Along the Appian Way ~ Easy Italian Dinners and Soups!

The Appian Way... like good Italian cooking is an easy way, a frugal way.

Pastas with sauce... soups with bread and butter!

Most frugal dishes cooked the Italian way begin with a meat stock to which you can add tomato paste or heavy cream as a simple sauce. You can also prepare a great meat sauce starting with sauteing chopped onion and garlic in olive oil then adding any meat and crushed tomatoes and heavy cream, you like.

As for soups, they start the same way with either pre-made store bought stock or a fresh homemade meat stock (boil beef/chicken in salted water)... add fresh diced (or canned) tomatoes, fresh or frozen vegetables but take care to leave out pasta/rice which can be added to each bowl or to a separate soup tureen to set on the table.

You can get frugally creative when it comes to soup using stock using just about any kind of left over and or adding meatballs, sausage and or seafood such as shrimp. What is important with any soup or sauce is that you start with a basic meat or vegetable stock. By keeping stock in the pantry or fridge you can create or change up any soup or sauce and either can morph into another kind of soup or sauce.

Remember, keep out  pasta/rice and strain off veggies when you want to recreate a soup or sauce. For instance, a chicken stock can become many different kinds of soup even tomato by the end of the week or a good Minestrone; a soup that can have a number of left overs - meat/veggies and pasta goodies. Always be a good judge of food shelf/fridge life... the nose knows!


~ Tutti a Tavola!

The Appian Way was one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic connecting Rome and Brindisi.


*Check Brainy Archives for recipes!

Baked Chicken ...Crusted with Parmesan Cheese!

Italians like eating out as much as eating in...

It takes no time at all to make this savory dish.  All you need are a few boneless, skinless chicken breasts, mayonnaise or sour cream if you are not a mayo fan, Parmesan cheese and dried herbs. To get started, turn on the oven and pre-heat to 425. Then drizzle olive oil into an oblong glass baking dish and lay in your chicken breasts. With a spatula, generously spread mayo over the top of each  chicken breast. Lastly, sprinkle with grated Parmesan, organic garlic powder and fresh dried herbs: rosemary, mint and oregano.


Bake on 425 for the first 10 and then at 375 for the next 25-30 min or until the tops are crusty brown and chicken is cooked through.

In the time before the chicken is done, prepare your sides: angel hair pasta, and a green salad.

~ Tutti a Tavola!

The Left Overs are Finally Gone!

With Thanksgiving over, its time to head home...

And... likely you are not in the mood to cook. So, go farm style which means bake dinner in the oven.  A frugal and tasty meat and potatoes oven bake is a boneless pork loin with potatoes, seared zucchini and dried plums. Get started ...turn on the oven to 375F.

You will need to pick up or take from the freezer to thaw, a boneless pork loin. Cut it down the middle not cutting through then spread it out and lay it flat in a glass dish drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with garlic powder and dried herbs: rosemary, mint and oregano. Wash and peel as many yellow potatoes as you think you will need and then cut into medium sized cubes. Lay them along side the pork, drizzling over the top a bit more olive oil and a pinch of two more of dried herbs. Cover with a small sheet of foil and slide into the oven.

After this has baked in the oven for about 30-40 min, wash and slice two medium sized zucchini to sear in a skillet with some bacon pieces for flavor (if you don't have bacon use olive oil). Once the zucchini is seared, browned on all sides, add to the pork and potatoes in the oven. At this time, you can toss in some dried plums, cover and bake until potatoes and pork are cooked through... about 20 min.

~ Tutti a Tavola!

Chicken or 'Turkey' Piccata... Either way its Brainy!

The Italian kitchen is a frugal kitchen... as one can learn from their Nona who could magically transform or integrate left overs into any meal. Since the big meal on Thursday, you probably have left overs. What can you do with left over turkey? ~ Turkey Piccata!

Instead of buying and using boneless skinless chicken breasts take advantage of any left over turkey; the white meat for this left over dish is best. Following the original piccata recipe, you will need a jar of capers, one lemon, angel hair pasta, one onion, heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. 

Prepare as you would normally for chicken piccata. Saute one whole chopped onion in a blend of 3 tbs of coconut oil and olive oil, adding to that 2 tbs of butter. Prior to that, freshen your turkey breast strips in a rinse of squeezed lemon juice. Now, add the turkey strips to the onion, having pushed the onion to one side of the skillet. Brown the strips on med. heat (adding an extra drizzle of olive oil) and then bring back the onion pushed aside.

Next, add 3/4 to 1 cup of heavy cream, half a jar of capers, and dried herbs: rosemary, mint and oregano, cover and simmer for 8 min.  Near the end of those eight minutes, slice half a fresh 'washed' lemon, cutting in half the slices and then laying them on top of the turkey to cook covered on low heat for about 4 minutes.

In this time, prepare the pasta by cooking in salted boiling water until tender. Drain and ladle the pasta onto a low lipped serving plate and then top with the rich creamy chicken and sauce; grate Parmesan cheese on top and serve.

Now, that is beyond yummy....

~ Tutti a Tavola!

 ... you will forget its left over turkey










*pics are from chicken picata post... effect and taste nearly the same!

The Holiday is Approaching ~ Don't be Afraid to Cook at Home!

Thanksgiving is this week, hard to believe. Many can be overwhelmed with the very idea of cooking at home but as I advised last year, bring out the crockpots. I am not a regular user but there are definitely times when they just do the trick: saving time, money and keeping food hot. If you don't have one, borrow one. If you don't have two or three... borrow as many as you can or have your guests bring a side in their own crockpot.

If you are hosting, you could offer to do just the turkey and stuffing and let everyone else bring a side dish and bring it in their crockpot. If you are going the whole nine yards then bring out the crockpots.

Simple crockpot ideas: Turkey with dressing/stuffing. Yes, it can be done just as if you were doing a pot roast. Of course, your turkey can't be massive but it will be tender and juicy. To get a brown top, sear the breast side down (remove any giblets/organ meat from inside) before putting the turkey into the crockpot for full cooking. It can be done as long as you don't have a huge turkey, any large skillet will do to sear it in and I suggest in 3 tbs. olive oil and a dollop of butter. Once you done that, move the turkey to your crockpot, pour in 1/2 cup of turkey stock/broth (packaged or canned), another dollop of butter, dried herbs: rosemary, mint and oregano.

The basic dry bread with sage dressing should be done on the side on the stove top and once cooked, you can spoon into the turkey even as it is already in the crockpot. Pour over the now stuffed area of the turkey with a bit more turkey stock or broth will do - using from a tetra pack or can is ok. Follow cooking temps and timing for your turkey as suggested by your brand/manufacturer. Certainly cook it as long as you would a large pot roast - 3-4 hours. Always, test your meat temperature with a meat thermometer to make sure it is done.

Here are some delicious crockpot sides: country style mashed potatoes (mashing them down after they have cooked), or use sweet potatoes, french cut green bean casserole and good ole corn pudding among the traditional. For more non-traditional: acorn or butternut squash with maple bacon and walnuts, cooked apples with crushed pecans and brown sugar, perhaps a rustic rice pilaf and a favorite of mine - slivered brussel sprouts with either dried cranberries or dried apricots or both and slivered almonds.

Any and all pies can be baked ahead of time or store bought and refrigerated until just before dinner.

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Northern Italian 'Farm Style' Minestrone!

Hot soup and hot toasted bread with butter... no other meal satisfies a hungry family like this does as we leave fall and head into winter.

You will need to buy a package of beef stew meat, zucchini, carrots and whole canned tomatoes unless you have fresh frozen or have access to home grown tomatoes yet this late in November. Fill a large stock pot with water, salt generously but don't overdue it. Once it boils, add your stew meat and let it boil uncovered for about 10 min. on high heat. Reduce the heat to med and add one large can of chopped tomatoes or a large bag of fresh frozen. I happen to have the last bag in my freezer which I thawed the night before. Next, add a bag of baby carrots-washed and fresh dried herbs: rosemary, mint and oregano along with a hand full of dried arugula.

Let this soup slowly boil on med heat for 40-45 min partially covered. On the end, dice fresh zucchini to add to the pot and simmer on low heat for an additional 30 min. This Minestrone is without beans of any kind and the reason is my own personal preference and a digestive issue with bean skins. As a soup side, I like to use a wide egg noodle which is cooked separately, not added to the pot of soup.

Noodles should always be spooned into individual bowls. The reason is so that they do not 'glue or goop' of the soup especially, if you want to retain any portion of the stock. By keeping the noodles separate, you can strain out the meat and vegetables to have stock as a base for another kind of soup. In this case, I would recommend a nice rich tomato soup that could be made the next day on the same beef/vegetable stock.

Now that's being frugal. However, I would serve the Minestrone one more day as the flavor will have built up over night. If there is any left over by the third day, then I would strain out any of the meat and vegetables and make tomato soup with rice as the side.

Once the pasta is tender, drain and spoon into individual bowls, top with soup, sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese and butter the toasted bread, roll or muffin.

~ Tutti a Tavola!

Veal with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Olives!

Good Italian countryside cooking is fast and frugal. A veal loin can be thickly sliced into nice small medallions. You can saute them in olive oil with dried herbs and sun dried tomatoes. It takes only about 25 minutes on med to high heat. Add a 1/4 cup of heavy cream and this delicious meat dish can top any rice, groat or pasta side. Add the olives on the end, not cooked... just straight out of the jar or deli container.

 ~Tutti a Tavola!










* for risotto recipe ~see brainy archives