DeAnna's Restaurant

08/11/2024

When you have pizza and company!!! 😂

09/07/2023

TBT....some photos from the past!!!!! Hint: one of the photos will be the next drop!

09/06/2023

09/06/2023

Recipe Drop!!!! Hi all, Lisa here! It's fresh fig season!!!! One of our fave seasonal apps has always been the pan broiled figs with warm gorgonzola and jalapeño honey! Now it the time to make this dish! It's a little sweet, a little spicy! Pair with some bubbly or a lovely rose wine and some toasty semolina bread and you'll be happy!!!!! Super simple to make!

Pan broiled fresh figs with warm gorgonzola and jalapeño honey
Tools and ingredients
Saute pan, large enough to hold your figs without squishing
Fresh, ripe figs, local is best and it doesn't matter which kind.
Quality crumbled gorgonzola, enough to cover each fig
EVO
Local honey or quality honey, depends on how many figs you make but 1/2 cup to 1 cup should be fine
Jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced. Depends on how hot you prefer but approximately 2 to 3
Salt and pepper

Add your diced jalapeños to the honey, add salt and pepper and set aside for at least 1 hour. Extra will hold in the refrigerator, covered for 2 to 3 days.
Gently wash the figs and let dry, room temperature
Cut the figs lengthwise and place them in the saute pan. It's ok for them to touch but don't pack them too tightly
Add the crumbled gorgonzola to the top of each fig, about a 1/2 tsp. or so
Drizzle with the EVO
Place the figs under the broiler and keep watch until the cheese is soft and melty.
Stir the honey jalapeño
Plate the figs and drizzle with honey mixture. Garnish. Enjoy fig season! Leftover honey jalapeño is great to drizzle on a cheese plate too!!!

08/22/2023

Hello All!! Sorry we took a week off from recipe drops but it IS summer!!!! Lisa here. It's hard to get DeAnna off her boat to reel her in for her recipes! But, we're in luck. By popular demand, today's drop is DeAnna's caesar dressing for the grilled romain AND the delicious golden brown pecorino croutons! Enjoy and as always, we miss you and if you have questions, just message!!!

Tools:
Cusinart (must be completely dry!)
Sharp knives (goes without saying)
Hot grill or cast iron grill pan
Large bowl for croutons
Measuring cup to melt butter
Container for your dressing

Ingredients:
4 extra large eggs, room temp
Light olive oil (must visualize, no specific amount)
1 large, juicy lemon
5 large anchovies, plus extra for garnish
5 large fresh garlic cloves, chopped finely
3/4 cup grated pecorino cheese (NO parmesan) for the dressing plus another 1 cup for the croutons
1 loaf of good quality whole wheat or Italian bread, the wider kind not a baguette
1 cup butter, melted (might need more depending on how large your loaf is)
1 1/2 tsp dry taragon (or your choice of what herbs you prefer)
Romaine hearts, cut in half length wise
EVO for drizzling
1 tbsp of quality balsamic
Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:
IMPERATIVE the the cuisinart is dry. Moisture in it will make the mayonnaise break. Crack the eggs into the cuisinart. You are making homemade mayonnaise as the base. You have to get the hang of it. It's not hard but takes patience and practice. With the cuisinart running on high, SLOWLY add the olive oil until it starts to thicken with the eggs. As soon as it gets thick (don't think grocery store mayo) but thick-is.

Add the 5 anchovies, garlic, juice of the lemon, the balsamic and 3/4 cup of pecorino, add salt and pepper. Pulse until sufficiently mixed and you're done! Put in a non reactive container and ref ridge.

Romaine:
Clean, dry, cut in half the long way. Lightly drizzle with light olive oil, salt and pepper. Get ready to grill.

Croutons:
Cut the loaf of bread in half long ways. Cut the bread into 1" x 1" inch cubes. We always made ours bigger for drama and deliciousness. These are not your usual horrible, tiny stale bread fake croutons! Put the cubes into the bowl, add the tarragon (or herb of your choice). Add the melted butter. The cubes must be sufficiently wet, soaked almost. If you need to add more melted butter, do it. Add the pecorino, salt and pepper and coat thoroughly. Place croutons on the baking sheets and bake until golden brown on 350 degrees. Depending on your oven, check on them. You will be able to smell them!

Put the romaine on the grill. When the greens start to char, turn them over. Remove and plate. Spoon the dressing over top, garnish with the croutons, squeeze of lemon, 1 anchovies for each half and fresh ground pepper! Enjoy!!!!!

08/10/2023

Just a little TBT!

08/09/2023

Oops, sorry I forgot to include this photo! Shows what the cake looks like before the unmold! Tomorrow is TBT photos and next recipe will be DeAnna's caesar dressing, fab croutons for the grilled romaine salad!!!

08/09/2023

Hi all! Happy Wednesday! Lisa here. Today's recipe drop is our mocha fudge cake. A staple from the very beginning in 1990! Writing recipes on FB makes them seem more complicated then they are. But this is basically simple! Hopefully, the cookbook will be easier to follow!

What you'll need for tools and ingredients:

Heavy bottomed sauce pan, large enough to fit 1 pound of chocolate, 1 pound of unsalted butter and 1 cup of real espresso
Whisk
Large bowl
Espresso maker, old school for the top of the stove
Baking pan. I use a 12"x 7" x 4" deep.
Oblong plate or a large enough round plate to unmold the cake

1 pound of really good bittersweet/dark chocolate. NOT unsweetened baking chocolate
1 pound of unsalted butter
2 cups of sugar, not heaping
Espresso to fill up your pot
1 tsp real vanilla
8 extra large egg yolks

Put the espresso on to boil. When it spurts out, turn off the heat and set aside. In your sauce pan, add the chocolate and butter on low heat. When it starts to melt, add the espresso and the sugar. Whisk together until all melted. Remove from heat and set aside.

Butter your baking pan and line it with foil and butter the foil as well.
In your large bowl, whisk your egg yolks. SLOWLY add the eggs to the chocolate mixture in a small stream, whisking the whole time to temper the eggs. If you pour it in too quickly the eggs will "cook" and the cake could have lumps in it. The mixture should look glossy.

Pour the mixture into your buttered pan evenly. Place the pan in the middle of the preheated oven 350 degrees. Check your oven temperature. This cake bakes for 1 1/2 hours. When you remove it, it will be slightly jiggly and that's ok. Let sit for about 25 to 30 minutes.

The last step seems difficult but it just takes confidence and practice! Take your cake plate and place it over your cake. In a quick motion, turn the plate right side up and your cake will unmold. Gently remove the foil and cover with film. You might need to gently reshape the cake a bit. The beauty of this cake is that it doesn't have to be perfect! Put into refrigerator until the cake is firm to the touch. Garnish with homemade whipped cream and powdered sugar! Enjoy!!!!

PS Happy National Cat Day from Jimmy Meatballs!

08/03/2023

TBT!!!!!! And hi from little LaLa!!!! Now that was a garden!!!!! 🥰

08/02/2023

Next drop will be from the dessert menu!

08/02/2023

Hi all! Lisa here.....Recipe drop #2! Savory bread pudding!!!!!!

So, this recipe can be adapted to fit any ingredients, such as when great summer produce comes in...same with the herbs....you can use whichever herbs you prefer and omit things you don't like. The key to this dish is good quality butter, heavy cream and BRIOCHE bread!!!! Otherwise, it's pretty simple! This is a great go to for a meal, with a salad or other veg and you're done!
Also, I am halfing what I used to make at the restaurant since it made a lot!!! This version is one of our past faves, sweet sausage and cauliflower. But really, use the awesome summer produce as substitute!!!!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. of loose sweet sausage (or you can take sausage out of casings if you can't find loose!)
2 cups of heavy cream
1/2 pound unsalted room temperature butter (European butter has less water in it) plus extra for preparing baking pan or, you can use PAM spray
2 yolks extra large eggs plus 1 whole egg
1/2 head chopped fresh cauliflower
1/2 cup grated pecorino plus extra for finishing
1 cup Gruyere cheese cut into small cubes (you can use any cheese you prefer, like mozzarella if you are using garden tomatoes!)
2 whole shallots, peeled
1/2 of 1 carrot, peeled
1 loaf Brioche bread or Brioche buns that you can get in the supermarket , cubed into medium to large pieces
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry basil (can use fresh if you have, then chop about 8 leaves), 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley plus extra for finishing
1/4 cup brandy or sherry
Salt and pepper to taste

Tools:
Large bowl
Heavy bottom large sauce pot
Large frying pan
Whisk
Liquid and solid measuring cups
Measuring spoons
8 x 8 pan or 9 x 12 (I use metal but glass would work too)

Step 1:Saute
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Put carrot and shallots in Cuisinart and pulse until fine but not wet. You can hand chop too
Put a few tablespoons of butter or, you can use light olive oil. Put in the pan to melt along with carrot/shallot to sweat them.
When they are becoming soft, put the loose sausage in along with herbs, brandy and cook on medium until cooked through. Add the cauliflower to cook. Do not use high flame as the brandy can flambe!
Set aside

Step 2: Making the custard
Put the heavy cream along with 1/2 pound butter (less the tablespoons) in sauce pot and melt the butter slowly and heat until cream bubbles around the edges and is heated through. Careful not to scald and boil over.
In your large bowl, add your 2 egg yolks and 1 whole egg. Whisk the grated pecorino with the eggs. It will be thickish.
Slowly add the heavy cream mixture, whisking the whole time to temper the eggs.

Step 3: Composition
If the sausage cauliflower mixture has too much fat in the pan, drain.
Add the sautéed sausage, shallots to the bread. Add the custard. Fold together with spatula.
Add the cubed cheese,
Add salt and pepper to taste but note that between the sausage and cheeses, it contains a fair amount of salt already.

Step 4:Baking
Spray your pan. Add your pudding into pan. Place a cookie sheet or foil under the pan to catch any leakage. Bake until the top is golden brown about 35 to 40 minutes but set your timer for 20 minutes to check. The bread pudding should have a bit of a shake to it when done as it will firm up.
Let the bread pudding set up, finished the top with chopped parsley for garnish. You can serve with marinara or without.

Note: The mixture should not be dry. It should be heavily soaked. Let soak, using spatula to stir, for about 20 minutes. If your mixture is too dry, you can add additional heavy cream. If you have additional mixture that will not fit into pan, you can use another smaller pan to add to.

Once you make it, you will get the feel for what it should look and feel like and then you can change the ingredients as you like! Enjoy! Lisa

07/26/2023

Hi all! First recipe drop! Lisa here. So, when we retired, there were a few things I swore I wouldn't make again because I made them so often and I don't eat meat....Sicilian meatloaf, the pate and baking pounds of bacon. BUT, since it seems that so many of you loved the pate, here it is. Please remember that I used to make a huge amount and am trying to scale it back to normal quantity. As I did when I made it, you need to use your skills to adjust. Enjoy! Any questions, just ask!

DeAnna's Chicken Liver Pate with Seasonal Brandied Fruit Compote

1 container of chicken livers from any grocery store (approx. 1.25 lb)
3/4 pound unsalted butter plus 1/4 pound for compote
4 to 5 large shallots, peeled and diced
1 cup heavy cream (may need to adjust for consistency)
1 tsp.dry taragon (you can use less if you don't care for the French flavor, or choose another herb like dry thyme or dry basil)
White truffle oil for pate and for drizzling
Seasonal fruit, washed and cut (can mix fruits, currently I would use Manoff blueberries and peaches, but you can use what you like)
4 oz. of good quality brandy, 2 for the livers, 2 for the fruit
1/2 cup to 1 cup of sugar (depends on how sweet you like it, I never made it overly sweet)
Dash of cayenne pepper
Dash of garlic powder
1 stick of good quality wider baguette, cut on a bias (on an angle)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Drain the chicken livers in a colander and remove any questionable looking livers (like oddly fatty or sketchy in dark color, remember what the function of livers do)
In a heavy bottomed pot, melt the 3/4 pound of butter with the shallots and let saute until caramelized. Do not let the butter turn brown.
Add the chicken livers and let cook on medium heat until done, NOT browned. It's ok if they are a bit pink.
Add the heavy cream, the brandy, the herbs, salt and pepper, let cook for about 10 more minutes. Add 2 shakes of truffle oil.
Turn off heat and let sit for about 15 minutes.
Using an emulsifying blender, blend until smooth. No lumps! This is the time you taste it and adjust if you need to add more salt or cream. If the pate looks too thick, you can add more heavy cream and re-blend. Note: This pate does take quite a bit of salt. The butter will serve to firm the pate as it is refrigerated.

Using a non stick spray, spray a metal loaf pan or square cake pan. Pour the pate evenly into the pan and cover with film. Refrigerate until firm to the touch. There may be butter than congeals around the corners. Just take a knife and gently remove.

Brandied Fruit Compote
2 cups of the fruit of your choice. Best when it's local and in season! No need to worry about the fruit being different sizes. It adds to the visual.
In a heavy bottomed pot, melt the 1/4 lb butter and add the fruit, sugar, brandy, salt and pepper, cayenne, garlic powder. Cook on low until the fruit is soft but not mushy. Set aside. You can keep this compote in the refrigerator for a few days if you're not going to serve right away. When ready to serve, you can use a microwave safe measuring cup or, small pot to reheat.

You prepare the crostini when you are ready to serve. Add a drizzle of EVO on the baguettes. Toast (or grill) the crostini until crispy and brown. Do not over toast.

Put the crostini on a pretty plate, add a generous schmeer of the pate, then the warm compote and finish with a drizzle of white truffle oil, salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh pretty herbs and enjoy!!!!