Italian Potato Salad

Potato salad could arguably be one of the most popular salads served this time of year. From roast beef, chicken and pulled pork sandwiches, to grill-outs and picnics, potato salad is hands-down the side dish staple. The combination of potatoes and mayonnaise (often with the addition of carrots, celery, eggs, and even bacon bits) is both classic and comforting.

Now, I’m not always a big fan of the often too creamy, too gloppy texture of potato salad, especially during the dog days of summer. Also, I tend to find that the potato itself tends to get lost in the mix when too many other ingredients are included. Italian style potato salad, however, is much lighter in texture, and the key ingredients all work together and help enhance the taste of the potato, rather than disguise it. There are four key ingredients to Italian style potato salad: potatoes, olive oil, white vinegar and garlic. You can serve as is, or enhance the salad by using a number of additional ingredients, depending on the taste that you are going for. 

• For a fresh accent, add some fresh chopped parsley.

• If you’re looking for a zesty punch, add some Italian seasoning, and jack it up a bit more with some crushed red pepper.

• For a more earthy taste, add some fresh chopped rosemary and sage.

• And for a little extra texture, toss in some bacon or pancetta!  

ITALIAN POTATO SALAD
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in half
2/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced

Boil salted water in a large pot. Add potatoes, boil until tender but firm, about 20 minutes. Drain, cool and chop.

Mix together olive oil, vinegar and garlic.*

In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the oil/vinegar/garlic mixture to evenly coat. Cover and refrigerate over night.

*Adjust taste with additional flavors and seasonings.

Lemon Carbonara with Asparagus

Carbonara is a delicate, yet filling pasta dish that incorporates raw eggs and pecorino romano cheese as a sauce. Pancetta (Italian bacon) is also usually part of the mix, allowing the rendered fat to flavor both the sauce and the pasta. Vegetables, such as peas, mushrooms or asparagus (which I prefer) are very complimentary to this dish. Although this is a cream sauce, it is much lighter than the more traditional alfredo cream sauce. Also, the goal is to just coat the pasta rather than have it swim in the sauce. Long flat pasta, such as linguine or fettuccine, work best with this sauce. Noodles also work well and can be easier to manage if you’re like me and are not a big fan of long pasta.

What I particularly like about Carbonara is its overall ease and flexibility. With just a few ingredients, you have total control over how much sauce you make and how flavorful you want it. Both pancetta and pecorino romano are quite salty, so there is no real need for any other herbs or spices. However, I like to add lemon zest to my sauce. It gives a fresh and welcoming zing. You can also substitute bacon for the pancetta for a more smokey flavor. Or you could do half pancetta and half bacon for a nice smokey/salty balance! This is not a dish that you want to make in excess. Since it is an egg-based sauce, it would be tricky to reheat and keep the intended texture. I suggest making between 2-4 servings, at least until you find an egg/cheese ratio that you are happy with. The recipe below serves two people, but feel free to adjust the cheese and egg measurements to your liking!

LEMON CARBONARA WITH ASPARAGUS

2 eggs
1/4 cup pecorino romano, plus more for serving
1/4 cup pancetta, chopped into 1″ cubes
1/4 cup asparagus, chopped
1/2 lb pasta
2 tbspn EVOO
Zest of one lemon
Black pepper to taste

Heat the EVOO in a frying pan, add the chopped pancetta. Cook 3-4 minutes, until the pancetta is slightly crispy and the fat is rendered. Remove from pan, set aside. Do a quick wipe-down of the pan to remove any gristle and excessive oil. Set pan aside.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the asparagus, cook until crisp-tender. Remove asparagus from water and place it into a bowl filled with ice water to shock the asparagus (meaning it will bring the cooking process to a complete stop and will keep the asparagus crispy and bright green). Drain and set aside.

Bring another pot of water to a boil. Add pasta. Because the pancetta is salty, there is no real need to salt the pasta water. As the pasta is boiling, you will mix the egg, pecorino romano, pepper and lemon zest in a bowl (as if you were preparing an egg omelette batter). Add the pancetta and asparagus, stir in, set aside.

When the pasta is done, remove from water (reserving the water). Place the pasta into the pan used for the pancetta. Quickly toss the pasta in the pan to coat it in the pancetta fat. Immediately after this, pour the egg batter over the pasta. Make sure that the pan is not on the heat, as this will cook the egg, which you do not want to do. The hot pasta will supply enough heat to properly cook the egg mixture. Whisk the batter into the pasta until it starts to thicken up a bit and all of the pasta is coated (again, you DO NOT want a scrambled egg texture, but rather a creamy sauce). You can add some pasta water to the pan a little at a time, until you get a consistency that you like.

Place the pasta on a dish, top with some more pecorino romano. Enjoy!

Taking Center Stage!

This past weekend I had the honor of taking part in the Cucina Chatter LIVE radio broadcast with host Lorraine Ranalli and fellow CC cast members Rhonda Fink-Whitman, Chef Jacquie Peccina Kelly and Natalie Stone at the Rose Tree Park Italian American Heritage Festival….and it couldn’t have been a better day! The weather was great, and the park was jam packed with patrons, vendors, music, Mummers and the terrific smells of Italian food. I also had the pleasure of meeting and talking with a few people who were interested in my blog. Talk about instant gratification! I was also very fortunate to have my family and many close friends come out to join and support me and my ‘stage debut.’ But the biggest thrill was to have my two girls, Julianna and Ava, join me on stage (Julianna was asked to join us by Lorraine, while Ava took it upon herself to just jump up on stage and ham it up a bit).

To say that this was the biggest highlight of my blogging career would be an understatement. I have seen my blog grow from just a personal project, to being included on various food blogs and web sites. To have a few moments to actually meet people face-to-face and speak about my blog is a milestone that I will never forget.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support me and to those who sent me well wishes for the event. Special thanks to Phil Heron and the Delaware County Daily Times for giving me this tremendous opportunity. And of course, extra special thanks to Lorraine…you rock!

You can now check out vidoe clips of the show at the Delaware County Times website (my kids are in part 3, hint-hint!)
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/06/06/entertainment/doc4deb714345335962231563.txt

Also, be sure to visit Chef Jacquie at www.taste4travel.net.

And the next time you’re in the mood for biscotti, you have to try www.bellasbiscotti.com. It doesn’t get any better than that!

Cooking with Limoncello

courtesy of crostiniandchianti.blogspot.com

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp lemon thyme, you could use any green herb that isn’t real strong flavored

1 tbs olive oil

1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/3 cup Limoncello

1 tsp butter

In a saute pan heat oil. While oil is heating mix the garlic, lemon zest and thyme together. When oil is hot but not shimmering add the garlic mix. Let it heat up until it becomes aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the shrimp. Toss the shrimp to coat with garlic mixture. Cook until shrimp is cooked 3 to 4 minutes depending on size. Remove shrimp from pan. Wipe out any burned garlic. Add Limoncello to pan and let it reduce to about 1/2 the original amount. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Drizzle this over the shrimp. The sauce will be very sweet but when it is added to the shrimp the flavors will balance out.

Next up is a Limoncello Mascarpone Berry Trifle for dessert. I started this recipe by combining mascarpone and confectioners sugar in to a fluffy cream that can be served as a dip along with fruits (this is a traditional Italian treat). I added limoncello to the mix as well. The limoncello was reduced to burn off the alcohol (you can use the limoncello straight up if you wish). I then took the cream, classic yellow cake and berries and built them up as layers to make a trifle. If you want to just serve the mascarpone cream (with or without the limoncello) along with fruit for dipping, I suggest you cut the following measurements in half, as this recipe will give you a good amount of mascarpone cream. Also, the addition of the cool whip, or fresh whipped cream, gives it more of a fluffy texture and cuts back on the limoncello taste. Try it first without the cool whip, then add as needed or desired.

Limoncello Mascarpone Berry Trifle

1 17oz. container Mascarpone Cheese

1/2 cup confectioners sugar, sifted

1/2 cup limoncello

Up to 1/2 cup cool whip (or fresh whipped cream)

1 package frozen strawberries with natural syrup, thawed

1 box classic yellow cake mix, baked into two 9 inch pans

fresh berries (your choice of raspberries, strawberries or blueberries)

Bake cake in two 9 inch pans according to box directions, let completely cool. Mix together the mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar and limoncello. Taste to see if you like the texture as is. If you want it to be more light and fluffy, fold in up to 1/2 cup cool whip or fresh whipped cream. In a trifle bowl, place one of the baked cakes. Add mascarpone mixture, then add the thawed strawberries and syrup. Add the second cake, topped with more mascarpone mixture, then top with fresh berries. You can also add fresh lemon zest as well.