Big Mar's Antipasto

Every year for the holidays, my friends and I gift each other with homemade treats. Suzanne bakes amazing cookies and sweets, I make jam and granola and my friend Marie presents us with jars of homemade antipasto. Normally when I think of antipasto, I think of thin slices of cured meats and aged cheeses served with brined vegetables and crusty bread. Marie's antipasto is based on a classic Calabrese recipe of olives, pickles, lightly pickled vegetables and canned tuna suspended in a tomatoey sauce and served on crackers or toast. The first time my husband and I opened one of Marie's jars of antipasto, it disappeared in about 30 minutes.

Marie got this recipe from her Italian American mother, Mary Polino, otherwise known as Big Mar. Big Mar is a 97 year old firecracker and she looms large in the lives of Marie and her four siblings. Last year, Marie invited the bitchin in the kitchen gals over to Big Mar's house to make a swinging batch of antipasto, but Big Mar took a bit of a tumble and we had to postpone. At 97, she was no longer able to stay in her two-story home and after her release from the hospital, she moved to an independent living facility just a few miles from Marie's home. Luckily, there's a well equipped activity room with a full kitchen, so on a chilly Saturday afternoon I met Marie and Big Mar at The Residence of Whitehall to make this unusual and delicious dish.

BIG MAR'S ANTIPASTO

3 cans small black olives
3 10 oz jars of small green olives, the ones with pimentos
2 quarts small sour pickles, cut into bite sized chunks
2 large carrots, sliced thinly
3 stalks of celery, sliced thinly
1 large cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
2 bags frozen pearl onions
2 lbs button mushrooms, cut into chunks
6 cans good quality tuna packed in oil
2 20 oz bottles of ketchup
2 quarts tomato juice
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup olive oil
2 quarts water
2 cups white vinegar

Now, this recipe makes a crap ton of antipasto. I brought a dozen wide mouth pint jars, Marie had another dozen standing by and we expected to fill them all. Feel free to cut the proportions if you don't have the patience for mass antipasto production. In preparation for the task ahead, Marie had cut all the veggies into bite sized pieces and by the time I arrived, she and Big Mar were in the activity room getting things ready. There was a large pot with  water and vinegar on the stove over medium heat. Each veg has to be cooked separately because they all cook at different rates. I started opening cans of olives, draining them and dumping them into a large roasting pan while Marie cooked the vegetables one by one in the lightly simmering brine, starting with the carrots and ending with the mushrooms.

Each veggie cooked for 8 to 10 minutes, some more or less, until they were slightly soft and had taken on the vinegar flavor. Marie and Big Mar tasted each veggie to make sure they were cooked properly and we reserved the pickling liquid to thin the sauce if we needed to. We added all the ingredients to the pan, saving the tuna for last, and once everyone was in the pool we mixed gently with our hands. I kind of like the tuna to remain a little chunky, but the antipasto should be mixed well and the the sauce should be liquid enough to just cover everything. If its too thin, add enough of the vinegar brine to cover the veggies.

According to the recipe, the antipasto should sit at room temperature for five hours before its jarred, but we didn't have that kind of time. However, it was St. Patrick's Day weekend and the folks at the Residence at Whitehall had some snacks, entertainment and adult beverages for their residents. We went down to the dining room to discover Pittsburgh mainstay Mikey Dee and his drummer playing all kinds of fun singalongs and telling bad jokes. We had so much fun, Marie and I, enjoying mudslides and silliness with Big Mar and her neighbors.

An hour later we were back in the kitchen getting jars and lids ready. As we ladled antipasto into jars, Big Mar wiped the tops and put the lids on and when we were done there were 22 glorious jars of pickled veggie heaven waiting to be processed. The last jar was only half full and that was the one I opened when I got back home that evening. Jason and I enjoyed our antipasto on a toasted baguette and it was perfect with a little lemon squeezed over the top.

My own 95 year old dad had a fall last year as well and he relocated a couple months ago from Texas up to Pittsburgh to a facility just three miles from my house. Marie and I are going through the same experiences with our aging parents and we both recognize how important it is to spend quality time with them while we can. It was an honor to spend the day cooking with Marie and getting to know her lovely, hilarious mom and every time I eat this tasty treat, I will think of Big Mar.

Cookies Cookies Cookies

In preparation for the holidays last year, our little Bitchen' in the Kitchen group got together at Suzanne's house to bake cookies. This group of women doesn't do anything half-assed, which is part of why we love cooking together. When we made pizza, we made 6 different varieties. When we made pierogies, we made 300 of them. In true Bitchin' in the Kitchen style, this cookie showdown was bound to be one of epic proportion. Its been difficult to get our original group together and  Suzanne, Lynn and I were the only ones available for cookie-palooza. We needed an infusion of fresh talent, so Suzanne called in reinforcements and we welcomed Kathy and Danette to our group.

Suzanne and I both picked two cookie recipes we wanted to try. Lynn and Danette each chose one, but Kathy couldn't stay long and brought cookies instead of making them at Suzanne's. We had six recipes to tackle, which meant our planning, coordination and equipment were all critical parts of this big undertaking. Since oven space would be at a premium, Lynn decided to whip up a batch of pizzelles which is an Italian holiday tradition that is made in an iron, much like waffles. Danette chose rugelach with two different fillings - chocolate and apricot jam. Suzanne made spicy lebkuchen dough before everyone arrived, but her plan was to have the group roll it out and cut it into fun holiday shapes before baking. She also picked a family favorite of hers, oatmeal squares with date filling. I found two recipes that sounded intriguing - brown butter blondies and cinnamon pinwheels.

We all brought our specific ingredients and some equipment, but Suzanne set up a staging area with all the flour, sugar and basic baking ingredients we needed. We had two dough stations, each with a stand mixer, and a separate area with a food processor for chopping nuts and dates. Lynn's pizzelle iron was on the far side of the kitchen and she made her batter first so she could just park herself in front of the iron and crank out delicate pizzelles. The kitchen table was set up with a big silicon pastry mat for rolling. We all got in there, donned our aprons and got to work. While Lynn made her pizzelle batter and I got my blondie batter going, Suzanne and Danette rolled out the lebkuchen dough and cut it into gingerbread man shapes. The teamwork was remarkable as we all pitched in to help each other with our recipes. Danette helped Lynn make pizzelles, Suzanne helped me roll out my pinwheel dough, I helped Danette make her rugelach, it was just a fun day of making cookies with a bunch of wonderful women. Suzanne even had a bunch of plastic container so we could take lots of cookies home with us.

Both of my recipes were lovely, although when we packed up our cookies to take home, I was missing samples of both of mine. So I made them again, just to make sure they were as good as I remembered.

BROWN BUTTER BLONDIES

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
12 tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup corn syrup
3 large eggs
2 tbsp vanilla
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Flaky salt for sprinkling on top

There are many things I love about this recipe. It doesn't require any special equipment, you don't need a stand mixer or even a hand mixer to make them because the batter is all mixed by hand and they are rock star delicious. The flavor is deep and rich, more like candy than cookies, with toffee notes and a salty pop. Because of the corn syrup, these blondies have a chewy, toothsome and very satisfying texture. This recipe does come with a couple challenges, but it is worth the effort.

First, get all your stuff ready. Set your oven to 350 degrees and make sure the rack is in the center of the oven. Line a 9x13 baking dish with aluminum foil to create a sling. Spray the foil liberally with nonstick cooking spray. These blondies are very sticky, so this will allow you to remove them from the pan with ease. When they are baked, you just lift the sides of the foil and pull the whole thing out, then let them cool before peeling the foil off the back. Easy peasy.

The major challenge in this recipe is browning the butter. Browned butter is the key to the rich, nutty flavor in this recipe. Put your butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. While its melting, you don't need to watch it too closely, but as the butter begins to bubble, you will need to keep an eye on it and swirl the pot to keep it moving.  As the butter cooks, the milk solids begin to turn brown, which gives it that wonderful nutty flavor. I suggest using a white spoon or spatula to stir the butter, which will help you see the milk solids as they brown. It does take time for this process to unfold, but it can go from perfectly browned to burned in a matter of seconds, so once it starts bubbling, don't walk away from it. While the butter is browning, measure your dry ingredients into a small bowl and your brown sugar into a large mixing bowl.

The butter should have a deep golden brown color when its done. Once the butter is nicely browned, pour it into the bowl with the brown sugar and whisk to combine. This mixture may look a little separated, but don't worry about it. You want to whisk it until it cools down enough to add the eggs. If you add the eggs while the mixture is still too warm, they would scramble. The butter and sugar should be just barely warm to the touch when you add the eggs. Whisk the eggs in until its all combined, then add the corn syrup and vanilla. Now, this recipe calls for a whopping 2 tablespoons of vanilla and the flavor is very forward in the final bake. This is not the time to skimp on the cheap stuff. Get good quality vanilla for this recipe and I promise its worth the extra money. Add the dry ingredients and just stir them in until they are incorporated. Don't over mix! Finally, fold in the nuts and chocolate and pour the batter into the foil lined pan. Bake it for about 40 minutes, rotating the pan half way through. You can use the toothpick test to make sure its cooked through.

Let the pan sit out on the counter for about 30 minutes, then lift the foil sling out of the pan while the blondies are still warm. Its going to be difficult, but its best to wait for at least 90 minutes before cutting into these beauties. They're very sticky when they're hot. Cut them into squares and take bets on how long they will last. They are addictive.


CINNAMON PINWHEELS

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
16 tbsp (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

These cookies are as delicious as they are beautiful. This recipe is a little more involved than the blondie recipe, but its not too difficult and the results are impressive. Put the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of the stand mixer and, using the paddle attachment, just give it a couple spins to combine. With the mixer running, start adding the butter one small piece at a time until it forms a crumbly dough. Add the cream cheese, vanilla and 1 tbsp of cold water and mix until it just begins to form a ball. If the dough is still crumbly, add a little more cold water, but just enough to bring the dough together. Turn the dough out on your work surface and bring it together into a solid mass. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap, pressing it into a somewhat flat disc.

This dough needs to spend about half an hour in the fridge. If you tried to roll it out at this point, it would just turn to mush. While the dough is chilling, mix 3 tbsp of sugar with 1 tbsp of good quality cinnamon together and set it aside. When the dough has chilled, its ready to be rolled. Fortunately, parchment paper makes the whole thing a snap. Put a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface and place one of the discs of dough in the center, then put another piece of parchment over it and roll the dough between the parchment until its about 1/4 of an inch thick. Try to keep your dough as close to a rectangle as possible. Peel off the top piece of parchment and sprinkle the sheet of dough with half of the cinnamon sugar leaving about 1/2 an inch of a border, then spray just a bit of cold water over the sugar just to make sure it all sticks. Now its time to roll.

Working with the long side of the dough, gently flip the edge over and start making a jelly roll, peeling the parchment away as you roll. Try to make your roll tight and compact. When you get to the end, roll the whole thing in the parchment, crimp the ends and place it gently in the fridge. Follow the same directions with the second piece of dough. The rolls need to sit in the fridge for at least two hours before baking. When you're ready to bake, set the oven to 350 degrees and take the rolls out of the fridge. Unroll them and gently slice the rolls into 1/8 inch slices. If the pinwheels begin to unroll, just press them back in place. Put them on a cookie sheet and bake them for about 8 minutes, just until they begin to brown around the edges. Remove the immediately from the cookie sheet and let them cool on a rack before serving. These cookies are delicate, crispy and buttery with a ton of cinnamon flavor. They also look beautiful on a cookie tray. And if you decide not to bake all of them, the dough will keep perfectly for a few months in the freezer.

Our cookie extravaganza was a lot of fun and we all came home with several dozen tasty little treats. Next time you find yourself in need of a tin of cookies for a special occasion, try one of these recipes.