Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients

·       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

·       2 garlic cloves, minced

·       1/3 cup white wine

·       1-1/2 tablespoons corn starch, as needed for thickening

·       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 and cover.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, wine, chicken stock, garlic, and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Add corn starch as needed to thicken. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Ragù Bolognese

Ragù bolognese

MAKES ABOUT 8 SERVINGS.

15 minPrep Time

4 hr, 30Cook Time

4 hr, 45Total Time

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp olive oil

¼ cup [1/2 stick] butter

1 large yellow onion, finely and evenly diced

4 small (or 2 very large) carrots finely diced

4 stalks celery heart (or 2 large celery stalks) finely diced

4 garlic cloves, very finely diced

3 oz diced pancetta (¼-inch cubes, I found it in the deli section already diced from Boars Head)

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 lb. lean ground meat (blend of veal, pork and beef – or just beef)

1 cup dry white wine (like a Chardonnay)

2 cups [500 ml] milk

1 28-oz [828 ml] can whole San Marzano tomatoes, diced (both the liquid and the tomatoes)
1/2 can (14 oz.) Crushed Tomatoes

1 cup [250 ml] beef stock

Directions:

Heat the butter and the oil together in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted and the saucepan is hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and a good pinch of salt (about ½ tsp [2.5 ml]) and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the diced pancetta and cook for a further 10 minutes, until vegetables are softened and pancetta is golden. Increase the heat to high and add the meat a third at a time, stirring and breaking lumps with a spoon between each addition. Adding the meat gradually allows its liquid to evaporate – which is key if you want to brown your meat and not boil it. After the last addition, when no pink can be spotted in the meat and no lumps remain, set a timer to 15 minutes. You want your meat to caramelize and even become crispy in spots. More liquids will evaporate and flavors will concentrate. You want golden bits of meat to stick to the bottom of your pan, which will be deglazed later. Watch over your pan as you don’t want the meat to burn! When you see some serious caramelization action happening, lower heat to medium to reach the end of the 15-minute sautéing time.  

Over medium heat, pour the white wine into the sauce pan. With a wooden spoon, scrape all the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Push the meat all around to make sure you scrape it all off. By the time you’re finished, the wine will be evaporated (2-3 minutes). Be careful not to let the meat stick again (lower the heat if necessary).

Add milk, diced tomatoes and their liquid, beef stock, 1 tsp salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Bring to a boil and then lower to the lowest heat and let simmer very slowly, half-covered, for 4 hours. Stir once in a while. If your sauce starts sticking before the end of your cooking time, lower the heat (if possible) and/or add a bit of stock or water. In the end, the sauce should be thick, more oil- than water-based and thick like oatmeal. Adjust the seasoning one last time – don’t be afraid of adding more salt (tasting each time you add some), it is this recipe’s key seasoning. Simmer the bolognese sauce very slowly, half-covered, for 4 hours on the lowest heat possible

To serve:

A few dabs of butter on top

Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano

Fresh or dry tagliatelle, pappardelle, spaghetti, rigatoni, farfalle or even gnocchi, cooked in salted boiling water according to the manufacturer’s instructions

Note: Finely dice the onion, carrot and celery to make a basic soffritto - and to end up with a better sauce texture too.

Special Notes:

 * In 1982, the Academia Italiana della Cucina officially registered the recipe with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce. The classic recipe must contain: onions, celery, carrots, pancetta, ground beef, tomatoes, milk and white wine.

Ingredient notes:

·       Onion, celery, carrots: Dice everything evenly in small ¼-inch dices. The size uniformity of these ingredients will allow them to cook evenly and will produce a more enjoyable texture. By the way, this combination of ingredients, cooked in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper, is called a soffritto and is the base of many Italian dishes.

·       Tomatoes are not a main ingredient in the sauce – you add a bit of it for taste but it is a meat sauce, first and foremost.

·     

I

Marinara Sauce from an Irishman

Marinara Sauce

Everyone has their own sauce recipe. Here's mine. I got it from my Irish Mom, and tweeked it to my own taste over the years. I have had no complaints from my Italian family.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium – large onion, diced

4 -5 cloves garlic, diced

1 pint fresh sliced mushrooms

1 28 oz. can Tuttorosso Crushed Tomatoes

1 28 oz. can Tuttorosso Tomato Sauce

1 28 oz. can Tuttorosso Tomato Puree

1 small can of tomato paste

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

1 ½ tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon pepper

1 ½ tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1. Heat the oil to medium-high in a large sauté pan. Add the onions, mushrooms, and garlic and cook until soft, but not burning the garlic.

2. Add to a large sauce pot (min. 8 qt.) the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, puree, and paste and blend with a large spoon. Add the onions, mushrooms, and garlic.

3. Stir in the seasoning, salt, pepper, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for at least an hour. Make adjustments with seasoning if needed.

·      * I like to cook the sauce a day ahead so the flavors meld together nicely. With a ceramic pot, I can leave the sauce in it overnight in the fridge. I recommend transferring to a large bowl after cooling off enough if you cooked in a metal pot.

·      ** I usually end up freezing a lot of the sauce since we never use it up fast enough. I put it in leftover Chinese soup containers. One pint container will do for a meal for the two of use easily.

·      *** The sauce goes well with meatballs, but I make it without meat because most of my “diners” prefer it that way. You can always add meatballs or browned chopmeat.

Shrimp Egg Rolls (Air Fryer Recipe)

Shrimp Egg Rolls

Serves: 8

Ingredients

·       1 tablespoon vegetable oil

·       ½ head green or savoy cabbage, finely shredded

·       1 cup shredded carrots

·       1 cup canned bean sprouts, drained

·       1 tablespoon soy sauce

·       ½ teaspoon sugar

·       1 teaspoon sesame oil

·       ¼ cup hoisin sauce

·       freshly ground black pepper

·       1 pound cooked shrimp, diced

·       ¼ cup scallions

·       8 egg roll wrappers

·       vegetable oil

·       duck sauce

Instructions

1.     Pre-heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and cook the cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts until they start to wilt – about 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, hoisin sauce and black pepper. Sauté for a few more minutes. Stir in the shrimp and scallions and cook until the vegetables are just tender. Transfer the mixture to a colander in a bowl to cool. Press or squeeze out any excess water from the filling so that you don’t end up with soggy egg rolls.

2.     To make the egg rolls, place the egg roll wrappers on a flat surface with one of the points facing towards you so they look like diamonds. Dividing the filling evenly between the eight wrappers, spooning the mixture onto the center of the egg roll wrappers. Spread the filling across the center of the wrappers from the left corner to the right corner, but leave 2 inches from each corner empty. Brush the empty sides of the wrapper with a little water. Fold the bottom corner of the wrapper tightly up over the filling, trying to avoid making any air pockets. Fold the left corner in toward the center and then the right corner toward the center. It should now look like an envelope. Tightly roll the egg roll from the bottom to the top open corner. Press to seal the egg roll together, brushing with a little extra water if need be. Repeat this technique with all 8 egg rolls.

3.     Pre-heat the air fryer to 370ºF.

4.     Spray or brush all sides of the egg rolls with vegetable oil. **Air-fry four egg rolls at a time for 8 minutes, 

turning them over halfway through the cooking time.

** You can deep fry these also.

Serve hot with duck sauce, thai dipping sauce, or your favorite dipping sauce