Italian style tuna salad sandwich as a quick dinner

One day, a while back, I was real sleepy when I arrived home from work. I hadn’t slept well the night before, and I felt tired. I was hungry, but not in the mood for cooking anything elaborate. Then I remembered that I had a can of that good Italian style tuna packed in olive oil. Tuna packed in olive oil is the only kind of tuna I have bought for decades. It’s a favorite of mine.

Now, there isn’t a lot to this recipe. It is really very simple. I really like bold flavors, and the shallot shines through nicely. Most grocery store jalapeños aren’t very hot these days. Twenty years ago, if I made this sandwich, it would be quite hot, but now, with the mild jalapeños, there is just a slight bite to it. If it worries you, you can substitute some bell pepper. 

If you make this, use real mayonnaise, not that ‘light’ stuff or the ‘salad dressing’. The tuna is healthy enough. You don’t want to overdo it. Also, use a hearty bread. If you don’t use homemade, pick a good deli style bread. Don’t skimp either. One can of tuna per sandwich, please. Here’s how I made this.

5 oz. of tuna packed in olive oil

1 medium shallot, minced finely

1 large jalapeño, minced finely

Cajun seasoning

Mayonnaise

Lettuce

2 large slices of Tuscan pane bread

Preparation

Empty the can of tuna, oil and all, into a bowl. Break it up with a fork. Add the minced shallot and the minced jalapeño pepper. Sprinkle on some cajun seasoning. Stir with a fork until well mixed. 

Lightly toast two slices of a hearty pane style bread, or better yet, some whole wheat homemade bread. Place them side by side on a plate, and spread a thick layer of mayonnaise on each slice. Place a layer of lettuce on one slice. 

Carefully, pile the tuna on top of the piece of bread with the lettuce. You’ll have to kind of use your hands to help pile it up and get it all on. Set the other slice of bread over the tuna. Gently press down to get the tuna into the mayo. Use a knife to slice the sandwich in half. 

Serving

Serve this sandwich with a fork nearby. Some of the tuna will sneak out as you take a bite. You also want a big kosher dill pickle to go with your sandwich. If you want you can add some kettle chips too. A nice crisp light bodied white wine that is ice cold will go good too. 

How about that! A tuna sandwich. And you thought I never eat healthy. 

Sausage, peppers and pasta dinner

I have a lot of frozen Italian sausage in the freezer, frozen in packages of two or three. Last night, I decided to make a meal around a package of them. This is a simple meal, but has always been one of my favorites. When I first took a liking to it was back in the 1970’s. 

Back then, my dad and I would stop for lunch at a little Italian restaurant on the south side of Chicago. We’d never get a table. Instead, we’d sit at the bar. More often than not, I’d order the sausage and peppers, which wasn’t even on the menu. I saw an old guy ask for it one time, and followed his example. It soon became my regular order. 

Here’s how I make it. If you have fresh Italian sausage, skip the beer. The beer is only needed when you begin with frozen sausage. 

2 or 3 lengths of hot Italian sausage

1 bottle of beer

1 red bell pepper, cut in strips

1 green bell pepper, cut in strips

1 medium onion, cut into wedges

5 cloves of garlic

Extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 cup of freshly grated asiago cheese

1/2 lb. of corkscrew pasta, cooked and drained

1/2 cup of reserved pasta water

Preparation

Take the sausage out of the freezer. Don’t worry about separating them if they are frozen together. Place them in a oven proof skillet and pour on the beer. (Again, if your sausage isn’t frozen, simply broil it until cooked thru.) 

Bring the beer to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for about five minutes. Turn the sausage over and simmer another five minutes. By now you should be able to separate the sausage. Place the skillet of sausage and beer under a hot broiler and broil about another ten minutes, turning often, until the sausage is cooked through. Turn the broiler off, take the sausage and put it on a plate and keep it warm in the oven. 

Take the skillet and dump out the beer. Pour in a thick layer of your best olive oil and heat it on the stove. Add the bell peppers and onion to the skillet and sauté until soft. 

While the peppers are cooking, take a sauce pan and add about a cup of your best olive oil and heat it over medium heat. Peel the garlic cloves and smash them with the blade of a wide knife. Add the garlic to the oil along with the red pepper flakes. Heat that until the garlic just turns golden, but do not brown it. Turn off the heat and let the garlic sit in the oil. 

Finally, cook and drain the pasta, but save a half cup of the pasta water. As soon as the pasta is drained, return it to the pot it cooked in. Remove the garlic from the oil, and toss the oil with the pasta, reserved pasta water and the cheese. Mix well. 

Serving

Take a pile of the pasta and place it next to the sausages on a plate. Pile the sautéed peppers next to that. Grate on some additional asiago cheese. Toast some homemade bread, rub it with garlic, and douse it with olive oil. Open a bottle of Italian red, and you are ready to feast. This was as good last night as it was in my memories from way back. 

Goat leg roasted over wood and charcoal

Recently, the dogs and I spent a day out in the yard, sawing up fallen limbs and burning them in my backyard fireplace. Earlier in the day, I went to the grocery store, and I saw they had half goat legs on sale. They looked real good, so I picked one up. It was about the same size as a half leg of lamb. 

As I was working in the yard, I lit the grill and started the goat leg roasting. Here’s how I prepared it.

1 half leg of goat

2 cloves of garlic, slivered

Oregano

Cajun seasoning

Adobo seasoning

2 large baking potatoes

Olive oil

2 shallots, minced

Wondra instant flour (flour for gravy)

Water

Preparation

To prepare the grill, you want to have two piles of charcoal, on opposite ends of your grill, bordered with hardwood chunks, about an inch thick. Light the charcoal by making a pile of dry snappy sticks on each charcoal mound and light them with a torch. When the sticks burn down, they will light the charcoal. 

While the coals are heating up, sliver the goat leg with the garlic, using a sharp knife to insert into the meat. Place the roast into a cast iron pan. Scrub two baking potatoes, rub them with olive oil and place them around the meat. Drizzle the roast with olive oil and then shake on a little oregano, cajun seasoning and adobo seasoning. 

Place the roast on the grill, centered between the two fires, but hopefully not directly over any of the hot coals. Close the lid of the grill and let the smoke do its thing. This will take about two hours to roast. You’ll have to add more charcoal occasionally, along with additional hardwood chunks. 

You want to take the roast off the grill when you reach an internal temperature of 120º at the coldest. Bring it in and set the meat on a platter, cover it with foil and place it in a warm place. It will continue to cook internally and will end up around 130º inside, which will be a perfect medium rare roast. 

Set the cast iron pan with the fat from the roast on the stove, and add the minced shallots. Let those gently sweat down to soften, but don’t burn them. Sprinkle on enough Wondra flour to absorb most of the liquid fat. Stir and cook that for a minute or two. Some of the flour will stick, but don’t worry Comrade. We’ll fix that. 

Add water, a little at a time, and stir to a simmer. Scrape up everything stuck to the bottom of the pan and repeat. Let it simmer when it reaches a nice gravy thickness. Pour the gravy into a bowl and slice the roast. 

Serving

Serve the meat, thinly sliced, next to a baked potato. Douse the meat with gravy. Add a pile of steamed, mixed vegetables, fresh baked bread, and open a bottle of Italian or Greek red wine. Your feast is ready. 

Old fashioned salmon loaf

Here’s another recipe from my collection which you can serve on Friday’s in Lent without fear of being struck by lightning. 

How often do you buy canned salmon? Oh, I see. You don’t. What’s that you say? You don’t even know what to do with canned salmon. I guess I’ll have to show you. Actually, you should keep a couple of cans of salmon or mackerel on hand for those times when you want something a little different for dinner. Now pay attention and don’t go getting all snippy on me. This isn’t that hard, and you’ll like it. 

2 15 oz. cans of salmon or mackerel

2 banana peppers, chopped fine

1 onion, chopped fine

1 tomato, chopped fine

1 palmful of fresh tarragon (or a pinch of dry)

1/2 tsp. thyme

Juice from one lemon

1 cups of bread crumbs

Salt and with pepper

4 eggs

3/4 cup of milk

1/2 stick of melted butter

Preparation

Drain the salmon and reserve the liquid from the can. Place the salmon in a bowl and flake it with a fork. Remove any big bone pieces but don’t worry about the small bones. They will cook up and never be found. If you doubt me, take the largest piece of bone and see how easily it crushes between your fingers. Don’t ever doubt me again. 

Add the onions, peppers, tomatoes and herbs to the salmon. Add the lemon juice, a little salt and pepper and the bread crumbs. Stir the salmon until everything is well mixed. Add enough milk to the salmon liquid to make one full cup. Add this to the bowl with the four eggs and the melted butter. Stir until the eggs are completely mixed in. 

Spray a loaf pan with some of that cooking spray or grease it with a little butter. Pour all of the salmon mixture into the pan. Sprinkle a little white pepper over the top of the salmon loaf. While you are at it, place a pat of butter on top of the loaf. Bake the loaf at 350 ̊ for about an hour. Let the salmon loaf rest for about ten minutes before slicing. 

Serving

Take a couple of slices of salmon loaf and place them on a dinner plate. If you want to add a little extra fancy touch, try this. Take a can of condensed Manhattan style clam chowder and heat it up without adding water to it. Ladle a little of this over the sliced salmon loaf. Now place a pile of steamed cauliflower drenched in butter beside the salmon. Next to this, add a big heap of wild rice cooked in chicken or vegetable stock. 

What else is needed? Hmm. You did remember to bake some bread along with your salmon loaf, didn’t you? Some of that with a big pat of melting butter is good. Maybe a Greek salad should be added to the mix as well. 

You also have to open a bottle of wine. For this meal, you want a chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. For dessert, you want to serve some coffee cake with some freshly brewed French roast coffee. Well, what do you know? It looks like you have a tasty little meal that started out with a couple cans of salmon.

Linguine with red sauce

I don’t know how many times I arrive home, not knowing what I’ll make for dinner.  I usually figure I’ll make dinner out of whatever I have. Sometimes I don’t need much. I often have a can of crushed tomatoes on the counter and an assortment of pasta. Now, if there is a can of chopped clams, hmm, that’s an idea. I also try to keep a can of anchovies around too. That’s enough to make a red clam sauce for pasta.

This is another recipe that is perfect for Fridays in Lent. There are a lot of versions of this. In fact I don’t believe I’ve ever made it exactly the same way twice. This version could actually use more clams, but the last time I made this, I only had one can available. Still, it came out pretty good.

Olive oil

1 onion, chopped very fine

4 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

Red pepper flakes

4 or 5 anchovy fillets

Adobo seasoning

1-1/2 cups of medium bodied red wine

2 tsp. basil

28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

6 oz. can of chopped clams

1 lb. linguine, cooked and drained

Preparation

Take a large skillet out and heat it over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onion, garlic and anchovy. Use a knife and fork to break up the anchovy and stir until the anchovy dissolves. Add about a small palm full of red pepper flakes. Continue cooking until the onion has softened but don’t let the onions or garlic brown. I would stir the onions off the heat to avoid browning and then back on the burner. Season the onion heavily with adobo seasoning and then add the red wine. 

Bring the wine to a boil and gently simmer it for about ten minutes, until most of the wine has evaporated. Add the crushed tomatoes and the basil. Stir to mix. and let that simmer another five minutes, stirring often. Add the clams and their liquid and stir. 

Let the sauce simmer for another fifteen minutes, uncovered, while you heat the water and cook the pasta. Stir the sauce often. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. When the pasta is cooked and drained, you’re ready to serve. 

Serving

Place a mound of linguini on your plate and smother it in lots of sauce. Add a heavy flurry of grated parmesan cheese to that, and liberally sprinkle the linguini with Tabasco. Now set out your homemade bread and butter. Set a bowl of Sicilian olive salad out and a wedge of cheese. Finally a crisp salad with red wine vinegar and extra good olive oil will start the meal on the right foot. Pick out your favorite Italian red wine to wash everything down. 

Baked stuffed poblanos

This is a recipe I make every once in a while. It is one of those dishes that I doubt I ever make the same way twice. It is kind of like chile relleno, but without the breading and frying. The peppers are baked, but the taste will remind you of the classic version. 

This takes a little time, but it is very easy to fix. Just take your time and don’t be in a hurry. Sometimes I make my own salsa verde. I'll will admit that most often I use store bought salsa, even though it can be a little high in sodium. Oh well, that's what the blood pressure meds are for. If you give this a try, let me know how you liked it. 

5 poblano peppers

1/2 lb. coarsely chopped beef

Corn oil

1 onion, chopped

1 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

Adobo seasoning

Cumin

Cajun seasoning

15 oz. can of pinto beans

1-1/2 cup of salsa verde (I like Herdez)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation

Wash and dry the poblanos and place them on a baking sheet. Broil them under a hot broiler until the skins darken and blister. Rotate them so that all sides are charred and blistered - this will take up to fifteen minutes, depending on the distance from the flame. Remove the peppers to a large bowl and cover the bowl with a plate. Let the peppers cool for about a half hour. 

While the peppers are steaming themselves in the bowl, heat a large cast iron skillet and add enough corn oil to coat the bottom. Add the beef to the pan and stir. While that is browning, add the onion, garlic and shallot to the mix. Sprinkle on a generous sprinkle of both adobo seasoning and cumin. Now give a light sprinkle of cajun seasoning as well. Stir until the beef is sizzling and the onions have softened. Add the can of pinto beans and stir. Let them cook until most of the liquid has steamed off. Turn off the heat and let that cool. 

Now comes the fun part. Take each pepper and gently pull the skin off. It will come off easy, kind of like cellophane. Once the skin is off, take a knife and make a slit in the pepper. Gently use a spoon and remove most of the seeds. Fill the pepper with the meat and onion mixture and place it seam side down in a baking pan. (Note, the peppers are very soft and tender. They may split in other places as you try to get the seeds or stuff them. Don’t freak out. They’re gonna be covered in cheese, so who cares if they have an extra rip or two? Relax, don’t worry, and have one of my home brews.) 

Repeat with each of the peppers. Take the leftover meat and onion mixture and spoon it around the peppers. Pour the Salsa Verde over the peppers. Add the shredded cheddar cheese mix over the peppers and then add the mozzarella. Bake the peppers at 390º for about a half hour or so, until the cheese is browned and the sauce is bubbling. 

Serving

Stuffed poblanos go good with almost anything. I served mine with beef burritos, chips and salsa, and chilled white wine (although beer or margaritas would be good too). You could even serve these along side a nice charred steak.

Potato skins with ham ... made out of leftover baked potatoes

Yesterday, I met with some loyal readers for some great burgers. The Country House didn’t disappoint with the burgers. They did disappoint me one way, however. One thing I always looked forward to was ordering some of their great potato skins. I noticed that they were’t on the menu, and I asked. Sure enough, I was told that they no longer carry them. Wow, I was sad.

Back in the 1980’s, it seems every restaurant had potato skins on the menu. Now, for some reason, they’ve fallen out of favor. Well, if I can’t order them out, at least I can make my own. Now, traditionally the potato skins are fried first, and then topped with the cheese and ham (or bacon). I had some leftover baked potatoes, so I skipped the frying, and let the broiler do the work. Here’s how I make them.

3 baked potatoes

Olive oil

Cajun seasoning

1 cup of diced ham

Several green onions, sliced thin

Shredded cheddar

Salt and pepper

Greek yogurt

Preparation

As I said, the traditional way to do this would be to scoop out the potato and deep fry the skins before filling them with the filling and baking them. Why waste the potato? If that bothers you, you can scoop out some before proceeding with the rest of this recipe. If you do, at least share the scooped potato with your dogs. For goodness sake, don’t waste it. 

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Rub them with olive oil on all sides, and drizzle extra olive oil over the tops. Place them on a cookie sheet, cut side up. Give them a heavy sprinkle of cajun seasoning. Place them under a hot broiler until the potato starts to brown. Remove the pan to a board on the counter. 

Slide the potatoes so they are right next to each other, with as few gaps as you can manage. Mound the shredded cheese on top of each potato. Don’t worry about spillage. You can’t help that. Get a lot of cheese on them. Go ahead, a little more. That’s better. 

Sprinkle on the chopped ham. Make sure you get it all on the potatoes. If it looks skimpy, chop more and add that too. Now add the green onion slices. Return the potatoes to the broiler and let that get all browned and bubbly. 

Remove the potatoes from the broiler when all the cheese is melted and golden brown. Separate them from each other and plop a big glop of Greek yogurt on each. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and serve. 

Serving

I served my potato skins with a broiled bratwurst, a broiled ham slice, two eggs over easy and buttered rye toast. A dry German Riesling would go with this dinner (or brunch if it’s that time of day). Actually, I was out of white wine, so I had mine with ice water. Don’t ask how many potato skins were left after my dinner. There were none left, but it would be rude for you to comment on that. What can I say? They were tasty. 

For dessert, I grabbed my thousand page David Weber novel, and poured a single malt scotch and enjoyed the evening.