Yes Today Is My Birthday But....

 

Yes today is my birthday. So I decided, seeing we are still snowed in, that I would make one of my favorite things for dinner. Baked Chicken just like my mom use to make.
I remember one year for my birthday she made me Fried Chicken. Oh My! My mom had a habit of what ever she would make, no matter what nationality, it came out tasting Italian. Well she got the Fried Chicken spot on! I was not about to fry chicken so I made her recipe for baked chicken.
Coat the cut up chicken pieces with olive oil and season with oregano, salt and pepper.
I added crushed red pepper, thyme and a bit of hot sauce and lemon juice.
Into a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes and then lower the oven to 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. The skin was crispy and the meat was moist.

Birthday cake, no! But I made a jam cookie with Strawberry Rhubarb Preserves that were made by a  co-worker's sister-in-law. They were soo good. Nice chunky pieces of strawberry.
My mom use to make a cookie that would have been perfect for these preserves. But I could not find the recipe. I have it and I know what the book that it is in looks like but damn I could not find it.

I was talking to my sister and mentioned that I was looking for the recipe. She said that it was her mother-in-law's recipe! And she had it right there.

Jam Cookies

Ingredients -
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening


4 tsp milk
3 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 jars preserves
Confectioner's sugar for sprinkling on top of baked cookies

Cut shortening into dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add eggs and milk. Mix and knead until blended. Divide into 4 pieces. Roll out into 7 1/2" by 12" sheets. Spread the jam 3/4" from edge. Sprinkle with nuts. Fold in 3 and seal the ends. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool and cut into 3/4 to 1 inch slices. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

While I did not get a cake I did get a lot of kisses from a certain little cat!

Steak Pizzaiola

Well it's not Leon's but dinner was pretty good. (We had reservations at Leon's but due to a lot of snow...)

I made my mom's recipe for Steak Pizzaiola.  I looked online and found a lot of different recipes but I like this one best.

Simple to make. Place steaks in baking dish. Pierce with fork. Top with plum tomatoes, crushed with your hands. Season with lots of oregano. Add basil, parsley, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and top with olive oil. Place in 400 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

A nice bottle of Montepulciano D'Abruzzo made this a perfect Saturday night dinner.

Ravioli Charlotte

Yes it is snowing. It is snowing a lot. We are in blizzard conditions. A tree fell in our yard while we were eating. So if a tree falls in the forest I will hear it!

Lights are flickering while I type this... Please keep the power on!
Okay enough of the histrionics and on to dinner.

On Wednesday I stopped at the store on the way home from work because we needed cat food and the looming storm was on the horizon. I thought I had to pick up storm essentials! Oh Golden Beets! We really need those.

And those golden beets were the main component of tonight's dinner. Dinner was named after the blizzard. 

I sauteed some pancetta until crisp and then added the sliced beets, which had been roasted earlier in the day. I sliced up the beet greens and added them to the pan, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and a little white wine. The ravioli was boiled and then added them to the saute pan to finish cooking. I also added a bit of the pasta water to the pan.

The result was delicious. 

Ready for some snow pictures?

 6PM -

7:45PM -

 I woke up at 3AM -

 

Beef Stew with Cannelini Beans

How about a short post tonight... after all we made short work of this dinner. The recipe is from from Every Night Italian. If you do not have this book you might want to add it to your collection.

Extra Easy Lasagna

I found this recipe on myrecipe.com. This was quite good. Any leftovers? Nope.

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
4 cups homemade marinara sauce
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup hot water


Method
Cook beef in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Stir in pasta sauce.

Spread one-third of meat sauce in a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish; layer with 3 noodles and half each of ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese. (The ricotta cheese layers will be thin.) Repeat procedure; spread remaining one-third of meat sauce over mozzarella cheese. Slowly pour 1/4 cup hot water around inside edge of dish. Tightly cover baking dish with 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Bake at 375° for 45 minutes; uncover and bake 10 more minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Leftover Spaghetti Con Capicola E Pangrattato

Remember last Saturday when I made Spaghetti Con Capicola E Pangrattato and I said to stay tuned for what was going to be done with the leftovers? Well here it is -

Spaghetti Pie.

The recipe for the Spaghetti Pie is from Cooking with Chef Silvio. It is the perfect way to use up leftover pasta.

Ingredients
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup pecorino romano cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and fresh ground pepper
12 oz cooked spaghetti, cold
2 tbsp butter


Method
In a bowl, beat the eggs, grated cheese, cream, parsley, salt and pepper until well combined. Stir in the spaghetti, then set aside. Place the butter in a deep pie tin and melt the butter in a 425 degree oven, and spread over the pan bottom. Pour half of the spaghetti mixture into the buttered pan and spread evenly. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 to 20 minutes,or until it is firm and golden.

We had this with the leftover soup from last night.

Farro, Chickpea and Chestnut Soup

If you to read something mouthwatering you need to visit Ciao Chow Linda's post Some Enchanted Evening. I was delighted when I saw the recipe for Farro, Chickpea and Chestnut Soup. I love when I have everything in the house for a recipe. This soup was delicious. Perfect after last week's meat filled menu.

Baked Pork Ribs with Hoisin Barbecue Sauce

 

If it is Super Bowl Sunday than you probably know what we are having for dinner. Baked Pork Ribs with Hoisin Barbecue Sauce from Epicurious.com. Easy to make and pretty much hands free, leaving extra time for commercial watching.

For snacks I made nachos and a new recipe - Roasted Rosemary Walnuts. You have to try these.

 

Another Super Bowl tradition are Nachos

Side dishes with dinner were Roasted Cauliflower and Leeks.
Yes Leeks. I found this recipe on Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome. Loved it! 

And Roasted Potatoes.

Spaghetti Con Capicola E Pangrattato

Spaghetti Con Capicola E Pangrattato was suppose to be Spaghetti with Speck and Bread Crumbs. I was searching the deli counter for Speck. That is what the recipe from La Cucina called for. The deli person said maybe Capicola would work... And it did!
This had a nice spicy bite to it.

Ingredients -
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 ounces Capicola, cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram, chopped
6 tablespoons fine plain bread crumbs
1/2 pound spaghetti
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Method -
In a large skillet, heat half of the butter and oil over medium heat until butter is melted. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 7 minutes.
Add Capicola and marjoram: cook, stirring, 3 minutes more. Transfer onion mixture to a plate. In the same skillet, lightly brown bread crumbs in the remaining butter; add onion mixture and stir to combine.
Remove from heat, and cover to keep warm.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil. Add spaghetti and cook to al dente; drain. Transfer spaghetti to skillet with onion mixture, toss to combine, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Best part about this dinner are the leftovers. What shall we do with them? Stay tuned...

Almost forgot to mention what we had as a starter. Stuffed Scallops. I purchased them at Robert's Food Center. They had the sale where you get 20% off your entire meat purchase with a coupon that was in our local paper. I love this sale. We stock up with usually enough meat to last us until the next sale.

 

Chicken Piccata

Tonight we had what was suppose to be last Saturday night's dinner. Chicken Piccata, Rice Balls, Roasted Butternut Squash. All three dishes were delicious. For the chicken I used the Giada De Laurentiis recipe on the Food Network site. Simple to prepare.

The butternut squash was tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and thyme. It roasted for about 40 minutes, stirring it half way through.

The rice balls were in the freezer and I served them with a quick marinara sauce.

Some 2005 Ecco Domani Chianti and we are ready for the weekend... is there a game on this weekend?

 Yes the Puppy Bowl!

And I had to share who was behind the scenes as I am snapping photos of our dinner tonight...

Giada De Laurentiis's Chicken Piccata

Method
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.
Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.