Santarpio's

Pizza. We know it, we love it, we eat it. There is thin crust pizza in Naples, deep dish in Chicago and perfection in East Boston. I'm talking about Santarpio's on Chelsea St, in East Boston. If you haven't been there, jump on the blue line to Maverick and indulge in some of the best pizza around. I'm not the only one who says this, Santarpio's has garnered awards from Boston magazine for best traditional pizza in 2010 and 2011. What is it about this family owned restaurant that makes it the best?

First, let's talk about the grill. You should always get the lamb tips and the house made sausage. They are served simply, with cherry peppers and house made bread for soaking up the juices. When you walk in the door on the right is where the grilling happens. Magic! Moving onto the pizza. Personal favorite is the Italian cheese and sausage pizza. It comes out hot, bubbly and crisp. The crust is thin and flavorful with just enough char on it, to show these guys know what they're doing in the kitchen. Upper Crust can only dream of making a pizza half as good.

I think what makes Santarpio's great is the whole time you are sitting there enjoying your meal, you feel like you're in a time warp. The inside is still the same as it was when I was little, it's cash only and the walls are splattered with random photos of celebrities, like Paul Anka. Fun fact, my grandfather, who was a fighter in East Boston, once graced those walls. The other great thing about Santarpio's is that pretense and snobbery are left at the door and if you didn't leave them there, the servers will be sure to help you get rid of them.

So, if you're looking for the best pizza, head over to East Boston and snag a table at Santarpio's. Don't let the line scare you, it just means it really is that good. Enjoy!

Santarpio's
111 Chelsea St
East Boston, Ma

Roasted Peppers

Roasted peppers have long been part of our antipasto on Christmas day. They are simple to make and need very little fixing. The best thing is, if there are any left over, they are perfect between two slices of Italian bread. Here is my recipe for roasted peppers....

6 bell peppers, 2 yellow, 2 red, 2 orange
1 clove of garlic, peeled and left whole
2 tablespoons oil
Salt and pepper

Put your oven on broil and let heat up. Wash and dry peppers. Place them on a rack on top of a baking sheet and place under the broiler. Char each side of the pepper and the more the char, the better the taste. When they are done, place them in a brown bag and roll the top down tight, this will loosen the skins and continue to steam the peppers. If you don't have a paper bag, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the peppers stand at least 15 minutes. Take each pepper and peel the skin off. Do not rinse under water as you will get rid of the roasted flavor of the pepper. When all peppers have their skins removed, cut off the stems and open the peppers to reveal the seeds. Scrape out the seeds and cut the peppers into strips. When they are all cut, season with salt, pepper, oil and the garlic clove. They are delicious at room temp or right from the fridge. Enjoy!

*if you have a gas stove you can char them on an open flame on the stove top.

What's in your cacciatore?

Year after year the one staple we have on our Christmas table is chicken cacciatore. The recipe is my noni's, Anna, and to me it speaks true to Northern Italian cooking in it's simplicity and heartiness.

Noni was from the Marche region, more specifically Fano, which is a town in the province of Pesaro. It is a beach resort on the Adriatic. At the age of nineteen, noni came to America, by herself and never returned to Italy. She married my great grandfather, Enrico and had five children, one of which was my grandmother, Alda. My memories of noni, are of a very cute woman, who spoke broken English and always wore a white cardigan sweater. In her nineties, noni moved in with my grandmother and we had the pleasure of having her company at our Monday night dinners. She was a hoot and the banter between her and my grandmother was better than television. I thank noni for sharing her Italy with us and bringing her recipes to America. If not for that, we would not have our chicken cacciatore on Christmas Day. Grazie Noni, ti amo.

Before the recipe, I thought it appropriate to describe what a cacciatore is. Cacciatore means "hunter" and when you see "alla cacciatore" it means to be prepared "hunter style". It can be made with any game, but is most commonly made using chicken. In true Italy style there are two different styles, north and south, of cooking the "pollo cacciatora". In the south, cacciatore is made using tomatoes and red wine, where as the north uses white wine. Since, noni was from the Marche home to the delicious, Verdicchio, our cacciatore is made with white wine.
Here is our recipe for Chicken Cacciatore.....

Serves 6
1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
3 rosemary sprigs
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups crimini mushrooms, brushed clean
1/2 cup good quality white wine, Verdicchio, Falanghina, Pecorino
1/2 cup chicken stock, warmed
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Preheat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the oil, when hot, add the garlic and rosemary sprigs. Let the garlic brown a little. Add the pieces of chicken and sear on all sides. This will keep in the juices while the chicken braisie. Season with salt and pepper. When the chicken is seared, remove and set aside. Add the mushrooms to the pans. Do not move them around as they create moisture in the pan and will release their water. After three minutes, stir the mushrooms and add the white wine, deglazing the pan to release all the goodness. Allow the alcohol to cook off, then add the chicken pieces back. Pour the warm broth over the chicken. Cover the pan with the lid and place in the oven. Cook for at least 2 hours. Remove from the oven, the chicken should fall off the bone and the liquid should have thickened. Serve over a crusty slice of bread. Enjoy!

Apple and Cranberry Crostata

Let's talk dessert. We all have our favorites, pumpkin pie, chocolate cake or sometimes a simple biscotti. Typically, I like to fill our dessert table with cookies, torrone, panforte and sometimes a tiramisu trifle. This year I want to make something different, but keep it simple. I thought a crostata would be the perfect addiction to my dessert table.

What's a crostata? The first time I tried a crostata was when I worked the garde manger station at Via Matta. If you worked garde manger, you also plated the dessert, which I secretly loved doing. One day the pastry chef took us aside to show us the plating for a new dessert on the menu, fig crostata. "What is that?", I thought. The pastry chef explained to us that a crostata is an Italian dessert and is similar to a tart. It is free formed and requires no special pan to bake it. The pastry is a combination of cold butter, flour, sugar, salt and water, typical tart dough. She showed us the simple plating of this dessert, crostata in the middle of the plate with a quenelle of whipped cream. The best part of learning to plate was getting to taste the dessert. I cut through the thin sliced figs, pastry cream and buttery crust and took a bite. Mmmmmm, perfect. The combination of the savory figs, pastry cream and soft crust was delicious. What I liked about this dessert was it's simplicity. There was not five tiny components on the plate in various shapes with instructions on hownto eat them, instead it was a dessert meant to satisfy your sweet tooth in one easy bite.

For my holiday crostata, I am going to toss apples and fresh cranberries with orange zest and then cover the crostata with some crumble. Here is my recipe for Apple and Cranberry Crostata......

For the pastry

1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound (1stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons of cold water

For the filling

3 Gala apples
1/4 cup fresh cranberries
1/4 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

In the bowl of a food processor, place the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse 15 times or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the water through the feed tube. Ensure all ingredients are combined and dough has come together. Turn onto a floured surface and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Peel, core and cut the apples into eighths. Combine the apples, cranberries and orange zest in a bowl and toss together. Remove the dough from the fridge, unwrap and place onto a floured work surface. Roll into and 11" circle . Place the filling in the center and spread, leaving a 2" boarder all around the dough. Fold the border over the apples to form the crostata. In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter. Using your fingers, combine together and this will form the delicious crumbly topping. Spread the topping evenly over the apples. Bake in a 375 degree, preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or at room temp. Enjoy!

Winter Sangria

Every great party needs a great cocktail. I am a champagne and wine kind of girl, so typically my favorite cocktails use either champagne or wine as the base. For this holiday drink we are using red wine and spices to make this fun holiday cocktail. Here is my recipe for Winter Sangria....

1 bottle Rioja
1/2 cup brandy
4 cinnamon sticks
4 whole star anise
1 orange washed and sliced thin
1 red grapefruit washed and sliced thin
1 bottle of seltzer

In a chilled pitcher combine all ingredients except the seltzer. Let sangria sit overnight in the fridge to allow the flavors to meld together. To serve, fill your favorite glasses with ice then pour the sangria in each glass leaving 1/4 inch of room on top. Top each glass with the seltzer and be sure each glass gets orange and grapefruits slices. Enjoy!

25 Days of Recipes

Ok, it's that time. Time to wrap our brains around the holiday and start planning for the season. This is my favorite time of year. I love the lights, the spirit and I even enjoy grabbing the decorations from the attic as my mom says her famous quote of "this is the last year for decorations". Mom has been saying that since we lived on Maverick St, so we typically ignore her and go about our day.

I am sure we are all getting in the spirit. Maybe we are planning a holiday meal or holiday party. I love planning a great Christmas menu, filled with family favorites and sometimes new ideas. This year for our 25 days of recipes, I thought we could kick things off with a crisp and satisfying salad. This salad is perfect for any table and could also be served as an entree with the addition of braised pork or roasted chicken. It uses one of my favorite greens, chicory.

Chicory is a very hearty, leafy green. It is easy to identify by it's curly leaves. I like chicory because it holds up well to heavy dressing and never loses its bite. I loved when my grandmother would make chicory salad with red wine vinegar and oil, perfect. Hopefully, you too will find the joy in trying out this curly green. Here is my recipe for Roasted French Butter Pear and Bread Salad......

Serves 6

1 head of Chicory washed, dried and torn into bite size pieces
3 French Butter Pears peeled, cored and quarted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup Gorgonzola cheese, cubed
1/4 cup pecans
1 cup stale bread, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a baking sheet toss the pears and the cubed bread with the brown sugar, salt, pepper and olive oil. Roast about fifteen minutes, until the bread is toasted and the pears are golden. In a large mixing bowl, toss together all the ingredients being careful not to break the Gorgonzola. Dress the salad with my pancetta dressing (recipe below). Enjoy!

Pancetta Honey Dressing
6 slices of pancetta
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a baking sheet, place the pancetta and cover with a piece of parchment paper, this will keep it from burning. Bake the pancetta until crisp about 12 minutes. Take out of the oven and cool. In a heavy bottomed bowl, whisk the mustard, agave nectar, lemon juice and vinegar until combined. Slowly, drizzle in the oil while whisking to emulsify the ingredients. Add the pancetta oil from the baking pan and crumble the pancetta into the dressing. Season with a little salt and pepper. Enjoy!