Kielbasa Smothered in Peppers and Onions & Simmered in a Dark Beer

Father Time fools us , and slides away undetected

I couldn't help after reading the post written by our friend Cindy last week about the passing of the third Gibb brother, how time has seemed to cheat us, all the while leaving behind wonderful memories, laughter and delivering crushing blows along the way. Time fooled us as kids into thinking that it was this cavernous space that would just last forever. Nothing conjures up old memories the way a great song does. Sometimes I can recall what I was doing when the song came on my transistor radio. The predecessor to the IPod. Who of our generation doesn't see John Travolta with a paint can in his hand and walking as only he could to the background of the B-Gees

Father Time: The personification of Time and the more friendly version of the Grim Reaper. Typically pictured as an old man with a white beard donning a cloak and often times carrying a scythe and hourglass. In ancient times he was known as Chronus or Saturn.

He symbolizes the flow of time and its effects. His old body is a reminder that time is the devourer of all things and that, like the sand in the hourglass he often carries, his life will run out, as all good things come to an end.  A recent interview with the iconic actor and activist Kirk Douglas at 95 years old. He was asked how he does it, he keeps going strong even with essentially the loss of his voice. He said I don't look to the future but hold onto the past, it fuels me.

I remember as a kid, how a day could feel like eternity. If you were looking forward to something a week away well that just could never come fast enough. Things were really so simple but we created a full complement of complexities. I remember that first bike and the building excitement that came with knowing you might get it. The endless wait for Christmas morning to come. The ability to be a hero to your friends if you had your own quarter at the corner store where you could treat everybody at the penny candy tray. Or if really lucky, enough money to treat yourself to an ice cold Hires Root Beer. Things were pretty simple but how could we know how it would all change so fast.

The years are gone in a flash like melting ice on a hot summer day. Where did they go? The penny candy a thing of the past, our kids unable to comprehend it. Somewhere along the way came that first kiss, you know the one, the one all others would be judged by.

Before you know it your kids are in college or just gone. You have forgotten that first kiss and what along the way seemed like a broken heart now begins to take a little sprit with it. If time has spared you and you never have had a broken heart then you probably have never really loved and I feel sorry for you. We feel a sense that time has cheated us towards the end masking itself all the while, as an endless journey.

Truth is I wouldn't have missed a minute of it, for it is here where my senses grew keener, my heart and love grew stronger. Now each day when I wake there is a whole lot of people who count on me and that strength. It's now not about my destination or what lies ahead but it's about my journey. Yes the days seem to run into each other, weeks, months and years are like one big run on sentence and pass without as much as leaving an indelible mark. One door closes behind us and another opens ahead of us. Peace to you all.

One of Mrs. Tom's favorite grilling items is:

Kielbasa Smothered in Peppers and Onions & Simmered in a Dark Beer

6 Kielbasa

1large Vidalia onion or yellow onion

1/4 bulb fresh fennel

1 large red pepper/ seeded

1 large yellow pepper/seeded

1 jalapeño pepper/seeded

2 tablespoons of butter

1/4 cup olive oil

2 table spoons prepared brown mustard

1 bottle of good dark beer

S&P Taste

6 buns

Fire up two zones on your grill to a medium heat and place an iron skillet on one zone. If you don't have a skillet you can use whatever heavy pan you have. Make sure your grates are clean.

Cut the seeds and extra membrane from the bell peppers, thinly slice the peppers, onions and fennel. Chop the jalapeño small, Careful not to touch your eyes or better still wear a pair of rubber kitchen gloves.

Put the butter and oil in the skillet, get it hot and add the onions and let them caramelize and then add your peppers. Stir them about and let them soften and caramelize, close the lid on the grill.  Now pour 1/2 can of the beer add the mustard and stir in. S&P taste. Move the pan to an indirect heat.

Place the Kielbasa on the grill and c lose the lid and turn them slowly for about 10-15 minutes letting them char on the outside. When they are ready add them to the vegetables and stir them in closing the lid on the grill and leave them another 10 minutes on a low or indirect heat. If you need to you may add more beer if they are getting dry or too dark.  Otherwise drink the beer!

At Proctor Gas we specialize in all the grills and tools you need to become a backyard celebrity chef. So stop in and say hello to Mrs.Tom and share your favorite recipe with her.

Eat, prosper and be well

Mrs. Tom

Coffee -Crusted Cowboy Porterhouse with Tobacco Fried Onions

Growing up Restaurant

Growing up with a restaurant in the living room of your home was unusual enough. By the time I was twelve my brother was gone off to college and my mother  had one of the most celebrated restaurant addresses in Central Vermont. Most all of my friends were arriving home after school to a much more tranquil setting.

It was probably very close to the same program each night at dinner for most of my friends and their families. Not I however, the living room of our home was filled nightly with the hustle and bustle of the movers and shakers of our small town and a queue of diners from all over New England who traveled to Vermont to ski. So while most of my friends were home watching Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best and Bonanza we were inundated with characters from all walks of life.

The dining room was filled with business men, politicians, clergy and of course an occasional wise guy. At an early age I meet all sorts of characters all bound together by a common desire, my mother's food, the camaraderie of the Italian Table and the ultimate, a visit to their table from Mama Lee or a special treat she might send out from the kitchen. It was fun and exciting to meet all these people, many became lifelong friendships for our family that otherwise would have never existed. I try to keep that flame burning today at Proctor Gas providing the same quintessential hospitality my mother extended to her guests.

I would give anything for just one more visit from her to our table.

Coffee -Crusted Cowboy Porterhouse with Tobacco Fried Onions

This steak is probably enough for the ladies to share - not the case for Mr. Tom!

Serves 4-6

4- 22 OZ choice porterhouse steaks or your favorite steak

The Rub

tablespoon of fresh ground dark roast coffee

teaspoon of light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons sea salt

teaspoon of fine chopped rosemary

teaspoon of course ground black pepper

virgin olive oil

Heat the grill on high heat and turn it back to a medium high for cooking with the lid closed. To add a smoky flavor you can soak some wood chips wrap in foil and poke holes in the foil. Put the chips on when you start the grill up on a direct heat.

Place all the rub mixture in a bowl and mix well. Rub the virgin olive oil on the steaks and then coat well with the rub. Let the steaks sit at room temperature for about an hour.

Make sure your grates are clean and grill the steaks on the medium high heat with the lid closed. About 4 minutes on each side for medium steaks a little less for medium rare. Once you remove the steaks let them rest for at least 5 minutes before you cut them.

For the onions

1 large or two small yellow onions sliced very thin

1 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cayenne chili pepper

Frying oil

Mix the flour and the spices and dredge the onions in the flour and fry them to golden. You can do these ahead and just serve them as a garnish on the top of the steak warm.

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Southern BBQ Chicken

We bought a Southern Home

Some years back Mr. Tom and I purchased a Southern get away home in Pawleys Island South Carolina. Pawleys Island is reputed to be the oldest resort in America, at least that's what the locals claim. In as much as it is a beautiful place and we loved it there, the main reason for choosing Pawleys Island was my brother and his family had been living there since 1990. We wanted to be able to vacation close to them and make sure the cousins grew up close, as we did with ours.

Over the years my brother opened numerous restaurants of all kinds. He had a consulting company and provided start-up and culinary expertise to clients hoping to open their own restaurants. It was great for us as we got to sample many different cuisines of the South. It seemed that every visit brought with it a different location and a new culinary experience. They ranged from the most expensive you could imagine right on down to a Hooters knock off called ...HIGHBEAMS, get it! As it happened Highbeams was a sports bar and in Raleigh North Carolina. As we were on holiday and heading to our Pawleys Island home we made a detour to see my brother in Raleigh and the new place he had just opened.

The timing was great. It was smack dab in the middle of March Madness and as we found out there is no place like Raleigh NC during March Madness. The location was brand new opened only two weeks. There was a TV every 6 inches and a plethora of scantily clad beautiful young ladies. The place was lined with the colors of the day, Duke, North Carolina and NC State. The threee owners of the bar were NC State grads, the sign on the mens room door read " NC State Fans only, all others use the ladies room". My son Josh was about 14 and thought he had gone to heaven, Mr Tom although a bit more reserve about the surroundings seemed pleased as well. As it would happen there was one other attraction that particular week that fueled our visit to this remote out of the way stop. The University of Vermont had made the NCAA tournament for the first time since Calvin Coolidge was president or something like that. Low and behold they had actually won the first game and were scheduled to play Saracuse the night we arrived.

It wasn't easy to get those North Carolina fans to give a hoot about a Vermont basketball team and give up valuable TV space, but my brother had clout! We dined on the best bar food you could imagine. My brother was buying the wing sauce from the Anchor Bar in Buffalo where it all started. He bought it by the palate and had shipped down. It was a sports bar where everything was made from scratch. It would be a great place for Guy Fiori and Diners, Drive-ins and Dives to visit.

In as much as I will always have my heart in Vermont, here is a salute to the cuisine that surrounds my southern home. There are certain things that come to mind when I think of the Southern Culinary landscape other than Emeril and Paula Dean. Watermelon, Peaches and the treasured Vadaila onions. Each year when the onions are in season local civic groups make them available in 50 pound bags, The Rotary, VFW, school kids and alike hit the streets selling them and my neighbors all have a pantry full.

Southern BBQ Chicken,

Apple Smoked and Served with a Vidalia Peach Chutney

and a Quarter of a Watermelon for Dessert

For the Rub

1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon fine chopped rosemary
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon fine chopped sage
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Mix together and reserve

The Peach Chutney

You may substitute mango or apple and use fresh or fresh frozen

Two large or three small fresh peaches peal the skins off

1/2 cup of a peach nectar
2 tablespoons of a good peach preserve
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
3 table spoons fine chopped Vidalia onion( do not substitute, if not available just omit)
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Place all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for about 15 minutes. If necessary add a touch more liquid. Let it cool.

1 whole 5lb chicken split into two halves. Remove the backbone and rub the birds with olive oil.

Start the grill one zone on high and the other on medium if two zones. If you have three zones the two outside zones on high and the middle on low, let it heat for 10 minutes.

2 two large handfuls of  apple wood chips or whatever style you desire. Soak the wood in water for 1 hour. Wrap them in foil and poke holes in the top of the foil with a pencil, about 8 holes. Place the package on the indirect heat on the back of the grill. Turn off the indirect heat burner and lower the other two or 1 zone to medium.

3 Coat the chicken halves generously with the rub. Make sure the chicken is at room temperature for 15 minutes. About the time your grill is heating up.

4 place the chicken on the grill breast side up. Place the chicken on the indirect medium heat and close the lid on the grill. Keep the lid closed as much as possible, the chicken should take about 1 hour or a little longer. Check the internal temperature, it should be 180 degrees in the thick part of the thigh. Rotate the chicken a couple of times for even roasting.

5 Remove the bird and let it rest for at least 10 minutes, serve the chutney with it.

Kielbasa Smothered in Peppers & Onions

Father Time

Some of you know that I grew up in a family that's very fiber was food and politics. My uncle Peter Bove the only father I knew was a powerful and loved figure in the State of Vermont during the Aiken and Gibson administrations. The 1930's and on into the 40's. In 1957 my mother opened the Casa Bianca where she would entertain my Uncle's political friends for years to come.

This weekend I'm reminded of those days when my home was quarters to governors, senators and politicians from both parties. One couple was always the highlight of those visits, George and Lola Aiken. This weekend there was a celebration in Montpelier to mark the 100th birthday of Lola Aiken. She has managed to keep Father Time at an arms length. She was pictured on the news, vibrant and remembering George.

George was the Jack Benny of Vermont Politics, tight as the bark to a tree. After refusing to accept a republican national commitee's offer to run for President at the end of his term in 1938 so he could stay home and tend to his much loved flower gardens. Mr Aiken gave a speech at the Waldorf in New York during a lavish reception that didn't sit well with George. When he was asked what was wrong with the Republican Party he responded this is the problem referring to the lavish spending all around him.

When George and Lola would visit my Uncle would always give George a hard time because he generally was wearing shoes with worn out bottoms with holes through the first few layers of soles. Lola tells us that once they were married he fired her from his staff in order to save her salary.

Wonderful memories that are indelibly etched in my mind from those days on Grove Street. I want to take a moment and wish Lola the happiest of Birthdays and let her know I remember her fondly and the tight guy she used to hang out with. Happy 100th Lola from all of us at Proctor Gas.

One of Mrs. Tom's favorite grilling items is:

Kielbasa smothered in peppers and onions and simmered in a dark beer.

 6 Kielbasa

1 large Vidalia onion or yellow onion

1/4 bulb fresh fennel

1 large red pepper/ seeded

1 large yellow pepper/seeded

1 jalapeño pepper/seeded

2 tablespoons of butter

1/4 cup olive oil

2 table spoons prepared brown mustard

1 bottle of good dark beer

Salt & Pepper to Taste

6 Buns

Fire up two zones on your grill to a medium heat and place an iron skillet on one zone. If you don't have a skillet you can use whatever heavy pan you have. Make sure your grates are clean.

Cut the seeds and extra membrane from the bell peppers, thinly slice the peppers, onions and fennel. Chop the jalapeño small, Careful not to touch your eyes or better still wear a pair of rubber kitchen gloves.

Put the butter and oil in the skillet, get it hot and add the onions and let them caramelize and then add your peppers. Stir them about and let them soften and caramelize, close the lid on the grill.  Now pour 1/2 can of the beer add the mustard and stir in. S&P taste. Move the pan to an indirect heat.

Place the Kielbasa on the grill and close the lid and turn them slowly for about 10-15 minutes letting them char on the outside. When they are ready add them to the vegetables and stir them in closing the lid on the grill and leave them another 10 minutes on a low or indirect heat. If you need to you may add more beer if they are getting dry or too dark.  Otherwise drink the beer!

At Proctor Gas we specialize in all the grills and tools you need to become a backyard celebrity chef. So stop in and say hello to Mrs.Tom and share your favorite recipe with her.

Eat, prosper and be well

Mrs. Tom

NY Strips

Mr. Tom's favorite grill menu

I don't think there was a man alive who enjoyed a great steak like Mr. Tom. Around the propane gas industry both local and national he was legendary for his leadership when it came to choosing a great steak house. He was always anointed with this task on behalf of the group when they traveled to both regional and national shows. It was on one of these journeys that he would acquire a nick name that lasted him the rest of his days. T-bone!

As the story goes Mr. Tom made reservations at Bern's Steak House in Tampa Fla. ... Bern's is reputed to be one of the best steak houses in the world. The experience there is legendary this included a million bottle wine cellar that stretches two full blocks under the restaurant. The evening always includes tours of the kitchen and cellar given by the servers. In order to have dessert you make the reservation during dinner and you are reserved a seat on the second floor, you are escorted up in the elevator by your server, dessert is not served at the dinner table. Rolling carts of after dinner cordials are brought table side and the over sized desserts were just the way t-bone liked them, spectacular. It was not unusual for the dessert tabs to run fifty dollars and up, dinner, well forget about it!

The servers at Bern's make 70 to 80 thousand a year and as you might imagine, once in as a server you go nowhere else. Getting in is another story. Bern's has their own farm and raises their own produce, beef and has two 15 foot tall round fish tanks in the kitchen where the fish are still swimming until you order them. The tanks have glass walls so the guests are able to view the swimming fish. The whole experience is like Disney for foodies and especially for steak lovers. As a rite of passage the waiters are required to work on the farm for one year before the go on the floor at the restaurant. Their product knowledge is second to none in the industry.

Once you have been seated and have ordered your favorite libation the attentive staff is at your beckon call. This is generally when the kitchen tour takes place, the server will find your order hanging in the kitchen while you journey through and point to where the butcher is cutting your steak. They are not cut until your order arrives in the kitchen.

At Bern's Steak House you order your steak by the type of cut and whatever size you desire. There are minimums but no ceiling on how large, music to Mr. Tom's ears.. A typical order from Mr. Tom would sound something like this. "I'll have the king cut, just knock the horns off wipe its butt and put it on the plate". He liked it with the chill taken off! There were 8 propane gas men at the table and when the steaks arrived, the other 7 looked at Mr. Tom's Plate in amazement and asked the waiter "Lord how big is that steak". The waiter replied "that's not a steak that's a roast for a small family"! from that day forward he was T-bone.

Well the fourth of July is upon us, arguably one of the busiest grilling days of the year. Here is Mr. Toms favorite meal for the grill. Purchase a choice steak, a NY Strip would make Mr. Tom happy, 10 oz minimum, T-bone would say "14oz minimum". Mr. Tom loved a good dog with the same passion and if its dogs on the grill or a good kielbasa we suggest you stop by Big Lenny's Cart and purchase his savory relishes and mustard's to accompany your grilling. Oh and just to get into the spirit have a Big Lenny Treat while you're there. It's the thing I miss most about Rutland! Mr. Tom loved Lenny's kielbasa with the onion sauce and would always say" Lenny I'm not sure I liked that, better try another just to see".

Ingredients

4 12 oz NY Strips CAB or Choice

4 russet potatoes or good baking potato
1 bunch medium stock asparagus
2 large Vidalia onions if you can get them or white Spanish
1 stick unsalted butter/ room temp

Marinade

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
4 cloves chopped garlic
2 teaspoons course cracked pepper
salt to taste

Place the oil, rosemary, garlic and pepper together in a bowl and whisk. Place the steaks on a flat plate and brush on the mixture and let them sit for 30 minutes at room temperature. Do not salt until the steaks are on the grill or it draws the juices from the meat.

Cut the potatoes lengthwise and open up. With a sharp knife score the potatoes fairly deep in a crisscross pattern. Spread butter across and salt and pepper them, wrap them in foil.

Do the same with the onions. Make sure to peel the outside of the onion first.

Wash the asparagus and wrap them in foil with butter and S&P.

Heat the grill on high/ turn one side to medium heat

Place the potatoes cut side up on the grill so the butter will seep into the crevasses where the potato is scored. Leave them for about 15 minutes on the hot part of the grill, turn them over and move to the medium heat for another 20 minutes.

Place the onions on the grill in the same fashion they will take a little less time and come out with a wonderful caramelized texture.

Place the asparagus on last, turn it a few times and leave them on the medium heat for 10 minutes.

Remove the steaks from the plate and let the excess oil drain leaving as much of the herb mixture on the steak as possible. Place the steaks on the hot side of the grill. Depending on how hot your grill is about 7 minutes on each side for medium rare. The meat is expensive so to be sure I would always check with a meat thermometer. Brush the steaks with the remaining marinade as they cook. 120 TO 130 for medium rare.

Mrs. Toms Secret

Make sure to let your steaks rest for at least 10 minutes before you serve or cut them in order to let the juices recover and keep the meat nice and juicy. If you pay extra for Angus beef make sure it says CAB or Certified Angus Beef. Unless it does just purchase the choice cuts.

Gas Grilled Pizza

Pizza on the Grill

Our Mother Eleanora was the youngest of the family, a family of five children the descendents of the three Bove brothers who married three sisters. They sired 18 children, the last of which our Uncle Joe passed only a few weeks ago. Our grandparents were from Naples Italy. Naples is the home of Pizza. At least the story is that Pizza was created in Naples to honor Queen Margherita of Savoy. There are some that will tell you that the French invented the pizza but we are going to stay with the story of Queen Margherita. It is said the pizza depicted the Italian flag with its green, white and red colors.

Mrs. Tom's roots are Neapolitan and here she will share her secrets passed down from her mother and translate those secret recipes to her style of cooking on the outdoor gas grill. Making your pizza on the outdoor grill insures a crispy thin crust and adds a delicate smoked flavor to the dough.

Mrs. Tom will admit that there are days when she is so busy that she will resort to a store purchased dough or better yet one from a local pizza house or bakery. There are also good options on the store shelves if you don't have the time or inclination to make your own sauce. Here Mrs. Tom will share one of her favorite dough's and just how to grill them.

Gas grilled Pizza...John Henry's blackened Filet Mignon, Blue Cheese and Sweet Red Onions

The dough

Think of the dough as an artist canvas where there are no rules and almost everything goes. It was Wolfgang Puck at his Beverly Hills Spago Restaurant in the very early 1980's that began to change how we thought about pizza. He began to use classic dinner items and brunch items on his pizza. My brother tells me he flew out just for the pizza and with reservations in place a month ahead of time for two nights he rubbed elbows with the rich and famous, dined one night from the dinner menu and night two was pizza and champagne. Pizza was never the same again.

This is the dough that has become standard in our family since my brother's trip to Spago in 1980. Wolfgang would approve.
 

Makes 4-8 inch or two 14 inch dough

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoon of olive oil

3/4 cup cool water

1 package fresh or dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1/4 cups of grits or polenta(for forming the dough)

1/4 cup of flour for dusting the rolling surface (while kneading)

·       Place the flour in a food processor
·       combine the salt, honey, olive oil and a 3/4 cup of cool water in a small bowl

·       Dissolve the yeast in a 1/4 cup of warm water and let it proof for about 10 minutes

·       with the motor running, slowly pour the salt and honey liquid through the feed tube. Then pour in the tempered yeast.

·       process until the dough forms on the blade of the processor if it becomes too sticky add a bit of flour.

·       transfer the dough to a lightly flour dusted surface... knead the dough until it is smooth. Place in a buttered bowl and allow the dough to rest covered for 30 minutes.

·       divide the dough into 2 or 4 equal size balls roll the dough until smooth and place in a bowl...refrigerate and cover with a damp towel

·       1 hour before using the dough remove from the refrigerator and let it stand for at least 1 hour until it comes to room temp

·       sprinkle the work surface with grits or polenta and form your dough
 

Handy tools for making the pizza

·       pizza peel or baking sheet

·       tongs

·       rolling pin optional

·       pizza wheel
·       cold beer or good bottle of wine to sip while tending the grill
 

Heat your grill on high for 15 minutes with the lid down

·       turn your grill to medium heat

·       brush the pizza both sides with oil

·       put the pizza on the grill for about 3 or 4 minutes on medium heat with the cover down don't peek, turn the pizza over using spatula and tongs. Turn off one set of burners so you can create indirect heat and place the pizza over the burners that have been turned off. Rotate the pizza a few times if the crust closest to the open flame begins to char.

Toppings

·       for the 14 inch size

·       two 7oz filets sliced thin (or any good cut of steak that you like)

·       two cups fresh graded mozzarella

·       1/1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese

·       1 medium red onion sliced thin

·       tomato sauce...homemade or purchased

·       John Henry's blackening rub seasoning sold at the Proctor Gas outdoor grilling showroom

·       3 table spoons olive oil

·       suggested seasonings, fresh oregano, basil at the end just a couple of minutes before the pie is done

·       Once you turn the pizza and place on the indirect heat you are ready for the toppings. Mr Tom probably could have used the sole of an old shoe as long as you put a good steak on it. So we are starting our grilled pizza with a classic steak, blue cheese and red onion.

·       In a small bowl place the steak and toss with John Henry's blackening seasoning rub. In a sauce pan place the olive oil and just sear the steak for 30 seconds on each side.

·       Now place the ingredients on the pizza, first spread your sauce, then the mozzarella, then the steak, blue cheese and shaved red onions on the top. Leave on the heat for 7 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling away. Finish with fresh herbs.

Mrs Tom's secret
For a two burner grill turn off the one side when you turn the pizza, for a 3 burner turn off the middle and for a 4 burner turn off the two middle burners. Place the pie over the off burners and rotate if necessary to keep the crust evenly cooked. Check out the line of John Henry's rubs for the upcoming grilling season at the Proctor Gas showroom, good for fish, poultry, pork and beef.

Grilled Italian Sausage with Roasted Potatoes

Recipes you can't refuse!

My mother had her own way about her, the way she made you accountable that is. That accountability included us kids for sure but even her customers at the restaurant couldn't escape her primitive way of branding her restaurant and making them feel a part of her community. The way it was done before social media.

Actually anybody who didn't want to be left out of the special things my mother cooked understood the program. As the spirit would move her she would make the dishes my grandmother taught her. They were the dishes with their roots firmly embedded in the peasant culture of Naples Italy during the early 1900's. They were for the most part one pot dishes, incredible pastry and fresh pasta.

Growing up Italian, eating was akin to breathing. It took center stage over just about everything in our lives. Of course there happened to be a restaurant in our living room. What? You didn't have one of those? Most likely not, especially in the 1950's.

My mother didn't believe in advertizing and she enlisted her own brand of intimidation to brand and market the restaurant. She had a iron clad memory and she knew everybody's name and what their weakness was for the  special things she would make. Whenever she would make those one pot meals, traditional dishes considered the food of the peasants she would call the relatives...her brother Vic, DR Edward Bove, Joe Bove and so on.

However when she made the dishes more consistent with the restaurant menu, braciole, homemade pastas of all sorts and canoli just as an example things that we wouldn't have all the time. She would call her favorite customers who she knew were addicted to her food... if they didn't show up as she expected them to , they didn't get called the next time. That's how she kept them in line.

There was a favorite story of mine. One of our good customers was a Vt State Trooper, a red headed Italian. My mother would call the state police barracks and leave a message with dispatch that she was trying to reach officer Freeze. Soon after his cruiser would be in our driveway. He knew the call meant she had one of her homemade canoli's for him.

I know it's not in vogue to eat much sausage any more but a great sausage w/ roasted baby new potatoes and broccoli rabe is a great way to bring in the summer grilling season. Limit yourself to two sausages if that concerns you! Those of you who may be reading this in our hometown of Rutland Vt you were spoiled. We had fabulous bakeries with great bread and Mrs Bellomo's homemade sausage. There was a large Italian population mostly because of the Marble Business. There were builders, stone masons, doctors, great cooks, pharmacies, beer distributors, grocery store owners, scholars and our Aunt Teresa the countess of Grove street, well you get the point. Oh by the way all of those people were just in our family.

Eat well and live long. Mrs. Tom
 

Serves four

Grilled sweet or hot Italian sausage w/roasted baby new potatoes, fennel, radishes, sweet onions

and a sauté of broccoli rabe

• 8 sausages...maybe a couple extra just in case one of the neighbors drops by

• 12 medium baby new potatoes, marks removed and washed with the skin on

• 2 medium to large sweet onions/ quartered

• 2 stalks fennel/ trimmed and the bulbs cut into similar sizes with the onion and potato

• 12 large fresh radishes, trimmed and washed

• 3 bunches broccoli rabe/ blanched in boiling water

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 7 large clove of fresh garlic chopped

• 3 sprigs of rosemary chopped fine

• 2 medium shallots/ chopped

• 2 qts of boiling water

• pinch crushed red pepper optional

• S&P

This is a new combination that I came up with this winter. Roasting the root vegetables available year round. In a large bowl place all the cut vegetables ( not the broccoli rabe) coat w/ just enough of the olive oil and add a little more than half the garlic, all the shallots, rosemary and S&P to taste. Toss the ingredients in the bowl until they are well coated and seasoned with all the herbs and spices place them in  roasting pan or I like to use my iron skillet. Into the oven at 325 for about 45 minutes shake them a few times so they roll around and both sides are seared by the bottom of the pan and roasted on the top. You can check the potatoes, when they are done your ready.

Get the grill ready! heat your grill to high and close the lid. When the clear liquid begins to surface on the sausage they are done.

While the sausages are cooking and the pan of root vegetables is about 10-15 minutes from done in a sauté pan use the remainder of the olive oil, add the garlic and brown it...then add the broccoli rabe, S&P to taste and the pinch of red pepper if you like.

 

Mrs. Tom Secret

Par boil the sausage in the boiling water for about 7-8 minutes this keeps them moist inside. Then char them up on the hot part of your grill. Accent them with your favorite spicy mustard!