Carino's: Chef's Corner

It seems like from coast to coast, everyone has experienced the same frigid cold weather and that makes me think of one thing – great homemade soup!  I have been getting a lot of requests for soup recipes so I would like to share my favorite, Bacon and Lentil Soup.  I developed this recipe for our monthly wine dinners, and it has been a hit - enjoy!

Ingredients:

Olive Oil       ¼ cup

Garlic, Fresh Chopped       1 Tbsp

Carrots, Diced ¼”       ½ cup

Yellow Onions, Julienne 1/8”       1 cup

Applewood Smoked Bacon, Diced 1/4” (raw)       1/2 lb

Salt       2 tsp

Black Pepper       1 tsp

Beef Broth       4 cups

Water       6 cups

Lentils, Rinsed       2 cups (1 lb)

Roma Tomatoes, Diced 1/2”       1 cup

Cannellini Beans, Rinsed       3 cups (1-15 oz cans)

Parlsey, Fresh Chopped       2 Tbsp

Procedure:

1.         Work area and utensils must be clean and sanitary.

2.         Place a large stock pot or braising pot on medium heat.  Add seasoned olive oil, garlic, carrots, onions, applewood bacon, salt and pepper to pot.  Sauté until bacon is thoroughly cooked.  Make sure that garlic is not burnt, only golden brown.

3.         Add beef broth, water and rinsed lentils to the pot and bring liquid to a boil.  As soon as liquid reaches a boil, lower heat to low and let pot simmer for 40 minutes.  Lentils should be soft and cooked by now.

4.         Next, we will be removing some of the lentils, blending them and then returning them to the soup to help thicken it:  Using a 4 ounce ladle, scoop out 2 full ladles of lentils from the liquid and tilt the ladle against the side of the pot to drain any excess liquid.  There may be some small pieces of carrot, onion or bacon in the lentils and that is fine, just try to scoop out a majority oflentils.  Add the lentils to a blender.  Then add one ladle full of liquid from the pot to the blender.  Blend until smooth and then return to the pot.  The final soup should contain about 50% lentil pieces and 50% blended lentils.

5.         After blended lentils have been returned to the pot, add roma tomatoes, cannellini beans and parsley.  Let simmer until soup reaches 165 degrees F and then immediately lower the heat.  It is now ready to serve or cool down to save for later.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken - a marinated and grilled chicken breast deglazed with fresh lemon and rosemary.  It is served with fresh Italian green beans and angel hair pasta tossed with fresh Roma tomatoes, spinach and garlic.

Ingredients

Chicken, 8 oz Breast       4 each

Italian Vinaigrette Dressing       2 cups

Rosemary, Fresh Chopped 1/8”       2 tsp

Lemon, Fresh      1 each

Salt & Pepper      to taste

Olive Oil, Extra Virgin       4 oz

Garlic, Fresh Chopped       4 tsp

Spinach, Fresh Baby Leaf       3 cups

Roma Tomatoes, Diced ½”       1 cup

Angel Hair Pasta, Dry       10 oz weight

Green Beans, Haricot Vert Style Preferred, Blanched       16 oz

Roasted Red Peppers, Diced Large      1 cup

Parmesan Cheese, Shredded      2 tsp

Rosemary Sprig, 2”      4 each

Lemon Wheels, Thin Sliced      4 each

Procedure

1.   Using a sharp knife, lay the chicken breast on its side and place a cut through the center of the breast going from side to side.  Do not cut all the way through, leaving enough of the chicken breast connected so that you can open up the breast to ‘butterfly’ it creating a heart-shaped breast.  Marinate the 4 chicken breasts in 1 cup of the vinaigrette dressing for a few hours before preparing the meal. 

2.   To a heated grill, place all chicken breasts down to form grill marks.  Turn the chicken after 2 to 3 minutes to form diamond grill marks.  Repeat this process to cook both sides of each chicken breast.  Cook the chicken to 165 Degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds.

3.   To a medium heated large sauté pan add the remaining 8 oz of vinaigrette dressing, chopped rosemary, juice from one lemon and salt and pepper to taste.  Place the fully cooked chicken breasts in the sauté pan and allow the dressing to slowly glaze over the chicken on medium heat.  There should be no dressing left in the pan, it should be fully glazed onto the chicken breast.

4.   To another heated sauté pan, add 2 ounces of olive oil, 2 tsp of chopped garlic, spinach, diced roma tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste.  Sauté until spinach is cooked and garlic is heated.  Do not burn the garlic.

5.   Cook angel hair pasta according to package directions.  Drain excess water and then toss pasta with tomatoes and spinach in the sauté pan and reserve for plating. 

6.   To another heated sauté pan add remaining 2 ounces of olive oil, green beans, roasted red peppers and the remaining 2 tsp of chopped garlic and salt and pepper to taste.  Sauté until the green beans are heated and reserve for plating. 

7.   Plate the pasta and green beans on the designated service plate ware and overlap each chicken breast over the side items.  Garnish each glazed chicken breast with a thinly sliced lemon wheel and rosemary sprig and enjoy!

Meat Sauce Recipe - This is a very easy home recipe in which you can use a standard tomato sauce from the store as a 'base' for a hearty beef and sausage meat sauce by adding some fresh vegetables and ground meat.  Give this a try over pasta, use it in lasagna or in the recipe for my Five Meat Tuscan Pasta (see video section). 

Ingredients:

Olive Oil     1 ounce (volume)

Ground Beef     1 1/2 lbs

Ground Sausage     1 lb

Yellow Onion, Diced 1/4"     1 cup

Celery, Diced 1/4"     1/2 cup

Carrots, Diced 1/4"     1/2 cup

Black Pepper, Table Grind     2 tsp

Salt     2 tsp

Oregano, Dry Whole Leaves     1 tsp

Basil, Dry Whole Leaves     1 tsp

Garlic, Fresh Chopped     1 Tbsp

Fennel Seed Ground     1 tsp

Tomato Sauce, Prepared     2 quarts (64 oz)

Water     1 cup

Sugar     2 tsp

Beef Broth     1 can (14 oz)

Procedure:

1.  Work area and utensils must be clean and sanitary.

2.  In a large, heated stock pot add the olive oil, ground beef and sausage.  Brown ground beef slightly.

3.  Into the heated pot add the onions, celery, carrots, black pepper, salt, oregano, basil, garlic and fennel.  Saute until meat is thoroughly cooked and all vegeatbles are soft.

4.  Mix the water, sugar and beef broth in a separate container.  Add this mixture and the tomato sauce to the pot.  Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

5.  Serve and enjoy!

This week, Carino's is starting its annual Big Crush Food and Wine Festival in which we are featuring a new wine list and some great new food items.  One of our new dishes is the Shredded Beef Pappardelle, which just could be my new favorite Carino's dish.  The recipe itself was inspired by my time spent cooking in Tuscany - Wide, northern style egg pasta with roast beef, onions, carrots and tomatoes in a burgundy tomato cream sauce

Traditionally, this entree is made in Italy with roasted boar, but I decided to use slow roasted beef instead to keep the appeal of the dish broad for all tastes.  It goes great with a nice glass of Chianti Classico and some warm bread.  Please give it a try and let me know what you think, if it does well this fall we may put it on the permanent menu!

As a working parent of a five year daughter in kindergarten, I find it challenging to send my daughter to school with a healthy lunch that she will actually enjoy. It is so easy to get caught up in the typical lunch that contains a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bag of chips and a container of pudding. Here are some great ideas that my daughter looks forward to in her lunch.  Parents Magazine recently asked me to include some of these recipes in their September 'Back to School' issue - You can see these recipes and some other great ideas at the Parents.com website:

http://www.parents.com/recipes/tips/celebritychefs/pack-your-lunch-like-a-celebrity-chef/?page=33

SMOKED TURKEY AND PROVOLONE SLIDERS

Slider Bun, Whole Wheat 1 each

Smoked Turkey Breast, Sliced 1/8” 1 ½ oz

Provolone, Sliced 1/8” 1 slice

Roma Tomatoes, Sliced 1/8” 2 slices

Ranch Dressing, Low-Fat 2 tsp

Open bun and place sliced turkey on bottom of bun. Top with provolone and place stacked bun/turkey/provolone into microwave for 10 seconds (this is to be done at home when packing the lunch just to soften the cheese to help it adhere to the turkey). Place dressing on cut side of top of bun. Place tomatoes and top of bun over provolone. Place in container to be packed for lunch.

PIZZA PASTA SALAD

Whole Wheat Penne Pasta, Cooked and Chilled ½ cup

Tomato Sauce 2 oz

Black Olives, Chopped ¼” 1 Tbsp

Pepperoni, Quartered 2 slices

Low Fat Mozzarella, Shredded 1 Tbsp

Toss all ingredients together and place in container to be packed for lunch. Some mozzarella may be sprinkled over the top of the pasta salad if desired.

CREAMY FRUIT MEDLEY

Fresh Strawberries, Quartered 1/8 cup

Blueberries 1/8 cup Red Apples, Diced 1/2 Inch 1/8 cup

Low Fat Yogurt, Cherry 2 Tbsp

Pecans, Chopped 1/4” 1 tsp

Toss all ingredients (except pecans) together and place in container to be packed for lunch. Top with chopped pecans.