YumSugar

Italian Dishes For Cozy Winter Meals

YumSugar — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:20:30 PST

If cooler temperatures leave you craving cozy comfort food, try cooking one of these delicious Italian dishes. We've got you covered with everything from fast and easy appetizers to entrées worthy of a dinner party.

Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, e Peperoncino

Camilla Salem — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:45:17 PST

Translated: spaghetti with garlic, oil, and chili pepper flakes.

This is the kind of meal that makes you stop and think that the simplest foods are often the most wonderful. With only a few ingredients that are staples in most pantries, you can create a beautiful, flavorful, heartwarming meal from scratch.

Spaghetti aglio, olio, e peperoncino is a traditional Italian pasta dish. It's well loved by many because it's so easy and inexpensive to make. This is a perfect solution whenever you're in a bind. For example, if guests come over and you've got nothing to serve, they are certain to be wowed when you present them with this meal.

It packs quite a kick from the minced garlic and chili pepper flakes, and I highly suggest enjoying this dish with fellow garlic lovers. Keep on going for more.

Know Your Ingredients: Porchetta

Susannah Chen — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:15:17 PST

If there's one ingredient that may be able to oust bacon as the prized protein of the moment, it's porchetta. It's been appearing everywhere in farmers markets, Italian restaurants, and sandwich shops around San Francisco.

Pronounced "por-ketta," porchetta is an Italian specialty of slow-roasted suckling pig. A young, milk-fed piglet is gutted, deboned, stuffed with a mixture of garlic, herbs, and seasonings, then roasted whole in a wood-burning oven.

Porchetta originated in Lazio, a region of west central Italy, where it was probably a mountain food eaten during wintertime feasts. The specialty has since become entrenched in much of the country's culinary tradition. In Umbria, porchetta is flavored with fennel in garlic; in Rome, rosemary and garlic; in the Marches, wild herbs; and in Sardinia, myrtle leaves.

Sometimes referred to as "Italian pulled pork," porchetta is succulent, extremely fatty, and savory. In Rome, it's popular for street vendors to serve it sliced and sandwiched between a roll. Have you ever tried porchetta?

Source: Flickr User Pedro Angelini

Black and Orange Halloween Pasta's Both Trick and Treat

Susannah Chen — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:30:00 PDT

If you're looking for a more low-key way to ring in Halloween, then enjoy a festive, color-coordinated pasta dish at home. If you loved electric-pink rigatoni this time last year, then you'll find black-and-orange pasta just as fun. Squid ink provides the midnight color while roasted butternut squash lights the dish up with an incandescent glow. Make it even creamier by adding a generous pat of butter and a shower of freshly-shaved pecorino romano. For the spirited and spooky recipe, read on.

Beyond Spaghetti: 8 Things to Do With Pesto

Katie Sweeney — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:16:53 PDT

During the Summer, I love to use the bounty of in-season basil to make fresh pesto. The combination of basil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and olive oil is always delicious. If you don't have time to blitz your own pesto but want to cook with the sauce, simply pick up some from the local market. Although pesto is wonderful tossed with al dente pasta, there are plenty of other ways to make use of the Italian condiment. To see my suggestions, read on.

Fast & Easy Dinner: Pepperoni and Broccoli Rabe Pizza

Katie Sweeney — Thu, 26 May 2011 11:56:24 PDT

Lately, I've been obsessed with homemade pizza. It's my favorite food and now that I've discovered how easy it is to use Whole Foods dough (you don't need a rolling pin; it can be stretched simply with your hands!), I make it all the time. It's a great way to get rid of veggies, meat, and cheese that are in the fridge and comes together in 30 minutes. Inspired by a pie I saw in Everyday Food, I made this pizza with broccoli rabe, pepperoni, shallots, and fontina cheese. There's something about the bitterness of the greens that pairs wonderfully with the spicy pepperoni and salty cheese. It was absolutely scrumptious and hard not to eat the whole thing myself! Ready for the recipe? Read on.

Spring Panzanella Is Perfect For Your Next Picnic

Katie Sweeney — Wed, 25 May 2011 12:50:03 PDT

Panzanella is an Italian bread salad that's traditionally made in the Summer with day old bread, tomatoes, and basil. However, I love this salad and I make it year-round. So does Michael Chiarello, apparently, because he's got recipes for Spring and Winter panzanellas that incorporate seasonal ingredients.

Over the weekend I was invited to a picnic and decided it was the ideal time to experiment with his Spring version. It combines fresh peas, asparagus, basil, and green beans with croutons, radicchio, spinach, and ricotta cheese. This salad is spectacular!

It's full of interesting textures, from the crunch of the croutons to the crumble of the cheese. It's packed with tons of different flavors: earthy asparagus, aromatic basil, salty cheese. Spring panzanella is not only awesome at a picnic, but it's a welcome addition to a Memorial Day barbecue menu. Check out the method now.

It's Ramp Season! Make Scott Conant's Risotto

Susannah Chen — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:40:23 PDT

There's a reason why foodies are so fanatical about ramps; the wild leeks are the first sure sign that Spring has arrived, especially in areas home to a long Winter. But be aware of their short season: the minute ramps arrive, the window on their availability is already beginning to close.

If you're not deterred by garlicky breath, uncooked ramps have a pungency that adds punch to homemade pesto. Or, enjoy them in a mellower state, as I like to do, by sauteing their stalks and greens until translucent, and slowly melding their sweetness into a rich, creamy risotto. The recipe, when you continue reading.

How to Grill a Chicken Under a Brick

Katie Sweeney — Mon, 23 May 2011 05:08:00 PDT

The technique for cooking a chicken under a brick is not a new one. It's been practiced in Tuscany, where it's known as pollo al mattone, for hundreds of years. However, only recently did I start enjoying this crispy-skinned, juicy chicken at home. In order to grill a whole chicken under a brick, it must be flattened. Don't be intimidated, the method is easy and the resulting chicken delicious. Here's how it's done.

Fast & Easy Dinner: Asparagus Lasagna

Katie Sweeney — Wed, 11 May 2011 12:23:42 PDT

Although I wouldn't consider a classic lasagna to be a fast and easy weeknight meal option, this variation, with a simple asparagus-ricotta filling and no sauce, is ideal for a middle of the week pick-me-up. The ingredient list calls for pancetta, but I had bacon in my fridge, so that's what I used. If you're a vegetarian, leave it out. The best part of this lasagna is the sun-dried tomato paste that's layered between the noodles; it packs a flavorful punch and melts into the scrumptiously cheesy filling. Want to save even more time? Use no-boil lasagna noodles. To take a look at the preparation method, keep reading.