Going Rustica!

It's often the simple things we overlook.  I know I have said that before, but it bears repeating.  Good food can be simple food.  You don't have to spend hours in the kitchen whipping, chopping, sauteing, braising, basting, or julienning vegetables for a meal to taste good.  You don't need to over spice or flambe your dishes. Simple food is what the best chefs in the world like.  Food that reminds you of home without pretense.

Last night I finally got around to cooking the last of the Butter fish I had in my freezer.  They are such small little things, yielding such little meat, but with a very delicate and rich taste if prepared correctly.  I wanted to try something other than grilling, or baking them, so I salt crusted and roasted them! 

One of life's simple pleasures.

It's funny how sometimes we loose site of our true joys.  Friends, family, going out and spending a little money to have some stories for back at the office.  The past few weeks have been so busy that I have neglected one of my simple joys in life, cooking.  I have been simply throwing things together that are nothing to write home about just to be fed.  It's time to stop thinking about cooking and get back to it.
Bruschetta! Yes that's right, bruschetta.  In my opinion, one of life's simply pleasures is a good bit of brushetta.  A slice of tasty and crusty bread mounded high with all those tasty toppings and heated to perfection.
Like I said before, I have been on a bit of an Italian kick lately.  This Sunday, I had some tomatoes sitting on my counter ready to turn when I thought to make bruschetta.  It is so easy and makes a great starter or snack.

The Goods
-2 medium vine ripened tomatoes
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-4 or 5 basil leafs, chiffonade
-salt and pepper to taste
-a dash of good extra virgin olive oil.
-Slices of Jarlsberg cheese

The Maneuver
-Remove seeds and dice the tomatoes into 1/8" cubes.
-Mince garlic and add to tomatoes
-Chiffonade the basil and add along to the tomatoes with garlic
-Sprinkle on the salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil
-Toss the ingredients together and spread it on a toasted slice of bread

What can I say, this is divine dinning.  You can always add a few things like shredded Parmesan cheese for kick, perhaps a smear of foi gras or even pate.  Enjoy these simple starters or like meals.  the key is always in the simplicity.

Once again, thanks for reading and wishing you best eating,

Bon Appétit

Mangia Bene!

Mangia Bene!

(It eats well!)

I don’t know what it is lately, but I have been battling this undying craving for Italian food and pasta in savory red sauce. Not only are pasta dishes so easy to make, they are also so versatile in flavor! Perhaps with the stresses of work and personal life I have just been seeking some comfort food to take solace in. Whatever it is, here is something I whipped together that brings really hits the spot.

"I Gotta Have the Piccatta!"

Lately I have been really craving some good Italian food.  I recently watched a DVD titled "Cooking and Cursing with the Grandsons of Italy" were they made some fantastic looking dishes.  One of which was chicken picatta.  Lucky for me I had all the ingredients I needed right in my cupboards.  If only I could find the time.  Saturday, whilst I waited for my partner-in-crime, Brandon to get off work so we could go hit Seattle for a Christmas outing, I decided there was no time like the present to make this dish.  Let's jump into it...

A Marvelous One Pot Wonder.

They say that necessity is the mother of all invention.  Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say I was in great need of more food to fill my refrigerator, but with my off the wall work schedule, it doesn't hurt to have something tasty and hearty waiting in the wings.
This was merely another one of my attempts to use various ingredients at my disposal and free up a little room in the pantry.  What it turned into was a keeper recipe that was great to have on those late work nights this week.

Que Vive La Pizza!

In my opinion, pizza gets a pretty bad rap.  When we think of pizza, it congers thoughts of frat boys scarfing it down with cheap beer, cardboard tasting crusts with over greasy meat atop it, and all the other horrible things that have been done to it (stuffing more cheese in the crust, as if what was already on it wouldn't stop our heart).

This weekend I was at Trader Joe's and came across their dough in a bag.  So, we decided to pick up 2 bags of the herb dough and make some homemade pizza.  The day before I made some of that delicious marinara sauce (Read "Mambo Italian"), so we decided to utilize that since there was so much.

Manicotti and Chianti... That's Amore!

This is the first installation of our "Weekly Wednesday Culinary Conception"!  As my dear friends Kevin, Mandy, and myself gathered once again, with higher aspirations than the "Chriscotti Incident", we decided to whip together an old Italian favorite that would both satisfy our cravings for pasta, vino, and a good time (Since those two will be dinning at "Vince's" in Renton without me this weekend).
We began this weekly food and friends meeting in hopes of relieving a bit of the preasures from the doldrums of the week.  Monday is mearly the beginning, and we all have the weekend to look forward to on Friday, but nothing to give us hope at the middle of the work week.  Thus, an idea for this gathering is born.

At this "meeting of the minds" (ya right!), we are working on Mandy's interpretation of Manicotti.  Please bear in mind that because we are getting a later start this evening (rough work schedules this week), that we are making this utilizing the "Semi-Homamade" method.  Believe me, the baked ziti competiton between Mandy and I is in the making, but we really need a weekend for it to make the homemade pasta.

This is what ensued:

Mambo Italiano

Marinara sauce. We love it for it's complex and wholesome taste. We hate it for the stains it leaves when that whole in our bottom lips seems to appear.
The other day I tried my hand for the first time at making Italian Biscotti with my friend Mandy, who just happens to be born and bred Italian. Needless to say it wasn't exactly "like Nonna (grandma) used to make". I think she is just being tough on our little creation, lovingly deemed "Chriscotti".
That's when I decided to beat her at her own Italian game. This is me striking the first blow...