The Ambrosian Café News

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NEW: 2012 Dates

Jan. 31; Feb. 28; March 27; April 24; May 22; June 26; Sept. 25; Oct. 30 and Nov. 27. .

Recipes

Here are some recipes for popular dishes served at our monthly café.

Nov. 30: BLT Mac-n-Cheese

  • 5 cups water
  • 8 slices of bacon
  • 4 oz. sharp white cheddar cheese
  • 1 oz. Parmesan cheese
  • 4 oz. cream cheese
  • 1 lb. uncooked cellentani or cavatappi pasta
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 large leek (white and green portions only)
  • 3 large plum tomatoes

To start pasta mixture, bring water to a boil in 8-qt. stockpot.

Meanwhile, slice bacon crosswise into thin strips. Place into 10-in. skillet; cook over medium-high heat 8-10 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet to paper towel-lined plate.

As bacon cooks, grate cheddar and Parmesan cheeses. Add pasta, cream cheese, grated cheeses, salt, and black pepper to boiling water in stockpot. Cover and simmer vigorously 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

As pasta mixture cooks, slice leek in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/2-in. slices. Place into small batter bowl and swish in cold water to remove dirt; lift leeks out of water and stir into pasta mixture. Cook, uncovered, 5-7 minutes or until pasta is cooked to desired tenderness and sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cut tomatoes in half lengthwise; remove cores and scrape out seeds. Dice tomatoes; reserve 1/4 cup for garnish. Remove stockpot from heat; stir in remaining tomatoes and half of the bacon. Spoon pasta mixture into serving bowl and garnish with reserve tomatoes and bacon. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings

Oct. 19: Beer Brats & Red Cabbage with Apples

  • 12 bratwursts
  • olive oil for pan frying
  • 1-2 bottles of hearty beer
  • 3 lbs. red cabbage shredded
  • 3 Gala (or other) apples, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 large onion chopped into large dice
  • 1/4 C butter
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt to taste
  • 4 TBSP sugar
  • 5 TBSP white vinegar
  • 1 cup white wine

    • Brown the bratwursts in olive oil. When all pinkness is gone and the sausages are an even brown, put in a crock pot, cover with beer and bring to a good simmer (not boiling) for a couple hours.

    Melt the butter and add onions. Cook over medium heat until browned. Add the cabbage, apples, vinegar, white wine, sugar, salt, cloves and bay leaf in that order. Cover and simmer on low heat for two hours. If there is too much liquid, add a bit of cornstarch to thicken it.

    Sept 21: Café Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)
  • 2 tablespoons mild curry powder
  • 5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
  • 1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh (4 apples) NOTE: The café used Gala
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups good apple cider or juice

    • Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

    Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.

    Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

    Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

    (Recipe from Ina Garten's cookbook "Barefoot Contessa Parties!")

    May 25: Isabell Hashem's Brunch Potatoes

  • 1 2lb. bag hash brown potatoes, thawed
  • 1/2 lg. onion chopped
  • 2 1/2 C. grated cheese ( Jack, Swiss or Cheddar)
  • 1/4 C. melted butter
  • 1 10oz. can cream of mushroom soup
  • 2 C. sour cream
  • 4 C. chopped ham (optional)
  • 2 C. crushed cornflakes

    • Combine first six ingredients. Spray a 9 x 13" cake pan with cooking spray. Spread the potato mixture in the prepared pan and sprinkle the corn flakes over the top. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Serves 12 to 16.

    April 27: Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches

  • 4 oz. cooked chicken breast finely chopped
  • 2 ribs celery finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup walnuts finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. turmeric
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 tbs. Colonel Gray's mango chutney
  • 1/4 cup Hellmans mayonnaise or a good quality mayonnaise

    • Mix all together and refrigerate for at least 2 hours for flavors to incorporate. On crustless white or potato bread buttered with unsalted butter, spread filling then cut into finger size sandwiches.

    March 23: Irish Brown Bread

  • 2 cups whole-wheat flour
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading
  • 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

    Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400 F. Butter a 9- by 2-inch round cake pan.

    Whisk together flours, wheat germ, salt, sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar in a large bowl until combined well. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in center and add buttermilk, stirring until a dough forms. Gently knead on a floured surface, adding just enough more flour to keep dough from sticking, until smooth, about 3 minutes.

    Transfer dough to cake pan and flatten to fill pan. With a sharp knife, cut the shape of a cross (1/2 inch deep) across top of dough (5 inches long). Bake until loaf is lightly browned and sounds hollow when bottom is tapped, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool, right side up, about 1 hour.

    Feb. 23: Chicken Marsala

  • 8 thin-cut (1/4 to 1/2" thick) skinless chicken cutlets, about 1 1/2 pounds
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1/4 C all-purpose flour
  • 2 TBSP vegetable oil
  • 3 TBSP unsalted butter
  • 1/2 small onion, chopped fine
  • 8 oz. white mushrooms, trimmed & quartered
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 3/4 C sweet Marsala wine
  • 1/2 C low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 TBSP minced fresh parsley

    Pat cutlets dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Dredge cutlets in flour to coat and shake to remove excess. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large, nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add four cutlets and cook until golden brown, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a large plate and cover with aluminum foil. Repeat with remaining oil and cutlets.

    Heat 1 tablespoon butter in empty skillet over medium-high heat until foaming. Cook onion and mushrooms until browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer mushroom mixture to medium bowl and cover with foil.

    Add Marsala and broth to empty skillet, bring to boil over high heat and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, return chicken and accumulated juices to skillet, and turn chicken to heat through, about 1 minute. Transfer chicken to serving platter. Take skillet off heat, whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, lemon juice, parsley and mushroom mixture. Pour sauce over chicken. Serve.

    Jan. 18: Chili Con Carne

  • 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 1 large sweet onion chopped fine
  • 1 15.5 oz can black beans
  • 1 15.5 oz can red kidney beans
  • 3 TBSP chili powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

    Cook beef until it loses its pink color, stirring to break apart. Drain or skim off excess fat.

    Add tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, beans, chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic and water; stir. Bring to a simmer; cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally. DO NOT BOIL.