Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp

The sauce on this shrimp is unmatched. My dad would typically make this as a decadent appetizer around Christmas time, but it could also pair well with pasta or vegetables as a main dish.

Ingredients:

12 large (26-30 size) shrimp, peel and deveined- but leaving the tail end on

2 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into 12 cubes

2 oz prosciutto ham, sliced from deli thin, cut into 12 thin strips

1 tsp olive oil

4 tbsps dry white wine

½ lemon juiced

1 tsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp chopped fresh basil

½ tsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 garlic cloves, minced

dash of pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Using a sharp knife, butterfly the shrimp by splitting each along back, down to tail, cutting as deep as possible without going through to the other side; spread shrimp open so they lay flat.

Onto each shrimp place 1 cube of cheese, roll 1 strip of prosciutto around the each, enclosing the cheese and tucking ends of prosciutto under the shrimp.

Grease a sheet pan that has an edge around it with ½ tsp olive oil, then arrange shrimp on the pan. Fold tail over the prosciutto strip and press down to hold in place.

In a bowl combine remaining ingredients and spoon over shrimp. Bake for about 8-10 minutes until shrimp are pink and cheese is melted.

Recipe Borrowed from: Francis Gremmo (my dad)

Steak Sandwiches

The Dijon sauce made with this is absolutely amazing! The recipe doesn't call for cheese- but you don't even miss it! If you really want cheese, I recommend Brie or Goat cheese.

Ingredients:

2 boneless New York strip steaks (3/4 inch thick; 1 1/2 pounds total), excess fat trimmed

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 large shallots, thinly sliced (2 cups)

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

4 sandwich rolls, split and toasted, Ciabatta bread highly recommended

2 cups baby arugula

Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat oil over high. Cook steaks until medium-rare, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and tent loosely with foil.

Reduce heat to medium, add shallots, and cook until softened, 8 minutes.

Add cream and 2 tablespoons water and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, 1 minute. Stir in mustard and season with salt and pepper. Thinly slice steak against the grain.

Make sandwiches with rolls, shallots, steak, and arugula.

Recipe Borrowed From:

Everyday Food Magazine

Rissot

This is one of our family recipes that we made every winter when I was a kid, and still to this day we all get together to make it. In fact it can be interactive as everyone should take a turn stirring the pot! It is not a traditional risotto recipe, it is a meat sauce with rice cooked into it. So delicious and tastes like home,

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 lb Italian sausage, cut up into small discs

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup red wine

28oz can tomato puree, plus ½ can worth water

4 small cans tomato paste, plus 3 cans of water per can

1 32 oz box chicken broth plus equal amount of water

1 lb long grain white rice or medium grain Calrose rice

2 bay leaves

Onion powder

Dried or fresh basil, to taste

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

In a short wide pot brown ground beef, sausage and garlic. Deglaze the pan with wine.

Add puree, tomato paste and water and stir to combine. Add seasonings and simmer on stove for 3 hours on low. Stir every 15 minutes.

In a separate saucepan heat chicken broth and water on medium to low heat.

Add all of the rice to the tomato sauce and add a couple ladles of hot chicken broth. Stir the rice constantly so it doesn't stick to the bottom. Once broth feels like it is absorbed into the rice and it is tough to stir, add a couple more ladles of chicken broth. Repeat process for about 45 minutes until the rice is cooked. (taste test for no crunch!)

Serve on a plate spread out with grated Romano cheese on top.

Recipe borrowed from: Francis Gremmo (my dad)