Greek Lemon Chicken Breast

6 oz boneless chicken breast
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp fresh chopped mint
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp oregano
1 clove minced garlic

Marinate chicken in remaining ingredients. Broil on grill 10-15 minutes until done.

Pasta alla Norma

One package long pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine, linguini, etc)
3 eggplants (as fresh as possible, without any bruises)
coarse salt
flour
olive oil for frying eggplant
tomato sauce (your own recipe, or see below)
6-10 basil leaves
200 grams of crumbled ricotta salata (salted ricotta cheese), which is what makes this recipe authentic; available in the best Italian groceries

Thinly slice eggplants. Spread slices in layers on a cutting board, and cover each layer with salt. Place the board at an angle next to sink to allow liquid to run directly into sink. Cover eggplants with a weight (for example, a pot filled with water, and leave standing for two hours. Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce.

Tomato sauce recipe:
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large can tomatos (preferably imported from Italy), or 3 3/4 cups diced fresh tomatos
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper


Fry onion and garlic in olive oil. Add tomatos, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce has thickened, blend in a blender. Pour back into sauce pan and reduce for another 5 minutes. 


NOTE: This is the basic tomato sauce recipe that can be used for all your Italian red sauce cooking.

After the required time, rinse and dry eggplant slices. Cover them lightly with flour to prevent them from soaking up oil. Boil water for your pasta and warm up the tomato sauce if necessary. Meanwhile, fry the eggplant slices in hot olive oil (about 400 degrees), a few at a time, about 2 minutes per side. Wipe off excess oil from the slices and keep them warm. When the pasta is ready (al dente!), place in a large serving bowl. Add ricotta and mix well. Then add tomato sauce, basil, and eggplant. Mix and serve immediately.

Buon appetito!

Chicken Enchiladas

1 broiler-fryer chicken (about 3 lbs), cut into 8 pieces
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cups shredded queso Chihuahua or Monterey Jack cheese
arroz rojos (Spanish rice)
3 fresh poblano chilies, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup chicken broth
12 corn tortillas
green onions and slivered red bell peppers for garnish

Place chicken in single layer in a 12" skillet. Sprinkle with chilies, tomato, white onion, garlic, cumin, and salt. Add broth. Bring to boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat. Cover, simmer 1 hour or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken from skillet with tongs, shaking off vegetable pieces. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Skim and discard fat from skillet. Bring remaining broth to boil over medium high heat. Boil 4-8 minutes until mixture is reduced to 2 cups. Pour reduced broth mixture into 9x13 baking dish. Remove and discard skin and bones from chicken. Using fingers, pull chicken into coarse shreds. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat cream in medium skillet over medium heat to just below boiling; remove from heat. Dip 1 tortilla in cream with tongs for a few seconds or until limp. Remove, draining off excess cream. Spread about 3 Tbsp chicken down center of tortilla. Roll up and place on sauce in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas, cream, and chicken. Pour any remaining cream over enchiladas. Sprinkle cheese over enchiladas. Bake 25-30 minutes until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted. Garnish if desired, and serve with arroz rojos.

Chicken (or Shrimp) Scampi

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 Tbs garlic, minced
3 Tbs lemon juice (fresh is best)
2 lbs chicken cut into 1 inch slices
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup minced parsley
1 large tomato, chopped
1 package fettuccine

Melt butter with olive oil in wok or skillet. Bring just to a boil. Add onion and garlic and saute. Add chicken, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley. Saute until chicken is no longer pink. Add diced tomatos just before serving. Serve over fettuccine.

NOTE: Obviously, you can substitue shrimp for chicken and have shrimp scampi.

Basic Crepes

5 cups all-purpose flour
10 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup and 2 Tbsp butter, melted

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour and eggs. Gradually add milk and water, stirring to combine. Add salt and butter. Beat until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour or scoop batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt pan with circular motion to allow batter to coat surface evenly.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until bottom is light brown. Loosen with spatula, turn and cook the other side.

Yields approximately 20 crepes.

Farfalle with Wild Mushrooms Cream

1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 lb farfalle (bow tie) pasta, cooked
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Soak porcini mushrooms in warm water for 15 minutes. Drain (saving the liquid) and chop coarsely. Heat butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper and cook for 15 seconds. Stir in all mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. Add liquid from soaked porcini mushrooms and bring to a boil. Add cream; boil 5 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper. Toss together with pasta, parsley, and parmesan cheese.

* NOTE: Chicken and spinach tossed in are an excellent addition!

Pesto

*3 bunches basil

1 cup olive oil

3/4 cup grated parmesian (not the stuff in a can! you have to use real cheese!)

(pecorino romano or any other hard white chees works well, too)

1 package (2.25 oz) pine nuts - toasted

3-4 cloves garlice - sauteed (barely browned)

2 tomatoes - diced (optional)

2 chicken breasts - cooked, cubed (optional)

1 box pasta (any shape; we used cellentani in the picture above) - cooked according to box directions

dash nutmeg (optional)

salt, pepper to taste

Puree the following in a blender or food processor: basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, and nutmeg. Stir into cooked pasta. Add diced tomatoes and chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Buon appetito!

*Note: as with most of our Italian cooking, we don't really measure anything, so the above amounts are an approximation.

Mexican Lasagne

Sauce

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 bottle taco sauce

2 cups cooked chicken

2 envelopes sazón

Filling

1 large can refried beans

1 cup sour cream

Sprinkles

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 can black olives, sliced

3 cups shredded cheese

1 lb box lasagna noodles

Layer in 9x13 pan in this order:

Sauce, noodles, filling, sauce, sprinkles, noodles, filling, sauce, sprinkles, noodles, sauce, sprinkles.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, remove plastic and cover with foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour, then uncover and bake another 20 minutes.