Antipasti Tortellini Salad

Here is great summer salad recipe, perfect for dinner, a BBQ or to pack for a picnic or the beach! It is called Antipasti Tortellini Salad. It is full of ingredients that I love and I found it in a free magazine that I picked up at Stop & Shop called Savory.

Happy Summer and Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp chopped red onion (I omitted the onions)
• 1 (19 oz) pkg frozen cheese tortellini
• 4 oz piece salami (I used soppressata )
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella
• 1 (12 oz) jar marinated artichoke quarters, drained (I used canned non-marinated quarter artichokes, but drained them from the can)
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley, to garnish (optional)

Directions

1. To a small bowl, add the red onion. Cover with cold water and let stand. Prepare the tortellini according to package directions. Drain in a colander and run cold water over tortellini to cool. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, dice the salami/soppressata) and mozzarella. Drain the quarter artichokes and halve the tomatoes.
3. Drain the red onion well and pat dry with paper towels. In a large serving bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, and oregano. Add cooked tortellini, tossing with dressing. To bowl, add salami, mozzarella, artichokes, tomatoes, and red onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

Tip: To make the day before, leave out the onions and stir in just before serving, if you chose to add the onions. 

Today’s New to Me 2021 Recipe: Warm Lobster Rolls

If you have ever visited Rhode Island, or maybe even anywhere in New England, and you ordered a lobster roll, the next question would definitely be…”warm or cold”? My vote is always warm!

Feeling a little nostalgic on New Year’s Eve and missing our RI summers, my family and I decided to make Warm Lobster Rolls for dinner. After a simple Google search, we landed on Ina Garten’s Warm Lobster Roll Recipe. Ina did not disappoint on Christmas Day with the Today’s New to Me 2021 Recipe: Filet of Beef recipe, so we decided to follow her lead on this holiday meal again.

It was a holiday week and later in the day, the local fisherman had already closed down their carts, so we visited the dock fish market and purchased fresh boiled lobster meat already removed from the lobster. This step saved us a lot of work, time and I will definitely chose this quicker option next time! The lobster rolls were perfect, they tasted just like some of our favorite summertime go-to restaurants! Enjoy a little bit of summer on this chilly winter day. It will warm you up for sure!

Warm Lobster Rolls 

Recipe is compliments of Ina Garten on www.foodnetwork.com. Thank you for always sharing and inspiring me! 

Ingredients: 1 lb of pre-boiled and cut fresh lobster meat (makes about 5-6 rolls), 5 tbsp unsalted butter, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, parsley (and/or dill) to taste, 1 lemon, split-top hot dog rolls (Ina recommends Pepperidge Farms, so that is what we used)

Directions:

1. Heat 3 Tbsp butter in pan.

2. Add lobster, celery, salt, and pepper, stir and let cook for 2-3 minutes. 

3. Remove lobster from heat and sprinkle with 1/2 of the lemon juice and parsley (and/or dill). 

4. Melt 2 Tbsp of butter in a large pan. Place the rolls in the pan on their sides  and brown for 2 minutes on each side. 

5. Add lobster mixture to butter toasted rolls. Serve warm. 

Looking forward to spending summer days enjoying lobster rolls and clam cakes with friends and family!

Tomatoes…tomatoes…tomatoes…What do you do with all of those garden tomatoes?

As the summer comes to an end, so do the fresh vegetables from my father’s garden! I recently received a basket of tomatoes and made a few great recipes. I wanted to share them on my blog in case you find yourself digging for recipes to use up all of those ripe garden tomatoes! Three recipes were previously posted on my blog, and I am sharing two new recipes today (compliments of growing up with my Mom’s Italian cooking!)

Tomato Eggplant Ravioli (or with pasta of your choice):

https://homesweetmamamia.wordpress.com/2015/05/14/eggplant-tomato-ravioli/

Tomato Cucumber Salad: 

https://homesweetmamamia.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/summer-salads-tomato-cucumber-salad/

Prosciutto, Mozzarella, Tomato and Arugula Panini:

https://homesweetmamamia.wordpress.com/2015/07/22/proscuitto-mozzarella-tomato-and-arugula-panini/

And my favorite, two simplest tomato recipes of all…

Caprese Salad 

Ingredients : fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella balls, fresh basil, salt and pepper (to taste), olive oil, balsamic glaze (optional)

Directions: Cut tomato and mozzarella into thick round slices. On a long platter, arrange the Caprese Salad as follows : tomato slice, then mozzarella slice, then whole basil leaf. Repeat into rows. Sprinkle completed platter with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil (and balsamic glaze, optional). Serve cold along side crunchy Italian bread.

Pasta al Marinara (Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce)

Ingredients: tomatoes, olive oil, minced garlic, fresh basil, salt snd pepper(to taste), pasta (of choice)

Directions: In a small pot, boil pasta (of choice) per box instructions. In a sauté pan, heat olive oil and add minced garlic. After about 1 minute, add fresh tomato chunks. Sauté for about 3-5 minutes. Add fresh basil (chopped or sliced). Set aside. Once pasta is done, drain and add pasta to fresh tomato sauce. Serve immediately with Italian Bread.