Ham and cheese Involtini

Ingredients 

6 large thin steaks

6 cheddar cheese slices

12 ham slices

Pickles sliced (optional)

Dried rosemary

Minced garlic

Salt and pepper

Lay a steak flat on a plate, sprinkle with rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper.

Cut the cheese slice in two and lay on the steak. Add two slices of ham. Add the pickles if you like them. Roll the steak, secure with a toothpick.

Oil a pot with Olive oil. Cook the Involtini until all sides are well cooked.

Serve with Béarnaise Sauce (see previous recipe)  

Arrosto - Veal Roast

2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried sage leaves
1 Tbsp dried rosemary (if you have fresh, tuck branches and leaves under
  the string ties)
1 boneless veal shoulder roast, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, trimmed of fat, rolled
  and tied
3 cups Chicken stock or broth [note: original recipe called for 2 cups
  stock plus 1 cup dry white wine]

Preheat oven to 350F. In small bowl mix sage, rosemary, garlic, oil, and
pepper. Rub surface of veal with this seasoned oil. Place roast in a large
roaster pan with a lid. Pour 2 cups stock around veal. Roast partially
covered for 1 hour, turning 2 or 3 times, until barely tender. Uncover and
roast until lightly browned, about 15 minutes longer. Remove meat from pan,
and tent with foil to keep warm. Put pan juices in a pan over medium heat,
and bring juices to a boil, scraping up brown bits from bottom of pan. Add
remaining stock to pan. Season with additional pepper to taste. Slice veal
roast and serve with pan juices.

Italian Sausage

 

 

6 pounds meat (5 pork, 1 beef)

4 teaspoons of salt

1/2 oz fennel seed (or to taste)

1/2 oz crushed red pepper (or to taste)

1 Tablespoon Paprika

1/2 cup water

Remove the pork from the bone and cut into 1 inch cubes.

Cut beef into cubes. Toss meat with seasonings and 1/2 cup

water. Store in refrigerator over night and grind the next day.

Grind the meat twice with a course blade and make it into large

patties (1/2 cup measure of sausage), freeze them between

double layer sheets of wax paper on a cookie sheet and then

put them in plastic bags.

Make hot sausage sandwiches with fried onions and green

peppers on a hoagie bun. Grill sausage either in a frying pan,

or barbecue.

"Schinken im Brotteig": Ham baked in bread

This is an old traditional recipe which used to be a popular party dish in Switzerland and Germany. Although potluck dinners are virtually unknown in these regions,“Schinken im Brotteig” (ham baked in bread) was the ideal meal for a large crowd as it could easily be prepared in advance. For larger gatherings, two or three hams would be baked and served with a variety of salads, including potato salad.

Recipe:( serves 6-8 people)

1 smoked rolled ham (Toupie ham or Alsacian ham), approx. 1 kg (2 Lbs)
- If ham is already cooked leave it in the fridge until you are ready to bake it.
- If ham is uncooked, cook it according to package instructions (for approx. 60 minutes per kg) in a broth of the following:
A pot of water, 3 bay leaves, a few pepper corns, 1 large onion cut into rings.

If you don’t have time to make the bread dough you can substitute with 2 packets of store-bought pizza dough.

Bread dough:
400 grams (2 1/3 cup) unbleached all purpose flour
100 grams (2/3 cup) whole wheat flour
7 grams (2 teaspoons) quick rising yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
150 ml beer, room temperature (if you don't like beer just add extra water)
200 ml water, warm


Mix all ingredients in your bread maker (dough function) or knead vigorously by hand (approx. 10 minutes). Cover bowl with a damp cloth and let dough rise at room temperature for approx. 1 hour. Knead dough again briefly to get some of the air out. If it feels wet, sprinkle with some flour. Roll out with a rolling pin until dough is rectangular and large enough to wrap up the ham.

Pack ham firmly into the dough and brush edges with some water to make them stick. Make sure that the seam is at the bottom, so that it won’t burst during the baking process. 

If you have some leftover dough get creative. Cut out some nice shapes with a cookie cutter and glue on with some water.
Place ham on baking tray and bake for approx. 1 hour until nicely browned and crispy.
Normal oven: 180 ° C / 360 ° F
Convection oven: 160 ° / 320 ° F



Take bread out the oven and let it cool down a bit until it can be handled without gloves. With a sharp knife cut a lid off through the middle. Now you can carve the ham. Put the lid back on the meat to keep it warm. Before serving cut the lid into neat slices so that your guests can help themselves to ham and bread. The bread will be a little bit soggy from the meat juice but this makes it very tasty.

Serve with mustard, salad and pickles.

 

Gourmet Burgers

Burgers with a sweet or a zesty twist. I made these few days ago and I received thumbs up from my family. I used sliced bread because my family like the toasted bread, but you can use regular hamburger buns.

Ingdredients

For the Burgers:

2 LBS Ground Beef (the leanest the better)
3 Garlic Cloves Minced
1 Cup Breadcrumbs
2 Eggs
1 Cup Flour
1 Tsp McCormick Hamburger Spices
1 TSP Allspice
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil to cook (if you cook them in a skillet)
Cheese Slices

For the Sweet Taste:

1 Large Red Apple
1 Large Navel Orange
Cramberry Sauce
Cinnamon to taste

For the Zesty Taste:

1 Large Onion
1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
1/4 Cup fresh Rosemary Leaves
Mac and Cheese (optional)


In a large bowl mix the ground beef, garlic, eggs, breadcrumbs, spices, salt and pepper. Pour flour on the meat and incorporate. Form 8 1/4 pounders burgers.
Grill  the burgers(or cook them in a skillet with olive oil).

While cooking the burgers prep the sauces. Blend the apple and the orange with a pinch of cinnamon,
pour in a small bowl.
Blend the onion, rosemary, dijon mustard adding a very small amount of water, pour in a small bowl.

For the sweet taste, spread the sweet composte on two tosted bread slices (or hamburger bun), add burger, cheese slice, cramberry sauce. Ready to serve.

For the Zesty taste, spread zesty composte on two tosted bread slices (or hamburger bun), add burger, cheese slice. Add some mac and cheese (kids will love this add on) and serve.

Filet Mignon in Brandy Sauce

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons Brandy
4 Filet Mignons (trimmed), 6 ounces each
3/4 Teaspoon salt
1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Tablespoon Butter
2 Tablespoons Pecan Oil (if you cannot find it use olice oil)
1/2 Chopped Rosemary Leaves

Combine the Worcestershire, mustard and brandy in a small bowl and wisk to blend. Set aside.
season the filets with salt and cayenne pepper. Combine the butter and the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the filets and cook for about  minutes on each side for medium-rare. Brush the sauce over the filets and cook for a minute longer. transfer the filets to a platter and pour the pan juice over then to serve. Sprinkle the rosemary over the filets and serve.