A little bit of everything goes a long way

Don't pity the poor antipasto. According to Lynne Rosetto Kaspar, author of "The Italian Country Table" (Scribner), even though its origins are in peasant cuisine, many of the dishes, developed from leftovers, have now become antipasti, often translated as appetizers. The word "appetizer," however, barely does justice to the long list of antipasti at restaurants in Italy or to their sumptuous display on plain white platters. Antipasti can be so varied and elaborate that they can be a meal in themselves. The possibilities are endless: tidbits of seafood tossed with olive oil, garlic, and parsley; prosciutto in swirls like petals; a humble bowl of white beans in a warm bath of garlic, olive oil, and parsley; a rainbow of grilled peppers; plates of silvery anchovies; mixed olives in spices; a hunk of parmesan cheese shaved and served over bitter arugula with a drizzling of balsamic vinegar. Regional specialties also are varied. One of northern Italy's most famous contributions to the antipasto table is mortadella, which has morphed into an American lunch meat named after Bologna, the region's largest city. A single platter of mortadella, the fully cooked sausage meat studded with squares of fat and special spices, can stand alone as an antipasto.

The magazine La Cucina Italiana (published by Editrice Quadratum SpA, available in English), devotes a section to antipasti. The recipes can be hot or cold, simple or elaborate. A simple one is the half loaf of bread left over from one meal that makes its way to the table the next night as the base of a bruschetta: toasted bread with olive oil and a rub of garlic, a tomato slice, and an anchovy filet.
In many Italian restaurants in America, a single platter with smatterings of the above are nestled atop a bed of greens, like a salad served family-style. In Italy, you may see the antipasti table as you enter and tell the waiter your choices, which are then brought to your table on small plates.

With all the heavy meals and rich foods available during the holiday season, an antipasti buffet can be a welcome alternative. Instead of laying out a large platter, try small plates with multiple offerings for a palette-like effect and a dazzling presentation. Don't shy away from prepared foods. High-quality canned goods like artichokes, tuna in oil, and beans can help keep cooking to a minimum.
For a dressing, drizzle extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a twist of fresh black pepper on your selections. Let the food speak for itself. Serve with a loaf of crusty bread and a glass of red wine. The recipes here will serve 6-8. Buon apetito.

For dinner, too, eggs are a reliable comfort food

They're baaaack! Eggs that is. Denigrated for being high in cholesterol, eggs seem to be regaining their Grade A status. Sunnyside up or down, there is no more throwing away the yolk and making that pale substitute: an egg-white omelet. Diets like Atkins and South Beach tout protein, protein, and more protein.
We all know eggs are a good source of protein, but did you know the yolk is also an excellent source of lutein? Lutein is a caratenoid, often found in plants (carrots and tomatoes), and is famous for helping us maintain healthy eyes.

Scrambled, fried, and poached eggs are old friends at breakfast and brunch. Sometimes they show up for lunch as a salad -- or in a salad -- or at a party, deviled. But dinner?
For those of us who never fell out of love with eggs, there is nothing more comforting than a plate of scrambled eggs, day or night. When you just can't face making another meal, or when the cupboards are almost bare, how about having a backward day? Breakfast for dinner. You can elevate a humble plate of scrambled eggs to dinner fare by adding just a few ingredients.

In my Jewish family when I grew up, there was always a big, fat Hebrew National Kosher salami in the fridge -- and on Sunday mornings, a half-pound of lox wrapped in deli paper for the bagels. When my mother needed a break during the week, my dad would make my brothers and me salami and eggs, or lox, eggs, and onions for dinner. Shaking the pan back and forth over the heat, he loosened the half-cooked mixture and flipped it in the air, delighting us as it fell back in the pan perfectly whole.
Served with deli mustard and seeded rye toast, it was a real treat. It still is.


Eggs with lox and onions
Serves 4


1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 pound smoked salmon slices
6-8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
Pepper to taste

1. In a large frying pan, melt the butter. Add the diced onions and saute for 5 minutes, until onions begin to get translucent.
2. Cut the lox into thread-like pieces, though not too thin. Add to the onion mixture and fry for about one minute, stirring constantly. The lox will begin to turn pale.
3. Beat eggs in a bowl and add pepper. Pour over lox mixture.
4. Here is where personal preference comes in: You can either toss the eggs about as though you are making scrambled eggs, or let the eggs set over the salmon mixture like a pancake and flip to just set the other side.
4. Serve with rye toast.



Salami and eggs
Serves 4.
Add a salad and you have a complete meal.

8-12 quarter-inch-thick slices of kosher salami, or any salami you like (preferably cut directly from the individual logs). Use as many slices as you need to fit them comfortably in a single layer in a large frying pan
6-8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (optional)
Salt and pepper
Scant tablespoon of oil

1. Beat 6 eggs in a bowl. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper. To make the eggs fluffier, add the quarter cup of milk (omit the milk if you are kosher).
2. Drizzle oil into a large frying pan and heat for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the salami slices to the pan in concentric circles with the last piece in dead center.
4. Fry the salami for about one minute on each side until brown.
5. Pour the eggs over the salami slices, tilting the pan in circles until all the spaces are filled in with the eggs.
6. Cook the eggs until they begin to set. Run a metal spatula around the edges of the eggs and toward the center, loosening the round.
7. Carefully turn the salami and eggs over. If you don't think you can do it in one piece, cut it into quarters and turn each individually. Cook for an additional minute or two, depending on how firm you like your eggs.
8. Serve with deli mustard and rye toast.

Along with your cod, a side of controversy

The North Atlantic cod is the fish for which Boston is famous, the one after which the Cape is named, the main ingredient in our fish chowder. According to Mark Kurlansky, author of "Cod, a Biography of the Fish that Changed the World" (Penguin), the control of cod also has led to war and prosperity. Long before explorers from Northern Europe came looking for it in the 15th century, it was a dietary staple for Native Americans in this region.

These days, cod is again at the center of a clash, this time between scientists and fishermen; both want to preserve cod stocks, but they cannot agree yet on how to solve the problem. While some cod stocks are coming back, their numbers remain at or near historic lows.

Meanwhile, cod is still in fish markets and at seafood counters and is the all-purpose white fish. It's firm-fleshed and versatile, not "fishy" in flavor or smell, and stands up well to all methods of cooking. Even people who normally don't like fish like cod. Cod liver oil is high in Omega 3 fatty acids and natural Vitamin D, and is touted for its nutritional value. When salted and dried, it is known as salt cod or bacalao and is found in many Mediterranean cuisines. For example, a dish using salted cod is a Christmas tradition in Italy.

Marty Hagerty has been working around fish for a long time. His dad opened Fresh Pond Seafood, the unassuming fish store just off the rotary at Route 16 and Concord Avenue in Cambridge, more than 25 years ago. Weathered gray shingles and a sinking roof might make you think this store is closed, but Hagerty's large signs tell you otherwise.

His hands are red from cutting cold fish. He holds up a whole cod he picked up that morning at the fish auction on the Boston pier, a daily event.
"We cut most of the fish here," he says, as he deftly draws his filet knife along the spine, creating two long filets. He then slips the knife between skin and flesh, and scrapes as he removes the skin and cuts the filet into smaller hunks. The thicker end becomes a "hotel" cut good for baking. The thinner ends are good for broiling and chowder. "I like it with some breadcrumbs, buttered and baked," Hagerty says.

Then there is "scrod." According to Hagerty, any cod from 22 inches to 4 pounds is "scrod cod." Anything weighing 4 to 10 pounds is "market cod," and anything larger than 10 pounds is "large cod."
Max Harvey, seafood manager and buyer for Jasper White's Summer Shack, says "scrod could be haddock, cod, pollack, or hake," adding that "the very best cod is caught with long lines off Cape Cod."

Harvey likes the taste and texture of cod and enjoys roasting the smaller ones whole at home. He stuffs them with herbs and vegetables, or roasts the "loins" wrapped in bacon. Harvey says fresh cod will keep for two or three days, wrapped well and stored in the back of the refrigerator.
"If you want to get picky, put a plastic bag of ice on top of the fish," he instructs.

© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.

Cod simmered in fresh tomato sauce

1 pound cod, cut into 4 pieces
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
5 or 6 plum tomatoes, cored and chopped (no need to remove skins or seeds)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
red pepper flakes to taste
2 cups fresh spinach, washed and stem removed.

1. Sprinkle the pieces of cod with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. In a medium-size skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and basil, and a little salt and pepper. Saute until onions are soft.
3. Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, sugar, parsley, and red pepper flakes, if using. Cook about 8 minutes on medium heat until the tomatoes are soft and sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.
4. Nestle the pieces of cod into the tomato sauce, spooning sauce over the fish.
5. Cook 8-10 minutes until the fish is white.
6. Place spinach on top of the fish and cover. Cook until spinach has wilted over the cod, about 2 minutes.
7. Serve with slices of French or Italian bread, for soaking up the sauce.

Fish chowder

Like many chowders, this soup tastes even better the next day.
Serves 8.

5 slices bacon, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium onions or 1 large onion, chopped
4 medium potatoes cut into chunks
3-4 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons flour plus 3 tablespoons water
2 pounds thick cod, scrod, haddock fillets, cut into 3- or 4-inch chunks
2 cups light cream or milk (preferably not skim milk)
salt and pepper to taste
diced bacon and fresh parsley for garnish

1. Place bacon in a large pot and cook until almost crisp. You will have rendered about 2-3 tablespoons bacon fat.
2. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve.
3. Add the butter and chopped onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Add enough water to cover the potatoes. Add the bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are just slightly undercooked.
5. Mix the flour and water in a jar and shake until well mixed. Slowly add to the stock and heat until stock begins to thicken, approximately 2 minutes.
6. Place the chunks of fish into the thickened stock and cook for about 8 minutes until the fish turns white.
7. Add the cream or milk and stir carefully so as not to break up the fish. Heat the soup until hot and steaming but do not bring to a boil. Turn off and let sit 15 minutes. Reheat until steam appears.
8. Divide into bowls and sprinkle with chopped parsley, bacon, and a few twists of fresh black pepper. Adapted from "50 Chowders" by Jasper White (Scribner).