Carmela Soprano's Caesar Salad and Homemade Croutons (for 6 or 50)

There are salads... and then there are salads.



Caesar Salad is a classic.

And a potential slapstick comedy routine.

Who could forget Lucy trying to make one while in a moving trailer in

the 1954 movie The Long Long Trailer?



Even though Lucy's movie was one of the major influences on my life,

I'd never gotten around to making a Caesar Salad.

No, I don't know why.



Charmaine Bucco,

Carmela Soprano's Minestrone using Canned Vegetable Soup

Carmela's, excuse me, Paulie's Chicken Soup with Orzo is a fine, homemade recipe.

I'm sure everyone's got a version of the recipe in the family.



But, sometimes you want, no... need, soup in less than 3 hours.

No problem.



Time to visit the shrink, Dr. Jennifer Melfi, M.D., M.A., M.F.T.

And just as much in a rush as the rest of us.





There's a fine quickie soup recipe in Jennifer's

Winnipeg Bound in 1975 by Margaret Ullrich

Today is the first full moon of 2013.

The full moon usually means the end of a moon's cycle.

In 1975 it was the end of the cycle of our living in British Columbia.



We had just been through a rather strange few months.

The previous July we had gone camping in Alberta.

Saw the Stampede in Calgary… camped in the parks… toured Edmonton.



We liked Edmonton quite a bit.

We even toyed with the

Uncrate the Sun at Winnipeg Mardi Gras by Margaret Ullrich

Winter in Manitoba...

If you're of a certain age, and weren't a snowbird, you remember when Eaton's held the Uncrate the Sun event every winter at about this time.

For a few days we'd pretend we were someplace warm.

Spain... Mexico… warm, with different, spicy food.

I mean, how many pyrogies can anyone eat?





Last week Paul and I attended a food tasting event for Winnipeg Mardi Gras.

A

Carmela Soprano's Homemade Chicken Soup with Orzo

Paulie had a point about soup warming collective cockles.

I mean, it is January.

Another nice thing about soup is it is a budget stretcher.

Like I said, it is January. 





My Ma usually balked at the prices charged for chicken breasts, legs and thighs.

So she'd buy whole chickens and cut and cook the pieces she wanted.

The parts she didn't want, like the wings and backs, she'd store in the

Obama, Death, Ma and Emeril Lagasse by Margaret Ullrich

Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. 

The inauguration was one of the world's most watched events.

A New Birth of Freedom, a phrase from the Gettysburg Address, was the theme to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth year of Abraham Lincoln.





January 20, 2009 was also the day my father died.

It wasn't totally a surprise.

He had been in poor

Carmela Soprano's Potatoes and Eggs Sandwiches / Potato Omelet

No, I didn't forget.

So you can stop e mailing.



A little while ago I mentioned that Paulie Walnuts had said that he makes the guys a potatoes and eggs sandwich to improve their morale.

He also said:  I like to cook for my friends and associates at work. On a cold day down at the shop, I'll cook up a nice beans and 'shcarole soup and warm our collective cockles, so to speak.



Why he didn't

Carmela Soprano's Bistecca Pizzaiola, Steak Pizzamaker's style

It's too soon to pull out those turkey leftovers.

Every time you go near the freezer, some wise guy starts to cluck.

The gang wants meat.

So, let 'em have it.





Cooking The Neapolitan Way in Artie's The Sopranos Family Cookbook, was written 

by Ms. Natalie Del Greco, a Newark librarian.

She gave a nice bit of history about Naples and its food.

She described Neapolitan food as being

Carmela Soprano's Amaretti - Almond Macaroons (Cookies)

Everything in moderation.

Including moderation.

After the holidays a meal just isn't a meal without a dessert.

It's just too shocking to the system to cut desserts cold turkey.

Life is stressful enough.



Eat a cookie for mental health.



There's a nice simple cookie recipe in Janice Soprano's chapter Sunday Dinner 

in Artie's The Sopranos Family Cookbook.

Almond Macaroons.



The recipe

Carmela Soprano's Peppers and Eggs Sandwiches

Bought more peppers than you used for the marinating peppers recipe?

No problem.



Back to Paulie's chapter My Nucci in Artie's The Sopranos Family Cookbook.

No, this isn't the potatoes and egg sandwich recipe.

But it's a great way to use peppers.

If you'd like to be a bit neater, you can dice the pepper strips.

Diced peppers are also nice in a salad.



I will get to the potatoes and egg

Carmela Soprano's Pork Chops with Vinegar Peppers / Garlic Hints

Paulie Walnuts is a bit of a Mama's boy.

He said he often made the guys a potatoes and egg sandwich to improve their morale.

From the way he acted, who knew?



Paulie's chapter My Nucci in Artie's The Sopranos Family Cookbook has easy recipes.

I'll get to the potatoes and egg sandwich recipe later.

This recipe is a handy way to use the leftover marinated peppers.
Paulie does get a bit

Carmela Soprano's Roasted Pepper Salad / Broiled Pepper Salad

Even Janice Soprano has a salad recipe in her Sunday Dinner chapter 

in Artie's The Sopranos Family Cookbook.

I know, Janice doesn't look like she would like salads.

But, maybe it was from her Hippie days.



I also find it a little hard to believe this was a recipe from Livia.

From what I remember of the 50s, green peppers were the only ones available.

But, I'm not going to argue with

Carmela Soprano's Tuna Salad with Green Beans and Tomatoes ............ Salad Niçoise

There's a recipe that reminds me of Salad Niçoise in Jennifer's chapter

Rage, Guilt, Loneliness, and Food in Artie's The Sopranos Family Cookbook.



Don't panic at the fancy French name.

It's another raw salad, alright.

It's just something that can be served to non-dieters, too.

It has a bit of heft to it.





Oh, about Salad Niçoise  ( French pronunciation: niˈswaz )…

It is a salad of

Carmela Soprano's Arugula and Parmesan Salad / Arugula Information

This is another easy salad recipe from Jennifer's chapter

Rage, Guilt, Loneliness, and Food in Artie's The Sopranos Family Cookbook.

This recipe reminds me of an old Fred Astaire song:

"You say tom-AY-toe, I say tom-AH-toe."



Arugula goes by a few different names:

salad rocket, roquette, rucola, rugula, colewort.

That's just in the supermarket.

Let's not get into the scientific names.

Carmela Soprano's Orange and Fennel Salad

Wishing you a very Happy New Year!!

For many of us the holiday season is over.

And we have the extra pounds to prove it.



It's time to get back to our day to day lives.

It's time to eat healthy again.

It's time to visit the good Doctor, Jennifer Melfi.



There are some easy and low calorie recipes in Jennifer's chapter 

Rage, Guilt, Loneliness, and Food in Artie's The Sopranos Family