Here it is the 7th of january. I can't believe how fast time has gone. Has it really been since October 31 that i last posted. So my New Years reolution is to post more regularly. I am making a change though. My friends and family that usuallu get to enjoy my cooking have all said that i sghould not limit my blog to Italian. So wioth that in mind You will begin to see other cuisins here as well as the italian. Here is to a newe year and good eating!
Boun Appitito!
Jon

Saturday Night Dinner

Hi all,

Took a little while to get back here..been kind of busy. Last night we had a wonderful dinner. The menu was Pollo alla San Marino; an Italian version of Cordon Bleu;... Risotto ai Funghi Selvatici; three mushroom risotto;...and Spinaci alla Milanese; Spiach Milan style. The chicken came out so moist and flavourful. It is stuffed with fontina cheese and prosciutto, rolled in italian bread crumbs and top with a creamy brandy sauce. The Risotto included porcini, shititake , and crimini mushrooms. Heaven on a plate. Thanks honey for making the risotto for me! the spinach was two pounds of fresh spinach wilted with pine nuts garlic and nutmeg. My buddy Fernando started the meal with a wonderful antipasti and Abby brought a delicious tiramisu cake...mmmm! I tell you, nothing is better on a rainy night than a table of good food shared with good friends. Boun Appetito!

Fall is in the air

Well fall is finally in the air. The coolness inspired me to a warming comfort food dish. Pasta Fasuli; bean and pasta soup. The aromas excited the senses with savory goodness. Starting off with dried kidney and Lima beans brought to a boil and then soaked for and hour then added to a mixture of cooked  bacon, onion, carrots, garlic and celery with Chicken stock and spices. After simmering for a couple of hours to blend all the flavours a cup of uncooked rigatoni was added and cooked for about 12 minutes until al' Dente. I served it with a nice hearty whole grain bread. Fresh pumpkin pie (not necessarily Italian) made a wonder finish to the meal. I look forward to the fall weather and the meals that accompany the cool weather. Boun Appetite!

Bucatini all' Amatriciano

 My next destination is Amatrice, Italy; a town near Rome. Every summer this town holds a celebration where an aromatic dish with fresh thyme and bacon excite the sences. Bucatini all' Amatriciano; commonly refered to as Lover-style pasta. Along with the thyme and bacon, a red jalapeno pepper gives the sauce; made with Roma tomatoes; a nice zip. The dish starts off with sauteing in olive oil fresh parsley, thyme, onion, and a diced up red jalapeno. When the onion gets soft you add a 1/2 pound of diced bacon and cook for about 8 minutes; filling the kitchen with such a wonderful aroma. A splash of a good balsamic vinegar and 4 cups of chopped Roma tomatoes complete the ingrediants for the sauce. Covere and simmer for 20 minutes. Add cooked bucatini; a long hollow tube of pasta, thicker than spaghetti.  Along with the pasta I served asparagus that I sauted in olive oil and butter with Italian seasoning and homemade bread rolls with a herb and cheese topping. Boun Appetito!

so hungry I forgot to take a picture!

Last night I made a simple but delicious pasta dish. The problem is we were so hungry and it smelled so good we dove right in and forgot to take a picture. I will have to make it again and take a picture for this posting. Anyway the pasta was a whole wheat angel hair pasta with shrimp, sundried tomatoes, and broccolli florets scampi. What made this so good was that i used the oil from the sundried tomatoes and butter to cook  the shrimp and tomatoes (garlic of course) and the tossed the blanched broccolli florets into the mix and the tossed with the angel hair pasta. Topped off with a bit of fresh grated parmesian. The dish took all of about 10 minutes to cook.

Success!

Well I made two pizzas tonight. the first was a moderate success and the second a total success. The first pizza was made with pesto sauce fresh mozzarella red and yellow peppers, creminni mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and red onion. The pesto was a walnut and Thai basil pesto and was delicious. the only down side to the pizza was that i cooked the pizza on indirect heat on the pizza stone. the pizza got done but the crust didn't crisp up. The second pizza i made with a classic red sauce, spicy salami, olives and several of the above veggies. This time i cooked it over more direct heat on the pizza stone and it crisped up nicely. A glass of sangiovese made it a perfect dish! I found the pizza dough  very easy to make. you just need to have a couple hours to spare as you need to let it rise a combined 2 hours. Now that I conquered my fear of making the dough we will be eating fresh homemade pizza a lot I think. The recipe I used it from Giada DeLaurintis, Giada at home and can be found on http://www.foodnetwork.com/

Pizza!

Today for the first time ever I am attempting to make fresh pizza dough. Well that isn't completely true. I used to manage a round table pizza restaurant where we made dough fresh everyday. This will be the first time making it at home. There is nothing like the smell of fresh rising dough. Brings the senses alive. When the dough is made i will cook the pizza's on the grill/ I love how pizza come out on the grill using a pizza stone coated lightly coated with cornmeal which gives it a light crunch. I am thinking of a classic Napolitana pizza with fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and tomatoes.