Author: thestlouiscooks

The St. Louis Cooks have a love for food and St. Louis. We share recipes, local restaurants, and small businesses.
Food, St. Louis Small Businesses, Travel

Giovanni’s on the Hill

thestlouiscooks

 

Giovanni's

A high-end Italian dining experience is not easy to find anymore, not just in St. Louis but everywhere.  I still like to get dressed up and enjoy impeccable food and service for that special occasion.  My husband and I did just that for our sweet sixteen celebration of our wedding anniversary on April 17th, 2014.  We picked Giovanni’s on the Hill in St. Louis, MO.  It wasn’t our first visit to this restaurant, but it had been a while.  Once again, it did not disappoint. We enjoyed everything from the amazing food…to the old Italian charm and decor, and the professionally dressed wait staff.

My husband ordered the Veal Chop in a black truffle sauce and loved every bite.  I like to order veal out (since I don’t cook it at home) so I pondered between the Veal Saltimbocca Alla Giovanni’s and the Veal of the day which was Italian style. Our waiter suggested he would prepare two Veal Saltimbocca style and the other one Italian so I could enjoy both of them.  Now, that’s what I call service!  I must admit that my favorite still remains to be the Veal Saltimbocca Alla Giovanni’s, but the Veal of the day was very good too.

It’s such a treat, in this day and age, to visit a higher end restaurant where you can get dressed up (not in your jeans) and be treated like kings and queens for a few hours.  We enjoyed before dinner drinks, a four course meal (nice size portions), a lovely cabernet, (Stag’s Leap, suggested by the maitre d’) and a surprise desert of Tiramisu.

Giovanni’s recently celebrated 40 years in business.  It’s obvious they are doing something right because they’ve welcomed many celebrities from all over the world and have consistently been rated as one of the finest Italian restaurants since 1975. For all you locals out there, you must pay them a visit if you haven’t already.  For those visiting St. Louis looking for a fine dining experience, look no further than Giovanni’s on the Hill. It’s a gem of a restaurant right here in the Midwest.

Giovanni’s on the Hill

 

Family, Food

Pasta Primavera

thestlouiscooks
Vegetables

It’s Friday folks so that means no meat for us so I wanted to share another quick meatless meal. We make Pasta Primavera several times a year. I add different vegetables every time. This time I used vegetables that I had in the refrigerator. I was missing a frozen bag of peas but I highly recommend using peas in your Primavera. The beautiful thing about Primavera is you can make it so many different ways: butter/olive oil sauce, red sauce, Alfredo sauce, and so on. Our favorite is a light butter/olive oil base.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Bag of Spaghetti or any choice of pasta noodle (17.6 ounces)
  • 3-4 Cups of Mixed Vegetables (cut carrots in match sticks, zucchini and squash in match sticks or quartered, and cut cauliflower)
  • 1 Medium Onion, chopped
  • 4 Garlic Cloves
  • 4-5 Tablespoons of Butter
  • 3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon of Italian Seasonings
  • Sea Salt and Fresh Pepper to taste
  • Dash of Cayenne or Crushed Red Pepper (optional)
  • Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

  1. Prepare pasta according to directions.  Meanwhile, cut and prepare all vegetables.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large wok or saucepan over medium to high heat. Add the onions and fresh garlic along with the cauliflower and carrots. Cook for 4-5 minutes.  Add the butter and the zucchini and squash. Cook for another 4-5 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften.
  3. Next, add the Italian seasonings, sea salt, pepper, and red pepper.  Add pasta to pan and toss lightly.
  4. Heat on low heat for 3-6 minutes or until heated through.
  5. Serve with fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Cooked Vegetables
Pasta Primavera


Family, Food, Kids, Snacks

Stovetop Popcorn

thestlouiscooks

Popcorn

I can’t remember the last time I had real homemade popcorn made on the stove. We have been eating microwave popcorn for so many years.  I guess because of the convenience, but I will never go back.  Plus, it’s not that healthy for you. In our house we limit the food we put into the microwave so this is yet another food item that will no longer be zapped.

Making popcorn on the stove may sound very easy, however there is a special trick to it.  If you don’t follow the directions below, there’s a good chance you will end up with burnt popcorn. The cooking method below also ensures that almost every kernel will pop too.

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tablespoons of Vegetable or Canola Oil
  • 1/3 Cup of Popcorn Kernels
  • 1 3-Quart Saucepan
  • 3 Tablespoons of Butter or More
  • Sea salt to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium to high heat.
  2. Put 3-4 kernels in the oil and cover the saucepan.
  3. When the kernels pop, add the rest of the kernels to the pan in an even layer.  Cover and remove the pan from the heat for about 30-40 seconds. This method brings all the kernels to the same temperature so they will all pop at the same time.
  4. Return the pan to the heat. Keep the lid slightly ajar to let the steam release.  Popping should begin very soon and at the same time.  Listen carefully to the popping.  When there is a few seconds between pops, remove the pan from the heat, remove lid, and add the popcorn to a large bowl. Using this method ensures almost every kernel will pop and keeps it from burning.
  5. If you like buttered popcorn, add 3 Tablespoons of butter, more or less, depending on your preference to the empty saucepan.  The butter will melt very quickly.  Evenly pour the butter on your popcorn. Add sea salt to the popcorn.

Suggestions:

  • You can also get creative with some additional seasonings such as: pepper, cayenne, grated parmesan cheese (my favorite to add), melted chocolate, and so on.
  • Popcorn can also be used to make an awesome trail mix.

Enjoy!

Family, Food, Kids

Chocolate Strawberry Trifle

thestlouiscooks

Chocolate Strawberry Trifle 1

I love desserts, and chocolate. This is one of my favorite desserts! Hi, my name is Melanie Sievers and I am taking over my moms blog today. Plus I made this all by myself and I am calling it “Melanie’s Ultimate Chocolate Trifle.” I hope you all enjoy this wonderful and delicious dessert.

Chocolate Strawberry Trifle

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 large pound cake
  • Trifle bowl
  • 1 package of instant pudding mix (prepare as directed)
  • Strawberries
  • Raspberries, Blueberries, and white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Gather all of your ingredients, which are listed up above.
  2. Cut the stems of the strawberries off and cut each one in half. This will make it easier to put on the trifle. Place Mel's Trifleall the strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle some sugar on it.
  3. Get the package of pudding and pour it in the bowl. Now you want to put three cups of milk in the bowl with the pudding. Stir until it is thick enough to be like pudding.
  4. Slice the pound cake into cubes.
  5. Get your trifle bowl and place pound cake cubes in bowl until the bottom is full.
  6. Put your pudding on top of the pound cake until you don’t see anymore pound cake.
  7. Place about 6-8 strawberries on the pudding and the repeat steps 5-7 three times.
  8. You can now place other ingredients on top of the pudding like: raspberries, with sugar, blueberries, white chocolate chips and any other yummy ingredients that you would like to put on your trifle.
  9. Put your trifle in the fridge for about two hours or more.

Enjoy your delicious dessert!

Trifle

Family, Food

Tuna Casserole

thestlouiscooks

 

Tuna Casserole Pic

In our family, Fridays in Lent means no MEAT!  That is not always an easy sacrifice, however it does allow us to try out some new recipes or in this case….not so new recipes – Tuna Casserole.

Like most kids, I never liked tuna casserole when I was young.  When my mom made it for dinner, I ate a few bites, played with it a bit, but filled up on bread. Now, as an adult, I really enjoy tuna casserole especially the one I grew up eating when I was a child.  If you’ve never liked tuna casserole, try this one out.  It’s a keeper!

The secret to this recipe is the French fried onion rings!

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 Cans of White Tuna (broken up)
  • 1/2 box of Rotini Noodles (cooked)
  • 1 Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
  • 1 Bag of Frozen Broccoli Florets (use 3/4 of bag)
  • I Medium Onion (chopped)
  • 1/2 Cup of Butter or Margarine
  • 3/4 Cup of Milk
  • 1 Can of French’s Fried Onion Rings
  • 1/2 Tablespoon of Italian Seasoning
  • Sea Salt (because we love it)
  • Pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute the onion in butter over medium heat until tender.  Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions and during the last 4 minutes of cook time, add the broccoli.
  2. Add the cream of mushroom soup to the onions along with the milk.  Slowly stir together while adding salt, pepper, and the Italian seasonings. Continue to simmer on low for a while.
  3. In a large corning ware bowl, add the pasta and broccoli mixture.  Break up tuna and add to the pasta.  Pour the onion soup mixture into the bowl and gently mix all together.
  4. Cover and bake for 20 minutes.  Then, add the fried onion rings on top for another 5-7 minutes.

Enjoy!