A winter dish in the middle of summer? Why not.

Sometimes in the summer I find I miss eating a great big dish of something hearty. That was the case last week, so I made something I've loved since I was little -- chicken cacciatore.
In Italian, "cacciatore" means hunter. There are a few theories about the origin of the name of this dish, one of which is that when the men came back from the hunt they'd be greeted with a dish like this one, which is hearty and warm. Whatever the origin, it's incredibly easy to make, and you can use any part of the chicken you like.

You'll need the following:

1 package of chicken breast (about 3-4 pieces) or a package of thighs and legs
1 large onion, minced
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic
8-10 white mushrooms, sliced
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
fresh basil

~Start with your favorite part of the chicken: a combination of legs, thighs and breasts is a nice.
~If you're using the breast only, cut into chunks and dredge in flour (add salt and pepper to the flour for extra flavor). If you're using thighs and legs, simply salt and pepper on both sides.
~Brown chicken in olive oil until golden; brown the other side and when golden set aside
~Wipe out the pan, add fresh oil and saute the onion, garlic, peppers and mushrooms, about 8-10 minutes.
~Add the chicken to the vegetables and add the crushed tomatoes and wine to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and add some fresh basil. Stir, cover and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

When you open the lid, you'll have something like this. For this batch I used breast only. What part of the chicken you use is entirely up to you; it's delicious either way.

In southern Italy, chefs generally use red wine for this dish, while further north chefs tend to use white wine.

Serve over linguini, spaghetti or fettucini and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and you'll have a bit of winter in the middle of summer. Buon appetito!

Pasta with a light tomato sauce

This is one of my favorite ways to cook pasta, and very quick and easy. I start with the basics:

~1 can of plumb tomatoes, cut into quarters, and some of their juice. Use fresh plumb tomatoes if they're in season.
~Fresh basil leaves -- about 1/2 cup.
~Plenty of garlic -- this is about 4 cloves thinly sliced.

In a large skillet, saute the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of hot pepper flakes in 1/4 cup of good olive oil. Don't let the garlic burn as it will get bitter. Add the tomatoes and a bit of their juice (if using canned) along with the basil and simmer for about 20 minutes, occasionally stirring.

 The sauce:

Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring at least 10 cups of water to a boil; once it's boiling, salt the water and add your pasta -- linguini, spaghetti or fettucine works well with this dish. Cook until al dente, add to the tomatoes, toss and serve immediately, with a drizzle of good olive oil and some Parmesan cheese. Buon appetito!

My history geek moment: The earliest discovered cookbook containing tomato recipes was published in Naples in 1692, though it is believed that the source of the recipes was Spanish.

Welcome to my kitchen!

After hearing from a few friends that I should start a summer food blog, I thought, why not? This is the dish, posted on Facebook, that caused the uproar....

I recently joined my local CSA -- short for Community Supported Agriculture. I thought I knew vegetables, but alas, I didn't, not before I was introduced to such wonders as garlic scapes, beet greens and haruki turnips. Getting a full share of vegetables each week forces you to be a creative cook; either that or you allow these beauties to rot in the fridge, which would be a shame. Last night's meal was a simple pasta sauteed with summer vegetables. Here's how to do it (but be forewarned -- I don't always measure!)

In a large pan saute about half of a small shallot and 2 cloves of garlic in 2 tablespoons of good olive oil (start the shallot first, giving it about a minute to get going). Add whatever vegetables you love, keeping in mind that they need to be added with care. Some vegetables take longer than others to cook. For the dish above, I added the vegetables in this order, adding a little salt and pepper at each step:

1 garlic scape, cut in small pieces and sauteed for about 3 minutes
1 summer squash, cut in quarters and sauteed until somewhat golden brown
1 portobello mushroom, very thinly sliced, sauteed for about 1 minute, until soft
1 bunch of fresh spinach, stems removed, sauteed until soft, about 2 minutes

~Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once it has boiled, salt the water and cook your pasta until it's al dente. Linguini or fettucine is best in this dish. Use about 1/2 of a pound of pasta.
~Reserve 2 cups of the pasta water and add it a little bit at a time to the vegetable mixture -- how much you add is up to you; if you like your pasta drier, add less.
~When the pasta is done, drain and add to the vegetable mixture and toss. You may need to add  more pasta water at this point.
~Toss with fresh tomatoes on top and serve with fresh Parmesan cheese and  a drizzle of good olive oil.

An important word about pasta water: this is the best way to create a simple sauce for your dish. You should only use the water that you've cooked the pasta in, as you want the starch from the pasta in there. Don't add water from the tap!

My history geek moment: Pasta was first used in China as far back as 4,000 years ago!

Buon appetito!