Roasted Vegetable Rotini is exactly what is needed when I am looking for comfort food.
Roasted Vegetable Rotini
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Tag Archives: italian
Mushroom and Celery Risotto
Happy Saturday all! Just popping in to bring you this Mushroom and Celery Risotto which is a great lunch or dinner meal for any day of the week!
Easter Chicken
Every few months I receive this little magazine called La Cucina Italiana. It is the only food magazine that I get throughout the year. I adore the recipes and stories that they have in their magazine. It makes me feel to be back in Italy. I love it because there is so much about the Italian culture in the magazine as well. Things that may not come up on a day to day basis with my husband, but it helps me to learn new stuff all the time about customs with food. Such as certain ways dishes are prepared or why they have certain celebrations in Italy or which is the best wine that is compatible with a certain meal. Informative things like that. 
What I love even more is that this magazine also gives culture history about certain regions in Italy. In Italy, it is divided up into regions not states. There is an article about Easter Monday or Pasquetta (little Easter) and what the custom is in the Puglia Region. The picture for this dish called l’agnello di pasquetta or Little Easter Lamb was so intriguing to me that I was immediately sucked in. I knew I had to replicate this dish in some way. I have never cooked with Lamb so I decided to just use the ingredients I had on hand and go for it. It was so great to make and so easy, I feel like I barely did any work to pull this dinner out of the oven and serve.
You won’t find the original recipe online unless you have a log in for the magazine but this issue and the magazine are totally worth going out and picking up a copy. You will find this recipe on page 29.
Reading this issue makes me curious as to what kinds of traditions you all have for Easter? Do you celebrate it? Do you do anything special for the day after? Do you have any specific food you absolutely have to have? So let me know, lets chat! I would love to hear what you will be doing as well!
EASTER CHICKEN
recipe adapted from La Cucina Italiana magazine page 29.
YIELDS: 4 servings
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 1 hour and 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour and 40 minutes
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 green onions, chopped (using all of the green and white on the onion)
8 chicken thighs
salt
pepper
1 1/3 cup white wine
3 large brown eggs
1 cup mild sharp cheese, shredded
3 cups frozen mixed vegetables, unthawed
2 teaspoons dried parsley
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375° degrees, placing rack in the middle.
2. Using a dutch oven or an oven resistant pot, heat oil on medium heat. Then add onion and cook till softened.
3. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
4. Pull out the onion from the oil and reserve it in a dish and add the chicken. Brown on both sides for about 5 minutes on each side.
5. Pull out the chicken and add it to the onions. Remove oil from pan and discard it.
6. Add 1/3 of white wine to pot. Stir to release the bits from the bottom of pan. Return chicken and onion to pan. Add remaining wine.
7. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
8. Place lid on pot or foil and put into oven for 30 minutes.
9. In the meantime whisk together egg and cheese. Remove pot from oven Add mixed vegetables first, then add egg mixture.
10. Place lid or foil back on and return for 15 minutes to oven. After 15 minutes is done, uncover and let the top brown for 10 minutes.
11. Remove from oven, sprinkle with parsley, cool and ENJOY!
Peperonata
I bought a huge bag of mini sweet peppers at our local discount market. I wanted to try and use them up before they stayed in the refrigerator and went bad so my husband suggested peperonata.
So what exactly is peperonata? Basically it is italian for stewed peppers. You will see lots of recipes online making this side dish different ways. Certain informational websites that are rumored to not be so accurate (I won’t name names) but it says this is made with peppers, onions, and garlic. Well because there does not seem to be a standard recipe for this I would not call that 100% accurate.
After the hubby suggested this I asked him specifically how he would make this? Then he gave me the recipe. I kind of knew how to make it already because I had already seen him make it once before but for the purpose of blogging and wanting to get you guys a recipe other then, throw in a little of this or throw in a little of that, I figured it would be better to write down amounts. See I do think of you on my days off!
So from our little italian cucina to yours, happy cooking!
PEPERONATA
YIELDS: 4 servings
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 1 hour
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound mini sweet Multi-colored peppers
splash of water
Directions:
1. Combine onion, carrot and celery into a pot with olive oil
2. Cook on medium heat till vegetables are translucent. About 5 minutes.
3. Add peppers cover and cook on low heat for an hour. Stir often so peppers don’t stick.
I also added a splash of water to give them a little moisture after about 30 minutes.
4. After an hour, take off heat, stir, cool and ENJOY!
***notes***
these can definitely be cooked in less amount of time but they are much better when they are cooked at an hour or longer.
We eat this alone, over rice, meat or pasta.
Valentine’s Day Nonna’s Tiramisu
When Valentine’s Day comes along every year, it is a very unique and different kind of holiday in our house. I do make treats for the kids to take to school but I really try to leave the word love or be mine or any types of those sayings off their Valentine’s. This year I did a pretty neat one that I found off of Pinterest. 
I am so glad that our tradition is different. I have told you before in my bio that my husband is Italian. Well his name is Valentino. He is named after San Valentino or Saint Valentine’s as we call it here in America.
This day used to be always a little depressing and full of anxiety before my husband came along. What will I receive? Will I get that box of chocolates? I don’t have a loved one at this moment who will celebrate this with me!
You know all of those thoughts and feelings that can be associated with this day.
Well no more. Because my husband was named after San Valentino today is his “Onomastico” Day. Translated to his “name” day.
So we celebrate and say Auguri di Buon Onomastico! Or Happy NameDay!
This is a particular tradition for Italians in Italy. Almost everyone I know in his family has a saint name and he calls them on their Onomastico day.
To honor and celebrate his name day I made his favorite dessert. Tiramisu.
He taught me how to make this quite a few years ago and now I can teach you. You won’t find many recipes like this online mostly because everyone uses a different type of alcohol. You will find many variations but this is how his mother taught him and how he taught me. So now I will pass the tradition on to you.
Auguri di Buon Onomastico Valentino!
NONNA’S TIRAMISU
YIELDS: 9 servings
PREP TIME: 25 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
3 brown egg whites
3 brown egg yolks
2 teaspoons sugar plus extra for sweeting your expresso
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
2 teaspoons Sweet Vermouth Rosso
1/2 cup of expresso cooled
24 savoiardi or lady fingers
unsweetened cocoa for dusting
Directions:
1. Brew expresso and add sugar to sweeten and 1 teaspoon of vermouth. Set aside to cool.
2. Separate eggs placing yolks in a bowl and the whites in a mixing bowl.
3. In the bowl with the egg yolks add mascarpone and mix well. Stir in 2 teaspoons sugar.
4. In bowl with egg white using a mixer, mount your egg whites to semi stiff peaks.
5. Add egg whites to mascarpone mixture by folding the whites in using a spatula.
6. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the vermouth to the mascarpone mixture.
7. Using an 8×8 pan layer savoiardi and the cream making two layers of each.
8. First dip one side of the savoiardi into expresso then turn it once so each side has soaked some of the expresso.
9. Second place in pan, then continue to do this with the savoiardi till a bottom layer has formed in your pan.
10. Add half of the mascarpone mixture to the top of the savoiardi.
11. Repeat this process making your second layer.
12. Dust with cocoa, refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer and ENJOY!
***notes***
My savoiardi were purchased at world market. I used about 10 on my bottom layer and 12 on my top layer.
Try not to soak too much of the expresso into your savoiardi so it does not crumble. Each one needs just a little expresso in them.
Also the vermouth was purchased at my local ABC store.
This dessert gets better over time. I made mine the day before and left it in the refrigerator.
I am not responsible for any sickness due to consuming raw egg! We have never had any problems but just in case! Thanks! 
this is link over at bunsinmyoven.