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.....

Warm White Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding

This weekend, we were invited to a friends' house warming party, and I thought of making either a desert or quiche since we had two cartons of fresh eggs at home. I learned that the host had several savory appetizers lined up already, so I decided to go with a bread pudding. Bread puddings are one of the simplest deserts one could ever make! I thought of making the bread pudding in cupcake tins, to avoid the slicing/serving for the expected 50 - 60 guests.

It came out quite successful. One of the kind-hearted guests asked me if I was the bread pudding master! What a nice compliment - the best thing one could ever receive =)

This bread pudding is soft and moist, and the cherries cut the sweetness just nicely.

Ingredients:
24 1/2-inch brioche, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups dried tart cherries

8 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup of brown sugar

1/2 stick of butter

Preperations:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Bring cream, milk, and sugar to simmer in heavy large saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Whisk eggs in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into eggs. Whisk in Grand Marnier and vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg

Butter eight 1 1/4-cup soufflé dishes; arrange on rimmed baking sheet. For alternative, use cupcake baking dish. In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar and butter

Place brioche cubes at the bottom of each dish. Top each with 1 heaping tablespoon of cherries. Sprinkle with white chocolate. Divide custard among dishes, using about 3/4 cup for each. Let stand 30 minutes, pressing down on bread occasionally. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture.

Bake bread puddings until tops are puffed and brown, about 40 - 50 minutes. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes.

Enjoy and serve warm. Pairs well with a caramel sauce or white chocolate sauce( but I personally am not a fan of caramel and gooey sauces) but this is yummy enough to stand on its own.

Reminiscing Portugal...making Cataplana

Two summers ago, Michele and I took a trip that became our most favorite - a two week adventure in Portugal. Portugal is such a gem - great wines, delicious seafood and pastries, a variety of beautiful beaches ( rocky cliffs and sandy ones), tile-covered houses, and gentle people. We spent most of our time in Lisbon and exploring Algarve and its beaches....and surprisingly, we found our love for Portuguese food, especially Cataplana, which is a savory stew. Of all the different Cataplanas we had, we enjoyed seafood and pork the most.

Me ( extremely tanned) with our very first Cataplana at a restaurant at Portimao

Tapas, Portuguese style, lots of seafood!

One of the posadas we stayed at...

This week, we decided to make amêijoas na cataplana, which is a clam, pork, sausage and bacon stew. Seafood and pork three ways! Making this dish would take us back to our wonderful trip we had in Portugal...the summer where we just went beach hunting, posada hopping, and ate lots of amazing food.

The recipe Michele worked on is inspired by Andrew McMeel's Cataplana, but of course, we made our own slight tweaks and added arborio rice....making a combination of Portuguese seafood and pork stew/ Risotto.....

Ingredients:

1 can (28-ounce) Italian diced tomatoes

tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 (1/4-inch-thick) slices bacon, cut into ¼-inch dice

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 chopped red bell pepper

1 chopped yellow bell pepper

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

2 jalapenos, diced

4 ounces andouille sausage cut into ¼-inch

dice 8 ounces pork tenderloin cut into ¼-inch cut

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

3/4 cup of Arborio rice

2 pounds little neck clams, cleaned

ciabatta bread

Preparations:

There's a specific cataplana pot, but since we did not have one, we used a dutch oven instead.

In a dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot enough to sizzle a piece of bacon. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the onion and red and yellow peppers and sauté, stirring, for 8 minutes, or until the vegetables are wilted and beginning to turn golden. Add the garlic and jalapeno, sauté for 2 - 3 minutes. Stir in the andouille and pork tenderloin and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with the paprika and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the wine, tomatoes, and parsley and bring to a boil. Add 3/4 cup of arborio rice. Decrease the heat to low and cook, for 30 - 40 minutes, or until liquid is slightly reduced, the sauce becomes thick and the rice is cooked. Spoon half of the sauce into the cataplana; spoon the clams on top. Spoon the remaining sauce on top. Secure the cover in place.


In the meantime, slice ciabatta bread and toast it in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.
Place the cataplana over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes, or until the clams have opened. Bring the cataplana to the table and, using oven mitts, carefully remove the cover. Discard any clams that failed to open. Spoon the clams, risotto and rich sauce into warmed shallow bowls and serve at once with toasted ciabatta bread.

With the jalapenos cooked in the stew, this dish is really spicy... its delicious because you can taste all the layers of sausage, bacon, bell peppers, and clams.... all so yummy with a depths of savory!