Author: Chez Starz

I have a passion for food and travel. I am always looking for delicious recipes to cook and share with my family. This site is simply a way to share family recipes and those I find in cookbooks and online.

Rice with Tomato Sauce – Risotto al Pomodoro

Scott and I in Napoli

Happy Saturday! I hope you are all having a great weekend.

Something about rice with tomato sauce, I just love it. Spanish rice….yummmm; and now Italian rice. My boyfriend made this delicious meal for me the other night and this rice was on the menu.

The recipe comes from a website named cookingwithnonna.com. It has lots of great recipes but way too many advertisements. I do not blame anyone for making a living but it is sometimes hard to navigate. Sorry Nonna!

Ingredients:

3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely diced

3 cups passata or tomato puree

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

Grated Parmigiano cheese

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add in the tomato puree and salt. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

In a separate saucepan bring 4 cups of water to boil. Add the rice and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Add cooked rice to the sauce and combine over heat for 1-2 minutes.

Grate Parmigiano cheese to garnish.

Damn that is easy!

Buon apetito!

Nanaimo Bars

My finished product last weekend
Standing in front of the House of Parliament in Victoria, BC

My mom was born in Canada. She moved to San Francisco and met my dad in her twenties. I was born and raised in California. However, I definitely consider myself a Canadian along with my USA roots. My mom and dad moved back to Canada 19 years ago. Tragically, we lost my dad a few years ago but mom still lives in Canada, on the beautiful Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She lives 30 minutes from Nanaimo. For that reason, I felt it was important that I learned to make the Nanaimo bar and post it on this site. I made them last weekend. It is very sweet and my children endorse this recipe. This recipe was found on Canadianliving.com.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 egg, lightly beaten

For the filling:

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 TBS custard powder (you can substitute vanilla pudding mix if you cannot find this)

1/2 tsp vanille extract

1 cups powdered sugar

2 TBS milk

For the topping:

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 TBS butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a 9X9 or 8X8 pan by lining with parchment paper, assure it is covering all sides so that you can pull up on the bars when complete.

Mix graham cracker crumbs with coconut, walnuts, cocoa powder, and sugar. Add butter and egg and combine. Press into crumb mixture into prepared pan. Bake until firm, about 10 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack.

Beat together butter, custard powder, and vanilla. Mix in powdered sugar by adding in increments with milk as needed. Spread over cooled crust and refrigerate until firm, about an hour.

In heatproof bowl over saucepan filled with water, melt chocolate with butter and spread over filling. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until it is almost set then score the chocolate top with the tip of a knife so that the chocolate does not break when bars are removed.

Once completely set and cool, cut all the bars and serve or wrap. They last for 4 days if refrigerated.

Shrimp Scampi- “Scampi alla Buonavia”

Hello! Happy Saturday. I should be doing homework but instead I want to post a recipe.

Shrimp scampi was the dish my father would often order when we went to restaurants. I made it the other night in honor of him. I miss him everyday.

This recipe was found in the book that gave me the spaghetti and meatballs recipe on this website, I have since made it my own with alterations and I am sure I will do the same to this one.

It is a truly easy dish. Deveining the shrimp is the hardest part.

The next time I make it I will serve it over pasta instead of bread as the original recipe calls for it to be served on bread.

Ingredients:

  • 3 TBS olive oil, plus more to finish
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped fine
  • 1 pound extra-large (about 25) shrimp, completely deveined, and cut crosswise into three pieces (note: I left them whole)
  • 1 TBS fresh chives, chopped
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 4 TBS unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
  • 1 TBS lemon juice
  • 1 TBS fresh Italian parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp crushed hot red pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • 6 slices of Italian bread, toasted and kept warm (or pasta)
  • 1 lemon, cut into slices

Directions:

Make sure the pan you use will fit all the shrimp in a single layer for proper heat conduction.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until light brown (about 2 minutes). Raise the heat to high and add the shrimp, toss until they are bright pink and seared on all sides (about 2 minutes). Add the chives, wine, butter, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook for about 2 minutes (shrimp should be barely opaque in the center and the sauce reduced by half). Stir in the parsley, crushed red pepper, and salt and serve over bread or pasta. Drizzle the sauce and serve with lemon slices.

I would use bread for an appetizer and pasta if you plan to make it a meal.

Enjoy!

Lomo Saltado

This is another recipe from the First Responder cookbook my friend Ruby created called Code 7 Recipes for the Soul (details below if you want to purchase). It is created by one of the firefighters in the fire department I work for, Anthony R. After making it for my family and everyone loving it, I asked Anthony if I could share it on my little recipe blog in internet land. It is unique because of the sweet potato fries. It is a Peruvian dish and he received the recipe from his grandma and adapted it further after talking to relatives in Peru and twisting it to his liking. Super delicious!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups white rice
  • 1 bag frozen sweet potato fries
  • 2 pounds beef tri-tip sliced into 1/4 inch bite size pieces
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced and divided
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 3 TBS oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • 3 medium tomatoes, cubed
  • 1/2 jalapeno, minced
  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Marinade the tri-tip with 2 cloves of minced garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, and sesame oil. Mix and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, the longer the better.

Once the meat is marinated, preheat oven and cook the sweet potato fries.

In a medium sized pot, add olive oil and remaining garlic, sauté until fragrant, add rice and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add 3 cups of water and salt to taste. Cover rice and cook until done. (You need to make this rice in a pot, not a rice cooker, unless you plan to sauce garlic and add to rice cooker).

Slice the onion, mince the jalapeño, cube the tomatoes, and chop the cilantro.

Heat 2 separate pans on high with olive oil. Drain marinade and cook meat in one pan. In other pan, add onion and jalapeño, sauté until onion is translucent, add tomatoes, sauté until tomatoes are just soft.

Once everything is done, add onion and tomatoes to meat mixture, combine with sweet potato fries and serve over rice. Top with fresh cilantro.

To purchase the book:

Joy’s Zucchini Bread

This recipe is my BF’s mom’s recipe and is so good! You might think it tastes like vegetables, but you would be wrong. It is a sweet bread, similar to banana bread. You can barely even taste the zucchini.

Picture of Joy and Scott at her 70th birthday party; he surprised her!

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked, unpeeled, grated zucchini

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare two bread pans with parchment paper to avoid sticking.

Mix the sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, together in a bowl until combined. Add the oil, eggs, vanilla, and shredded zucchini together and pour the mixture into your prepared pans.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

 

Boeuf Bourguignon (beef stew in red wine with bacon, onions, and mushrooms)

I first posted this recipe in 2012. I am making it again tonight and thought I would re-post. Also, I have deleted the other beef stew recipes off this site because none of them hold a candle to Julia’s recipe.

Pro-tip: buy a good bottle of wine to cook with and have a glass for yourself while cooking if you like wine. The bottle of wine pictured above is what I used, it is delicious.

Ingredients:

  • 6 oz chunk of bacon
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 3 lbs lean stewing beef, cut into 2-3 inch pieces (brisket, chuck, or round-get good quality)
  • 1 sliced carrot
  • 1 sliced onion
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 2 Tbs flour
  • 3 cups of a full-bodied, young red wine such as Chianti
  • 2-3 cups brown beef stock
  • 1 Tbs tomato paste
  • 2 cloves garlic, mashed
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • A crumbled bay leaf
  • 18-24 small white onions, brown braised in stock (recipe follows)
  • 1 lb quartered fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter (recipe follows)

Directions:

Remove rind, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 in long) Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Saute the bacon in the oil for 2-3 minutes, remove to side dish. Saute the beef in bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides, set it aside with bacon.

Saute the carrots and onion in the same fat then pour out the sauteing fat. Add the beef and bacon to the vegetables and toss with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour and toss to coat. Set in oven uncovered, middle rack, for 4 minutes. Toss again and return to oven for 4 more minutes. Remove and turn down oven to 350 degrees.

On the stove top, stir in the wine, stock, tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer then cover and set in lower third of oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Assure the meat is covered with liquid at all times.

While the beef is cooking prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set aside as needed.

Brown Braised Onions

Ingredients:

  • 18-24 peeled white onions about 1 inch in diameter
  • 1 Tbs butter
  • 1 1/2 Tbs oil
  • 1/2 cup beef stock, wine, or water. (red or white wine is fine)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • A medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, 1/2 bay leaf, 1/4 tsp thyme.

Directions:

When the butter and oil are bubbling in the skillet, add the onion and saute over moderate heat for about 10 minutes. Pour in the liquid, season to taste, add the herbs. Cover and simmer for 40-50 minutes.

Sauteed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbs butter
  • 1 Tbs oil
  • 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms

Directions:

Heat the butter and oil and as soon as it starts to foam add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4-5 minutes. As soon as they have browned lightly remove from heat.

Back to the Bourguignon:

When the meat is tender pour the contents into a sieve over a saucepan. Return the beef to pan and distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat. Skim fat off the sauce and simmer down until a consistency you like. Pour sauce over meat and simmer 2-3 minutes. Serve

Fried Rice by Hazel

This fried rice was a hit with my family and is super easy to make. The secret to this rice is that when you go to fry the rice, you do so in the bacon grease. Definitely not for the vegetarian.

Ingredients:

  • White rice, cooked (amount depends on how many people you are feeding)
  • 4-5 slices bacon, cooked and cut up into small pieces, reserve bacon grease
  • Bunch of green onion, chopped
  • Soy sauce to taste
  • 2 eggs
  • Pepper to taste

Directions:

Make white rice, fry bacon and reserve grease, chop onion, scramble eggs and set aside. Place white rice in bacon grease to fry, add bacon and onion, make some space in the pan and add eggs, scramble those eggs and combine. Begin adding soy sauce and pepper to taste. Do not use salt due to soy sauce having a lot of salt in it. Be sure not to burn rice while frying because it will dry out.

Sweet and Sour Rib’s by Hazel

Another recipe from my best friend’s mom. I had never made homemade sweet and sour sauce before and was surprised by the amount of vinegar, but it worked and it is delicious. Georgette advised me to double the ingredients so that is what I have listed below to assure you have plenty of sauce.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup ketchup
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup white vinegar
  • 4 TBS soy sauce
  • 4 TBS Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 can pineapple chunks in heavy syrup
  • Ground ginger to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Oil
  • 1-2 red, yellow or green peppers, sliced
  • 1 onion, cut up in big chunks
  • 5-6 stalks of celery, sliced
  • A slab of ribs, type is your choice

Directions:

Cut ribs into individual pieces. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and ground ginger. Heat oil in a pan and brown ribs. Set aside. In same pan saute vegetables until softened. Mix ketchup, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and combine with vegetable, return ribs to the pan. Add juice only of pineapple, save pineapple to add later. Cover and simmer until ribs are tender. Add pineapple chunks at the end.

 

Butter Coffee Cake by Hazel

Georgette and I grew up together. She is one of my closest and bestest friends. I met her in Junior High School back before they called it Middle School. We had some crazy times together. Memories of her mom’s delicious food are nostalgic and wonderful. This is one of Georgette’s mom, Hazel, recipes. Hazel was from the South so do not be surprised by the high calorie ingredients.

Ingredients:

  • 1 package yellow cake mix
  • 1 small package vanilla instant pudding mix
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup oil
  • 3/4 cup cold water
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp butter extract flavor (see pic below, this is an ingredient I did not even know existed)

Filling ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Frosting ingredients:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp butter extract flavor
  • Milk to thin

Directions:

Butter a bundt cake or angel food pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place all ingredients other than filling into a mixer and mix for 8 minutes.

Mix filling ingredients in a separate bowl, save some nuts for cake topping.

Starting with wet cake ingredients begin layering cake mix, then filling, alternate until finished.

Bake for 55 minutes.

Remove from pan onto a plate and pour frosting over cake, sprinkle with remaining nuts.