44 replies to this topic

[Basilgirl]

The tomato sauce with butter and onion is.to.die.for. Sometimes I just stand there and eat it straight out of the pot. Also try the eggplant parmesan.

[Lordof7]

Glad to hear that the pasta portions are most likely for multicourse meals. I'm still probably overeating, but its REALLY good! Anyway, the square shaped pasta we made is tonarelli (which is apparently the Roman name for spaghettini.) It was good - I would like to make it again, and realizing that such a shape can be made has opened up the possibility of home-made lo mein! Mmmmm...

[pax]

I am glad to see a thread, even an old one, in honour of these books.

Every.Single.Thing. I've made out of this book has been delicious.

Already mentioned here is the Tomato-Butter sauce, and the Bolognese, which are now staples in my home. BRAVA.

[pax]

And yet another winner from The Essentials of Italian Cooking. I made the pork loin braised in milk and it was amazing. I had to practically sit on my hands to stop myself adding garlic and rosemary and I am so glad I did not deviate one iota. It was so tender. I served it up with roasted potatoes which I'd parboiled and then tossed with a little olive oil, lemon peel, minced garlic, and rosemary, and steamed broccolini.

We were literally licking our plates.

Edited by pax, 06 March 2008 - 07:02 PM.

[FrogPrincesse]

I bought The Essentials of Italian Cooking a few weeks ago and started to cook from it.

Last night, with a pastured chicken I prepared the Fricasseed chicken with rosemary and lemon juice. The most challenging part of the recipe for me was to cut the chicken into 8 pieces. This was a first for me, but I did relatively ok. After that step, the recipe is very straightforward - brown the chicken in oil and butter, add garlic, fresh rosemary s+p, deglaze with white wine (I used leftover Californian champagne that had gone flat), cover and simmer for about an hour total. The breasts are removed and added at the end so they don't overcook. At the end, the lemon zest and juice are added. I served the chicken with white rice to soak up the juices, and sugar snap peas.




Last week I made the Grilled fish Romagna style (from the Dinner thread). The fish - I used a large snook fillet - was seasoned and marinated for a while in olive oil and thinly sliced fresh rosemary, and coated with breadcrumbs (I used panko). Then I cooked it on the grill, adding a few bay leaves to the charcoal for the aroma, which was subtle but noticeable. We had the fish with pencil asparagus.

[FrogPrincesse]

Lemon thyme fettucine with Marcella Hazan's pesto (the food processor version). The pesto seems to keep very well in the fridge (the leftovers were still good after close to 2 weeks). I have no idea why I don't make this more often. It is so good and takes very little time to prepare.

[LindaK]

Lemon thyme fettucine with Marcella Hazan's pesto (the food processor version). The pesto seems to keep very well in the fridge (the leftovers were still good after close to 2 weeks). I have no idea why I don't make this more often. It is so good and takes very little time to prepare.

The pesto freezes very well too, just leave out the cheese and add it after the pesto is defrosted. I also freeze some in an ice cube tray for those times when you just want a small amount. A spoonful in a bowl of vegetable soup during the dead of winter always cheers me up.

[flourgirl]

I bought The Essentials of Italian Cooking a few weeks ago and started to cook from it.

Last night, with a pastured chicken I prepared the Fricasseed chicken with rosemary and lemon juice. The most challenging part of the recipe for me was to cut the chicken into 8 pieces. This was a first for me, but I did relatively ok. After that step, the recipe is very straightforward - brown the chicken in oil and butter, add garlic, fresh rosemary s+p, deglaze with white wine (I used leftover Californian champagne that had gone flat), cover and simmer for about an hour total. The breasts are removed and added at the end so they don't overcook. At the end, the lemon zest and juice are added. I served the chicken with white rice to soak up the juices, and sugar snap peas.




Last week I made the Grilled fish Romagna style (from the Dinner thread). The fish - I used a large snook fillet - was seasoned and marinated for a while in olive oil and thinly sliced fresh rosemary, and coated with breadcrumbs (I used panko). Then I cooked it on the grill, adding a few bay leaves to the charcoal for the aroma, which was subtle but noticeable. We had the fish with pencil asparagus.

Everything looks fabulous! I've had the book for several years and only made the Peas, Bacon and Ricotta Sauce (which was ok)...I'm going to give try the Fricasseed Chicken With Rosemary And Lemon Juice. It looks great! Thanks!

[FrogPrincesse]

Everything looks fabulous! I've had the book for several years and only made the Peas, Bacon and Ricotta Sauce (which was ok)...I'm going to give try the Fricasseed Chicken With Rosemary And Lemon Juice. It looks great! Thanks!

Thanks flourgirl!

Not usually a huge fan of zucchini, but Inspired by SobaAddict70's zucchini dishes in the Dinner thread (Zucchini frico here and Pasta con le zucchine here), I decided made the fried zucchini sauce with garlic and basil from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking last night. The zucchini, which I combined with a marrow squash from my CSA, was cut into allumettes, salted and degorged. Then it was wiped dry, floured and fried in garlic-flavored oil until golden brown. The pasta (I used fresh spinach bucatini) was finished in butter with the fried zucchini, fresh basil leaves and parmesan cheese.



I liked the texture of the dish and the zucchini was very good. A squeeze of lemon juice would not have been out of place to bring out the flavors.

[flourgirl]

It looks so delicious! I guess I will have to divert some of the zucchini I have designated for baking to making your recipes. Thank you!

[FrogPrincesse]

I've been getting great swordfish lately from my local seafood provider so I decided to try the grilled swordfish steaks, Sicilian Salmoriglio style from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. There is nothing much to it but the result is great. You dissolve some salt in lemon juice, then emulsify with olive oil and add oregano (I used dried) . It's reminds me very much of the French "sauce vierge".

The swordfish is grilled for 1 minute or 2 on each side, then it is poked with a fork and the sauce is drizzled on top.

I love the flavor and when you have great fish, it's good to have something that highlights it. I found this interesting article about Marcella Hazan's experience with Salmoriglio.



Creamed spinach with coconut in the back.

[Paul Bacino]

Butter and Onion sauce

Pulgra Butter and Carmalina Purree

[FrogPrincesse]

The tomato sauce with olive oil and chopped vegetables from the Essentials, served with linguine.

It was nice to have some texture in the sauce. I liked the taste too; it was a little sweet from the carrots and quite rich thanks to the liberal amount of olive oil.

[patrickamory]

I love the butter and onion sauce. I use Lurpak and Danicoop. But time seems to be the most important ingredient.

(P.S. FrogPrincesse that is a lovely photo....)

Edited by patrickamory, 05 February 2013 - 07:55 PM.

[flourgirl]

The tomato sauce with butter and onion is.to.die.for. Sometimes I just stand there and eat it straight out of the pot. Also try the eggplant parmesan.

I've got to try both those recipes, thanks.