DIY Italian Bistro Lunch & Cocktails

So to celebrate my Mom's 39th birthday (again) she wanted some Italian themed food.  I like when the whole family comes to our house instead of going out- we can relax, stay as late as you want, drink as much as you want and most importantly watch the Giants game ;)  There are 6 of us usually and they come with the booze and I'll cook up the meal- having a great time + saving money + everyone pitching in = a normal family gathering for us.

My mom is a bruschetta fanatic- it is always a must have.  So to change it up I made homemade focaccia bread instead of just regular Italian bread- which came out perfect and is oh so good.  Here's the menu run down:

Appetizer

Homemade Focaccia with Bruschetta
Romaine and Fennel Salad
Raspberry Bellinis

Main Lunch

Paninis!
Caprese- Homemade pesto, mozzarella and tomatoes on Italian artisan bread
Proscuitto, arugula, and provolone on roasted garlic artisan bread
Genoa Salami, hot capicola, homemade roasted red peppers, provolone and arugula on whole wheat artisan bread

The last panini combo was the favorite!

Dessert

(Healthy) Lemon Semifreddo with raspberry and almond topping



Wow- this seems like such a lot of work when I actually typed it out! But it really wasn't- just some good planning and prep can make your party easy and enjoyable.

First things first: food shopping the day before.  I basically made the deli counter lady crazy.  I ordered all the meat and cheese pre-sliced so all I needed to do was put on the bread and fry.  I also picked up frozen bags of raspberries because they were on sale and of course all the other fresh ingredients I needed.

When I got home from food shopping I made the pesto, roasted red peppers (you can also just pick up a jar of them no biggie), and the lemon semifreddo.  By the way, semifreddo is like an Italian sherbet.

Fast forward to the day of- I made the focaccia in the morning (which you could have done the night before but I wanted it super fresh and it made the house smell wonderful), pureed the raspberries in the blender, and made the bruschetta (which could also have been made in advance).  When we were all done with the appetizers I just assembled the sandwiches and fried them up. Simple!

So the focaccia recipe is again Anne Burrell's but I this time I used a bit less flour and a bit more yeast.  Can't deny the fact that this is a great simple recipe.

Then you slice the small squares again through the middle and make a small little bruschetta sandwich!

Pesto

• 1 big bunch of basil leaves (about 1-2 cups)
• handful of parsely
• 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese (Or pecorino)
• 2-3 tablespoons of pine nuts
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 of a lemon, juiced
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• salt to taste
• 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Throw everything into a food processor or blender except the oil.  Get everything chopped then slowly add the oil to make a pesto as thin or thick as you like. Freezes wonderfully- but mine never makes it to the freezer ;)



Bruschetta Recipe

• 4 large tomatoes, diced (I have also used canned diced tomatoes before- just drain them well)
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 large garlic clove, grated
• 1 bunch of basil, torn or chiffonade
• Extra virgin olive oil- about 1/3 cup
• salt to taste

Combine everything and let sit to marry the flavors.

Romaine and Fennel Salad
I wanted something light and crunchy to go along with my focaccia and bruschetta

• 2 heads of romaine, sliced
• 1/2 bulb of fennel (aka anise), sliced paper thin- save a couple fronds for garnish (the green leafy stuff on the top of the bulb)
• orange zest (optional)
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• pinch of salt and pepper

To make the dressing combine the lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper, then whisk in the oil until it looks like a dressing.  Toss the romaine and fennel together and zest the orange on top for garnish as well as the fennel fronds.  I served the salad undressed, then had everyone pour the dressing on their own salad.  Just don't overdress the salad or it will make the lettuce heavy.  (I also made the salad ahead- if you do this definitely do not add the dressing).  Thinly sliced red onion would be nice in this salad too.

Raspberry Bellinis

So a Bellini is a classic Italian cocktail made with peach and prosecco.  I decided to change it up with raspberries. 

• 2 bottles of good Prosecco (or any sparkling wine/champagne)
• 1/2 bag of frozen raspberries
• 1/2 cup of triple sec (this is really just to help the raspberries in the blender- you could omit or just use water or another flavored liquor)

Blend the raspberries with the extra liquid of your choice until it is a puree.  You can choose to strain out the seeds and pulp- I was in a rush and forgot but they were still good.  You can either make the drinks individually by adding a bit of puree to the bottom of each glass or (like I did) make a pitcher- one bottle at a time.

Panini

Panini is just a hot squished sandwich.  I do not have a panini press- but I do own a cast iron skillet.  If you don't own a heavy pan you can just weigh it down with whatever you have- a large can of beans or tomatoes etc.  One thing about paninis is that it is a good idea to make sure you have a piece of cheese directly on the bread on BOTH sides- so it acts like glue to stick everything together

Caprese: is the classic combo of basil, mozzarella and tomato.  Just slice the bread, slather both sides with pesto, top with cheese and tomato and put in a skillet with a bit of oil and pop the cast iron skillet on top of the sandwich to weigh it down. 

Prosciutto: I used sliced prosciutto, provolone and arugula in this sandwich on a roasted garlic bread. Same technique as before

Salami: This one was the best! And everything you can get right at the deli! Genoa Salami (which is a sweeter salami), Hot capicola is another type of salami-which is from the shoulder or neck- they even have sweet versions, Roasted red peppers , arugula and provolone.  Pile everything up, squish down and fry until the cheese is melty and delicious!



Did this the night before. Oh and check out my new magnetic knife holder I got for Christmas!

 Onto the dessert....

Ok so I basically followed Anne Burrell's Lemon Semifreddo recipe but of course I forgot to buy heavy cream- so I had to improvise (and pray it worked) and then when it did work out I got to call it "healthy" hehe.  This needs to set for AT LEAST 6-8 hours- so I suggest you do this the day before.

• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped
• other half a bag of frozen raspberries left over from the bellinis
• 8 eggs- yolks and whites separated
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 3 lemons, zested and juiced
• 2 pinches of salt

Start by prepping the pan- take a loaf pan or even a small casserole dish and line with plastic wrap (for easy removal later!) then in the bottom (which will eventually become our top) coat with crushed raspberries and nuts. 

Separate the egg yolks and whites into two separate bowls- set the whites aside.  Add the sugar, lemon zest and juice and one pinch of salt to the yolks and whisk to combine.  Now we need to set up a double boiler.  In a sauce pot, that will snugly and comfortably fit your bowl with the yolks (obviously the bowl must be glass or metal), fill the pot with just an inch of water and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Put your yolk bowl on top and continuously stir the eggs until the temperature reaches 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.  This takes about 10 minutes.  DO NOT STOP STIRRING or you will end up with scrambled eggs.  When it reaches the correct temperature take off the heat and set aside. 

I didn't use a snug fitting bowl and it took SOOOOOO long- don't let the steam escape!

Back to egg whites: Add the other pinch of salt and beat until tripled in size and have stiff peaks.  You beat the eggs until it becomes like a whipped cream almost.  Stiff peaks refers to the fact when you dip your whisk in the egg whites, pull it out, hold vertical over the bowl for a second, then turn horizontal, and what is on the end of your whisk should look like small little mountain peaks of egg white foam.



Staight Old School- with Grandmas Hand Crank Egg Beater



Combine the egg whites with the egg yolks in three installments.  The first installment try to cut the whites into the yolks with a spatula.  Next two installments gently fold in the whites as to not let all the air out of them.

Fill your loaf pan- I had a bit left over- don’t worry I'll show you a dessert you can make right away with the extra for the cook ;) After you fill your loaf pan wiggle it around so there are no air bubbles and everything will freeze evenly.  Pop in the freezer over night until solid but still soft (like a sherbet!)

To serve- use the plastic wrap to help you pull it out of the pan and then slice and serve! Super delicious, refreshing and pallet cleansing!

Try one or try them all! Buon appetito!


Oh so back to the extra left over from dessert- now this is not brain surgery- but you are going to have to eye ball it- depending on how much egg mixture you have left- sprinkle some flour into the batter- mix as gently and as little as possible to incorporate the flour (sifting would really help here).  Mix until the batter looks like it has a thicker texture.

Now in another loaf pan or I used these cute ramekins- grease the pan, pour mixture in and top with raspberries.

Pop then into a preheated 375 degree F oven until golden on the edges.  Depending on how much flour you put in you might not be able to rely on the "toothpick method" but hey whatever comes out is at least going to taste good for a quick dessert.  It came out almost like a really moist sponge cake.  I think I baked it for about 20-30 minutes.

Before she went in the oven

Obviously we all had a great day!

Roasted Chicken w Garlic, Onions, Tomato & Bleu Cheese

This was a "left-over" dish.  I needed to use up a bunch of things and this is what I came up with.  Serve it all on top of your homemade focaccia bread and omg yes delicious.  Salty, juicy, and that roasted flavor of the garlic- o man! My mouth is watering right now.  When you roast garlic whole- it is something completely different than raw garlic or even cooked.  It gets this subtle nutty and sweet flavor.  Roast a whole head of garlic and use what you need now and save the rest for later.  It can be used in sauces, salad dressings, or even just smeared on things almost like butter. Another thing that makes this dish awesome is that it is super easy- everything just gets popped into the oven- all you need to do is cut the veggies!

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 onions sliced
• 1 pepper, sliced (I used mini peppers and I just halved them)
• 1 whole head of garlic (take 2 cloves and mince them)
• 3 tomatoes sliced
• few ounces of blue cheese
• I used McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning (but if you don’t have, just use salt, pepper & a little crushed red pepper flake)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper
• EVOO

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
2. Place the chicken in a baking dish or sheet pan- drizzle with oil and the Montreal seasoning and oregano.
3. On a baking sheet put the onions, pepper, and two minced garlic cloves and drizzle with oil and salt and pepper
4. Take the remaining head of garlic, slice the top off (not the root end) and wrap in a small piece of tinfoil. Before you seal it up drizzle with just a little bit of oil.
5. Put the chicken, veggies and garlic pouch in the oven.
6. Cook for about 15 minutes, then flip the chicken and toss the veggies around.
7. Cook for about another 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through to 165 degrees. I like to put the chicken under the broiler for a minute or two to get it browned on the outside
8. Slice the chicken.  Take your leftover focaccia bread and top with the onions and peppers. Top it all off with the fresh tomatoes and blue cheese.  Drizzle with a bit of oil and dig in! Oh and don’t forget to serve a bunch of roasted garlic along side!

Sausage Meatballs, Spaghetti & Focaccia

All week Brendan has been telling me he wants "sausage pasta".  This is usually just pasta tossed with hot Italian sausage and maybe a veggie.  I didn't feel like making it honestly because I had time to make something a bit more fancy- but I wound up making something just as easy.  Instead of cooking the sausage and then slicing them, I took the meat out of the casing and formed meatballs- just like any other ground meat.  It is surprising when you bite into the meatball- you aren't expecting it to taste like sausage.  I paired it with spaghetti and my jarred sauce.  I also tried out Anne Burrell's Focaccia Recipe, it came out great, but the way I did it varied from the original recipe (especially since I don't have a mixer with a bread hook). It takes a while to prep the dough for the bread; you'll need about 2 hours before you actually put it in the oven for 30 mins or so.  If you want to do the bread too- skip down to that part first...

Sausage Meatballs

• 1 ½ lb of Italian sausage (hot or sweet) removed from the casing
• 1- 1½ cup of frozen spinach (thawed and excess water squeezed out)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• about 2 handfuls of bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp salt, few grinds of fresh black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl and then roll into meatballs.  You can make them any size, but remember to cook them through- I went for at least 160 degrees F, it took about 20-25 minutes and my meatballs were about 1½ inches in diameter.  Bigger meatballs probably will take longer.  Since the sausage is already very oily I just sprayed them with cooking spray and put them in the oven.

Sausage Meatballs

Boil some water, salt it up, and drop your pasta about 5 minutes before you serve the meatballs and top with your favorite sauce! Easy, but fun and different!

Ok, now to tackle the focaccia...

Notes on Anne Burrell's Focaccia recipe:

• First of all this is going to make a whole bunch of bread, about 15 pieces of 4in x 4in. depending on the size of the pan you bake it in of course.  But don't worry, it doesn’t stale that quick, and I already have another recipe you can use it in lined up.
• The recipe calls for 1 ¾ c of water. I think this is too much, start with 1 cup and see if you need to add more as you go- I wound up adding so much more flour by the time it was the correct consistency.  This also could have been the result of using two cups of bread flour with 3 cups of AP flour, instead of all 5 cups of AP flour. (I ran out of AP flour, so I had to substitute the finer bread flour)
• No mixer or bread hook- so had to go old fashion and use my hands.  Combine all dry ingredients in a big bowl then when the yeast water is foamy on top combine all wet ingredients into the dry.  When it comes together, turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes- yes I actually did knead for 5 minutes- it's not that bad and it makes the end result better because when you knead the dough you are forming glutens (like a web that traps all the air bubbles so when it cooks it puffs up and cooks correctly).
• Put back into the bowl, spray with cooking spray and loosely cover with plastic wrap (just like we did with my pizza dough recipe). Let it rise and double in size for an hour.
• After an hour, take the other ½ c of oil and spread it out on your baking sheet.  Then take the dough and knead it about a minute or two before you put on the baking sheet with oil and coat the dough- then stretch dough out to fit the pan- almost like if we were making Sicilian pizza.  As you are stretching it out make a lot of weird finger indentations and holes in the dough.  (don’t worry it's supposed to look like that)
• Now set aside and let rise again (I know, I know) for another hour.



Before



• When the second hour is up, make your meatballs; preheat your oven and pop meatballs and bread in the oven together... They take about the same cooking time so it works out perfect.  The bread actually took a bit longer about 30-35 mins. Make sure you let it rest for at least  5 minutes before cutting and serving too.
• Oh and before I put the bread in the oven, I sprinkled it with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of dried oregano. As well as drizzled with more oil. You could also top it with vegetables or any other dried herbs you like, as well as meat or olives.



 

After