Mushroom Ricotta Bruschetta – This Was Anything But Flat

Please do not take this post’s brevity for any kind of lack of enthusiasm or excitement over this very handsome mushroom and ricotta bruschetta. Time’s a little short today, as my car’s left-front tire was fatally injured last night in a brutal pothole attack.

Everyone else is fine, but I didn’t want to delay the uploading of this fine recipe until I had time to do a proper blog post. So basically, I’m phoning this one in. Of course, my biggest fear isn’t that you’ll be disappointed…it’s that you won’t notice that big a difference.

Anyway, this was super tasty, and very simple to make. I show making the ricotta bruschetta part first, but as I mention, you’ll obviously want to have your mushrooms cooking while you prepare the bases. I hope you give this delicious, and very versatile dish a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Mushroom Ricotta Bruschetta

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 egg

zest of one lemon

1/2 tsp salt

black pepper to taste
red chili flakes to taste

4 thick slices of lightly toasted bread

1 tbsp olive oil

For the mushrooms:

2 tbsp butter, divided (half to sauté, half to stir in at end)

1 tbsp olive oil

16 large white mushrooms

1/4 cup green onions and/or 3-4 cloves of garlic

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup marsala wine

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

Leftover Turkey Manicotti – “Little Muffs” for the Day After the Day After

Manicotti, which means, “little muffs” in Italian, has to be one of the best ways ever for using up leftover Thanksgiving turkey. 

The moist filling will bring the driest bird back from the dead, and you can literally add anything that can be chopped up.

Leftover green bean casserole? Throw it in. Peas and Onions? You bet’cha. Cranberry Sauce? No, don’t be ridiculous. Anyway, thanks to the absence of cheese, tomato, and pasta on the usual Thanksgiving menu, this concoction will erase any connection with the aforementioned feast.

One portioning note: The recipe below made six crepes, and if you make yours slightly smaller, the filling recipe will make six nicely sized manicotti. 

I went low-carb and used all the filling to make four portions, but you should probably just fill all 6 crepes, or even double the recipe to get 12. I think you’ll want leftovers of the leftovers. So whether you make manicotti with the last of the holiday turkey, or just use the technique to recycle other meaty meals, I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 crepes:

2 eggs

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp olive oil

olive oil for cooking crepes as needed
*Note: Feel free to adjust the batter's thickness by adding a little flour or water until you get a thin consistency as seen in video. 
 

For the filling:

1 cup chopped turkey or anything

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/2 cup grated mozzarella

1/4 tsp dried marjoram

1/8 tsp red chili flakes

1 egg

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

For the rest:

1 1/2 cups marinara sauce

2 tsp olive oil

1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for top

1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley, garnish

Chicken Riggies – What if You Never Saw This?

Way back when, the only way you would’ve found out about a regional recipe like Chicken Riggies, would have been to eat it while traveling through Central New York. 

You would’ve loved it (because there’s nothing not to love) and maybe even tried to recreate it when you got home, but more likely it would have ended up fading into nothing more than a pleasant memory; referred to as “that rigatoni we had in Utica.”

I’m sure you’ll plan a trip through the lovely Utica/Rome area of New York State eventually, but in the meantime, I offer up my take on this thoroughly enjoyable plate of pasta. I think it’s fairly authentic, with two notable exceptions. I use Marsala instead of the standard white wine, and use roughly chopped thigh meat, instead of the more popular chicken breasts.

This results in a sauce that seems much richer than it actually is, and I think you’ll love the subtle sweetness the wine imparts, which works wonderfully with the heat from the peppers. Of course, as I joke about in the video, forget how tasty the recipe is…it’s worth making just for the name alone. What’s for dinner? Chicken Riggies! Riggies? Yes, Riggies!

Anyway, if you’re from Central New York, I hope I did your venerable recipe proud. If you’re not, I hope you give this gorgeous rigatoni recipe a try, and experience what only a few decades ago, you may not have ever heard of. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

1 tbsp olive oil

4 oz hot Italian sausage, crumbled

1 onion, sliced or diced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, roughly chopped or cubed

1/2 cup Marsala wine

1 (28-oz) can whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes, crushed

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup water, or as needed

1 1/2 cups chopped hot and/or sweet peppers (any jarred or fresh peppers will work, but cherry peppers are a good choice)

*if using mild peppers, use chili flakes or chili paste to increase the spiciness.

1/2 cup pitted, halved Greek olives
3 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

1 pound rigatoni

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese

Wishing You a Happy Labor Day Weekend from Manchester NY

I’ll be in lovely Manchester, NY for a few weeks visiting my mother Pauline and the rest of the family. We’ll have a steady stream of new videos as usual, but I am going to try to take a little break from the laptop, and stay offline as much as I can. So far so good…I think I only tweeted four or five times yesterday!

Uncle Billy. One of my most
influential culinary mentors!

Anyway, speaking of family, today is the famous D’Arduini family reunion, and if that name sounds familiar, it should. Despite being one of our older, low-res videos, Chicken D’Arduini, which I filmed here years ago with my uncle Bill D’Arduini, has remained one of our most popular chicken recipes ever. 

To honor the occasion, I’m reposting this wonderful dish just in case you haven’t seen it, or maybe forgot how delicious it really is. I hope you have a great holiday, and as always, enjoy! 

Chicken D’Arduini (click here for the original post and ingredients)

Potato & Italian Frying Pepper Frittata and How I Learned to Swear in Italian

One of my earliest and fondest food memories is that of my grandfather making frittata. It wasn’t the taste of this hearty, Italian omelet that made such an impression, although that was always wonderful, it was the excitement surrounding “the flip.”

Traditionally, a frittata is cooked about three-quarters of the way, flipped over on to a plate, and slid back into the pan to finish cooking the other side. It’s an hot, slippery exercise fraught with danger, and more than one of his magnificent creations ended up a broken mess. Come to think of it, this is where I first learned how to curse in Italian.

The funny thing is, as long as you have a broiler to finish cooking the top, which he did, you don’t need to flip anything. Just pop it in for a few minutes to firm up the eggs, and brown the cheese, and you’re ready to eat. So, why did he insist on the always risky flip-n-slid?

I’m not exactly sure, but I imagine it was because his father flipped frittatas, and so did his grandfather. That’s just the way they were done, so that’s how he did it. Regardless whether you’re flipping or not, this rustic egg pie was invented for late summer’s vegetable bounty.

If you can fry it in olive oil, it tastes great in a frittata, especially leftover vegetables that would otherwise end up in the trash. It’s also amazing with any kind of summer squash. Just remember that the veggies need to be tender before the eggs go in, since they cook so fast. I hope you give this “memorable” recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

12 large eggs

1 tbsp olive oil

6 slices of bacon or pancetta

1 1/2 cups sliced peppers

1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked potatoes

OR about 3 cups of any summer veggies

dry or fresh herbs to taste

salt and pepper to taste

hot pepper flakes to taste

2 oz crumbled feta cheese

*Remember to drain oil before adding potatoes and eggs!

Steak Pizzaiola – Better Late (Summer) Than Never

I’ve been wanting to post this steak pizzaiola recipe for a while now, but was bidding my time, waiting for those perfectly ripe late-summer tomatoes before trying it. 

Of course, those have been available around here for many weeks, but every time I’d buy some, I’d quickly use them on sandwiches, salads, etc., before getting to make this great dish. Hey, a BTL can be very seductive.

Well, I’m happy to announce I was finally able control my will power, and saved enough for a beautiful bowl of concasse, which is the soul of this superb sauce. Speaking of concasse – which is nothing more than a fancy French culinary term for peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes – I’ll be posting a video for how to do those on Tuesday, so stay tuned.

Like virtually every recipe we post, there are hundreds of ways to make pizzaiola; from versions featuring slowly braised tough cuts, like chuck or rump roast, to quickly seared tenderloin medallions, like I used here. The one thing most people agree on is that you should, if at all possible, use really fresh, very sweet, vine-ripened tomatoes.

Having said that, this would work with some finely chopped, canned San Marzano tomatoes in a pinch. I also encourage the use of both dried and fresh oregano, which I think work great together in this quick sauce. Anyway, I really hope you have access to some beautiful tomatoes, and that you give this steak pizzaiola recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound beef tenderloin steaks, cut into 4 medallions

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup mushrooms

2 tsp butter

1 cup sliced or diced sweet and/or hot peppers

4 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 cup white wine

1 cup finely chopped, peeled and seeded tomato (aka concasse)
pinch of hot chili flakes
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp dried oregano

2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

toasted bread and mozzarella, optional

Chicken Spiedies – Is Binghamton’s Best America’s Next Big Sandwich Trend?

If it isn’t, it should be! This incredibly delicious sandwich, invented in central New York by an Italian immigrant named Camillo Iacovelli, breaks all the accepted rules regarding marinating meats, and not only does it work, it’s amazing!

You’ve heard me say on many occasions to be careful when soaking chicken in an acid marinade.  Usually an hour or two is the maximum I recommend, otherwise the meat will actually “cook” in the liquid, much like fish in a ceviche. Here, that’s exactly the idea.

You could almost call this twiced-cooked chicken, except that the food nerds would come out of the woodwork to remind us the meat doesn’t “cook” in the marinade, it becomes “denatured.” Whatever, nerds. All I know is when you grill that "over-marinaded" chicken over a hot, charcoal fire, some serious magic happens.

The term "spiedie" (SPEE-dee) comes from “spiedo,” the Italian word for spit, and simply refers to meat grilled on a skewer. The original protein was lamb, which explains all the mint and garlic in the marinade, which Iacovelli called, “zuzu.”

As I hope you find out, “zuzu” is also wonderful with chicken, and there are hundreds of credible reports of it being fantastic on pork, beef, and venison also. Yes, one taste and I think you’ll understand why this is so incredibly popular in and around Binghamton, NY.

The only mystery is why hasn’t this spread across the country? Seems like a natural. It’s got a great back story, catchy name, lots of room for local adaptations, and a marinade called “zuzu.” Come on, what more do you need? Anyway, every new sandwich trend begins with a single bun, or something like that, so I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 6 skewers:

3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (or any boneless meat!)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice

3/4 cup wine wine vinegar

1 rounded tablespoon sugar

6-8 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup picked mint leaves

Affogato and the Magic of Cold Brewed Coffee

Michele and I are still in steamy Chicago, where the temperature is about 95, but the humidity makes it feel more like the sun. Man, could I go for an iced coffee right about now. I’ve been interested in trying this cold-brewed coffee technique for a while, but it was this lovely post on An Edible Mosaic that moved me into action.

Of course, the glamor shot (formally referred to as the “money shot”) is of an Affogato – the ultra-simple, Italian coffee dessert – but the real star here is the amazingly easy iced coffee concentrate recipe.

Apparently, since the flavors are extracted without heat, the results are a smoother, less acidic, less bitter product, which supposedly offers a purer coffee experience. All I know is that it made the best tasting iced coffee I’ve ever had. This would’ve been a complete success just for that fact alone, but that it also made possible this incredibly refreshing affogato, puts it way over the top.

You can use the coffee concentrate straight on ice cream or gelato, or dilute it with an equal part water for iced coffee. Of course, the purists will tell you that affogato is made with hot espresso, but the cold coffee works really well. The ice cream melted more slowly, and seemed to be even creamier than the standard technique.

Anyway, this only takes about five minutes to make, there are no special tools or equipment needed, and one taste is all you’ll need to become a believer like me. I hope you give this a try soon…while it’s still hot. Enjoy!

Cold-Brewed Coffee Concentrate (makes about 2 3/4 cups)

3 cups cold water

2/3 cup very freshly ground coffee (I used the medium grind on my espresso machine)

*Mix water and coffee in a large glass container. Cover and let it sit at room temperature for 12 hours. Strain though coffee filter or paper towel, and serve!

For the Affogato:

1 or 2 scoops vanilla ice cream or gelato

as much coffee concentrate as you like (I like equal parts)

shaved dark chocolate

A Grilled Tuscan-style Flank Steak for Your Father

This very masculine Tuscan-style flank steak would be a great way to show the big guy you love him, and that you respect his grilling skills so much that you’re going to go ahead let him do the cooking himself. Of course, the grill needs to be cleaned, but he can do that after he mows the lawn.

I’ve only been to Tuscany once, about 25 years ago, but I do remember a grilled steak coming off a charcoal fire, which was then sliced and splashed with olive oil, lemon and rosemary. While I’m sure my version is far from traditional, it’s really tasty and the very user-friendly flank steak is the perfect cut.

I get a little sad when I see people buying those lemon-pepper-herb steak marinades, since they're ridiculously easy to make, and you can actually pronounce all the ingredients in it. Just to hedge our bets, we’re also going to do an equally simple, but flavor-amplifying dressing to drizzle over the juicy sliced beef.

No matter what you serve, don’t do it too late. If your father is as big a golf fan as my father-in-law Al is, the best gift you can give is to plan the day so they get to relax and watch the US Open Championship. What better way to reward your father than with a few hours on the couch, belly full of flank steak, watching their favorite sports? Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

1 trimmed flank steak (1 1/2 to 2 lbs)

salt and pepper to taste

For the marinade:

6 garlic cloves

1/2 cup rosemary leaves

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp salt

For the dressing:

3 tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp minced rosemary leaves

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

pinch salt

Baked Eggs Con Huevos

If you’re wondering why I called this recipe “baked eggs with eggs,” I didn’t. No, “huevos” has another meaning, and any of your Spanish-speaking friends will be happy to tell/show you what that is. Anyway, as I said in the video intro, don’t let the generic name fool you; this “baked eggs” recipe is way more delicious than it sounds!

If you enjoy huevos rancheros, you will love this. The way the spicy sauce mingles with just barely set eggs is very similar, and when you start scooping this up with toasted chunks of bread, it gets borderline magical.

If you happen to accompany this humble dish with copious amounts of ham and bacon, this would make for quite the Father’s Day treat. You can stay with my Italianesque version, but American, Latin, or Asian versions are only a couple tweaks away.

I gave a general time of about 12 minutes at 400 degrees F., but of course this is going to vary based on your exact dish size/shape, as well as how many you are making at once. I would start checking after 10 minutes, keeping in mind that the yolks will keep firming up even after they are out of the oven.

Anyway, whether you are trying to impress dad with your brunch skills (by the way, don’t call it brunch if it’s for Dad…go with “breakfast”), or simply want to shake up your personal egg recipe routine, I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 1 Portion:

Shallow oven-proof dish, just large enough for 2 eggs
2 large fresh eggs

1/3 cup marinara sauce

red pepper flakes to taste

salt and pepper to taste

fresh herb as desired

2 tsp olive oil

2 tbsp cream

generous dusting of Parmigiano-Reggiano

lots of toast

The World’s Fastest Meatballs – No Chop, No Roll, No Fry, No Kidding

One of my favorite things about the Internet is how you can make outrageous claims with complete impunity. For example, I’m claiming that this is the world’s fastest meatball recipe, and while I have plenty of evidence to support my claim, I really like knowing that I’ll never need to. In related news, I’m one of the world’s strongest men.

Anyway, these meatballs are significantly faster than a traditional recipe for three main reasons: First, there’s no chopping and sauteing to make the base mixture. Secondly, there’s no rolling involved. Small meatballs cook fast, and are always tender, but they’re a pain in the butt to roll. By using a small portion scoop, you can do an entire pan in a few minutes.

Lastly, broiling instead of frying is not only a quicker way to brown, but way less messy. Yes, you could just bake, but the broiler will take about half the time. By the way, as I mention in the video, if you have a few extra minutes, let the meatballs simmer on low to make the tomato sauceeven more flavorful.

Just because I’m showing you a few shortcuts, doesn’t mean you can’t add some longcuts back in. You can certainly use a more standard recipe, like our ricotta meatballs, and still use the no-roll and broiler methods to cut prep time, without sacrificing quality.

At the very least, I hope you try this recipe so you’ll have to go out a buy a couple portion scoops. Above and beyond expeditious meatball production, these “dishers” come in handy for so many other kitchen tasks. I hope you give them, and these easy meatballs a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 48 little meatballs:

For the slurry:

1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

1/4 cup milk

1 large egg

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp granulated garlic or garlic powder (not garlic salt)

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb mix

*Or use: 1/2 tsp dried parsley, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/4 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp dried thyme

For the rest:

1 pound ground veal

1 pound ground beef

1 1/2 tsp salt (by the way, you can cook a small piece of the meatball mixture to test salt)

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp white pepper, optional

1/3 cup freshly, finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

6 cups simmering tomato sauce of your choice

Garlic Parmesan Dinner Rolls – Can Something Look Too Good?

Let me start by saying that these garlic Parmesan dinner rolls were really great – crusty and cheesy on the outside, tender and garlicky inside, and visually gorgeous. Ironically, it’s that last adjective that may cause problems.

These looks so inviting, so tasty, and so beautiful that it’s almost impossible not to be let down when you bite into one of these and realize it’s just a dinner roll. It’s a great dinner roll, a special dinner roll, but a dinner roll nonetheless.

As I said in the video, when the towel is pulled back (we call that, “breadbasket burlesque” in the business), and these lovelies are finally revealed, your guest’s eyes will send messages to their stomachs to get ready for something way more awesome than a dinner roll.

So, this becomes a classic case of having to manage expectations. You need to make sure your diners know this is a humble bread bun, not some mini calzone, or other stuffed wonder of modern baking.

Anyway, it’s a great problem to have. So the next time you want something a little above and beyond the plain roll, I hope you give these a try. By the way, the leftover rolls make about the best salami sandwich, ever. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 package dry active yeast

1 cup warm water

2 1/4 cups flour, divided (add 1/2 cup to the sponge, and the rest as shown). 
NOTE: Don't add all the flour at once. Add some, and continue adding until your dough looks like mine. You may need more flour as you go for the board.

1/2 tsp white sugar

1 tsp fine salt

1 tbsp olive oil
1 egg

freshly, finely grated Parmesan, as needed

1 1/2 tbsp melted butter

2-3 cloves crushed garlic

2 tbsp freshly chopped Italian parsley

black pepper and cayenne to taste

*Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes

Valentine’s Day Carpaccio – A Meat Heart for Your Sweetheart!

I like carpaccio. My wife and Valentine, Michele, likes carpaccio. So for us, a heart-shaped version of this classic Italian beef salad seems nothing short of fabulous. Of course, I do understand that this isn’t for everyone. If you don’t like, or more likely, are afraid of rare meat, I don’t imagine you’ll be giving this a try.

That’s perfectly fine, and we’re all too busy to bother trying to convert you over to the red team. However, for people that do enjoy this classic dish, and realize that properly handled, high-quality beef is no more dangerous to eat raw than sushi, or a spinach salad, I think this would make for a creative, and visually arresting start to their Valentine’s Day dinner menu.

While this preparation is fairly classic, I do like to keep my beef a little bit thicker than is traditionally done. Most carpaccios are pounded very, very thin, but if you’re using a really nice piece of beef tenderloin, why smash it so flat? Since it’s naturally tender and buttery, I like it to keep a little bit of its texture, instead of being mashed too thin.

Another tip is to season the meat generously. The salt is very important here, almost as much as some kind of bracing salad tossed with a sharp, acidic dressing. By the way, just because I went with arugula and traditional lemon mustard dressing, doesn’t mean you can’t take this in other exotic directions.

I’ve enjoyed some great renditions over the years, including several which incorporated Asian ingredients into the mix. As usual, I’d love to hear about (and maybe see?) how you adapt this carpaccio to your own personal tastes. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 portions:

4-6 oz freshly trimmed, high-quality, beef tenderloin, sliced thin

1 cup baby arugula leaves

1 oz shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano

2 tsp capers

For the dressing:

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of cayenne

Pizza Sauce – Let’s Play ‘Hide the Little Fish’

I can assure you that the anchovies in this pizza sauce recipe are there for the subtle saltiness and unique savoriness they provide, and not just so you can tell your friend (the one who really hates anchovies) that they just ate some. Could it be for both? Sure.

This pizza sauce recipe represents a new and improved version of the one we posted way back in 2007. We snuck in some of the aforementioned fish, and we’re also using both fresh and dried oregano. I love this sauce. If there’s a tastier, all-purpose pizza sauce recipe out there, I haven’t tried it.

Convention wisdom says that great pizza is all about the crust. Which is certainly a huge factor, but if you were given the choice between a great crust topped with a bad sauce, and a grocery store crust made with a delicious, world-class sauce, which would you prefer?

Texture aside, no mater how they're combined, flour, water, and yeast can only taste so bad. But, a terrible sauce can actually make a slice of pizza inedible. I can’t remember ever not eating a piece of pizza because the crust was so awful, but I've given up after biting into an inferior sauce before.

Of course, around these parts the argument is completely academic since we’ve not only provided you with a plan for perfect sauce, but given you several great pizza dough recipes, like our famous no-knead pizza dough, as well as the venerable Wolfgang Puck California-style dough recipe. I hope you make pizza soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients (makes about 3 cups):

3 tbsp olive oil

2 anchovy filets

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1 can (28 oz) whole peeled “San Marzano” tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp sugar

very small pinch baking soda

Tiramisu Chocolate Mousse – Pick’em Up and Lay’em Down

Most foodies know that Tiramisu is a decadent dessert featuring coffee soaked ladyfingers layered with a zabaione and mascarpone, but what many people don’t know is that the recipe’s name is one of the best culinary double entendres ever.

“Tiramisu” translates to "pick me up." Considering that this popular Italian dessert is spiked with proven mood-elevators such as coffee, cocoa, sugar, and alcohol, the name seems to fit perfectly. But wait, there’s more.

As legend has it, tiramisu was a popular snack with the “working girls” of northern Italy, where the dessert originated. So, not only does "pick me up" refer metaphorically to the obvious restorative effects of the dessert, but also more literally to the solicitation of another customer.

Which brings us to this upcoming Valentine’s Day. Not only would this make for a very happy ending for your V-Day meal, but think about the stimulating conversation that could follow when you recount this racy tale.

Anyway, even if you don’t end up talking about Italian prostitutes over dessert, if you’re a fan of chocolate mousse, and you enjoy a good "pick me up," you can’t go wrong with this deliciously decadent, yet still fairly light dessert. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

3.5 oz dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

2 tbsp espresso coffee, or strong regular coffee

1 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp Marsala wine (may sub with rum, or omit)

2 egg yolks

4 tsp sugar

2 tbsp mascarpone cheese

3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped

Italian Rice Croquettes aka Rice Balls aka Arancini – Back by Popular Demand… Aunt Angela and Uncle Bill D’Arduini!

I just flew back from New York, and boy, are my jokes tired (as you’ll hear). So is everything else, and there’s no rest for the weary as I pack for a quick trip to see the team at Allrecipes.com in Seattle. So, time is short, and I’m posting this incredibly delicious Italian rice croquette recipe, sans extra wordy article.

There isn’t much to add anyway; what you see is what you get. This great appetizer was filmed at a recent family dinner at my Aunt Angela and Uncle Billy D’Arduini’s, and if they sound familiar, they should! They’ve been featured on the blog numerous times; in such smash hit recipes as, Cabbage Rolls, Chicken D’Arduini, and Homemade Pasta.

You can definitely do this recipe completely vegetarian, by skipping the giblets, or switch those out for almost any other cooked meat. Sausage, prosciutto, or ham are just a few of the many options.

When it comes to the rice, we used a standard long rain, and went with a 2 parts water to 1 part rice ratio. You want fully hydrated and completely cooked grain. Al dente rice is not going to work here. Slightly overcooked is not a problem.

Anyway, I'd like to thank Aunt Angela and Uncle Bill for sharing their recipe, and I hope you can give it a try soon. It would be a great addition to any party menu. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

*Sorry, I never found out how many this makes, but I’m guessing about 70-80

2 pounds cooked chicken giblets (gizzards and hearts)

2 cups rice cooked in 4 cups salted water

2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp parsley, optional

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

2 large eggs

1/2 cup marinara sauce

salt and pepper to taste

plain breadcrumbs, as needed

vegetable oil for frying

lemon wedges

What About Lasagna?

Are you having trouble deciding what classic Christmas roast to do this holiday? Well, maybe that’s a sign you should take things in totally different, and much more Italian, direction. Follow this link to see the Christmas lasagna recipe video I originally posted last December. Enjoy!

Minestrone Soup is a Once in a Lifetime Experience

I always feel a little apprehensive when I post a recipe like this minestrone soup. It’s the type of dish I never make the same way twice, and the fear is that someone will watch and assume that this is my “official” version.

You don’t need a recipe for minestrone, just like you don’t need a recipe for a great sandwich, or an epic salad. To make minestrone soup precisely same way every time, using a very specific list of ingredients and amounts, is to trample on the soul of this Italian classic.

Having said all that, what if you happen to make it so incredibly delicious one time that you want to experience the exact same shuddering soupgasm in the future? That seems like a perfectly sound reason for why you should write down the recipe…except cooking food doesn’t work that way.

Your perception of how a recipe tastes involves so many factors above and far beyond the list of ingredients. Remember that time you made that super awesome whatever, and it was so perfect, and then you made it again, exactly the same way, but somehow it just didn’t taste as great? This is why.

So, I hope you give this amazing minestrone recipe a try soon…but only once. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 oz pancetta

2 tbsp olive oil

1 diced onion

1 cup diced celery

4 minced garlic cloves

4 cups chicken broth

1 (28-oz) can plum tomatoes, crushed fine

2 cups water, plus more as needed

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp dried Italian herb blend (mine was thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil)

red pepper flakes to taste

1 cup freshly shucked cranberry beans (aka shelling beans)
2 or 3 cups chopped cabbage

1 (15-oz) can garbanzo beans, drained

1 bunch swiss chard, chopped

2/3 cup raw ditalini pasta

extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and fresh Italian parsley to garnish the top