Thayer in the Kitchen

From:  Almost Italian; Recipes and Stories from the ‘Little Italy’ Communities Across America: Italian-Americans have long enjoyed pepper and egg sandwiches on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. In Chicago’s Italian-American community, pepper and egg sandwiches enliven meatless Fridays throughout the entire Lenten period. Not quite a fritatta, a pepper and egg sandwich is the combination of garlic, bell peppers, and onion, sautéed in olive oil until the peppers are wilted. Beaten eggs are added, and the whole mixture cooked until the eggs are done. The peppers and eggs are served inside French or Italian bread or rolls. I am not a big fan of green peppers, but when they arrive in your CSA box you need to find a way to use them.  This is one of the staples that I make every season.  They are good to eat and simple to make. 1 or 2 Tbs. olive oil 1 clove garlic, finely minced 1/2 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes 1 Medium onion, thinly sliced 1 large green peppe...

This is another recipe we borrowed from Blue Moon Community Farm.  It is a wonderful way to use a bunch of cucumbers.  A challenge many of us are dealing with at this time of the year (August). In this recipe the cucumbers are cooked which is rather unusual, but its yummy and easy.  Try it! 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 small onion, diced 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional) 4 cups peeled, seeded and thinly slice cucumbers, divided 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper Pinch of cayenne pepper 1 avocado, diced 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt Heat oil, add garlic and onion.  Cook until tender, stirring occasionally.  Add lemon juice and cook for 1 minute.  Add 3 3/4 cups of cucumber slices, broth, salt and pepper and cayenne.  Bring soup to a simmer.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 8 minutes or until the cucumbers are soft. Transfer the soup to a bl...

This is a delicious recipe for risotto which is one of our favorite dishes.  Plus it uses fennel which is a bit unusual to find in risotto. 1 pound bulk Italian sausage, if you can't buy it in bulk remove the casings 1 large fennel or 2-3 small ones, halved, cored and thinly sliced 1 quart chicken broth 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 1/2 cups arborio rice 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon butter 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley Brown sausage.  I find a potato masher helps to break up the clumps of meat.  Add the fennel.  Cook until softened and slightly browned.  Add a little olive oil if needed. Bring the chicken broth to a simmer and keep warm. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add the onion, cooking until softened.  Add the rice and cook for about 1 minute to coat with the oil.  Add the wine to the rice and cook until the wine is absorbed.  Add 1 cup of broth to...

Mario Batali is promoting once a week meatless meals.  I liked the recipe but felt it needed a bit of tweaking.  Since I decided to add chicken sausages, I no longer had a meatless meal, but it was a tasty easy one and helped use a lot of our summer squash. 2 cups fresh ricotta 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1⁄2-1 cup freshly grated Parmigiana, plus extra for serving 2 to 3 tablespoons pasta water, more if needed 2 pounds summer squash or zucchini, or a combination, cut lengthwise in half and sliced into 1⁄3-inch-thick half-moons sea salt 1 pound penne or other pasta, whole wheat pasta works fine in this dish 6 tablespoons or more to taste coarsely chopped fresh mint Coarsely ground black pepper Optional, but a good addition:  1# fully cooked chicken sausages, any flavor you like, sliced. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until just...