Happy 4th of July

May 1965, Dawn, New York Harbor 

I was sound asleep in our stateroom when my mother shook me awake.  Groggy and a bit cranky I noticed it was still dark outside through the portholes and that my mother was already fully dressed.  With great urgency she tells me to get my sweater on and hurry up and follow her.  I could tell it was something important for my mother to let me out of the room still in my pajamas so I quickly did as I was told.  She scooped up my still sleeping baby sister and we made our way upstairs to one of the main public lounges with the big picture windows.  She told me to stand on one of the banquettes under the windows so I could see better.  

I still wasn’t sure what it was she wanted me to see but I hopped up and looked out. I saw twinkling lights and knew we were almost there! And then I saw it…  It was so beautiful! Lady Liberty all lit up with green glowing lights. I was awestruck at seeing something I had only heard about or seen in pictures or movies. Here it was right here in front of my eyes!  Our ship had slowed way down and was silently gliding past our official welcoming committee of one.  Somehow the significance and beauty of that moment was not lost on me and I remember it as vividly as if it happened yesterday.  I looked over at my mom.  She was silently hugging my sister and her eyes were filled with tears. I am forever grateful to her for dragging me out of bed that morning. It is a memory that will never leave me and one that I cherish to this day. 

Even before I ever went to school, or learned about our history, the flag, or the constitution my parents instilled in me a love for this country and gratitude for everything it has done for us.  On its worst day this country is still the best in the world. We need to take care of it, give back to it, be proud of it, and NEVER, take it for granted.  God Bless America.

Happy 4^th of July everyone…

Summer Salads

A riot of colors!

My hydrangeas are in full bloom. Happy. Happy!

Spanish Paella

Paella sounded good for dinner tonight so I picked up a few missing ingredients today at lunch time. Our friend Robert and his son Alex popped in to join us as did my niece Claudia. We sat outside, drank a little wine, talked about Aliens, politics, and the Loch Ness Monster. The conversation is always "interesting" when Robert is involved. Anyhow it was a really nice evening and a good kick off for the weekend. Plus the Angels won tonight.  

Spanish Paella

This is a recipe that I adapted from a book my friend Patty gave me. I am known to continuously adjust recipes every time I make a dish. This however came out so good the first time that I was asked to just “leave it alone”! If you can find Paella rice fine, if not I used Arborio and it worked very well. For the stock I used a combination of lobster and chicken base dissolved into 5 cups of hot water

2 cups Arborio rice, rinsed

6-7 links Spanish chorizo or hot Italian sausage

24 shrimp shelled and deveined

1 can baby clams, drained

2 medium onions, chopped

6 cloves chopped garlic

6 Tbs. olive oil

1 cup frozen peas

½ lb. fresh green beans chopped

5 cups fish or chicken stock

Made from 1tsp lobster and 2 tsp chicken base dissolved in the 5 cups of water

1 red bell pepper seeded & sliced

½ tsp saffron threads

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

 

     Put the sausage links in a shallow dish and cook in a 375 oven for about 20 minutes. Cut into ¼ inch slices and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet or Paella pan. Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring frequently. Add the garlic and paprika and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the rice, green beans, peas, stock and saffron. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and let simmer uncovered and without stirring for about 15 minutes cook until rice is almost tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add sausage, shrimp, clams and red bell pepper to the top of the dish without stirring. Cover and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add the parsley and stir very gently. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.

My Family came to America in the month of May (see previous) so I thought I would post a few memories of that journey...

As for May 2012, we celebrated Mother's Day last Sunday with a nice brunch at Balboa Pavilion.

It's going to be a beautiful warm weekend so I think I will hose down the patio furniture, warm up the spa and throw something good on the grill. Haven't decided what yet.  So Cal weather is pretty great most of the time but I love the warm days and cool nights and no bugs to speak of. We are so spoiled here...  

So next month we are hosting our first ever "Throw Down Party" (Bobby Flay Style) The subject of the first ever throw down will be "Eggplant Parmigiana" and I can't wait. The responses have been hilarious.  At least four people are planning to enter a dish as they are pretty sure theirs is the best. Several have volunteered to judge, and one (my sister-in-law Jamie) declared she will come ONLY if she does NOT have to eat eggplant. No problem! we'll fire up the pizza oven too.  No one has ever starved at our house. We are going to film the throw down for the blog so stay tuned!

Genoa to New York May 1965

We had been sailing for a few days already and the seas were fairly smooth.  My father was quite proud of the fact that his family did not get seasick.  Unfortunately others aboard did not have the same Moscovio family sea legs. On one particular morning we went to the dining room for breakfast where only about half of the tables were occupied.  I was really awed by the fancy place settings, silver coffee pots and starched linens.  Also the floor was made of some kind of material that absorbed sound, so when I dropped my fork, there was no clanking sound! I remember our waiter was a very tall black man with a booming voice who at first seemed a bit intimidating to me.  His warm laugh and huge smile soon put me at ease.  He was very nice and called me missy.  I remember he went out of his way to make us feel comfortable and well cared for. Somehow we communicated despite the fact that he spoke no Italian and my parents only knew a few words of English. 

On that particular morning my mother was ready to try something other than our usual “Italian” breakfast of Cappuccino, brioche or croissants with jam etc.

She had noticed some flat round things on other diner’s plates which smelled wonderful.  After some pointing and gesturing he understood and my mom was served a beautiful tall stack of pancakes with warm syrup. They were delicious.  So many new tastes and smells and we weren’t even in America yet!

 As we sailed closer to our new country we found ways to occupy ourselves.  Cruise liners back then did not have all the glitz and non stop activities like now.  You played cards, read a book or just chatted with other passengers during the day.  One afternoon my father spotted a piano in one of the lounges and began to pick out some tunes.  They were mostly old Neapolitan love songs and pretty soon people had gathered around for a little sing along. Santa Lucia, Anema e core, Torna Surriento. Some of them were crying as they sang.  I realize now that they were not only shedding tears for the home and loved ones they had just left behind, but perhaps for the fear and uncertainty of what lay ahead.       

Zuppa di scarola

(Escarole and Bean soup)

This soup is pure comfort food!  It is very satisfying just as it is, served with some crusty bread for dipping. If you want it to be even heartier, you can brown some Italian Sausage, pancetta or chicken before adding the garlic. Note: I buy whole wedges of parmesan cheese and grate it as needed.  For this recipe I cut a piece of the outer rind into small cubes and sprinkle them on top of each bowl of soup just before serving.  When we were kids, my sister and I swiped up the little cheese morsels as fast as my mother could cut them up.    

1/3 cup olive oil

6    cloves chopped garlic

2    heads of escarole, well washed and cut into 2 inch pieces

8    cups chicken broth

2    15 oz cans cannellini, or great northern beans, drained and rinsed

1    cup grated parmesan plus cubed rind for garnish

1    tsp kosher salt

Lots of freshly ground black pepper

   

Chop and wash the escarole and place in a colander. There is no need to fully dry the greens. Heat the oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant and lightly colored. Add all the greens at once. Add salt and pepper, stir and cover with a tight fitting lid. After a few, minutes give the greens another stir.

They should have wilted and cooked down considerably.  Add the chicken broth and stir to combine. Reduce heat, cover and cook till it comes up to a boil.  Add the beans and cook for 5-10 minutes longer. Ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle liberally with grated and cubed parmesan cheese.