Italian Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

2 tbsp chopped olives or sundried tomatoes - whatever you've got

1 garlic clove, crushed
½ tsp dried mixed herbs
200g tub full-fat soft cheese
4 plump boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 ripe tomatoes, sliced
olive oil, for drizzling

Method:

1. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Beat the olives or sundried tomatoes, garlic and almost all the herbs into the cheese, then season. Cut a slit along the side of each chicken breast, then use your knife to open it out into a pocket.
2. Stuff each breast with a quarter of the cheese mix, then press to close. Lift onto a greased baking tray. Season the top of the chicken, then overlap tomato slices over the top of each piece of chicken. Season, then scatter with the remaining herbs. Drizzle with olive oil.
3. Roast for 20 mins until the chicken is golden around the edges and the tomatoes look a little shrivelled. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Italian tuna balls

Ingredients:

2 160g cans of tuna in sunflower or olive oil, drained (reserve a little oil)

small handful of pine nuts
freshly grated zest 1 lemon
small handful parsley leaves, roughly chopped
50g fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
400g spaghetti
500g jar pasta sauce

 

Method:

1. Flake the tuna into a bowl, then tip in the pine nuts, lemon zest, parsley, breadcrumbs and egg. Season and mix together with your hands until completely combined. Roll the mix into 12 walnut-size balls. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil, then cook the spaghetti according to pack instructions.
2. Heat a little of the tuna oil in a large non-stick frying pan, then fry the tuna balls for 5 mins, turning every minute or so until completely golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Heat the tomato sauce, then toss together with the pasta and tuna balls.

Buttery Almond Jam Bars barstop

Yield: Makes 24 Bars

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cups All-purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Almond Meal
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
3/4 Cup (1 1/2 Sticks or 6 Ounces) Softened Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Sugar
2 Large Egg Yolks
1 Teaspoon Almond Extract
2/3 Cup Low Sugar Strawberry Jam
1 Cup Sliced Almonds

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line an 8 inch square pan with two strips of parchment paper crossways allowing the paper to hang over the sides, then spray the pan with cooking spray.

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

Ingredients:

3 lbs chicken pieces
1 (2/3 ounce) package Italian salad dressing mix
4 tablespoons melted butter (divided)
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth
 

 

Method:

1 Place chicken pieces in crock pot and sprinkle Italian seasoning over chicken. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons melted butter.
2 Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
3 Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a sauce pan and saute onion and garlic. Add Cream of Chicken Soup, cream cheese, and chicken broth. Stir until smooth.
4 Add this mixture to crock pot and cook on low for an additional hour.

Capunti Pasta

Capunti Pasta with Dried Sweet Italian Peppers (Capunti Con Cruschi)

 

Ingredients

1 recipe semolina pasta dough (see recipe below)

6 tablespoons (88 ml) extra-virgin olive oil 

2 cloves garlic, sliced  

2 pints grape tomatoes, halved if large 

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley  

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

4 dried sweet peppers, such as cruschi  

3 ounces (85 g) ricotta salata, shaved 

BASIC SEMOLINA PASTA DOUGH:  

3 cups (375 g) semolina flour 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt  

1 1/4 cups warm water

Method.

Make the pasta dough: On a clean work surface, mix together the semolina flour and the salt. Make a well in the flour and add the water to the center of the well a little at time. With a fork, gradually pull some of the flour into the water mixture, and continue mixing until a soft dough begins to form. With your hands, knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let rest for 20 minutes. Cut the dough into desired shapes.

Chocolate Espresso Pirouette Parfaits

These rich Italian-style stirred custard desserts are spiked with coffee and garnished with cookies and shaved chocolate.  They're very easy to make and make a beautiful presentation.

 

Ingredients

1 canister (14.1 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Pirouette® Chocolate Fudge Rolled Wafers 

4 egg yolk 

1/4 cup granulated sugar 

1/4 cup prepared instant espresso 

regular coffee 

2 tablespoon sweet Marsala wine 

4 ounce mascarpone cheese (about 1/2 cup) 

1 cup heavy cream 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar 

1/4 cup grated bittersweet chocolate

 

Method

Reserve 8 whole wafers for garnish.  Cut the remaining wafers into 2-inch-long pieces.

Beat the egg yolks and granulated sugar in the top pan of a double boiler over hot water with a whisk for 5 minutes or until the mixture is thickened.

Stir the coffee, wine and cheese in the pan.  Cook and stir with a whisk for 10 minutes.  Remove the pan from the double boiler.  Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.

Beat the heavy cream, vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Divide the espresso cream among 8 glasses.  Top each with about 1/2 cup wafter pieces.  Divide the whipped cream and the chocolate among the glasses.  Garnish each with 1 whole wafer.

Tip: For a chic serving idea, serve this dessert in wine or martini glasses.

Bitter Greens Salad With Roasted Beets And Orange Vinaigrette

We just returned to Toronto where almost any type of ingredient is readily available and while grocery shopping recently we made a great find. Although radicchio lettuce is now found in many produce stores, one normally only finds radicchio di Chioggia, which is maroon, round, and about the size of a grapefruit, or radicchio di Treviso, which resembles a large Belgian endive. We were very surprised to find a very rare type of radicchio called radicchio di Castelfranco, which is a ruffled variety that is creamy white in color with burgundy flecks. This rare variety is a little milder than the more common varieties but still has a slightly bitter taste.

We were so excited by our new find that we bought a head of Castelfranco, one of Treviso, and a red leaf lettuce to balance out the salad and created this recipe. I decided to add roasted beets to the salad which are naturally sweet, and dressed the salad with a zesty orange vinaigrette to cut just a little of the bitterness of the lettuce.

Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 2011

Sweet roasted beets balance out the bitter greens in this winter salad perfectly.

Ingredients:
1 Head Racchicio di Treviso
1 Head Radicchio di Castelfranco
1 Head Red Leaf Lettuce
4 Green Onions
4 Medium Beets
1/4 Cups Olive Oil
5 Tablespoons Orange Juice
Zest of 1/2 Orange
Sea Salt
Cracked Black Pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Wash the beets, remove the stems, place the beets in a casserole dish, and bake until tender, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Allow to cool.

Remove the stems and tear the lettuce into two to three inch pieces.

Place the lettuce in ice water for 15 minutes, drain, and place in a salad spinner to remove all traces of liquid.

Peel the beets, and cut into 1 inch dice.

Set aside.

Chop the green onions.

Mix together the olive oil, orange juice and zest, and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper.

Place the lettuce in a large bowl and drizzle the dressing over top, then toss lightly to coat all of the leaves.

Arrange the dressed leaves on four individual plates.

Arrange the beets and onions on each plate and serve.