe title. Let me know if you know.

The Broadway Market was the scene of a special mother and daughter cooking demonstration on Saturday. The event was hosted by Sandy Starks, Taste of Home magazine’s Western New York field editor and a member of Slow Food Buffalo. With their tickets, participants got a chance to watch and taste food prepared by two mother and daughter teams. From left, they are Devon Starks, Sandy Starks, Noelle Panepento and her mother, Julie. (photo by Chari-Lynn Koppel)

“Froja”

A 10-ounce package of frozen, chopped spinach, defrosted and drained
(Laurie drains the spinach in a coffee filter)
6 eggs, well-beaten
1/2-cup grated Romano cheese
2 tablespoons seasoned breadcrumbs
A splash of cream
Salt, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Add the olive oil to a medium-sized skillet and warm the skillet a bit to spread the oil. Set skillet aside.

Beat the eggs. Add one-fourth cup of the Romano, the breadcrumbs, the cream and the salt.

Add the drained spinach to the warmed skillet. Cook on low, stirring, for about five minutes. Let spinach simmer another five minutes.

Add the egg mixture gradually to the spinach, stirring to mix the two together. Stir for a few minutes. Let the egg-spinach mix simmer for about five minutes.

Flip the mixture and sprinkle the rest of the Romano across the top. Shake the skillet to loosen the mix.

Cover and let cook a minute or two longer. Remove onto a platter and cut into wedges to serve.

You may want to add minced garlic, some basil and coarse pepper to this to enhance the flavors.

Macaroni and Cheese Bake

2 cups of small shell macaroni
1 head of broccoli
1 stick butter (one-half cup)
6 heaping tablespoons Ricotta cheese
1/2-cup Romano cheese
1/4-cup milk.

Cook the small shells seven minutes. Drain. Put shells in a two- or three-quart casserole that has been buttered or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Add the stick of butter and stir until melted.

Separate the broccoli into small florets. Add the broccoli (and the milk?) and the cheeses to the shells.

Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes in a medium oven. Let stand a few minutes to cool before serving.

Chicken and Orzo Soup

A 4- to 5-pound chicken, cut up
6 cups water
1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano (dried)
One-half teaspoon basil
Pepper, to taste
3 small carrots, peeled and cut into small rounds
1 cup celery, sliced
3/4-cup uncooked orzo
1/2-package fresh spinach

Put the water into a large kettle. Add the rinsed, cut up chicken

If the chicken isn’t covered by the water, add more water. Add onion, salt and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so that the water simmers. Cover and cook 1-and-1/2 hours to two hours. Skim, if necessary. Cook until tender.

Remove chicken pieces from broth. Cool. Take chicken from the bones and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Discard bay leaf. Strain broth, if necessary.

Bring broth back to a boil. Stir in meat, carrots, celery, oregano, basil, pepper and orzo. Cook for about 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Stir in spinach and cook a few more minutes.

Correct seasonings to taste. Serve hot with a sprinkle of Romano cheese, if desired.

Orzo is a strange pasta. It looks like rice. It doesn’t taste like rice, though. You will like it. It can be used as rice in any dish that calls for it.

Our daughter, Karen, and I went to a mother-daughter cooking demonstration last Saturday at the Broadway Market. It was interesting for me to watch someone else cook. I came away from the demonstration with a few more recipes, too.

I haven’t tried making this one yet, but I will soon. We each had a sample of this and other dishes that were demonstrated, as well.

Rice pilaf

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4-cup orzo or other fine pasta
1 cup uncooked long grain or brown rice
2 cups chicken broth
1/4-cup butter
Salt and pepper to taste
(Optional: Fresh herbs/seasonings for extra flavor

Put the olive oil in a covered 10-inch skillet. Heat to low. Add orzo. Cook and stir until slightly browned.

Add the chicken broth, rice, salt, pepper and butter.

Cover and cook about 25 or 30 minutes at 325 degrees.

Fluff with a fork. Serves four to six.

Thanks, Sandy. (You did good).

Noelle and Julie do their cooking demonstration. (photo by Chari-Lynn Koppel)