Proud Italian Cook

Chicken and Feta Phyllo Pie

February 19, 2016 by Marie 5 Comments

This is a gorgeous savory pie that’s filled with chicken, feta and parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, onions and garlic, and the best part is it’s nestled between a crunchy crust of phyllo dough.

I said it before and I’ll say it again, don’t be afraid to use phyllo, it’s so easy to use and so forgiving, even if you tear a piece no worries, no one would even know, trust me on that!

You’ll need some precooked chicken which you can either roast yourself or to save time you can even buy a rotisserie chicken. Good quality Greek feta and parmesan cheese is a must for exceptional flavor.

The crunchy crust against the creamy, savory filling is such a delicious match, it’s rustic and fancy all at the same time.

Serve this with a nice green salad and you’re good to go!

Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chicken and Feta Phyllo Pie

Author: Marie

Recipe type: Recipe adapted from Mediterranean Cooking

Ingredients

1 lb and ½ of precooked chicken meat, preferably white meat chopped or shredded
2 cups of chicken stock, boxed, low sodium, warmed
8 ounces of feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup of grated parmesan
⅓ cup all purposed flour
¼ cup each of parsley and basil
a few sprigs of thyme
5 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 or 4 green onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 eggs, slightly beaten
8 sheets of phyllo pastry
olive oil

Instructions

Melt butter in a saucepan, add onions and garlic, stir until onions soften.
Add flour and stir together for 1 minute then gradually pour in the warmed stock cooking over medium heat until it thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool down for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil a 10 inch springform pan.
In a large bowl place all the chicken, the cooled down sauce, eggs, all the cheese and herbs. Mix together until well combined.
Brush 1 sheet of phyllo with oil, line the pan then top with remaining sheets which have all been brushed with olive oil as well.
Pour in the chicken filling then roll the edges of the pastry and tuck down the side of the pan.
Bake pie for about i hour and 15 minutes. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes befor releasing the pan and serving.

5 Comments Filed Under: Poultry, Savory Tarts Tagged: chicken, feta, phyllo, savory pie

Chocolate Pistachio Tartufo For Two

February 12, 2016 by Marie 6 Comments

What is tartufo you might ask? Well it actually has two meanings, it could be an edible fungus or an Italian dessert, in this case it’s dessert.

It’s an Italian frozen dessert usually composed of two or more flavors of ice cream and often with a strawberry, cherry or raspberry in the center and it’s usually covered in a shell made of chocolate, it’s divine! I’ve only had it once at a restaurant here in Chicago but it’s pretty popular in Italy, in fact if you Google it you’ll see many of the recipes in Italian. It’s also referred to as a chocolate bomb, and that it is!

I recently saw this recipe in the current February issue of Martha and couldn’t wait to make it, it’s the perfect dessert for Valentine’s Day because it’s meant to be shared. Put it on a pretty platter, grab a couple of spoons and dig in with your honey!

Here’s the ingredients I used, pistachio and dark chocolate gelato, chocolate wafer cookies, dark chocolate for melting, frozen cherries, (you only need two, Martha used maraschino, but I’m not fond of them) and chopped pistachios for garnish.

Basically you line a domed glass bowl with plastic wrap, that’s going to be your mold. Place your gelato or ice cream side by side, plop a cherry in the middle of each side, then wrap it up and stick it in the freezer for a couple of hours or more. Feel free to use any flavor ice cream combination you like, I’ve also seen cookies and nuts stuffed in the center.

In the meantime take your chocolate wafers and finely pulse them in a food processor, when the two hours are up unwrap the gelato mixture and place the crumbs on top of the mixture, this is going to land on the bottom when inverted and will give you a nice crunchy texture, then re-wrap and place the bowl back into the freezer for another couple of hours until nice and firm, I repeat, nice and firm! Very important!

When it’s completely firmed up, get your chocolate melted then take out your dome of gelato, fold back the plastic and invert on a wire rack, being careful to remove the rest of the remaining plastic. Pour the melted chocolate all over the dome then stick it back into the freezer so it can harden up. You can do this in advance and just wrap the whole dome in plastic until ready to serve, or serve it right after the outer shell gets nice and firm.

So if you’re staying in and avoiding the crowds this Valentine’s Day and making a special meal at home, here’s the perfect dessert to share with your loved one.

Here’s the link to Martha’s recipe. http://www.marthastewart.com/1140997/chocolate-pistachio-tartufo

See what else I’m cooking up during the week on Instagram, you can follow me here.

6 Comments Filed Under: Desserts Tagged: chocolate, dessert, gelato, ice cream, tartufo, Valentines Day dessert

How To Make A Muffuletta Sandwich

January 31, 2016 by Marie 10 Comments

The muffuletta is an Italian sandwich that originated among the Italian immigrants of New Orleans, it’s a mighty, hefty sandwich that has only has three very important components, bread, a spicy olive salad and Italian charcuterie.

With Super Bowl coming up next weekend I thought this might be the perfect addition to your game day snacking table, but if not, please keep this in mind for summertime, it’s great for picnics and get-togethers.

Don’t skimp on quality when making your muffuletta you want to make sure you have the best bread you can find, a round loaf is traditional, along with fresh meats and cheese. For my muffuletta I went with a good salami, some mortadella, a spicy capicollo and a picante provolone, all sliced thin, but feel free to use your favorite cuts.

The main component is really this olive salad, you can either make your own or buy a muffuletta mix from a good Italian deli/store. I do a mixture of both, I buy a mix but add fresh ingredients into mine, but basically the salad consists of, Italian black and green olives, and a giardiniera mix of different veggies. In addition I like to add roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts to mine and always fresh chopped celery, parsley, oregano and good olive oil.

It’s very simple to make, don’t be intimidated! Slice your round loaf horizontally then pull out some of the dense inside of the bread because you need room for all that filling to fit inside, save those insides for fresh breadcrumbs.

Spread that delicious olive salad all over the bottom and top portions of your sliced bread, then it’s all about layering.

I like to put the cheese down first over the olive salad, it seems to cover it nicely and gives you a nice base for your layers, then go from there. I added olive salad in between some of my layers but you don’t have to, you can just have it on the top and bottom.

When you’re done layering, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and weigh it down, this is important because it will help distribute all the flavors together nicely. As you can see I used my heavy cast iron pan and added some cans on top to weigh it down even more.

Let it sit for two hours before unwrapping and cutting into it, don’t let it sit overnight because the bread might become soggy from the oils, you want to keep your bread nice and crusty.

Then cut it into wedges and enjoy! I cut mine quite big for the picture but honestly a small slice is better when serving other things along side it, it’s so densely filled that you couldn’t possibly eat such a huge wedge unless this was your only main course. It’s definitely a show stopper and it also feeds a crowd!

5.0 from 2 reviews

How To Make A Muffuletta Sandwich

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1 10 inch round Italian bread
olive salad, either a mix like I used, which I added more to, or you can make your own.
½ lb each of mortadella, salami and capicollo or meats of your choice. ( you might have extra left over)
1 lb or slicing provolone or a mixture of mozzarella and provolone
olive oil
WHEN MAKING YOUR OWN OLIVE SALAD, you will need;
a cup or more each of Italian black and green olives, chopped
a jar of vegetable giardiniera that has carrots, cauliflower and celery, drained and chopped
a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
a jar of roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
fresh parsley, 1 garlic clove and fresh crunchy celery and oregano
toss everything into a bowl and mix well together with good olive oil
IF USING A JARRED MUFFULETTA MIX
I always add fresh chopped celery, roasted red peppers, fresh parsley and artichoke hearts. I also drain the jars and add my own good olive oil to the mix.

Instructions

Cut your bread horizontally and pull out some of the dense bread inside.
Fill each side, the top and bottom of the cut loaf with the olive salad.
Start to layer your meats and cheese, I start with cheese, adding olive salad in between the layers if you want
When finished layering, put the top of the bread on and wrap in foil or plastic wrap.
Compress the sandwich by weighing it down with a heavy pan filled with heavy cans.
Let it sit for at least 2 hours before cutting but never overnight because the bread will become soggy and lose its integrity.
Cut into small wedges for a crowd with other snacks or lager wedges for more of a main course.