Chicken Parmagiana is perhaps one of the simplest, most under-made recipes.  At least it is here at Cuisine Capers.  It is hard to say why that is, given that it is a full-flavored, hearty dish that really hits the comfort spot.

You may be asking yourself – Chicken Parmigiana?  Is that the same thing as Chicken Parmesan?  To most people, I’d say that it is the same thing — Chicken, covered in tomato sauce  and cheese and baked.  I will have to confess that I do not consider these things the same thing, as I have a different recipe that I make that I call Chicken Parmesan.  There also seems to be a plethora of ways to spell Chicken Parmigiana, including parmagiana.

It doesn’t really matter what you call it or how you spell it – all that it really matters is that it’s a satisfying dish.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning, 
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 3 – 4 boneless, skinless Chicken Breast halves
• 1 jar prepared spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup grated pozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare 3 bowls used for dredging the chicken breasts.  In bowl #1, add the flour.  In bowl #2, beat one egg.  In bowl #3 combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, Italian Seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.

Pat chicken breasts dry and dip into each bowl in order.  First, coat with flour lightly.  Next, add the chicken breast to the egg wash, ensuring that the breast is coated, yet not dripping with egg.  Last, dredge thoroughly in the bread crumb mixture, coating evenly.  

Add olive oil to ovenproof sautee pan, and heat until nearly smoking.  Slowly immerse each dredged chicken breast into the oil and allow to fry until a crunchy coating has formed.  Flip the chicken carefully, making sure that the coating maintains its integrity.  Once both sides are fried crisp, remove from the pan.

Here’s where you can make this recipe as complex or as easy as you would like.  There are many people who would recoil in horror at the thought of using a jarred spaghetti sauce.  I will admit that there are times that I am one of those poeple.  But when I want to make good food fast, I don’t mind compromising on a quality, jarred sauce.

Drain the leftover olive oil out of the pan, add the sauce to the same pan, and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken breasts to the sauce pan and remove from heat.  Spoon some of the sauce in the pan over the chicken breasts to lightly coat.  Add mozzarella and parmesan cheese to each breast.

Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 45 minutes, until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

Serve with a side of pasta tossed in the sauce left in the pan, or with a roasted spaghetti squash, also tossed with the remaining pan sauce.

Morrocan cooking is one my my favorite types of cooking.  I love the exotic blend of ethnic flavors that combine into this style of food.  The diversity of flavors come from Arab, Moorish, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, African, and Jewish influences.  When creating a Morrocan dish, typical spices would include cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, pepper, paprika, anis and mint.

Perhaps the most common symbol of Morrocan cooking is the tagine, or tajine.  A tagine traditionally is a stew-like dish made in a clay pot with a conical top.  This pot came to also be known as a tagine.

Tagines are typically used to slowly simmer meats and vegetables, which often are served over couscous.  The shape of the tagine creates a self-basting vessel that guarantees that the meats cooked will stay moist throughout the cooking process.

One of the first dishes that I made after I first purchased my tagine was a Kefta Tagine, or a Morrocan Meatball Stew.  It convinced me that the purchase wasn’t a waste of money, and I have since gone on to use this pot, and this style of cooking often. 

Kefta Tagine:

For the Kefta (meatballs)

1 pound ground lamb or beef
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil for pan-frying

For the sauce

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
2 pounds tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste

Combine the ingredients for the meatballs.   Shape the meat mixture into 1-inch balls.  Heat your tagine, or any heavy casserole-style pan and  add the olive oil. Brown the meatballs well in the oil, in batches if necessary, then remove. Leave the oil in the pot. Cover the meatballs and set aside.

To the reserved oil, add the garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Saute the vegetables until the onion turns translucent. Add all the remaining ingredients for the sauce and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, or until the sauce cooks down to a thick gravy.

Return the meatballs to the sauce. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.  Serve at once directly from the pot.

Spinach and Egg Pizza on Whole Wheat Crust

Everyone that I’ve mentioned this recipe to is a little bit put off by it.  Spinach?  Egg?  Whole wheat crust? PIZZA?!?!?

Yes.  Spinach and Egg Pizza on Whole Wheat Crust might sound a bit off-putting, but it is one of the more tasty, healthy recipes that I’ve played around with lately.  I’ve made it a couple of times now, and have perfected the recipe to the point where it will probably turn into one of those “go-to” dinners because it is healthy, quick, and flavorful.

Normally when I make a pizza at home, I buy some frozen dough at the local Italian deli and start with that as the base.  This recipe, though, starts with a pre-made crust.  It adds to that “fast convenience” factor that you’ve just got to have mid-week.  Baboli makes some reasonable, bread-like crusts, and they even come in whole wheat! 

After brushing the crust lightly with some olive oil, it’s ready to pile on the spinach!

Another reason this is fast and convenient is because it uses bagged, pre-washed spinach from the store in the winter, or from our CSA in the summer.  About half the bag, chopped, works perfectly for this crust.  Also added is some salt, pepper, garlic, parmesan cheese, basil, bruschetta and sliced prosciutto.  Just a word of warning – you may want to be very careful about actually saying those last two ingredients out loud in grocery stores – it has been known to raise a ruckus… 

This gets tossed into a 450 degree oven for about 12 minutes.  Once in the oven, you’re ready to fry up some eggs, which get placed on the pizza when it comes out of the oven.

Yes, egg on pizza.  Long before Bon Appetit magazine named “Eggs on top of anything” one of the top 100 trends of 2009, we were putting eggs on top of things.  Eggs on a bed of spring greens that have been tossed with a light vinaigrette is spectacular!  Try it!

But I digress. Put the cooked egg on the pizza, sprinkle with some parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and enjoy!

It is nearing that time of year – the time when the CSA box begins to deliver produce that can be creatively put to use for an entire meal. Tonight’s dinner was based nearly entirely on the CSA box, which we get from our terrific farm, Harmony Valley Farm.  The Grilled Caesar Salad with Steak and Blue Cheese was filling, flavorful, and healthy!

As I unpacked my CSA produce box this week, I realized I had the making for this immediately on hand.  The large, leafy green head of Romaine lettuce and the purple scallions were exactly what was needed for this dish.

First, the greens were grilled over our charcoal grill.  Not for long, mind you, because you don’t want the greens to wilt away to nothing.  You merely want to toss them in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and pop them on the grill for about 2 minutes – long enough to get nice, smokey char lines, while still maintaining most of the crispness.

Once pulled off the grill, a toss with your favorite caesar dressing, some croutions and chopped scallions makes it nearly perfect.  However, to make the dish completely perfect, we topped it off with sliced top sirloin steak, grilled to medium rare, and then we added something that sent it over the top – an Artisan Blue Cheese from Castle Rock.  Rich, creamy and pungent, this cheese also came from our CSA program, as a part of the cheese shares that we opted into this year.

And, of course, our Shiba Inu Jimbo, convinced that he was on the verge of starvation, cared only about the grilled sirloin!  (Though he thought the Blue Cheese was pretty worthy as well).

This summer, Saturdays have turned in to a leisurely meal outside on the deck, enjoying the shade of the 250 year old oak tree, the gentle breeze, and the mild early summer temperatures. And in such a relaxing, civilized setting, not just any lunch will do.

A recent Saturday morning found me watching FoodNetwork TV as I got ready to run my routine errands (like picking up the CSA produce box that we get weekly).  Tyler Florence’s show “Tyler’s Ultimate” was on, and while he tends to do food we like, I wasn’t paying extraordinary attention… until he began to discuss a dish called Gallina De Madre, or Mother Hen Toast.  I was immediately intrigued.

This dish consisted of a crusty, toasted slab of rustic bread, topped with serrano ham and an egg, then baked.  I knew that the chances of finding serrano ham were slim, but I also know that other high quality ham would work for this dish.

Gallina De Madre was offered up as a tapas, or even a nice breakfast.  It looked to me like the perfect lunch for that very day, and so I made sure that my errands for the day including picking up anything we might need.  As is usual, I modified the recipe that he presented to suit our tastes.

Recipe serves 2:

2 thick-cut slices rustic bread
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
4 slices shaved serrano ham (We used Boar’s Head Black Forest Ham)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lay bread out on a sheet tray and drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toast lightly in oven. Arrange 2 slices of ham on each slice of toast and nestle it into a nest shape so the egg will rest in the center. Crack egg and drop into nest on each toast. Bake in oven until eggs are just cooked but the yolk is still slightly runny, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Served along side a bed of greens simply dressed with salt, pepper, olive oil and red wine vinegar, it was exactly what we were looking for that day.

Bolognese alla Carbonara Bucatini

I’m not too sure what to call this recipe, for it is not a traditional bolognese, and it is certainly not a traditional carbonara.  On the other hand, it combines elements of both of these dishes into a hearty, satisfying pasta fitting for Sunday dinner.

I start with a base of good quality Italian Sausage, crumbled.  Into that goes diced pancetta, onions and garlic.  This is browned, and the richness of this sauce starts right at the beginning with the addition of cream to the meat as finishes browning.  Allow the meat to absorb the cream completely.  Follow this by adding red wine and allowing the sauce to simmer.

 Add coarsely chopped tomato once the sauce begins to simmer.  The key to this sauce is that it is not a tomato sauce.  It is a sauce with tomatoes in it.  This is an important distinction, so keep it in mind as you add the tomato.  Let the sauce simmer for up to two hours, adding cream as you go to maintain desired consistancy.

The carbonara portion of the recipe comes as you being to put together the dish for serving.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and cream.  Add cooked, hot pasta to the egg mixture and toss thoroughly to coat the pasta.  Then add the sauce to the same bowl, tossing to complete.

Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese and chopped basil.

Orechiette with Sausage, Beans, and Mascarpone

There are few episodes of “Everyday Italian” that I watch that do not inspire me to make something… immediately.  We affectionately call Giada the “Skinny Italian Chick” around these parts.  We watch her Food Network show, get really hungry, and refuse to believe that she eats more than the mere bite or two that she savors as she cooks for the cameras.

The other day I was certain that I had had my fill of pasta for a few days.  We had been binging on Italian-like foods, and I was a bit tired of it…  until I watched the Skinny Italian Chick make her Orechiette with Sausage, Beans and Mascarpone.  I did not make the recipe as she made it.  As is usual, I borrowed heavily from it and modified it to our tastes.

1 pound orechiette pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon Oregano
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

In a large, heavy skillet warm the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, garlic and onions. Break up the sausage into bite-sized pieces as it browns.
Continue cooking until the sausage is golden and the onions are tender. Add the beans and oregano cook for 2 more minutes. Add the cup of pasta cooking liquid and stir, scrapping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the mascarpone and parmesan cheese and stir until it dissolved into a light sauce. Add the salt, pepper, and hot pasta. Stir until coated and serve.

The day started out dismally, with a cold breeze and even colder termperatures. I had previously had plans of making a light, grilled meal comprised of spring vegetables and grilled chicken, but as the day moved forward I couldn’t shake the cold feeling in my bones and in search of comfort food I went.

Enter Carbonara.

I’ve written about Carbonara before. It’s a rich, filling pasta treatment which will never be mistaken for health food, but, you know, sometimes you just need it – even if you have to behave yourself for a week to make up for it. I had gone to our local Italian deli, Fraboni’s, this weekend and as usual had spent an ungodly amount of money there, so I had much of what I needed on hand to make this. I had picked up a nice orecchiette pasta, some spicy imported pancetta (sliced into thick slabs, pefect for dicing), and a grated blend of romano and parmesan cheeses (a staple in my fridge). I combined it with some frozen peas (still no peas in my CSA box) and with fresh ramps.

Pasta Carbonara with Pancetta, Peas and Ramps:

1/2 pound pancetta, diced (substitute bacon if you wish)
Olive Oil
1 bunch ramps, bulbs sliced (substitute onion and garlic if no ramps are on hand)
Red Pepper flakes – to taste
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated parmesan/romano cheese
Grated pepper to taste
1 lb pasta
1 cup frozen peas
1 bunch scallions, bulbs and greens sliced

Warm a tablespoon of olive oil to a deep sautee pan. Add diced pancetta and sautee until crisp. Add ramps and red pepper flakes to taste, turn heat to low, stir occasionally, as needed.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and egg yolks together well. Add cream, grated cheese and pepper. Whisk again. Set aside (this can be done ahead of all other steps, leaving egg mixture to come close to room temperature).

Cook pasta per instructions. As pasta completes, add peas to the boiling water and cook with the pasta for 2 – 3 minutes. Drain cooked pasta, reserving some water. Add pasta and peas to bacon mixture. Stir until incorporated through.

Add hot pasta and bacon into bowl with egg mixture. The heat should cook the eggs through. If sauce becomes too thick or gummy, add some of the reserved pasta water to thin it out. Toss scallions into mixture.

Pour into pasta serving bowl.

Gorgonzola has rapidly become one of our favorite cheeses. We cook with it, we eat it after dinner as a cheese course with wine or port, and we always have it on hand. Much of the reason for this is because we are fortunate enough to live close to one of the top Gorgonzola producers, Hook’s Cheese, in Mineral Point, WI. Read more about them here!

So, what did I do with my latest hunk of Hooks Gorgonzola cheese?

First, I made a Gorgonzola Buffalo Burger. Lean, grilled to perfection, then liberally topped with fresh spring greens (heavy on the arugula!), bruchetta and gorgonzola, this burger can quickly become addicting. Put the gorgonzola on the burger while it is still on the grill so that it becomes a bit oozy. You won’t regret it!

The next thing that I really like to do with gorgonzola is create a gorgonzola compound butter. It’s easy to do. You merely need to take a stick of softened butter and 3/4 of pound of slightly softened gorgonzola. Blend it in your food processor and add your ingredients of choice to the blending. For this particular butter, I added scallions and garlic. Spoon it out of the food processor and onto a sheet of saran wrap. Hand roll it into a log and put it in the refrigerator.

Penne with Grilled Beef and Arugula

And I stand by the theory that she does not eat her own cooking.

Recently, I made a dish that was inspired by one of her shows. Here’s what I did:

• Grill a sirloin steak to taste.
• Make a bunch of Penne.
• Whisk some whole grain mustard with some basalmic vinegar , olive oil, grated parmesan cheese and chopped garlic.
• Tear up some arugula and basil.
• Slice the steak into bite-sized pieces
• Toss everything in with the warm, drained pasta.