Kitchen Wishlist

One of my favorite places to shop for Kitchenware is hands down Anthropologie.
(Hmm I wonder if they accept wedding registries)
Here are my top five kitchen pieces that I absolutely need to add to my kitchen

L’Epice Jars $4 each
Hobnail Tumbler $10
Laguiole Steak Knives $78
Amazon Dream Pitcher $58
Amazon Dream Platter $58

 

Pico de Gayo give me hope

The other night, I was tired of cooking the same old grilled chicken. Recently, I have been trying to stay away from red meats since bikini season is right around the corner. So, to keep my dinners on the lighter side but still tasting good, I have been topping chicken with a few different mixtures. One mixture that comes to mind while I wait for Spring and Summer to grace Philadelphia with it’s presence is Pico de Gayo. There is something that I have always liked about Pico de Gayo, I think that it is the fresh smell that cilantro and lime add. I am also attracted to making this topping because not only is it fresh, but you can make a larger portion of it and store it in the fridge for a few days. It works well with chicken, steak, tuna or some chips for a snack. This recipe is pretty simple, takes all of ten minutes to make.

Pico de Gayo:
1 1/2 cups seeded, diced tomatoes
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon diced jalapenos
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons cilantro, plus extra for garnish
Salt and pepper

Chop up the tomatoes, onion, jalepenos and garlic. Mix in a bowl. Add lime juice, cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

Lemon Butter sauce with Shrimp

As an Italian, who grew up eating spaghetti and meatballs every Sunday, I almost always have to satisfy my weekly craving of “macaroni”. However, I always look for ways to make pasta with something different to avoid the same old meal. This week, I created a shrimp and pasta dish, with a lemon butter sauce. The lemon butter sauce is a really easy and can be paired with many things such as chicken or salmon. So think of this recipe as a 2 for 1.

Lemon Butter Sauce
1 cup dry white wine
3 lemons
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
3 turns freshly ground black pepper
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 stick
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil

Directions:
Combine the wine, lemons, garlic, and basil and cook for 3 minutes. Add in the white wine and stir in the salt, pepper, Worcestershire until the mixture somewhat syrupy, for about 3 minutes. Stir in the cream and cook for 1 minute. Over low heat, whisk in the butter a few pats at a time. When all of the butter has been melted, add in the shrimp. Once shrimp is cooked, serve immediately over pasta.

Seven Fish

I hope everyone had a great holiday and yes, I know, my blog has been in hibernation for a bit. Fall became very busy for me and I definitely did not stop cooking, but I found myself cooking some of the same meals on repetition. However, Christmas Eve broke me out of the monotony and I am jumping back into the blog world with some new recipes.

For many Italians, Christmas Eve is a feast of more food than you could ever eat and then some. We call it “Seven Fish”. My family hosted the dinner this year and it was eventful as always. Usually the type of fish served vary from family to family, but for my family we started off with mussels and clams made by my Uncle, Shrimp and Pasta or “Shrimp Atlantica” for second and the third course consisted of fried shrimp, scallops, smelts, flounder and stuffed calamari made by my Mom. Makes me stuffed just thinking about it. Stay tuned for some of these recipes.

Double Chocolate Biscotti

My mom makes Biscotti all the time. We always have at least two canisters full of biscotti just laying around. As much as I am not a baker, there are some desserts that I am willing to try. Biscotti happens to be one that I definitely would like to try and master since there are so many different kinds and flavors. The one flavor that my mom hasn’t made yet is a Chocolate Biscotti. Although, since she makes so many others she probably already knows how to make them, of course. I swear, there isn’t something that she doesn’t know how to make, and if she doesn’t know, she will have no shame asking you for the recipe.

Yesterday, I was browsing through other food blogs as I usually do and found this amazing blog by David Lebowitz. From what I gather he is an amazing pastry chef and makes great desserts. His Chocolate Biscotti recipe was the one I decided to try. You can find it here: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/01/chocolate-biscotti/ I must say, this is a great recipe and even as a first timer, these came out really good. They pack enough chocolate without being over powering. Bonus to serving these for a dessert is that they are not full or butter, actually none at all, and if you even want to make them more health conscious go for a darker chocolate. you WILL love them. Stay tuned for more Biscotti making.

Margate Bay Fest

I know, I know, I took some time off from the blog.. had some other stuff to do..like going to the Bay Fest at the shore last weekend and eating everything in sight. I promise to be back to the recipes soon.

I ate, a Corn Dog, {yes I know a Corn Dog} deep fried oreos, sweet potato fries and a margarita..
and then I fell over.

Restaurant Week

This week in Philly is Restaurant Week. I try to take advantage of Restaurant Week, since it’s a great way to try new restaurants without the heavy bill. Beware, restaurants do get booked very fast and the restaurants tend to be very busy during this week, so do not plan your romantic dinner date during this week. Last night, I went to a new restaurant called Mercato with a friend. Mercato is a combination of Old Italian food mixed with Italian-American flavors. The atmosphere of the restaurant was very simple. It reminded me of small restaurants that are on every corner in New York. Windows were open in the front, there were tables outside, and probably the fanciest thing in the restaurant were the silver chandeliers hanging over the tables. This was fine with me, since no matter how beautiful the atmosphere, the food is what really matters. If the food stinks I don’t care how pretty the pictures on the wall are. But this food was really good and I will definitely be going back for another visit. I managed to snap a few shots in the close quarters that we were in, and had to not use my flash, so I was not obnoxious .


{Lump Crabmeat and Cantalope appetizer}

{Molten Chocolate Cake}

Prosciutto and Penne

After rummaging through mother’s recipes the other weekend, I walked away with one that seemed so fast, so easy and would be great to make when you really do not have a lot of time to make a time-consuming gravy. On Friday, my best friend came over for dinner and I made this pasta dish in 30 minutes. I added sausage to it to make more like a bolognese but you can also add pork.

Prosciutto with Penne
1 lb. pasta
1 can plum tomatoes chopped
1/4 lb. proscuitto chopped
1 tblsp olive oil
1 tblsp fresh basil
4 tblsp. butter
1 large onion chopped

Directions:
Saute onion in butter and olive oil. Add Proscuitto and saute for 1 minute. Add in the sausage cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, and basil, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Serve over pasta.

“Giada Piccata”

When I went searching through my mom’s huge recipe box this past weekend, there was one common dish that I could not find a recipe for. This is probably because something like “Chicken Piccata” is a recipe memorized by mom. However, I had never made this dish before and who else to turn to for a great recipe, but Giada. I found her recipe here. I have to say that this dish is simple and light but packs some flavor that is unique from the regular chicken breast you may grill on a week night.

Giada’s Chicken Piccata
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups 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 10 or 12-inch 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.

Reduce heat to medium low and 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

Guilty Pleasure

There are just some things that I have to have sometimes.
I know that after I eat some of these things that the next morning
I will be running on the treadmill a little more the next day
but sometimes they are just worth it.

{my mom’s white pizza with tomato}

{banana split from Two Cents Plain in Margate NJ}

{Orangina Soda}

{jalapeno Poppers from Chickies and Petes}