Eat Together, Make Life Delicious...

This spring salad is very easy to prepare and can be made up ahead of time. Simply dress it moments before serving. I find it is reminiscent of a salad I had once in Sardinia, Greece. It was extremely hot that day and the coolness of the salad, the crispiness of the ingredients, left me feeling quite refreshed.

This would also be quite good finely chopped and tucked into a wrap or drizzled over a thin crust pizza.

Spring Salad with Plums, Olives, and Feta cheese
Makes 4 Servings

2 large heads romaine lettuce, rinsed, pat dry and torn into bite-size pieces
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
½ Bermuda onion, end removed and thinly sliced
4 whole canned Artichokes, quartered
1 plum, pitted and finely chopped
¼ red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely sliced
8 black Olives, finely chopped

Dressing:
1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Garlic slivers (garlic cloves thinly sliced) or 2 teaspoons garlic paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
5 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup Feta cheese, rinsed and then crumbled
1 teaspoon Lemon juice

In a large bowl combine the lettuce, cucumber, onion, artichokes, plum, bell pepper, and olives and toss until well combined and set aside.

In a medium bowl, prepare the dressing. Combine the dill, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, olives, feta cheese, and lemon juice and mix until well blended.

Pour the dressing into the large salad bowl and toss until the leaves are covered. Serve the salad in shallow bowls. Serve immediately.

Farmer's Breakfast Sausage is just one way to start the day. Eaten plain or neatly stacked in between fresh slices of bread, or on an egg croissant sandwich, or even along side scrambled eggs, it's packed full of flavor and probably what farmer's ate before heading out into the fields at 4 am. If you are preparing these specially for kids, see note below.

Because this sausage is reminiscent of a burger, this also works cooked on the grill and smothered in ketchup. If you have casings and a sausage stuffer, you could always make a proper sausage. Follow the sausage stuffer directions for best results.

Farmer's Breakfast Sausage
Makes 6 Servings

1 pound ground pork (or ground: turkey, chicken, or even a combo of your favorite ground meat, the choice is yours)
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch freshly ground white pepper
1 teaspoon freshly chopped sage
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme
1 pinch freshly chopped oregano
½ tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
1 pinch fennel seeds
2 tablespoons quick oats
1 tablespoon ice water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Maple syrup or ketchup

In a medium-sized bowl combine the pork (or whatever meat you selected), salt, pepper, sage, thyme, oregano, garlic, fennel, oats, and ice water and mix until well combined. To form the breakfast sausages you have two options: roundish chubby sticks-as shown in the picture-or flat patties. For the roundish fat sticks, form into 2-inch long round fat sticks no thicker than ½-inch. For the flat patties, form into equal-sized flat burger patties, no thicker than ¼-inch. Cover the sausages with plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to rest.

In a large skillet over medium heat, slick the bottom of the pan with oil. Carefully add the breakfast sausages, a few at a time and cook each side for approximately 5 minutes or until the insides are opaque. The outside should form a nice crust and be golden brown. Serve immediately with maple syrup or ketchup.


Kid Note: some kids prefer sausage without all the seasoning and if that's the case in your house, try this simplified recipe below. Also consider draping a small piece of cheddar or American cheese on top of the sausages to melt:

1 pound ground pork (or whatever meat you prefer)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons quick oats
1 tablespoon ice water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
optional cheese to melt on the sausage
Maple syrup or ketchup

Labels: Breakfast, Farmer's Breakfast Sausage, sausage

My great grandmother Sebastiana used to make this dish when there was stale bread in the house. She shredded it up to resemble breadcrumbs. This trick is an inexpensive way to add flavor and texture to pasta, an old Sicilian trick that we still use today. My aunt Paola uses store-bought breadcrumbs. Either homemade or store-bought breadcrumbs: whichever you prefer.

If you like this technique you can also include a few of these ingredients listed to dress up the dish: sautéed thinly sliced garlic cloves, finely chopped parsley, shredded Parmesan cheese, roasted thinly sliced cauliflower, your favorite cooked seafood, sautéed asparagus, diced roasted eggplant, finely diced cherry tomatoes, to name a few.

Spaghetti with Toasted Breadcrumbs
makes 4 servings

1 pound pasta, such as spaghetti, cooked according to manufacturer’s directions
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 heaping cup day-old bread, shredded into breadcrumbs (use a food processor if you have one)

Prepare the pasta according to the manufacturer’s directions. Add one tablespoon of salt to the pasta water. Cook, drain, and drizzle it with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Meanwhile prepare the toasted breadcrumbs. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add in the breadcrumbs and lightly sauté them for about 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Move them around the pan so they don’t burn. Reduce the heat to low and add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to moisten the crumbs and transfer them to a deep bowl.

Plate the spaghetti and lightly coat it with the toasted breadcrumb mixture and serve. To dress up this dish, consider adding some of the optional items from the head note.

Labels: Pasta, Sicilian family recipes, Spaghetti with Toasted Breadcrumbs

I love Country style Bruschetta, it is one of my favorite things to eat and prepare. It's easy and also so delicious.

Recently I traveled to Sicily to visit my uncle Giuseppe in Militello Val di Catania where he threw a huge party in the country. The actual location was just outside of town and smack in the middle of his orange and olive groves. To start the party, fresh bread was sliced then toasted on an open grill. It was then set out along side a variety of toppings such as pesto, olive oil and mint, pistachio mash, minced cherry tomatoes, salsa tartufo, olive oil and red pepper flakes, artichoke mash, olive paste, just to name a few.


I love to mix and match, and my favorite combination was a neat mixture of olive oil and freshly chopped mint topped with a sprinkle of finely chopped cherry tomatoes.

To prepare, pour some very green olive oil on a plate and add in a handful of freshly chopped mint and a sprinkle of salt. Mix with a spoon to make sure it is all well combined. Let it sit to steep. Meanwhile mince a handful of cherry tomatoes. Now grill the bread. Slice the bread about 1-inch thick and place it on a grill and lightly toast it on both sides. When it is hot, remove the bread and place it face down into the olive oil and mint mixture. Pick it up and place it on a plate and then sprinkle it with the chopped tomatoes. Now simply sit back and enjoy! Other great combinations are:

Parsley, Red Pepper Flakes & Olive Oil
Basil, Parmesan, & Olive Oil
Mince Marinaded Artichokes & Olive Oil
Sundried Tomatoes & Olive Oil
Pimentos & Olive Oil
Mashed Pistachio & Olive Oil



Other amazing Sicilian food:

Labels: Bruschetta, cherry tomato, Country style Bruschetta, mint, olive oil, Sicilian family recipes