Donna's Daily Dish
Inspiring people to create every day recipes
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Inspiring people to create every day recipes
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When I was young, every Saturday my mother took us visiting. After stopping to see her sisters, Fran in West Orange and Chick in Vailsburg, we were off to my father's sister, Angelina, in Newark. Food memories from visiting my Aunt Angie include stopping for just out-of-the oven Italian bread from Paramount Bakery on Davenport Avenue, Neapolitan ice cream blocks (chocolate, vanilla and strawberry) on crisp waffle crackers or icebox cake (chocolate pudding and graham crackers). One Saturday we were in her pantry when I spotted a well-worn wooden board. My aunt said that my grandmother Giuseppina used this to serve polenta topped red gravy and sausage. My aunt said my grandmother also made polenta in a black cast iron frying pan, cut it up, fry it and served with escarole and beans instead of bread.
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Luckily, I have a reprieve from helping with my granddaughter this week. Today, I've been prepping some side dishes for Thanksgiving. I'm also lucky to have guests that have offered to bring side dishes. The side dishes that I'm making this year is Great Grandma Fried's turkey dressing and a recipe that I picked up many years ago at Delicious Orchards for sweet potato casserole with pecans. I've made this many times over the years and it's one of my favorites. What makes it special is that the sweet potatoes are mashed and they are topped with a delicious and crunchy topping with pecans. I had some people over this weekend for a get together. With the weather being so hot, I didn't want either myself or my husband standing over a grill making hot dogs and hamburgers. I thought, too, some people may be tired of the usual summer fare. Instead, I opted for a total do a head menu, all prepared from previous, and recently, made recipes. I made my tri-color pasta fusilli with roasted peppers, tomatoes and mozzarella, buffalo chicken (used ground turkey instead) meatball sliders and slow cooker beef sliders. Also, because it's summer, you have to have corn on the cob. For dessert I made carrot cake and muffin tin donuts. All the recipes can be found on my recipe page. My daughter and her sister-in-law participate in the Dreyer Farms CSA in Cranford, NJ. Recently when my daughter was down, she brought me the remnants of her CSA box. The box contained some items that I haven't before such as kale, kohlrabi and kabocha squash. As some of the items starting to go beyond their prime, I began researching some recipes to try these item.
I know I mention Williams-Sonoma products a lot in my blogs, it just so happens I like the quality and taste of their food items or kitchen products. One such item I discovered a few years ago during their summer sale was chile lime corn seasoning. This product is still available both online and in store. During Lent, I wanted to try something different for a meatless Friday meal. For whatever reason, I didn't get a chance to stuff escarole. Recently, I had the time and thought this would be something different for supper. In the cookbook, "Lidia's Italy," by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali, there is a Neapolitan recipe for stuffed escarole. I thought of it as an Italian version of stuffed cabbage. For those who are vegetarian, this is a wonderful dish to try as it's very satisfying. Escarole is high in fiber, contains vitamins A and B, which have antioxidant properties, and contains essential B complex groups of vitamins to name a few benefits.
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