Best Mama Recipes

MAMA'S BLACKBERRY COBBLER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter into an 8-in. square baking dish. In a small bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, milk and vanilla until blended; pour into prepared dish. In another bowl, combine blackberries, remaining 1/2 cup sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter; toss until combined. Spoon over batter., Bake until topping is golden brown and fruit is tender, 45-50 minutes. Serve warm.

JO MAMA'S WORLD FAMOUS SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• In large, heavy stockpot, brown Italian sausage, breaking up as you stir.
• Add onions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until onions are softened.
• Add garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water.
• Add basil, parsley, brown sugar, salt, crushed red pepper, and black pepper.
• Stir well and barely bring to a boil.
• Stir in red wine.
• Simmer on low, stirring frequently for at least an hour. A longer simmer makes for a better sauce, just be careful not to let it burn!
• Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
• Spoon sauce over drained spaghetti noodles and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

MAMA D'S ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and let proof.
• Stir in 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Beat in the salt and then add enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Knead until as soft and smooth as a bambino's behind. Turn in a greased bowl, cover, and let double in size. (I put it in the oven with the light on - perfect rising temperature.)
• Once doubled, punch down and divide into three. Place back in the bowl, cover, and let rise.
• Once doubled again, punch down and form into three fat "footballs." Grease heavy cookie sheets and sprinkle with corn meal. Place the bread on the sheets, cover with a towel, and let rise.
• Once risen, mist with water and place in a preheated 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) oven. Mist loaves with water and turn occasionally while they bake. Bread is done when golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

BAHAMA MAMA

Steps:

• Combine regular rum, rum with coconut flavoring, grenadine, orange juice, pineapple juice and crushed ice in an electric blender. Blend until the drink's consistency is slushy.

MAMA'S OH-SO-SAVORY LAMB AND EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a colander set in a bowl or the sink; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Let eggplant stand for at least 1 hour. Rinse off the bitter liquid and excess salt and drain well.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and celery; cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent and celery is fragrant, about 5 minutes.
• While vegetables are cooking, combine ground cumin, oregano, rosemary, paprika, mint, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl or mortar and pestle and mix well; this is the lamb seasoning (see Cook's Note). Set seasoning aside.
• Stir eggplant cubes and garlic into the vegetables in the skillet, mixing well, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and sprinkle with half of the lamb seasoning mixture. Reserve remaining seasoning. Stir gently and cook for 5 minutes more.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
• Pour chicken broth and half the can of tomato sauce into the skillet and simmer for 10 minutes; add a little water if the sauce starts to get dry. Transfer the sauce to the prepared casserole dish.
• Return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat and heat the reserved tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Place ground lamb into skillet and sprinkle with remaining seasoning mixture. Brown lamb in the hot oil, stirring frequently, until the meat is evenly browned; it should look like imperfect meatballs.
• Gently transfer the lamb to the casserole dish, pushing it down into the vegetable mixture so that it is at least partially submerged. Stir fresh lemon juice into the remaining tomato sauce and pour the sauce over the casserole.
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending upon how tender you like your vegetables.

MAMA'S OLD-FASHIONED ALBONDIGAS (MEATBALL SOUP)

Steps:

• Pour water into a large stockpot over high heat. Stir in 3 cups tomato sauce, yellow onion, chicken bouillon, garlic, and 1 tablespoon dried oregano. Bring broth to a slow boil.
• Combine ground beef, eggs, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, white rice, 1/4 cup cilantro, seasoned salt, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and cumin in a large bowl. Squeeze mixture with your hands until thoroughly mixed.
• Scoop 1/4 cup of beef mixture and form in a ball. Lower gently into boiling broth. Repeat with remaining beef mixture.
• Stir potatoes, carrots, and celery into the broth. Cover and simmer until meatballs and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini and cabbage. Cover and simmer until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes.
• Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and garnish with avocado and 1/4 cup cilantro.

MAMA'S POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• In a large kettle, cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and cool. Peel potatoes; cut into chunks. Separate egg yolks from whites. Set yolks aside. Chop whites and add to potatoes with onion., In a small bowl, mash yolks. Stir in mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over potatoes; toss well. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Spoon into a serving bowl. Garnish with egg slices and paprika. Chill until serving.

MAMA'S BLACKBERRY COBBLER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Pour the melted butter into the bottom of an 8x8-inch square baking pan. Mix the sugar, self-rising flour, and milk together until moistened, and pour the mixture over the butter. Do not stir. Spread blackberries evenly over the batter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top is browned and the cobbler is bubbling, about 45 minutes.

OLD MAMA'S FASHIONED CHILI

Steps:

• Cook and stir ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat until crumbly and browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain.
• Stir drained ground beef, black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, green bell peppers, yellow onion, garlic, and chili seasoning together in a large pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are slightly tender and chili is heated through, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with hot sauce, salt, and ground black pepper to taste.

MAMA IULIUCCI'S FAMOUS MEAT-A-BALLS (ITALIAN MEATBALLS)

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients gently in a large bowl until well combined.
• Roll meatballs 1 1/2- 1 3/4" in diameter.
• Heat about 1/4" of oil over medium heat in a large frying pan.
• Fry meatballs in oil, rolling frequently, until evenly browned and juices run clear.
• Drop meatballs in your favorite sauce (I highly recommend My Mama Iuliucci's"Don't Skip a Step" Spaghetti Sauce recipe#26947) and let simmer for awhile to flavor sauce or just serve with your favorite pasta and sauce.
• Tip: You can also bake or broil these if the frying part is too much of a hassle-- I use my broiler pan if I bake them, so the fat drips down and away from the meatballs.

MY MAMA'S BRACIOLE

Steps:

• Season meat with salt and pepper. Top each slice of meat with a slice of prosciutto. In a medium bowl, moisten bread crumbs with milk. Add grated cheese, onion, parsley, arugula, salt and pepper to the crumbs and combine well. Spread a thin layer of stuffing down the center of each beef slice and roll tightly. Fasten rolled meat with plain toothpicks.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to a hot pan along with garlic. Set meat into pan and brown on all sides, 6 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan. Add butter to the pan. Add mushrooms to the melted butter. Saute mushrooms 5 minutes. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Whisk wine into the flour and mushrooms and scrape up pan drippings. Reduce wine 1 minute, then whisk in beef broth and tomato paste. Set meat back into sauce and reduce heat to medium low. Partially cover pan with a cover left ajar an inch. Simmer meat in sauce 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer beef rolls to a platter, removing toothpicks. Pour pan gravy down over the beef rolls and serve.

MAMA'S BUTTERMILK COCONUT PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Place pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet., In a large bowl, beat sugar, eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, flour, vanilla and salt until blended. Stir in coconut. Pour into crust. Bake until light golden brown and center is almost set, 50-60 minutes. Cool on a wire rack; serve or refrigerate within 2 hours.

MAMA'S FRIED PIES

Steps:

• Cook fruit in water until tender. Drain and mix with sugar and margarine. Mash well. Refrigerate overnight if possible. Roll out homemade piecrust dough and cut into saucer-sized circles.
• Spoon fruit onto circles and fold over into crescent shapes, then close the edges completely with a fork. Fry until golden brown. Place fried pies on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
• Variations: For baked pies, place crescents on a lightly-greased baking sheet in a 400 degree oven until golden brown.
• For apple pies, use dried apples and add apple pie spice (or nutmeg and cinnamon) and vanilla to taste.
• For prune pies, use dry, pitted prunes and add vanilla to taste.
• Place the flour and a dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Add the shortening and cut it in with a pastry blender or use your hands, as I do. Add the water, a teaspoon at a time, kneading until the dough is smooth.

MAMA'S SOUTHERN CORNBREAD DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9x13-inch baking dishes.
• Combine cornbread and stale bread cubes in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and celery and cook until transparent, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Pour onion mixture over the cornbread mixture. Add turkey broth, chopped turkey, soup, giblets, hard-cooked eggs, and flour. Mix so that all the cornbread is wet. Mix in parsley, sage, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Add beaten eggs. Mixture should be "soupy." Pour mixture evenly into the prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cooked through and set, 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes.

MAMA'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish.
• In a large saute pan, over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and saute meat, onion, and garlic until meat is browned, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon. Drain pan of fat and add stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, then mix in cottage cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, and seasoning salt.
• Spread a little of the meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared pan. Lay half the noodles in the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping by 1/2-inch. Spread half the egg and cottage cheese mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle half the mozzarella and Cheddar evenly over the cottage cheese mixture. Pour half the meat sauce on top. Repeat layering in same order. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan on top. Bake in center of oven 30 to 35 minutes until sauce is bubbling around the edges. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

BAHAMA MAMA BANANA RUM CAKE

Steps:

• TO MAKE THE GLAZE.
• Combine the butter, water, and sugars in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the rum. Set aside and keep warm.
• TO MAKE THE CAKE.
• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350°F Spray a 10-cup tube pan with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle the pecans in the bottom of the pan and set aside.
• In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
• One by one, beat in the eggs, taking care to mix well between each addition.
• Beat in the mashed bananas, vanilla, and rum.
• Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt over the batter and fold in using a rubber spatula, just until no streaks of flour remain.
• Fold in the sour cream.
• Spoon the batter into the pan and spread to the pan using the back of a rubber spatula.
• Bake about 60-80 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Use a wooden skewer to poke holes all over the cake and pour 1/4 cup glaze over the cake.
• Allow to cool for 5 more minutes. Place a serving platter over the pan and invert to release the cake. Spoon the remaining glaze over the cake, little by little, and let stand until the glaze is completely absorbed by the cake. If the glaze starts to pool at the base of the cake, use a small metal spatual to spread it up and around the sides of the cake. As the glaze cools, it will form a rummy, sugary shell.
• Allow to cool completely before serving.

CHEF ROCCO DISPIRITO'S MAMA'S MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Place the chicken stock, onion, garlic, and parsley in a blender or food processor and puree.
• In a large bowl, combine the pureed stock mix, meat, bread crumbs, egg, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, red pepper flakes, and salt.
• Combine with hands until mixture is uniform, do not overmix.
• Put a little olive oil on your hands and form mixture into balls a little larger than golf balls.
• Pour about 1/2 inch of extra virgin olive oil in straight sided, 10-inch-wide saute pan and heat over medium-high flame.
• Add the meatballs to the pan, working in batches if necessary, and brown meatballs, turning once.
• This should take about 10-15 minutes.
• While meatballs are browning, heat the marinara sauce in a large pot.
• Transfer the meatballs to the pot with the marinara sauce and simmer for one hour.
• Serve alone or over your favorite pasta.

MAMA MANCINI'S MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until translucent. Using your hands, crush tomatoes and add to saucepan, along with their juices; stir to combine. Add bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Cover, bring to a boil, and immediately reduce to a simmer.
• Make the meatballs: Place beef, cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley, onion, eggs, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Gently mix together by hand to combine. Wet hands with cold water and roll meat mixture into 1 3/4-inch balls.
• Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches if necessary, place meatballs in skillet. Cook until browned on all sides, but not cooked through. Transfer meatballs to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.
• Transfer meatballs to sauce and gently stir from the bottom up to coat with sauce. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and reduce heat. Continue cooking, stirring every 15 minutes, for 3 hours more. Serve with spaghetti, sprinkled with more cheese, if desired.

MAMA'S AMBROSIA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together the oranges, fruit cocktail, walnuts, marshmallows, and coconut. Fold in the sour cream. Chill for at least an hour, and stir again before serving.

BAHAMA MAMA CELEBRATION DRINK

Steps:

• Stir the orange juice, pineapple juice, simple syrup, coconut-flavored rum, 151 proof rum, grenadine syrup, and fruit-flavored liqueur together in a 2-quart or larger pitcher. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight.
• Place 1 cup of crushed ice in each of eight 12-ounce glasses. Pour about 1 cup of the rum mixture into each glass, and garnish each with a maraschino cherry and an orange slice.