Proud Italian Cook

The Second Annual Festa Italiana Roundup!

March 2, 2009 by Marie 46 Comments

Once again Maryann and I were blown away at all your amazing contributions to our Festa Italiana! It was so much fun to mingle with all our old friends, and to meet many new friends along the way. We want to thank each and everyone of you from the bottom of our hearts for participating! Please take the time to check out all these amazing dishes here, and on Maryann’s blog.

A very special “Thanks” goes out to my co-hostess and friend, Maryann. Would you believe we’ve never met in the real world, but yet I feel she’s someone I’ve known all my life. Hopefully that day will come when we can really share some good food and drink together in person!

Until next year! Buon Appetito!!
Olga from Olga’s Recipes brings “Boletus and Shrimp Risotto“

David from D Dubs Reads brings “Pork Milanese and Lemon Spaghetti“

Teanna from Spork or Foon brings “Homemade Orecchiette with Chickpea’s“

Karen from DomesticMuse brings “Pan Stuffed Pork Chops”

Michele from Striped Tail’s Veggie Num Num’s brings “Sunday Pasta Dinner”

Soma from eCurry brings “The Perfect Pizza Margherita“

Simona from Briciole brings her ” Stracciatella“

Kati from Thyme for Cooking brings “Risotto with Prosciutto and Cannellini“

Sandi from Whistlestop Cafe Cooking brings “Italian Minestrone“

Stacey from Stacey Snacks brings her “Pork Shoulder Lasagne“

Kim from Live Love Laugh Eat brings her “Osso Buco“
Rachel from Laptops and Stovetops brings her “Chicken Parmesan Toasted Subs”

Bella from La Bella Vita brings “Salmon con Aglio e Basilico”

Heather from GirliChef brings her Toasted Italian Sandwiches

Cassie from Foodie with Little Thyme brings Spinach, Sausage, and Three Cheese Ravioli

Lori Lynn from Taste with the Eyes brings “Marta’s Green Risotto“
Susan from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy brings her “Spaghetti and Meatballs”

Lisa from Jersey Girl Cooks brings “Mama’s Sunday Pork Dinner“

Emiglia from Tomato Kumato brings her “Perfect Pasta Sauce“

Pat from Mille Fiori Favoriti brings her “Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi“

Claudia from Journey of an Italian Cook brings “Fettuccine with Ragu“

Donna from My Tasty Treasures brings “Homemade Manicotti“

Donna from My Tasty Treasures also brings her “Italian Mac and Cheese“

Nina from My Easy Kitchen is bringing her “Risoni with Chicken, Mushrooms and Olives“

Gigi from Life’s a Beach brings her “Torte Calabria“

Jamie from Life’s a Feast brings her “Panna Cotta con Lingue di Gatto al Cioccolato”

Sam from My Carolina Kitchen brings “Chicken Cutlets with Baby Greens Salad“

Theresa from Baking and Beyond brings her “Anisette Biscotti“

Val from More Than Burnt Toast brings her “Ricotta and Artichoke Pizza“

Barbara from Dish ‘n’ That brings her “Marinated Lupini Beans“

Cindy from In A Garden brings “The Perfect Cappuccino“

Lauren of Fried Pickles and Ice Cream brings her “Zuppa di Borlotti e Pane“

Lucy from Sweets, Savories, etc. brings a “Cannoli Cake Roll“

And from Yours Truely… “Country-Style Rigatoni“

Country-Style Rigatoni

February 27, 2009 by Marie 48 Comments

This pasta dish is great for a party as well as a midweek meal. Grab a glass of Vino, some warm crusty bread, and you’re good to go! Not at all complicated to make, and basicly everything’s done in one pan!

The sauce is what makes this dish, when all the ingredients mingle together the flavors are out of this world! Trust me, try it!

This recipe comes from Carmine’s Family Cookbook, and although I tweeked it just a little bit by adding a little more this, and a little less that, it’s pretty much right from the book. Here’s my adapted version.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of Olive Oil

4 or 5 Cloves of Coarsely Choped Garlic

1/2 of a Thinly Sliced White Onion

1/2 to 3/4 lb. of Italian Sausage with Fennel, casings removed

8 large Basil Leaves, chopped

1/4 cup chopped Flat Leaf Parsley

One can of Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups of Chicken Stock

3tbl of Butter

1 cup of grated Romano Cheese

3 slices of Prosciutto rolled up and thinly sliced

12 ounces of Dried Rigatoni

10 Broccoli Spears, 3″ long

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan, add the onions and garlic.

2. Add sausage, basil and parsley, cook till sausage is nice and brown. Raise heat, add stock and butter, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes till sauce thickens a little. Stir in half of the grated cheese and cook for about 3 more minutes till sauce thickens. Add beans, sliced prosciutto, season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta in salted boiling water for only 4 minutes. Add broccoli and cook another 3-4 more minutes. Pasta will be nicely al dente. It will cook more in the sauce so don’t worry!

4. Drain pasta and broccoli, add to sauce, now add more cheese!

This is so good, I decided to bring a huge pan of this to our Festa Italiana! Don’t forget to submit your delicious Italian food or drink now, till March 9th. Maryann and I will be getting the tables ready!

48 Comments Filed Under: Pasta Tagged: carmine's cookbook, country Italian cooking, Festa Italiana food event, rigatoni

The Second Annual "Festa Italiana" Announcement!

February 23, 2009 by Marie 44 Comments

I’m so excited to be announcing the 2nd annual Festa Italiana!! I can’t believe a year has gone by since my blog sister Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita and I, hosted this wonderful event.

What made this event so great were the people that came to it, our many friends we’ve come to know so well from all over this virtual world! We like to to imagine our festa, as how it would truly be if we all gathered together literally. Huge tables set under twisting grapevines, Italian food and drink from one end to the other, laughing, singing, and dancing, while the sound of mandolins playing in the background, of course with out a doubt Sinatra and Dino too!
Last year we were amazed at all the scrumptious dishes you brought here and here.

Please join us again!

To participate here’s what you have to do:

* Create an Italian dish or drink
* Post about it on your blog
* Use our badge and link back to both Maryann and I. The links should refer to this announcement post, and also Maryann’s, so others can participate.
* Photograph your dish and send a copy no bigger than 350 pixels wide, along with your name, your blog’s name and url, the name of your dish or drink, and of course the link to that post.
* Email everything to this one address, festaitalianadishes@gmail.com.

Thats it!

We will be accepting your entries starting today, all the way till March 9th. We will begin posting your dishes on March 2nd, after that we’ll add your entries as they arrive.

This is not going to be my entry dish to the festa, I’m still deciding what I should bring, I work good under pressure!! but if you’re a coffee lover, then you’re going to love this light and refreshing dessert. A great ending to a heavy meal. Granita’s are just as satisfying as a bowl of ice cream, without all the calories.

The ingredients are simple, 2 cups of brewed coffee,(cooled down), 1/2 cup of milk, 1 Tbl. of sugar, and 2/3 cup of a good coffee liqueur, like kaluha. I had a couple of those miniature bottles so I used that.

Mix everything together, and freeze it all in a shallow pan for at least 2 hours. Flake with a fork.