Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book (57 page)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat for the pasta.

Heat the EVOO in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallions, parsley, and fennel seeds and cook until the scallions are tender, about 1 minute. Add the wine and let it reduce for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and clam juice, stir, and season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a bubble. Season the fish with salt and pepper and nestle it into the sauce. Place a lid on the pan or cover it tightly with foil, and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake until the fish has just about cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes.

Salt the pasta water and drop in the pasta. Cook to al dente.

Carefully tranfer the fish to a warm platter and tent with foil. Return the skillet to the stovetop and cook the sauce over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. In a small bowl stir the softened butter together with the flour. Whisk the butter-flour mixture into the sauce, cook for 1 minute, then stir in the balsamic vinegar and cream. Bring to a bubble and remove from the heat. Stir in the basil.

Toss the drained pasta with half of the sauce. Divide among 4 plates and top with a fish fillet and the remaining sauce.

My parents took time to cook our veggies with great flavor. Green beans were always welcome at our meals, cooked with onions, bacon, nuts, or herbs. Here's one of our favorite versions. —Elsa

SERVES 4 TO 6

In a medium pot cook the green beans in salted water until al dente. In a small skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Sauté the sliced almonds in the melted butter. Toss with the green beans and serve.

Shrimp with Garlic

The Friday-night number-one meal. Pans full of shrimp in a bubbly garlic wine sauce. Yum-o! We would serve it with sautéed escarole and crusty bread. Three heavy oval-shaped copper pans of this meal were spaced equally down the table; otherwise our brothers would have devoured it all! —Rach

SERVES 4

Heat the EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes. Raise the heat to high and add the shrimp, sherry, and paprika. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp are pink, about 3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, parsley, and lemon juice to taste. Serve.

Our roots are in Sicily, and I am told that because many of our ancestors were poor, eggplant stood in for meat and fish. Today, we cook eggplant many different ways, often because we prefer it to meat—“thanks” to our Sicilian relatives. —Elsa

SERVES 4 TO 6

Preheat the broiler.

In a small bowl combine the onion and half the garlic with the ½ cup EVOO. Season with salt and pepper. Place the eggplant slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush the eggplant with the onion-garlic oil and broil 5 inches from the heat for 4 to 5 minutes, then turn and brush the other side. Broil for a few more minutes, until brown and tender.

While the eggplant cooks, heat the 1 tablespoon EVOO in a medium skillet over medium heat, add the remaining garlic and the red pepper flakes, and cook for 2 minutes or so. Stir in the tomatoes and heat through, then fold in the basil and reduce the heat to warm.

Serve the broiled eggplant with the spicy tomato sauce.

Optional: Top the eggplant with cooked, chopped bacon and asiago or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, or melt your favorite cheese into the tomato sauce.

SPECIAL-EVENT MEAL

•
ROASTED STRIP LOIN OF BEEF

•
YORKSHIRE PUDDING AND BORDELAISE SAUCE

• TOMATO AND MUSHROOM SIDE STUFFING

• CAESAR SALAD WITH BACON

Buy a whole bone-in sirloin strip roast and have the butcher trim the excess fat and remove any veined meat at the end; keep this meat to trim out for beef stew. Have the roast boned and tied. Allow the meat to sit out for 1 to 2 hours before cooking. Sometimes we add ¼ pound of mushrooms that have been sautéed in butter to the bordelaise sauce. —Elsa

SERVES 8

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rub the sirloin roast with EVOO and salt and pepper. Make slits close to the bone and place the crushed garlic in the slits along the bone. Place the roast on a rack on a roasting pan, uncovered.

Roast for 25 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 325°F and cook to the desired doneness. Do not baste. Allow 16 to 18 minutes per pound for rare (140°F), and 20 to 22 minutes per pound for medium (160°F). When the roast is cooked, remove it from the oven, tent with foil, and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. When ready to serve, run a sharp, thin knife between meat and bone, lift out the roast, and slice for service. The meat's temperature will increase by 5 degrees as it rests after cooking.

SERVES 8

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Beat the eggs with the milk. Add the salt to the flour in a medium bowl. and stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Melt the butter and spread it around a medium baking dish. If using meat drippings, remove most of the fat from the meat-roasting pan first, and add about ¼ cup of drippings to the baking dish. Pour in the pudding mix. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F and let the pudding cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until it is puffed and golden brown. The pudding can bake while the meat rests.

MAKES 1 CUP

In a medium sauté pan, melt the butter and sauté the shallots. Add the wine and simmer to reduce by half, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper, and cayenne to taste. You can add ¼ pound sliced mushrooms cooked in butter if you'd like.