What's cookin'? - Manaste (beans and greens soup)

Yesterday it was cold and snowy. I of course made soup - I swear, I could live on the stuff. My husband likes every soup I make. I have a feeling that when the boys are on their own we will eat soup every day! (A different kind every day, naturally, I have that many recipes!)

 I followed my mother's recipes for "Manaste". I hadn't made it in years, but it is a recipe I have grown up with, and I simply love when my mother makes it. In fact, when she stayed with us for a while after I got out of the hospital a few years ago, that was one of my requested recipes. It always is!

Today I looked up "Manaste" on Google and a few different recipes came up! What they all had in common was this: beans and greens. However, none of the recipes that I found were a soup. This may actually be a unique recipe to the Barone family! 

Like making Italian wedding soup, there are several steps in preparation, so allow for some time making this one! 

Manaste

• 2 heads escarole

• 1 lb. Country ribs

• 1 stick pepperoni

• 1 can Whole peeled tomatoes, broken up

• 2 cans White beans (I used cannellini beans)

• grated Parmesan cheese

Step 1: Cut or tear up escarole  leaves. Place in a large stock pot and cover with water. Cook on medium high heat for at least one hour (leaves will be wilty).

Step 2: In a frying pan, brown ribs well  on both sides in 1 tablespoon olive oil, over medium heat. Remove meat and cut into bite-size pieces. Add to soup pot . (Be sure to include a few bones ! This flavors the broth more!)

Step 3: Slice pepperoni into 1/4 inch- thick slices. In a separate small sauce pot, add enough water to cover the pepperoni slices. Bring to a boil and allow to boil five minutes (this removes a lot of the grease!) Drain about half of the pepperoni water and add the rest (including the meat!) to the soup pot.

Step 4: Add the broken-up tomatoes and their juice.

Step 5: Add the canned beans and their juices.

Step 6: add a GENEROUS pinch of salt and about 1/4 cup of grated cheese.

Serve with additional grated cheese if desired.

Total cooking time: 1 1/2 to 2 hours

(Make sure you have some good Italian bread and butter for this, too!)

What's cookin'? - Gnocchi with Sage and Walnuts

My favorite pasta of all time is gnocchi.

"Little lead bullets" is how I've always referred to these little potato dumplings. They are heavy and doesn't take many to fill you up!

I usually just eat them with a tomato marinara sauce... but this recipe intrigued me! 

It was really different, and it was really good!

Here is the original link for the recipe:

http://noblepig.com/2013/04/creamy-gnoochi-with-walnuts-and-fried-sage/

My sauce version is DOUBLE THE ORIGINAL! I used the original amounts in the beginning for the walnuts and the fresh sage).

Gnocchi with walnuts & fried sage

You will need:

• 2 lbs. frozen gnocchi

• 1/2 cup walnut halves 

• 1/4c olive oil

• 12 fresh sage leaves

--(here's where I doubled the recipe)--

• 4T butter

• 1/2c flour

• 3c milk

• 5 cloves garlic, crushed or mashed into a paste

• 1t dried sage

• 1/2 t ground nutmeg

• approx. 1/2t salt & pepper (adjust to your liking)

• parmesan cheese

** Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add gnocchi and cook, according to package directions, (usually they are done when they begin to float!) when your sauce is almost done.

1) Toast walnuts in a nonstick skillet on low heat 8 to 12 minutes. Nuts will begin to brown and be very aromatic. Remove  immediately from skillet, so as not to burn, and set aside. (Just continue to flip them around with a spatula while cooking. Once they start to brown/toast, watch carefully, as burning happens quickly!)

2) Heat olive oil in another skillet over medium heat. Add fresh sage leaves and fry approximately 30 seconds. Remove from oil and set on a paper towel to drain.

3) Make béchamel sauce:

     • In a large sauce pan, melt butter.

     • Add flour and stir until combined.

     • Slowly add milk. Whisk until there   

        are no lumps.

     • Add dried sage, garlic, salt, 

        pepper and nutmeg. Simmer 7 to 

        10 minutes until thickened. Keep 

        warm.

4) Now is when you want to cook the gnocchi!

5) Add sauce to drained pasta. Add toasted walnuts and fried sage, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and give a little stir before serving. 

I think you'll find that the meaty, toasted taste of the walnuts is a very good complement to that of the earthy flavor boost of the sage!

Enjoy!

(This meal did not take long to prepare - only 20 to 30 minutes, so it is good for a weeknight!)

What's cookin'? - Pasta with Basil Cream Sauce

I've been on a pasta 'kick' the last two weeks!

When we are not grilling outdoors I've been 'slaving' away over the stove on new recipes I've found and I've wanted to try.

This recipe was actually the third in this series of pasta recipes. I need to take a break for a few days or my family is going to explode!

This recipe was really tasty! They say that "three's a charm"... and in this case, it was! I finally learned not to use a whole pound box of pasta for whatever I am making! Most of these recipes use 12 ounces. That translates into more sauce, and still plenty pasta. (I don't know if I'm trying to feed a whole army or what.) I wonder if the rest of the world sells their pasta in 12 ounce packages?.... (ours is 16 oz.) 

Part of the problem was that some of the recipes I have found use metric measurements. I have truthfully only used the metric system in science classes. I remember learning it for the first time in grade school. Our teacher told us we had to learn it because we were going to soon convert to it.... I think the rest of the world moved on without us!

 So, to those of you who might see this in  future recipes, I say, "400 grams is equal to about 2c". 

You learn something new every day!

Even if you have to search Google for the answer.

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Pasta with Sausage and Basil Cream Sauce

Here are the cast of characters:

Ingredients:

12 ounces rigatoni

2T olive oil

4-5 links Italian sausage (I used sweet)

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1c white wine

1c light cream

1c chicken broth

2 cups (or cans) chickpeas, drained

1 1/4c parmesan cheese

handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions:

• Bring pasta pot full of salted water to a boil.

• With 1 T olive oil, cook sausage in skillet until browned and thoroughly cooked. Remove sausages and drain on paper towel.

• In same pan, add second T olive oil. Add chopped onion and garlic, stirring, until they begin to soften (about two minutes)

• Add broth, cream, wine and chickpeas.

Stir and season generously with salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered 10-12 minutes.

• Now is a good time to cook your pasta 'al dente'!

• While sauce is simmering, cuts sausage diagonally into 1/2" slices. Add to cream sauce for the remainder of its simmering time.

• Add cheese and stir.

• Add most of basil, stir, and cook an additional 2 minutes.

• Add cooked, drained pasta to pan. Stir to incorporate sauce.

• Serve with additional cheese, fresh basil, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Mangia!

What's cookin'? - Simple Shrimp

Tonight's meal had sort-of Italian flair.

It started out being based on a recipe I had found on the Internet for "Clean Eating Italian Shrimp". Clean eating means eating more plant-based foods or not eating any processed foods in your diet. I don't fully subscribe to the "clean eating" diet, however, I am always looking for recipes that use fresh ingredients as opposed to processed foods. But every now and then, I will used a canned ingredient. It's simply faster.

This simple shrimp dish was the cornerstone of our dinner. It seemed fast, easy and tasty - the "triple threat".

Because it uses some spices and ingredients common in Italian cooking, I decided that the other foods accompanying the shrimp would also follow that pattern. 

I do that a lot - it's like choosing coordinating clothes. You simply do not wear a polkadot blouse with striped pants, nor do you serve mac-n-cheese with chicken Parmesan (at least not in my home!) 

But I am anal like that....

 Therefore my perfectly coordinated meal consisted of: Italian Shrimp, pastina (with egg)  and Herbed Zucchini "Boats".

Yum! (Of course the boys balked at the zucchini, but my husband and I loved it!)

To make the shrimp, I thawed out 3lbs. frozen, cooked shrimp (that were already peeled and deveined). You throw them in a large frying pan along with: 

•2T olive oil

• one small can tomato paste

• 1 1/2T dried basil 

• 1 1/2t garlic powder

Cook until thoroughly heated.

That's it! Done! It can't get any easier than that!

For the pastina with egg, you can check out my blog post from 4/26 entitled "Italian lunch". This made for a perfect "starchy" side. I grew up with a "meat,  potatoes, veggies" mentality. It is apparent in almost all of my meals that you see on this blog. I can't help it! It's ingrained in my very fiber of being!

So, feel free to eliminate that if you are cutting down on your carb intake!

For the Zucchini "Boats", I used 4 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise.

Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and brush both sides with olive oil.

Sprinkle the tops with a mixture of:

•Grated Parmesan cheese

•Minced fresh rosemary

•Minced fresh thyme

•Salt and pepper

(I used approximately 2T of each herb.)

Bake in a 350° oven for 15 minutes.

Then, broil 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese on tops are brown and crispy.

The whole meal came together in less than one half hour! This was great because we had come home late from my youngest son's baseball game and we were all pretty hungry. (Not to mention that this finale week on American Idol, and I had to watch that since it's the only TV I watch these days!) 

The zucchini takes about 20 minutes total, the shrimp and pastina - about 5 to 7 minutes each.

Perfect for a busy week night!

Easypeasy and yummy for your tummy!

Mangia!

What's cookin'? - "Italian" lunch!

It's lunchtime.

If you're in the mood for something not too heavy, but tasty, try these two options:

Pastina

Stracciatella Soup

Both our choices that remind me of my Italian upbringing!

Pastina is kind-of like a comfort food to me now. When I was little it was my one of mom's go-to foods when I was sick.

It's quick and simple, and it makes you feel all warm inside... AKA "comfort food".

First, you go to the store and buy a box of Pastina so you always have it on hand! This is what it looks like:

They are usually just tiny pasta stars!

There are plenty of brands to choose from also! Whatever your store carries, whatever's cheapest, it's all the same!  Barilla, Ronzoni, Prince... I do usually have this on hand because it's good to add to soups, especially Italian wedding soup or like my first recipe today - or to just eat alone, by itself.

Pastina

You will need:

1/4c Pastina

1c water or chicken broth*

1 egg, lightly beaten

1t butter

1T grated Parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

• Bring water or broth to boil in a small pot.

• Add Pastina and salt; cook until most of the water is absorbed (3-4 minutes)

• turn off heat and stir in egg - it will cook in the hot pasta

• add butter, cheese, and pepper

---------

You could add Passtina to the following soup as well; I didn't.  It's like an Italian version of "egg drop soup"...

Stracciatella Soup

INGREDIENTS

4c chicken broth*

4 eggs

1/3c grated Parmesan

1T chopped fresh parsley

2c fresh spinach

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

• bring broth to a simmer in soup pot

• whisk together eggs, cheese, parsley, and about 1/2t salt.

• slowly pour the egg mixture into broth while stirring

• continue to stir until the eggs are "set" (about one minute)

• add spinach and stir to wilt

Yum! 

Stave off that cold! 

Perfect for a rainy day!

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**Making your own broth:

I have been making my own chicken broth lately. It seems that it is something that I am always buying at the store.

Making your own not only means that you can control the ingredients, but it is better tasting than the store-bought.

The soup was killer because of the broth!

If you haven't tried making your own yet I highly recommend it! It's easy and way cheaper in the long run!

** I usually make broth the day after I have used a whole chicken, or a rotisserie chicken in some other recipe. Buying the rotisserie chicken seems to be my trend these days! They're inexpensive and save a lot of cooking time!

Just take the chicken carcass (if you have some meat on it - great, but it's not necessary) Throw it in a soup pot and cover it with water.

Add salt pepper and any or all of the following: carrot, celery, onion, parsley.

They don't even have to be nice - Just clean! And, by nice I mean you can use the parts of the veggies that you have cut off to throw away from other recipes! Just save the ends of carrots or celery - or even onion skins - in a Ziploc bag as you are preparing other meals during the week. They just help to flavor the broth and you will be skimming them all off and throwing them away anyway!

Which leads me to my next step:

Cook on low heat at least two hours.

Skim all veggies out and throw away along with the chicken carcass that has been plucked of any remaining bits.

Now you have chicken broth free of MSD or an overload of salt!

I like to freeze mine in leftover containers from cottage cheese (or anything). I even pour some into ice cube trays, freeze them and then pop them out to freeze in Ziploc bags - easy to add a little bit of broth that way to recipes.

If you are not eating meat and want to make vegetable broth just don't include the chicken carcass and throw in any vegetables that you would like. Just follow the same steps.

Enjoy your lunch!

What's cooking? - Sauce!

A wise Italian man (my father) once said, "Hon, sauce is the key!" 

He said this as we were discussing why Del's Restaurant, in the Bloomfield section of Pittsburgh, has always been our family favorite.

He was right, of course. 

As any Italian knows - the sauce can make or break you!

With that in mind, I do have my tried and true marinara sauce. But, I also serve pastas with many other types of sauces.

Some are creamy white sauces. Others are red. A couple are a combination of the two!

"Variety is the spice of life", they say!

Here are two red sauces with meat that we enjoy (both come from the Quick From Scratch Italian cookbook). Feel free to serve over any type of pasta you wish! 

Sardinian Meat Sauce (served with cavatelli)

• 3T olive oil

• 1 lb. Italian sweet sausage (casings removed)

• 1/4 t dried red-pepper flakes

• 1 onion, chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• one 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes in thick purée 

• 3 T chopped fresh mint

• 1/3 c chopped fresh parsley

• 1/4 c water

• 1 1/4 t salt

• 1/4 c chopped fresh basil

• 3 T grated Parmesan cheese

1) In a large hot heat oil over moderate heat. Add sausage and cook, breaking up with meat, until it is no longer pink (about 5 minutes).

2) Reduce the heat to moderately low and stir in onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes).

3) Add: tomatoes, mint, parsley, water and salt. Simmer until thickened (about 15 minutes).

4) Toss your cooked, drained, pasta with meat sauce, the basil and cheese. If sauce is too thick add some of the pasta water (up to 1/2 cup).

Serve with additional Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese.

** The recipe says that the mint is optional. I have made it both ways and I say include it if you can - it makes a difference!

(That's vegetable focaccia bread I bought at a local supermarket bakery - Yum!)

------

Here's one that's wonderful on Fridays during Lent!

Arrabbiata Sauce with Tuna (a little spicy!)

(The original recipe calls for 1 pound cod fillet, cut into 1- inch chunks, but I have always used tuna)

• 1/4 c olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• one 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes in thick purée

• 1 large tomato, peeled and chopped (or 1 can diced tomatoes with juices)

• 1 3/4 t salt

• 1/2 t dried red-pepper flakes

• two 6 oz. cans tuna, drained

• 3 T chopped fresh parsley

1) In a large pot, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add: the crushed tomatoes, fresh tomato (or your diced, canned tomatoes), salt and red-pepper flakes. Simmer until sauce is thick (about 30 minutes).

2) Add the tuna and 2 tablespoons of the parsley to the sauce. 

3) Stir tuna into the tomato sauce and warm for about a minute.

4) Toss sauce with your cooked, drained pasta. Top with remaining parsley and Parmesan cheese (if desired).

My picture shows rigatoni, because that's what we had. Sometimes I use penne pasta if we have it , but really, you can use anything!

**note: I do use fresh herbs, if I can, in my cooking. If you don't have fresh, you can substitute dry herbs - but only use 1/3 the amount called for. Dried herbs are more potent!

What's cookin'? - Snow day soups!

As soon as the temperature drops, I'm all about the soup! And I mean as soon as the temp drops - like, back in October!

But seriously, what is better then a warm bowl of soup on a cold winter's night?

Especially as we are in another winter storm:

This picture was taken this afternoon before more snow fell then changed to freezing rain this evening. We are supposed to get more snow overnight! I know I am not alone experiencing this! But I just had to share this picture. Brrrr...

Back to the soup...

I have two soups to share with you - one we had tonight, one we had last week (on another snowy evening). I consider both my favorites for different reasons. The one we had tonight is my favorite Italian soup. The other is just my favorite comfort food of all time.

First the Italian soup: Chickpea Soup

It's hearty. It's savory. It's divine.

Here's what you need:

•  3 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

•  3 c chicken broth (more if needed)

•  3T olive oil

•  1 carrot,  chopped

•  1 onion, chopped

•  1 rib celery, chopped

•  4 cloves garlic, minced

•  1 t dried rosemary (I crush mine before I use it to release more flavor)

•  1 bay leaf

•  pinch dried red pepper flakes

•  1 large can whole tomatoes, broken into small pieces

•  1/2c ditalini or other small macaroni

•  1 t salt

•  1/2 lb. swiss chard (tough stems removed) cut these into 1 inch pieces

•  1/4 t fresh ground black pepper

* Purée half of the chickpeas with 1 1/2 c of the broth in a blender or food processor. In a large pot, heat oil over moderately low heat. Add carrot, onion, celery, garlic and rosemary. Cook about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften.

* Add the remaining broth, the puréed chickpeas, the rest of the whole chickpeas, a bay leaf, red pepper flakes, tomatoes, macaroni and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, partially covered.

* Add the Swiss chard. Simmer until the chard is tender and the pasta is done (about 10 minutes). Remove the bay leaf,  stir in the black pepper.

** If the soup thickens too much on standing, add more broth or water - the pasta tends to suck it up!

My husband likes crackers in his soup. We had the perfect complementary cracker for this soup on hand - Rosemary and olive oil Triscuits! Mmmm...

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Grandma B's Chicken Noodle Soup with Mashed Potatoes

I know what you're thinking.... don't knock it 'til you try it!

I thought the same thing when my stepfather introduced this to us many years ago. That was the way his mom always made it. And guess what? It's the way I always serve it to my family now!

Grandma, my stepfather, and my mother, all made their own noodles sometimes. Not me! Too much work! I do highly recommend Kluski brand noodles if you can find them - they are hard-to-find here in Connecticut but, I know back in PA they were on all the store shelves.

Really, this is just your basic chicken noodle soup, so if you don't like potatoes you can eat it as is! No special recipes for mashed potatoes either - just make them like always and serve the two together. Put the potatoes in the bowl, spoon the soup over it. The result is an extra satisfying, extra creamy bowl of comfort!

I do start this soup out by boiling a whole, small chicken. Then I add my carrots, celery, onion, salt, pepper and some parsley. Take the chicken out and pick all the meat from the bones. While you are doing that throw in the noodles and cook them in the soup. Add the chicken back in and you're done.

So if you've never made homemade chicken noodle soup, there it is - easy peasy!

Now, make some mashed potatoes and try it - you'll  like it! (Cue Mikey in the old Life cereal commercial)

Stay warm!

What's cookin'? - Italian dessert!

My friend Kelly commented that this was one of her favorite things I've made for her, So I thought I was about time I honored her request!

An easy dessert that pairs well with your Italian food is ricotta ice cream with honey and almonds.

It is such a simple dessert yet it is really impressively delicious.

Make sure you use a good quality ice cream so that you get the optimum flavor and creaminess of this dessert.

 3/4 c Sliced almonds

1/2 gallon Vanilla ice cream

1 1/2 c ricotta cheese

1/2 c Honey

* Toast almonds:  You can do them in the oven 350°, 5-10 minutes OR toast in a small frying pan over low heat until golden brown - five minutes, stirring frequently. Let cool completely.

* Put a large metal bowl in the freezer.

* The ice cream stand at room temp until it begins to soften.

*  Purée ricotta  and honey in a food processor until smooth.

* Remove the chilled bowl from the freezer and transfer the ice cream to it. Stir until smooth.

* Add ricotta mixture to ice cream and stir.

* Transfer ice cream mixture to a shallow pan (stainless steel is recommended) and return it to the freezer, covered, about one hour - until it's firm and you can scoop it.

* Top with the toasted almonds.

What's Cookin'? - A "twofer": Pot Roast/Minestrone

A "twofer" is when part of your initial meal can be used for a second one. I'm sure, if you're like me, you already do this quite often - especially when you have leftovers. 

Remember when I had the leftover crockpot French dip roast beef and made it into the beef enchiladas? This is just like that.

First we have my favorite crockpot recipe of all time - "Italian Chuck Roast" I don't know what the real name is - we just call it that - it's not even really Italian!

But it has  tomatoes in it, so therefore I call it  "Italian"! Hahaha

Here is what you need to make this sublime meat-lovers main dish:

•A 3 lb. chuck roast

•1-2 cans stewed tomatoes

•1 envelope French onion soup mix

That's it! Throw it in your crockpot first 6-7 hours on low.

The original recipe only called for one can of tomatoes. I use 2 because my husband likes them, but the boys pick them off. Doesn't matter - adds a great flavor to this roast!

Save all the juices left in the crockpot (and any leftover meat/tomatoes you might have) and you make this later in the week:

Hearty beef minestrone

Nothing beats soup on a cold winter day!

Here's how I make it:

* Chop 1 onion.

* In a soup pot heat 1/4 c olive oil. Add onion cook till soft (About 5 min.)

* Next add 2 cloves garlic (minced), 2 carrots (diced), 2 stalks celery (diced). Cook until they begin to soften (about five minutes)

* Add cabbage and kale, chopped (3 cups total - FYI: This is about 1/4 head cabbage and 2 c kale). Cook another 5 to 10 minutes until they wilt/cook down. 

* Add the following:

  1 can kidney beans (drained)

  1 12 oz. can V-8 juice

  1 32 oz. box beef broth/stock 

  1 bay leaf

  1/2 t dried thyme

  1 T salt

  Your remaining broth/meat from roast, with any tomatoes that are in it! (If you have refrigerated this for a few days be sure to remove the hardened fat that is on the surface and discard!)

*Cook to a low boil. 

*Add 1/2 cup small macaroni like elbows or ditalini. (You can always add water if you need more liquid.)

*Cook another 10 minutes or until pasta is done.

* Before serving remove bay leaf. 

* To each bowl add grated Parmesan cheese ** and a drizzle of olive oil.

** Sometimes if I have a wedge of Parmesan cheese I will through the rind in - makes for good flavor in your soup! 

Mmmm...

What's cooking? - Sausage and Artichoke Stew

I have been stamping a lot lately and in fact, I'm getting ready for my stamp clubs. I promise to post lots in the next week!

Of course cooking is something I do on a daily basis so I have lots to post for that!

I want to share with you another recipe from my Quick From Scratch Italian  cookbook that I use often. 

I made this the other night.  My oldest son loves this, So I make it especially with him in mind. We call it sausage and artichoke stew. In the cookbook it's called "sausages, potatoes and artichoke hearts in tomato  broth". That's too long to say! 

This is especially good on a cold, winter's night. Make sure you have some good, crusty Italian bread to soak up the broth that's left in the bowl! 

Sausage and artichoke stew

*olive oil (About 2 T)

*1 1/2 lbs. mild Italian sausages (can   substitute hot if you like it spicy!)

*3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

*About 5 red-skin potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks

*1/2 t dried thyme

*1/3 c white cooking wine

*1 1/4 cups chicken broth

*1 c canned crushed tomatoes

*One 14 ounce canned artichoke hearts- drained, rinsed and halved

*6 T chopped fresh parsley

*1/2 t salt

*1/2 t fresh ground black black pepper

In a large pot, Heat oil over moderately high heat.

Add sausages and brown well (this takes about 10 minutes)

Remove sausages from pot and drain off all but 1 T of fat.

Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the garlic, potatoes and thyme . Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are lightly browned (about five minutes). Add the wine and boil until it's reduced to about 3 T (this will take only 2 to 3 minutes).

Stir in the broth, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, 4 T of the parsley, the salt, & the sausages. 

Simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender (about 30 minutes).

Before serving, add the remaining 2 T of parsley and the black pepper.

Enjoy!

What's cookin'? - Italian chicken

Did you ever have a recipe for which you have been known? 

For my mom it's eggplant Parmesan, meatballs and Manaste (an Italian soup).

For my mother-in-law it's ham barbecue (Pittsburgh- style), potato salad and the ever - requested strawberry Jell-O salad.

My husband, he makes killer stuffed cabbage rolls.

For me, it has become this dish we just call Italian chicken.

It's actually called "Braised Chicken Thighs with Olives and Basil", and it comes from a cookbook that I bought at one of the boys' Scholastic book fairs years ago - Food & Wine's Quick from Scratch Italian cookbook.

I use this cook book so much it's full of  folded pages and stains from using its pages as a spoon rest!

I've made this recipe so often that I know it by heart. It's one of those - you just do it now - you don't even have to look at the book. I've made it for the four of us, served it to company, and even made it for the masses at a picnic. I always get requests for it and it never disappoints!

My husband will never leave me because if he did, he'd have to say goodbye to this chicken - and that's not a sacrifice he's willing to make! Hahaha

Italian chicken

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

8 chicken thighs, with skin

1 onion, chopped

12 whole cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 cup white cooking wine

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 large can crushed tomatoes

Black olives, sliced (about 1/3 cup)

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

Black pepper

****

In a large skillet heat olive oil, over moderately high heat.

Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. 

Brown chicken on both sides (about eight minutes each side).

Remove chicken from pan and place on a serving dish.

Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.

Add onion and garlic cloves. Sauté until onion is soft (about two minutes).

Add wine and rosemary. Scrape off browned bits from bottom of pan. Let wine simmer until reduced to about 1/4 cup.

Add broth, tomatoes, olives, salt and chicken (skin side up )with all accumulated juices to the pan.

Cover and simmer about 20 minutes until chicken is cooked all the way through.

Push chicken aside and mash each clove of garlic with a fork.

Add basil and  a sprinkling  of black pepper.

Ready to serve!

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Like the picture above shows, we always serve it with roasted green beans. It just seems to go well together and, hey, we like it!

Roasted green beans

Toss fresh green beans with extra-virgin olive oil, a dash of sea salt and dried thyme. Roast in oven at 425° for about 20 minutes or until beans begin to brown.

Delicious!