Recipes and Posts | La Famiglia Perugi

Baked Polenta

by Pam Marraccini | Mar 22, 2024 | Polenta, Recipes

From Pam Perugi Marraccini

• Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
• 9×9 or 10x 10 baking dish brushed with olive oil
• 2 c polenta
• 6 c water or chicken stock
• 2 t Salt
• 2 T Butter
• ½ c grated parmigiana

1. Cook polenta. I bring the liquid to a boil with salt and add the polenta all at once stirring with a whisk to
remove all lumps, takes only seconds to accomplish.
2. Lower the temperature and continue stirring until it pulls away from the sides of the pot (20 minutes or so).
3. Add butter and parmigiana. Stir thoroughly.
4. Spread evenly in baking dish and sprinkle top with thinly sliced brick cheese if you can find it or 1 ½ c grated Monterey jack or other mild cheese mix. Then add Quick Tomato Sauce on top of that.
5. Bake for 30-45 minutes. It’s even better reheated the second day; it gets firm and becomes sliceable.

Note from Deb: I have placed firm pieces of polenta on a charcoal grill and added sauce before serving. Excellent!

Quick Tomato Sauce

by Pam Marraccini | Mar 22, 2024 | Recipes, Sauce

By Pam Perugi Marraccini

When Dad came home from one of his visits to Italy, he showed me this quick method for making tomato sauce taught to him by his cousin Bruna Palermo. It has been my standard ever since.

You can use fresh peeled tomatoes or jarred/canned tomatoes.
I use canned whole San Marzano Tomatoes or the Jarred version by Jovial.

• ¼ – ½ c Olive oil to cover bottom of pan. (I use a frying pan which speeds up the process due to the larger surface area, cooks in 45 minutes or less.)

• 1 – 28 oz can whole/peeled San Marzano or 2 – 14 Oz Jars of Jovial whole peeled tomatoes

• 1 large onion, chopped finely

• 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped finely

• Salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste

• Any herb that suits your menu of the day: marjoram is my favorite, but oregano, rosemary, or fresh basil (added at the end) will work too.

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until transparent, add whole tomatoes and chop them with the edge of a wooden spoon while cooking them ( or pulse them in a food processor to a chunky texture.) Add all seasonings, except basil. Stir and chop regularly. Takes only 45 minutes or so. Add fresh basil at the end.

Artisan-style, Gluten Free Bread

by Pam Marraccini | Mar 22, 2024 | Bread, Gluten Free, Recipes

By Ivo Cola, from Pam Perugi Marraccini

INGREDIENTS:
• 500 grams (1.1 lbs) (17.637 ozs.) Caputo Brand, “Fioreglut”, gluten-free flour (this flour works best, period)
• 5 grams dry yeast (i.e. 1 ¼ to 1 ½ tsp)
• 400 grams (400 ml) (14.1 oz) of luke-warm water, around 80-degrees F
• 10 grams salt (i.e. 1 ½ tsp)
•12 grams (3 tsp) extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) plus more for mixing
• Some extra gluten-free flour for dusting

PROCESS:
1. Add yeast to the flour, and then add the water, mix to incorporate (before you mix, coat your hands with EVOO. If
using a spatula to mix, coat the spatula with EVOO)
• Add the salt and mix in until incorporated
• Add the EVOO and continue mixing (use the pincher method, which is to squeeze the dough while mixing)
• Once all ingredients are mixed thoroughly together, let rest, covered, for 10 minutes
• After 10 minutes, coat your hands with some EVOO and shape the dough into a round shape (like making a large meat ball)
• Sprinkle a proofing basket (or bowl) generously with gluten free flour (this will help prevent the dough from sticking) and then place the dough in the basket
• Sprinkle some gluten free flour on top of the dough and cover with a kitchen towel until it doubles in size, which is typically 3 – 4 hours
• Place a Dutch oven with its lid (or any other oven proof bakeware and lid) into the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F
• Carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from your oven, and carefully place the dough inside. Score the top of the dough with a bread lame (or you can cut the top with scissors) Place lid on top and cook in oven for 30 minutes with the lid on
• After 30 minutes, remove lid and cook for 10 minutes
• After 10 minutes, change setting on oven to broil and broil for 5 minutes (this will add an amazing color to the top of the bread)
• Then remove the bread and let stand 30 minutes. Enjoy.

Pomodoro (Marinara)

by Deborah Perugi | Aug 5, 2023 | Lasagna, Pasta, Recipes, Sauce

1 large can San Marzano tomatoes with juice. (Find authentic San Marzano at Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Wegman’s and World Market.)

1/4 c olive oil

1 garlic clove

2 T tomato paste

fresh basil leaves

Bottle of Passata (purchase at Whole Foods or World Market)

Pour olive oil into saucepan and add roughly sliced garlic clove, brown lightly and remove. Add tomatoes. Break up as they cook into smaller pieces. Add tomato paste to thicken. Crushed red pepper if desired. Cook to reduce sauce. Add basil leaves and continue to cook until done..

Use as a base sauce for eggplant parmesan, Sasage Ragu, Pasta Puttanesca, Cattiatore, pizza, etc.

(Photo to come)

Martha’s Vineyard

by Deborah Perugi | May 13, 2023 | Party

The Slate and Perugi families were all together on Martha’s Vineyard. As you can see, the cousins had a great time!

Pam Perugi Marraccini

John Slate

lee marraccini and nancy slate krug

John Krug

serving

underthetent

ed and nancy

richard saltus deb perugi

Grandma’s Rice Custard (updated)

by Deborah Perugi | May 12, 2023 | Dolci, Recipes

From Grandma’s hand written note:

1/4 cup rice, wash well.

Cook slowly in quart milk, a little salt, stir all the time in a sauce pan, until rice is cooked

1/2 cup sugar to taste

Take 5 eggs if small (4 if large), heat a little, put a tsp. vanilla

Place in buttered pan, 4 small pieces of butter on top

Put in medium oven (325°) about 25-30 min (45 min.in our oven) until knife comes out clean.

(Note: Rich and I both felt that 1/4 cup uncooked Basmati rice was not enough in this recipe. Next time I would use 1/3 to 1/2 cup instead. Also, I would change sugar to 1/4 C. — Deb)

Pizza

by Deborah Perugi | Aug 7, 2022 | Appetizer, Main Dish, Party, Sauce

MAKE DOUGH

Dissolve 1 package yeast (or 1 T) by mixing into 1 C warm water. (tap water is ok)

Add 1 t salt and 1/4 C olive oil and mix.

Stir into 2 C flour (00 flour is best) I used King Arthur Pizza flour.

Knead on floured counter top about 1 minute. Place in bowl and cover with damp towel and place in oven (turned off) to rise for 1 hour. (1st proof)

Scrape out onto floured counter and knead for two or three minutes. Sprinkle flour to keep it from sticking. Put back in oven and let rise up to 3 hours. I only did 2. (2nd proof)

Remove and knead a little to shape and spread in oily shallow baking pan.

Turn oven on to 400 degrees F. While that was heating up, I put the dough pan on the bottom rack to bake a little.

MAKE SAUCE: (Can be made ahead.)

I used a small box of Cento chopped tomatoes. Heat on stove and add olive oil, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, marjoram and then mix. Add tomato paste and a little anchovy. Cook until thick enough for pie.

CHEESE:

After spreading sauce on dough, sprinkle almost a small package of shredded Italian cheese. (Stop and Shop brand) Then add sliced mozzerella, I used almost one fresh white ball. The whiter the better. Then lastly some grated parmesan cheese.

Bake 10 minutes in the middle rack and 8 minutes on the top rack.

molto bene!

SemiFreddo di Torrone

by Deborah Perugi | Jun 5, 2021 | Dolci

A couple years ago, RIch, Deb, Eva and Will took a train tour of Italy, including Rome where our three second cousins reside. Marguerita invited us for dinner one night along with Michele and Franco and various daughters! M was busy in the kitchen after dinner and came out with an amazing dessert. This is it. I found it in a cast off cook book (“Homestyle Italian Cooking, by Lori Carangelo”) given to me by a friend. I was looking through and immediately recognized the dish. This recipe does not require gelatin, which I thought was in M’s recipe. I dare you to try it!!

Fried baby artichokes

by Deborah Perugi | Mar 16, 2021 | Appetizer, Recipes, Vegetables

I tried this recently, but didn’t trim them enough. Here’s how to make baby artichokes dipped in seasoned flour and fried just like grandma made. from the NYTimes: “Snap off a few of the tough, dark exterior leaves of the little artichokes until the pale green centers are visible. (more than you think needed) Then cut a half-inch or so off the tops of each artichoke and trim the stem end with a paring knife. Cut them lengthwise into halves or quarters and put them in a bowl of water with a good squeeze of lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown. This can be done an hour or two before cooking. Use olive oil to fry them if you’re feeling extravagant, or a frugal combination of olive and vegetable oils.

• In case you need the coating info: dry artichokes with a clean towel, then dip a few at a time into seasoned flour, then dip onto beaten eggs, then the flour again. I used a cup or two of half olive oil and half peanut oil and the costing came out great.

Todaro’s Closes for Good

by Deborah Perugi | Mar 16, 2021 | Groceries

Perhaps some of us accompanied our grandmother or parent into this store in NY. It closed for good April 2, 1999. I used to reliably order by mail cotecchino sausage there. The link in the footer still takes you to their facebook page.