Oh, happy day!

Hello, friends. Am I entitled to one off-topic post? Oh wait, I am the administrator here, never mind. Oh, happy day!

Rustic Bread from Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes

Formula note: The final dough flour: The 1/2 white bread flour is just that, 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat. Making the flour 5 oz white and 5 oz. whole wheat. Along with the other flours. The combined flours are mixed with the proper percentage of water, then to rest.

Split Pea Soup

Brooklyn N.Y. Style Pizza

  pizza rotonda prosciutto e funghi

Crepe style manicotti

This manicott is so much better than the pasta tube. So light and delicious! Mom Falzons go to manicotti recipe.

The marinara sauce simmering.

The batter chilled and ready.

It's all in the wrist.

A large batch, that's how mom did it!

The finished product.

La ricetta:

Torta tal patata ( Potato pie)

Patata fil-forn

Impossibly easy Zucchini pie

Throw back, savory Zucchini pie. Back in the 80's The Bisquick box featured "Impossibly easy pies". Well this one became a staple at our house; everyone loved it! I found this recipe on line, I think this is close to what mom made. I added some more veggies and bulked it up some. The cooking time was way off from the 30 Min. recommended. Looks pretty good to me! I am going to up the cooking time. This is my revision with add ins. I also used about 1/2 cup more zucchini and double the parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Vegetable Stew. A.K.A. Maltese Minestra.

Hello, friends,
Today I am making, famers market fresh, vegie stew. A.K.A. Maltese, minestra. Brought to you, from the island of Malta, by way of Brooklyn N.Y. Someday I would feel blessed to have a small farm. I get over whelmed, reading about Tractors, seeders and on and on, you get the picture,

I know nothing! Anyway, my mom had so much knowledge, I wish she was still around. She knew how to deal with most any vegetable, or meat for that matter. This recipe is a little of what I was able to learn from her. God bless friends. Stay with me, I know, you all will appreciate this simple, nutritious, economical recipe.  

The raw ingredients. Way to the back right, you will see some very nice Northern spy apples. That's for desert. I am going to try and get fancy with the pastry; after all I am the pie king! what's a trip to market if no pie ingredients? Stay tuned, pie lovers!

First as per the formula, we finely dice the aromatics. They are sweated in the stock pot with plenty of salt to help them break down, along with some pepper. I like to season this at every stage. there are lots of veggies to season here.

After a good fifteen to twenty minutes of vigilantly stirring the aromatics over medium low heat, the veggies release all there liquid. The flavors are concentrated. To this we add the yellow split peas, tomato paste and bay leaf. Sweat for an additional two minutes, this is what your stew base should look like. 

Add to the base in the stock pot the remainder of the veggies. They should be chopped to a rough, rustic cut. Stir well, add some more salt ./ pepper. Add water to just cover the vegies. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for two plus hours, till the liquid thickens. Add the cannelloni beans, elbow macaroni and zucchini. Simmer for 30 more minutes.  Serve warm with parmigiana cheese on top. 

Enjoy! Minestra was a staple in our Maltese American household. Mom raise 7 kids, on a shoestring budget, thanks to recipes like this one.

Nanny's Cauliflower Pie

welcome back, food fans.

 Today, we are taking a stroll down memory lane. Cauliflower pie was one of my moms go to side dish recipes. Cauliflower pie is quick and easy to make, with just a few ingredients.

I love the fall harvest. Out and about, making our weekly rounds though the Union Square farmer's market. We came away with some really nice delicata squash, a bag of organic farmer ground half and half flour, and last but certainly not least, orange cauliflower.  This colorful variety of cauliflower has been around for a good few years now. Each of the colors are chock full of antioxidants. The orange, that we will be using today for example, has a genetic mutation that allows the plant to hold more beta carotene. It also contains about 25% more vitamin A than white cauliflower. First discovered in Canada in 1970,  it took years of crossbreeding before it was widely available.

Frist thing is first, I started some water to boil in a large pot. While I was waiting for the water to boil, I cored the cauliflower and cut it into florets. Next, I prepared the rest of the ingredients. Once the water was at a rolling boil, I dropped the florets in with a palm full of salt for 5 minutes. 

After the 5 minutes, I drained the florets in a colander. The florets went back into the now dry pot. With an old school potato masher, I smashed the cauliflower good. The prepared additional ingredients were added in with the mashed cauliflower and mixed together thoroughly.

The cauliflower mixture was put into a 10 inch Pyrex pie pan and spread out evenly. The top was covered with Kraft American cheese.

After 20 minutes in the oven, out comes a savory side dish pie, one that you will be proud to serve for any type of gathering.

  

If you would like Nanny Falzon's recipe, just sign up to follow the pie king by email. You will receive this great recipe in return. Additionally, you will be sure not to miss any of the Roadside Pie King's original recipes. The first 500 people to sign up by email, will receive two Nanny Falzon bonus recipes! All free of charge or obligation!

 Peace,

 The Roadside Pie King