How to Carve your Turkey

Here is an excellent video on how to carve a turkey for the holidays.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=508826506304668&id=264271744093480

Perfect Prime Rib - Easiest Prime Rib Recipe Ever! - Holiday Prime Rib of Beef

If you are cooking Prime Rib of Beef for Christmas like I will be doing, here is a helpful video 
from Chef John from Foodwishes.com


Click Here > Perfect Prime Rib - Easiest Prime Rib Recipe Ever! - Holiday Prime Rib of Beef

MARIE’S ARANCINI-RICEBALLS

Frying The Rice Balls

Rice Balls Cooked 

Ready To Eat with Extra Meat Sauce on Top

My Beautiful Mom Marie Lissandrello, cooking Italian Gravy 

My Moms Italian Rice Balls, also known as Arancini's is by far my favorite food on this earth, and the only time we could get to enjoy this delicious Italian dish was on our Birthdays, but lucky my Mom had 7 kids, so this was great.

Its not a easy to make, and is time consuming, but it is well worth it.

You can also put peas or chucks of Mozzarella cheese in the middle instead of the ground beef.

 

Here is the Recipe: 

MARIE’S ARANCINI-RICEBALLS

                                  

Plain or Italian bread crumbs

2 pounds  Carolina rice or long grain rice

5  cups of rice  to  10  cups water  (11 c. very sticky)

1  good  cup of  grated Romano  cheese (4-5 oz)

6-7 eggs

½ cup fresh parsley

1 ½  – 2 lbs chop meat

½  cup olive oil

medium onion  chopped

1 can  (28 oz. )  crushed tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 tsp  dried basil  or  2  TBL  fresh

½  TBL  oregano

½ tsp salt

½  tsp pepper

(1)    RICE

   Cook rice in a large pot about 20 minutes.  I like to make the rice in the

         morning, so that it will be cool when I’m ready to add the other ingredients.

         I use my hands to blend the ingredients well.

(2) MEATSAUCE:

         In a large heavy saucepan/skillet, heat olive oil. Sauté onion and garlic for 5

minutes, taking care not to burn them. Add the chop meat and brown.

       Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

(3) RICEBALLS:

Add the cheese, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper to the rice.  MIX WELL.

(4) TO FORM:     ***  Wash hands after forming each ball.

        Put 1heaping tablespoon of rice mixture into palm of hand. Flatten   

        slightly. Then place 1 teaspoon of filling into center of rice. Add

         another heaping tablespoon of rice on top. Pack well and form into a

         ball. Squeeze gently. Sprinkle crumbs over rice until covered.

(5) Have 3-4 Riceballs ready to fry. Have oil NOT TOO HOT. Form ball again. Use

large serving spoon to lower them into the oil. Use enough oil so the balls

         float and do not fry so many at one time, that they crowd the pan.

Turn gently 10 minutes with spoon and fork. I like to use a wok.

 

Scaccia (from Ragusa, Sicily)

 

Scaccia is a Italian dish, that is very similar to a Calzone

My Mom would make it for every Christmas Eve, and Easter.

She would make a few different styles. 

• Tomato, Pepperoni  and Pecorino Romano Cheese Scaccia
• Italian Sausage and Spinach with Mozzarella Cheese Scaccia
• Lamb and Garlic Scaccia

My favorite was the Italian Sausage and Spinach with Mozzarella Cheese Scaccia, I love this one. 

Here is a recipe for the Tomato, with Pecorino Romano Cheese Scaccia, you can add Pepperoni if you like.

Recipe: 

Dough: 

5 c flour*             

1-1/2 tsp salt                      

1 pkg yeast      

1/3 c olive oil      

Approx 1-1/3 c warm water

*I use ½ white and ½ white whole wheat flour and proof my yeast first.

Sauce:  

2 large cans crushed tomatoes                   

1-2 cloves garlic

Crushed basil                                                     

salt & pepper

Assembly:           

1-1/3 c grated Romano                  

4 c diced aged, sharp, provolone (about 2-1/4 pounds)

                                

Olive oil                                                

salt and pepper (don’t use pepper mill)

Knead dough until smooth, soft and firm.  Coat with olive oil.  Cover and let rise about 3-1/2 hours in a warm place; do not move.  I use clean pillow cases that I save from year to year just for this and put 2 or 3 small blankets under and over it.  Then I bless it like Mom used to do and it grows!  To make things easier later, you can form the dough into 4 balls before setting to rise.  This way you don’t have to disturb the rest of the dough while you’re working with the one piece.  Keep remaining dough oiled as you work.

While it’s rising, sauté garlic in a little olive oil in a pot, add 2 large cans of crushed tomatoes,  salt, basil & pepper.  Simmer for 1 hour.  Let cool before using on dough or it will melt holes in it.  If you have some left when you’re done, you can use it for pizza!

Spread a little olive oil on your rolling surface.  Take 1/4 of the dough and flip it on the surface so you get a little oil on both sides.  Roll it out in a roughly rectangular shape.  Spread tomato sauce on it.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with Romano and then Provolone.  Keep away from about a ¼” or less margin around the ends to keep ingredients from leaking out when folding. 

Now fold over 1/2” or less of both long ends of your rectangle.  Fold in just enough to make sides even or straight on the long ends.  Now take a short end and fold over to the middle of your rectangle.  Fold over other short end to meet that one in the middle.  Spread a little more sauce and sprinkle a littler more cheese.  Now fold one end over to meet other end, like you’re closing a book.  Carefully pick up by putting hands under each end and move to oiled sheet pan.

Bake at 350 (340 at speed bake) degrees until golden brown – about one hour.  I smear a little sauce down the middle of the loaves once they are on the sheet pan before baking.  I let cool a bit on baking sheet and then move to counter where I put them on paper towels that have been placed over a few layers of newspaper to absorb excess moisture.  Can be served hot or cold or room temperature.  Cool completely before storing.

                 

(You can add sausage; there are many variations on line from Italy.)

Creamy Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken

Click Here > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asp7_BqQgXM

Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole 

Click Here >   Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Holiday Inn in Merida , or should I say Turkey Jerky Night

This year my wife and I decided to have Thanksgiving Dinner out at a nice Restaurant, but here in Yucatan Mexico, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but luckily a few Hotels who cater to Americans do serve their version of Turkey Dinner. So, we decided to try the Holiday Inn in Merida, across the street from Fiesta Americana Hotel.

The price was $377 mxp each person with no beverages.

So, we got all dressed up to celebrate a delicious Turkey Dinner, and headed off to the Holiday Inn, to their restaurant called La Arbolada Bistro and Grill.

The dinner was served outdoors, in a very romantic setting,and the night was cool, so it was really nice.

The first thing we noticed that they were paying American football that nobody was listing to, and they had it blasting, we needed to ask them to lower the volume 3 times, or waitress was very nice and told us to go help ourselves to the buffet. 

We got to the buffet, the Turkey was this dried up carcass of a bird, with stuffing that was all dark, and looked bad.

We sat back down to eat, and the food was horrendous, the turkey was so dry I called the Turkey jerky, the vegetables are under-cooked, and they had no mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes a staple for every Thanksgiving dinner, and what little stuffing they did have was inside the turkey all dried out.

What a waste of our good hard earned money.
And the bathroom by the buffet seems that the septic tank was overflowed and had a terrible smell.
The desserts were simple commercial style desserts that are served at all hotels that there's no pastry chef.
however our waitress Cecelia was extremely nice.

I give La Arbolada Bistro & Grill at the Holiday Inn in Merida  - 2  Chef Hats out of 5