Showing posts with label italian cuisine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label italian cuisine. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Cinema, Cuisine and Cocktail : "Roman Holiday"
If you haven't watched the classic film, "Roman Holiday",what are you waiting for?!?! Funny, sweet, romantic, you will root for Gregory Peck & Audrey Hepburn, and you'll want to visit all of the places scene in the movie. Perhaps your first time watching the movie should be an event for all to enjoy, so I've put together an Italian feast that Princess Ann would've enjoyed during her stay!!
The Menu:
Stuffed Mushrooms
Italian Wedding Soup
Limoncello Gelato
Sangiovese
Stuffed Mushrooms
Recipe Courtesy of Italian Chef Blog
Ingredients:
24 (two 8 ounce packages) large white stuffing mushrooms
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Clean the mushrooms, then remove and finely chop the stems. Place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion to the pan and sauté until onion is soft and translucent. Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook until tender, another 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Combine bread crumbs, Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese, parsley, minced garic, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium bowl. Add the cooked mushroom stems and onion and mix together well.
Stuff the mushrooms with the filling and place in an oiled baking pan. Drizzle the tops of the mushrooms with olive oil.
Place pan in oven and bake until the mushrooms are tender about 25-30 minutes and serve.
Italian Wedding Soup
Recipe Courtesy of Cooks.com
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. meat loaf mix (ground beef and pork)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. basil
1/4 c. milk
Combine the ingredients above. Form small 1/2 inch balls. Drop into boiling salted water or broth. Simmer for 10 minutes, remove with a straining spoon, place on paper towels to drain briefly, then refrigerate.
1 stewing chicken
1 onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 carrot, thickly sliced
2 stalks celery, with leaves, cut up
1/3 teaspoon oregano
4 peppercorns
2 tsp. salt
6 quarts water or broth
Simmer chicken with the remaining ingredients in the 6 quarts of water or chicken broth for about 2 1/2 hours or until tender. Remove skin and bones, cut up and refrigerate. Strain broth and return to pot.
Add 1 head escarole, torn into bite sized pieces, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, to taste. Simmer 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, break spaghetti into 4 inch long pieces and cook according to package directions; drain.
Add 1 1/2 cups prepared chicken and meatballs to broth. Simmer 10 minutes more. Serve with warm Italian bread.
Limoncello Gelato
Recipe Courtesy of Epicurious
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese*
4 coffee beans
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup limoncello or other lemon liqueur plus additional for serving
Directions:
Whisk first 6 ingredients in large saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Cook over medium-high heat until bubbles form at edges, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep 15 minutes.
Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and lemon juice in large bowl until thick and smooth. Slowly whisk warm cream mixture into yolk mixture. Return custard to same saucepan. Stir over medium heat until custard thickens enough to coat spoon and thermometer registers 180°F, about 6 minutes; do not boil. Pour custard into medium bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup limoncello. Chill custard until cold, stirring occasionally, at least 4 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.
Process custard in ice cream maker according to instructions. Transfer to container; cover and freeze up to 2 days. S coop gelato into glasses. Drizzle with additional limoncello and serve. * An Italian cream cheese; sold at many supermarkets and at Italian markets.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Cinema, Cuisine and Cocktail : "Rhinestone"
Okay, huddle up everybody... I am about to share a big secret: I LOOOOOOOOOVE this movie! LMAO
Rhinestone
While I don't own the movie (do they even have it on DVD?), I've seen it every single time I've managed to catch it on cable, and I always laugh hysterically (sometimes at the actual jokes in the movie.. but mostly at Sylvester Stallone's singing.)
As a way to come out of the bejeweled "Rhinestone" closet, I've decided to create a very special Cinema, Cuisine and Cocktail post in honor of the wonderfully ridiculous stinkburger of a film! It also served as a great challenge: A movie that pairs the Italian Stallion with the Queen of Dollywood? It had to be Italian cuisine... with a Soulful Southern influence. What in the barbecue cannoli hell kind of recipes could I possibly come up with? Fortunately, I was off to a great start when I went to my good friend (in my head) Paula "Hey Y'all" Deen.
Fried Ravioli with Marinara Cream Sauce

Recipe courtesy Paula "Hey Y'all" Deen, Food Network
Ingredients
9-ounce package frozen 4-cheese ravioli
2 cups ground pecans
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Oil
Marinara Cream Sauce, recipe follows
Directions
Cook ravioli for 2 minutes. Place cooked ravioli on paper towels to drain; set aside.
Combine pecans and cheese in a shallow dish. Whisk together milk, eggs, salt and pepper in a bowl. Dip ravioli in egg mixture then dredge in pecan mixture. Pour oil to a depth of 1/2-inch in a skillet or Dutch oven; heat to 360 degrees F. Fry ravioli, in batches, 2 minutes on each side, or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve with Marinara Cream Sauce.
Marinara Cream Sauce:
1 1/2 cups prepared marinara sauce
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
In a large saucepan, combine sauce and cream. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Yield: 2 cups
Cook Time: 2 to 3 minutes
Ease of preparation: easy
Neelys Baked Ziti

Recipe courtesy The Neelys, Food Network
Ingredients
Salt
1 pound ziti
1 pound hot Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
6 ounces pesto
15 ounces ricotta cheese
1 (9-ounce) package washed spinach
Butter, for baking dish
2 cups shredded mozzarella, plus more for topping
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan, plus more for topping
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add ziti and cook until al dente. Drain in a colander.
In a large skillet over medium heat, saute turkey sausage. Add onion and garlic and saute until the sausage is cooked through. Use your spoon to break up the sausage while it cooks. Add the can of diced tomatoes and pesto and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the ricotta cheese, spinach, Parmesan and mozzarella to a large bowl, and stir to combine.
Butter a 4-quart baking dish, add the cooked pasta, then sausage mixture and cheese mixture. Top with a sprinkling of mozzarella and Parmesan.
Bake until completely heated through and golden and crisp on top, about 20 minutes.
Bling Bling Cocktail (What's Rhinestone without the bling!?!)

Recipe Courtesy of Alex's Cocktail Recipes
Ingredients
2 chambord
1 cointreau
.25 lime juice
2.5 cranberry juice
Instructions
Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake. Pour into sugar rimmed cocktail glasses. And adorn glass with Apple slices.
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