Penne Fantasia is one of Villa Fazzolari's famous dishes. A delicious mix of baby shrimp, fresh chopped spinach, sliced mushrooms, and julienned grilled chicken complemented by Villa Fazzolari's famous Vodka Sauce. Although the dish may appear to be an easy one to duplicate you won't even come close to the real thing without the complient of Villa's signature Vodka Sauce.
Ingredients
Saute onions in butter until onions are tender. Add 2 swirls of Vodka, 4 oz. Marinara Sauce, 2 oz. heavy cream and finish with grated cheese.
Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Quick and easy cookies for holiday festivities
Everyone is short on time during the holidays, so we give you three cookie recipes - oven ready in just 10 minutes
- that are sure to add enjoyment to your holiday festivities.
Pecans are a popular nut at the holidays, found in pies, cakes,
cookies, even main and side-dish recipes. Here's one very delicious way
to enjoy pecans. These cookies are rolled in confectioner's sugar, and
melt in your mouth.
Pecan snowballs
1 cup butter
2 egg yolks
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 cup pecan pieces, chopped very fine
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and egg yolks. Add 1/2 cup of the confectioner's sugar, vanilla extract, and sifted flour. Stir in pecan pieces.
Roll batter into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake until bottoms are lightly browned, about 12-15 minutes.
Cool on cooling rack, then roll in remaining confectioner's sugar to coat.
There's always room for these light cookies -- even following a big
holiday meal. Kids like to help with this one. Let the real little ones
put the almonds on.
Almond cookies
50 almonds, blanched
1 cup butter
3/4 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind 12 of the almonds to a fine
powder. Cream honey and butter together. Add egg, ground almonds, and
extracts.
In another bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Add gradually
to wet ingredients. Knead into a dough. (Add a drop of water or flour
one at a time if necessary to make a kneadable consistency.)
Pinch off small balls of dough and place on greased cookie sheet.
Press flat into 1/2 inch thickness. Make an indention in top of each
cookie and place a whole almond in each. Bake for 15 minutes.
When time's really at a premium, your best bet might be to call on
a baking mix. There are some high quality baking mixes nowadays,
including natural, whole grain, Fair Trade Certified, organic and
gluten-free ones. Look for recipes that do something a little different
with the mix to come up with a dessert that's "holiday special." Here's
one from Simply Organic that uses their cocoa cayenne cupcake mix and
chocolate-covered espresso beans to create a uniquely delicious cookie.
It's one of dozens of quick, easy dessert recipes on the Simply Organic
Web site (www.simplyorganicfoods.com) that you can get ready for the
oven in just 5 or 10 minutes.
Wake up! breakfast cookies
1 box Simply Organic cocoa cayenne cupcake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 cup chocolate covered-espresso beans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet.
With an electric mixer combine cocoa cayenne cupcake mix with
softened butter and eggs. Add water. Mix in the chocolate-covered
espresso beans by hand.
Use an ice cream scoop to get large uniform-sized cookies and flatten. Bake 12 to 14 minutes.
Spiced Pumpkin Doughnuts
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or a Dash of ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil for deep-fat frying
- Spiced Sugar
Directions
1. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high seed for 30 seconds. Add the 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in pumpkin, buttermilk, egg, egg yolk and vanilla until combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour until well combined. Cover and chill 3 hours.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with floured 2-1/2-inch doughnut cutter, dipping cutter into flour between cuts. Reroll as necessary.
3. Fry doughnuts, 2 or 3 at a time, in deep, hot fat (365 degrees F) about 2-1/2 minutes or until golden, turning once. Using a slotted spoon, removed doughnuts from oil and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and doughnut holes. Coat warm doughnuts in Spiced Sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes about 12 doughnuts plus holes.
Spiced Sugar: In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
Uncle Bubba's Yellow Squash Casserole
6 large yellow squash sliced into rounds about 1/4 inch thick
1 medium onion thinly sliced
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsps olive oil
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
1/2 sleeve of Ritz Crackers, crushed
Sauté squash and onion in butter and oil until softened but not thoroughly cooked. Remove from heat to a large bowl, mix in cheeses and place in a deep casserole dish. Top with crackers, dot with butter and bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 350'F or until bubbly in center. Let set for 5 minutes before service.
Summer Treat:
Brandied Peach Parfaits
By Jean Hecker My mom always looked forward to the summer holidays when we were kids. Believe it or not, she even enjoyed the pre-summer prep which included trips to various local stores like "Mr. Big’s" in Bridgeton, "Garwood Mills" or "King’s" in Vineland and for the fancy stuff, she took us to "Braun’s" or the "Lit Brothers" in Atlantic City. We would pick up a cache of summer clothes.... pedal-pushers, tank tops, shorts, sneakers, bathing suits, all in vibrant colors, some plaids or paisley prints, mostly in comfortable cotton or linen. Dad would take us to Massilotti’s in Landisville for our sandals and haircuts at the barbershop. One day he took me alone to John the Barber for a radical cut and when he brought me home, Linda was distraught, (or either very happy) and said "That’s not the same girl" - but alas it was me! Even though Linda and I are not twins, mom dressed us alike a lot of the times and I guess we looked cute. I have a slew of pictures of us from those halcyon days, 2 little gals hamming it up for the camera, our cocker spaniel Taffy in a baby carriage, or us posing on our new bikes dad got us from Sal Drogo’s shop in Landisville, or sitting on our massive swing set that dad built to last for centuries, or there we are in the pool at Flanders in Ocean City. What wonderfully fun times, never to be duplicated, always to be remembered, locked away in that special place we call memories. We always had fresh produce in the house. Dad got it from his farmer friends in Landisville, and there was frequently a cook-out ending with toasted marshmallows. Linda and I generally lived outside all summer, coming in just in time for bed. We ate with the season, and every year I just couldn’t wait for the peaches. Mom made peach pies, peach melba, peach cobbler, but my favorite of all, was peach parfait. A variation on the English trifle, a parfait can be a combination of anything. It is the layering that is the trick. I still like the idea of a mixture of textures artfully placed in a glass and here is my favorite combination. It makes for a light, festive summer dessert great for company, even better for a late night snack! Brandied Peach Parfaits 1 lb firm-ripe peaches Peel peaches and slice into chunks, place in a bowl with lemon juice and 2 tbsps brandy, mix and set aside. Cook the sugar in a heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring slowly with a fork until melted and pale golden. This is on its way to a caramel. Cook caramel without stirring, swirling skillet until deeper in color, then carefully add peaches and cook, stirring frequently until caramel is softened and peaches are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cool to room temp and add last tbsp of brandy. Now it is just a matter of filling up a glass alternating with peaches, cake, ice cream etc. until glass is filled, ending with peaches on top. I like to shop for vintage glassware at the thrift shops, especially "A Company of Angels" in Vineland or at "Ranch Hope for Boys" in Cowtown. I always find something just perfect! Garnish with a sprig of mint, serve immediately. Brandied peaches keep if covered and chilled for about 3 days. ________________________________________________________
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 tbsps brandy
1/2 cup sugar
Pieces of shortcake, or pound cake
French vanilla ice cream, softened
Lightning bugs, blueberries and summer!
By Jean Hecker
For me, July means deep, dark starry nights, lightning bugs, blueberries, and sleeping outside. I try to spend at least a couple of nights camped out in my backyard on clear, cool nights. I bring out the big comforter, throw a few pillows on top and just lay down to look up at the night sky. The rhythmic sounds of the night creatures remind me that I am never alone and the vastness of the sky overhead with it’s canopy of twinkling stars reminds me that I am a part of something greater than myself. It helps put life into a perspective that satifies that need we all have to feel safe and to believe that it’s all for a reason. If you decide to follow my lead, make sure though, that you are well-protected from the ever present mosquito. They are especially active at night and even a well planned camp-out can turn into a morning of regret if you forget the bug spray!
It seems that ever since I was a child the mosquitos in SJ draw lots to see who is going to get me, they just love me. Linda would be bite free and there I would be, chewed up and sprayed all over in Bactine and Off. I would scratch and scratch until I was a mess. My mom started calling me “Bloody Mary” and I was insulted until I found out that there was actually a queen of England with that name, but not for the same reasons. Anyway, after scratching all night, my sheets would be a mess too. My mom used to get so mad at me, but what could she do? I was already plastered from head to toe in pink calamine lotion! Her solution was to take the sheets to the laundry on Wood Street to have them professionally washed and pressed. One day I went with her to pick them up and the lady asked her name and she said, “Mrs. Hoyt”. I looked up at her and said “mommie our name is Hecker”. Well, I got the bum’s rush out to the car and it was then that I realized that my mom was leading a double life. Seems she was so embarassed to admit that those sheets were mine that she made up the name Hoyt. Mom and I had a lot of laughs about that in later years. She and I used to troll around SJ in the summer in search of every “chick’n barb” we could find and she also loved that Blueberry Festival in Hammonton, especially the pies! Here is my own recipe for a blueberry pie filling that I made up a few years ago. I try not to drip too much calamine lotion in the bowl when I’m mixing! Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
JEAN’S BLUEBERRY CREAM PIE
Pre-heat oven to 425’F Use a 9 inch pie pan
**Use your favourite pie crust. You will need a bottom and a top crust. I cover the edges with foil for at least half the baking time, remove during final minutes- keeps edges from burning.
RECIPE FOR PIE FILLING:
Pick up about 2-3 quarts of locally grown blueberries. Wash and dry well , place in a large bowl. Add 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tbsps fresh lemon zest, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and 2 tbsps of corn starch. If blueberries are fairly sweet, then only add about 1/4 cup of sugar. If a little sour, add 1/2 cup. Mix well, set aside. *You will also need 6 ounces Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature mixed with 1 tsp of sugar.
Prepare pie crusts, line bottom of 9 inch pie pan with crust, then spread the softened cream cheese in evenly over the bottom crust. Place blueberry filling on top, dab with butter, cover with top crust, cut a hole in top crust for steam to escape. Set on cookie sheet to catch drips. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until filling is bubbling and crust is done. Allow pie to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Cacia Y. Pepe's Grilled Salmon & Asparagus
Serves: 4
1 bunch of asparagus
4 filets of salmon
2 jars of dill pickles
2 cloves of garlic
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper
MISCELLANEOUS:
1 grill
Sheets of tin foil
2 large plastic bags
PREP: Place 2 salmon filets in each plastic bag. Empty juice from pickles jar into bag. Place in fridge and allow to marinate over night. Clean asparagus. Dice garlic.
DIRECTIONS: 1) Set grill for medium heat. Place asparagus in aluminum foil. Drizzle even amount of olive oil over asparagus. Sprinkle garlic over asparagus. Season with salt, pepper, and dried basil. Close aluminum foil.
2) Place salmon on grill. Close grill and let cook for 5 minutes. Open grill and flip salmon. Close grill and let cook for 5 minutes.
3) Open grill and flip salmon. Place aluminum foil on grill. Allow to cook for 5 minutes. Check tenderness of salmon with a fork. Look for a slightly orange-pink hue. Check asparagus. Both the asparagus and salmon may need another 3 more minutes of cooking, depending on the heat of your grill.
4) Once finished, place salmon on plates. Open foil, and sprinkle parmesan cheese on asparagus. Serve and enjoy!
