Recipes by their Ingredients

italian breadcrumbs

  • Baked Stuffed Clams

    Stuffed Clams
    Baked Stuffed Clams
    (Serves 12)

    25 oz chopped clams (reserve the juice) or 10lbs Quohogs, scrubbed and boiled until they open
    ½ lb bacon
    ½ tblsp parsley
    ½ large yellow onion, finely chopped
    1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
    1½ tblsp oregano
    1 love garlic, minced
    5 - 8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
    ½ tblsp Parmesan cheese, grated
    ½ cup celery, chopped
    ½ cup white wine
    4 oz clam juice

    NOTES: I bought clam shaped baking vessels, but you can bake this spread out on a cookie sheet or in low filled muffin tins, or individual ramekins! If your mix is too dry, add some more clam juice, if it's too wet add some more breadcrumbs. This is my Mom's recipe!

    Cook the bacon and set aside, drain on paper towels. Add to the bacon grease, the onions, celery and garlic, cook until the onions become soft on low heat. Remove from pan and set aside.

    Grind the clams in a food processor. Mix them into the reserved onion mixture, mixing well.

    Add into the mix, the parsley, oregano, breadcrumbs, 2 oz of clam juice and the white wine, mix well.

    Now add in the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, mixing well. You want the mix to be a little on the wet side rather then the dry side. Chop the bacon and mix it into the mix.

    If you are satisfied with the consistency, slightly more wet then dry, then you can start to fill up empty clam shells, or muffin tins or a sheet pan.

    Pack a palm sized amount into each shell, ramekin or muffin compartment, or spread entire mix out onto a cookie sheet, ½ - ¾ high. (No higher then 1 inch)

    Pre-heat oven for 10 minutes at 350 °F, put clams mid-oven for about 20 minutes.

    Serve while hot! Enjoy!

  • Baked Stuffed Mushrooms

    Baked Stuffed Mushrooms
    Baked Stuffed Mushrooms
    (Serves 8)


    28 Fresh Button Mushrooms (Not bigger then a .25)
    1/3 lb. Ground Pork
    6 leaves fresh sage (about 2½ tsp fresh or ½ tsp dry sage powder)
    2 tblsp fresh or dried parsley
    2 green onions, minced fine
    4 cloves garlic (minced)
    2 tsp Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
    fresh ground pepper
    1 tsp salt
    1 red jalapeno (stemmed and seeded)
    6 oz. Havarti Cheese (tiny diced)
    splash of liquor (I used some Madeira)
    1 egg
    ¼ - 1/3 cup bread crumbs
    1 tblsp butter
    1 tblsp olive oil


    NOTES: This is a great experimental ground for just about anything mixed together into your mushroom! Try omitting the sausage and sautéing some celery, root vegetables and spinach!
     

    Snap/pull the stems out of the mushroom heads and set aside.
    Cut a small piece off the end of each mushroom stem (the side that was already cut, not the side that was inside the mushroom), and discard this dry piece. Set the rest of the stems aside.
    [A small trick I use to stabilize each mushroom is to slice a flat side into the top of the mushroom head.]
    I then add these small pieces to my good stem pile. Set aside the main mushroom cap to be stuffed.]
    Now chop, very finely the stems and top pieces. Set aside.

    Have all your other ingredients prepped and in place (mise en place)...
    Brown the pork with a tsp Tony Chachere's Cajun Spice, chopping up fine while cooking out the pink. Set this aside.

    Using the butter & olive oil, saute the the garlic for about 1 minute on med/low heat, then add the mushroom pieces and chopped jalapeno, sprinkle with 1 tsp Tony Chachere's Cajun Spice.
    Saute this mix for 2-3 minutes and then add the other spices (sage, parsley, green onions), saute for another 2 minutes, then add a splash of liquor.
    Mix well and toss in with the ground cooked pork.

    Mix into the pork mix the chopped/grated cheese, the egg and the bread crumbs and salt and pepper.

    Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

    Over Stuff the mushrooms about 3/4 inch above the top and place on a sheet pan that has been sprayed or greased.
    Place in center of the oven and heat for 20 minutes. If the tops aren't a tad crispy you can place under your broiler for a minute or two.

    Yum! Best enjoyed within ten minutes of exiting the oven!

  • Baked Stuffed Sole

    Baked Stuffed Sole
    Baked Stuffed Sole
    (Serves 6)


    6, (2 to 2½ oz each) sole fillets
    ¼ yellow onion, finely chopped
    1/3 poblano pepper, finely chopped
    2 cloves of garlic, minced
    1½ tblsp olive oil
    ¾ lb crab meat
    1 tsp dijon mustard
    ½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
    1 egg, beaten
    1 tblsp Parmigiana Reggiano cheese, grated
    2 tsp fresh lemon juice
    1 stick unsalted butter melted


    NOTES: You can substitute the Poblano pepper with any color bell pepper, I just like the added spice of the Poblano.
     

    Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.

    Heat up a saute pan on medium low heat with 1 tblsp oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onions, pepper and garlic, and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat with the oil and let soften for 2 minutes or so.

    Set the sauted vegetables on a plate spread out to cool. in a separate bowl add the crab meat, mustard, breadcrumbs, egg, cheese, melted butter and lemon juice. Mix together all the ingredients until they are mixed well. Don't forget to add in the cooled down onions, garlic and peppers.

    Grease a baking sheet or a baking dish with butter or olive oil. Give the fish a little salt and pepper or some cajun spice. Now depending on how you want to "stuff the sole" there are a few ways to do it.
    The first way is mound an egg shape size of stuffing on the dish or sheet and place the sole on top of it, smoothing down the sides of the fish over the edges of your stuffing mound.
    The second way lay the sole with the flat side up, place a handful of the stuffing in the center and wrap the fish around the stuffing, then place the either on their side with a toothpick holding the edge together or on the seam side down.
    The third way is the opposite of the first way, place the fish flat side down, mound an egg shaped handful of the stuffing on the center of the fish and spread out along the whole fish length.

    Bake center of the oven for 25-30 minutes. Serve with rice pilaf or some mashed potatoes.

  • Thanksgiving Balls

    Thanksgiving Balls
    Thanksgiving Balls
    (Serves 4)


    Frozen Center Mixture
    4 pack 2 inch ice molds
    4 oz cranberry sauce, for the first 4
    4 oz turkey or beef gravy, for the second 4

    Turkey Mixture
    1 lb ground turkey
    ⅓ cup Italian Breadcrumbs
    1 medium egg
    ¾ tsp thyme
    1½ tsp salt
    ¼ tsp sage
    ¼ cayenne pepper
    ¼ white pepper

    Stuffing Layer 1 box of Stove Top Stuffing (Turkey Flavor)
    (Requires 4 tblsp butter and 1½ cups water)

    Mashed Potatoes
    2 russet potatoes, peeled, cut into even chunks
    4 tblsp sweet butter
    ⅓ cup whole milk
    2-3 tsp salt, to taste
    ¼ tsp white pepper

    ½ cup Italian breadcrumbs for coating the balls before frying


    NOTES:These can be baked, after rolling them in the breadcrumbs, spritz with spray release or olive oil and bake for 12-15 miniutes at 400°F. And the frozen center, you can freeze the bottom half first of gravy, then after 2 hours open and fill the rest of the way with cranberry sauce, then you will have a split center! make an exact amount, you need aproximately ¼ lb turkey for every extra ball you want. I suppose if you used the jelled cranberry sauce in a can you can simply cut out a 2x2 inch square and put that on top before rolling into a ball. Also the longer they remain in the refridgerator the more likely the bottom will get wet and the ball will leak a bit. So its best to time the dethawing of the center right before cooking. I had a few and let one sit a day and another sit two days, they both leaked but held together and ultimately fried perfectly.

    Place the gravy, once it has cooled down into the mold, up to the fill line only! Place the top of the mold on and gently push the top into the mold, hopefully very little will leak out the top hole, which allows the mold to be full but not too full! Fill the other molds with gravy and then 2 of them with cranberry sauce. (or just do one or the other depending on your likes! Place in the freezer until solid, at least 2 hours depending on your freezer. It easiest to make these a day in advance and use them once you have all the layers cooked and cooled (except for the turkey of course).

    Divide the turkey mixture into 4 balls. place a piece of plastic wrap down for each of the balls, or you can get one larger piece of plastic wrap and when its time to roll them, cut into four sections with a strait knife. Now for each of the turkey mixture balls get anothe top peice of plastice wrap a place on top of each ball, centering the balls between the plastic wrap, with a rolling pin, flatten the balls into a circle ¼ inch deep. Once all four are flattened remove and discard the top plastic wrap, leaving the bottom plastic wrap in place.

    Turkey before rolling

    Place a couple tablespoons of stuffing on top of each flat turkey patty right in the center and gingerly spreadit into a circle being careful not to flatten the already flattened turkey patty. make sure to leave some turkey showing on the edges of each patty.

    Now do the same with the mashed potatoes, place 2 tablespoons worth on top of the stuffing and spread out but not to the edges.

    pop the frozen gravy and/cranberry sauce out of their molds (remove the top and use a butter knife to pop it out). Place in the very center of each turkey patty into the mashed potatoes, press it in lightly.

    Now using the plastic roll the edges as close together as you can and slip your whole hand under the turkey, we are now leaving the bottom plastic wrap behind as we finish cupping the ball in one hand and using our other hand to crimp together the turkey edges, once crimped together you can kind of roll the ball in your hands to some out and make round. But be sure the turkey has held together beacause once this goes in to cook the center will have gone from frozen to melted. So now they are held together and are round, you can roll them in the Italian breadcrumbs to get an even coat, then cover and put in the fridge to firm up the outside and let the center melt. I left mine in the fridge over night in tupperware. But leave in the fridge for 3-4 hours at least.

    Turkey after rolling

    I used a deep sauce pot to fry these in. Add ½ vegetable oil to a deep fry pan or sauce pan and put on medium low until it hits 350°F. Fry the giant turkey ball for a total of 8-10 minutes, let it fry for 1 minute at a time until all sections are golden brown, then keep the ball moving for the last three minutes to maintain an even brown coating

    You can present these on a giant platter for a guest to grab or what I did was, add a dollap or 2 of cranberry sauce in the center of the plate and place the ball on top, I finished mine off with a sprinkle of basil. You can always swap out the dollap of cranberry with: gravy, mashed potaoes, rice, cheese sauce, what ever hits your fancy!