Stephanie’s Wedding
I don’t have any recipes for this post but since we eat with our eyes, the pictures should be enough. Stephanie is a friend of ours who recently got married. Her wedding reception was a spectacular feast.
Stephanie’s Wedding
Monthly Archives: March 2016
Happy Saint Joseph’s Day 2016
Happy Saint Joseph’s Day
Zeppole di San Guiseppe – Italian pastry shops only make them on his feast day. If you want any, you’d better hurry.
Cacciatore
Cacciatore
Cacciatore is Italian for “hunter” and alla cacciatora means “hunter-style,” or how my grandmother would pronounce it in her Salernitano dialect, cacciadode. The idea of this recipe is that a hunter could prepare it in one pot on a camp fire in the field. The meat was whatever game that was hunted, mushrooms and rosemary were picked nearby and the other ingredients, wine, garlic ,etc., were easy enough to carry. Alla cacciatora works well with domesticated fowl as well as game birds and rabbit.
The Cacciatore you get in American Italian restaurants is usually done with a heavy tomato sauce. This version is much more basic and simple.
Chicken or Rabbit Alla Cacciatora
- Brown seasoned chicken (or rabbit) in oil and remove.
- Brown mushrooms (any type available) in the fat and oil in the same pot.
- Add garlic, rosemary and tomato. This isn’t a “red” sauce. The tomato is just there for moisture. You can use ½ cup of water instead. Return meat to pot.
- Raise heat and add red wine vinegar and cover and steam for 5 minutes.
- Add red wine, I use Chianti, and simmer for 15 minutes uncovered.
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Nashville Hot Fried Chicken
Nashville Hot Fried Chicken
This is more about the sauce than the chicken so if you have your own Southern fried chicken recipe, feel free to use it. If not, try this:
Start with a 3 ½ to 4 lb. chicken. You can simply quarter it or cut it into the standard 8 pieces (wings, thighs, legs and breasts) then cut each breast in 2 or 3 smaller pieces and cut the left over back into 2 pieces.
If you want to brine it, add ½ cup of salt and ½ cup of sugar to 2 quarts of water. Add chicken and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Blot the chicken dry and then dredge it in flour mixed with some salt and pepper. Fry it in about ¾ inch of peanut oil, turning as necessary until golden brown – about 20 – 25 minutes or until internal temperature reached 160o. Keep the cooked chicken in a low oven until you’re ready to serve it.
Now for the sauce –
Just mix this all together and serve it with a pastry brush instead of a spoon. Nashville Hot Fried Chicken is traditionally served on a slice of white bread with pickle slices.
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Mac and Cheese Italian Style
Mac and Cheese Italian Style
Mac and Cheese Italian Style is Italian comfort food and a cure-all, from a cold to a queasy stomach. If you’re a big fan of Kraft’s orange mac & cheese, maybe this one isn’t for you.
Preparation:
Bring 5 cups of water and chicken stock (½ & ½) to a boil. Add 2 pats of butter and 4 tbsps. oil. Cook the pasta until almost done. Whisk in a beaten egg and finish cooking. When serving, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with pecorino – as much as you like.
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