Pollo all Cacciatore - A Delicious Tuscan Chicken Stew

A couple of days ago, I prepared a Tuscan dinner for friends. The main course I chose was Pollo alla Cacciatore, which means hunter-style chicken. Variants of this dish are popular throughout Italy. I found two Tuscan versions and chose elements of both to create the one I cooked. It was easy to make and I love it.

The recipes I used as a starting point are at:
1. https://www.santacristina.wine/en/cookbook/ricette/chicken-cacciatore/

2. http://lifeisabowlofpasta.com/recipe-items/pollo-alla-cacciatora/

The version below serves two. I scaled it up to serve eight the other night. (I scaled it up enough that I probably could have served 12.)

The other dishes I served with the chicken were:
- Crostini with goat cheese, fig preserves, and prosciutto di Parma
- Crostini with olive paté (crushed black olives, lemon juice, olive oil, breadcrumbs)
- Carabaccia - Florentine onion soup
- Carote in Stufato - Tuscan braised carrots with pancetta
- Schiaciatta alla Fiorentina - Florentine sweet bread/cake

The wine I served with the main course was a superb 2010 Máté Brunello di Montalcino.

(I did not consider serving Chicken Florentine for this dinner because, despite the name, it's an American dish.)

Ingredients

- 1 lb boneless chicken thighs, cut up
- Half of a 28 oz can of peeled San Marzano tomatoes
- 3 oz of pitted olives, halved. I used Sicilian Castelvetrano olives.
- 2 oz red wine. I used a Tuscan Chianti.
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- 1/4 Spanish onion, diced
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 rosemary sprig
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt 
- pepper

Preparation

1. Coat the base of a large sauce pan with extra virgin olive oil Heat to medium high and add chicken. Brown the chicken on all sides, and then remove it.

2. Add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, fennel, and a pinch of salt. Cook until vegetables are softened - about 8 minutes.

3. Add chicken to the vegetable base and stir for two minutes to coat.

4. Add wine; stir gently again, and let wine evaporate.

5. Once the wine is almost reduced, add the tomatoes and rosemary, and adjust salt and pepper. When I added the tomatoes, I included the juice from the can. Cover and let cook on low heat for 20 minutes.

6. Stir in olives and cook for another 10 minutes.

Napulè, Sarasota - Terrific and Authentic Italian Food

There are lots of good Italian-American restaurants around, but very few that serve authentic Italian food that great and hard to find elsewhere in the area. Napulè (https://napulesarasota.com/) is one of the few. I had lunch there with a friend recently and can't wait to go back.

Many of the foods there are from southern Italy, but there are others from the center and the north as well. Their pizza oven is wood-fired. 

In addition to the evening menu, there are two types of sandwiches they offer only at lunch - panuozzi and ciabatta. I have never seen panuozzi sandwiches. This style of sandwich is from the Campania Region of Italy, which is in the southwest, where Naples and Sorrento are located. The bread is made from the restaurant's pizza dough. 

Napulè offers six types of panuozzi. I chose the Porcellino, which means, "Piggy." It contains porchetta, mushrooms, and smoked mozzarella, and sells for $10.95. Porchetta is a boneless pork roast with garlic, rosemary, fennel, and other herbs. In Italy, it is typically roasted over wood for at least 8 hours. Porchetta sandwiches are usually sold from white-painted food trucks. It is popular all-over Italy, but the Lazio and the Abruzzi are where it is most popular.

When I was in Umbria a few years ago, my wife, my niece, and I all had porchetta sandwiches from a food truck at an outdoor market. The sandwiches were incredible.

My Porcellino porchetta sandwich at Napulè was great!!!

I also had an order of Salame Felino, a special salami that is made in the town of Felino, just south of Parma in the Bologna region. The town is famous for its pork. It even has a pig statue in Charlie Chaplin park in the center of town. The Salame Felino, which cost $6.95, was terrific.

With my meal, I drank a 2015 red wine - Marramiero Dama - a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wine for $8.95 per glass. It was very nice.

I can't wait to go back and try some of their other menu items. I recommend checking out the menu on their web site.

Napulè is located on U.S. 41, a short distance south of Stickney Point Rd. Their parking lot is fairly small, but they have complimentary valet parking. It's best to have reservations for dinner.

Outdoor Market at Lakewood Ranch - Worth a Visit

We've just enjoyed a visit to the new weekly outdoor market at the Sarasota Polo Club in Lakewood Ranch, and found some very interesting vendors with terrific products.  We bought items from five of them.

One surprising vendor sells a variety of Italian Tuscan salumi produced at a farm just north of Florence near Barberino del Mugello. He had at least six types of salumi - which are salt-cured meats primarily made from pork.. The ones sold by this vendor included Tuscan-style prosciutto and finocchiona - fennel-flavored salami, which is uniquely Tuscan. He also sells Parmigiano Reggiano cheese which he cuts to order from a giant wheel of cheese which has been aged for 36 months. We sampled and purchased both prosciutto and cheese. He accepted only cash.

Another surprising vendor was a seller of Italian truffles, oils, dried porcini mushrooms, and other products from the Alba area of the Piedmont Region in northwestern Italy. Alba is famous for its white truffles. The vendor will obtain fresh white truffles from Alba at a cost of $300 per ounce plus $65 for shipping. The cost of truffles at this year's White Truffle Fair in Alba in November reached an all-time average high of about $3,200 per pound. At this vendor, we purchased a towel that was nicely decorated and displayed all the wines produced in the Piedmont, which is one of the best wine-making areas of Italy.

One vendor I was delighted to find was Peperonata Pasta, a Sarasota company that makes great empanadas and fresh pasta. They had about nine types of empanadas. They did not have my favorite lamb empanadas with them. We bought steak and onion, beef, and cheese and onion empanadas for dinner. They were terrific. Pasta and empanadas are a logical mix of products for the owners of Peperonata Pasta because they are Italian immigrants from Argentina, which has a very large Italian community.

Another vendor sold various types of fresh poultry, eggs, cheese, and butter. The poultry and eggs come from one farm on Fruitville Rd. and the cheeses and butter from another. They offered three types of cheddar cheese - plain, pepper, and cajun. We bought the plain.

From a fifth vendor, we bought a jar of gallberry plant honey. They also have wildflower honey.

One main player at the market is Worden Farm, which brings boxes of mixed vegetables to its subscribers and has some available to other buyers. This week, they also sold beautiful bouquets of large sunflowers. The farm specializes in organic foods.

Other sellers included a baker offering at least six types of fresh bread, and others selling salsas, soaps, and pet products. There was also a knife sharpening service.

The market is open every Wednesday afternoon through April 18 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. It is located off Lorraine Rd. just south of University Parkway. For more information about the market, see: https://www.lakewoodranch.com/life-on-the-ranch/themarket/

Easy Risotto

Risotto is originally a northern Italian dish. Rice is an important crop along the Po River in the north. Traditional risotto takes a bit of work, so I normally only have it at Italian restaurants. I've found an easy, prepackaged risotto from the Puglia Region in southern Italy. It is produced by "Tiberino" and comes in many flavors. 

I've prepared two different flavors and have been happy with the results:
a. Risotto "Sorrento" with Tomato and Basil
b. Risotto "Venezia" with Asparagus and Leek

To prepare the Tiberino risotto, takes only a couple of easy steps:
1. Put olive oil and water in a large skillet, using the amounts of each liquid specified on the package. Bring to a boil.
2. Put the contents of the risotto package into the skillet; then stir and cover.
3. Cook for 18 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. When all the liquid has been absorbed, plate and drizzle with olive oil.

The next one I plan to try is Risotto "Amalfi" with Orange Zest.

Both times, I served it with sauteed shrimp.

In Italy, risotto is normally served as a first course (primo piatto).

In Sarasota, its available at Ancient Olive on St. Armand's Circle. It's also available on Amazon. 

Balsamic Vinegar - Traditional vs. Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

Until recently, I knew that great balsamic vinegar comes from the Modena area of the Emilia-Romagna Region of Italy, but I did not know there were major differences between two types of balsamic from that area:
1. Traditional Balsamic Vinegar (TBV - Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale), and,
2. Balsamic Vinegar of Modena (BVM - Aceto Balsamico di Modena)

There are major Italian legal requirements for receiving each designation. Both can only be produced in the neighboring provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia. (These provinces are also renowned for their parmesan cheese.) TBV is the better (and more expensive) of the two balsamics. Among its many requirements are that it be aged for a minimum of twelve years and that the grape must that is used to produce it can only be derived from Lambrusco and Trebbiano grapes grown in those two provinces. Aging does not simply mean pouring the liquid into wooden barrels and letting it set for twelve years. Instead, the vinegar is moved into successively smaller barrels in a "battery" of barrels, and mixed with vinegar of different ages. It is a complex process. If a bottle has a gold cap with the word "extravecchio," it has been aged at least twenty-five years. Each batch of TBV must be approved by official taste testers.

BMV is industrial grade balsamic that imitates TBV. It only has to be aged for two months, not necessarily in wood. Flavors and sweeteners can be added. The grapes can come from anywhere, but must be pressed in Modena.

We love the Traditional Balsamic and use it with authentic Italian extra virgin olive oil as salad dressing. The one we purchased is aged for 18 years. (Often, many of the olive oils that are sold in supermarkets and have Italian names are not from olives grown in Italy. The olives/oils can be from a host of countries such as Chile, Tunisia, and Greece. The oils may be bottled in Italy. Check the small print on the back of the bottle. to determine the source(s) of the olives.)

Easy Flat-Bread Pizza

After tasting a bit of flat-bread pizza at Publix recently, I decided to make one of my own, with my choice of ingredients. It was really easy, and I was delighted with the results. The two pizza crusts in the package are enough to make four servings. 

Ingredients
- One package of "naturally fermented Brooklyn Bred pizza crust" (available at Publix)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- One can of Cento San Marzano peeled tomatoes (available at Publix). The tomatoes are canned in thick sauce. These tomatoes are grown in the Campania region of Italy in an area not far from Mt. Vesuvius. They are perfect for pizza, for which nearby Naples is famous.
- One 8 oz. package of fresh mozzarella cheese (I used 4 ounces per pizza.)
- Four slices of Publix herb-coated hard salami, sliced in quarters
- Six pitted Castelvetrano olives, sliced in half. These olives are from the Sicilian town of Castelvetrano. I buy 2-lb jars of them at BJ's and use them in salads. 
- Six fresh basil leaves

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Brush olive oil on top of pizza.

3. Brush the thick tomato sauce from the Cento can onto  the pizza crust.

4. Slice about three of the tomatoes and put them on the pizza crust. 

Cut four ounces of the mozzarella into small wedges and place on the pizza crust.

5. Put the salami pieces and olives onto the crust.

6. Bake per instructions on the pizza crust package. The amount of time depends on whether you place the crust directly on the oven rack, on a tray or on a pizza stone. Nine minutes on a tray was perfect for ours. For the first pizza, I started out by putting the pizza directly on the rack, but soon discovered that melting cheese was dripping into the oven.

7. Place basil leaves on pizza and serve.

Mamma Agata's Lemon Cake - Dolce di Limone

Along the Sorrentine Peninsula, which includes the Amalfi Coast on it southern side, lemons are a major crop and are used in many dishes from pasta sauce to desserts to limoncello liqueur.  Lemon cakes are a very popular dessert. 

In searching for a lemon cake recipe, I found a winner in Dolce di Limone, by Mamma Agata, a renowned cook from the beautiful town of Ravello. I made two of these cakes in the past two weeks, and I was very pleased with the results. The end product is a moist cake completely infused with lemon flavor. It takes a bit of work, but I believe it's worth the effort for a special dinner.

I found a version of Mamma Agata's recipe at  https://mykitchenmemories.com/2014/08/10/lemon-cake-mamma-agatas-dolce-al-limone/. I have changed the instructions to reflect my own experiences. There is also a YouTube video with instructions at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb_xnWj1kSE. 

You might want to check out Mamma Agata's web site:http://www.mammaagata.com/.

This recipe serves 10, unless you taste it and decide you might want to consume the whole thing.

Ingredients

A. Cake Dough
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 sticks of butter at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the pan
- 4 eggs
- grated zest pf 3 large lemons or 5-6 small ones
- pinch of sea salt
- 2 cups "00" flour or white pastry flour. I used King Arthur unbleached cake flour. Do not use all-purpose flour or bread flour.
- 4 1/4 tsp of baking powder. (This sounds like a lot, but is the perfect amount.
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped (optional)
B. Lemonade Mixture to Infuse into Dough after Baking
- 1 1/4 cups water
- juice of the 3 large or 5-6 small lemons you zested
- 8 Tbsp sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Butter a non-stick Bundt pan and coat lightly with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Make sure to butter the Bundt pan liberally with butter to help prevent the cake from sticking to the pan.

3. Mix the butter in a mixing bowl on high speed for at least 2 minutes. (If the sticks of butter are too cold and not at room temperature, the sticks could fly out of the bowl when you begin mixing.)

4. Add the sugar and continue to whip until a soft cream mixture forms.

5. Mix the baking powder into the flour and set aside.

6. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar mixture and blend. Then add the salt and grated lemon zest.

7. Alternate adding and blending a little of the flour mixture and the milk into the mixing bowl until all is used up and blended into the batter.

8. Mix the ingredients on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the batter has a light and airy consistency similar to a mousse.

9. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. While the cake is baking, do not open the oven door to peek or the cake will not rise properly.

10. While the cake is baking, prepare the lemonade mixture. Squeeze the lemons into a pitcher. Add the sugar to the lemon juice and stir until dissolved. Add the water and stir well.

11. Once the cake is finished baking, let it sit for 2 hours outside the oven until it is at room temperature.

12. Before starting to add the lemonade, make sure the cake does not stick to the pan. Hold a dish towel firmly on top of the cake and carefully turn the pan upside down. If the cake does not easily separate from the pan, do not force it, or the cake may come apart. If the cake does not easily come out of the pan, place it back into the oven at 350 degrees for several minutes. This will warm up the butter and allow it to release. If it still does not release, you can insert something very thin between the sides of the cake and the pan to try to separate them.

13. Once the cake comes nicely out of the pan, gently place it back into the pan so you can begin pouring the lemonade. Over the course of 30 minutes, pour some lemonade over the entire exposed part of the cake every 10 minutes. This allows the cake to absorb the lemonade. Make sure you have some lemonade left after the 3 ours. After the cake has absorbed the third pour, gently tip the cake out of the pan onto the serving dish you plan to use. Add the remaining lemonade to the top of the cake, distributing it evenly, and let it absorb for at least 10 minutes.

14. Garnish the cake with the chopped hazelnuts or sprinkle confectioners sugar on top.

You could serve it with limoncello.

Mamma Agata's Pasta Sauce

This pasta sauce recipe is very easy to make. I found it at Mamma Agata's web site (http://www.mammaagata.com/press/pdf/where-women-cook.pdf). The recipe should serve four. I added half again as many ingredients to those below because I was preparing dinner for six. I have added one comment to the additional recipe. My comment is underlined. I added the first direction below because I peeled the tomatoes.

Ingredients

- 2 cloves fresh garlic, sliced
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb of cherry or Roma tomatoes (can be half of each) I used Roma tomatoes.
- 2 pinches of sea salt
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil
- 2 pinches of dried oregano

Directions

1. If using Roma tomatoes, peel by:
- cutting an x into the tip of each tomato
- place in boiling water for about 25 seconds
- put in ice water to stop cooking
- peel. It should come right off.

2. Thinly slice the garlic. Add the olive oil and garlic to a large saucepan at the same time. Note: Do not heat the oil first, and then add the garlic to the pan. Rather, place the ingredients into the pan at room temperature, and then heat the pan. Heat on high for 1-2 minutes.

3. Chop the cherry tomatoes in half (or quarters if they are large or if you are using Roma tomatoes).

3. Add the chopped tomatoes, sea salt, and fresh basil to the pan with the oil and garlic. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the oregano.

4. Cook your favorite pasta al dente, drain the pasta, and add it to the sauce. You have to marry your favorite ingredients before serving. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Cafe Bologna - Terrific, Authentic Cuisine from Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Cafe Bologna in Osprey is a very special restaurant which specializes in the cuisine of Emilia-Romagna and northern Italy. The owners and chefs are Barbara and Claudio, who are both from Bologna in Emilia-Romagna.

There are many regional cuisines in Italy, and they are different from one another and different from Italian-American cuisine. One regional cuisine is from the region of Emilia-Romagna, the Breadbasket of Italy, which is just above Tuscany. Among the region's well-known culinary cities are:
- Parma, with its Parmesan cheese and prosciutto di Parma
- Bologna, famous for Bolognese sauce
- Modena, the source of the finest balsamic vinegars.

As Cafe Bologna's web site (http://www.bolognacafe.com/) states, you will not find spaghetti and meatballs or fettucine Alfredo or chicken Parmigiana there. They also do not offer pizza, which originated in southern Italy.

The pastas they serve are traditional pastas from Emilia-Romagna, such as gnocchi, gramigna, tagliatelle, tortelli, and tortellini.

We recently had a terrific meal there with and at the suggestion of wonderful friends. Every dish was superb, and the service was excellent. It was a perfect evening.

We started with an amuse-bouche of sweet-pea soup.

That was followed by an appetizer tower of Prosciutto di Parma, homemade Mozzarella cheese, tomato, olives, and basil for four at $11 per person. (Prosciutto di Parma is one of Italy's best prosciuttos.)

Prosciutto and Mozzarella

My wife had a Bella Donna Salad with arugula, pears, walnuts, and Parmesan cheese for $17.

My wife and our friends had a special main course of risotto with artichokes finished off inside a wheel of aged Parmesan cheese for $39 each. The restaurant buys huge wheels of aged Parmesan. The date on this wheel was July of 2013.

The Parmesan Wheel with Risotto

My main course was house-made tortelli pasta with Bolognese sauce for $26. Normally, I would not order a dish with Bolognese sauce in a restaurant because it tends not to be very special. However our friends said this was a terrific Bolognese sauce which Barabara spends hours making. It was the best Bolognese sauce I've ever had - by far.

Torttelli alla Bolognese

For dessert, my wife had a Crema Catalana for $9.

I had an apple ciambella cake with vanilla gelato for $12. Barbara said it was her grandmother's recipe.

I followed dessert with an Espresso Corretto - espresso with Sambuca, an anise-flavored liqueur.

Our wine was a Poggiopiano Chianti Classico for $48 per bottle.

The wine menu offers an extensive selection of Italian wines. It only has one from Emilia-Romagna, which is not known for its wines.

Claudio is very affable and very happy to explain the dishes he makes.

Cafe Bologna also has an excellent deli counter.

Una esperienza eccezionale!

Another Terrific Meal at Ortygia - Bradenton Sicilian Restaurant

We have waited far too long to return to Ortygia Restaurant in Bradenton, which offers wonderful Sicilian, French, and Mediterranean-fusion cuisine. It also has a very reasonably priced wine list. The owner-chef, Bob Gaetano, clearly loves his culinary endeavors and interacts frequently and warmly with his customers. We had last dined there twice in 2011, and enjoyed terrific meals both times. Since it's about a 45-minute drive from our house, we tend to go to closer restaurants. We won't wait so long before we return.

My wife's appetizer was the Torta di Carciofi, a torte with artichokes and caramelized onions in a handmade crust for $8.50. It was wonderful.

My appetizer was a set of two different patés:
- The Paté della Casa (house paté) with chicken livers, pork tenderloin, Szechuan peppercorns, and Mediterranean spices. (As Chef Gaetano informed me when I asked, it was only mildly spicy, despite the Szechuan peppercorns.)
- The Paté delle Due Sicilie (Paté of the Two Sicilies) - a mushroom paté with capers, olives, and dry Marsala.
Both patés were terrific.

My wife's main dish was the Pasta Siciliana - penne pasta with San Marzano tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, basil, and ricotta for $13.50. She really loved it.

I decided to try the Timballo di Penne which my had enjoyed twice in 2011. Timballo is an Italian dish that can be made with pasta, rice, or potatoes. This one had penne, meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, prosciutto, provolone, and roasted peppers in béchamel and parmesan cheese with house-made, slow-cooked tomato sauce for $14.50. It was fantastic. (The name of the dish is derived from timbale, the French word for kettle drum.)

Our wine was a 2013 Feudo Disisa Terre Siciliane Nero d'Avola. It was very nice. I believe the price was $32.

We also had delicious desserts, and I had a cup espresso.

Our server, April, was very nice.

The name Ortygia evokes fond memories for my wife and me because we spent several days with two other couples in the charming Sicilian waterfront town of Ortygia. One evening, when we were dining at a waterfront restaurant called Le Papere, four Italian diners at a table next to us were singing as one of them played the guitar. One of our friends, who is Italian-American asked if he might play the guitar. (He is an accomplished singer and guitarist.) They invited him to do so, and we all began singing. It was a terrific evening - friends, great food, wonderful wine, and perfect temperatures - bellissima!

A Meal From Four Regions of Italy - the Veneto, Piedmont, Tuscany, and Umbria

My wife and I recently hosted a lunch for friends with whom we had enjoyed a wonderful trip to Italy. We decided to serve a meal with one dish from each of the Italian regions we had visited with them. The wines we served were from some of the same regions. The dishes we served were:

- Shrimp with Pancetta and Rosemary (Gamberi al Rosmarino) from Venice
- Tilemakers' Beef Stew (Peposo dei Fornaciari dell'Impruneta) from the small town of Impruneta in Tuscany. (This can be made a day in advance.)
- Asparagus, Peas, and Basil (Piselli con Asparagi e Basilico)
- Walnut Cake with Zabaglione (Torta di Noci con Zabaglione)

My wife learned to make the dessert in a cooking class at Verduno Castle (Castello di Verduno - http://castellodiverduno.com/) where our group stayed in the Barolo area of the Piedmont. 

I served two red wines and one white wine. The reds were from two wineries we visited during the trip:
- Fiulot Barbera d'Asti red from the Prunotto Winery in Asti in the Piedmont
- 2007 Poggio Antico Altero Brunello. from the Poggio Antico winery which we visited during our trip and which is near Montalcino, Tuscany. This is a very special red, deservedly rated 98 points by James Suckling.
- Cren del'Ape Cortese white wine from the Piedmont.

I highly recommend a visit to the Poggio Antico winery. The wines are incredible and the views of the Tuscan countryside are superb. There is also a very nice restaurant located there. The owner, Paolo Gloder, is terrific. When I sent the winery a short-notice request for a fact sheet on the wine just 12 hours before the lunch, the response was immediate.

I have posted the recipes for the appetizer, the main dish, and the side dish.

Asparagus, Peas, and Basil - An Easy Umbrian Side Dish

In searching for a side dish from the Umbria Region of Italy, I found this delicious and easy recipe for Asparagus, Peas, and Basil (Piselli con Asparagi e Basilico) on epicurious.com (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/asparagus-peas-and-basil-em-piselli-con-asparagi-e-basilico-em-242035). It should serve 6. I served it with a Tuscan beef stew - Peposo dei Fornaciari dell'Impruneta - which I described in a previous post.

Ingredients

- 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (about 2)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- peas, fresh or frozen (3/4 pound shelled fresh peas, or 1 & 3/4 pound in pods or 10 ounces of thawed frozen peas - I used the thawed frozen peas.)
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- about 3/4 cup of torn fresh basil leaves

Directions

Cook shallots in butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until just tender - about 4 minutes.

Stir in asparagus, peas, sea salt, then seal skillet with foil. (Rather than the foil, I simply used a tight cover for the skillet.) Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender, but still slightly al dente - about 8 minutes.

Stir in basil and sea salt.

Shrimp with Rosemary and Pancetta - a Venetian Appetizer

Venice, Italy is well known for a type of bar snack called cicchetti, which are similar to Spanish tapas. In looking for an appetizer recipe from Venice, I found this delicious and easy recipe from Saveur magazine (http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Gamberi-al-Rosmarino). The Italian name is Gamberi al Rosmarino.

Ingredients

- 8 oz. pancetta, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 16 medium shrimp. (I used 24 medium shrimp already peeled and deveined.)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup white wine (I used a Cortese wine from the Piedmont Region of Italy.)
- 2 sprigs of rosemary, stemmed
- 1 medium tomato, cored, seeded and finely chopped. (I think it would also work nicely with chopped cherry tomatoes. That might be a bit faster.)
- Crusty bread for serving. I used a baguette, coated with olive oil and baked at 450° for about 7 minutes

Directions

Heat pancetta and oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until crisp - 6 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to a plate.

Add garlic to skillet and cook for 1 minute.

Season shrimp with salt and pepper, and add to skillet. Cook until pink - about 2 minutes.

Add wine, rosemary, and tomato. Cook until wine is reduced by half - 2 to 3 minutes. (In my case, it took 5 minutes.)

Sprinkle with pancetta and serve with the bread.

Paccheri or Rigatoni Pasta with Braised Chicken and Saffron Cream

This pasta dish takes a bit of time, but it's not difficult and I think it's worth the effort. The recipe was created by the husband and wife chef team of Isaac Becker and Nancy St. Pierre of Minneapolis, and published in Bon Appetit (http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/paccheri-pasta-with-braised-chicken-and-saffron-cream)

The original recipe serves 4-6, but I modified it to serve 2-3. It takes about 2 hours to prepare and cook.

Paccheri and rigatoni are both short, wide tubular pastas. Paccheri the shorter of the two. It is originally from the Campania and Calabria regions of southwestern Italy. In Sarasota, paccheri can be purchased at Peperonata Pasta on South Tamiami Trail. Peperonata makes its own paccheri. 

The story goes that paccheri was  originally created to smuggle Italian garlic into Austria after Austrian farmers convinced their government to ban the import of the more flavorful Italian garlic.

Ingredients

- 12 oz boneless chicken breast (the original calls for thighs with skin and bones. I took the easier and probably less flavorful approach.) I cut this thick chicken breast into quarters before cooking.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped white onion 
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
- 1 cup (or more) dry white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed. (Publix carries a small package of saffron threads for $6.19 in the spice section.)
- 1 & 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
- 6 oz. of paccheri or rigatoni pasta
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet, skin-side down if you use thighs. Cook until golden brown - about 7 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to plate.

2. Add onion and garlic to skillet and cook until onions are slightly softened - 7 to 8 minutes. Add wine and saffron and bring to a boil.

3. Continue to boil until liquid is thickened and reduced by less than half - about 8 minutes. Add 1 & 1/4 cups of the the 1 & 1/2 cups of chicken broth.

4. Return chicken to skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer until chicken is very tender (adjust heat to prevent boiling, and turn chicken over after 30 minutes), about 1 hour total. Transfer chicken to plate and cool.

5. Reserve skillet with juices. If using thighs, remove skin and bones and toss. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Place in medium bowl and reserve.

6. Cook pasta in boiling salted water until tender, but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta and return to pot.

7. If using thighs, spoon and discard any fat from the juices in the skillet. Add heavy cream to juices in the skillet and boil until sauce is thick enough to coat spoon - about 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and chicken pieces. Stir over medium heat until heated through - about 5 minutes, stirring in an additional 1/4 cup chicken broth if needed to add a bit of sauce and an additional teaspoon of lemon juice, if desired. (I added the broth but not more juice.) Season with salt and pepper.

8. Add the chicken and sauce mixture to the pasta in the pot, and toss to coat. Stir in the basil. 

Single Skillet Pasta Dish - Angel Hair or Spaghetti

I wanted to try making a spaghetti dish with all the ingredients combined in a skillet instead of making the pasta and the sauce separately. Of course, I did an Internet search, and found one that was easy and delicious. It was on a video, which made it even easier. I made a couple of changes to adapt it to the ingredients I had on hand. This version produced two generous servings. I highly recommend watching the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VQEJARHJ44

Ingredients

- long thin pasta (I  used 4 oz. of thin spaghetti)
- 1/2 an onion sliced very thin
- 1 green pepper sliced very thin (This was not in the original recipe)
- 1 handful of cherry tomatoes sliced very thin (I used a 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes, including the juice in the can.)
- a small amount of sliced chili pepper (I skipped this ingredient.)
- a handful of basil leaves - half for the cooking and half to sprinkle on top after cooking
- 2 cloves of garlic sliced very thin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pecorino cheese to grate over finished pasta (I used Parmesan)
- olive oil to drizzle over ingredients before cooking
- cold water or chicken broth sufficient to cover ingredients in pan (I used a combination of water and the tomato juice from the canned tomatoes.)

Another ingredient I'd like to add next time is sliced green olives.

Directions

Lay the pasta in the bottom of a deep skillet.

Lay the onion, garlic, pepper, tomatoes, chili, and half the basil leaves on and around the spaghetti..

Drizzle olive oil on top of the ingredients.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.

Cover the ingredients with cold water and or chicken broth.

Turn the heat on high and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes starting from the time the heat is turned on. Stir from time to time and check the spaghetti to make sure it's al dente.

Grate pecorino on top of the finished pasta.

Add remaining basil leaves.

La Scarpetta - Delicious and Authentic Northern Italian Cuisine

There are many Italian restaurants in the Sarasota-Bradenton area, but most of them serve Italian-American cuisine as opposed to regional Italian cuisine. A delicious exception is La Scarpetta (http://lascarpettasarasota.com/), which bills itself as a rustic Italian restaurant. Many of the dishes on the menu are from the Emilia-Romagna Region of northern Italy, with food-famous cities like Parma, Modena, and Bologna. Parma is famous for Parma ham and Parmesan cheese, Modena for balsamic vinegar, and Bologna for Bolognese sauce.

The owners, Emilio and Rosaria Ferrara, are from Parma.

The menu (http://lascarpettasarasota.com/menu.html) has lots of meat dishes, as well as home-made Emilia-Romagna pastas like gramigna and caserecce. (I once wondered how many Italian pastas there were, so I started compiling a list. I stopped counting at 369, when I realized I still had a way to go.)

La Scarpetta has a nice, reasonably priced wine list, with wines from all over Italy, except Emilia-Romagna, which is not renowned for its wines.

Our meal started with a (free) amuse-bouche of onion focaccia bread and a crisp bread for a topping of mixed raisins, eggplant, and other goodies.

My wife started with a caprese salad ($8.90) and I had lentil and bacon soup ($8).

My next dish was Caprese di Burrata ($15.90) with burrata, Parma ham, and tomato with truffle sauce. Burrata is a soft Mozzarella cheese made of Mozzarella cheese and cream. Parma ham (Prosciutto di Parma) is one of the best types of Italian ham.

My wife then had the Ravioli di Zucca - pumpkin ravioli with walnut cream sauce ($16.90). This dish was incredible.

I had the Gramigna pasta with Italian sausage and cooked in wine and provolone cheese ($14.90). Gramigna are short, hollow, curled pieces of pasta. The dish was delicious.  It was sort of like mac and cheese comfort food.

For dessert, my wife had vanilla gelato with Italian cherries ($6) and I had Torta Sbrisolona with Vin Santo ($12.90). This torta is a crumbly cake meant for dipping in the Vin Santo. It is from Mantua Province, Lombardy Region.

Our wine was Badia di Morrona N'Antia ($58), a Tuscan red made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet France, and Petit Verdot. It was very nice.

The name "La Scarpetta"  means "The Shoe" and is from the Italian expression "fare la scarpetta" which literally means, "to do the shoe;" and figuratively means to mop your plate with a piece of bread by shaping it like a shoe.

Our server, Danny, was outstanding.

La Scarpetta open from 5;00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is located on Tuttle in a strip mall just north of Bee Ridge. It is in the building which used to house Morels restaurant. It is small, so it's best to make reservations.

Raspberry & Chocolate Ripple Semifreddo

This delicious recipe serves 10 and takes a bit of work, but it is well worth it. One nice thing about it is that it can be made a couple of days ahead of time. It is a nice, different dessert to add to an Italian meal.

The recipe below started with a recipe I found at http://www.bakersroyale.com/raspberry-and-chocolate-ripple-semifreddo/ I changed it by adding a couple of ingredients that I use in a Frances Mayes semifreddo that I love and have described in a previous post. I also added instructions and changed some instructions, on the basis of my own experience and the additional ingredients. 

The ingredients I added to the original recipe were Mascarpone cheese, milk, and additional raspberries.

Semifreddo is a type of soft Italian ice cream. The name means, "half cold."

Ingredients

- 4 oz. dark chocolate morsels
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 12 oz. raspberries - 8 oz. for puree and 4 oz. of whole raspberries to top when serving. (Raspberries at our Publix come in 6 oz. containers.)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1/2 cup of Mascarpone cheese
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 & 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla exract

Directions

1. Line a 9" x 5" loaf pan or dish with plastic wrap, leaving a 2" overhang on each side. The purpose of the plastic wrap is to allow you to easily remove the frozen semifreddo from the pan.

2. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir until melted and everything is combined. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Place 8 oz. raspberries and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a blender or food processor, and pulse until pureed. When the puree is finished, push it through a sieve into a bowl. This will remove the raspberry seeds from the puree. Scrape the bottom of the sieve with a small spoon to get additional puree into the bowl. Set aside.

4. This next step is one that requires a bit of care to avoid cooking the eggs. Place eggs, egg yolk, milk, and remaining sugar in a bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water. Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture for 10-15 minutes until it is pale or thick, or until the mixture thickens and forms trailing ribbons. Then remove from the heat and either cool the mixture by placing the bowl in an ice bath or continue stirring for 4-5 minutes to let the mixture cool. (When I was stirring the mixture over the simmering water, it only thickened slightly after about 15 minutes. This may have been due to my adding the milk.) If you see the slightest sign that the eggs are starting to harden and cook when stirring over the simmering water, immediately remove from the heat and keep stirring. After a minute or two, place the bowl back over the simmering water, and stir until mixture thickens. 

5. When the egg mixture is finished, let it cook in the refrigerator for about an hour and a half. When the mixture has cooled, stir in the Mascarpone cheese.

6. Place the heavy cream in a mixing bowl and use a mixer to mix it until it thickens and soft peaks form. Then add the vanilla and mix to combine. (Alternatively, you can use a hand mixer to whip the cream.) 

7. Now use a spatula to fold the egg-Mascarpone and the whipped cream mixtures together.

To Assemble

Pour a 1/2 cup or more of the semifreddo mixture into the loaf pan, and spoon stripes of raspberry puree and chocolate on top. Continue to layer until all the ingredients are combined. (I reserved a bit of the puree to spoon on top of each serving at serving time.)

Place in the freezer for 4-6 hours or until set.

When ready to serve, turn the loaf pan upside down over a cutting board, and remove the semifreddo. Slice, and top with puree and fresh raspberries.

Pork Tenderloin with Orange Juice - Delicious & Easy

This pork tenderloin recipe is from the Italian cookbook, Silver Spoon. It's delicious and really, really easy. The Italian name is Arrosto all'Arancia.

It serves 6 to 8. You can easily change the serving size by changing the size of the tenderloin.

Ingredients

- 2 & 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 & 1/2 cups orange juice, strained
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 garlic clove, diced
- pinch of chili powder
- pinch of oregano
- salt & pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°

2. Melt butter in a pan, and add orange juice, orange zest, garlic, chili powder and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, and mix well.

3. Let the meat set outside the refrigerator for half an hour, then rub with salt and pepper, and place in a roasting pan. (If you use a ceramic dish, you may have to change the cooking time.)

4. Pour in the juice mixture and baste the tenderloin. 

5. Roast the tenderloin for about 1 & 1/2 hours, basting frequently.

6. Carve and serve with the cooking juices.

Italian Green Beans in Egg Cream

Green Beans in Egg Cream - Fagiolini alla Crema d'Uova - is a nice & easy side. The recipe below serves 4, but I cut it in half for the two of us. 

(The recipe is from a huge and interesting Italian cook book that has over 2,000 recipes. The original version, Il Cucchiaio d'Argento, is in Italian, but I have the English-language version, The Silver Spoon. It is not just a translation, but an adaption with U.S.measurements. It's available on Amazon.)

Ingredients

- 4 & 1/4 cups of green beans (1 pound would probably be close enough.)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 small, mild onions, chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook the beans in salted, boiling water for 15 minutes. Then drain and chop. (If you like firmer beans, boil them for 10 minutes.)

2. While the beans are cooking, beat the eggs in a bowl, stir in the Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper.

3. Melt the butter in a pan over low heat. Add the onions, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the beans, mix well, and cook for a few minutes more.

5. Pour the egg mixture into the pan, stirring constantly. Then remove the pan from the heat.

Patate al Ramerino - Potatoes with Rosemary - Simple & Delicious Tuscan Side

This delicious and simple side dish from the Livorno area of the Tuscan coast is very easy to prepare and can easily be adjusted to accommodate different numbers of diners. The recipe serves 12, but I adjusted it to serve 4, by changing the number of potatoes. Preparation is fast, but cooking time is 1 hour.

The source of this recipe is Tuscany the Beautiful Cookbook, by Lorenza de' Medici, of the iconic de' Medici family. The book is a beautiful gift book.

Ingredients

- 12 small baking potatoes - 3 inches in length is good for the cooking time in this recipe, Larger potatoes will require longer cooking. Wash, but do not peel.
- 12 rosemary sprigs - the length of the potatoes.
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°

Cut each potato lengthwise about three quarters of the way through the center. 

Insert a sprig of rosemary into each incision. 

Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the olive oil into a baking dish in which the potatoes will fit without crowding.

Add the potatoes and roll them in the olive oil to coat all sides.

Bake until the potatoes are tender, about 1 hour.

Serve immediately.