Mambo Italiano

My beloved Big Man is Italian. Growing up, he had Sunday dinner at his grandmothers, with the cousins and extended family. Every so often, he waxes nostalgic, and feels bad that we live 1300 miles away from the Little Man's cousins and we only see them sporadically.

When this happens, I bust out  the Dean Martin and tie on the apron. I go into full on Italian housewife mode. 

I start with an antipasti platter. This one has fresh mozzarella ( it comes in a ball and us in the cheese section of the supermarket), prosciutto, capricola and salami. I added a variety of olives too.

For dinner, I made lasagna. Many years ago (like 20!), I knew the Big Man & I were serious when he had me spend an afternoon with his grandmother and learn how to cook family recipes. My lasagna isn't one of them, but I often think back to that day when I'm making lasagna.

You need:

Lasagna noodles ( I use the no boil to save time)

2 cans sauce

Garlic, minced

Ricotta cheese (16 oz)

1 egg

Basil

Dash nutmeg

2 tbsp red pepper flakes

1/2 c shredded mozzarella 

Preheat oven to 375. Mix ricotta, egg, garlic, basil, red pepper & nutmeg together. Layer noodles with ricotta mixture, mozzarella and sauce (noodle-ricotta-noodle-mozzarella/sauce, etc) ending with mozzarella & sauce.

Bake 45 minutes until melted and gooey.

Ti Amo

Way back when, before the Big Man & I were married, we had a virtual date every Sunday night. We'd get on AIM (this was back in the day, around the turn of the century people), and chat while we watched the Sopranos, and (at least on my end) ate ice cream.

In my opinion, the Sopranos was one of the best written and acted shows ever, despite the violence, s-e-x and bad language. It took place in New Jersey and many of the places were real (sometimes the names were changed to protect the innocent). 

One year, the Big Man & I dressed up as Tony & Carmela for Halloween. It was the easiest costume ever because we wore what was in our closets! 

Like many, I was shocked by the sudden death of James Gandolfini this week. From growing up in northern New Jersey to graduating from Rutgers (at the same time as the Big Man's cousin) to dozens of iconic movie roles to Tony Soprano, he was a jersey boy through and through.

The Sopranos were a big part of our cultural identity. When we moved from NJ to Sioux Falls, we brought a little of that swagger with us. It was our way of hiding missing home. One thing in particular was Sunday dinner.

Pasta, chicken or veal, salad, bread and tiramisu-the best meal all week.

My favorite always meatballs and pasta. 

Not your average meatball 

2 lbs ground turkey

2 eggs beaten

1 1/2 c bread crumbs

3 tbsp italian seasoning

1/3 c water (as needed)

1 tsp crushed red pepper

3 garlic cloves minced

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Mix meat, bread crumbs, eggs & seasoning together. Add water as needed to keep moist. Form into balls. Bake 20-25 minutes until lightly browned. To serve, cook in sauce for 30 minutes. 

All Sopranos pictures from Google images

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Canto Della Terra

My husband has been ill the last few days, and my attention has been focus on him. Unfortunately, we still need to eat, so I've been scrambling to figure out quick, easy, filling meals.

I had cooked chicken breast in the fridge that I made for the Big Man's lunch.

I made chicken Parmesan casserole. It's super easy and super delicious.

Cooked chicken

Mozzarella cheese

Provolone cheese

Tomato sauce

Cream cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Dice chicken, top with sauce & cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. 

Serve with pasta and garlic bread. 

Black Vodka

While we were in NJ this past week, we had dinner at my friend Fran's house. She has been like an older sister to me for the last nearly 20 years. On my wedding day, my girls and I got dressed at her house. Both her daughters played a huge role that day, including her youngest daughter being a bridesmaid and her oldest handing out programs, bubbles and getting the party started on the dance floor.
Every time I went to Fran's house,- mystery feast would magically appear out of nowhere, taunting me and hampering whatever current diet plan I was on at that moment. Willpower would be pulverized, like pesto in the mortar & pestle.
This time, I was completely prepared. I was so grateful for "real" Italian food. There is a huge difference between real and restaurant food. Restaurant
Italian is olive garden, where it's a dish. Real food is sunday dinner, with you have several courses (and salad is eaten after the main course) and finish with an espresso and some fruit. In South Dakota, I can't find the proper ingredients for many of my favorite dishes, but things are slowly changing .
One of the Big Man's favorites is vodka rigatoni, which Fran treated us to when we visited.
This is the recipe I use, courtesy of food.com:
Creamy Pink Vodka Sauce With Penne Recipe - Food.com - 76198