Runaway Birds

Another delicious dish I learned in Italy. The sage leaves make the chicken look like it has wings and might run away!

6 chicken breasts halves, pounded thin

6 slices prosciutto

6 slices pecorino cheese

6 slices pancetta

18 sage leaves

2 large, thin scrambled egg omelets cut in 6 pieces

2 T butter

3 T oil

String

Layer the following on top of the chicken breast:

Sage leaf

Piece of omelet

Slice of prosciutto

Slice of cheese

Roll up and wrap with a slice of pancetta.

Tie with string, tucking another sage leaf on each side of the rolled up bird.

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet and fry birds until cooked through. The outside should be a deep brown and crispy.

To serve, remove the string and cut in half.

Lemon Turkey Soup

I made this today with turkey instead of chicken - for obvious reasons. It was fabulous. I highly recommend it!  http://www.food.com/recipe/lemon-chicken-rice-soup-24712

Coccolare - A Little Bit of Heaven

In Italian, Coccolare means "to cuddle." One of the most memorable foods I ate in Italy was called coccole, which my hosts told me means the same as coccolare.

Coccole is fried pizza dough sprinkled with salt. At the table, I was instructed to wrap the dough in the finest prosciutto and pop it into my mouth.

My taste buds were dancing. The dough was light and puffy with a little bit of a crunch on the outside. The prosciutto was paper thin but with a bold flavor.

I've been afraid to try it since I've been home for fear of it not living up to my memories. Maybe one of these days I'll give it a shot.

Plan and Organize

Two keys to a successful party -- Plan and Organize

I am having at least 20 people for Thanksgiving dinner -- with six on the "maybe" list. It's a little scary until it's  spelled out clearly in front of you.

More detail to come!

Chickpea and Parsley Salad

My new favorite salad!

Drain and rinse 2 cans of chickpeas. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add the zest of one lemon and the juice of 2 fresh lemons.
Press 3 cloves of garlic into the lemon juice.
Add a little salt and a good amount of pepper.
Chop about 1/2 bunch of parsley and 10 leaves of basil - add to bowl.
Add chickpeas.
Add two big handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese.
Drizzle with EVOO.
Toss. Enjoy!

This is best if it sits a few hours. I also sliced another lemon and added it as garnish.

Berbere (Ethiopian Spice Mix)

I mentioned using berbere in my last post and thought I should include the recipe. I double the batch and store in a glass jar.

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek

1/4 cup ground dried New Mexico chiles (or crushed red pepper)

1/4 cup paprika

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Cooling Down Spicy Greens

I received a mountain of kale and collard greens from the CSA this week and decided to try something with cannelloni beans and a kick of spice.

I started by melting butter in a large pan and dumping in some of my homemade berbere (Ethiopian spice mix). Added the washed and trimmed greens and cooked until wilted, then tossed in a can of cannelloni beans.

Once the beans were heated through, I gave it a taste. Wow, was it spicy!

What to do? What to do? I rummaged around and found a beautiful orange. After adding it to the greens and beans, it cooled it down enough for me but was still too spicy for my eaters.

Last ditch solution ... bought more greens, cooked them down without the spice and combined all. It was a hit.