17 posts tagged “italian”

So, remember last week, when I was telling you how badly I wanted to try ZenChef’s (over at Chefs Gone Wild) Clam Risotto?  Well, I did it.  I made his absolutely remarkable risotto and I’m sort of half wondering if I have died and gone to heaven?  Did I?  Somebody let me know if you read this post…to let me know if I died or not.  I mean seriously…it’s *that* good.  I even screwed it up a little–I forgot the lemon juice until after we finished eating it.  Did I mention there was not a single grain of rice left over?  We even licked the cockle shells clean.   I was going to make some really inappropriate joke about sucking cockle shells, but I’d better not.  But we did. lol  ;)  If you know me, you know that I cannot follow a recipe exactly.  It really is some sort of impossibility for me.  I do not feel complete if I don’t change things up at least just a little.  After all, a recipe really should just be a springboard for our own creativity, right?  So, I will note my (minimal) changes, even though I did stick pretty close to Zen’s original post. 

So, would you look at this?  Don’t you just want to dive into that plate of creamy risotto bliss?  Trust me, it’ll be the best dive you’ve ever performed.

zens risotto

You know, living here in the Canaries has it’s advantages. (duh! lol)  I love the fresh local produce that abounds in the produce markets, and whatever the season, we’ve always got fresh oranges, lemons, avocados, pineapples, kiwis, tomatoes, zucchini, and a number of others.  One thing that hasn’t caught on so much here is the concept of fresh herbs (apart from parsley, cilantro and spearmint)…My neighborhood vendor normally has fresh basil and arugula (not so common around here!), but this week, the basil was looking a little sickly.  Bummer for me, because I have been seriously craving Caprese salad to accompany one of the many barbecues we’ve been having lately.  You see, my dear hubs is on vacation, and our regular schedule is a bit out of whack.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s completely awesome having him home instead of never seeing hide nor hair of him! lol  Just that we’ve been veering off of the beaten path of routine.  Alvaro *loves* grilling,  so we’ve been doing a lot of that while he’s home, and frankly, I haven’t pulled out the camera or food set-up stuff to share what’s been gracing our table very much.  Besides, Alvaro likes to hog the computer! LOL  ;)  So, anyway, back to the salad.  Yesterday we grilled some steaks and potatoes, and I was hell bent on having my Caprese salad.  I have to admit, the fresh basil is crucial.  It wasn’t as good with dried, even though I let it marinate for about an hour, but, even so, it was still good, so I’ll share it.  Vine ripened tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella really make the difference, too.  I’m thinking that the next time I make a Caprese, I’m going to really go wild and use vine ripened cherry tomatoes, and chop up the motz and shred some fresh basil…a wild and crazy chopped up Caprese.  Because that’s what this world needs.  Fo reelz.  Seriously, this is SUCH an easy salad for any meal, I wholly recommend it.  But get fresh basil.  I’m just sayin.

Recipe is here: http://canarygirl.com/?p=162

Wine recommendation: Because of the vinegar, I'm not sure which wine would be best with this...I had Pinot Grigio and it was good, but the vinegar tends to compete with the wine.  What do you think?

caprese salad

8 comments

So there’s this train of recipes just patiently waiting to be posted on my site…but the thing is, is that I’ve been busy with the aftermath of the kids being home.  Yes, I am *still* finding remnants of those twisty tie things they so abundantly fasten kids’ toys with today in the strangest of corners.  The aftermath of the holiday vacation has been keeping me busy…everything seems to be out of place.  Like, why on Earth is that sock hanging from the door handle?  Why are *all* of the dvd’s out of their cases?  And OH!  Watch out!  Remote control car on the loose!   So.  My sweet little recipes are all waiting patiently in line at Flickr.  Asking which one gets to be first….”Pick me!  Pick me!” they say.  Hopefully I will be able to post them all over the next week (supposing that I can keep up with the newer things I plan to make, and not perpetuate the queue! haha).  This recipe comes to us from my Mom, Carla.  She made a similar one over the holidays and sent me the recipe.  It sounded SO good!  And dang…it sure was!  It makes a huge batch, though, so if you’re not feeding a large family or an army, you might want to scale it back a bit.  I sort of took the “idea” of her recipe and ran with it, I looked at the ingredient list added some stuff, subtracted some stuff, and winged it.  This is one of those soups that is a whole meal in itself, hearty, satisfying and oh, so good.  I hope you like it as much as we did!

For the folks at It's all about food & wine, I'm going to suggest a rosé for this...something not too dry, not too fruity, with just a hint of a bubble, but not quite.  El Coto Rosado is my choice...

Recipe is here: http://canarygirl.com/?p=135

zuppa di pasta alfredo

Minestrone is such a great soup for winter, isn’t it?  It has a little bit of everything in it, and is so versatile.  The ingredients can be changed up to fit anyone’s tastes, whether you like it with bits of ham or bacon, with cheesy tortellini (as I’ve done here), or easily made vegan as well.  This is a great recipe if you have a bunch of odds and ends in the refrigerator that  you’re looking for ways to use, too.  Don’t be frightened by the long list of ingredients, this is one of the easiest things in the world to make, and not only that, it’s hearty, delicious, and warming for those icky cold winter blahs.

Recipe is here: http://canarygirl.com/?p=134

For the folks at It's all about food & wine, I'd suggest a chianti, a nice red to compliment the acidity of the tomatoes in the soup.

minestrone

Hee!  I must be a little giddy or something…my kids went back to school today, and I finally have a chance to post and ding around on the computer! LOL  While I haven’t been posting, I certainly have been cooking, and taking pics.  I mentioned a couple of soup recipes, but those will have to wait, because the calzones….my jeebus, the calzones…well, they just happened to rock my world, so they beat out the other contestants for first new food post of 2008.  Cuz there was, like, a competition and stuff.  Well, at least in my head there was.   And these won.  Just like any pizza recipe, you can add and subtract ingredients according to preference, but I have to say, this combo knocked my socks off, and my daughter’s too!

Recipe is here: http://canarygirl.com/?p=133

For the folks part of It's all about food & wine, I'd like to suggest a red for the calzone...El Coto (from Rioja Spain) is what we had. (though I must say, that wine pairing with pizza is fairly subjective, you might like a fruitier white, depending on your tastes)

calzone

After having posted so many sweets entries I thought it might be time to add something savory to the mix. :)  Mondays are always such busy days at the canaryhouse, the mornings go by in a blur of uniforms, backpacks and mad dashing out the door to get the canarykids to school on time.  Then comes my big weekly food shopping excursion.  With 6 people and a pup to feed, you can imagine how much time I spend food shopping.  And I’m a picky sort of shopper, and buy things at the local vegetable vendor, organic grocer, the central market, the Asian market, the butcher, and the “regular” store…so it’s pretty much a whole day affair.  I don’t mind it, actually…it’s pretty fun to go cruising around getting exactly the stuff one wants.  The thing is, though, is that it doesn’t leave a whole lot of time to prepare lunch for the family (here in Spain, lunch is the main meal of the day, we usually eat around 3pm, then relax for a bit, then get back to work (whether it be a job, homework, or sahm duties).  Needless to say, Mondays generally require a meal that is very quick and easy to prepare.  Carbonara fits the bill perfectly…pasta served with lusciously creamy, bacon and cheese peppered sauce with just a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley.  Fabulous and fast.  What more could you want from a meal? 

For the It's all about food & wine folk, I'd suggest a fruity white to compliment the rich sauce...maybe a Pinot Grigio....or even a sparkling rosé. :)  What do you guys think?

Recipe is here:  http://canarygirl.com/?p=128

carbonara2

carbonara3

2 comments

Risotto…what can I say about it that you probably don’t already know?  Not much, I’m guessing.  Creamy rice mixed with a touch of wine, a bit of parmigiano-reggiano, and whatever ingredients suit your fancy at the time.  It’s all about the technique I suppose…a proper risotto must be cared for and tended to for it to come out perfect.  I’ve found that the only way to get perfect results is to add the liquid little bits at a time, stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed, then repeating until desired “creaminess” is achieved.  This makes it difficult to nail down the exact quantities of liquid, but, as I always say, each person’s tastes are different, some prefer their rice more al dente, others prefer it softer, and yet, others prefer it downright soupy.  I’m not judging anyone’s tastes, I’m just saying that you’ll need to take your desired result into consideration when preparing risotto.  :)  Cooking is all about being creative, letting your inner Julia Child or Rick Bayless come out to play…I’m a firm believer that a recipe is just the starting point to creating a dish that your own family will love.

For the recipe, please visit my blog:  http://canarygirl.com/?p=111

pumpkin and mushroom risotto

Asparagus is at it’s peak here in canaryland, it’s crisp and fresh, and can be attained at an excellent price….not so common round these parts!  We can generally get white asparagus, especially canned (though that’s not really the same food now, is it?), since it’s grown extensively in Navarra….but the green variety, the thin stalks of deliciousness are somewhat evasive here…well, the fresh kind anyway.  The soft, bendy shrively kind is readily available most of the time.  But who the heck wants that? lol  I adore asparagus season…it is easily one of my favorite vegetables, and even the simplest of preparations gets my heart beating in excitement…but this dish, my friends…risotto…with asparagus tossed in near the end so that it still has that hint of crunch, and combined with big white mushrooms?  Well, that’s just taking it to a whole ‘nother level, now isn’t it? 

For the recipe, please visit: http://canarygirl.com

asparagus and mushroom risotto

Grana Padano is basically the same thing as Parmeggiano-Reggiano, it’s just made in a different region of Italy.  If you have trouble finding it, Parmeggiano or Romano or Asiago are all good substitutes.  The other day, Elly posted a recipe for Pork Tenderloin Milanese, with Pecorino Orzo and Tomato topping….I had been craving it ever since she posted, so yesterday I made a similar meal.  So I whole heartedly give credit to Elly for the recipe….I can’t follow a recipe to save my life, though….so I posted my version too. ;)

You can find my version at http://canarygirl.com .

grana padano fillet and "risotto"

Jeez I love this new machine of mine!  I just made pizza dough in 2 minutes.  No, that's not a typo...it seriously only took 2 minutes to make and knead the dough.  Then I just let it rise and spread it out over a greased pan that had been previously sprinkled with corn meal.  I'm not going to post the recipe for the dough...just use your favorite recipe...but the sauce and other stuff is worth posting, so here goes:

the works pizza

4 comments

Ingredients:

Pizza dough of your choice (I like to par-bake it for 10 minutes or so, to achieve a nice crisp crust)

olive oil for greasing pan

corn meal for dusting pan

Pizza sauce:

4 ounces tomato paste

1 cup water (more for a thinner sauce)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

garlic powder to taste

dehydrated onion to taste

salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon basil

1 teaspoon fennel

Sausage:

1/2 pound ground pork

salt and pepper to taste

garlic powder to taste

onion flakes to taste

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon fennel

1/2 teaspoon sage

pizza toppings of choice

Preparation:

First mix together sauce ingredients and allow to sit for quite a while (at least an hour).

Prepare pizza crust, and parbake.

While pizza dough is rising, brown seasoned pork, and drain off extra grease.

Top pizza crust with sauce, sausage, and other toppings of choice (I used mushroom, onion, black olive and fresh cayennes, with motzarella and gouda, but I should have added some parm too).

Bake in a preheated oven (quite high heat 450ºF, 225ºC) until cheese is bubbly.