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dirtydog

In this episode: Maria prepares a delicious meal consisting of chicken-spinach rolls with homemade alfredo sauce, a colorful caprese salad, and fresh italian bread.

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dirtydog

In this episode: Maria prepares a delicious meal consisting of chicken-spinach rolls with homemade alfredo sauce, a colorful caprese salad, and fresh italian bread.

friscofrankies pasta and meat sauce Recipe (Worlds Best Pasta & Meat Sauce)

dirtydog

Meatloaf is as good the next day as it is fresh out the oven (some say better!). This recipe is delicious and simple, as usual.

dirtydog

Ingredients

1 recipe basic pasta dough
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 pound white mushrooms, cut into thick slices
2 cups pitted black olives
1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped to yield 1/4 cup
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating

Directions

Prepare the pasta dough according to the recipe and roll it out to the fourth from last thickness on a pasta rolling machine. Cut into 1/4-inch thick ribbons and set aside.

In a 12 to 14-inch skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat until smoking. Add the garlic and mushrooms and saute over high heat until the mushrooms are browned. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the sauteed mushrooms and garlic, the olives and the parsley and puree. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.
In the same saute pan, heat the butter over high heat until it foams and subsides. Add the olive puree and chile flakes and cook 5 minutes. Season to taste.
Cook the pasta in the boiling water 1 or 2 minutes. Drain and toss in the saute pan with the sauce. Divide evenly among 4 warmed pasta bowls, grate Parmigiano-Reggiano over, and serve immediately.

BASIC PASTA DOUGH:

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
4 extra large eggs
1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Mound 3 1/2 cups of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well.

As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up from the base of the mound to retain the well shape. The dough will come together when half of the flour is incorporated. Start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands. Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up and discard any leftover bits. Lightly reflour the board and continue kneading for six more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Roll or shape as desired.

dirtydog

dirtydog

TOTAL TIME: 40 MIN
SERVES: 4

Chef Way The chefs at Bastianich’s Missouri restaurant, Lidia’s Kansas City, make their own chicken stock for this tangy dish.
Easy Way The sautéed chicken dish is just as marvelous made with store-bought chicken broth.

ingredients

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 lemons, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Two 5-ounce bags baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs
• Four 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1/2 cup pitted green Sicilian or Spanish olives, sliced
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small dice
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil on the parchment, then arrange the lemon slices in a single layer. Drizzle the lemons lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, until the lemons begin to brown around the edges.

1. Meanwhile, heat a large, deep skillet. Add the spinach and cook over high heat, tossing, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Transfer the spinach to a strainer; press out the liquid. Wipe out the skillet and heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in it. Add the bread crumbs and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until toasted, 2 minutes. Add the spinach, season with salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute.
2. In a deep medium skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust with the flour, shaking off the excess. Cook the chicken over high heat, turning once, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add the olives, capers and stock and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat until the stock is reduced by about two-thirds, about 5 minutes. Add the roasted lemons, butter and parsley, season with salt and pepper and simmer just until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute.
3. Transfer the chicken to plates and spoon the sauce on top. Serve the spinach on the side.

dirtydog

Basic Rustic Italian Bread Recipe:


Preparation Time: about 20 minutes
Cooking Time: about 30 minutes
Resting Time: about 2 hours

Ingredients:

3 cups Flour
1 pack Dry Active Yeast
1 tsp. Salt
1/8 cup Cornmeal (optional)
1 Beaten Egg (optional)

How to make it:

1. Sift flour into a large bowl. Mix in salt with hand. Move the ingredients to the sides of the bowl, creating a large "well" (an empty space) in the middle.
2. Pour the yeast into the "well" and pour 1 cup of lukewarm water over the yeast. Sprinkle about 1 tbsp. of flour over top. Wait (about 10 minutes) for bubbles to appear in the yeast.
3. Once the bubbles have appeared, you can start to mix together the ingredients (hands work best, but you can use a mixer) to form the dough. The best way to do this, is to gradually incorporate the flour that is "waiting" on the sides of the bowl. Doing it all at once will be too difficult. So, go bit by bit, if it's too liquid, just add a bit more flour at the end. You should finish this "pre-kneading" stage with a round, firm ball of dough. Again, if it's too sticky, add a little more flour.
4. Kneading: remove the bread from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead it by pushing your palms into and then turning it one quarter. Keep kneading and doing quarter turns for about 5-10 minutes, or until the bread is supple and non-sticky.
5. Place the bread in a lightly floured bowl and cover with a damp dish cloth. Let it rise for about 1 hour (depends on the room temperature, you want it to be fairly warm). It should double in size.
6. Re-sprinkle a counter top (or other surface) with flour. Prepare a baking pan by lightly oiling it and sprinkling the bottom with cornmeal (if you don't have cornmeal, just use flour). With your hands, remove bread and place on floured surface. Punch it down once, hard, with your palms. Now, re-shape it into a loaf. Put the loaf on the baking pan. Cover with dish towel and let rise for about 1 hour. It should double in size.
7. If you want, coat the top with the beaten egg. Put in oven at 375°F and bake for 30 minutes (more or less, depending on how much you like it browned).
Voilà!

Tip:

If your yeast doesn't bubble, it's no longer active or you didn't use lukewarm water. You should start over in this case, because the bread will not rise.

Freezing: If you are planning on freezing the bread, only bake it for 20 minutes. Wait for it to cool, then wrap in tin foil, put in a plastic bag and freeze. When you want to serve it, just preheat oven to 400°F, bake inside of foil for 10 minutes and then remove foil and let brown for about 5 minutes.

More Italian Bread Recipes…

dirtydog

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
2 pounds ground lamb
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Tzatziki Sauce

Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice. Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.

To cook in the oven as a meatloaf

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

To cook on a rotisserie

Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape and place on top of 2 overlapping pieces of plastic wrap that are at least 18 inches long. Roll the mixture in the plastic wrap tightly, making sure to remove any air pockets. Once the meat is completely rolled in the wrap, twist the ends of the plastic wrap until the surface of the wrap is tight. Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight, to allow the mixture to firm up.

Preheat the grill to high.

Place the meat onto the rotisserie skewer. Place a double-thick piece of aluminum foil folded into a tray directly under the meat to catch any drippings. Cook on high for 15 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F. Turn off the heat and allow to continue to spin for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes, and feta cheese.

Tzatziki Sauce:
16 ounces plain yogurt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
Pinch kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

Place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
Yield: 1 1/2 cups

dirtydog

Ingredients

6 cups chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups Arborio rice
5 ounces wild mushrooms, cooked and coarsely chopped, approximately 3/4 cup
7 ounces asparagus, cooked and cut into 1-inch pieces, approximately 1 1/2 cups
2 ounces grated Parmesan, approximately 1/2 cup
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

In an electric kettle or medium saucepan with a lid, combine chicken broth and white wine and heat just to simmering. Keep warm. In a large 3 to 4-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and sweat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the grains are translucent around the edges. Be careful not to allow the grains or the onions to brown.

Reduce the heat to low. Add enough of the wine and chicken stock just to cover the top of the rice. Stir or move the pan often, until the liquid is completely absorbed into rice. Once absorbed, add another amount of liquid just to cover the rice and continue stirring or moving as before. There should be just enough liquid left to repeat 1 more time. It should take approximately 35 to 40 minutes for all of the liquid to be absorbed. After the last addition of liquid has been mostly absorbed, add the mushrooms and asparagus and stir until risotto is creamy and asparagus is heated through. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, lemon zest, and nutmeg. Taste and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

*Cook's Note: If fresh wild mushrooms are not available, reconstituted dried mushrooms can be used instead. Place 2 ounces of dried mushrooms into a bowl and cover with warm water. Allow to sit for about 30 minutes or until all the mushrooms are soft and pliable.

Brown Rice and Squash Crockpot "Risotto"

Recipe by: Carolin

Servings: 2 - 4
3/4 cup uncooked short-grain brown rice
1 medium acorn or other winter squash, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
1 tsp black pepper
4 cups water or veggie "chicken" broth
2 cubes veggie "chicken" boullion if using water
balsamic vinegar (optional)
Ok, so it's not real risotto, but you don't have to babysit it like real risotto and it tastes great!

Sauté onion in non-stick skillet until brown and caramelized.

Add onion and all other ingredients except balsamic vinegar to crock-pot. Cook on high for 3- 4 hours. (Check water towards the end of cooking to make sure it is not getting too dry)

Garnish with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar before serving.

dirtydog

Ingredients

• EGG YOLKS, 6 large
• SUGAR, 1/4 cup
• SWEET MARSALA WINE, 1/4 cup
• MASCARPONE, 1-1/2 cups
• HEAVY CREAM, 1 cup
• ESPRESSO, 1 cup brewed and cooled
• COFFEE-FLAVORED LIQUEUR, 3 tablespoons
• LADYFINGERS (SAVOIARDI), 36
• DUTCH-STYLE COCOA POWDER, 3 tablespoons

Directions

1. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl until thick.
2. Place the bowl over, not in, a sauce pan of simmering water and continue beating, gradually adding the sugar and the marsala.
3. Beat until the mixture is as thick as softly whipped cream, about six minutes.
4. Remove the bowl from the heat and continue beating until this zabaglione mixture has cooled to room temperature.
5. Refrigerate.
6. Beat the mascarpone until it is smooth.
7. Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks, then fold it into the mascarpone.
8. Fold in the zabaglione.
9. Mix the espresso with the coffee-flavored liqueur.
10. Line the bottom of a 9-inch square glass or porcelain baking dish with half the savoiardi. Brush them with half of the espresso.
11. Spoon half of the zabaglione over them.
12. Top with another layer of savoiardi, brush with the remaining espresso, and smooth over the rest of the zabaglione on top.
13. Dust the top with the cocoa sieved through a fine strainer.
14. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

dirtydog

Ingredients:


80 gms chopped Bacon
2 cloves Garlic
2 tblsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Dash of dry white wine
2 Eggs
50 gms freshly Grated Cheese (Parmesan, Cheddar)
1 tbsp chopped Parsley
2 tblsp Cream
200 gms Spaghetti
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste


How to make spaghetti carbonara recipe:

• Boil the pasta and keep it aside.
• Heat the oil in a pan and add squashed the garlic cloves.
• When garlic cloves gets brown in color take them out and throw them.
• Now add the chopped bacon till crispy.
• Add a dash of the dry white wine stir it continuously and then turn of the flame.
• In a bowl, beat the eggs and then add parsley, cream, cheese and pepper.
• Add the cooked pasta to the beaten egg mixture.
• Mix it evenly.
• Now add the wine flavored bacon and mix again.
• Serve it hot.

dirtydog

dirtydog

Ingredients

• 500g / about 1 pound of spaghetti (I like no. 7, or Spaghettoni)
• 1 50g can of flat anchovies - or two, if you want
• 1 large lemon
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup of pine nuts
• 1tsp or more of red pepper flakes
• olive oil
• freshly grated Parmesano Reggiano, or Grana Padano (optional)

Directions

Cook the spaghetti in salted water to the al dente stage. While it's cooking, chop the garlic and sauté in olive oil. Toast the pine nuts gently in a dry frying pan.
Add the anchovies to the garlic and oil. It will spit at you vigorously, so be careful. Smoosh up the anchovies with your spatula. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the pan. Add the red pepper flakes, and some black pepper. You shouldn't need to add salt, since the anchovies are salty enough.
Add the just cooked spaghetti to the sauce. Add the toasted pine nuts and toss vigourously. Sprinkle with cheese at the table. If you like, add some Tabasco to give it even more heat.