Italian Favorites

[iqueen]

Well here I am taking up Jeanne's challenge and starting an Italian Favorite thread. What is your favorite and what is your favorite from CL. My favorite authentic that my father always made is Lasagna made with his secret recipe sauce, meatballs and Italian Sausage. Don't ask for the recipe; however, because it is a family secret.

My favorite from cooking light...so far.. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif that's tough. You all know that I truly love the March issue and that I truly love the Shrimp Orzo and the Sicilian Tuna Steaks w/Couscous.

My other favorites. Well I love to make Foccacia Bread and serve it with Caponata. I love to make fresh pizzas with good olive oil and parmesan reggiano. I love to make pasta with lots of tomatoes and any kind of sausage. I love good red Italian wine with all of it.

Good lord! Now I'm starving. Time to head home and start the eating and drinking for the weekend.

Have a great one everybody.

[Jeanne G]

Iqueen!

I'm excited about your thread! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif You already sound like you have much to offer and share. One thing you have me curious about (of the many) is your foccicia bread. I have a ton of fresh rosemary to use in it! I would love to have the recipe. Also, is ciabatta (sp?) Italian? There's a bakery in town that makes one with broccoli, cheddar and mushrooms. Mmmmmm And can you put those sort of ingredients into foccacia?

And, speaking of Italian reds.....do you have a favorite that is somewhat reasonable? I tend to drink reds more in the colder months of Fall and Winter.

I'm excited to see what this thread brings!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[lindrusso]

I've always said that I would love to have dinner in Italy followed by dessert in France!

Anyway, it's hard to pin down a favorite, but a few non-CL favorites are Cannelloni with Spinach, Goat Cheese, Walnuts and Roasted Garlic-Tomato Sauce and Seafood Fra Diavlo. Also a good, old-fashioned Spaghetti and Meatballs.

My favorite CL recipes are the Spinach-Mushroom Lasagna and the Spaghetti Pie.

[Sandy1]

Pizza, pizza & more pizza..
Vegetarian please (not me..just the pizza pie!)
And has anyone got a really good recipe for pizza dough (of the whole wheat variety)?
And Lindrusso...I too love the Spaghetti Pie.

Thanks,
Sandy.

[iqueen]

JeanneG:

I will have to try to remember to bring in my foccacia bread recipe. I have never made Ciabatah and I don't know if it is Italian or not. I don't put things in my foccacia, only on top. Normally I drizzle it with olive oil and put cheese and dried tomatoes on it, maybe some onion. I have to admit that a lot of times I cheat and buy already prepared foccacias from the farmers market.

About wine. I love any Sangiovese. Luna from Napa Valley makes a very good one. Any from Italy are usually good. Also, the reds from Montichello and Montipulciano(spelling) are very good and usually inexpensive.

These are good strong wines that go well with winter fare such as stews and soups and Italian dishes. Enjoy:d

[ellielk]

Ooh, iqueen, I would love to be able to make foccaccia. I like it with olive oil and basil. My favorite is spaghetti (or angel hair pasta) with oil and garlic (oglio y olio?). Sometimes, while I'm heating the oil and garlic, I throw in some chopped clams - heaven.

[RunnerKim]

Sandy1,

Here's the whole wheat pizza dough recipe I use - it always handles so nicely

1 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

I make this in my bread machine and make sure to give it a good "rest" before I shape it.

Kim

[Sandy1]

RunnerKim;
Thanks for the pizza dough recipe. I'll try it this coming weekend!
Sandy.

[Jeanne G]

Iqueen,
I copied and pasted this one that I posted in the Swiss Chard thread. Thought you might find it interesting.

Here's a very Italian reicpe that I obtained from my SIL's mom's cousin who lives in Italy and was in the USA visiting last year(the name, as I'm told refers to "stangle the priest" b/c apparently this dish was made at a dinner the priest was at and he didn't like it, so the name became somewhat of a joke!):

Strangolapreti

My SIL's mom translated it via some computer program to English, but I will post basically what the Italian woman told me in person. It's much easier to understand. And forgive that there are no exact measurements.

Ingredients:
Approx 20-25 swiss chard leaves, washed, trimmed of the stems and coarsely chopped
1 egg
3 portions of flour (maybe 1 1/2 C??)
s & p
a little parmesan
this is my addition, and I use alot: dill weed
You may also want to add a little bit of bread crumbs, I've done that

Mix everything in food processor. Try to obtain a mixture something like dough, but not as easily moulded. Spoon a small "ball" of it in your hand(if you can get it to the consistency where you can actually roll it in your hands, that's perfect!) Most of the time I'm somewhere in between. Drop it into boiling water and wait for it to rise. After it's risen, remove w/ slotted spoon and put on plate w/ reduced fat butter and shredded parmesan.

It's wonderful. And it's the very first recipe I ever made with chard. But unfortunately, like I said, I have no real recipe. It's from memory and I have made it where I have to put the mixture on a spoon and slide it off into the boiling water with my finger. It's not the prettiest but it tastes almost the same!


Oops! Had to come back to tell you that I tried your popswine.com tonight and was checking (and checking and checking) selecting wines but it did not want to show me my "basket". It's like it got stuck!
http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif So! I'll have to try again!! Too bad you don't live closer, sounds to me like we could really have fun sharing wine! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif


[This message has been edited by Jeanne G (edited 10-16-2000).]

[Jeanne G]

Iqueen,

I'm bumping you up to remind you we want your facaccia bread recipe. And what is Caponata?

I went to have a dress altered yesterday(the lady & family are VERY Italian!-they even keep the tv on a station that is all Italian) and asked the daughter what her favorite Italian foods were. She said Pizza, and that they make it different in Italy. She said the crust is very thin and they wood fire it(there's places in town here that wood fire too). But she said in Italy there's not a lot of "stuff" on it, and you get served a pizza per person(my kinda place!). Do you have a good pizza dough recipe like in Italy? I have a few that I make but didn't know if you had one more along the Italian style. She also said the mozzarella is WAY WAY different in Italy. Do you order online any specialty Italian mozzarellas? Just curious!!

Boy am I hungry!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[venus]

You guys are making me hungry! I love Italian food--how funny that I married an Italian. Ciabatta is an Italian bread, that's baked in a brick oven. It's a denser, crustier bread than regular Italian bread, and I think it must be made with some sort of wheat flour since it usually looks like whole wheat. It is wonderful for sandwiches--I like it with Pfefferwurst, cheddar cheese, tomatoes and butter, but it's good with anything. I've never had ciabatta with toppings--I think that it was probably focaccia.

Focaccia is very easy to make. I have a recipe from the Better Homes and Garden's cookbook that I have made many times but I can't remember it right now. It freezes really well. i would love to have your version iqueen. My favorite kind of focaccia is the Tomato and Parmesan from the Grand Central Market--to die for!

Eggplant Caponata is also sometimes called Eggplant Caviar. I think it has parsley, garlic and roasted red peppers in it. It is similar to Baba Ganoush but yummier, IMHO.

I cannot pick one favorite Italian food--i love them all http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/tongue.gif

[emilycat]

I think my favorite Italian dish is Linguine al Pesto. It was the simplest dish I had in Italy this summer (which was absolutely my favorite country to eat in)and it was so fabulous. I ate the whole thing, which is amazing for me, since I have some eating issues. I've tried to make it numerous times since, and it just hasn't matched up. I think that's probably because I refuse to use as much olive oil as I should.
My fave CL Italian recipe...hmmm...I know this is kind of an Italian rendition, but I loved the chicken scampi. According to my parents and siblings, I have "interesting" tastes. (I prefer to call them innovative and sophisticated). This dish didn't last 10 seconds on the table.
Emily

[iqueen]

I will try to remember the foccacia and the caponata recipes no later than this weekend and post them on Monday. (If I can find them) http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif

[Ohioan]

Here's one recipe for caponata:

Caponata

Recipe By :Bryanna Clark Grogan
Serving Size : 2

1/2 lb eggplant -- cut in 3/4" cubes
1 stalk celery -- diced
1/2 sm onion -- chopped
1 clove garlic -- minced
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 c tomato puree
1/4 c green or kalamata olives -- sliced
1/4 c dry red wine
1 Tbsp capers
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsps sugar
Salt and pepper -- to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil, place eggplant cubes on it, and spray again. Bake 30 minutes, or until eggplant is soft and browned on the bottom. Meanwhile, saute the celery, onion, and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until the celery has softened. Add the baked eggplant, along with the tomato puree, capers, olives, vinegar, sugar, and wine. (Diced bell pepper may also be added at this point.) Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick, about 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot or at room temperature.

Source:
"Nonna's Italian Kitchen"
Yield:
1-1/2 cups

Per serving: 174 Calories (kcal); 6g Total Fat; (29% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 725mg Sodium

[Laura]

Lindrusso
Could you post your canneloni recipe? It sounds amazing! (no rush though, I probably won't make it until at least next weekend)

[lindrusso]

It is very yummy! Here is the link to the recipe:
http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Forum1/HTML/000879.html

[iqueen]

Here is the recipe for Caponata. I couldn't find my foccacia bread recipe. Sorry.

2 Medium Unpeeled Eggplant in 1" dice
Salt & Pepper
2 Sweet Peppers (red or green) in 1" dice
6 celery stalks cut in quarters & then in 1" lengths
1 Large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups Tomatoes, chopped (can be canned)
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
2/3 cup Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup green olives, pitted & halved
2 TBSP Capers, drained
2 Bay Leaves *Remove before serving

Toss eggplant with salt & pepper and drain in colander for an hour. Rinse & dry with paper towels.
In a large bowl combine eggplant, peppers, celery, onion and tomatoes.
In a smal bowl combine vinegar, oil & garlic, add to veggies and toss. Add raisins, capers, and olives.
Put it all into a large pyrex dish. Bury the bay leaves, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove foil and bake 1 1/2 hours more, stirring occasionally and season to taste.

Enjoy!