Pollo Fritto

A great item to purchase if shopping in Italy... for some reason these breadcrumbs just taste better because they are FROM Italy 

As I feel winter slowly slipping away (I hope and pray it is!) I am craving a few winter weather/comfort dishes.  This is one that I always look forward to when staying at my mother-in-law's.  I finally watched her make it one day so I could try and replicate it for myself when I need a pick me up at home in England, (which is most of the time!)

Spread some of the breadcrumbs out on baking paper or foil (something you can throw away after using)

Mix pounded out chicken breast pieces with fresh rosemary and 2-3 eggs

Coat the chicken pieces in the breadcrumbs

Coated chicken, ready for frying

For frying my mother in law generally uses peanut oil, she absolutely never uses vegetable oil 

After frying for a few minutes on each side, placing the pieces on paper before serving gets rid of any excess oil.  Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

Borough Market

 

On our past weekend in London, we finally made it to Borough Market.  An eclectic food market, I loved that you could try things "tapas" style.  Buying a drink or snack here and there.  My first purchase was a cup of mulled wine as it satisfied both my need for warmth (as this is England it is ALWAYS cold) and since it was Saturday my need for wine.  My husband found a stand where a couple of Italian guys were cooking fresh pasta, (which was a great idea for Italian fast food.)  We did not leave either hungry or empty handed.  

Borough market is split up into sections, this was a hall connecting a few of them

One of the first stands we saw upon entering

I ate one of these delicious cookies!

Graphic artwork on display in the Underground

Christmas Continuation

Traditional panettone with sultana's

After Christmas one is generally left with an over abundance of food.  Trying to get through it all can prove a challenge.  Panettone french bread for breakfast is one way I have found.  (I think pandoro french toast would be great too!)

This panettone is not a true original as it only has sultana's and almonds on the top, the very true traditional bread will have sultana's (raisins) and canditi (small, dried pieces of fruit like bits of orange and apricot.)

Depending on how many people you are feeding will affect the quantity of eggs, milk and bread you will use, here I used 3 eggs and about 2/3 cup of milk and a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon

I sliced the panettone starting from the bottom... I think thick slices are better then thin

Place cut bread in a tray

Pour the beaten eggs and milk mixture on the bread and let sit for a few minutes

Fry up the soaked pieces until brown on both sides

Tip - if you prefer a crisper, drier finished product then don't soak in the egg/milk coating as long

Cipollini Agro Dolce

This tasty side dish was served for our Christmas lunch, (Buono Natale .)  As promised here is the quick and easy recipe.  Agro Dolce means literally sour and sweet.  You could cook really any vegetable in this manner, (for example carrots are quite good cooked agro dolce.)

In Italy you can purchase the tiny onions already peeled, (which is awesome because peeling them is quite a bit of work.)  Add a bay leaf and a few whole cloves with the onions in your pot, (along with some olive oil of course.)  Remember to remove the bay leaf and cloves before serving!

You can buy acgro dolce as a condiment in Italy, but you can recreate this by using white balsamic vinegar (or regular) along with some sugar.)

Sweat out your onions initially on low heat with a cover

After a few minutes of cooking add some salt and your agro dolce condiment, continue to cook 

Some browning should start to occur, once this happens lower the heat a little and cover and leave it for a while

You want your onions to become almost caramelized, so keep cooking until they are soft and brown enough

Marina Mercato

Friday's are mercato days in Marina di Massa.  While the mercato also has clothing, shoes and other products one half is dedicated to fresh foods, (certo questo mercato Italiano.)  There is another mercato in Forte dei Marmi that I also love (this is on Wednesdays.)  You can see it here: Mercato di Forte dei Marmi  This day while it was still chilly, the beautiful sun was shining making our walk quite wonderful.

Fresh produce for sale

Mmm....cheese

Fresh seafood caught right off the shores

Baccalá, cod that is salted and dried, I am not a fan, but the large flat pieces are impressive

My favorite treat, we always get a few potato fritters to eat as we stroll

The mountains where Carrara marble is found

Buono Natale

After Christmas lunch you are certain every Italian household will be playing Tombola

Here we are another Christmas in Italy at my mother-in-laws home.  In Tuscany for Christmas there is food you can always count on having at the table.  By now I know we will always have to start numerous crostini followed by homemade ravioli and then troppo dolce (a lot of dessert.)  My mother in law doesn't really make desserts, (and she really doesn't need to be bothered as she had received about 4-5 panettone alone,) but she makes everything else which is always excellent!  Here is just a taste of all the flavors we celebrated this Christmas.  Happy Holidays!

For the crostini primi we had mushroom pate, olive pate, onions agrodolce just to name a few

This is baccala, basically dried, salted cod that can be cooked in numerous ways; my sister-in-laws favorite

Cabbage, cipolle agrodolce and biological chick-peas (Italian version of organic)

I absolutely loved these little guys!  Don't worry, a post dedicated to making these to follow...

Homemade ravioli filled with spinach, ortica and ricotta