WTF Was for Jaimie's Wedding: Italian Appetizers

I got the honor of both officiating Jaimie's ceremony and making a few cicheti, or Venetian small plates for her wedding.

And I enlisted a bunch of my favorite to help me.

Thanks everyone. I love you Jaimie!

Matt in an apron...for the first time ever?

Caprese Skewers:

Sista is building a platter of beautiful caprese skewers using fresh basil leaves, cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella balls stuck on skewers and drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile I had roasted the diced eggplant and diced red pepper for the crespelle (stuffed Italian crepes) the recipe is below.

And I had to make polenta for the grilled polenta squares... (recipe below)

Thanks for your house, kitchen and hospitality, Brian!

Stuffing crespelle...

I LOVE YOU,  SPENCER!

For the Crespelle: (to serve 8)

1/2 heaping) cup of flour

3/4 cup of milk

1 whole egg plus 1 yolk

For filling and topping:

one medium (3/4 lb eggplant)

2 medium red bell peppers

3/4 cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1/2 cup of grated Fontina (or Fontinal)

For topping:

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons Parmigiano

Put flour in a bowl, add milk in a very thin stream beating steadily with a whisk, taking care that lumps do not form. When all the milk has been incorporated add the whole egg, egg yolk and a pinch of salt. Mix steadily for about 2 minutes. Heat crepe pan, and with each crepe swipe the pan with butter. Add just under a 1/4 c. batter to pan and cook like you would any crepe! Cook and stack crespelle (they can be made ahead of time and once they have cooled completely covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated). 

Cut eggplants into 1/2 cubes. Salt in calendar to sweat out bitterness for at least half an hour and up to an hour. Rinse under cold water dry with paper towels. You can either than either fry them in batches in olive oil or roast them in the oven after tossing them with olive oil. Your choice, just going for a bit of that nice rich brownness / a tiny bit of caramelization...

Roast the eggplants, peal and dice to the same size as eggplant. (these both could be done ahead of time, of course). 

In large bowl mix the peppers and eggplants with the parmigiano and Fontina. Taste for salt. Roll / stuff the crespelle with some of the filling transfer to baking sheet. When all are prepared top with Parmigiano and drizzle with melted butter.

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes until cheese has melted and started to turn golden...

Zucchine Ripiene (Stuffed and Fried Zucchini cups, recipe adapted from Saveur)

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup milk
1 slice white sandwich bread
4 medium zucchini, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2″ lengths
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup canned whole, peeled tomatoes in juice, crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
4 oz. prosciutto, minced
1 oz. pancetta, minced
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. thinly sliced basil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 400°. In a bowl, pour milk over bread; soak for 10 minutes. Squeeze bread to drain milk; discard milk. Return bread to bowl.

2. Using a melon baller, hollow out zucchini pieces, leaving 1/4″ walls, to form "cups"; season insides with salt and pepper. Stir together tomatoes, 2 tbsp. oil, chile flakes, garlic, and salt and pepper in a bowl; set sauce aside.

3. Mix bread with prosciutto, pancetta, Parmesan, parsley, egg, and salt and pepper. Stuff mixture evenly among zucchini cups. Heat remaining oil and butter in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add cups; cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, 2–4 minutes. Transfer cups, stuffing side up, to a 9″ x 9″ baking dish; pour sauce over and around cups. Bake until zucchini is tender, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with basil.

AJ also used his amazing cocktail skills to lend himself to the wedding--- prepping lemon twists, wedges and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice for drinks after the ceremony.

Clark Kent...I mean Ian, diligently filling the ripiene! Thanks Ian!! You're amazing.

Sista!

A very handsome woo-boy.

For the polenta squares:

 I prepared the polenta (2 cups of polenta to six cups of water) with butter and salt and pepper, and when I was cooked I spread it out evenly onto a greased cookie sheet, and broiled it on high for 15 minutes, until it was golden brown. Then I placed it in the refrigerator so that it would cool and easily slice. I topped each square with my grandmother's simple homemade marinara (recipe on this blog) basil and freshly grated cheese, at the wedding we also offered friend pancetta as a topping on the side.

The ripiene were topped with a spicy tomato sauce, made with the grease from frying the pancetta and proscuitto, fried garlic, chili and salt and pepper. Yum!

Stuffed Bell Peppers with a Goat Cheese and Pear Salad

[ALLY! This is the dinner that Mike forgot about!! Rub these pictures in his face and gloat!]

Note:: This recipe is gluten free AND// This recipe is vegan if you leave out the Italian sausage and skip the parmesan cheese.

For this recipe, I cut the bell peppers lengthwise versus the tradition stuffed pepper in which you lop the top off and make it stand up, I did this because I was short on time. This meal was super satisfying, very hearty and very colorful.

You will need (for the peppers):

Olive oil

3 bell peppers (organic red bells are on sale this week!)

2 Italian sausages (I used sweet turkey Italian sausages)

1 cup of quinoa

1/2 of a yellow onion, diced

1 handful of baby tomatoes, quartered

1 cup of white beans, cooked and drained

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 tablespoon of marjoram

1/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

You will need (for the salad):

1 1/2 cups of baby spinach (or other salad greens, arugula would be great for this as well)

1 bosc pear, cut into slivers

1/3 of a cup of red onion, sliced thinly

1 sprinkling of chevre crumbles

1 tablespoon of olive oil (or walnut oil)

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a casserole dish with a thin layer of olive oil. Once the oven is preheated place the bell pepper halves in the casserole dish and let them bake for **10 minutes to soften them gently before you stuff them.

Prep the excess pepper tops into smaller, diced pieces and prep the other veggies for your filling.

Over medium high heat, cook your sausages with oil and a scant amount of water. Brown each side, adding a drizzle of water and cover to allow them to steam until they are cooked through.

Have I mentioned I drink my kombucha from a wine glass while I cook? I makes me feel like a grown-up.

Though this was not on the ingredient-list, I am heating up some leftover marinara I had in the fridge to drizzle onto the peppers when they are done. This is not necessary, but if you have access or are in need of using up something that is already in your refrigerator, gently heat up marinara over low heat.

While the sausages are cooking and your bell peppers are in the oven, start your quinoa: one cup of quinoa to two cups of water. Once boiling, cover and reduce to low heat for 15 minutes.

Today I was too busy to make my own beans (blush!!) But do take a minute to drain your beans (whether you made them yourself or got them out of a can)

Peel and mince your garlic.

Once your sausages are cooked thoroughly, remove them from the pan and allow them to cool on a plate. In their oil/drippings, saute the yellow onions over medium heat until they are translucent, about five minutes.

Add the beans and garlic and stir over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

Add the baby tomatoes and diced bell pepper.

Stir them in over medium heat and let them soften for about five minutes.

Add your finished quinoa and turn the heat to low.

Add your marjoram.

Cut your sausage into half moons once it is cool enough to touch.

Stir your sausage into the quinoa mixture.

You are now ready to stuff your peppers!

Grate a 1/3 of a cup of parmesan cheese.

Then begin to stuff the peppers with spoonfuls of filling.

Sprinkle them with parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the peppers are cooking, put together your salad. Blend the balsamic and olive oil together and drizzle over the top.

I served my peppers over a ladle of marinara on the same beautiful plate as the salad. Include a steak knife for cutting when you serve!

xo

(PS. Mike, if you are reading this, you missed out! hehe)