Chicken Piccata is something I used to make a long time ago but for one reason or another, stopped in the past couple years. Never could figure out why. Maybe because it has butter and no mushrooms. That could be it.

I’ve been experimenting with some low-light photography as of late for the club at work. Our assignment the past week was “still life” and of course I abused my poetic license to interpret that more as “things that are still” as opposed to the more traditional sense (That and all the actual still life I shot sucked). I used the shot above and the one below as my examples. One tip I did pick up while doing the assignment was how to get some of the glare off of the food/chillies. The light source was in the upper left hand corner of the shot and was blowing out that section of the subject so I took a magazine (Car and Driver June 2011 in fact) and held it between the light source and the food. Worked wonders, no glare and didn’t really reduce the lighting that much.

Thai Chillies

And one more picture that didn’t make the cut. More or less because I didn’t focus it right and was too lazy to zoom in the lcd to check. Oh well, I’ll figure it out next time =)

Poker chips

I’ll probably be posting the assignments for our club here every now and then. It keeps me on my toes and forces me to experiment and learn new techniques. And the club is very helpful, suggesting different things I’d normally never consider but after thinking about it, make sense. And they encouraged me to buy a shutter-release, probably one of the most useful pieces of equipment that I picked up so far. All for 5 bucks too, can’t imagine why I never got one! I also picked up Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography books, so far I’ve nearly finished book 1 and a lot of what I’ve read so far has stuck with me since. Now to just find more opportunities to apply all the new techniques =P

As for the photos, one day I’ll get a couple more tablecloths. It’s getting boring isn’t it?

Anyway, onto the important stuff…the food!

Chicken Piccata

Time : 20 minutes
Serves : 4

Ingredients:
– 1 whole boneless chicken breast
– 2/3 cup flour, for dredging
– 4 tbsp butter
– 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
– salt and pepper to taste
– 2 lemons, juiced
– 1/2 cup chicken broth
– Couple tbsp heavy cream
– 1/4 cup capers, rinsed
– handful of fresh Italian parsley, chopped fine
– 1 lb pasta (linguine, spaghetti, fettucini)

Method:
1. Cut chicken breast into two halves, then slice lengthwise to create 4 total fillets. Use a meat tenderizer to pound into 1/3 inch pieces.
2. Season chicken with some salt and pepper and then dredge in flour.
3. In a large frying pan (large enough to hold all 4 fillets later on), heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add in two of the fillets and cook on each side for about 2 minutes. Remove cooked fillets, add 2 tbsp olive oil, and another tbsp of butter and cook the other fillets. When finished, set all the chicken aside.
4. Add in the lemon juice and chicken broth. Stir well, making sure to scrape up the tasty bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add in the capers and bring to a boil. Taste and adjust salt/pepper accordingly.
5. In a separate stock pot, bring several quarts of water to a boil and add in some salt. Cook pasta according to boxed directions until al dente (or whatever firmness you like).
6. Return the chicken to the frying pan and simmer for another 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove the chicken once again.
7. Add the last of the butter to the sauce along with the heavy cream. Stir well.
8. Plate the chicken with a helping of pasta, pour sauce over top and garnish with some chopped fresh Italian parsley.

Not quite sure what’s with the ridiculous weather these days but after 90 degree days in May and 50 degree days in June, I think I’m ready for snow in July. We even had a few tornados blow through and a good amount of hail! Nothing to see here right? Just your typical New England late Spring / early Summer.

Apologies in advance on the picture. As is with most of my cooking, I cook, then I eat. Sometimes I’m starving and dig in right away and sometimes I just plain forget to take a picture before putting everything away. Fortunately this time I remembered right before I chowed down (hence the hasty photo, I was famished!) but couldn’t be bothered to set up the table any better =P

About a month ago, I found myself reading a lot more about photography and chatting with some of the folks at work. Turns out there’s a photography club and they run workshops and assignments every other week. It’s always great to have another pair of eyes look at some of your shots and help you along the way, and my coworkers have been great in being patient with my questions and out-of-focus / off-balance photos. It’s definitely gotten me more interested in photography.

But…there’s a catch here. See, there’s a slippery slope when it comes to photography, especially the equipment. I got my first DSLR about 4 years ago, shot in auto-mode almost all the time. After about a year, I switched to Aperture priority mode and was wow’ed by the improvement in the pictures just by simply framing a shot. Last year I picked up a 5D from a coworker that upgraded his camera and started shooting manual mode most of the time. Now, I still suck but notice the trend here…the equipment is getting progressively more sophisticated and…expensive. Add in a tripod, external flash, and a padded bag, well…you get the idea.

…And then I went face first down the slippery slope. About a month ago, I picked up the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L lens. It hasn’t left my 5D since. But it left my wallet looking quite a bit lean.

How deep is this rabbit hole anyway?

Spaghetti with Sausage and Peppers

Time : 30 minutes
Serves : 5-6

Recipe adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking

Ingredients:
- 3 – 4 Pork sausages (I usually like using sweet Italian), sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 12 oz can of plum tomatoes, chopped
- Salt + Pepper to taste
- 1 lb pasta (Spaghetti, Linguine, any kind of long noodle)

For tossing the pasta:
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Method:
1) Peel the skin off the peppers. Remove stem and seeds, cut into 1 inch squares.
2) Add olive oil to a large frying pan. Add in the chopped onions, heat to medium high. Cook until onions start to become golden.
3) Add in the sliced sausages, cook about 2 minutes.
4) Add in the chopped peppers, season with a little salt and pepper. Give the pan a good shake/stir and then cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5) Add in the chopped tomatoes with liquid, bring to a simmer for 15-20 minutes.
6) While simmering the tomatoes, boil some water in a large saucepan/stockpot, add some salt, and cook the pasta until al dente.
7) After the pasta is finished, strain it in a colander and then pour into a serving bowl along with the butter and cheese. Toss well to get everything nice and coated. Then pour in the sauce, toss well, and serve.

So, as you might’ve noticed, it’s been roughly 6 months since I posted last. Due to work constraints, commitments, and hitting the 100 recipe mark (will update this later), I’ve been sticking to the familiar stuff through the last two seasons and I figured I’d be boring you all with posts of the same stuff over and over again.

Well, that was the fastest 6 months ever.

Now, I’m back (not really with a vengeance)! Currently in the middle of an Italian food kick (Don’t know why, but I feel like this weather is great for some Italian) so that’s what you’ll see over the next few posts (I think). It also could be I have a thing for anything with noodles. And sauce. Just flipping through the 50+ pages of different sauces in Marcella Hazan’s definitive cookbook had my drooling into a bowl. Literally.

So I decided to get off my (lazy) bum and cook some new stuff up. One quick trip to Russo’s later and I’m ready with ingredients fit for the next week (and 3 different sauces…I can’t wait!).

This time I made some fettucini alfredo, would you believe that I’ve never made it before? Normally, I’ve associated the dish with a soft pile of cheesy overcooked noodles with heaps of butter on top. Maybe just some horrible memories of leftovers one time but needless to say, it’s not a dish I normally would pick out of a menu. But Marcella to the rescue! Her version is decidedly less buttery and more savory…not to mention incredibly easy to make and a good compliment to a lot of Italian main courses.

And for a main course? Lemon parsley chicken. I’ve had this a couple times before, most notably by my friend’s mother years ago when I was in middle school (Hmm, that’s something like 15 years ago, eesh).

Anyway, here we go!

Both recipes are adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

Lemon Parsley Chicken

Serves 4
Time : 30 minutes

Ingredients:
– 1 tbsp canola oil
– 2 tbsp butter
– 1 whole chicken breast, halved, cut into 4 fillets (details below)
– Salt and pepper to taste
– 1 lemon
– 3 tbsp chopped parsley
– red pepper flakes (optional)

Method:
1. Prepping the chicken breast. Cut the whole chicken breast in half. Take each half, press firmly down onto the cutting board with your palm and carefully slice horizontally in half. You should end up with 4 chicken cutlets. Using parchment paper, pound each cutlet to about 1/4 inch thickness.
2. Add canola oil and 1.5 tbsp butter to a frying pan large enough to hold all of the cutlets. Turn to medium high.
3. After the butter melts, add the chicken cutlets. Cook about 30-45 seconds on each side and then remove. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper.
4. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the pan. Simmer briefly for about 30 seconds and scrape up any loose bits of chicken stuck to the pan.
5. Add the chopped parsley and the rest of the butter, stir vigorously to combine and turn the heat to low.
6. Add the chicken cutlets back to the pan.
7. Cook another few minutes on each side, making sure to turn the fillets over in the sauce 2-3 times to coat well then remove to a platter and serve.

Fettucini Alfredo

Serves 4
Time : 15 minutes

Ingredients
- 1 cup (8 fl oz) heavy cream
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 lb fettucini or other pasta
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Dash of nutmeg

Method
1. In a large saute pan, add 2/3 cup of heavy cream and the butter over medium heat. Cook about a minute until thickened. Turn off heat and remove
2. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. You’ll want slightly underdone pasta (it’ll finish in the saute pan) so make sure to taste the pasta as the timer gets close. Drain in a colander.
3. Add he pasta to the pan with the sauce, turn the heat to low and toss the pasta to thoroughly coat each noodle.
4. Add the rest of the cream, 3/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, the pinch of nutmeg. Add some salt and pepper gradually, tasting as you go.
5. Toss the pasta again to mix well, taste and add salt/pepper as necessary, then remove to a serving bowl with the rest of the parmesan cheese on the side.

The Taste of Cambridge is coming up this week, an annual event in Harvard Square where dozens of the area’s restaurants get together to benefit charity and provide samples of their creations. Sounds like an advertisement but it’s really an enjoyable event and a great place to chat with some of the staff as well. I volunteered for the event last year and have to say that it’s definitely worth the effort to attend, I had a blast (and will be going this year too)! Some of my favorites were Craigie on Main, Formaggio Kitchen, East Coast Grill, and Henrietta’s Table.

I’ve been constantly amazed at the different ways to prepare tomato sauce, all under an hour. And they’re all subtly different which keeps the pasta from getting boring. Add that together with something like a sausage or chicken parm and you’ve got a great meal right there. I want to experiment sometime and prepare enough sauce for several meals and just concentrate on putting a different meat on each plate (cooking smaller portions). Could be interesting, who knows?

Tomato sauce with Onion and butter

Recipe adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking
Time: 45 minutes
Serves : 4

Ingredients:
– 28oz Can of whole Italian plum tomatoes
– 4 tbsp butter
– 1 medium onion, halved
– 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method:
1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and onion for about a minute, flat side down.
2. Add in the butter and then the tomatoes. Turn heat to medium high.
3. Crush the tomatoes against the side of the saucepan with a wooden spoon.
4. Simmer for 40-45 minutes.
5. Serve with freshly grated parmesan or romano cheese.

Sometimes I wonder how people find enough time in the day to take care of everything they want to do. With all of life’s daily chores and work, these days the only way to get everything done is just not to sleep. And that’s a bad thing too, then you’re all zombified the next day which kills productivity. Granted, there are probably some things that are more of a time waster which I could probably do without…probably why I can’t find time for anything else =P

A few weeks back, I baked my sister a batch of cookies when she was in town for a competition and was informed that my cookie-fu was weak. That is, I needed lessons in cookie making to rid myself of lumpy cookies, replacing them with tender discs of tasty goodness. It baffles me really (maybe because I stink as a baker) but we use nearly the same exact recipe but turn out vastly different results (had a taste test, her’s are definitely better). One of these days I’ll get a hang of it.

Anyway, on that subject, my sister paid me a nice little visit this past weekend. While there wasn’t enough time to bake cookies (I’m old and turn into a pumpkin after 11pm), we hit Giacomo’s, GinGa, and Lineage (never been to Lineage before, but it was quite good. Except for the intense heat of the light that was above our table. Add that to an incredibly muggy day and…ugh). She also took it upon herself to visit Kelly’s and Clear Flour Bakery at my behest (but sadly CFB was out of Bostok, her favorite!)

Tomato sauce with Garlic and Basil

Time: 35 minutes
Serves : 4

Recipe adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking

Ingredients:
– Fresh basil (1 bunch, maybe 1 cup of leaves)
– 1 28oz can whole Italian Plum Tomatoes
– 6 garlic cloves, minced
– 5 tbsp olive oil
– Salt & Black pepper, to taste
– 1 lb Pasta (I used linguine)

Method:
1. Cook pasta according to directions on the box/bag in salted water. Drain and set aside.
2. Rinse the basil leaves, shake off the excess water, and tear them up by hand into thin strips.
3. Add the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to a saucepan and heat over medium-high. Crush the tomatoes against the side of the saucpan with a wooden spoon and then simmer for 20-30 minutes, tasting and correcting for salt.
4. Turn off the heat when the sauce is to your liking. Mix in the torn up basil and then add the sauce and pasta to a large mixing bowl, tossing to mix. Serve immediately with grated parmesan or romano cheese.

Being busy sure takes a lot out of you. I mean, it’s a good thing, always having something to do. But something’s gotta give eventually right? And for me, I’ve had to neglect a few chores for a while (paperwork, ugh!) but worst of all, I’ve fallen behind in my schedule to update the blog! I actually will be adding a page soon with a list of some of the local restaurants that I frequent but I’m trying to figure out how to sort it. By cuisine? By neighborhood? By price??

While on that note, I was at Giacomo’s for the first time in 8 years living in Boston. I’ve heard great things about the food but I also heard that the line can be long, especially since the North End location can only sit at most about 20 people! But last week, we decided to chance it and only had to wait about 20 minutes (Maybe it was a late dinner on a Sunday night that did it) and were treated to quite a meal. The specialty appetizer is fried calamari and despite it being a very mainstream dish, Giacomo’s made it unique…in a good way. I’m also a sucker for fusilli (probably my favorite type of pasta) so I got the house special fusilli with lobster and shrimp. In hindsight, I should’ve probably saved some of it for lunch the next day but I couldn’t stop eating! The only negative point I’ve heard about the place is that the waitstaff tries to turn over tables as quickly as they can. Which could mean dining in less than an hour during busy times (which almost is all the time)!

Being a huge fan of noodles and pasta (and inspired by some of the dishes I’ve had dining out), I’ve really been trying to recreate some things at home. I feel that the magic is in two distinct steps.

#1 : Don’t overcook the noodles
#2 : It’s all in the sauce

Contrary to the way I used to think, you don’t need to use that much “stuff” in your noodles. That is, meat and vegetables. And that, in addition to bringing the noodles to the forefront of the dish, keeps cooking cheap. For example, for 1.5-2lb fresh rice noodles, I use between 3/4 to 1 pound of meat (usually stuff I bought on sale a while ago and kept in the freezer).

Most of my experience here has been with Asian style noodles. And you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been on an Italian kick as of late and that it was only a matter of time until I got to more pasta dishes right? If not, that’s ok, I forgive you =P

But anyway, one of my favorite dishes when dining out is any kind of pasta in a fra diavolo (spicy marinara) sauce, especially mixed seafood. I’ve only ever tried making a base tomato sauce a friend of mine taught me and never really deviated from it since. That is, until I got my hands on Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking! I hate to keep sounding like a broken record but I can’t say enough good things about Marcella’s recipes. She provides so much intricate detail and description to a recipe but keeps the whole process unbelievably simple. It’s one of my favorite cookbooks…that’s for sure.

Recipe is adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

Bucatini Amatriciana

Serves 4 – 5
Time : 35-40 minutes

Ingredients:
– 1 lb bucatini (spaghetti, linguine work too)
– 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
– 1 tbsp butter
– 1 medium onion, chopped
– 1 clove garlic, minced
– 1/4 lb pancetta, sliced into strips
– 1 28oz can of whole Italian Tomatoes
– Red pepper flakes
– Salt, to taste
– Freshly grated parmesan and romano cheese

Method:
1. Add the oil, butter, garlic, and onion to a saucepan on medium heat. Cook until the onion becomes slightly translucent.
2. Add the pancetta and cook another minute.
3. Add the tomatoes, pepper flakes, and salt. Crush the whole tomatoes against the side of the saucepan with a wooden spoon.
4. Simmer uncovered for about 20-30 minutes. Taste and correct for salt and spiciness.
5. While simmering the sauce, boil hot water (with at least 1 tbsp salt) and cook the pasta to the desired firmness.
6. Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce and freshly grated cheese and serve.

If you live in the area, you probably know that there was a water main break over the weekend. Then came the boil water order. It’s funny that temporarily being deprived of clean water can inconvenience someone so much. No washing dishes, no drinking water, be careful showering, no brushing teeth…the list goes on! Fortunately I haven’t gotten completely through my case of poland spring yet so it’s only slightly annoying.

On a side note, I was up in New Hampshire on Saturday making a meat run, as strange as that sounds. Jason from Bite the Bullet BBQ e-mailed me just a little while back with a deal I just couldn’t refuse. He had a Spring offer for 12 racks of ribs…I just couldn’t turn that down! And for good measure, I asked if he would be able to cook up some pulled pork too and he did (I ended up with 12 racks of ribs and 4 pork butts). I brought a friend up with me too…he was a little skeptical at first after Jason fed us with some fresh meat off the grill, he couldn’t stop talking about it on the way back. And of course, in a lack of foresight, I forgot my camera…doh!

Anyway, while experimenting with some of Marcella Hazan’s sauces, I figured I’d try out something else in addition. Anchovies never have been a big part of my diet but they’re used fairly often in Italian cooking, so I decided to give it a shot. Marcella suggests that one buy anchovies fresh from the market (read: not in a can or jar) but not having that available, I had to resort to the jarred stuff. Not that it was THAT bad mind you, I just wanted to see what the suggested anchovies would taste like!

Beef Patties baked with Anchovies and Mozzarella

Time: 30-40 minutes
Serves : 6

Ingredients:
– 1 slice white bread, crust removed
– 3 tbsp skim milk
– 1.5 – 2 lb ground beef (93%)
– 1 egg
– salt
– plain bread crumbs
– canola oil
– a little butter
– 28oz can whole tomatoes, drained
– 1/2 tsp dried Oregano
– Mozzarella cheese
– 12 flat anchovy fillets

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Add the milk and bread to a small saucepan over low heat. Mash the bread to a pulp with the fork and remove from heat.
3. Combine the chopped meat with the milk mush, egg, and a sprinkle of salt. Mix well and then shape into 6 patties. Dredge the patties in bread crumbs.
4. Add a little bit of oil to a frying pan and cook the patties over medium high heat for about 2 minutes on either side, turning only once.
5. Slice each tomato in half and scoop out the seeds. Slice a small sliver from one of the pieces for garnish later.
6. Butter a baking dish and place the patties in the dish. Cover each patty with both halves of a tomato, sprinkle with a little salt and oregano, top with a slice of mozzarella cheese and finally place 2 anchovy fillets, criss-crossed, on top with the sliver of tomato placed in the center.
7. Bake for about 10 minutes and then serve directly at the table.

Note: I served this with Pasta Amatriciana. I’ll have a post about that soon =)

This past Sunday was nearly a perfect day. Warm enough to not need a jacket but windy enough to keep you from sweating. So what did I do? I drove out to Shrewsbury to spend 5 hours hand washing, polishing, and waxing my car. That’s some love right there! And really, the car appreciated being all prettied up =P

I switched to a manual about 5 months ago and really, it’s been a huge change to how I viewed cars. I liked driving but it seemed more like transportation than fun. Now that I’ve got the manual (it goes vroom!), driving just became much more engaging. I’m paying a lot more attention to what’s going on around me and it’s a blast to make the engine roar as you merge onto the highway. Now that I’ve switched, I don’t think I can go back. I drove an automatic a month back and I kept trying to press the clutch and switch gears…too funny!

Over the past couple weeks, I’ve read through Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Many of the blogs I read have featured recipes adapted from this book, and for good reason, Marcella is considered one of the premier authors of homestyle Italian cooking! I picked out the Rigatoni Bolognese right away. I’ve had some different versions of this in restaurants but I’ve never really thought much of it. I wished I used more tomatoes (or had more meat sauce made up for the pound of pasta suggested) but it turned out very tasty!

Quick word of caution…there’s a lot of butter used here, this isn’t diet food =)

Rigatoni Bolognese

Time : 1 – 1.5 hours
Serves : 6

Ingredients:
– 1 lb Rigatoni (I used Mezzi Rigatoni)
– Salt, to taste
– 6 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

Bolognese Sauce:
– 1 tbsp Canola oil
– 3 tbsp butter
– 1 small yellow onion, chopped
– 2 stalks celery, chopped
– 1-2 carrots (about 2/3 cup), chopped
– 1 lb ground beef (I used 90% lean)
– 1 cup skim milk
– 1 cup dry white wine
– 1 28oz can whole Italian plum tomatoes, cut up w/ juice (I used half but I recommend the whole can)
– Salt, to taste
– Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
– Nutmeg

Bechamel Sauce:
– 2 cups skim milk
– 4 tbsp butter
– 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
– 1/4 tsp salt

Method:

First:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Boil enough water for the pasta. While doing the other steps, cook pasta until slightly undercooked as the pasta will be baked later on.

Second, prepare the Bolognese Meat sauce (use ingredients listed above for Bolognese sauce):
1. Using a dutch oven or medium saucepan, add the oil, butter, and onion, cook and stir over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add celery and carrot and cook another couple minutes, stirring the vegetables to coat.
2. Add ground beef, a pinch of salt, and some fresh black pepper. Break up the meat and stir until meat is barely cooked through.
3. Add milk and simmer gently until the milk has bubbled away. Add a pinch of nutmeg and stir.
4. Add the white wine and simmer until the wine has evaporated. Add the tomatoes. Simmer until ready to combine everything.

Next, prepare the Bechamel sauce:
1. Add milk to a saucepan. Heat over medium low until a ring of small bubbles forms on the outer edge of the pan.
2. Add butter to a separate saucepan. Melt over low heat and add the flour, stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 2 minutes and remove from the heat. Be careful not to let the flour become colored (overcooked).
3. Add milk to flour/butter mixtures a little bit at a time, stirring constantly. Increase the amount of milk as the mixture becomes a little more liquid.
4. Place pan back on the burner over low heat and add the salt. Stir constantly until the sauce becomes thick, like heavy cream.

Finally:
1. Toss the cooked pasta with the meat sauce, bechamel, and 4 tbsp Parmesan cheese.
2. Butter a baking dish and add the mixed pasta. Top with 2 tbsp grated Parmesan and a little bit of butter (also parsley flakes if you like).
3. Bake for 10 minutes (or more if you like the top crispier)

Some Notes:
– This can be prepared under an hour if each stage is planned out well. I suck at planning so this really took me more like the 90 minutes but I can see how it can be done in less time!
– The Bolognese sauce can probably be prepared the night before

This past week has been some of the best weather I’ve seen (for March anyway) in Boston in the past 8 years. After 10-11 inches of rain in 3 days and massive flooding throughout the state, it hit 72 degrees on Saturday. From deluge to shorts weather…freaky. I won’t complain though, I got to dust off the golf clubs and hit up the driving range. And I guess a lot of others had the same idea, ended up waiting 30 minutes to get a booth, the line was 2 deep at one point!!!

I’ve also been on the hunt for a good tripod and head. Up until now, I’ve been shooting without a tripod and most of the time without flash. So it’s been tough to turn out good shots (can’t hold steady) and I’m getting a little tired of sifting through a dozen shots to find out none of them look any good! I’ve heard of a few brands, Manfrotto comes to mind, but I just started really looking this week. Pics to come once I get it though.

Anyway, onto the food. I’m a huge fan of Ree at The Pioneer Woman Cooks. She provides a step by step pictorial on almost all of her dishes as well as interesting tidbits and tips for each dish. But the thing I like the most is how homey the dishes feel, I’m an big admirer of homestyle cooking. There’s something to be said about the creativity home cooks have had over the years to feed their families, good times and bad.

Spaghetti and Meatballs is no exception. When I started cooking I never really paid any attention to staple dishes like this and Macaroni and Cheese. I guess my experience had been mostly cafeteria food and made from a box, so maybe that’s why I was blocking it out! But really, the stuff is classic for a reason, because it’s good AND it’s easy to make!

Recipe originally from The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Time: 90 minutes
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
– 1 lb ground beef (85 or 90% lean)
– 1 lb ground pork
– 2 eggs
– 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
– 3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
– 3/4-1 cup grated Romano cheese
– 1/4 cup Italian parsley, minced
– 1/4 tsp salt
– Fresh ground black pepper
– 1-2 tbsp skim milk
– 4 – 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sauce:
– 28oz can Italian plum tomatoes
– 28oz can crushed tomatoes
– 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
– 5 cloves garlic, minced
– 1/2 cup dry white wine
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 2 tsp sugar
– Fresh ground black pepper
– Red pepper flakes
– 1/4 cup Italian parsley, minced
– 1 – 2 lbs Spaghetti, cooked

Method:
1. Combine meat, garlic, breadcrumbs, romano, salt, pepper, parsley, eggs, and milk in a mixing bowl. Mix together well. Roll into meatballs (should be around 30).
2. Heat a dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil and cook meatballs, 8 at a time until browned, it’s ok if slightly undercooked, the meatballs will be returned to the sauce later. Remove meatballs and drain.
3. When finished with the meatballs, add onions and garlic, stirring for a couple minutes. Make sure to scrape up the brown bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add in tomatoes, wine, salt, pepper, sugar, and parsley. Stir to combine and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add meatballs back to the pot, reduce heat, and cook another 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Have you ever had a favorite dish at a restaurant you’d order almost every time without hesitation? So tasty that you think about it in the minutes beforehand, ready to ferociously dig in? Savoring every bite then wishing there was more? Well, for me, one of those dishes is chicken saltimbocca, chicken with sage and prosciutto in a white wine sauce. This is one of my Italian favorites, I’ve ordered it at almost all of the local Italian places I’ve been to (except some of the fancier ones that don’t have it on the menu. I guess it’s a little low-class for them)

But the funny thing is, I must have had this dish at least a dozen times over the last year or so and it never really occurred to me that I could try to make it myself. Maybe I could blame my laziness, the intimidation of Italian cooking, or even that I’m loathe to open up a new bottle of wine every time I cook (since I don’t cook every night) but no, I can’t even make an excuse for it. I just…well it didn’t even cross my mind until a couple weeks back.

I’m not really sure how it actually came to mind (could be that I ordered a new cookbook, more details on this when I actually cook something from it) but off I was, scouring the Internet for recipes. There were a ton of recipes to be found, some I liked…and of course some not so much.

Anyway, the recipe posted below is a compilation of several I found on the net along with a few additions of my own.

Chicken Saltimbocca

Time : 35-45 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
– 4 Boneless chicken cutlets (4-6 oz each)
– 8 thin slices of prosciutto
– 8 fresh sage leaves (plus more for garnish)
– 4 slices fontina or mozzarella
– 1/2 cup flour
– 2 tbsp butter
– 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
– 1 shallot, minced
– 4 cloves garlic, minced
– 1/2 – 3/4 cup dry white wine
– 1/2 cup chicken broth

Method:
1. Sprinkle each chicken cutlet with salt and pepper. Pound flat, roughly a quarter of an inch. Lightly dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large frying pan. When the butter melts, place the chicken in the pan. Cook 3-4 minutes then flip over. Place 2 sage leaves and 2 slices of prosciutto on each cutlet. Place a slice of cheese on each cutlet and cook, covered, for another 3-4 minutes. Remove cutlets to a platter and cover.
3. Add shallots and garlic to the hot pan with 1 tbsp olive oil, let sit for about 10-15 seconds.
4. Add wine to the hot pan (watch for the smoke!) and use a wooden spoon to scrape all the brown bits from the pan. Reduce the wine to about half, then add the chicken broth. Reduce again, then remove from heat and add the remaining 1 tbsp butter.
5. Taste the sauce and adjust accordingly with some salt and fresh pepper. Pour the sauce over the cutlets and serve.