I inherited many of my Mom's recipes when she passed away and decided to publish a cookbook with some of my favorites. When she was alive we always had family gatherings and cooked all of the meals together. I have so many happy memories of those times.
In celebration of my new store over at Bonanza, Jo's Collectibles Mercantile I decided to offer a freebie to customers and thought why not offer the same to my blogger friends. For any of you who would like a free recipe from the book and my Mom's archives, just email me at joanneolivieri@sbcglobal.net with your choice of either Greek or Italian and I will email a recipe back to you. You can also specify if you would like a food or dessert recipe.
My two questions this week are:
1. Do you normally cook or go out to eat?
2. Do you use recipes or cook from memory?
Click the above widget for more Thursday Two Questions meme fun.
My latest book I created to basically have all of my Mom's recipes that she had written down for me in notebooks and pieces of paper all in one place. I didn't have all of her recipes because many she just prepared from memory. All of the dishes in this book were prepared by me and my Mom together while she was alive. They are all yummy and fairly easy to prepare. They celebrate both my Greek and Italian heritage. If you have any questions, please contact me. Thanks.
Sample Recipe:
DOLMAS (GREEK STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES)
Ingredients:
1 jar grape leaves in brine
2 lbs. hamburger meat
1 large onion (chopped fine)
a few tomato wedges (about 8)
½ jar dill
pepper and salt to taste
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
1-cup rice
Rinse grape leaves in cold water then drain. Place the leaves
vein side up on a plate or board with the stem facing you. Grape
leaves are very delicate so handle gently. Mix all of the above
ingredients together in a large bowl, except for the leaves.
Once mixed, take a teaspoon of mixture and place on the leaf where
the stem begins. The leaf has five side edges. First fold the two
bottom sides over the mixture, then the two top sides and
ending with the top edge folded over and rolling tightly into a
cylinder shape. Place the rolled leaves into a 3-quart heavy pot.
Continue to place the leaves tightly together in the pot layer
after layer. Once they are all placed in the pot, dot the top layer
with butter and fill the pot with water to barely cover the leaves.
Squeeze the juice of one whole lemon over the leaves.
Find a plate that fits the inside rim of the pot and place it over
the leaves. This is done to weight down the leave so they do not
unroll. Cover the pot, bring to a slow boil and simmer for about
1-½ hours. Add water as needed. When done, remove from
heat and let them set in the pot for about 15 minutes before
serving. You can serve the dolmas with yogurt as a very tasty
I love this recipe. It makes 4 servings. Being of Greek heritage on my Mom’s side of the family we would frequently have Greek dishes. This particular dish is a Greek meatball. I have so many fond memories of picnics down in Santa Cruz and days at the beach where my Mom would prepare Keftethes and potato salad and we’d have our feast right out by the water enjoying the beautiful day. I thought about this today because it is a gorgeous day in San Francisco and memories flooded my mind. So I thought I’d share this will all of you.
A. Ingredients
a. 4 slices bread, white or wheat or whole grain - or Bread crumbs - they’re easier. If you use bread, trim the crusts. b. 1 pound ground beef c. 1 egg d. 1 medium onion chopped fine e. 1 tbs. crushed mint salt and pepper to tasted flour f. 2 tbs butter g. 2 tbs olive oil.
B. Cooking methods
a. Place in mixing bowl and cover with small amounts of water. For bread crumbs you can omit this step. b. Add meat, egg, onion, mint, salt and pepper. c. Shape into two inch patties. d. Coat the patties well with the flour. e. Fry the patties in the mixture of oil and butter. f. Brown on each side then drain. You can make these ahead of time and freeze them then when you are ready to serve defrost and reheat them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
These are absolutely fantastic with potato salad or coleslaw. They’re also great cold and on picnics. You can also use these with a tomato sauce and serve meatballs and spaghetti. A little twist on the traditional. Enjoy!
