Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Parmigiano-Reggiano’

Pancetta and Fennel Pasta

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , on August 28, 2012| 2 Comments »

Fennel CDC

Fennel CDC (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

OMG! This dish is so simple yet the flavors were deliciously complex.  I could not stop eating it last night and I will be making it again soon.  I think it’s  a dish to serve to company, Peter thought otherwise.  He said he loved the taste but felt it didn’t have enough substance. MMMMmmmm I thought about that and then decided he wasn’t the person to judge a pasta dish like this one because he would never order a pasta with an alfredo sauce, or spaghetti carbonara, or linguine aglio e olio.      For him, pasta has sausage, meatballs or vegetables or clams or mussels.

My cousin Janet (I like to call her Janie)  gave me this recipe.  When I was making it, I realized that the directions mentioned butter but I hadn’t written butter in the ingredient list – what to do?  I went online of course and found a recipe that was almost identical to hers minus the native seasoning, which is a blend of herbs produced by a company founded by  her sister (my cousin) and her husband.

Thanks Janet.

Here it is:

1 lb of Farfalle or Penne

A slab of pancetta about 3″ by 1/2″ – diced – you can also buy pancetta already diced in a package

1 bulb of fennel – chopped including fronds

1 TBS dried fennel seeds

1/2 cup of cream or half & half – I used about 3/4 cup

1-2 minced garlic cloves

1/2 onion chopped – I used a whole small one

3 TBS unsalted butter

grated Parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Saute pancetta in sweet butter till crisp, add garlic, onion, fennel, fennel seeds to pan.  I used a braising pan.  Stir frequently till all is soft .  Cover pan.  

Add cooked pasta to the pan and toss with mixture.  Add the cream.  Sprinkle liberally with grated cheese.

Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Tuscan Chicken – I Did It My Way

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , on March 18, 2012| 5 Comments »

This morning on CBS News , I happened to hear Tony Tantillo describe a dish I think he called Tuscan chicken.  I was interested but not paying full attention because I assumed I could get on their website.  WRONG!  For some reason today’s recipe is not on the site.  I tried to remember everything he said and found a similar recipe for Tuscan Chicken which would serve as the basis for this dish.

At trip to Fairway Market to get a few ingredients and I was ready to create this dish for dinner tonight.  Here’s what I did:

1 whole roasted chicken

2 oz olive oil

3-4 cloves of garlic sliced

4-5 small Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced

1 can of cannelini beans

1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)

1 med. can of diced tomatoes or 1 fresh tomato

3/4 cup chicken broth (or more if needed)

1/2 to 3/4 # of fettucine rigate

2=3 fresh sage leaves

pinch of red pepper flakes

fresh parsley

grated Italian cheese (I use whatever I have; Pecorino, Romano, Parmesan)

Large skillet or braising pan

Heat the olive oil, add the garlic and cook on MED for about 2 min.  Add the potatoes and cook another 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.   Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth.  Cook for a couple minutes.  Add the pieces of roasted chicken to the pan,and 1/4 cup of chicken broth.  Cook till liquid is slightly reduced.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions.

Puree the beans, using their own liquid.  Add a few drops of olive oil to puree and  1/4 cup chicken broth and/or white wine.  This is where you need to judge for yourself whether the puree is too thick – it will be the sauce for the pasta.

Add the bean puree to the pan, cover and cook for about 3-4 minutes till all is heated through.  Add sage leaves .

I put the cooked pasta in the bottom of a large flat-bottomed bowl, removed the chicken from the pan, and poured 3/4 of the sauce over the fettucine.  Place the roasted chicken pieces on top of the pasta, pour the remainder of the bean puree over the chicken and add diced tomatoes across the top.  Sprinkle with grated cheese and red pepper flakes.

Tuscan chicken, cannelini beans, Yukon potatoes, diced tomatoes

Tuscan Chicken

Read Full Post »

Tasty Tidbits Tuesday – Gemelli with Asparagus and Sausage

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , on November 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I found this recipe in a magazine and thought it sounded delicious.  It was part of an article  by Donatella, renowned Italian chef in New York City.  Tonight I invited my friend, Dilara to dinner and this is what I served.

2 bunches of asparagus or broccoli

1 # gemelli or fusilli

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage

1 medium onion, chopped

1/3 cup whipping cream

1 Tsp Kosher salt

1 cup whole milk ricotta

1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

10 fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Bring large pot of water to boil with 1 TBS salt

Cut top 2 inches from asparagus stalks.  Cook in boiling water for 3-4 minutes just until tender.  Transfer to colander and run under cold water to stop cooking.

Bring asparagus water back to boiling.  Add pasta and cook until just tender to bite. While pasta is cooking, spread pine nuts on baking sheet and bake until golden.

Meanwhile, in large skillet cook sausage and onion in until meat is browned and onion is tender.   Drain fat.  Add asparagus tips, all but 1 TBS pine nuts, the cream, and salt;  simmer two minutes.  When pasta is almost done, use a skimmer or long-handled strainer to transfer to skillet, reserve cooking water.  Increase heat to high; toss until pasta is well-coated, about 30 seconds.  Add Parmigiano and toss again.  Transfer to platter; top with reserved pine nuts and basil.  Serve with additional ricotta.  Makes 6 servings

Read Full Post »

Tasty Tidbits Tuesday – Summer Tortellini Salad

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Tortellini

Tortellini

This seemed like the perfect Sunday night supper, however that never happened! It turns out that this very night, this Tuesday was the perfect night for this meal.  I made the components of the dish during the day and put it together when we got home from the movies.  The time spent is all in the prep so it is a good dish to serve if you are going to be busy at night but have some free time during the day or night before.

TORTELLINI SUMMER SALAD

1 pkg  (20 oz) of cheese tortellini

1 red sweet pepper, cored, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

1 red onion, peeled, thinly  cut ( about 3/4 cup)

1 small bunch of asparagus, trimmed, cut in 1  1/2″ pieces

Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

2 TBS Wegman’s basting oil*, divided

1 zucchini, trimmed, 1/4″ dice (2 cups)

3 TBS pine nuts

1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved

1 pkg (7 oz) Italian Basil Pesto Sauce

1/2 tsp Tobasco Sauce

15 basil leaves finely sliced

Preheat oven 450 degrees

Cook pasta according to directions, drain, rinse with cold water and set aside,

Season pepper, onions, and asparagus with salt and pepper;  toss with 1 TBS basting oil.  Transfer to baking sheet; arrange in single layer.  Roast 10-12 minutes, turn halfway thru cooking time. Remove from baking sheet and set aside.

Season zucchini with salt and pepper; toss with remaining 1 TBS oil. Transfer to baking sheet arranged in single layer.  Roast 5-7 minutes until tender but not browned.  Remove from oven.  Add to pepper mix. Chill 1 hour.

Toast pine nuts in small pan on MEDIUM, 3 minutes, stirring till slightly toasted.  ( I used a toaster oven). Remove, set aside.

Add tomatoes, pesto, Tobasco sauce, basil, pine nuts, and veggie mix.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve chilled

* Basting Oil is basically Olive Oil and chopped basil and parsley.

Chef Tips – Prepare 1 day in advance for the flavors to meld.  You can substitute  Tomato Pesto sauce .









Read Full Post »

Chicken Cutlets with Caper Sauce

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , on March 1, 2011| 1 Comment »

TASTY TIDBITS TUESDAY

Today’s recipe is tomorrow night’s dinner.

2 TBS olive oil, divided

2 chicken breast halves, pounded very thin, and then cut in half so you have 4 thin cutlets

1 lg shallot, minced, about 2 TBS

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup white wine or chicken stock

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 TBS capers, drained

2-3 cups arugula, torn into bite size pieces

1/2 fennel bulb, shaved thin

16-24 paper thin shavings of Parmesan cheese

Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a non-stick saute pan over medium-high heat until almost smoking, about 1-2 minutes.  Sprinkle salt over the pounded chicken breasts and sear them for 2-3 minutes per side in the hot pan, working in batches so that you do not crowd the pan.  Remove the chicken breasts and cover with foil to keep them warm.

Add the other tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.  Add the shallots and cook 1 minute, stirring often.  Do not let them burn, and if they begin to brown rapidly, turn the heat down.  Add the garlic and cook another 45 seconds to 1 minute, stirring often.

Add the white wine and scrape an browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  Ad the capers and red pepper flakes and oil until the wine is almost gone, about 2-4 minutes.

To serve, mix the arugula and shaved fennel and put some on each plate . Arrange some shaved parmesan over them.  Lay a piece of chicken on each salad, then top with a little of the sauce. Serve hot.

Recipe from Simply Recipes courtesy of Gail

capers, chicken cutlets, Simply Recipes, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday

Chicken Cutlets with Caper Sauce

Read Full Post »

Linguine with Asparagus and Pine Nuts

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 8, 2011| 1 Comment »

Tasty Tidbits Tuesday

Tonight I’m making a delicious, light and heart-healthy vegetarian meal.  We both love pasta and I especially am happy when I can make a pasta dish with veggies and is easy to toss together – it makes me feel so much more Italian 🙂  My grandfather who was born in Italy always used to say that having meat in your macaroni or spaghetti (there is a redundancy here but that’s how Americans speak) was a special occasion or a Sunday dinner.

So here’s my Tasty Tidbits Tuesday recipe:

12 oz (3/4 box) linguine

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4  cup pignoli (pine nuts)

4 cloves of garlic sliced

2 lb. asparagus trimmed and cut into 1″ pieces

1 cup (3 oz) shaved Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta, reserve a 1/2 cup pasta water, drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, heat oil in medium skillet over MEDIUM HIGH heat.  Add pine nuts and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, 1-2 minutes.  Add the asparagus and cook, tossing occasionally, until just tender, 2-3 minutes.

Add the asparagus mixture to the pasta along with a 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and toss to combine. *if pasta seems too dry, add a little pasta water to form thin sauce). Sprinkle with shaved Parmesan before serving.

Recipe from Real Simple magazine

Real Simple recipe, heart healthy, pasta with veggies, asparagus, Parmensan, linguine

Heart Healthy Linguine with Asparagus

Related Articles

Read Full Post »

Harvest Whole Wheat Pasta with Escarole and Butternut Squash

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 11, 2011| 3 Comments »

What was going to be our Sunday night supper turned into a tasty side dish when we were invited to dine at Susan and Jim’s house.  Susan made what I thought was salmon but in fact it was Ironhead Trout! Very interesting since it looks like salmon, smells like salmon and tastes like salmon and I understand it is not as expensive as salmon. The salmon aka Ironhead Trout was delicious.  My contribution is the Tasty Tidbits Tuesday recipe.

2 TBS Pine Nuts toasted

1/2 box of whole wheat Fusilli prepared per directions, keep warm

1 pkg of cleaned, peeled butternut squash (20 oz) cut into 3/4″ dice

1/2 red onion, peeled, 1/2″ dice (about 1+ 1/2 cups)

1 TBS basting oil (olive oil with herbs in it)

Salt and pepper

1 pkg chopped escarole (15 oz)

1 pkg or 4 oz of mini-cubes of pancetta

3 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 container or 13 oz of Alfredo sauce

2 TBS of shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Toss squash with onions in basting oil in large bowl, season to taste with salt and pepper.  Spread in a single layer on baking sheet.  Roast about 20 min, or until vegetables are well-caramelized and tender.

Blanch escarole 2-3 min in large pot of boiling salted water. Drain, and set aside.

Add pancetta to skillet on MEDIUM.  Cook, stirring, 3-5 min, until crisp and brown.  Remove from pan;drain on paper towels.  Return to pan. Add garlic. Cook, stirring 1-2 min, until tender

Add wine. Cook, stirring to loosen browned bits on bottom of pan.  Simmer about 4 min, until liquids are reduced by half.  Stir in alfredo sauce.

Bring to simmer; add escarole and black pepper to taste. Stir to blend.  Add pasta; toss until well-combined. Stir in squash and onions, then pine nuts.  Top with cheese.

Recipe from Wegman’s MENU magazine

What I learned: I couldn’t find any Alfredo sauce so I used something called Parmesan Cheese sauce and it was fine.  My first thoughts were that there were too many steps and too many bowls and pots.  There was a large pot to blanch the escarole and a large bowl of ice water to shock it.  Another large bowl for tossing the squash and onions.  A baking sheet to caramalize the veggies and a large skillet to saute the pancetta.  I had meant to “toast” the pine nuts in the same skillet but forgot and if I had had a toaster oven, I might have used that but I didn’t.  The array of utensils and containers made for a large wash-up before the meal.

Other than the prepping, the pasta was DELICIOUS as I had hoped and expected it would.  I don’t think I have ever gotten a bad recipe from the Wegman’s MENU magazine.

Harvest whole wheat pasta with escarole and butternut squash,

Butternut Squash cubed


Read Full Post »

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Onions w/Rosemary and Parmesan

Posted in Everyday Food, Marthaspeak, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 30, 2010| 2 Comments »

A sweet potato.

Image via Wikipedia

TASTY TIDBITS TUESDAY

Last week in the New York Times, there was an article heralding the merits of Sweet Potatoes and their rise in culinary popularity.  Lighter in sugars than yams and with a bit of protein, they are now appearing on menus all around town; sweet potato fries, baked sweet potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes.  This recipe is is a favorite of mine and I think more suited to a Christmas dinner than Thanksgiving!  This could be the beginning of the  Count-Down to Christmas Dinner.

2 3/4 lb sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1″ cubes

8 TBS of Canola oil

3 garlic cloves minced

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper

1 1/2 lb red onions (3 medium), halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4″ slices

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 TBS chopped fresh parsley

Set one rack in center and one on lowest position – preheat oven 375 degrees.

Line 2 large baking sheets with foil.  Place sweet potatoes on one; drizzle with 6 TBS of oil.  Sprinkle with garlic, 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper – toss to coat, then spread in a single layer.

Place onions on second baking sheet, drizzle with 2 remaining TBS oil, sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper, toss to coat.  Spread in single layer.

Place sheet with potatoes on center rack and sheet with onions on lower rack in oven. Roast until potatoes are tender and onions are tender and brown around the edges, stirring every 10 minutes, about 30 minutes total for potatoes and 35 for onions.

Can be prepared 4 hours ahead of time, let stand at room temperature, covered loosely with foil.  Rewarm in 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Combine potatoes and onions in shallow bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and rosemary and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.


Read Full Post »

Saturday Night Supper With Next Door Neighbors

Posted in BY THE WAY, Everyday Food, Friends, Ha-P 2 B in OG, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 17, 2010| 1 Comment »

The first real chilly and very breezy day of the season was yesterday and so since we had invited our next door neighbors to join us for dinner, I could see that a cook-out was definitely out of the question! Hard to believe that last Saturday, we were sitting on the beach in bathing suits no less! Well all the windows were shut all day in an effort to keep the cottage somewhat warm and not have to put the heat on yet.  We were going to need a good hot meal… so this is what I served:

Antipasta platter

Bowtie Pasta with Vodka Blush & Chicken

Green Beans with a garlic cheese finishing butter

Mixed Green Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Fresh Italian bread with sun dried tomatoes in it. (Costco)

Homemade coffee cake, fresh fruit salad and coffee

Bowtie Pasta with Vodka Blush & Chicken

1 lb Farfalle pasta, cooked according to preference

24oz of Vodka Blush sauce

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 # Chicken cutlets marinated in Lemon & Garlic (I bought them already marinated)

1 Tbsp basting oil (purchased)**

1Tbsp butter

4 tsp of shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese

Simmer sauce on low in small saucepan

Heat Olive oil in large pan on MEDIUM-HIGH till oil fairly smokes, add chicken. Turn when chicken changes color one-quarter of the way  up and seared side has turned paper bag brown, 3  4 minutes.

Reduce heat to MEDIUM; cook chicken 10-12 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Add basting oil and butter to pan, swirl.  Baste chicken with spoon 1 – 3 minutes. Transfer to clean plate.

Toss pasta with sauce. Divide evenly on 4 plates, top with chicken and sprinkle with 1 tsp of cheese.

Recipe from Wegman’s  MENU Magazine

The green beans were blanched and then tossed with a “finishing butter” which is seasoned with garlic and cheese.

My neighbor made the delicious homemade coffee cake.

This is what I learned: The chicken cutlets were thick and took longer than recommended time and were not reaching 165 degrees – so I covered pan for a bit so they wouldn’t dry out.  I used freshly made (and purchased) Vodka Blush sauce but believe you can use a jar of Vodka sauce.  A pound of Farfalle was too much pasta for 4 people, you could cook less or save the leftover like I have for next day.  The recipe does not call for slicing the chicken cutlet when you put on top  of the pasta but the photo in magazine suggests that.  ** You can make your own basting oil by combining grape seed oil and canola oil with dried thyme, dried parsley and garlic powder.

**** Sorry that so many of these ingredients were purchased at Wegman’s and you might not have one near you.  Wegman’s carries their own line of products like the basting oil, the Vodka Blush fresh sauce and the finishing butters.

Read Full Post »

Impromptu Dinner for 5 on Friday

Posted in Everyday Food, Marthaspeak, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 11, 2010| 5 Comments »

You know the thing about Costco is the darn size of everything!  You go to buy a can of Comet but if you want one, you need to buy a 3-pack.  Need some chicken broth? You have to buy 6 cartons, and the Salsa comes in giant jars, like the pickles and the olive oil.  Big is better, things are cheaper by the dozen, large economy size means economy BUT where oh where to put/store/stash this stuff,  I mean my bargains!

And the samples!!!! Perfect way to get suckered in.  We now have Madras lentils, Pot Stickers, Spinach Ravioli, Stacey’s Pita Chips and a GIANT Chicken Pot Pie!! Every trip home from Costco entails emptying the freezer and re-arranging the huge bags of Broccoli Flowerets, Tortellini, Chicken Breasts, Salmon Burgers, Blueberries and after all that shuffling and stuffing and pushing and squeezing, there is NO ROOM for the Chicken Pot Pie.  Not even sure what possessed me to buy it in the first place since it could clearly feed 8 people and our table only seats 5.   By the way, I can never get ALL the frozen food in our freezer at the shore and half of it is going back to New York with us – BUT how to keep it frozen till we are on our way home?

Luckily for me, we are friends with Dick and Jane (yes those are their real names), who own an Inn in Ocean Grove and she lets me store my Manhattan-bound food stuffs in a freezer in the Tea Room.  So last weekend I loaded up her freezer with bags of frozen food to take to New York and when I went to retrieve it I realized that NOT ONLY could I NOT fit the pot pie in my freezer bag and if I got it home, it wouldn’t fit in my apartment freezer either.  Good  thing Jane let me leave it there!!

Obviously the pie was way too big for Peter and I so when in doubt or in trouble, think What Would Martha Do? So, I invited friends for dinner.  I had already asked Heide to dine with us on Friday night and so I asked Dick and Jane to join us too.  Heide graciously asked what could she bring and I said without a moment’s hesitation, “your plum tart”. Jane said she would bring wine and the dinner menu was taking shape.

Chicken Pot Pie seemed Southern to me and even though I know it isn’t particulary Southern anymore than it is exclusively Irish or New England fare, tonight it was going to be Southern.  I decided to make Collard Greens – never have made them before BUT Wegman’s to the rescue.  I had a brochure from the store that I had saved from last year all about braising greens.  Seemed simple enough and it was.  The Collard Greens would satisfy Peter’s insistence of a green vegetable at dinner and I thought a salad would be refreshing but then I remembered that Dick really can’t eat a lot of greens so I set out to buy a head of cauliflower to bake.  Inspiration was running high so I decided to bake some drop biscuits too – love those Bisquick biscuits.

BAKED WHOLE CAULIFLOWER

1 head of Cauliflower                                                                        Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup margarine melted

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp salt

pinch of dried oregano

pinch of red pepper flakes

Place whole head in steamer in 1″ water. Bring to boil over med heat and cook till tender about 20 minutes.

Mix bread crumbs, margarine, cheese.  Season with garlic powder, salt, pepper and oregano.  Put cauliflower in baking dish and coat with bread crumb mixture.

Bake 10-15 minutes till golden brown.

Recipe from Martha Stewart’s Every Day Food.

COLLARD GREENS

Add 6 cups of water, 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice, 6 cloves of garlic (or 2 Tbsp minced), 1 Tbsp salt, 1/2 cup pure olive oil to braising pan on HIGH.

Add greens and bring to a boil and cover.

Cook until tender – Greens will change color as they cook (depending on the greens) 5-30 minutes.

Transfer to serving dish, season to taste and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Recipe from Wegman’s

 

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts