Did you see when Jamie Oliver demonstrated to the elementary school kids how a chicken nugget is made on his Food Revolution TV show?  Even though I knew that they were not made from an in tact piece of chicken,  Omgoodness-it was so gross. One of the reasons that I love Jamie Oliver is that he doesn’t take away without giving back.  In this case, with an alternate chicken recipe that kids (and their parents) would love.  From Jamie’s Food Revolution:

“This crumbing technique is so versatile-you can cook pork or even cod in exactly the same way.  As there is butter in the crumb mixture, you can grill fry, roast or bake the meat dry in the oven and it will go lovely and golden.

serves 2

1 clove garlic

1 lemon

6 cream or plain crackers, such as Jacob’s (I would suggest salt-less soda biscuits)

2 T butter

4 springs of Italian parsley

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

2 heaped T flour

1 large egg

2 skinless chicken breast fillets

olive oil

Peel the garlic and zest the lemon.  Put the crackers in a food processor with the butter garlic, parsley sprigs, lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Whiz until the mixture is very fine, then pour these crumbs on a plate.  Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat with a fork.  Lightly score the underside of the chicken breasts.  Put a square of plastic wrap over each one and bash a few times with the bottom of a pan until the breasts flatten out a bit.  Dip the chicken into the flour until both sides are completely coated, then dip into the egg and finally into the flavoured crumbs.  Push the crumbs onto the chicken so they stick-you want the meat to be totally coated.

You can either bake or fry the chicken.  If baking, preheat your oven to its highest temperature (475 degrees), place your chicken on a sheet pan and cook for 15 minutes.  If frying, put a frying pan on medium heat, add a few glugs of oil and cook the chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through, golden and crisp.

Either serve the chicken breasts whole or cut them into strips and pile them on a plate.  Beautiful and simple served with a lemon wedge for squeezing over and a tiny sprinkling of salt.  Great with a lovely fresh salad or simply dressed veggies.”

Kath’s quote (even though I would beg to differ):  “All in all, I think the British actually hate food, otherwise they couldn’t possibly abuse it so badly. Americans, on the other hand, love food but seldom care what it tastes like.”-Bill Marsano

This combination plate of squid and shrimp was served as an entree at Ristorante L’Approdo on the water’s edge in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily.  And here are the Garlic Prawns and Calamari recipes mentioned in Part 1.

Garlic Prawns

29 large prawns

1/4 c olive oil

3 oz butter

1/2 red chili, finely chopped (red pepper flakes to taste)

10 garlic cloves, crushed-yep I said 10!

1/4 c white wine

3 T chopped parsley

Peel and devein shrimp, leaving the tails intact (if you wish).  Put the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the butter, chili and half the garlic.  Cook, stirring for 3 minutes.  Add the prawns and remaining garlic.  Cook for 3 more minutes or until prawns are pink.  Turn the prawns, add the wine and cook for another 4 minutes.  Add the parsley, season well with salt and pepper and serve with fresh bread to dip into remaining garlic butter.

Calamari in padella con limone e pangrattato (From Jamie’s Italy)

olive oil

1-2 fresh red chiles, pricked (once again I used chili flakes to taste)

6 cloves garlic, lightly crushed

2 large handfuls breadcrumbs

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 small package frozen calamari rings (defrosted as per package instructions)

1/2 lemon, very thinly sliced

a handful of flat leaf parsley, sliced

To make pangrattato, put 6 T olive oil into a think-bottomed pan.  Add chili, garlic and breadcrumbs and stir for a couple of minutes, until the breadcrumbs are crisp and golden.  Season with a little salt and pepper.  Remove and set aside.

Wipe the pan with paper towels and put it back on a high heat.  Add another splash of olive oil then season the rings and lay them gently in the hot pan with the lemon slices.  If you can’t fit everything in, do them in 2 batches.-you don’t want them cramped together.  Fry for a minute or so, until golden, then turn over and fry for the same amount of time on the other side.  The lemons will colour and need to be turned more quickly than the calamari, so just remove them from the pan and put to one side.  Take off the heat and divide the calamari and the lemon slices between your plates.  Scatter the pangrattato and the finely sliced parsley over top.  Serve immediately as they cool off quickly.

Kath’s quote:  “Do not overcook this dish. Most seafoods…should be simply threatened with heat and then celebrated with joy.” –Jeff Smith

It was a year ago today that we arrived Castleammare del Golfo, Sicily to commence our sojourn up the east shore of the boot along the Mediteranean coast, then to the Nice France before heading inland to fly out of Paris.

We’ve always enjoyed Italian food but I would say that since our trip we’re crazy for authentic Italian ingredients and recipes.  These are some of our favouites that we’ve made recently.

Caprese Salad is typically served as antipasta and is named for the Isle of  Capri off the Amalfi Coast (our 2nd stop).

This fresh, clean tasting combination of buffalo mozarella (an unripened cheese) , vine-ripened tomtoes and fresh basil leaves is an absolute delight.

The origin of Spaghetti Carbonara is hotly disputed.  The freshly cracked eggs are cooked only by the heat of the pasta producing a rich and creamy (but not low fat) dish.  So make sure that the eggs are as fresh as possible.

14 oz spaghetti

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

2/3 c parmesan

2 T olive oil

1 oz butter

2 garlic cloves

7 oz pancetta, chopped

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water until al dente.  Meanwhile, mix the eggs, egg yolks and cheese together in a bowl and season lightly.  Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan.  Add garlic and pancetta.  Cook over moderate heat until pancetta is crisp, discard the garlic when it becomes golden.  Drain the spaghetti , add to the frying pan and toss well.  Remove from heat and stir in the egg mixture.  Present immediately with extra parmesan.

We’ve served the above once with garlic shrimp recipe and once with calamari (see Part 2 for recipes).  Both are delicious.

Kath’s quote: “The strands of spaghetti were vital, almost alive in my mouth, and the olive oil was singing with flavor. It was hard to imagine that four simple ingredients [olive oil, pasta, garlic and cheese] could marry so perfectly.”-Ruth Reichl

I have been meaning to post this since early summer when we enjoyed it at the cottage during a torrential rain and subsequent power outage.  But truth be told-I borrowed the recipe from Sister #3 and then subsequently lost it.  Thankfully, with diligent searching she was able to find an on line copy because D says-this is the best cheesecake on the face of the earth!  It has lots of steps and is very time consuming, but more than worth it:

White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake Crust
18 vanilla wafer cookies
1 cup almonds, toasted
4 1/2 T unsalted butter, melted

Filling
4 oz imported white chocolate (such as Lindt), chopped
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 c sugar
2 t vanilla extract
3/4 t grated lemon peel
2 large eggs

3/4 c fresh raspberries or frozen unsweetened, thawed, drained

Topping
1 8-oz container sour cream
3 T sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract

2 1/2-pint baskets raspberries or one 1-pint basket strawberries
1/2 c seedless raspberry jam

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place large piece of foil on heavy large baking sheet. Set 8×2-inch bottomless heart-shaped cake pan atop foil. (If unavailable, use 8-inch spring form pan; omit foil.) Wrap foil around outside and 1 inch up sides of pan. Butter foil and pan. Finely grind cookies and almonds in processor. Add butter and blend until mixture forms very moist crumbs. Using plastic wrap as aid, press crumbs firmly onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of pan. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Cool. Maintain oven temperature.

For Filling:
Melt white chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water until smooth, stirring often. Remove from over water. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and peel in large bowl until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined. Beat in white chocolate.

Spoon half of batter into crust. Top with 3/4 cup berries. Spoon remaining batter over. Bake until edges of cake are set but center 3 inches still moves when cake is shaken, about 45 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. Maintain oven temperature. Using fingertips, press down gently on edges of cheesecake to flatten slightly.

For topping:
Whisk sour cream, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Spoon over cake, spreading to edge of pan. Bake 5 minutes. Transfer cake in pan to rack. Run small knife around sides of cake. Cool completely. Chill cake overnight.

Fold down foil along sides of pan. Lift cake pan off cheesecake. Transfer cheesecake to platter, discarding foil. Cover cake with berries. Bring jam to simmer in small saucepan, stirring often. Gently brush jam over berries. Can be prepared 3 hours ahead; chill.

Kath’s quote: “There is something in the red of a raspberry pie that looks as good to a man as the red in a sheep looks to a wolf.”-E. W. Howe

Three things I love came together earlier this summer: the company of women, delicious food and newborn babies.  We had assembled to celebrate the births of a little girl and a little boy.  We rocked babies, visited and sampled little treats-both savoury and sweet.  My idea of a perfect evening….

This was my favourite taste:

1/4 c butter, softened

1/4 c powdered sugar (I use icing is that the same as powdered?)

1 egg

1 1/2 c flour

1/4 t salt

1/3 c finely chopped pistachio nuts

granulated sugar

1 1/4 c powdered sugar

1/4 c butter, softened

1/2 t vanilla

1-2 T maraschino cherry juice

In a large bowl, combine 1/4 c butter and 1/4 c powdered sugar.  Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed., scraping bowl occasionally.  Add egg, beat until combined.  Gradually beat in flour and salt on low speed until well mixed.  Form a large cookie log.  Cover and chill about 1 hour.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place pistachios in a shallow pan.  Roll the cookie log in nuts to coat.  Slice into 1/2 inch slices (you may require a glass of water to keep the knife moist) and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with the granulated sugar.  Bake for 8-9 minutes or just until edges begin to turn golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack; let cool.  In the mean time, prepare filling: in a small bowl, combine 1 1/4 c powdered sugar, 1/4 c of butter and vanilla.  Beat in enough of the cherry juice to make a filling of desired consistency.  Spread a healthy teaspoon of filling on the bottom half of the cookies.  Top with remaining cookies, flat sides down, pressing lightly together. Makes about 21 sandwich cookies.  To store: layer cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container; cover.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Kath’s quote:  “When I make cookies, I eat just four and throw the rest away. But first I spray them with Raid so I won’t dig them out of the garbage later. Be careful, though, because that Raid really doesn’t taste that bad.”-Janette Barber