Riobollita

I've been dying to make our own version of ribollita after having it while we were in Italy. This week ended up being perfect for it, as I'm on a temporary soft food diet while some dental work heals. 

Lots of people had comments on the ingredients, what should be included, excluded, etc. I made the recipe as listed, but instead of adding in bread crumbs, I added some Italian bread (about 2 - 3 thick slices), ripped into big pieces. I added them in at the end, and it helped thicken everything up into more of a stew. 

I topped it with a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Totally delicious...even if I was gumming down everything. I think you could mix up and add some other vegetables (I'm envisioning squash) if you wanted, maybe cutting down a little on the cannellini beans. 

Italy -- A Food Preview

A sneak peek...

New cheese fave: pecorino fresco

Penne all'arrabbiata

Pizza with mushrooms, cheese and prosciutto

There are no words to describe the deliciousness. But I'll certainly try my best in my next post.

Chicken Milanese with Sage-and-Lemon-Butter Sauce

There are vegetables off camera. I promise.

I came across this tasty-looking recipe in Food & Wine magazine. Looked easy enough to make and something different and delicious for during the week. I did make a couple modifications to the recipe. I bought chicken breasts instead of cutlets, so I spent about 10 minutes annoying the crap out of our neighbors by trying to flatten the chicken breasts with a rolling pin. 

Making friends everywhere I go.

I also used only panko bread crumbs, instead of a combo of regular breadcrumbs and panko. I think panko is crispier, and frankly -- it's better for you than prepackaged bread crumbs. I had to cook the chicken a little longer, since they were smaller pieces than the recipe intended, but I think they turned out pretty great. There was definitely enough sage-lemon-butter sauce to go around for all 8 pieces. You tasted some of the lemon zest added to the breading mixture, and it nicely echoed the sauce. 

I also think you can't go wrong with some roasted red potatoes and a fresh green salad alongside this meal. For the potatoes, I washed and sliced them, tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and then roasted them in the oven for about 30 minutes (at 350 degrees).

Grilled Salmon with Soba Noodles and Edamame Salad

I've been trying to avoid cooking Italian over the last few days, as we leave for Italy later this week(!). I'm sure I would still eat my face off there even if I had Italian meals every day this week, but somehow I think it will be all the more satisfying if I just hold off a bit. :) 

I pulled this recipe out of one of my binders -- looked delicious (and not Italian)! The sauce was easy to make -- and we let it sit in the fridge for maybe 20 minutes (and not 3 hours) before starting to cook the salmon. 

I couldn't find shelled edamame, so I just bought the frozen ones and cooked and shelled them myself. The soba noodles we had only needed about 3 minutes to cook, so that was easy (I did the edamame separately since I figured one would be either under or over-cooked if I did them together). I couldn't find any water chestnuts at the store so we went without, but used the whole bag of edamame (instead of a cup) instead.

I swear, I ask for normal pieces of salmon but always get the biggest ones! Maybe the fish guy thinks I need some more omega 3s.

It was pretty simple to make, and pretty tasty. I used quite a bit of sriracha sauce, so it had a nice kick to it. The salmon, flavored only with salt and pepper and then grilled, really complemented the spicy noodle and vegetable combo. I'm always looking for something new and fun to do with fish (particularly salmon) and I think this will stay in my repertoire!

Southwest Stuffed Peppers

I am a huge fan of stuffed peppers. I love bell peppers, and get to eat them with some cheese and salsa? SOLD. 

I came across this recipe in Real Simple -- and that it was. We took an extra step of grinding the meat ourselves (but I'm ridiculous and you don't need to do that). We opted for sirloin versus ground chuck, brown rice instead of white rice, and did straight Greek yogurt (and didn't thin it out with water). Delish.

Cooking the meat and rice

Fresh out of the oven!

So colorful!

We had lots of leftovers by making four peppers. Paul thought it could have been a little spicier, but I liked it as it was. We buy medium salsa, so that on top helped add a little heat to the dish. You could mix up the ingredients inside the peppers -- black beans instead of ground meat, Spanish rice instead of brown or white, jalepenos instead of green chiles, or chihuahua cheese on top -- the possibilities are endless!

Enjoy!

Turkey Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

Probably more fries than one should have, but oh well.

Last week, I totally picked out a meal I have been craving: turkey burgers and sweet potato fries. Maybe it's because it's been warm outside, but I am itching for some summer foods. Turkey burgers on the grill it is. 

I looked for pretzel rolls, as they are my absolutely fave, but they were out at the grocery store. We substituted some onion rolls (toasted, clearly) and topped the turkey burgers with some avocado and a little chipotle mayo. Even after a snafu with the grill (running out of propane), they were just what I was looking for! 

I have been wanting to try these sweet potato fries for a while. I don't mind making something similar on my own (i.e. peeling and cutting a sweet potato and roasting it in the oven), but I never could seem to get the crispiness right.  I picked them up at the store, and am totally hooked. We got the chipotle spiced ones, which are crispy, delicious and spicy! And at 4 grams of fat per serving (and no trans fats) they aren't the worst thing in the world for you. 

Now that we're back in business with a fresh propane tank, let's get ready for some summer grilling!
 
P.S. AND they have sweet potato tater tots! i think my life is complete.

Salmon with Curried Fennel-Wine Sauce

Yummy!

I am so excited to share this recipe with everyone -- it was easy to make and a total hit! We used salmon filets instead of steaks, but kept everything else the same. You get a soft curry flavor with the sauce and a nice crunch from the fennel and scallions. I've never cooked fennel this way (browning), but I'm now a fan!

My only suggestion would be to cook the salmon a little longer than the recipe suggests. Four minutes in the broiler didn't cook the salmon as much as I liked, so I ended up nuking it in the microwave to cook it completely through (as did Paul, which meant it was really a little raw, and not just me). Other than that, I thought the recipe was absolutely perfect. We served it with a side of kale and leeks, sauteed with a little olive oil over the stove, which worked really well alongside the salmon. Enjoy!