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!

Lori got married!!!

Even the crazy weather we received on Saturday couldn't keep me from celebrating Lori's wedding day with her and her new husband, Scott. The wedding was beautiful and full of Fall splendor with pumpkin shaped baskets filled with flowers, fallen leaves on the aisle, pumpkin martinis, costume changes and orange hues in all directions, including the shoes. I had the pleasure of doing a very fun and Lori-like reading from Shel Silverstein and I was truly honored to have been part of Lori's day.

Lori and I met in fifth grade. I remember being excited to meet someone who like me had a last name with a vowel at the end. Lori was spunky and fun and I knew we would be friends. We later found out that my grandfather sold his car to her dad many years ago, what a small world. We had some funny moments like walking down the street singing "santa packs are coming, santa packs are coming", all those drives through Revere looking for Teddy and of course, I have to bring it up, the infamous wedding debacle. The wedding that changed the way I would feel about every being a bridesmaid again. Lori and I will never forget that wedding, the one that ended with a gift of dried minestrone soup, a picture frame and a seat on the grooms side near the kitchen. We laugh about it every time we talk about it and it is one of those things that you have to talk about because we still can't believe it happened.

Lori I am so happy we met all those years ago in our fifth grade class and that we stayed friends. As you always wrote in my yearbook, "we have to be friends, we're Italian, we like Seinfeld and we're 5'3". It still makes me laugh. And now in honor you and your wedding day, I dedicate my "special" minestrone recipe to you. Here it is......

Yields 4 servings
Place a pot on the stove, add 3 cups of water to the pot. Turn on heat and bring to a simmer. Open your jar of dehydrated minestrone soup mix and add to the water. Let simmer for about fifteen minutes, until veggies are rehydrated and pasta is al dente. Serve with an iced cold Diet Coke. Enjoy!

Congrats again Lori! Woo Hoo!

*I apologize to those that don't get the joke, but this one is for Lori!

This one is for Malissa.....

Malissa you gave me one of the best thank you gifts I have ever received and tonight I dedicate my recipe for Beet Balls and Pistachio Pesto to you.

I don't know about you, but I love beets. When I was little, beets to me came in a jar and were pickled. I never knew what they looked like raw until I did a stage at Radius and had to dice, gold and red beets for an appetizer they had on their menu. I remember taking the rag and rubbing the skins off, then slowly dicing them into small cubes. As I diced them, I popped a couple cubes in my mouth. "Mmm, different than those pickled beets mom used to serve us", I thought. The flavor was sweet and almost grassy, making them refreshing.

I later went on to work at Via Matta and worked pantry for the first month where roasted beets were part of the antipasto di magro platter. This became my favorite way to make beets at home and they became a staple on our Christmas Day table as part of the antipasto.

Over the summer, I catered an event and wanted to incorporate beets into the event in a different way than seen before. So, I came up with a fun treat, called beet balls. The recipe is simple and uses very few ingredients. I served them with pistachio pesto to bring out the pistachios in the beet balls. Here is my recipe for Beet Balls and Pistachio Pesto....

Beet Balls
Makes 36 mini beet balls
4 beets, peeled and shredded through a food processor
1/2 cup cooked and cooled quinoa
1/4 cup unsalted, chopped pistachio nuts
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1/3 cup goat cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep baking sheet by brushing pan with olive oil. In a bowl mix all the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper. Using a small ice cream scoop, portion out the beets balls and place onto prepared baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until crisp. Serve with pistachio pesto (recipe follows)

Pistachio Pesto
2 cups flat leaf parsley, washed and stems trimmed
1 garlic clove
1/3 cup unsalted pistachio nuts
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

In a food processor place the parsley, garlic and pistachio nuts and pulse these ingredients. Drizzle the oil in as the machine is processing and blend until a loose paste. I like to keep the pesto thick and spreadable. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with the beet balls or with your favorite pasta or use it on a grilled cheese. Enjoy!

Thanks again Malissa! Looking forward to baking some treats this week.

Lemon Cucumbers

Yesterday, we endured the humidity and traveled north to Cider Hill for blueberry picking. Mom, Phil and myself spent a couple hours filling our containers of ripe blueberries all while talking about what we would make with them. I know that blueberry pancakes will be for breakfast one morning or maybe for dinner one night and of course I will have to pull out grandma's recipe book and make her blueberry cake because it is simple and delicious.

After we filled our quart containers we strolled through the farm stand looking brightly at all the produce. Cider Hill has some great vegetables and fruit. I can't stress enough the difference between grocery purchased produce and farm purchased. There really is no comparison and August to me is bountiful at the farm stand. The shelves were filled with huge heads of green leaf and red leaf lettuce, the most perfect golf ball sized beets, radishes, fingerling potatoes, heirloom tomatoes, corn, zucchini, patty pan squash, peaches, plums, pickling cukes and one of my new favorite and unique vegetables, lemon cucumbers. Perfection.

A lemon cucumber is round and bright yellow. They typically have a sweet taste and a crisp finish. They are perfect for a summer salad or even pickled in your favorite brine. I am going to slice them thin on a mandolin and toss them with blanched yellow wax beans, shaved red onion, fresh mint and good quality extra virgin olive oil. A cool, crisp salad for a sticky summer night. Visit your local farmer's market and try these beauties. Enjoy!