Veal Piccata = HEAVEN

First things first: 2nd wedding anniversary celebration!! Woot woot!

Now that I have that out of the way, wait--let me put away the balloons and streamers, and get down from this chair.

Okay. Veal Piccata. It's heaven.

I found some lovely veal cuts and immediately decided on this one. I even crossed off an already planned meal and a handful of ingredients I was going to buy about 30 seconds after I spotted them. I usually make this dish with chicken since it's cheaper, but I decided a little celebration deserved a little splurging. This isn't the rich, sinful version since I prefer a lighter sauce, but it's still pretty darn indulgent.



Veal Piccata
(adapted from Eating Well)

4 veal cutlets or around 1 lb. (see note below)
2 tbsp. + 1/4 cup flour
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil
10 oz. baby bella mushrooms, quartered
2 tbsp. chopped fresh garlic
1/3 cup white wine
2 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp. capers
2 tsp. butter
6 oz. whole wheat pasta

Directions.
1. In a bowl, whisk 2 tbsp. flour into chicken broth and set aside. Season veal cutlets with salt and pepper and coat with flour, shaking off excess. Cook cutlets in a large skillet coated with olive oil, about 2-3 minutes each side. Remove cutlets from the pan and keep warm.
2. Add mushrooms to skillet and cook until browned, about 4-5 minutes, and transfer mushrooms to another plate. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta until al dente while mushrooms cook.
3. Add white wine and garlic to skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir in broth and flour and lemon juice. Season with a pinch of salt to taste, and simmer until sauce thickens.
4. Stir in the mushrooms, butter, parsley and capers, and then toss cooked pasta with about half of sauce. Serve chicken on pasta and spoon remaining sauce over chicken.

Chicken Cacciatore, or the last slow cooker recipe you'll have to endure for a spell

I'm beginning to think this blog should be renamed Dr. Slow Cooker. It would be much more fitting considering I'm not a medical doctor and I'm only doing a PhD in English, but frankly, I don't give in easily. Ask my husband.

Ian isn't a mushroom fan. He picks around them usually, but I decided that every now and then a gal has to recreate her favorite dishes to keep happy. Luckily, Ian was receptive and ate up his plate in just a few scarfs. I'm a lucky, happy almost doctor of philosophy. Spring graduation here I come! Er, except I'm not walking.

Chicken Cacciatore
(adapted from All You, October 2005)

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 (14 oz.) Spanish onion, sliced into 1/2-inch wide strips
1 green bell pepper, sliced into 1/2-inch wide strips
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced into 1/2-inch wide strips
1 (8 oz.) package baby bella mushrooms, quartered
1 (4 lb.) broiler chicken, quartered
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 pound uncooked whole wheat egg noodles
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Directions
1. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.

2. Add onion, bell pepper and mushroom. Put chicken on top; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour in crushed tomatoes; cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Chicken should be very tender.

3. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook whole wheat egg noodles according to package directions until al dente. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl.

4. Transfer chicken to 4 plates. Skim fat from surface of sauce and discard. Stir parsley into sauce. Spoon some sauce over chicken. Serve remaining sauce with pasta and cheese.

Another day, another fast and delicious lentil recipe

I love lentils. This is perhaps not surprising given I live in Pullman, Washington, the home of the National Lentil Festival, but what is surprising is that I've never, ever actually been able to get a bowl full of free lentil chili at the festival. I've gone every year for 6 years now, and every time they've run out before I can get to it.

Perhaps this is why lentils make their tasty way into many of my recipes. The festival mascot, Taste E. Lentil, would most likely agree with me.

For a few more awesome lentil recipes (I recommend the Rhubarb Lentil Crisp), follow this link to the Lentil Fest webpage.

Lentil Sauce for Pasta
Adapted from Diana Shaw's The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tbsp. oregano
2 cloves
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 cup lentils
3 cups vegetable broth
Fresh ground black pepper

1. Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion to pan and cook until almost translucent, then add garlic, carrots, celery, cloves and oregano. Cook 2-3 minutes more and then add tomato paste and vinegar. Stir to combine.
2. Add lentils to pan along with vegetable broth. Simmer on medium low for 15-20 minutes, or until lentils are tender. If sauce is thin, add 1-2 tbsp. tomato paste. Season with fresh ground pepper. Serve ladled over whole wheat farfalle along with an over easy egg.

Fresh Tomato, Shrimp and Cannelini Bean Pasta

I adore summer pasta dishes given the incredible quality of produce, but at times the outdoors call my name a little too loudly for me to whip up anything that showcases the fresh ingredients. In this instance, I decided that summer tomatoes just needed to be utilized. After parboiling four huge heirloom honkers in water and then peeling, I downed a few cups of watery tomato juice and sauce, and then added the fresh tomato chunks to a couple tablespoons of olive oil and five cloves of chopped garlic. I didn't write down a recipe here since it's a pretty straightforward endeavor. After simmering down the tomatoes and the juices they released, I added a can of cannellini beans, a handful or two of shrimp, a few servings of cooked whole wheat pasta, a little salt and pepper, and a couple tablespoons of chopped basil.

The result? Fantastic. What to do after dinner? Return to the outdoors.....

Chicago-Famous Freddy's Pizza and a Trip Back to my Childhood

When I was a kid, my parents would sometimes drop all three of us rambunctious kids at my grandmother's house in Cicero so they could...well, get away from us. If there was an event to be attended, a date to be shared, or a load of massive errands, we would head over to grandma's to eat Falco's Pizza and drink Diet Rite out of little mason jars while playing gin rummy (minus the gin, of course) with the extended family. My grandmother Ann, great aunt Mae (whom I'm named after), and my great uncle George all lived together for almost all of their lives, and I can still smell Aunt Mae's Thanksgiving stuffing baking upstairs in the second kitchen. My grandma's house was one of those unique two-flat WWII-era structures that was full of drafty corners and fun places for kids to hide. The alleyway was a frequent hangout as well, and if we were lucky, my grandma would give us money to get Italian lemonade at Freddy's Pizza right down the block.





The old neighborhood in Cicero. These unique houses never fail to bring an odd feeling of familiarity when I visit Berwyn/Cicero (hey Svengoolie fans: BERRRR-WYN).




Over the years, I've come to realize what a significant role Freddy's played in my childhood since every visit to grandma's house was accompanied by a big scoop of Italian lemonade and the rather exciting endeavor of sucking on the lemon seeds before spitting them out. My brother told me once that if I swallowed the seeds I would grow a lemon tree in my tummy, and that apprehension carried into later years when I was scared to eat pomegranate seeds for fear of a giant fruit tree emerging from my body. I was a little impressionable.





The famous Freddy's. An understated, small establishment for sure, but food this good doesn't need frills.



The original Freddy retired years ago, and Joe Quercia expanded the tiny lemonade and grocery store to include homemade Italian dishes that in my father's words are like "a trip back to Italy." This is high praise coming from my father, whose very refined palate has always been somewhat of an inspiration to me (he's the right kind of picky). Dad also mentioned Freddy's had just recently been reviewed on WTTW's Check Please, a show that I grew up watching and that I often return to before a visit to get the culinary Chicago scoop. This is also the show I recommend to those visiting Chicago, and I just found out they've been archiving some of their spotlight pieces--for the Check Please! edition on Freddy's, see here.



My mom, dad, Ian and I piled into the car on a Saturday afternoon ready to be blown away as always, and we weren't disappointed. The inside is quite cramped due to the groceries that surround waiting customers, but I loved scouring through the many different imported pastas and Italian goods whilst I waited.










When it came time to order, Ian picked the sausage, potatoes and peppers, I chose the gnocchi in creamy vodka sauce, my dad devored penne with peas in a vodka red sauce, and my mom chose the chicken piccata. We all shared a slice of thick crust sausage pizza, and my mouth was in heaven with the fresh fennel seeds (*see note at bottom of post*). I would give you all the Italian names for these dishes, but I always end up misspelling in Italian even if I can pronounce them with finesse (a little embarrassing for a PhD student in English!).






Gnocchi and Piccata





Pizza and Penne







Sausage, potato and peppers




After lunch, we headed back inside to where the sweet gelato and tart Italian lemonade of my childhood waited for us. Ian and I shared a pistachio gelato, which was fantastic, but I would recommend to others my absolute favorite, tartufo (chocolate with hazelnuts). Of course, you can't go wrong with any of the gelato flavors at a place voted Best Gelato in Chicago!


I snuck a bite of the Italian lemonade from my dad's dish, and it was just as I remembered. I still didn't swallow the lemon seeds.










Thanks dad!!




**Note: Fennel seeds are a must in any Italian sausage coming out of Chicago. In fact, many pizza sauces in Chicago (the ones that are worth eating--so stay the hell out of Lou Malnati's, Uno's or any other tourist trap) also include a subdued but fantastic fennel finish. If you order any Chicago pizza, don't get the deep dish. It's overrated, most people I know never ordered it, and it's the easiest way to throw up your "I'm a tourist! Take advantage of me!" flag. I know many people are into pepperoni or cheese or any of the California-inspired alfalfa sprout/artichoke varieties, but go for the sausage slice if you want a true taste of Chicago. If you see whole fennel seeds in the sausage, you've got a good slice.

Cheap Meets (Already Cheap) Pasta: Lemon Tuna Pasta with Capers

When I was in college, I rarely ever had time to make dinner from home. I worked three jobs at once, which meant I was often in commute between work places or at home feverishly cramming for exams/writing papers.


I'd like to say this has changed. In retrospect, I had much more time to myself in college, but then again I didn't have the foresight of what grad school would entail. I've gotten better at managing time since my undergraduate days, and of course it helps that I work mostly from home (grade a paper, turn chicken over) but every now and then I find myself craving dishes I made when I had only a few minutes to spare. Nearing the end of the semester, that craving also becomes a practical possibility.


Canned tuna is one of my favorite food items ever. It's versatile--the meat from one can will make a sandwich or two, it can be used in cold pasta salads, and it can even be used in hot pasta dishes.


I didn't exactly measure everything out for this recipe, but here are the steps.

Lemon Tuna Pasta with Capers

1. Drain the tuna from a 5 oz. can of solid white albacore tuna (you can use chunk light if you're going for the cheap aspect but it will pack quite a bit of moisture and runs the risk of shredding when combined with the pasta).
2. Boil a pot of water and add enough pasta on medium heat for two servings (I use whole wheat pasta). While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil (about 2 tbl.) in a pan and add three minced cloves of garlic. Add 1 tbl. of rinsed capers, drained tuna and about 2 tsp. of lemon zest, along with the juice of 1 lemon. This is optional but you could also add a few shakes of red pepper flakes.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat and add 2 tbl. chopped flat leaf parsley.
4. Add cooked pasta to pan and toss to coat.
5. Serve with grated parmesan (or if you're like me, Romano).