THE DEVIL'S CHICKEN (POLLO AL DIAVOLO) AND SAFFRON RISOTTO

TONIGHT I WENT DEEP. THIS WAS A THREE DINGER. I'VE BEEN WANTING TO MAKE THIS DISH SINCE THE END OF SUMMER. I COULDN'T WAIT ANY LONGER. THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME COOKING A WHOLE CHICKEN. IT WAS ALMOST LIKE COOKING A TURKEY BUT ONE HUNDRED TIMES EASIER. WHAT MADE THIS DISH SO GOOD WAS THE MUSTARD MIXTURE THAT YOU COATED ON THE CHICKEN AFTER IT WAS HALF-COOKED. THE FINISHING TOUCH WAS THE SPICY OIL (OLIO PICCANTE) THAT YOU DRIZZLED ON THE CHICKEN BEFORE SERVING. THE SPICY OIL CONSISTED OF 8 JALAPENOS DICED AND SEEDED, RED PEPPER FLAKES, SPANISH SMOKED PAPRIKA AND 2 CUPS OF OLIVE OIL.
CHICKY ALL TIED UP AND READY FOR THE OVEN.

SAFFRON RISOTTO

THE RISOTTO WAS PHENOMENAL!

CHICKEN OUT OF THE OVEN LOOKING GOOD!

CHICKEN WITH TOMATO AND ONION SALAD.
THIS ONE GOES IN THE DO-OVER FILE!!

PANETTONE

I KNOW THE HOLIDAYS WERE HERE AND GONE BUT I WANTED TO MAKE THIS PANETTONE FOR CHRISTMAS. I'M A FEW WEEKS LATE. THE RECIPE CALLED FOR THE USE OF A PANETTONE PAN OR CHARLOTTE PAN. I COULDN'T FIND EITHER AND DIDN'T WANT TO WAIT AND ORDER ONE ONLINE, SO I USED A PANETTONE PAPER MOLD.PANETTONE COOLING WAITING FOR ME TO TAKE A PIECE!

READY TO BITE!!!


THE RECIPE WAS VERY TRADITIONAL AND IT WAS MORE OF A CAKE THAN A BREAD. I USED DRIED CRANBERRIES INSTEAD OF CURRANTS. I ALSO SPLIT THE RECIPE IN HALF AND ADDED CHOCOLATE CHIPS TO ONE OF THEM. THIS GOES IN THE DO-OVER FILE!

CHICKEN THIGHS WITH SAFFRON, GREEN OLIVES AND MINT. RISOTTO WITH BAROLO.

IT'S THE NEW YEAR AND WE'RE READY TO GO. I'VE STILL BEEN COOKING, JUST A LITTLE SLOW POSTING MY BLOGS. HERE IS "POLLO ALLO ZAFFERANO".

CHICKEN THIGHS BEING BROWNED IN OLIVE OIL. I DREDGED THEM IN FLOUR WITH SALT AND PEPPER.
AFTER BROWNING THE CHICKEN IT WAS REMOVED AND THE ONIONS AND SAFFRON WERE ADDED TO THE POT.

YOU THEN ADDED THE OLIVES, CARROTS AND CHICKEN STOCK. BRING IT TO A BOIL AND ADD THE CHICKEN BACK TO THE POT. COVER AND SIMMER.

MY SOUS CHEF (KAREN) MADE THE RISOTTO. IT CONSISTED OF ARBORIO RICE, ONIONS, RED WINE, CHICKEN STOCK, BUTTER AND PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO CHEESE. VERY EASY TO MAKE AND THE TASTE WAS FANTASTIC!!

"POLLO ALLO ZAFFERANO"

BRAISED VEAL ROLLS IN TOMATO SAUCE AND RICOTTA GNOCCHI WITH SAUSAGE AND FENNEL

WE ARE GOING TO START AT THE END ON THIS BLOG. WE INVITED NICK AND PATTY OVER FOR DINNER. PATTY MADE HER INFAMOUS HARVEY WALLBANBER BUNDT CAKE. IT WAS MOIST AND DELICIOUS!!!PATTY'S HARVEY WALLBANGER

YOU ALWAYS WORRY WHEN YOU MAKE SOMETHING YOU'VE NEVER MADE BEFORE WHEN YOU HAVE FRIENDS COMING OVER FOR DINNER. THIS RECIPE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF WORK , BUT IT TURNED OUT PRETTY GOOD. THE RECIPE INCLUDED FENNEL SEEDS AND FRESHLY GRATED NUTMEG, WHICH I LIKE VERY MUCH.
RICOTTA GNOCCHI


I'VE DECIDED THAT I LOVE VEAL. I NEVER ATE VEAL UNTIL I STARTED ON MY ADVENTURE. THIS RECIPE HAD ALOT OF INGREDIENTS, HOWEVER IT WAS EASY TO MAKE. THE RECIPE INCLUDED DRIED CURRANTS, PINE NUTS, PROSCIUTTO DI PARMA, PANCETTA AND PARSLEY. WHEN YOU TASTED IT , IT MELTED IN YOUR MOUTH. A DEFINITE DO-OVER!!!!!!

BRAISED VEAL ROLLS

BRAISED VEAL ROLLS BROWNING IN OLIVE OIL

BAKED ZITI (ZITI AL TELEFONO)

I MADE THIS FOR THE KIDS ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THIS RECIPE HAD THE BASIC TOMATO SAUCE, (ON PAGE 71 OF MARIO'S BOOK) AND THE BESCIAMELLA SAUCE, (ON PAGE 65). I CAN DO BOTH OF THESE SAUCES WITH MY EYES CLOSED. THE KIDS LOVED IT. BAKED ZITI

STUFFED RICE BALLS ROMAN-STYLE

THESE WERE FANTASTIC! I MADE THESE ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON. KAREN AND BECCA WERE IN L.A. FOR THE DAY NICK AND HIS BAND WERE PRACTICING AT OUR HOUSE. I HAD TO MAKE MAKE SOMETHING. I HAD ALL THE INGREDIENTS THAT I NEEDED TO MAKE THESE LITTLE BABIES. THE MAIN INGREDIENTS WERE MUSHROOMS, ONION, PROSCIUTTO DI PARMA, ARBORIO RICE, EGGS, ITALIAN PARSLEY FROM OUR GARDEN, MOZZARELLA AND BREAD CRUMBS. I ALWAYS USE FRESH OR DAY OLD BREAD FOR MY BREAD CRUMBS. NEVER USE THEM OUT OF THE BOX AT THE STORE. STUFFED RICE BALLS

CHOCOLATE CAKE FROM ABRUZZO

I KNOW IT'S BEEN AWHILE AGAIN. I'VE BEEN COOKING LIKE A MADMAN, BUT I'VE BEEN A LITTLE LAZY POSTING. I MADE THIS CAKE IN JULY FOR MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY. IT WAS EASY TO MAKE BUT IT WAS MORE OF A CAKE THAT YOU WOULD HAVE WITH COFFEE THAN YOU WOULD ON YOUR MOTHER'S BIRTHDAY. I WOULD MAKE IT AGAIN FOR CHRISTMAS OR A RAINY AFTERNOON.

LASAGNA ALLA BOLOGNESE AL FORNO

I haven't posted in awhile, but I'm still cooking. Here we go. Karen was having her girlfriends over for "American Idol". I told her I would be happy to make something for the "Event". I've been waiting for an opportunity to make lasagne. So, the day before I made the bolognese sauce for the lasagne.

The bolognese sauce was easy to make, but it takes a little time. The ingredients consisted of onions, celery, carrots, garlic, ground veal, ground pork, ground pancetta, tomato paste, milk, wine and thyme leaves.


To assemble the lasagne, you spread a layer of ragu bolognese sauce on the bottom of your casserole and sprinkle it with parmigiano cheese, then a layer of pasta, a layer of besciamella sauce, another layer of ragu sauce, then parmigiano, then pasta and repeat it until your ingredients are used up. The besciamella sauce consisted of unsalted butter, flour, warm milk, freshly grated nutmeg and salt.

Side view of lasagne!!!!!!!!!

Just out of the oven! Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving

Chuck, Bill and Steve had the basketball game to watch.

Where's the other Steve?

Christy, Lori, Debbie, Suzette and Karen getting ready to cheer Lee to victory!

Looks Yummy!!!!!!!!!

TORTELLONI WITH SAGE BUTTER

I gave my first "cooking lesson" last week! Lori told me that Hannah, who is a senior in high school wanted to make ravioli for her senior project. She asked me if I would "teach" Hannah how to make ravioli. I was happy to do it.

Lisa, Hannah's mom, Karen and Lori in the kitchen checking out my blog on the computer!

I'm showing Hannah how to roll and knead the dough! Nick is making a sauce for pasta, that we had leftover to make fettuccine.

After I showed her, she made her own batch which turned out just as good as mine!

Hannah assembling the ravioli !

Filling the ravioli ! The filling consisted of ricotta cheese, parmigiano cheese, eggs, freshly grated nutmeg, parsley, and salt and pepper.

Ravioli ready for the water. After you boil the ravioli, place it in a pan with melted butter and sage leaves and toss to coat.

Passing of the Spoon

Roman-Style Veal Cutlets with Sage

I had some veal left over from the other night so I thought I would make this veal dish. It was very easy to make, and would make a nice antipasto. I pounded the veal flat with my meat mallet (sounds kinda funky) and placed each on a (funky again) piece of prosciutto with a sage leaf and folded it over to form a little sandwich. After that, you pound it lightly again with your mallet (funky) and secure it together with a toothpick, and then dredge it in flour that is seasoned with salt and pepper. Be careful not to over salt it, because the prosciutto is very salty.

Veal Cutlets breaded and ready for the pan!
Cook the cutlets in unsalted butter on medium to high heat for 2 minutes on each side.

Remove the cutlets from the pan and add 1/2 cup of dry white wine with another couple tablespoons of unsalted butter to the pan!

Return the cutlets to the pan to reheat for a minute or two. It looks as good as it tasted!!!

Becca was my sous chef and panel for tonight! We both agreed that the cutlets were definitely a do-over!

Grilled Veal Rolls Sicilian-Style

Well, I finally watched the movie "Julie & Julia". I kind of felt sorry for Julie at the end of the movie knowing that Julia Child thought she was a "pill". I guess that bothered me a little because, even though I don't have a deadline to finish my journey, I understood how Julie felt. Alright, enough of the sappiness. I hope that's a word. Here we go! I guess some people might wonder why I'm doing this. I like to cook and I was making the same recipes over and over again, especially out of Mario's book. So I decided that for me to learn more about cooking I would cook all the recipes in Mario's book. I've learned so much already. But the best thing about my journey is having friends and family over and enjoying everybody's company. So, after watching "Julie & Julia" I felt like I needed to make something really exciting the next day and I wanted to invite Lori, Bill and Lori's sister Debbie to dinner. I was looking for a recipe to make and I came across the Grilled Veal Rolls. I don't think I've ever had veal before, so veal it was. I called my butcher the next day and ordered the veal. The ingredients for the filling was pecorino romano cheese, fresh bread crumbs, pine nuts, parsley and raisins that were soaked in warm water for 1 hour. I flattened the veal pieces with my steel mallet, spread the filling and then rolled them up and skewered them with rosemary sprigs which I soaked in water. Soaking the rosemary prevents them from burning while you cook them.

Veal Rolls prepped and ready to go!!!

Veal Rolls on the grill pan!!

Bill really helped out with grilling the veal. I think I am going to make him one of my sous chefs!

Lori and her sister Debbie.

Lori and Karen.

Veal Rolls waiting to be eaten.

Lori with her plate of food. Picture taken by me!!!

Inside of veal rolls. Picture is blurry but it still looks goooood!



My first video post. Bill's debut cooking in the kitchen!

Lori's 29th Birthday

We wanted to have Lori and Bill over for dinner to celebrate Lori's 29th birthday. We also invited Christy and Colin to celebrate with us. I decided to make the Goat Cheese Ravioli again, because it has been my favorite recipe to make so far, plus I was worried if I tried something new it might turn out like the debacle when I made the Pork Loin a couple of weeks ago. Well, everything turned out pretty good and I didn't have any problems. I was able to make the ravioli a couple hours ahead, and I covered them and put them in the refrigerator. For a vegetable dish, my production manager requested that I make the Roasted Asparagus with Capers and Eggs, which was a hit the first time I made it.

Karen, Christy, Colin, Lori and Bill

Lori, Christy, Colin and Bill getting ready to chow down!

Lori with her plate food. Looks Good. Picture taken by my production manager.

For dessert, Christy made her famous Key Lime Pie, which was absolutely delicious! I believe the recipe is TOP SECRET, but I'm hoping I can get it from her!

Holy Toledo, take a good look! Bill is loading the dishwasher. Everybody pitched in with the clean-up which was very helpful because I usually make a big mess when I cook.

I think Colin is pinching Bill's ear trying to get him to scrub the pan faster! Colin did dress up for the evening, but he spilled wine on his shirt and I had to give him a much sought after Hanna Construction T-shirt to wear for the rest of the evening.