Tag: Italian

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Spaghetti and Chicken Meatballs from Lady and the Tramp

Answer

Please note, I’m not listing any modification I may have inadvertently or intentionally made since don’t think I’ve significantly improved the recipe.

meatball3

Serves 4 to 6

We found that they must be refrigerated for an hour before being fried to keep them from sticking to the pan or falling apart.

Ingredients

  • Meatballs
  • 2 slices white sandwich bread (crusts discarded), torn into small cubes
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk or 6 tablespoons plain yogurt thinned with 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • 1 pound ground chicken mixed with ground chuck
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced (1 teaspoon)
  • 3/4 teaspoon table salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • Vegetable oil for pan-frying (about 1 1/4 cups)
  • Smooth Tomato Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 ounce)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, minced
  • Table salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • Parmesan cheese fresh, grated

 

Instructions

1. For the meatballs: Combine bread and buttermilk in small bowl, mashing occasionally with fork, until smooth paste forms, about 10 minutes.

2. Place ground chicken, cheese, parsley, egg yolk, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste in medium bowl. Add bread-milk mixture and combine until evenly mixed. Shape 3 tablespoons of mixture into 1½-inch-round meatball. (When forming meatballs use a light touch. If you compact the meatballs too much, they can become dense and hard.) You should be able to form about 14 meatballs. After shaping meatballs place on platter, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

3. Pour vegetable oil into 10- or 11-inch sauté pan to depth of ¼ inch. Turn flame to medium-high. After several minutes, test oil with edge of meatball. When oil sizzles, add meatballs in single layer. Fry, turning several times, until nicely browned on all sides, about 10 minutes (see illustration below). Regulate heat as needed to keep oil sizzling but not smoking. Transfer browned meatballs to plate lined with paper towels and set aside.

TECHNIQUE: Browning Meatballs :

Squeeze all the oil out, and I mean use some muscle:

meatballs

We found that meatballs taste best when browned evenly on all sides. Their round shape makes this a challenge. Our solution is to brown the two broader sides of the meatballs first and then use tongs to stand the meatballs on their sides. If necessary, lean the meatballs up against one another as they brown.

4. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in large pot for pasta.

5. For the sauce, discard oil in pan, leaving behind any browned bits. Add olive oil along with garlic; sauté, scraping up any browned bits, just until garlic is golden, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, bring to boil, and simmer gently until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir in basil; add salt and pepper to taste. Add meatballs and simmer, turning them occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Keep warm over low flame.

6. Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water. Cook until al dente, drain, and return to pot. Ladle several large spoonfuls of tomato sauce (without meatballs) over spaghetti and toss until noodles are well coated. Divide pasta among individual bowls and top each with a little more tomato sauce and 2 to 3 meatballs. Serve immediately with grated cheese passed separately.

 

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Spicy Italian-Style Chicken with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions – Chicken Scarpariello

Serves 4 to 6

This dish is fairly spicy. To manage the heat, adjust the amount of cherry peppers as desired. If you cannot find hot cherry peppers, pickled banana pepper rings can be substituted. If your skillet is not ovensafe, add the cornstarch mixture to the skillet in step 3 (instead of step 5) along with the vinegar and simmer until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the sausage and transfer mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Arrange the chicken over the mixture and bake as directed. To make this dish with chicken thighs, increase the cooking time in the oven to about 25 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of chicken registers 175 degrees. Serve with a green salad and mashed potatoes, orzo, or soft polenta, (see related recipe).

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 8 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
  • 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves, trimmed of excess fat and skin and cut crosswise into 2 or 3 pieces (see illustrations below)
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 medium onion, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 1 1/4 cups)
  • 1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch strips (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 3-5 pickled hot cherry peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch strips (about 1/4 cup)
  • 3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup white wine vinegar plus 2 additional tablespoons (I used distilled white)
  • 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth plus 1 tablespoon
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add sausage and cook, stirring to break sausage into 1/2-inch pieces, until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer sausage to plate lined with paper towels. Remove skillet from heat; pour off fat into small bowl and reserve; wipe out skillet with paper towels.
  2. Return skillet to medium-high heat and heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil until smoking. Pat chicken dry and liberally season with salt and pepper. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until well browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken and brown on other side, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate. Remove skillet from heat and pour off fat into bowl with sausage fat; wipe out skillet with
    paper towels.
  3. Return skillet to medium-high heat and heat 1 tablespoon reserved fat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add bell pepper and cherry peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until bell pepper begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add sugar, 1/3 cup vinegar, and 3/4 cup broth; bring mixture to boil, scraping up browned bits from pan bottom.
  4. Add sausage and chicken (with any accumulated juices) to skillet, arranging chicken pieces in single layer, skin side up, on top of peppers and onion. Transfer skillet to oven and cook until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160 degrees, 18 to 22 minutes, removing smaller pieces sooner if necessary. Meanwhile, combine cornstarch, thyme, and remaining tablespoon broth in small bowl.
  5. Carefully remove skillet from oven (handle will be very hot) and transfer chicken, skin side up, to platter or individual serving plates. Place skillet over medium-high heat and stir in cornstarch mixture. (I totally forgot this part) Simmer sauce mixture until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Off heat, taste sauce and add up to 2 tablespoons vinegar. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce around chicken, being careful not to pour it directly over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

Step-by-Step

Splitting a Bone-In Chicken Breast
To make bone-in chicken breasts faster-cooking and more manageable to eat, we cut them into smaller pieces. If using large chicken breasts (about 1-pound each), cut each breast into three pieces. If using smaller breasts (10 to 12 ounces each), cut each breast into two pieces.
  1. To the Bone: Using sharp chef’s knife, cut into breast until knife hits bone.
  2. Rock On: Rock knife back and forth through bone.

Step-by-Step

Chicken with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions
To ensure properly cooked chicken pieces with crisp skin, our recipe requires transferring the skillet from the stovetop to the oven. This recipe takes about an hour to prepare and cook.
  1. Brown sausage and set aside.
  2. Brown chicken and set aside.
  3. Sauté onion and peppers; add garlic.
  4. Add sugar, vinegar, and broth.
  5. Return sausage and chicken to skillet and place skillet in oven.
  6. Once chicken has cooked through, remove chicken to platter, thicken sauce, then spoon sauce around chicken.