Inferno Cacciatore Duck

The southern Italian man was craving for a cacciatore dish, which means "hunter" dish, a tomato-based stew cooked with meats, typically with rabbit or chicken, as a "hunter's meal". In southern Italy, cacciatore often includes red wine while in northern Italy There are many different variations of this dish based upon ingredients available in specific regions. For example, in southern Italy, cacciatore often includes red wine while northern Italian cacciatore would use white wine.

Stasera, ( tonight), we added our own twist - cacciatore duck, with dark German beer and jalapenos. Of course, we start with the basics: olive oil, onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms....

Serving for two persons

Ingredients:

half a duck ( drum, thighs and half breast, all should be equal sizes)

half pound of king oyster mushrooms, coarsley chopped

one onion, diced

one jalapeno, diced

one bottle of good german dark beer

two large tomatoes, diced

one ciabatta bread

Preperations:

In a dutch oven, heat olive oil and sautee the onions until they change color. Next, stir in the diced jalapenos, and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes. Add in the pieces of duck, sear on both sides until it turns into a golden color. Add salt and pepper to season. Add in mushroooms, and cook until they break down, for about 20 minutes. Next, pour half a bottle of beer and cover the pot with the lid, and cook for another 15 minutes.

In the meantime, slice the bread and plate on the bottom of a serving dish. Lay the duck and ingredients on top.

fusion turkey meatballs in clear broth

Traditionally with Chinese food, you make "meatballs" from pork, fish, or seafood.

Since ground turkey breast is so much more popular in the supermarkets here ( plus it's leaner, healthier) I used ground turkey with some asian ingredients to make delicious juicy meatballs

Ingredients:

ground turkey breast

minced apples

minced ginger

ponzu soy sauce

white pepper

chopped leeks

shikake mushrooms, chopped finely

Mix together in a bowl, scoop into individual small balls, and cook in a broth. Here, I served it in a clear broth with tofu noodles. Talk about low calories!

Consider this our diet meal, while we are preparing ourselves for December....

Treats for Italian Class Festa

Congratulations to all of us who completed Italian due! What a great festa we had, with all sorts of deserts, ( biscotti, tiramisu, Italian torta) wines and munchies!

Last time Gaby and I made a tiramisu for the festa after Italian uno. This time, people from our Italian class suggested making a pasta, but I was worried that a cooled pasta or risotto dish would not be so great... Michele and I bounced some ideas off each other, whether to make a pasta or rice salad....then came a great idea, which is to bake some frittatas! The idea sparked inside me - I should make frittatas with pasta inside! Frittatas are baked omelets, Michele told me that his family would always use last night's leftover pasta for breakfast frittatas the next morning. I made them in small muffin tins, like mini quiches ( without the pie crust of course), so it's easy to serve. It's perfect as an appetizer or a brunch treat when entertaining. Here's the recipe for Linguine, Smoked Mozzarella and Prosciutto Frittatas ...

Linguine, Smoked Mozzarella and Prosciutto Frittatas

Serving Size: makes about 18 mini frittatas

Ingredients
1/2 pound linguine pasta
7 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
6 ounces diced prosciutto
5 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, diced (1 cup diced)
1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese

1/4 cup of finely chopped chives
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preparations:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook pasta until al dente, drain the pasta in a colander. While the pasta is still in the colander, use kitchen sheers to cut the linguine into smaller pieces. The pasta should measure about 3 cups.

Grease a muffin tin, and Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a blender combine the eggs, milk, and mascarpone cheese. Blend until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the cut pasta, prosciutto, mozzarella cheese, Asiago cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir until the ingredients are combined.

Next, fill the muffin tin until both the pasta and the liquid reaches the top.

Bake until firm and cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for at least 3 minutes before removing from the tin.

I hope everyone enjoyed the mini frittata, and I look forward to pushing through Italian tre!

Butternut squash n chicken livers risotto, perfect for the fall

It's the flavors and the colors of butternut squash that make it so well-suited and comforting for the fall season.

I love squash and chicken livers, so naturally, when Michele suggested to make this risotto dish, I was ecstatic. Wolfgang Puck made a similiar recipe, Pumpkin Risotto, but without the chicken livers and king oyster mushrooms.

Ingredients
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 bunch of king oyster mushrooms
2 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
About 6 cups of hot chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 butternut squash, one half baked in the oven and then pureed; the other half, peeled, cut into small dice, and Sauteed in a little oil and butter until tender
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup of fresh chicken livers
2 eggs

bread crumbs

Directions

Take the diced half of butternut squash and saute them in butter, salt and pepper in a saucepan.

Set aside. In a dutch oven, or a medium sized saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute, stirring continuously, just until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Next, add the sliced king mushrooms, cook until softened. Add arborio rice and continue to stir, using a wooden spoon, to coat the rice with the oil.

Add white wine and continue cooking, stirring often, until it has been absorbed by the rice. Pour in enough chicken stock to cover the rice completely, about 3 cups, and continue to cook, stirring often, until all the liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, prepare the chicken livers. Rinse the chicken livers ( about 5 - 6) in water. put in a small bowl and pour some white wine over it, let the livers soak for about 10 minutes. Pat the livers dry. In another small bowl, beat 2 eggs, and sprinkle in salt and pepper. Dip chicken liver in the egg, coat bread crumbs. In a pan with vegetable oil, gently fry the chicken livers. Drain on paper towl, set aside.

Going back to the risotto, pour in 1 cup more of the remaining stock and stir and cook until it has been absorbed. Repeat with 1 more cup. Add the remaining cup and cook, stirring, until the rice is al dente, tender but still very chewy, and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Stir in the pumpkin puree and the diced pumpkin and reduce the heat to very low so that the risotto doesn't simmer anymore. Stir in the Parmesan and butter to give the risotto a nice, creamy finish. Spoon, serve immediately into shallow serving bowls.

Buon Appetito!

Seafood and squash casarecce

Here's a light pasta with fresh prawns, scallops and squash, fresh herbs and casarecce

Chicken pineapple soup

Now that my Italian classes start at 7 pm, I'm back to making soups early evening, so I can have a bowl or two before I head out to class, and have another bowl or two when I return home around 9:30. Eating late is not the healthiest, but after some hours of Italian class, it's always nice to come home to some already prepared food, relax and fill the belly. Plus, I always feel like I burn a lot of energy after class. As soon as I climb into my car, I can feel my tummy grumbling....

I bought a big pineapple the other day, cut it up in slices and saved the core to make this soup.

Talk about being frugal!

This clear brothy soup is fragrant with a hint of sweetness that comes out of the pineapple. The chicken thigh holds enough flavor and tenderness when cooked.

Ingredients:

Chunks of chicken thigh

pineapple core, cut into 3 - 4 pieces

2 - 3 odens, cut into pieces

sliced mushrooms

For some greens, I think Chinese mustard leaves would go great with this soup.

Halloween pappardelle

Our first Hallowen in Texas.

Couple of blocks down our neighborhood, there are lots of folks dressed up roaming the streets, bar hopping. We prepared lots of candy, but Michele and I have been the only patrons....no trick-or treaters have came our way this weekend, and although we have had several Halloween costume ideas, none of them were actioned out. ( Just to throw out some of Michele's creative ideas: "Chunky Monkey", one of us would be chunky and the other be monkey, to pay our respect to Ben & Jerry....another was to dress up as Bobby Flay, wear an apron and have a blender of red sauce and another blender of green sauce) So it ended up just the two of us, enjoying a cozy relaxed Saturday night with some home cooking.

Our first Haloween in Texas, Italian pasta style.

Pappardelle ( thick egg pasta) with seasonal squashes, yellow squash and zucchini, combined with Italian sausages and red peppers...a colorful "fall" pasta for Halloween night.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, no casings
1 pound zucchini, julienned
1 pound summer squash, julienned
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 diced red pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, plus sprigs, for garnish
Salt and pepper
1 pound fresh pappardelle

splash of any white wine

Preparations:

In a large stockpot over high heat, bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil.

In a large saute pan over medium high heat, cook 2 tablespoons of olive oil together with sausage. Cook until sausage is browned, about 6 minutes. Add zucchini, squash, onions, red pepper and 1/4 cup chopped basil and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the squash has begun to caramelize. Season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of white wine.
Add pasta to the boiling water and cook until just al dente. Drain reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Pour cooked pasta and 1/2 cup pasta water into the saute pan with the rest of the ingredients. Toss and serve!

We like our pastas peppery, so we added a couple of extra tablespoons of fresh cracked pepper, just enough to make our lips slightly perk when slurping in this pasta.

For the main course, we had veal chops, just simple salt and pepper, seared quickly on both sides and then popped into the oven. It was such a delicious, tender, milky, veal.....