Cheese and Herb Polenta Croutons

I've been wanting to make these ever since I saw them tossed in a salad that my SIL ordered at a restaurant we were at. I love polenta, and what better way to add something special to your favorite salad or soup.

I used the instant polenta that only takes 15 minutes to whip up. I added freshly chopped rosemary and thyme, and grated Parmesan cheese. Go easy on the herbs, you just need a little they easily could overpower the croutons, especially rosemary!

Pour your cooked polenta on to a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Spread fast and evenly with a spatula. Cool the whole pan in the frig for 1/2 hour. When cooled cut the polenta into squares or triangles.

Drizzle lightly both sides with olive oil and bake in a 400 degree F oven for about 45 min's. Turn them over to make sure they get crispy on the other side. Cool on a rack when done.

Best if used the same day, but I had alot extra so I stored mine in an airtight container in the frig and the next day I reheated them to crisp them up a bit.

I tossed mine with a salad mix of romaine, arugula, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, red onion, green and black olives, and slices of some leftover Fontinella cheese I had. Olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing.

I have to say the polenta croutons made the salad! I will definitely make these again!My talented friend Nina of My Easy Cooking gave me this award, you're suppose to list 10 honest things about yourself and pass it on. I'm so very bad with awards and things but I thought this would be fun.

I'm a night owl, feel free to call or email me after midnight, I'll still be up.

I love spicy food, pretty much all ethnic varieties.

I love to listen to Andrea Bocelli while I'm cooking.

I like my toast very well done, bordering burnt.

I make a pot of coffee everynight after dinner, without fail.

Ok, this is really weird, but I have to drink my coffee out of a white or cream colored cup.If you open up my cabinet all you will see is white cups. I know, my family thinks I'm crazy! of course when I'm out I make a concession. ;)

Along with all and any cooking shows, I'm also a sucker for reality TV, thanks to my daughter who years ago got me hooked on "The Real World."

When I watch TV I like to snack on pumpkin seeds, you know the thick shell kind, I always buy a bag when I go to my Italian market.

I love the rocky coastline of the pacific northwest, and of course the awesome ocean.

I want to retire in Italy in a Tuscan villa. ( I can dream can't I?)

Married to the same guy since we were 19, and we're both full blooded Italian.

I'm passing this on to any of you who want to do this, especially my regular readers, just let me know so I can come and check it out.

Buon Appetito!!

Happiness is... A Warm Ciabatta!!

I think ciabatta bread makes the best panini, it's not doughy at all, its light with lots of holes in the dough but sturdy enough to hold what ever you put in it, and best of all it has great crunch!

You could roast your veggies ahead of time and put this together for a great weekend lunch in no time at all. I had some grilled eggplant sitting in my frig from the other day, and other veggies I wanted to use up, so I roasted red and green bell peppers, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and artichoke hearts to go along with it. All were roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper in a 400 degree oven.

Just slice your ciabatta loaf lengthwise, and slather pesto on each side, in this case I used sun-dried tomato pesto, but basil pesto is equally as good. Layer your veggies along with a good sharp cheese, I used Fontinella, it has the flavor of a good provolone, nice and sharp, and it melts great.

Cook it up on your panini press if you have one, or you can use a grill pan with a weighed down lid on top. This was so good! Crunchy on the outside, the roasted flavors of the veggies inside, the sharpness of the cheese, all highlighted by the pesto. Hope you give it a try!

Have a great weekend, and Buon Appetito!

Ricotta Poundcake

This is hands down my favorite poundcake! I can't say enough good things about it, except that it's so moist, rich in flavor, and just plain delicious! I've made it several times ever since I first saw the recipe in "Dolce Italiana" by Gina De Palma. Everyone who takes a bite of this always says the same thing, "OMG this is so good!"

The original version, which I made here, is vanilla based, and it's truely outstanding. I also make a Lemon flavored version replacing the vanilla with Limoncello and freshly grated lemon peel, and all I can say is "OMG it's so good too!"

I thought I'd bake a cake to celebrate Spring. Finally it's here in Chicagoland!! Doors and windows are open, birds chirping, dogs barking, kid's playing, people working in their gardens, and no sign of coats anywhere!!

INGREDIENTS:

Adapted from Gina's recipe

1 1/2 cups of cake flour

2 1/2 teapoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

3/4 cup or 6oz unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups fresh whole milk ricotta ( mine wasn't whole milk & it turned out perfect)

1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 vanilla bean ( I didn't have any at the time, and believe me it was just as good!)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract ( I added a little more because I didn't use a vanilla bean)

Confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and position rack in center. Grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, bak powder, and salt, set aside. With your mixer cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 2 min's. Beat eggs in one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Split the vanilla bean, scrape out, and beat into the batter along with the extract. On low speed beat in the dry ingredients. Scrape down and beat for 30 seconds more.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth down with a spatula. Gently wack pan on counter to remove air pockets. Bake just for 15 min's, then turn pan 180 degrees to ensure even browning. Lower temp to 325 degrees F and bake till cake springs back lightly, the sides start to pull away, and when it comes out clean in the center, about 25 min's more.

Ok, here's a couple of things I noted. Depending on how wet your ricotta is you might have to bake it longer, so drain your ricotta for a while if it's very wet. This time I added an extra 15 min's to the time. One other time I made this, I added another 1/2 hour. So just watch it and keep testing for doneness. Cool on a wire rack, then invert, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Lazy Weekend Breakfast!

Don't you just love a lazy Sunday morning? You know, the kind of morning you don't have to be anywhere, or do anything. The kind of morning where you wake up and the smell of coffee is in the air, you grab your big cup, pour some, and then go over and start reading the Sunday paper.

An hour or two later you start getting hungry, but you want something different, something special, well this is it!! Eggs in Purgatory, Uovo in Purgatorio, or just plain Eggs cooked in a Chunky Marinara Sauce. Whatever you call it, I call it DELICIOUS!

For 4 eggs I used one 14OZ can of whole, crushed, or in this case, I used an Italian brand of canned cherry tomatoes. Saute in olive oil, 1 clove of crushed garlic, 1/2 of an onion, red pepper flakes(optional). Simmer until tomatoes cook down, I had to pierce my little tomatoes to help it along. Finish by throwing in some fresh chopped basil.

Now carefully crack your eggs on top of your cooked sauce, let the eggs poach slowly, covering them slightly to cook the yolks to your likeness.

At this point, you'll want to toast up some good Italian bread, I stuck mine under the broiler for a few minutes.

When every things done, place your egg right on top of your toasted crusty bread, grab another cup of coffee and enjoy!!

Chicago Style Chicken Vesuvio

If you're a Chicagoan you know what Chicken Vesuvio is, it's one of Chicago's signature dishes. In fact, many of the restaurants here offer it as "The Specialty of the House".

There are many variations to to this Italian American dish, the mix of herbs you might use, red versus white potatoes, lemon or no lemon, whole garlic or crushed, bone in or boneless chicken, and adding additional veggies such as artichokes or mushrooms. Throughout the years I have made this every way I've mentioned. I even posted the artichoke version way back when I first started my blog. Some things are just worth repeating, and this recipe truely is!

This is homey food, intensely flavored herb roasted chicken and potatoes, swimming in a pool of garlicky white wine sauce, topped off with sweet green peas.
I love to make this on a Sunday afternoon, always making extra so we can have the leftovers during the week. By the way, it tastes even better the next day!

This recipe is one of the more classic ways to make Chicken Vesuvio, and is adapted from Harry Caray's Restaurant, Chicago
INGREDIENT'S :
** One Bone In Whole Chicken
** Potato Wedges, about 4 Russet or 6 smaller Red
** Equal Parts White Wine and Chicken Stock 1 1/2 Cups each
** 10 to 12 Whole Garlic Cloves
** Frozen Peas
HERES WHAT YOU DO
1. Season your chicken pieces on both sides with salt, pepper, dried oregano and granulated
garlic.
2. Take a large heavy skillet, coat with olive oil, and brown your potato wedge's and chicken
pieces till nicely browned, then remove and place in a roasting pan.
3. Now throw in all your garlic cloves in the skillet and cook till golden.
4. Deglaze your pan with the wine, I used Pinot Grigio, and add your chicken broth.
5. After it cooks down for a couple minutes pour everything into the roasting pan with the
chicken and potatoes. The last 15 minutes throw in some frozen pea's.
6. Bake at 375F till chicken is cooked through, about an hour and 15 min's.

Make sure you smear that soft sweet garlic all over your chicken as you're eating this!

Buon Appetito!!

The Second Annual Festa Italiana Roundup!

Once again Maryann and I were blown away at all your amazing contributions to our Festa Italiana! It was so much fun to mingle with all our old friends, and to meet many new friends along the way. We want to thank each and everyone of you from the bottom of our hearts for participating! Please take the time to check out all these amazing dishes here, and on Maryann's blog.

A very special "Thanks" goes out to my co-hostess and friend, Maryann. Would you believe we've never met in the real world, but yet I feel she's someone I've known all my life. Hopefully that day will come when we can really share some good food and drink together in person!


Until next year! Buon Appetito!!
Olga from Olga's Recipes brings "Boletus and Shrimp Risotto"



David from D Dubs Reads brings "Pork Milanese and Lemon Spaghetti"


Teanna from Spork or Foon brings "Homemade Orecchiette with Chickpea's"




Karen from DomesticMuse brings "Pan Stuffed Pork Chops"



Michele from Striped Tail's Veggie Num Num's brings "Sunday Pasta Dinner"



Soma from eCurry brings "The Perfect Pizza Margherita"


Simona from Briciole brings her " Stracciatella"


Kati from Thyme for Cooking brings "Risotto with Prosciutto and Cannellini"


Sandi from Whistlestop Cafe Cooking brings "Italian Minestrone"


Stacey from Stacey Snacks brings her "Pork Shoulder Lasagne"



Kim from Live Love Laugh Eat brings her "Osso Buco"
Rachel from Laptops and Stovetops brings her "Chicken Parmesan Toasted Subs"


Bella from La Bella Vita brings "Salmon con Aglio e Basilico"



Heather from GirliChef brings her Toasted Italian Sandwiches




Cassie from Foodie with Little Thyme brings Spinach, Sausage, and Three Cheese Ravioli



Lori Lynn from Taste with the Eyes brings "Marta's Green Risotto"
Susan from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy brings her "Spaghetti and Meatballs"



Lisa from Jersey Girl Cooks brings "Mama's Sunday Pork Dinner"


Emiglia from Tomato Kumato brings her "Perfect Pasta Sauce"


Pat from Mille Fiori Favoriti brings her "Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi"





Claudia from Journey of an Italian Cook brings "Fettuccine with Ragu"


Donna from My Tasty Treasures brings "Homemade Manicotti"



Donna from My Tasty Treasures also brings her "Italian Mac and Cheese"



Nina from My Easy Kitchen is bringing her "Risoni with Chicken, Mushrooms and Olives"



Gigi from Life's a Beach brings her "Torte Calabria"


Jamie from Life's a Feast brings her "Panna Cotta con Lingue di Gatto al Cioccolato"

Sam from My Carolina Kitchen brings "Chicken Cutlets with Baby Greens Salad"

Theresa from Baking and Beyond brings her "Anisette Biscotti"



Val from More Than Burnt Toast brings her "Ricotta and Artichoke Pizza"


Barbara from Dish 'n' That brings her "Marinated Lupini Beans"

Cindy from In A Garden brings "The Perfect Cappuccino"

Lauren of Fried Pickles and Ice Cream brings her "Zuppa di Borlotti e Pane"

Lucy from Sweets, Savories, etc. brings a "Cannoli Cake Roll"

And from Yours Truely... "Country-Style Rigatoni"