Cinco de Mayo Enchiladas con Camarón y Carne de cangrejo… (To us Gringos, that’s Shrimp and Crabmeat Enchiladas)

         Cinco de Mayo is upon us.  It’s a once-a-year opportunity to salute Mexico with a purely American excuse to consume copious pitchers of Margaritas, mountains of tortilla chips and oceans of salsa.  Last year, I posted a recipe for Enchiladas Suizas, a wonderful gooey, cheese-y dish full of chicken in a cream sauce and then topped still more cheese and salsa verde.  It went on to become the single most popular post in the history of Chewing the Fat.  Today it stands at a whopping 2565 hits!  If you want a look at what so many people have been looking at, here’s the link: http://www.chewingthefat.us.com/2011/05/enchiladas-suizas-with-mexican-cole.html

Pork Cutlets with Pine Nuts and Prosciutto “Lombatine ‘Vestite’ ai Pinoli”

         Here we have a simple pork cutlet or chop that is covered with juicy bits of golden raisin, salty, tangy capers, and rich Gran Padano cheese.   This sweet and salty, cheese-y topping is held in place by crisp slices of prosciutto.  For a pork lover like me, the dish is just about perfection.

         I’ve mentioned my fondness for “La Cucina Italiana” magazine before.  The 83 year old magazine got its start in Italy in 1929.  The US edition is a Johnny-come-lately by comparison.  It launched here late in 2007.  The magazine has an American editor named Michael Wilson who somehow makes every issue like a trip to Italy. And it maintains its Italian-ness by keeping the recipe titles in Italian and translating them in much smaller type below.  Somehow that adds to the feeling that this is truly Italian cooking.  Features about various regions of Italy make for a good read.  Ingredient features like the current issue’s one on Italian Beer introduce you to the people behind the brews.  And two more, one on beans, the other on strawberries, give you more than enough ways to put authentic recipes on your table. This "La Cucina" even takes you outside the kitchen door with “Start an Italian Garden”. But hands down, one of my favorite sections is called “In Cucina” (In the Kitchen).  That’s where you’ll find “Cooking School” which gives you an in-depth understanding of cooking techniques.  But it’s “Cooking by the Clock” that inevitably turns me on.  Today’s post is no exception. 

Steak Pizzaiola

         My friend Kate says that when she lived in Santa Fe NM, people used to refer to their local Whole Foods market as “Whole Paycheck”. The Whole Foods nearest me is certainly more expensive than most of the neighborhood groceries but then the produce is magnificent and almost everything in the store is either organic or close to it.  Then Trader Joe’s moved into the same geographical locale.  Everyone in the area noted the sizeable price differences on very much the same caliber of food. Trader Joe’s features any number of products with a green halo around them. Those that are not completely organic are pretty close to it.  But what price differences!  So it was not entirely a surprise when I went to Whole Foods this week and discovered a whole raft of Sale items.  Among these was Sirloin Steak at 6.99 a lb. marked down, according to the signage, from 12.99 a lb.  The price alone would have instantly attracted me.  But Whole Foods reputation for minimally processed foods is another huge draw. It’s reflected in everything the store does down to the wrapping my sirloin came in which is branded as “Great-Tasting Meat from Healthy Animals.’ Sold!   From there, it was just a matter of how to cook the steak in a new way.  I discovered a recipe for Steak Pizzaiola.