60 years together

Last weekend, my family and I took a trip across the country to visit my dad's side of the family. Great Aunts, Uncles, and cousins came from all over the East coast to celebrate my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. I could not resist a post on this.

60 years of wedded bliss is quite an accomplishment - especially these days! My grandparents have always showed our family the example of the love and respect it takes to make it that long. They are beautiful people and we were so grateful to be able to celebrate with them. After all, when Italian families get together - no matter what the occasion - you know there's gonna be good food and good company.

Here's some photos from the experience to share with you. I always say - you know you're Italian when you photograph the food at your party! Che bella!

antipasto!

The happy couple!

My brother, my cousins, and my son posed with me for a picture!

My cousin 'initiated' my son by repeatedly tackling him and then giving him his first wedgie. What an honor....?

My grandfather playing the squeeze box - just like I grew up with.

My daughter found her new BEST friend in my cousin Sean...

Two generations of Pusateri's and Savino's

Uncle Frankie on the accordion...

Congratulations on 60 years

to my wonderful grandparents

Frank and Helen Pusateri.

EASY Italian Herb Foccacia Bread

this Italian herb focaccia recipe is one of those quick ones you can throw together with whats already in your pantry. I like to cut them into bread sticks and OF COURSE serve them with pasta:) In two hours (including prep time, rising time, and baking) you can have this ready in time for dinner.

2 1/2 - 3 cups all purpose flour

1 TB dried Italian seasoning

1 TB sugar

1 tsp salt

2 1/4 tsp (or one package) active dry yeast

3 TB e.v.o.o.

1 cup very warm water

FOR THE TOP

2 TB e.v.o.o.

2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Mix the flour, Italian seasoning, sugar, slat and yeast in a large bowl. Add the 3 TB olive oil and the warm water and beat on medium speed with electric mixer. Stir in remaining flour until dough is soft and leaves sides of bowl.

Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead 5-8 minutes till dough is springy.

Place dough in a greased bowl covered in plastic wrap and allow to rise about 30 minutes.

Grease large cookie sheet and divide the dough into two flattened rounds. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. Make depressions into the dough rounds with your fingers, about 2 inches apart. Brush tops with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and grated cheese and bake 15-20 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Then, MANGIA!

Food Challenge results are in!

A big GRAZIE to everyone who voted on our FIRST EVER "Mamma Meets The Cucina" Food Challenge! I am humbly grateful that you considered my recipe to be a "winner" but the truth is that both recipes were winners. It's Italian food, people - there's no such thing as a losing dish!

So a heartfelt congratulations goes out to my opponent, CUCINA DOMENICO for his cheating...I mean, CREATIVITY in using TWO ingredients from our poll! His conniving... I mean, CLEVER skills were put to the test (and clearly he's got skills in the kitchen)! Chef Condo is a better chef than I'll ever be, but to make myself feel better, it is likely that I will rub my victory in his face periodically on this blog - no biggie.

GRAZIE A TUTTI!

Food Challenge Results: Chicken Artichoke Picatta and Pollo con Carciofi e Pomodori

So as we all know, artichokes (carciofi) were the winning ingredient for the "Mamma Meets The Cucina" Food Challenge. You voted and we heard ya loud and clear!!! So what you are about to read is the result of long hours of inventing and preparing the (hopefully) WINNING recipes for this challenge:) we both know we've got some hefty competition - but it's all in good fun....for now.

Let's start with Cucina Domenico's

Chicken Artichoke Picatta

This is a traditional Italian dish with the addition of artichoke hearts, which makes for great flavor and texture. Although this recipe calls for chicken cutlets, it would also work well with veal cutlets, flounder or tilapia.

Two quick, but important notes about this dish:

1. Piccata is fairly quick and easy to make. As long as you stay on top of your timing, you'll end up with a perfect dish.

2. Whenever you are using wine to cook with (you will be using white wine for this dish), never use anything less in quality than you would drink or serve to guests. Better tasting ingredients make for better tasting dishes!

CHICKEN ARTICHOKE PICATTA
2 large or 4 small thin cut chicken cutlets
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
juice plus zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
4 tblspn olive oil
2 tblspn butter
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoon capers
1 small jar artichoke hearts

Mix together the flour, garlic powder, dash of salt and pepper, and lemon zest, dredge cutlets in flour mix

In a large pan heat 4 tablespoons olive oil, add 2 tablespoons butter.

Add cutlets, cook 3 minutes each side.

Add 1/3 cup white wine, 1/3 cup chicken broth and juice from lemon, lower heat, let simmer for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons capers and 1 small jar artichoke hearts. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Serve over rice.

And now, here's Una Mamma Italiana's original

Roasted Artichoke and Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts

.....or if you want to sound really Italian, Pollo con Carciofi e Pomodori! The roasted taste of the artichokes and the tomatoes is what makes this dish. Don't skip that step...and the creamy sauce, though somehwat of an indulgence - is so worth it because it's the perfect, rich finish to the chicken....I'd serve this with a green salad tossed with none other than - artichoke hearts!

Enjoy!!

ROASTED ARTICHOKE & TOMATO STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

INGREDIENTS:

4 Roma tomatoes, quartered

1 can artichoke hearts

e.v.o.o.

2 TSP Italian Seasoning

kosher salt

cracked black pepper

4 TBSP grated romano cheese

1 clove garlic

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

2-3 LG chicken breasts

Place quartered tomatoes and artichoke hearts on a baking sheet. Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil and season with 1 tsp Italian Seasoning, kosher salt and black pepper (enough to coat). Roast in the oven (under the broiler) for about 5 minutes, or until the vegis get dark and crispy.

While these are cooking, make pockets a pocket in each of your chicken breasts. (NOTE: this is much different than butterflying the breasts. Simply cut a slit in the middle, leaving the back and sides of the breast intact. This creates a pocket for your stuffing to fill.

Roughly chop the roasted artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Stuff the pockets of the breasts generously with HALF of the chopped veggie mixture. Season the outside of the breasts with salt and pepper.

Saute up some of that garlic in the e.v.o.o. As soon as they start to get golden, add the chicken and brown on each side, flipping them with EXTRA CARE so as to keep the filling inside:) Once browned, remove from the pan and place the breasts in a warm oven (350 degrees for 10 minutes or so) to finish cooking.

In the meantime, add the remaining roasted artichokes & tomatoes mixture to the pan. Saute briefly, then deglaze the pan with the white wine. Cook on med-high until reduced by about half (and the alcohol cooks out) and then add the heavy cream. Stir in some of the grated cheese and the rest of the Italian seasoning. Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken back into the sauce to heat everything through and meld all the flavors.

Then, plate and serve!

NOW it's time to vote again! Use the poll on each blog's sidebar or the Cucina Domenico Facebook Group Page to cast your vote for which recipe YOU think should be the winner!

Happy voting!

Easy Vanilla Pizelle!

Pizelle cookies are an Italian favorite! (and a favorite in my household too) They are flat, round cookies (which is basically what "pizelle" means in Italian) that are generally cooked on a flat iron (kind of like a waffle maker). I happen to still have the one we used to use when I was a kid. So I put it to the test the other day for no special reason at all. No birthday or feast day - just my own sweet tooth..... Well, it proved to be a success:) Here's my recipe for vanilla (my favorite)...

VANILLA PIZELLE

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 - 1 cup flour (less flour = thinner pizelle)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Add and beat ingredients together. The batter will be thick but flow from a spoon. Place about one tablespoon of batter on the griddle.

Close lid. Allow to cook until steaming stops (about45- 60 seconds) Remove with fork.

Trim excess around edges with a knife. Allow to cool on a rack or on a kitchen towel.

While they are hot, try rolling them into a cylinder or placing them inside a cupcake pan to make a mini bowl. Then they are perfect for serving pudding or yogurt or other creamy concoctions in:) You can dust them with powdered sugar and serve once cooled....

OR you can do what I did and eat them all before anyone else sees you.

Pizelle cookies are so diverse. You can switch it up simply by changing out the vanilla for anise extract or even lemon extract and lemon peel. Try what you like best, and definitely let me know the results. Buon Appetito!

And the winner is....

ARTICHOKES!!!!

It looks like Carciofi will be the battling ingredient for the first "Mamma meets the Cucina" food challenge! So stay tuned as each blogger posts their homemade original recipe containing artichokes! Then you can vote AGAIN on which one you think looks like a winner!

A big GRAZIE to every one who voted!

Grilled Chicken Breast stuffed with crab meat

This is yet another awesome recipe by my blogging partner and extremely talented chef from Cucina Domenico! Gourmet recipe with easy ingredients and awesome taste, I'm sure. Don't miss this one!

This dish is a two-for-one special. The seasoned chicken breasts and the crab meat filling are delicious stand-alone recipes. Other options for the crab meat filling are stuffing it in flounder or tomatoes, or serving it up with crackers as a dip. Honestly, I probably ate half of the crab meat filling alone while gazing out my kitchen window, waiting for my grill to heat up.

Yet the taste of the seasoned chicken with the crab meat filling gives you the best of both worlds. Enjoy!

GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST STUFFED WITH CRAB MEAT

4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
8 oz. canned crabmeat*
1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Old Bay Seasoning to taste

Heat butter in a pan until melted. Add onions and celery; heat until soft. Add crab meat, wine and lemon juice; stir. Add breadcrumbs; stir. When warmed, remove from heat, place crab meat filling in a bowl; set aside.

Butterfly cut** the chicken breasts, fill with crab meat filling, fold closed and secure with tooth picks.

Drizzle both sides of chicken breasts with olive oil, then season with salt, pepper and Old Bay seasoning (eyeball seasoning to your liking).

Heat grill to medium-high heat. Spray grill grates with cooking spray to avoid sticking. Place chicken breasts on grill, close lid. Flip every so often until chicken breasts are completely cooked on all sides and throughout, approximately 15-20 minutes.

Serves well with grilled asparagus and a glass of Pinot Grigio.

*I suggest buying the large, 16-oz cans of crab meat that are located in the seafood section of your supermarket. While they can be a bit pricey at times, they are packed with 100% crab meat. The smaller cans that are found near the cans of tuna are packed with about 1/3 water, so you are getting your money's worth with the larger cans. You will use 1/2 of a can for this recipe.

**To butterfly cut the chicken breasts means to slice the breast open horizontally, almost but not completely through, so you can fold the two pieces open. For specific instructions on how to butterfly a chicken breast, click here.