Archives 'Mangia Italiano
Because we are Italian and everyone should eat Italian! Mangia!
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Young & HungryIf you can't take the heat, get outta the kitchen! |
| 10 March |
Who wants to get up early to slave over the stove, rising hours before your guests arrive to make brunch? Not I. This Italian variation on the Mexican Huevos Rancheros (soon to follow) can be made from leftover spaghetti sauce or store bought if slaving in general just isn’t your thing! The remainder of the ingredients can be kept on hand so a big breakfast or brunch are never out of your reach. Serve with prosecco juiced up with some peach nectar or Orangina.
| 5 March |
Taken from a Christmas party my mother threw. Mom, you outdid yourself!
- I want to be invited to THIS party!
Clockwise from top: genoa salami, gruyere, grape tomatoes, rosemary & sundried tomato ham, marinated asparagus, buffalo mozzarella, chickpea salad, pepperoni, cured kalamata olives, marinated mushrooms, sharp provolone, marinated artichokes
Center from left: marinated roasted peppers, my grandmother’s olive salad
| 1 March |
Oh, how I love risotto. One part delicious rice dish, one part strict technique makes eating the finished product seem oh so special. I remember learning to make this dish with my Godmother, furiously stirring the pot as she ladled in the broth. Our hard work was repaid with melt-in-your-mouth pools of creamy goodness.
A meal fit for a restaurant, yet perfect at home.
Here is one of my favorite risotto recipes. The bright lemon really shines and the leeks impart a mellow onion flavor. It’s great as is or paired with seafood and a green vegetable for a more robust offering. Adding the egg yolk is a little trick I’ve picked up over the years—it helps bind the rice together and makes it just a tad bit richer…and who among us doesn’t want to be richer?
| 26 February |
Have you enjoyed 5 days of soups and more than enough veggies to compensate for a month worth of French fried sides? Alas, I’ve saved the best for last! A Tuscan favorite enjoyed by many a peasant past – ribollita! Ribollita, next to Papa al Pomodoro, was probably one of my best finds during my time studying abroad in Florence. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without this “kitchen sink” of soups or with the abundance of fresh market goods in my pantry had we not been introduced. Ribollita isn’t really all that different from other soups. It generally contains broth, beans, and vegetables, but then you add big chunks of Tuscan pan (bread), which completely transforms the consistency of the soup. Suddenly it’s thick and creamy enough to comfort even the most homesick of students. Mangia!
| 19 February |
This soup has A LOT OF VEGETABLES! Please don’t feel obligated to buy the entire market like I did…and if you’re not up to dumping your entire produce drawer into a pot I understand. If you did neglect your “5 a day” this weekend, however, this will more than make up for it. It works that way right? I’m pretty sure my veggies consisted of fried green tomatoes and Bloody Mary’s, so I’m taking every…umm…real vegetable I can get!
I originally found this recipe on the Cooking Light website and modified to the point of minimal recognition. Feel free to substitute parsnips for the more common Mirepoix or sweet potato for Mr. Idaho. Those two ingredients were the largest flavor enhancers, but who am I to make you experiment. I’m pretty sure the original recipe also neglects the cruciferous joys of Brussels Sprouts and cauliflower, but I suppose they do tend to be the outcasts of the veggie kingdom.
| 11 February |
Here is my final recipe suggestion for all you love birds out there. This recipe is a big undertaking, however, so if you’ve waited this long to make plans, you might have waited too long to mentally prepare for the challenge that is the Big Night Timpano! If you’re still reading, however, or if your boo bought one of those scalped reservations on the web…I bid you well and recommend you don one of those new skirts with the elastic waistbands that seem to have come back into style at JUST the right time.
I first discovered this recipe in a dark movie theatre at the Aspen Film Festival. In Stanley Tucci’s 1996 movie Big Night, the chef Primo slaves away at this towering pasta pie, among countles other dishes, in attempt to save his and his brother Secondo’s dying restaurant. While the guest of honor, charged with brining celebrity buzz to the small unknown trattoria, never shows, the night is anything but a loss. Actually, I suppose they do lose quite a bit of money, but they have a big extravagant evening filled with endless courses of food, wine, and dancing. Additionally, they learn the importance of being and being true to yourself and your talents, which may not be as loved and appreciated by others as you would expect, but are the only thing that will bring you true happiness.
| 2 February |
Hey guess what – January’s over! Time to focus on chocolate, fondue, and something delicious to make for that special someone so they’ll still be yours after Valentine’s Day. What’s more romantic than a dinner in? Let me rephrase, what’s more romantic than a dinner in when you’re used to dining out? I might, for once, prefer not to slave the day away, but I’ve no doubt put in more than my fair share of kitchen duty. So what to make for that special someone who will, for this one day at least, be your culinary inspiration? Well, if you’re a lady cooking for your mister, you cannot go wrong with this pork roast. It’s juicy and tender and doesn’t require constant attention so you can focus your first course elsewhere. If you’re a mister cooking for your miss, perhaps this is a selfish choice of meat, but she’ll never question your machismo.
Since I did first whip this up back in 2009 when I was stuffed from an indulgent December, I left the meal at meat and veggies. You surely have recuperated by now and are ready for some starch. Try a mashed parsnip or simple risotto. The gym lines are finally clearing, so you should have more than enough time to give this roast the extra hours of TLC it deserves. I promise you’ll be paid back one hundred kisses over.
| 28 January |
Tony Bourdain famously declared, “I am such an egg sl-t.” While I might have chosen different wording, I certainly understand his predilection for all things egg, delicious little protein bombs that they are. And so, when I saw a Mario Batali recipe that combines eggs with the other food that can bring me to my knees–pasta, I knew I was destined to create my own version at home.
Mangia!
| 20 January |
The forwarded email casually suggested I might be interested. My IMMEDIATE response screamed “Yes, please!” And thank you for the information, of course. So began our investigation into what will soon be the American Idol of cooking shows. Master Chef is a new series modeled after the shows now airing in Australia and London. The Fox series, however, will star Gordon Ramsey and contain local talent which they’ve spent the last month scouring the US to find. Obviously, Katy attended the casting call in Dallas and I attended in Atlanta. Hopefully it’s not so obvious that neither of us have received a call back, but I’m hoping that’s just because they have not yet realized what fabulous television the two of us dueling it out in the kitchen would make…Alas, after completing a 12 page application and a lot of planning, experimenting, and waiting we have heard nothing. Not that the experience itself wasn’t totally worthwhile. I can say that because I made my way through the doors 2 hours later and right before the sky opened up in a not so nice wintry rain. Those merely arriving on-time were not so lucky, yet I concede that anything done while holding a fresh & hand delivered Starbuck’s Misto is not completely intolerable. In line I heard stories of casting calls past, favorite restaurants, and meals, soon to be plated and presented to the judges. Once we entered the Viking School all chatter was silenced by nerves until we were ushered into a station to plate and present. Honestly, I fumbled, jittery from the cold and coffee. I managed to get my stuffed squid to look appealing enough, however, raised my hand, and did my best to woo the Casting Director and Fox Newscaster who would determine my fate. Although I failed to notice, I was told the cameras were on me during my interview so if nothing else perhaps I’ll at least make the first episode! And, of course, this original dish for you!
| 15 January |
I remember being a teenager and stocking up on merino wool-silk blend sweaters at the mall. They felt soft, cozy, luxurious, and I loved them. Then one day, someone slipped me a four-ply Ralph Lauren cashmere cable knit and my view of the world (and textiles) radically shifted. The same thing happened the first time I tried Tom Colicchio’s gnocchi.
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