Merrimack Valley Magazine

Hungry for the Holidays? Angelina’s Italian Restaurant

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For many, the holidays are about connecting with family traditions, and cooking is one of the most enjoyable ways to connect, no matter where you’re from or which holidays you celebrate. To keep the season merry, we’re presenting a few recipes from Merrimack Valley’s finest chefs and restaurant owners. Perhaps they’ll change the ways you celebrate your holidays with those you care about the most.

Angelina’s Italian Restaurant

Susan Amato, the founder and owner of Angelina’s Italian Restaurant in Tewksbury, prides herself on creating a family environment and excellent Italian-centric cuisine. Angelina’s, which opened in September 2012, has a strong “homey” atmosphere to it, and customers love the warmth that resonates throughout the restaurant.

“Growing up, my memories were made at the family dinner table when we came together, talked about our day, ate great food and sipped on wine,” Amato says. “For hours, we enjoyed each other’s company and made memories that became unforgettable. As part of an Italian family, our whole life was about food and each other.”

A Yuletide staple at Angelina’s is the Christmas gummy bear drink. A mix of schnapps and vodka, this sweet and fruity drink is just the right amount of festive.

“Italians love to drink,” Amato says. “We do these kinds of drinks every year to put a smile on each guest’s face.”

Angelina’s is named after Amato’s grandmother, and the recipes at the restaurant are taken directly from the Amato family’s cookbook, with Susan Amato’s unique spin. The fish and potato dish called “The Entree” is her favorite, as seafood is a must-have for any Italian family.

 

THE ENTREE
(A parchment-wrapped roasted potato and seafood dish)

Start to finish: 35-45 minutes
Serves: 6-8

3 cherry tomatoes
1/4 onion, sliced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt
2 or 3 anchovies
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Basil leaves
5 black olives
2 or 3 quartered artichokes
Individual-size cod or other fish
3 red bliss potatoes

Combine the tomatoes, sliced onion, olive oil, anchovies, lemon juice, basil leaves, red wine vinegar, artichokes and olives in a large mixing bowl. Thinly slice the red bliss potatoes. Roast in a pan with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Place sliced potatoes on the bottom of the parchment paper, place in cod on top, and then top it with the previously mixed ingredients. Close up the parchment paper and bake at 500 F in a convection oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

ITALIAN CREAM PUFF

Servings: 15

Pastry:
8 egg yolks
2 cups flour
Sugar
Salt
4 cups water
1 pound unsalted butter

Boil water and mix the butter, sugar and salt. Once it comes to a boil, take the pan off the stove and set aside.

Once it has cooled, add 2 cups of sifted flour and then add 2 eggs at a time and stir. Continue stirring until it is thick, creamy and smooth, then put it in a piping bag and squeeze out the desired size of your pastry puff. Then put it into your oven, set at 375 F, until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Yellow Italian Cream:
3 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla

Place all ingredients into a saucepan, stirring on low heat until it becomes thick but creamy. Put it into the refrigerator to cool.

Assembling Pastry:
Cut open the pastry puff and fill with your Italian yellow cream. Top with Italian Amarena Fabbri cherries and drizzle with cherry sauce, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

BUTTERNUTCINIS

Start to finish: 30-45 minutes

Serves: 4-6

Butternut squash
1 pound Arborio rice
1/2 minced onion
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Pinch of salt
Pinch black pepper
White pepper
1 cup brandy
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock
Pinch of saffron
5 sage leaves
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups fontina cheese

To make the risotto, saute the olive oil and onion until translucent, and add the garlic until fragrant. Add the rice and toast lightly.

Add the brandy and cook until reduced. Once reduced, add the sage and thyme, stirring together. Add one cup at a time of heated chicken stock with saffron until it becomes creamy and soft, then add the butternut squash, butter, fontina cheese, salt and white pepper. Mix to combine and taste and adjust the seasoning. Place in a bowl and let it cool overnight.

Sauce:
1/2 cup brandy
1 quart heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup mascarpone cheese
Pinch of salt and white pepper
Pinch of saffron
5 sage leaves
1 teaspoon pepper or a combination of paprika and cayenne pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced
Zest of 1 lemon

Mix the ingredients together and bring to a boil. The sauce should be rich and creamy.

To make arancini balls, ball up the risotto to the desired size, roll them in a dry breadcrumb pan and fry in shallow oil in a deep pot until golden brown. Set aside and, when ready to serve, sauce the bottom of a plate. Place the arancini on top and garnish with a seasonal herb of choice.

CHRISTMAS GUMMY BEAR

Start to finish: 10 minutes
Serves: 1

2 ounces Stoli Razberi vodka
1 ounce peach schnapps
Splash of cranberry juice
Gummy bears
Coconut flakes
Melted chocolate

Dip rim of glass lightly in melted chocolate and sprinkle rim with gummy bears and coconut flakes.

Mix vodka, schnapps and cranberry juice and pour into glass.

 

Angelina’s Italian Restaurant
Tewksbury, Mass.
(978) 319-9573
AngelinasTewksbury.com

Hungry for the Holidays? Jocelyn’s Mediterranean Restaurant

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For many, the holidays are about connecting with family traditions, and cooking is one of the most enjoyable ways to connect, no matter where you’re from or which holidays you celebrate. To keep the season merry, we’re presenting a few recipes from Merrimack Valley’s finest chefs and restaurant owners. Perhaps they’ll change the ways you celebrate your holidays with those you care about the most.

Jocelyn’s Mediterranean Restaurant & Martini Lounge

For Jocelyn Maroun, co-owner of Jocelyn’s Mediterranean Restaurant & Martini Lounge in Salem, N.H., the holidays mean family, and, of course, food.

“I always loved spending time with my family for the holidays,” Maroun says. “Getting to connect with my two brothers and the rest of my family is always really important to me, especially if I haven’t seen them in a while.”

Jocelyn’s features a wide variety of Lebanese and American dishes, as well as many healthy Mediterranean offerings, such as hummus, tabbouleh, falafel and shawarma. The Riz Ala Dajaj, a classic Lebanese chicken, beef and rice dish, is easy to make and normally served on special occasions, such as Christmas or New Year’s.

“The Riz Ala Dajaj can be a main or side,” Maroun says. “We used to eat it every chance we got, whether it was for birthdays or holidays like Easter, Christmas and the New Year. It was always served with hummus, too, which is something you have to have as a Lebanese family. It was always a great time getting to catch up with family over food for the holidays.”

 

RIZ ALA DAJAJ

Start to finish: 2 hours
Serves: 6

5 pounds boiled whole chicken
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon nutmeg
4 cups cooked rice
3/4 cup pine nuts

Boil chicken with cinnamon stick and half of the salt. Reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes. Remove chicken and coarsely shred off bones. Reserve chicken stock to add to rice. Cook ground beef in a deep pot and add remaining salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Add rice and chicken stock to pot. Fry pine nuts with a little olive oil until golden.

To serve, place rice mixture on serving platter. Cover with beef, shredded chicken and pine nuts.

HUMMUS

Start to finish: 10 minutes
Servings: 4

2 cups chickpeas (canned or home-cooked), rinsed and drained
1 cup tahini paste (ground sesame paste)
1 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon water
Paprika
Parsley
Olive oil

Add the tahini and lemon juice in a blender to make a thick whipped paste. Add in the chickpeas, salt, garlic and water to make the dip creamier.

Garnish with paprika, parsley and olive oil.

BAKED KIBBEE

Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours
Servings: 6

Filling:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound ground beef (not lean)
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

Bulgur Mixture:
1 cup soaked bulgur wheat
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 pound ground beef (not lean)
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

For the Filling:
Cook the chopped onion in olive oil. Add the beef, allspice, salt, cinnamon and pepper. Remove from the heat once cooked and stir in the pine nuts.

To Make Bulgur Mixture:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Pulse the onion in a food processor until finely chopped. Add beef, allspice, salt, cinnamon and pepper, and pulse until the onion is finely minced. Add the bulgur and mix with your hands to combine well.

For the Whole Dish:
Lightly grease a tray with olive oil. Press half of the bulgur mixture evenly onto the bottom and edge of the baking tray. Add filling evenly over the bulgur mixture. Spoon the remaining bulgur mixture over the filling and spread to cover the tray.

Brush the top with the remaining olive oil and score in a crosshatch pattern with a paring knife. Bake the kibbeh in the middle of the oven until cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes.

TABOULE

Start to finish: 30 minutes
Serves: 4-6

4 bunches parsley
3 large tomatoes, finely chopped
1 small bunch mint leaves
1 onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup bulgur wheat
2 large lemons
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
Black pepper to taste

Wash the parsley and remove most of the stem. In a small bowl, soak the bulgur wheat in water and set aside.

Finely and gently chop the dry parsley using a sharp knife and add to a large bowl. Add the sliced mint leaves, onion and chopped tomatoes. Drain the bulgur mixture and add to the bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, then mix. Adjust the lemon, salt and pepper to taste.

 

Jocelyn’s Mediterranean Restaurant & Martini Lounge
Salem, N.H.
(603) 870-0045
JocelynsRestaurantNH.com

Hungry for the Holidays? moonstones

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For many, the holidays are about connecting with family traditions, and cooking is one of the most enjoyable ways to connect, no matter where you’re from or which holidays you celebrate. To keep the season merry, we’re presenting a few recipes from Merrimack Valley’s finest chefs and restaurant owners. Perhaps they’ll change the ways you celebrate your holidays with those you care about the most.

Moonstones

Moonstones Executive Chef Adam Hervieux entered the restaurant business when he was in high school, tossing pizzas with his older brother at a small establishment in Lowell. Before then, a culinary career hadn’t entered his mind. “My dad was a mechanic, and I know nothing about cars,” Hervieux says.

He attended Lowell High School and, after graduating in 1997, enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, where he studied under renowned chef Todd English. Hervieux worked at restaurants all over the country before returning to the Merrimack Valley.

Now that Hervieux is closer to family, he recalls some of his favorite holiday moments and the food that was part of them.

“We always had dinner as a family. Mom would be cooking, and my dad and my brothers and I would gather around the table and talk about our day,” Hervieux says. What set these days apart was the quality of the food, which was always, in his words, “authentic and multidimensional.”

 

BEET RAVIOLI

Start to finish: 2-3 hours
Servings: 4-6

5 red beets, peeled, diced
8 ounces whole butter, melted
Pasta dough
Sea salt to taste
Water as needed

Saute the beets on low heat with half of the butter and a pinch of sea salt until all the liquid is evaporated and the beets are soft. Place the beets in a blender with the remaining butter. Use a little water if the filling is too thick. Season with sea salt and cool.

Roll out pasta dough and cut into rounds. Fill and seal with egg.

Sauce:
3 ounces white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1 lemon, for zest
1 sprig thyme
1 cup heavy cream
6 ounces whole butter, cubed

Reduce the wine in a saucepot until almost dry, add lemon juice and heavy cream, reduce by half. When cream has thickened, slowly whisk in the butter on low heat. Do not boil or the sauce will break.

Garnishes:
1/4 cup arugula
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 ounce goat cheese
4 beet chips, fried at 275 F

SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI

Start to finish: 2 1/2-3 1/2 hours
Serving Size: 4-6

2 large sweet potatoes
2 russet potatoes
1 egg, beaten
1 cup (plus more for dusting) “00” farina flour
Pasta dough
Salt and pepper

Wash potatoes, then bake unpeeled in a 375 F oven until soft, about an hour. While the potatoes are still hot, peel and pass through a ricer or a food mill onto a lightly floured workbench. Season with salt and pepper, make a well out of the potatoes, add half the egg and cut into the dough with a bench scraper.

Add the flour and work the dough until it forms a ball, using the extra flour to roll into tubes and then cut into pillows. Drop directly into boiling water.

Sauce:
2 ounces butter, cut into cubes
1 tablespoon hazelnuts, toasted, crushed
5 leaves sage cut into long, thin strips
2 tablespoons pasta water
Prosciutto
Parmesan cheese

Add the butter to a hot saute pan. Swirl the pan until the butter becomes golden brown, lower the heat and then add the hazelnuts and sage. Add the gnocchi to the pan and toss, add the pasta water to finish the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Slice the prosciutto thin, put on a baking sheet and bake at 275 F until crispy. Garnish gnocchi with grated Parmesan, crispy prosciutto, and fried sage leaves.

BROWN BUTTER CORNBREAD

Start to finish: 1 1/2 to 2 hours
Serving Size: 6

Dry:
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt

Wet:
1 cup milk
2 eggs
3 tablespoons honey
8 ounces butter
1 cup creamed corn or fresh corn puree

Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

In a hot pan, cook the butter until golden brown, let cool. Combine the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Brush a cast-iron skillet with butter, fill 3/4 full with the cornbread mix. Bake at 325 F for 30 to 45 minutes.

 

Moonstones
Chelmsford, Mass.
(978) 256-7777
Moonstones110.com

Hungry for the Holidays? Seoul Kitchen

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For many, the holidays are about connecting with family traditions, and cooking is one of the most enjoyable ways to connect, no matter where you’re from or which holidays you celebrate. To keep the season merry, we’re presenting a few recipes from Merrimack Valley’s finest chefs and restaurant owners. Perhaps they’ll change the ways you celebrate your holidays with those you care about the most. 

Seoul Kitchen

Born in South Korea before moving to Ghana, Jay Chung grew up in kitchens. His parents owned multiple restaurants before the family moved to the U.S. when he was 11 years old.

“We were chasing after the American Dream,” says Chung, co-owner of Seoul Kitchen in Westford. “My parents worked really hard to put me through college, and I started a career in finance after graduating.”

His time in finance lasted almost four years. Ultimately, he realized he had to sharpen his chef’s knife and return to where he belonged.

“Coming [to America], we didn’t have a large family,” Chung says. “So we made sure to include everyone for the holidays, especially Thanksgiving. Our bonding came through cooking and growing the restaurant. We were always very celebratory. I feel like you know the people you work with better than the family members you see maybe once a year, and my parents and I wanted to give back.”

KALBI JIM
(Braised beef short ribs, slow-cooker version)

Start to finish: 8 hours
Serves: 8

8 pounds of beef short ribs cut to 2 1/2 inches
1 cup water
2 large onions
3 large carrots
16 garlic cloves
1 large daikon radish
10 thin ginger slices

Sauce:
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup mirin (cooking rice wine)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

After trimming fat, let short ribs sit in cold water for 30 minutes. Then pat dry. Cut all vegetables into large chunks. Place meat, vegetables and water into slow cooker and cook on high for 5 hours. Flip the meat a few times. After 5 hours, add the sauce mixture and cook for additional 2 hours. Serve in large bowl with side of steamed white rice.

KIMCHI JJIGAE
(Kimchi Stew)

Start to finish: 30 minutes
Serves: 6

6 cups kimchi, cut to bite-size pieces
12 ounces pork belly or pork collar meat
1-2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean chile powder)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup kimchi juice
6 cups water
20 ounces tofu
4 scallions, 4-inch slices

Cut the pork into small cubes. Diagonally cut the scallions into 3/4-inch slices.

In a pot, add the pork, kimchi, kimchi juice and garlic. Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the gochugaru, tofu and scallions. Cook for 5 minutes. Serve with rice.

JAPCHAE

Start to finish: 1 hour
Serves: 6

18 ounces Korean sweet potato starch noodles
1 pound ribeye steak
2 carrots
8 ounces baby spinach
1 large onion
1/2 large red bell pepper
8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Beef Seasoning:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons mirin
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Spinach Seasoning:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Black pepper to taste

Noodles Mix With Veggies Marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons sesame oil
Black pepper to taste

Cut the ribeye into thick strips and mix in the beef seasoning. Cook until brown in a saute pan. Cut the carrots, bell pepper, mushrooms and onion into strips.

Boil water and cook spinach for 5 minutes. Run under cold water and squeeze out the water. Mix the spinach with the spinach seasoning. Stir-fry the carrots, bell pepper, mushrooms and onion separately. Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Boil the noodles for 6 minutes. Once done, immediately submerge in cold water and drain the excess water. Mix the noodles, beef and all the veggies with the noodles marinade.

DDUK GUK 

Start to finish: 2 hours
Servings: 6-8

6 quarts water
1 pound beef brisket
64 ounces sliced rice cake
12 cloves whole garlic
6 scallions washed and chopped diagonally, about 4 inches
6 eggs, whisked
6 tablespoons Korean soup soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Dried nori, sliced or crumbled

Place the water, brisket and garlic in a large pot and bring to a boil. Cover with the lid and boil on low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Afterward, skim off the fat floating on top.

While the brisket is boiling, heat a nonstick pan on medium heat. Pour a thick layer of the omelet into the pan and cook each side. Cook this way for half of the mixture. You may need to do this a few times, depending on the size of your pan. Afterward, cut the omelet into thick noodlelike strips. After 1 1/2 hours of boiling, remove the brisket and shred it into thick strips (you may need to cool off the brisket a bit). Also skim the garlic pieces and discard.

Bring the broth back to a boil and cook the rice cake and scallions. Also add the soy sauce, sesame oil and salt at this time. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the rice cake is soft. Cook the rest of the omelet mixture (like egg drop soup). The egg will cook quickly, so turn off immediately as soon as it’s cooked.

Scoop each serving into a bowl and top off with generous amounts of shredded brisket, nori strips, omelet egg strips and black pepper. It’s all about the toppings.

Hint: You can also add store-bought frozen Korean dumplings to the soup at the same time as the rice cake. This is called dduk mandoo guk.

 

Seoul Kitchen
Westford, Mass.
(978) 399-0016
EatSeoulKitchen.com

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