Sausage Risotto

Sweet Italian Sausage with Roasted Red Peppers, Scallions, and Pecorino Romano

Spinach Risotto

There are few on pot meals more perfect than risotto. It’s brilliant in its simplicity start with a good heavy pot. Build your base with some sweet onion or shallot cooked in butter. Add 1 cup of aborio rice and cook it slightly. Add 1 cup chicken stock. The secret to a great risotto is to keep it moving. Stir it consistently and add another cup of stock and stir until chicken broth cooked in. Add 1 more cup of broth stirring continually until creamy. Making risotto is that simple. The only thing to bear in mind is not to over cook the rice and turn it into mush. It should be creamy and the rice should be slightly al dente. Finish that with 1/2 stick of butter cut into pats. Fold in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
You can be as creative as you like with you risotto. Enjoy.

Chicken Broccoli Ziti

Here is a meal that tastes twice as good as many of the so called “Italian Restaurants” Chicken Broccoli and Ziti, you can make it in about 30 minutes total time and have an impressive meal at home. I made this with honest ingredients that you probably already have at home.

You will need

1 lb Ziti Start the water in a large pot salted enough to season the pasta

2 lbs Chicken breast cut into chunks, lightly coated in flour and browned in a saute pan with some olive oil and set aside while the water boils

1/2 lb fresh broccoli chopped into bite size pieces

Chop (not crush or minced) 5 cloves fresh garlic

when the pasta is Al Dente or even just under that, drain it well and DO NOT rinse or oil it it will not stick together as long as you don’t let it cool

Cook the garlic in the olive oil left in the pan for the chicken until it has some color and add 32 oz chicken broth

Bring that to a boil and add the chicken and broccoli

Put the pasta back in the pot you cooked it in(assuming there is no water in it) and add the chicken, broccoli and broth mixture, stir in 4 cups of grated parmesan cheese gradually so it has time to melt in.

Cut 1 stick of butter into pats and stir in

Add some fresh chopped parsley, salt and pepper and serve immediately

Sweet Italian Sausage with Penne, Peppers and Garlic Broth

Chicken and Dumplings

With the kids back to school and Autumn fast approaching slow cooked stews and roasts are officially in season. On Sundays is when I have the time to make a dinner that requires time to reach perfection.Chicken and Dumplings is one of those Sunday Meals that excites the entire family as soon as the chickens hit the oven. It’s classic slow cooked family comfort food that permeates the house with fine aromas through the day heightening the olfactory senses and creating the type of anticipation that only adds to the finally of dinner time.

This is a meal I will start very early in the morning so I can execute every step perfectly while multitasking through the day resulting with a perfect conclusion.

Start with two 5 lb chickens seasoned on all sides with plenty of salt, pepper and garlic and roast them at 350 for 1 1/2 hours

While they roast cut 2 lbs carrots, 4 stalks celery and two large onions into 1 inch chunks and saute them to a medium brown and set aside.

When the Chickens are cooked place them in separate pots and put just enough water in the pots to cover them with an inch of water.

Bring them to a boil and turn down the flame so they can simmer for an hour.

Remove the chickens from the pots and allow to cool slightly so you can pull the meat off the bones placing the meat from the chickens in their respective pots, discard the bones and divide the vegetables between the two pots, season with salt, pepper, oregano, sage rosemary and basil. Bring it back to a simmer and thicken with roux to a smooth velvety consistency. ( If you don’t know how to make roux it’s actually quit simple and I am going to walk you through it. Start with two sticks of butter and half cup of flour. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan and add the flour stirring constantly, adjust the roux to a thick paste and cook over a medium flame stirring even still until blond in color. This only takes a few minutes. turn of the flame and divide between the two simmering pots stirring it in to assure there will be no lumps)

When the gravy has incorporated make your own dumplings with

1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup water
2 small eggs
3 cups flour

In a large bowl, mix together the salt, oil, water, and eggs. Slowly add the flour to the mixture, blending it constantly with a fork. Stir only long enough to mix the dough.

Or to make it easy grab a box of Bisquick and follow the recipe for dumplings on the side of the box. These will set up in about 10 minutes and you will have a wonderful meal with your loved ones.

Chicken and Gnocchi with ripe tomatoes and basil

ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic and white wine.

Mid August is when my local Farm Stand is producing some of the best vegetables and herbs that can be found anywhere. If you are fortunate enough to have one in your proximity I would urge you to check one out. Farmers markets are also a great experience in their own where you can find top quality product in season at the moment.

Gnocchi are soft tender flavorful pillows of goodness, it is in essence a potato dumpling and something I have been very creative with through my history as a chef. They are very versatile in there application much the same way pasta is and often overlooked as a great alternative to pasta. Cooking them is very simple; boil some salted water, add the gnocchi and remove them when they float. Making Gnocchi on the other hand is an art in itself which is something for another article. For today’s purpose you can make them or if you don’t know how or couldn’t be bothered simply buy them either from a local pasta maker or gourmet food store.

Start with 2 lbs Gnocchi

While the water boils remove the skins from 2 very ripe beefsteak tomatoes, squeeze out the seeds and dice 3/4 inch

Cut 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast into chunks, lightly coat with flour and brown nicely in olive oil

add 3 cloves garlic and cook until golden

add 8 oz white wine and reduce boil until half of the liquid remains

squeeze one lemon

add 4 cups chicken broth and boil for a few minutes

When the gnocchi are cooked and drained add to the pan and toss with 4 ounces diced salted butter

finish with lots of fresh basil and chopped italian parsley

season with salt and pepper and be sure to have plenty of grated parmesan cheese on the table for everyone

Home Made Chicken Soup with Vermicelli

When I make chicken soup I always start with a roasted chicken, usually I cook two birds when I really only need one. When storing them I will scrape the pans to get all that wonderful brown stuff which adds great depth to my soup. The next day I will boil the chickens to make a broth starting it hot at a heavy boil for 10 minutes and skimming the top of rendered fat and foam from the proteins this will assure a clear broth with good color. I then simmer it lightly for an hour and a half so the chickens release the flavor from the bones.
Remove the chickens and allow them to cool to room temperature boil and skim impurities from the top of the broth and turn it off. I then use only carrots, onions and celery, Italian herbs black pepper and a bit of salt.
While that boils I will remove the succulent meat from the bones and cut into very large chunks, it will break apart while cooking. Add vermicelli and chicken, allow your soup to come back to a boil for 10 minutes and dinner is served.