Category Archives: Italian

Octopus in Red Wine

Posted on 02/21/2021 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

This works well with both a larger single 2 lb octopus or 10-12 small baby octopus. Cook the babies whole or cut the large one into 1/4″ pieces. To clean remove beak and eyes and pull out stuff inside main … Continue reading →

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Chicken Picatta

Posted on 04/07/2020 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

  Chicken Picatta 2 large chicken breasts 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup semolina flour 1/2 cup mushrooms sliced thin 4 garlic cloves smashed ⅓ cup dry white wine 2 tbsp capers coarsely chopped 2 tbsp lemon juice Chopped parsley Butterfly … Continue reading →

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Semolina Plum Coffee Cake

Posted on 09/11/2019 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

This is a great coffee cake that takes advantage of fresh large plums. Semolina Plum Cake 4 plums halved and pitted 1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp semolina flour 1 cup unbleached white flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 13 … Continue reading →

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Black Cod with Scallop, Fava and Porcini Sauce

Posted on 07/08/2019 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

For this sauce use fresh porcini and double shelled fresh favas. Choose scallops that are roughly the size of a quarter. If black cod is unavailable, halibut, red snapper or trout will work well. To quickly shell the second skin … Continue reading →

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Fava Puree

Posted on 06/23/2019 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

Again use fresh fava bean pods no longer than 4″. This works best if she second skin can remain on when grinding. The easiest way to tell is eat a raw one and see if the skin is tough and … Continue reading →

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Raw Fava Beans with Romano

Posted on 06/18/2019 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

Fava beans are best served raw, tossed in good olive oil, black pepper and grated romano. They can be eaten whole as long as the outside skin has not grown tough enough to require removal.  Pick pods once they reach … Continue reading →

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Baked Chicken with Chestnut Mushrooms, Pea Shoots and Rhubarb Sauce

Posted on 05/16/2019 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

This is a great way to use leftover rhubarb sitting around after a pie. It also makes use of fresh pea shoots and chestnut mushrooms, all of which come in season at the same time. Strain and keep the boiling … Continue reading →

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Seafood Stew

Posted on 03/28/2019 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

This soup can use an assortment of whatever seafood is available, just make sure to have some shellfish and some fillets. Seafood Stew 1 lb scallops 1/2 lb cleaned crab meat 1 lb red snapper fillets 3 ribs celery diced … Continue reading →

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Grilled Artichokes

Posted on 07/17/2018 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

So this guy named Arty walks up to the Whole Foods checkout line and before anyone can stop him chokes 3 people so he can pick up a dropped $5 bill. The next day the local paper’s headline was Arty … Continue reading →

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Broiled Oysters on the Half Shell

Posted on 12/27/2017 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

Here is a simple way to enjoy fresh oysters if someone prefers them cooked and someone else prefers them raw. If you do not know how to shuck an oyster go here. If you do not have an oyster knife … Continue reading →

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