While I know Italian food isn’t necessarily pasta, salads and bread, that’s what usually springs to mind when someone says “Italian”. This dish is truly “beautiful” in the sense that it has all those typical “Italian” foods conveniently located inside a single dish. You’ve got your pasta, your bread, and your salad (hey – tomatoes and basil counts).
Category: Italian Cooking
Italian Chicken Scampi served over Pasta
Italian Chicken Scampi served over a bed of perfect pasta is not only delicious, it is nearly a complete meal all on its own. Add a vegetable side or serve with a crisp salad, and this Italian supper is now complete. All you need to do is decide which wine to serve. The simplicity of the sides is a good thing because the scampi itself is a bit complicated.
Classic Ziti Bake with Italian Sausage
Although a short, tubular pasta, in Italian Ziti also means maiden or a young bride. Ziti literally means “macaroni of the bride”, traditionally served at Southern Italian wedding banquets. Not having a wedding? That’s okay. This Classic Ziti Bake is great for gathering of any kind, and actually travels well provided you have a means of warming it up.
Slow Cooker Chicken Caccitore over Pasta
Did you know that Cacciatore means hunter? Chicken Cacciatore, traditionally speaking, is a stew that was easy for a hunter to prepare at camp with only a large pot to cook in. Traditionally speaking, it was made of chicken or rabbit and whatever else could be found – herbs, wine (red in the north, white in the south) and spices. Traditionally speaking, tomatoes weren’t part of the dish. Today, tomatoes and a tomato based sauce is commonly found in Cacciatore. And this is “today”, so I’m going with the less traditional, more modern rendition of Cacciatore, so no hunting and gathering required. Just a few basic ingredients (bet you have them on hand) and a nice, big crock pot.
Crab Alfredo
Two of my favorite foods combined into one awesome dish – Linguine in an Alfredo Sauce and sweet, succulence crab meat. What could be better on a Friday evening in September? Served up with a simple tossed salad and a nice bottle of your favorite wine, what more could we ask for? Oh yeah, let’s not forget some warm garlic bread. Now all you need to make this a perfect evening would be a few close friends to share your table.
Spaghetti with a Meaty Ragù
A while back, Kiddo was given a strange gift – a small bottle of top-shelf imported Italian Balsamic Vinegar. I say strange because Balsamic Vinegar is not a typical gift to give a twenty-something guy. Kiddo in turn gave the bottle to me.
Pasta Prima Ravioli
This original recipe was inspired by a recipe I found at Taste of Home for Ravioli with Italian Sausage. Their recipe looked yummy. Cheese Ravioli, Italian Sausage, a meatless Pasta Sauce, chopped green bell peppers and Parmesan Cheese – what was not to like? I put it on my meal planner. Yeah, a quick weeknight supper. And it wouldn’t overheat our cozy kitchen on a warm summer night.
Chicken Breasts in a Caper Cream Sauce
Capers, cream, dill – what’s not to like? Okay, maybe the dill – it’s a seasoning not meant for everyone. I like dill mixed into cream cheese for a spread or over sautéed vegetables. Dill over salmon with lemons – delicious. But dill on chicken which was then covered in a caper-cream sauce? This was most assuredly going to be a new experience. But then, isn’t that the whole point of life and living? New experiences.
Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp in White Wine
So pretty. So delicate. So delicious. Served along side warm garlic bread and a simple salad of leafy-lettuce with tomatoes, this makes for one romantic supper or impressive meal when company comes a calling. I love pasta dishes for entertaining. Maybe that’s just the romantic in me – imagine a table set in the middle of a vineyard – friends gathered round just as the sun begins to set. In the twilight of the evening, we break the bread and let the lively conversation begin. Laughter and love floating in the air, dancing together, intertwined as one. Oh, life is good under a setting Tuscan sun.
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Spaghetti and Meatballs Enough for a Crowd
Did you know that Spaghetti and Meatballs isn’t an Italian dish? At least not in the way we think of Spaghetti and Meatballs. You know, big, juicy meatballs swimming in a rich red sauce poured over a mountain of spaghetti noodles. In Italy, you will find spaghetti noodles, tomato based sauces and even meatballs of sorts (called polpettes). These are not the meatballs we know and love. They are often eaten plain (as the meatballs alone) or in a soup. The meat is anything from beef to turkey to even fish. Often these meatballs are no bigger than a golf ball. In some regions, there are meatballs no bigger than a marble called polpettines. While polpettes are commonly found at the family table in Italy, they are rarely found in restaurants and never served with spaghetti. If you happen to be in Italy and find “Spaghetti and Meatballs” on the menu, then you have stumbled into a tourist spot that caters to American expectation.
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Butterfly Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli
This is one of those recipes that has made several appearances on our meal planner, only to be pushed aside, opting instead for fast food, a night of left overs or cold sandwiches. For whatever the reason, the dish could not find its way from the planning stage to the execution process. Finally, I painted myself into a corner – two beautiful breasts wrapped in butcher paper sat it the refrigerator, along with fresh broccoli from the farmer’s market and a bright orange pepper. No excuses – no backing down.
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Simple Linguine with Garlic Butter
Most of the time, when cooking up something Italian that doesn’t already include a serving of pasta, this is my “go to” recipe. It is so simple and so tasty. This simple dish can be served as the Primo Piatto (pasta course) in a multi-course Italian Themed Supper. Better still, add some sautéed shrimp or pan-seared Scallops for a rockin’ seafood pasta. It is that versatile. At its most basic form, this pasta is great along side some Italian classics such as Chicken Marsala.
Shrimp Scampi with Scampi Butter
A few months back, I shared with you folks my Summer Birthday Bistro Style – a four course celebration featuring some of my favorite foods. I mentioned in passing that the prior birthday celebration featured many of my favorite Italian dishes. My family said it was more a party for them then for me. They were the ones treated to a impressive feast. It was a smorgasbord of foods. Two appetizers, three main meat/seafood courses, three sides, a salad and dessert. Something for everyone.
A Midsummer Night’s Delight – Lasagna with a Meaty Sauce and Mini Garlic Monkey Bread
Monkey Bread. Monkey Bread. What a fun thing to say. Monkey Bread.
Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t even dream of making Lasagna in the summer. I try to avoid anything that is baked in the oven, even for a short time. I try to avoid dishes that are heavy when it’s hot. Summer is a time for light meals, and lots of cooking outdoors.
Continue reading “A Midsummer Night’s Delight – Lasagna with a Meaty Sauce and Mini Garlic Monkey Bread”Chicken Milano
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to get back into the swing of things after a vacation? Not only for my guys to get back into the routine of a working stiff, but for me to get my butt back into the kitchen. I love to cook, don’t get me wrong. But it sure is nice when someone else does all the work and all we need do is show up.
Welcome to Rosemarie's Kitchen 