* CLAMS AND LINGUINE ASHTON STYLE (#6)

When I was very young (about 8 or 9) when my mother would tell us that we would be going to the A&P grocery store we would be very excited.; She would tell us that we would pick up a dozen clams at 37 cents a dozen and a couple of lemons. When we got home we would open the clams and put lemon juice on them and then eat them raw.  I still enjoy eating clams that way but I also enjoy eating clams in other ways; for instance "Clams And Linquine"; The following recipe is one I devised because most of the restaurants I have gone to have a habit of messing up a great tasting pasta dish. This recipe is very simple compared to some of my other recipes and I recomend following the recipe very closely and don't overcook the linquini! I also recomend using either one dozen cherrystone or top neck clams: both of these clams work very well but if your very rich then you can use three dozen little neck clams which are more tender.


INGREDIENTS:


1. One dozen cherrystone or top neck or three dozen little neck clams
2. 1/2 cup virgin olive oil
3. 1/2 stick butter (optional but adds flavor)
4. 6 cloves of garlic minced
5. 1 cup dry white wine (Chardonay works good)
6. 2 tablespoons parsley
7. salt and pepper to taste (garlic salt is optional)
8. 1 pound of good quality linguini

DIRECTIONS:
1. pour the white wine in a large soup pot
2. after scrubing and rinsing the clams in water, add them to the pot and cover
3. cook until clams open (do not use any clams that do not open, pour juice from
    the soup pot into a bowl but leave any sand in the pot) and remove and cool
    clams then mince them
4. pour olive oil into a larger fry pan and add butter cooking until it is melted
5. add parsley into fry pan and continue stiring
6. add minced clams into fry pan and cook about 10 minutes constantly stiring
7. add almost all the liquid from the clams except the little amount that contains
sand from the clams.
8. in a larger pot put about 2 qts of water and after it comes to a boil cook
linguine about 8 minutes or so until al dente. (please don't over cook) pour through a
callender
9. pour cooked clams into the pot of linguine and mix
10.serve with grated parmesean cheese for those who like cheese
11. serves 6 to 8 generously

* TUSCAN BUTTERNUT BISQUE ASHTON STYLE (#5)

ITALIAN ORIGINAL TUSCAN BUTTERNUT BISQUE

For the past few years we have been growing butternut squash. This
is our favorite squash to serve to groups or for just us. With excess
squash available I began to think about what else I could make from this
great vegtable. I began experimenting with Ideas and decided on a soup
to have before a main entree. You will not find a better soup to impress
friends or realitives. Follow the recipe closely though there can be slight
variations:

INGREDIENTS: (VEGETARIAN STYLE ELIMINATE THE CHICKEN AND CHICKEN BASE AND USE VEGTABLE BASE OR A STOCK OF VEGTABLES SIMMERED A GOOD 2 HOURS)
1. one whole frying chicken about 3 pounds in one gal of water (VEG STYLE
    ELIMINATE THE CHICKEN AND CHICKEN BASE AND
    ADD PENZEYS VEG BASE OR EQUIV OR 1 BOX VEG STOCK
2. 3 tablespoons of Miller chicken base or equivilent in jar (SEE VEG STYLE)
3. 1 large butternut squash cut in half length wise
3. 4 fresh red peppers deseeded and sliced in strips
4. 4 small leeks or 2 large leeks cleaned and sliced into rounds
5. 1 large or 2 medium onions peeled cut in half and sliced
6. 6 carrots cleaned and cut into pieces length wise
7. 6 cloves of garlic smashed, peeled and cut in half
8. 2 tbl of dried basil
9. 1 handful of fresh basil if available or another tbl of dried basil
10.5 tbl of olive oil
12.1 tsp of cayenne pepper
13.1 cup (8oz) of Italian tomato sauce-use sauce left over from
homemade spaghetti sauce.

DIRECTIONS:
1. cook whole chicken into a 5.5 qt pot with one gal water to which
you add chicken base and cook covered about 2 hrs. remove
chicken to use another time (makes great chicken salad)
2. cut squash and carrots length wise; deseed squash and
place in shallow pan; bake in 350 degree oven about 1 hour until soft; remove skin of squash and cut into pieces including carrots; add to stock pot;
water from pan can be kept and added to stock pot if needed
to maintain height of water in pot
3. Put olive oil in lg fry pan; add onions, basil, garlic,leeks'
cayanne pepper; stir and cook till all slightly soft; add to
stock pot
4 fry peppers in same oil and till soft; add all to chicken stock
pot including oil
5. add the spaghetti sauce to stock pot
6. cook for about 1 hour using a defuser between the pot and the
    flame
7 use a hand emulsifyer (motor boat-its worth having!) or blender
until totally blended-serve
8. option: you may add 3/4 cup cream at end if you wish
9 can serve 10 to 12 or more individuals or extra can be frozen
for future dinner

ITALIAN STYLE BONELESS LEG OF LAMB ASHTON STYLE (#4)

ITALIAN STYLE LEG OF LAMB ASHTON

Some people love lamb and some people hate lamb. I have a
cousin who won't touch it and one realitive equates it the with murder
of a cute little lamb. My wife Dottie loves lamb and so do I. A few years
ago I decided that there should be an Italian style lamb rather than
one roasted and topped with mint jelly. The result is what this recipe
is all about. I started with a nine pound leg of lamb that was on sale
for about 4.50 dollars a pound. The first thing I had to do was to
de bone it without cutting it all to pieces. Somehow it worked and I
was able to de bone it and after tying the lamb with butcher string I
had about a six pound boneless lamb for roasting and a lamb bone.
I admit I was not very confident that making it Italian style would succeed but I had an idea as to how I wanted to make it and what ingredients I would use. Follow the recipe and you will be surprized
how delicious the result will be:

INGREDIENTS:
1. one lamb roast eight or nine pounds with bone(6 pound boneless)
2. Remove the bone carefully leaving the roast
boneless and weighing about six pounds. tie
with butcher string and save bone
3. 3 medium onions, peeled, cut in half and sliced
4. 1 small can Italian stewed tomatoes
5. 1 cup dry red wine
6. 10 greek black olives pit them (not kalamata but larger ones)
7. 7 or so cloves of garlic peeled and cut in half
8. slight handful of oregano
9. 2 tab of millers beef base or eqivilent from a jar
10. 1/4 cup sugar
11. 1/2 cup of virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. take the 16 pieces of garlic and puncture into roast all around
and take each piece of garlic add parsley with it and push into
hole; repeat this until all the garlic/parsley is used up
2. brown onions in 1/2 cup virgin olive oil and set aside
3. brown roast and bone all in same oil
4. put roast in a heavy roasting pan about 9 X 13 and 2 inches high
5. return onions around roast and browned bone for additional flavor
6. add olives around roast
7. mix wine with beef base and sugar and pour over and around roast
8. add can of italian style stewed tomatos (a must) over and around
roast. check for salt and pepper and add accordingly
9. sprinkle oregano over and around roast
10. after about 30 minutes baste roast(add more wine if necessary
11. bake in 325 degree oven about 1 hour and using meat themometer
check doneness by putting themometer in side to middle of roast
12. continue cooking about 30 minutes until the center of the lamb is pinkish and the temperature should be between 165 to 170 degrees
13. thicken sauce by making in a cup, a paste of flour and
water then add more liquid, stir and heating the pan on top of
stove stir in the thickener until sauce is made but not to thick

14. using an electric knife make slices thin; this should feed 10 to 14
people at 3 slices per person. make small red potatoes or mashed
potatoes.

* ITALIAN STUFFED ARTICHOKE WONDER ASHTON STYLE (#3)

Every time I see someone eating boiled artichoke leaves using only butter or a cream sauce; my reaction is one of if they only had my mothers recipe for stuffed artichokes they would be astounded by the difference. This recipe was a standard fare growing up in an Italian houshold. When I got married my wife learned to make this recipe and was and still is a favorite of my four grown children. In kindergarten, my son Michael was asked along with the other children to name his favorite dinner. His answer was "Artichoke Esgehetti
Spaghetti to eveyone else. The teacher sent a note home asking what he was refering to. I would encourage you to try this recipe that I name "Artichoke Pasta wonder". This is one of the many recipes that one has to just appreciate how good it is. It also is one that is great for vegeterians. This includes Catholics for lent, or anyone who wants a meatless meal. As I made out the recipe; it sounds somewhat complicated, but its really not; just follow the recipe and don't change the ingredients or directions!

INGREDIENTS: (VEGETARIAN DISH)
1. 4 artichokes,large nice green (non black or dry)
2. 1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
3. 6 cloves garlic peeled and minced
4. 1/2 cup parmesean cheese
5. 2 tablespoon dried parsley
6. 4 large eggs
7. 1/2 tsp garlic salt & 1/2 tsp pepper
8. 1 lb linguini pasta

DIRECTIONS:
1. cut the stems off the bottom of the artichokes & take bottom leaves
off.  the stems can be put into the pot and cooked.  Their almost like a
second heart which are a favorite part of the artichoke to eat
2. cut about 1/4 off the top of the artichokes and spread open
artichokes for stuffing
3. mix bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, cheese, olive oil and 1/4 tsp
garlic salt & 1/4 tsp pepper.
4. stuff each leaf with bread crumb mixture until all are full
5. put 4 eggs into a measuring cup with 3 minced garlic cloves
a little parmesean cheese and mix well
6. pour egg mixture on top of each artichoke
7. using a 5.5 qt heavy metal pot put enough oil to barely cover
bottom of pot to help prevent sticking
8. place stuffed artichokes into the pot with the top up and add
enough water to come up to 3/4 of the artichokes
(do not put a cover on the artichokes)
9. preheat oven 350 degrees
10.bake artichokes about 15 20 minutes until tops are lightly
brown (again, do not cover)
11. remove pot from oven and place on the top of the stove(on the top
of a defuser which is about a 6 inch round pie shaped metal holy
object that some hardware stores sell and one that protects the
artichokes from burning(also good for spaghetti sauce)
12. cook on moderate heat (without a cover) until begining to boil then
reduce to simmer about two hours (check to make sure water stays about
the same during cooking (to make sure artichokes are done-pull a leaf
off and eat the end which should be tender); the choke is in the center and
is a bunch of  whitish strands that is inedible.  you can reduce the
sauce if to thin and you can add a little of any bread crumb mixture
that may be left over to help thicken sauce if desired
13. in another 5.5 soup pot fill until about half way up and salt water(about 2 tbl salt or
so) and let it come to a boil and add about a pound of linguini which you have
broken in half and cook about 8 minutes until al dente and drain
14. remove the four artichokes from the pot they cooked in and turn
them over and cut in half(never cut the artichokes on top as
they will fall apart)
15. the liquid in the pot will be the sauce to mix with the linguini
16. add this artichoke sauce over the linguini and toss together
17. this should serve 4 to 7 or 8 people (have parmesean cheese to
sprinkle on linguini and 1/2 artichoke or more per perosn;
spoon extra sauce on the linguini for each person if desired
ENJOY

THE END ALL OF " ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP" ASHTON STYLE (#2)

INGREDIENTS:
1 whole frying chicken about 3 lbs
 3 tablespoons miller or equivilent chicken soup base in jar
 1 slight teaspoon pepper
 2 tablespoons dried parsley
 5 cloves of peeled garlic minced
 3 medium onions cut in half, sliced thin and minced
 5 carrots cut very small
 1 bunch of escarole torn to pieces the size of a half dollar

RECIPE FOR MEATBALLS (ingredients separate from above
ingredients
1 lb of ground chuck
1 cup italian style breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup of parmesean cheese
4 cloves of peeled garlic minced
1 teaspoon mixed italian spices
roll into meatballs the size of a small marble
DIRECTIONS:
1 put chicken in deep pot and cover with water 2" above chicken
2 add soup base, pepper,and parsley simmer for 1 1/2 hrs
3 remove chicken and use for another purpose (makes great chicken
salad)
4 add minced onions, carrots and cook for 1/2 hr
5 add rolled meatballs the size of a small marble, and torn escarole
and simmer an additional 1/2 hr
6 NO PASTA AS IT DOESN'T NEED IT; GREAT BEFORE HEAVY ENTRE LIKE PORK
6 will serve at least 8 to 10 generously

ORIGINAL PORK LOIN (THE BEST) IN WINE SAUCE ASHTON STYLE (#1)

BEST RECIPES OF FRANK ASHTON

ONE WONDERS WHY I LOVE TO COOK.  CERTAINLY, MOST ALL PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD ONE OF MY ORIGINAL RECIPES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IMPRESSED.  I ALSO LOVE TO PAINT AND HAVE WON MANY AWARDS INCLUDING 4 FIRST PLACE AWARDS IN OIL IN THE PAST 6 ART SHOWS i HAVE ENTERED.  I GUESS BOTH OF THESE HOBBIES HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH ONE OF MY FAVORITE SAYINGS "TO ME GOOD ENOUGH IS NEVER GOOD ENOUGH! I CHOSE THIS RECIPE FOR MY FIRST ONE TO GIVE TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO IMPRESS THEIR GUESTS WITHOUT SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY.  PLEASE TRY IT AND YOU WILL KNOW WHAT I MEAN! I NAMED IT ASHTON ORIGINAL ITALIAN PARSLEY GARLIC PESTO STUFFED PORK LOIN IN A PEPPERCORN WINE SAUCE. THIS RECIPE IS INEXPENSIVE, DELIICIOUS, AND CROWD PLEASING!

INGREDIENTS:
5 to 8 pound pork loin, butterflied down center (even sides) but
not cut through and pounded with a food mallet to be somewhat flat
1 750 ml sparkling white wine (only); believe it or not Ruinite
Bianco works great but any white sweet sparkling wine will work
3 large onions cut in half and sliced thin
1 bulb garlic peeled and put in a zip lock bag and smashed
1 4oz bottle of parsley or equivilant
1/4 cup olive oil
slight handful of black peppercorns
about 7 ft of butcher string that your butcher will give you

DIRECTIONS:
1. Flatten butterflied pork loin
2. mix smashed garlic,parsley, and olive oil together
3.lightly salt interior of pork loin
4. spread parsley pesto down middle of loin and fold and tie with
butcher string
5. put enough olive oil in bottom of heavy 12" by 15" pan by 2" to 3"
high and brown all sides of meat well (set aside)
6. brown onions in same pan
7. return loin; add 3/4 bottle of white sparkling wine,
peppercorns, and salt and pepper roast
8. bake at low 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours until done but not dry
add rest of wine if getting dry (remove loin to make sauce)
9 make sauce by using flour in about 1" of wine or water in mug;
then mix to paste and add wine to near top and mix then add to
boiling pan (add some water if necessary do not want it too thick)
10 serve with small red potatoes and julienne carrots and green beans
11 a half roast (4 lbs) will serve 9 generously and a whole roast
(8lbs) will serve 12 to 18. (many times whole pork loin $1.99lb)
 "