Rita says this is an old Cuban recipe and it’s her favorite to serve at a big dinner party.  It’s basically a one-dish meal and it always gets rave reviews.  She warns that all of the measurements are to taste, not exact.  She says “Keep tasting!” while cooking and DO NOT USE SALT (the ingredients are salty enough)  

– start with 1lb or 1 1/2 lbs of a combo of ground sirloin and pork

– Chop two bell peppers (Rita likes confetti-style, meaning combining green, red and yellow peppers)  

– Use 1/2 a can of drained, chopped tomatoes (reserve the juice for use later)

– 1 large onion, chopped as finely as possible

Brown all those ingredients together in frying pan using high-end olive oil, the greener the better.  Rita uses a pastry blender to unlump the ground beef than tends to clump.  Then add:

– 3/4’s of a cup of sliced green olives (she combines two types: half stuffed with pimentos, half with jalepenos)

– 2 tablespoons capers

– 2 tablespoons raisins

– 2 tablespoons cilantro (or more if you’d like.  She says, “Keep adding, until you’re happy!”)

– add cumin

– add liberal amounts of crushed garlic

– sprinkle oregano over it (to taste)

– Now add some of that reserved juice from the chopped tomatoes (you want the mixture wet but not soupy).

– Make a pot of white rice.

– Serve Pica dillo over it

*For an extra special meal, Rita makes Chorizo Rice (add chopped chorizo, removed from it’s casing and sauteed, to the white rice) and sweet fried plantains.  Delicioso!! 

Molly Shannon, the famous Saturday Night Live alumna, and I had a great chat in the Greenroom this morning bonding about babies (she has a 3-year old and 4-year old).  She told me that she ate this corn dish WHILE SHE WAS IN LABOR.  It was so good she couldn’t stop eating it even though she was SUPPOSED TO BE GOING TO THE HOSPITAL.   

Molly’s Mexican Corn Fiesta 

– Boil some ears of corn until tender

– when cool, coat them first in butter, then mayo

– sprinkle each with parmesean cheese

– then sprikle each lightly with cayenne pepper.  Ole!

3 ripe bananas

1 cup of sugar

1 egg

4 tablespoons melted and cooled butter

1 ½ cup of flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 325˚.  Lightly grease 9 x 5 pan.

Bowl-mash bananas and beat in sugar, then egg and butter.

In a separate bowl stir together dry ingredients and add to banana mix – stir until moist.

Put in pan 55 – 60 minutes.

Larry the Cable Guy is hanging in the Greenroom this morning.  He’s just lost 50 pounds using NutriSystem (yes, he’s now a spokesperson).  Here’s his secret to curbing his appetite and losing all the weight in just about five months.  He says he (quote):  

– ate the meals

– worked out

– and had dinner placemats made up with Rosie O’Donnell’s face on it.

But his favorite ”recipe” has no business being anywhere near a diet.  It’s for the weekends when he cheats, which the program allows him to do.   And let me tell you, getting a recipe out of Larry was no east feat.   He says he doesn’t cook and “At our house, we pray after we eat.”  So with that disclaimer, here it is:

Grape Nuts a la Larry

– Pour Grape Nuts into a bowl

– “douse ‘em with milk and sugar”

– put ‘em in the freezer for 15 minutes

– remove and eat.  Enjoy!

LARRY SHARES HIS RECIPE

THE CABLE GUY LARRY + THE CABLE NEWS INTERN A.J.

LARRY + ME!

The chef says his recipe is good for your mind… and relationship.  So to all the men out there… Get the ingredients on the dish that will woo women!

Are you whipping up something special for your loved one this Valentine’s Day? Share with me, and then watch Monday’s AtSS! 

Laura Bush graced our Greenroom on Friday.  I asked her for her favorite recipe and she offered up this one because she says it fits well into her heart-healthy campaign to help women fight heart disease.  It looks delish — let me know if you try it.

Whole Wheat Rigatoni with Homemade Tomato Sauce

Serves 6

1 lb whole wheat rigatoni

2 tbsp olive oil

12 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

6 each plum tomatoes, diced

2 cups vegetable stock

Pinch of pepper flakes

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

1/2 cup black olives, cut in half

4 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup parmesan, grated

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. In a medium sauce pan, sauté the crushed garlic in half the olive oil until fragrant. Add the fresh tomatoes, crushed pepper flakes, and vegetable stock and simmer slowly for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the rigatoni. Drain. With the rest of the olive oil, sauté red pepper, black olives, and mushrooms until tender. Then toss in rigatoni and homemade tomato sauce and finish with parsley and sprinkled parmesan cheese. Serve warm.

Here’s a collection of favorite holiday recipes from our F&F family — some of which were featured on the show. Happy New Year and enjoy!

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 Mama Camerota’s Ricotta Pie• 3 lbs. Ricotta

• 1 ½ cups sugar

• 7 large eggs

• 4 tablespoons flour (or as needed)

• 1 tsp lemon extract

• 1 tsp cointreau (optional)

• 1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

• grated rind of one orange and one lemon

Mix all ingredients and pour into two 9” or 10” pie shells or into one large rectangular pyrex pan, approx. 8’ x 11.” Bake in a 350 degree oven for at least one hour till golden on top. Test as for quiche: knife in center must come out clean.

 

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Alisyn’s Aunt Carol’s PizzellesNote: My Mom warns that lots of things affect the outcome of the pizzelles: humidity, altitude, weather. She recommends you experiment until getting the cookies to the right thin crispness. (btw, you’ll need a pizzelle iron, which you can buy at any good cookware store).

• 6 eggs

• 3 and 1/2 cups flour (approximately)

• 1 and 1/2 cups sugar

• 1/2 lb butter (melted and cooled)

• 4 tsps baking powder

• 2 tablespoons vanilla or anise (or orange or lemon zest, if you prefer)

Beat eggs while adding sugar gradually. Beat until smooth. Add butter and flavors. Sift together flour and baking powder add to egg mixture. Dough will be sticky enough to be dropped by spoonfuls onto hot pizzelle iron. For some irons you need to press them only 20 seconds. When cool, sprinkle them with powdered sugar.

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 Mama Kilmeade’s Struffoli (also known as STRUFILI)• 4 cups flour

• 1 ½ cups honey

• 1 tsp. baking powder less than ¼ cup sugar

• ½ tsp. salt Rind of one orange

• ½ bar butter Colored sprinkles

• 6 large eggs or 7 small

In large bowl add flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter (break up with fingers if necessary to be sure its well mixed). Make a well and pour in beaten eggs..now take sides of flour and work into eggs a little at a time to get solid piece of dough. On floured board knead dough for at least 15 minutes- cut dough to see that there are no bubbles - if there are, knead until gone. Now, take a little piece of dough and roll into a noodle shape and cut off small pieces about

¼ inch size. In large pot, heat oil. When hot, drop pieces into oil…stir occasionally and cook until golden (not too brown). Cook entire batch. Next, in big pot add honey, sugar and orange rind..boil for 3 minutes stirring constantly.Now take strufili and stir in the honey mixture stirring well. Take small glass and place small greased glass in center of dish…Place strufili around glass in mounds packing it well to keep it firm…Put on sprinkles and let stand..when firm remove glass and place holly sprig or Christmas ornament in middle. Cover with saran wrap and keep in cool place.

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 Mama Carlson’s Swedish Toffee Bars• 1 cup of butter
•  1 cup of brown sugar– pinch of salt– 1 teaspoon of vanilla– 1/2 teaspoon of almond flavoring– 1 cup of white flour

• 8 Hershey’s milk chocolate bars

Mix ingredients and pour them into a 9″x 13″ greased glass pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are brown. Take out of oven and while still hot cover with the 8 Hershey’s bars. Once they’ve melted, spread chocolate around top of toffee with a knife. When cool cut into pieces and serve at room temperature.

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Carlson Rice Pudding
Cook in double boiler for 1 hr-stir occasionally:

• ½ cup of white rice

• 4 cups of milk

• ¼ tsp. Salt

Add:

• 1 beaten egg

• ½ cup of sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla

cook additional 15 minutes in double boiler

• stir in ¼ to ½ cup of half & half

Chill overnight in covered dish (add more half & half if too thick)

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Swedish Shrimp Spread
• 8oz cream cheese• 3 tbsp. Mayonnaise

• ½ tsp curry

• ½ tsp salt

Mix and spread on plate

• 4½oz can of shrimp

• ¼ cup green onion tops (press in)

• 2 hard boiled eggs chopped fine

Serve with crackers!

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Special Swedish Sugar CookiesCream together:

• 1 cup powered sugar

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 cup butter or margarine

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp. Vanilla

• 1 tsp. Almond flavoring

Sift together:

• 4 cups flour, plus heaping tbsp.

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp soda

• 1 tsp cream of tartar

Add to first mixture and mix well. Roll into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press down cookies with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 10 minutes. This is a large recipe and yields about 125 cookies. Cool 2 minutes in pan, then turn top side down on plate of sugar…2 at a time. Remove to cool further.

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 Carlson Chocolate fudge• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate-melt with butter the size of an egg (a little over ¼ cups) and ¾ Cup top milk (whipping cream).

Cook over low heat until it looks like chocolate pudding. Add two cups of white sugar-stir until dissolved. Cover pan. Cook without stirring (low heat) until soft ball stage cook, beat…add vanilla.

Be sure you heat after it has cooled to lukewarm or fudge will sugar.

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 Carlson Cinnamon Thumbs• 1 Cup butter

• 6 T. sugar

• 2 Cups flour

• 1 tsp. vanilla

Make dough into small ball. Roll in cinnamon sugar and place on greased cookie sheet. Make criss-crass with fork dipped in cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until light brown on bottom. Put in cinnamon sugar-cover on both sides.

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 Gretchen’s Penueche• ¼ Cup melted butter

• 2 Cups brown sugar

• Pinch salt

• ¾-1 Cup of Half and Half

• 1 tsp. vanilla-added when cooled

Cook to soft ball that holds it shape. Cool and beat (it takes a lot of beating). Doer in pan or drop on waxed paper.

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Doocy’s Pecan Butterball Cookies• 8 ounces butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
•  3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
•  2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chopped pecans

PREPARATION:

Cream butter and stir in vanilla. Gradually work in confectioners’ sugar and flour. Add chopped pecans and work into dough. Pinch off dough and roll to form balls about the size of a quarter. Place on greased baking sheets; bake pecan cookies at 300° for 10 minutes, then 5 to 10 more minutes at 325°. Roll pecan cookies in confectioners’ sugar while still hot.

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 Doocy’s Snowballs• 1 CUP BUTTER, SOFTENED

• 1 2/3 CUPS CONFECTIONERS SUGAR DIVIDED

• 1 1/2 TEASPOONS VANILLA

• 2 1/4 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

• 1/4 TEASPOON SALT

• 1 CUP FINELY GROUND WALNUTS

PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 400

IN A MEDIUM SIZED BOWL, CREAM THE BUTTER AND 2/3 CUP

OF THE CONFECTIONERS SUGAR. ADD THE VANILLA. STIR IN

THE FLOUR, SALT AND FINELY GROUND WALNUTS.

ROLL THE DOUGH INTO 1 INCH BALLS. PLACE THE SNOWBALLS

1 INCH APART ON AN UNGREASED BAKING SHEET. BAKE 12 TO

14 MINUTES, OR UNTIL LIGHTLY BROWNED AROUND THE EDGES.

COOL 2 TO 4 MINUTES BEFORE DUSTING WITH THE

REMAINING CONFECTIONERS SUGAR.

ONCE THE COOKIES ARE COMPLETELY COOL, DUST THEM AGAIN

WITH THE SUGAR. MAKES ABOUT 36 COOKIES.

YUM!

 

Brian’s beautiful wife Dawn and adorable kids, Kirstyn, Kaitlyn and Bryan are sitting here in the Greenroom. (Actually, they’re mopping up the water that Kaitlyn just spilled on the floor. Ah…kids). Kaitlyn, the four year old, is nervous about being on t, and at the moment, refusing to go on. Brian is gently cajoling her.

So, while I have them captive, any questions you’d like to ask?

Mama Kilmeade’s Struffoli (also known as STRUFILI)

4 cups flour

1 ½ cups honey

1 tsp. baking powder less than ¼ cup sugar

½ tsp. salt Rind of one orange

½ bar butter Colored sprinkles

6 large eggs or 7 small

In large bowl add flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter (break up with fingers if necessary to be sure its well mixed). Make a well and pour in beaten eggs..now take sides of flour and work into eggs a little at a time to get solid piece of dough. On floured board knead dough for at least 15 minutes- cut dough to see that there are no bubbles - if there are, knead until gone. Now, take a little piece of dough and roll into a noodle shape and cut off small pieces about

¼ inch size. In large pot, heat oil. When hot, drop pieces into oil…stir occasionally and cook until golden (not too brown). Cook entire batch. Next, in big pot add honey, sugar and orange rind..boil for 3 minutes stirring constantly.Now take strufili and stir in the honey mixture stirring well. Take small glass and place small greased glass in center of dish…Place strufili around glass in mounds packing it well to keep it firm…Put on sprinkles and let stand..when firm remove glass and place holly sprig or Christmas ornament in middle. Cover with saran wrap and keep in cool place.

Mrs. Carlson has brought some incredible Swedish treats into the Greenroom this morning: Lefsa (Swedish pancakes), Spritz (sugar cookies), Kringle (coffee cake w/almond filling), Julukake (sweet bread) , plus toffee bars, candies and penuche. She’ll be on the set any minute now to share some of their family Christmas traditions. But she already gave me the recipe for the Swedish toffee bars to share with you:

– 1 cup of butter

– 1 cup of brown sugar

– pinch of salt

– 1 teaspoon of vanilla

– 1/2 teaspoon of almond flavoring

– 1 cup of white flour

– 8 Hershey’s milk chocolate bars

Mix ingredients and pour them into a 9″x 13″ greased glass pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are brown. Take out of oven and while still hot cover with the 8 Hershey’s bars. Once they’ve melted, spread chocolate around top of toffee with a knife. When cool cut into pieces and serve at room temperature. Yum!

GRETCHEN’S DAUGHTER GETS READY FOR HER CLOSE-UP

Olivia Newton John graced our greenroom this morning and you’ve never seen Maureen (make-up artist extrodinaire) more excited.  Olivia is her idol and responsible for some questionable clothing choices Maureen made as a teenager (remember the “Let’s Get Physical” headband? the black spandex pants in “Grease”?  Yup, Maureen had ‘em.) 

Check out this favorite holiday recipe she gave me for her Baked Stuffed Apples:

– Core 6 green apples

– Stuff them with as many dried raisins and apricots as will fit in the hollowed out center

– Fill the bottom of a baking dish with orange juice, arrange the stuffed apples on top

– Bake for 1/2 an hour at 350 degrees

– Serve warm with ice cream and nuts (optional) sprinkled on top

Olivia says the orange juice becomes carmelized during the baking process and makes a delicious sauce.  Enjoy!