Tag: white wine
Tuscan Shrimp and Cannellini Beans
I made this dish after eating at an Italian restaurant in Chatham- D’Oro. I reviewed it for the Patch. I liked the place and we ordered a shrimp and bean dish for an appetizer. It was good but not great and so I decided to replicate and improve it a bit- to my taste.
The white beans in the original dish were tender but without a lot of flavor. I cooked the beans with a bit of pancetta and garlic to give it a lot of flavor. I also added some shallots and rosemary as well. I finished the dish off with my home grown cherry tomatoes and white wine. All the aromatics and wine made a huge difference and added a lot of flavor to the dish.
I marinated the shrimp in lemon juice, olive oil and salt. I quickly grilled it outside and served it with the yummy beans. I served the dish with some yummy bread and red wine.
My daughter ate it with some reservation but enjoyed it once she got over eating something new.
Serve this dish for an appetizer or a meal with a salad. Either way it is delicious.
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Fish Stew with Zucchini Bruschetta
Since I am always looking for ways to incorporate more fish into our diets, my brain is usually working overtime to come up with different recipes that are delicious and healthy at the same time.
I wanted to do a simple fish stew that is a bit French and Italian at the same time. I sauteed the fish lightly and added the onions and garlic. For extra flavor, I used parsley and my favorite herb that goes so well with fish- dill. Tomato paste makes this fast stew taste like it has been on the stove for hours.
The most important ingredient in this dish (besides the fish) is the fish stock. I was able to find it at Whole Foods and I believe it is available in most grocery store. If you can’t find it, don’t worry- use chicken stock instead but I have to say, the fish stock provides a great flavor to this simple dish. I added potatoes to make this stew a bit more substantial. I was initially thinking of serving a salad with the dish but then decided to come up with a zucchini pesto and served it on top of some toasted bread- that is the Italian part of the meal.
My daughter loved the stew including the zucchini pesto bruschetta. My husband and I opened a Pinto Noir and enjoyed a lovely dinner.
Try this quick, delicious fish stew for dinner next time you feel like eating fish…
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Mushroom and Truffle Ragu Lasagna
We were entertaining a few weekends ago and yet again, I was at a loss- what should I make?? My brain is usually all stressed out until something comes to mind and then I am at peace.
As I have mentioned many times before, our favorite restaurant is Arturos here in Maplewood. My favorite thing to eat there is a wild boar and mushroom ragu. I love that dish- I actually dream about it. It is consistently good and I can’t get enough of it.
I decided to make something similar but in a lasagna form. I had recently bought some dried mushrooms from Trader Joes. I reconstituted them and added them to some delicious cremini mushrooms. I used ground turkey meat instead of wild boar- well where was I supposed to get that?? Anyway, I am more comfortable using turkey meat for health reasons. The lasagna was layered with a simple bechamel sauce. I also used a truffle paste I picked up from Spello, Italy. I finished the ragu with a drizzle of truffle oil (thanks to Trader Joes).
I served the lasagna with a garlic cheese bread and a citrus salad. I of course had to serve a side of fresh tomato sauce- since my husband loves his red sauce.
It turned out to be a very successful dinner. Everything was delicious- I was very happy. Next time you have a few minutes- try the mushroom and truffle ragu- you won’t regret it.
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Day Six: Montefalco and Spoleto
It was all about wine yesterday- well sort of- there was gelato, granita and cappucino as well.
We started off from Spello after lunch. We were headed to Montefalco and the surrounding areas to drive around some wineries. It’s incredible to drive around the Italian countryside- all you see are olive trees and grapevines. We stopped at a winery that looked closed from the outside but in fact was open. Most people are in siesta mode from about 2 PM till 4 PM- and that is when we have been venturing out. Needless to say, the older gentleman was not too happy to see us. He also conveyed many times and in many ways that we should have called to make an appoitment. We sat down and sampled 3 wines. They were good, but not fabulous. We chatted a bit and decided to leave.
We drove around some more and finally reached Montefalco. As usual we drove up very steep roads to park and continued to walk up to the main square. It was quite a sleepy little town- mostly everyone was indoors resting. We hung out and stopped for a gelato, sandwich and yes you guessed it- Italian ice.
We headed to Spoleto from there. It is a gorgeous town pearched on top of the Appennines. We headed inside the gates to find parking and began walking up. We hiked up for about 20 minutes and found a little cafe with the most amazing views. We sat down and had – yup, you are right- Italian ice. Somehow the Italian ice or granita is very different from what you get in the US. The ice texture is smooth and creamy instead of hard and dry. It is very delicious.
We sat for an hour and headed back to Spello. Dinner today was going to be at a restaurant very close to our apartment tucked away in a tiny street. We sat outside in their garden overlooking Spello- it was incredible!
We at brushchetta, pasta with zucchini and the most incredible wild boar and veal. The young man who took our order, was the owner and told us he hunted for the wild boar himself. The meal was delicious and so was the pannacotta and the chocolate cake. The white and red wines were delicious as well. It was a great day. One more day left in Spello and then off to Rome before we head home.
Third Day: A Visit To Perugia
I am not sure where the chocolates were in Perugia- we didn’t find them. Actually we didn’t really look for them- we were so busy eating pizza and gelato and it kind of slipped our minds. We headed off to Perugia around 11 in the morning after a delicious breakfast of eggs, cheese, bread and fresh fruit. I love having eggs in Europe- the yolk is bright mustard and the taste is amazing.
About 40 minutes later our car was climbing steep hills to get to this picturesque town. It is a lot bigger than Spello and definitely more of a city- it reminded us of Florence and Barcelona but it had it’s own charming winding, hilly, narrow streets.
We stopped for pizza and white wine. The wine was delicious and the potato and rosemary foccacia wasn’t so shabby either.
We found something called a cafe crema- which was similar to a soft serve coffee ice cream but not as cold and a lot lighter. It was served in a shot glass with a spoon- absolutely delicious!
We headed back to Spello to find a dinner place. We desperately wanted to eat pasta. We found a place called, ‘Drinking Wine’ and sat outside under a huge umbrella.
Dinner started with a bottle of white wine and a platter of smoked salmon and tuna as well as a fennel and orange salad. We were eating family style and were looking forward to sharing everything. Soon our table was full of pasta witha wild boar ragu, classic lasagna, lamb chops and a pesto and zucchini lasagna. All dishes were unbelievably delicious. We were also munching on fresh bread dipped in the yummiest olive oil I have ever had the privelage to taste.
Some red wine came and later and so did dessert. A coffee semi-freddo and a pear and cinnamon cake. All was good, relaxing and absolutely perfect!
Today, I will be meeting a local Italian woman who will be teaching me some local cuisine. I am extremely excited and look forward to learning and sharing- so stay tuned.
Penne with Shrimp and Asparagus in a Creamy Garlic Sauce
As I have mentioned before on this blog, everyone in my family loves shrimp. To save money, I buy frozen shrimp from either Trader Joes or Whole Foods– I do try to make sure it’s American shrimp. It makes me feel better knowing the shrimp haven’t travelled very far to get to my table. I always have at least one bag of frozen shrimp at hand- very helpful on a busy day.
I had a lovely bunch of asparagus in the fridge and I thought of pairing it with the shrimp. I was flipping through the ten thousand food magazines at home and came up with anchovies. Now, before you start gagging- anchovies are delicious when used in sauces and dressings. Most people who think they don’t like the fishy taste don’t realize that the ‘fishiness’ goes away as soon as the anchovies dissolve or melt and what comes through is this a very complex nutty, salty flavor equal to nothing else out there.
When I am thinking of a recipe, I visualize it in my mind- step by step. In this case, I was planning on making a white wine and cheese sauce with an anchovy base. I was planning on adding the asparagus and then the shrimp and finally the penne.
I cooked the sauce- quite easy, didn’t take very long at all. I then added the trimmed asparagus to the pan. I looked at the frying pan and realized the asparagus, shrimp and penne were not going to look very appealing all mixed in together. So I quickly took the asparagus out and sauteed it separately in a pan and decided to add it on top instead. That worked out a lot better- it looked fabulous. We eat with our eyes first and the thought of serving an unappetizing meal was not very exciting.
The meal tasted great and it looked good as well- very important. I served the pasta with garlic bread and some red wine- good stuff all around!
Basil Sausage and Spinach Baked Pasta
I started with the basil chicken sausages I bought yesterday. I admit to be obsessed with chicken sausages! I find them to be a healthy protein and come in lots of flavors and meal possibilities. Anyway, I was in the mood to make a baked pasta dish but not necessarily with marinara sauce. I decided to go with a bechamel sauce (white sauce), which is typically used in a homemade macaroni and cheese. I added pecorino instead of parmesan because it has a stronger flavor and it is not used as often, but, you can definitely use parmesan. Not sure why I chose spinach, maybe because I didn’t have any other vegetables in my fridge except baby carrots and cucumbers. Overall it came out quite well. My daughter thought it was delicious. We ate it with some garlic bread I had left over in the freezer.
The other thing I bought with the sausage was a Portuguese white wine. It looked quite fascinating to me- it had little bubbles! While in Madrid this past summer, we had lots of rose wines with tiny bubbles in them. They weren’t bubbles like champagne, far less- made it a lot easier to drink. I have been looking for something similar until now! The wine is called Gazela and it’s quite tasty. I wouldn’t categorize it as a superb wine but definitely an everyday kind of wine you can have at home. It was around five dollars so you can’t really go wrong. Anyway, the bubbles worked quite well with the creamy white sauce in the pasta.
- 2 basil Chicken Sausages- sliced into 1-inch rounds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, cut into one-inch pieces
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 10 ounces chopped frozen spinach, thawed with water squeezed out
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ pound penne pasta
- 8 ounces part skim mozzarella cheese, grated- divided into 1/3 cup and 2/3 cup
White Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk (1%, 2% or whole milk will do)
- ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup pecorino romano, grated
Preheat oven at 400 degrees
In a wide skillet, heat the olive oil and add the sausages on medium-high heat. Brown the sausages for about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions and garlic. Saute for a minute or so. Next, add the spinach and the salt. Mix well, making sure all the ingredients are warm and cooked through. Keep aside.
In a medium sized pot, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta until almost done ( the rest will bake in the oven). Add the pasta to sausage and onion mixture.
In the meantime, in a small pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Start to whisk the mixture over medium-high heat for a minute or two. Then add the milk slowly while whisking making sure no lumps form. Bring the liquid to a boil. Once it starts to thicken, take it off the heat. Add the nutmeg, salt, black pepper and the pecorino cheese. Add the sauce to the pasta and sausage mixture. Add 1/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer the mixture into an ovenproof dish and top it with the remaining 2/3cup mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for another 20 minutes.