On The Menu

Mar 15 Sausage and Vegetable Ragu: Served over polenta. A staple of northern Italy’s Bologna, Ragu usually contains ground beef, tomatoes, onions, celery, carrots, white wine and seasoning. The Ragu is served over piping hot polenta, another dish common in Northern Italy, and is a hearty cornmeal mush, mixed with delicious parmesan cheese and fried.

Mar 16 Vegetable Tagine: North African stew served with couscous. This Moraccan stew is gently simmered with vegetables, olives, preserved lemons, garlic and spices like cumin, ginger, pepper, saffron and turmeric. The stew is served in a traditional style with couscous underneath. Couscous is made from coarsly ground flour or cracked wheat, which is the result of sifting out the finer flour.

Mar 17 Corned Beef and Cabbage: With potatoes and carrots. Believe it or not but corned beef and cabbage is an American tradition applied to the Irish holidy St. Patrick’s Day. Ireland however, exported more corned beef than the rest of the world until 1825. When Irish immigrants came to the states in the 1800’s and couldn’t find bacon they settled for the traditionally Jewish corned beef, which was similar in texture. Despite the history lesson, this wholesome meal is a favorite on March 17th for a reason, because it’s delicious. Love the orange carrots and green cabbage, they really celebrate the Irish colors.

Mar 18 Hot Turkey Sandwiches: With gravy and vegetables

Mar 19 Chicken Creole: simmered in tomato sauce with peppers and onions, served with rice. Creole is a cooking style orginally from Lousiana, a melting pot cuisine that includes the flavors of France, Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Mediterranean, America, and Africa. This combination of flavors and traditions mirrors the diversity of the St. Anthony guests. Peppers are a major component of this spicy dish, however, the mixture of tomatoes and onions, smoothes out the flavor.

Mar 20 Pasta Primavera: Fettucini and vegetables in a light cream sauce. I’m Sam the intern, by the way, I’ve been the force behind On The Menu for the past few months. Today’s choice, Pasta Primavera is so representative of the first day of spring. With ripe tomatoes and fresh local veggies, this refreshingly great pasta dish is a perfect Friday meal.

Mar 21 Feijoada: Brazilian spiced black beans with ham, served with rice. This national dish of Brazil was brought to South America by the Poruguese. Feijoada is traditionally prepared over a slow fire in a thick clay pot, but St. Anthony’s more contemporary preparation of black beans, salty ham, and rice is equally satisfying.

Mar 22 Lemon Rosemary Turkey: Mashed potatoes and vegetables. Not sure if you love to cook as much as I do, but I found this quick and easy recipe for Lemon Rosemary Chicken; or you can substitute turkey, like the recipe used for Saturday’s dish in the dining room.

Easy Recipe:1/3 c. lemon juice, 1/4 c. cooking oil, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper, 1 1/2 tsp. fresh or dried rosemary crushed, 2 whole med. chicken breast

For marinade, combine lemon juice, oil, fresh or dried rosemary, salt and pepper. Skin and bone chicken breasts. Cut in half lengthwise. Place chicken in a plastic bag. Pour the marinade over chicken. Close bag and marinate in refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade. Place chicken on a broiler pan. Broil 4-5 inches from heat for 6 minutes. Turn chicken. Brush with marinade. Broil 6 to 8 minutes more brushing once or twice with marinade.

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Also, I changed up the format of my post quite a bit this week and was wondering how ya’ll like it? Any suggestions of things you would like to see or learn more about, would be greatly appreciated.