Lemon Spaghetti, (Chitarra alle limone)

This quick and easy recipe is so simple, yet so full of flavor and perfect for your summer time meal. Fresh, light, crisp and filling. Lemon Spaghetti.

Ingredients:

• Zest from 1 lemon
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• Basil
• 1 diced garlic clove
• Black pepper
• Spaghetti

1. Make pasta accordingly. I made homemade chitarra pasta for this.

2. In a small bowl combine the zest from 1 whole lemon and the juice from same lemon with Parmesan cheese, diced garlic and some black pepper.

3. Toss pasta with this mixture and mix in some fresh chopped basil leaves.

Viola!

Amazing how a little freshness can change an entire entree.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0
Serves: 2

Chicken Piccata

This traditional Italian dish originated with the use of veal, however you will find it mostly with chicken here in the states. The delicious combination of butter, lemon, white wine, and tartness from the capers gives this dish an amazing flavor combination. Give it a try. Chicken Piccata


Ingredients:

• 2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Flour
• Olive Oil
• 2 tbs butter
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup capers
• 1/2 white wine
• Salt/pepper

1. Take each chicken breast and place between plastic wrap and pound out till thin. Salt and pepper chicken breasts.

2. Dredge in some flour and shake off excess.

3. In a large saute pan drizzle some about 2 tbs olive oil and melt 1 tbs butter.

4. Pan fry each chicken breast on both sides for about 2 minutes each side. Remove and sit aside.

5. Melt another tbs of butter in same pan. Pour in white wine and scrape up bits from bottom of pan. Mix in the lemon juice and capers.

6. Place chicken back in pan and mix into the sauce. Cover and simmer on low for about 5 more minutes.

This is one of those Italian classics that everyone loves. AMAZING!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2+

Mahi Mahi With A Lemon Cream Sauce

 

 

Was wanting a quick and simple fish recipe that was full of flavor. Did a little searching online and came up with this little combo based on others I had seen. Mahi Mahi With A Lemon Cream Sauce.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 3 medium fillets of Mahi Mahi
• 4 tbs butter
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tbs spicy mustard
• 1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
• Salt/ pepper

 

1. Preheat oven to 390 degrees.




2. Salt and pepper both sides of the fish and lay in a baking dish.




3. Over medium heat in a saute pot, combine butter, half and half, garlic, mustard, and lemon juice until incorporated and just begins to simmer.




4. Pour over the fish, cover with tinfoil, and bake for 10-15 minutes. Serve with fresh lemon slices.

 

Creamy, lemony, and perfectly tender, this fish dish was a winner.

 

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 1-2

 

 

Riomaggiore Lasagne

 

     This dish was inspired by the great seafood lasagne my brother had and I sampled while vacationing in Riomaggiore, Italy a few years back. There was just something about this pasta dish that was amazing. First off, it was the first time we had seen a lasagne that wasn't the typical layered dish we are use to in America. Even being first generation in America, our grandmother always made the layered baked version. It was just the lasagna noodle tossed and thrown on the plate. Second, this dish was light and had a distinct flavor of something you wouldn't expect from a pasta dish. It had that tomato flavor but there was just something else. Delving farther into this dish you find that those small hidden flavors are the simplest of additions. The coast of Italy is famous for it's use of bountiful basil and lemon. Chop up some fresh basil leaves and add a few zests of hearty lemons and viola, a simple yet delicious seafood lasagne packed full of flavor. This was amazing. Riomaggiore Lasagne.

 

Ingredients:

• Fresh lasagne noodles
• 2 filets of white fish (any kind you like) cubed
• 10 shrimp
• 6 anchovy filets (they are also famous on the coast)
• 1 large shallot diced
• 2 cloves garlic diced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 can tomato puree
• A handful fresh basil chopped
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup cream
• Salt/pepper

 

1. In a large skillet over medium heat drizzle some olive oil and saute diced shallots.

 

2. Next toss in the anchovy filets and saute. (They will begin to melt away).

 

3. Stir in chopped garlic until fragrant.

 

4. Stir in the white wine and reduce.

 

5. Now pour in the tomato puree, chopped basil, and lemon zest. Stir to incorporate.

 

6. Stir in the cubed white fish and fresh shrimp.

 

7. Mix in the cream, turn heat down to low, and simmer for roughly 5 minutes until the fish is tender

and the shrimp cooked through.

 

8. Toss on a plate with the fresh lasagne noodles.

 

This dish, according to my brother now, tasted just like the original he had sitting on the little patio facing the ocean that warm evening in Riomaggiore.

 

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2-4

 

 



Lemon Blueberry Biscotti

 

 

     Here is just another one of my creations to the already perfect Italian cookie. That perfect combination of crunchy but also chewy. These have the great flavor combo of lemon and blueberry. Perfect, refreshing, tart flavor filled cookie to perfectly dunk into your coffee or just eat alone. Hell, if you ask me, I prefer just eating one by itself. Well maybe two or three that is. Lemon Blueberry Biscotti.

 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick softened butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup dried blueberries
• Zest from 1 large lemon
• Juice from half of lemon

Icing (optional)

• Powdered sugar
• Milk
• Zest from 1 lemon
• Yellow food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In another bowl blend the butter and sugar until creamy.

4. Slowly mix in the eggs one at a time in the sugar butter mixture.

5. Mix in the zest and juice from the lemon.

6. Slowly mix in the flour in batches. Then stir in the blueberries.

7. On a tin foil lined baking sheet spread out the cookie mixture and form into a flatten rectangular log shape.

8. Bake for 30 minutes until edges are golden browned. Let cool for 30 minutes.

9. Slice at an angle into 1/2 inch slices then lay back down on the baking sheet and bake for another 5 minutes.

10. To make icing combine the milk and powdered sugar until a thick icing has formed. Mix in some lemon zest and drizzle over or dip the cookies in once cooled.

 

     These might have to be one of my favorite flavor combinations for a wonderful biscotti recipe. Enjoy!

 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Inactive Time: 30 minutes

Serves: As many as you want. Makes roughly 15 separate cookies.

 

 



 

 

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

 

     It is Mediterranean month on my foodies+ community on Google+. I decided to invent my own dish based on some amazing ingredients you can find in the Mediterranean. Lemons are so popular in the southern part of Italy as well as in Greece. They use lemons for almost anything. Rosemary and fresh garden vegetables are also a big part of the cuisine. I included some white wine because wine is found in almost every meal. This dish was great. I was so proud that I put this together on a whim. I was sitting at work trying to figure out what to make for dinner on the weekend but knew my schedule might change due to my other job. I hurried to the store on a Thursday evening and prepped all the vegetables that night so as to put it all together early Friday morning for a wonderful start to my weekend. Hope you enjoy this Lemon Rosemary Chicken.

 

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts
• Zucchini
• 2 small yellow squash
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1/2 white onion
• Cup white wine
• Cup chicken stock
• 1 lemon
• Sprig fresh rosemary
• Salt/pepper

 

     This is so easy and amazing I couldn't believe how good it was. Simply take your zucchini and squash and slice them. Take the onion and pepper and slice them into strips. Place half the vegetables in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Salt and pepper your chicken breasts and place them on top. Lay the sprig of rosemary along side the chicken. Slice the lemon into roughly about 4 slices and lay them on top of the chicken breasts. Take the rest of the vegetables and lay them on top of that. Pour the white wine and chicken stock into the pot. Cover and place in a 200-degree oven and let cook for roughly 3 1/2 - 4 hours. That simple. Once you remove the lid the aroma that fills the air is amazing. I placed mine in the oven before I went to work and when I came home for lunch it was finished. This dish is so fresh tasting, crisp from the lemons and full of flavors from the vegetables and rosemary. This recipe serves about 3-4 people. I love it and so will you.

What it will look like before and after you place in oven

 

 



Limoncello and Arancello

Arancello/Limoncello

 

     Italian's are known for their wine, their pasta, their cappuccino/espresso, etc. Many of our words in the English language are really from the Italian language and we forget that they are not English. Think of every pasta you know of.... Those are Italian words. Think of how popular your local coffee shop is or the famous Starbucks..... Those coffee names are Italian. See Italians are known for so many contributions to the American culture we tend to forget their origin.

     I have posted a couple times about our families wine making.  A tradition that has been handed down in my family for many years. Many people do not know that Italians are also famous for making liqueur drinks. Many after dinner drinks are so popular in Italian families that we seem to forget that not everyone knows about them. It is quite common after many courses of a meal in an Italian family that the meal is followed up with not only possibly a coffee drink but a nice shot of Italian liqueur. A good one that hits right at the bottom of your stomach. One that makes you feel relaxed, at home, and satisfied after a wonderful meal. A great liqueur that not only compliments the meal but completes it.

     Since it is summer time there are a few after dinner drinks that are perfect for the rising temperatures. The most famous of these is Limoncello. A lemon flavored liqueur chilled and sipped on. Another is its newest brother liqueur made out of oranges called Arancello.  Both of these are the perfect accompaniment to a refreshing summer meal. They're both easy to make and take very little time. The final product is so tantalizing that you won’t believe you made it all by yourself.  One of our cousins, Anita, gave us the recipe for these liqueurs. My cousin Claire and I decided to try our hands at it. So I am pleased to introduce you to our family’s recipe for Limoncello and Arancello. If you have never had these drinks, welcome to the world of Italian liqueurs and enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 8 lemons
• 8 oranges
• 2 liters grain alcohol
• 2 liters water
• 8 cups, (or 2 lbs), sugar

     First stage: Peel the skin off of your lemons and oranges. Place the peels into separate pitchers and cover with a liter each of grain alcohol. (We used Everclear. 2 bottles a piece to equal a liter roughly). Cover with plastic wrap and seal tightly for 5 days.

Claire peeling lemons

The first stage

     Second Stage: After five days take 1 liter of water and boil on the stove. Turn off the heat and mix in 4 cups of sugar until dissolved. Let cool for about an hour and then pour into the peel liqueur mixture. Recover and seal tightly for another 5 days.

Sugar water mixture

Second stage



     Third Stage: Strain your mixtures into another separate pitcher and then bottle. We chose nice little bottles with the metal and ceramic stoppers. Refrigerate immediately and enjoy! You can actually keep the original mixture with the peels covered for months if you want an even more full bodied drink. We chose a shorter period.

     Each batch makes about 2 liters a piece and we were able to fill about 4 each of the bottles we chose. We named ours too. Our Limoncello we called Loco Limoncello and our Arancello we named Arousing Arancello. These liquors will be perfect for our family reunion and summer picnic. The flavors and coolness of these two make a great after dinner sipping drink.  I am pretty sure we will all be a bit tipsy after a few of these. 

Straining

Loco Limoncello

Arousing Arancello

Salute!