ONION & GORGONZOLA FOCACCIA

How can it be so easy to create something so delicious???
This is a very fast dish that can be either a main course served with a simple salad or a magnificent antipasto.

YOU'LL NEED:
(serves 4-6)

The Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (non-bleached)
- 1 packet of dry yeast (for bread)
- 3/4 cup of room temp water or better slighly warmer.
- salt
- olive oil

The Topping
- 3 yellow onions cut thin
- 6 oz Gorgonzola cheese (in pieces)
- 1 t spoon ground pepper
- 1 t spoon ground nutmet
- 1 t spoon freshly cut oregano

PREPARATION:

- Starting with the dough, you will need a large bowl to mix the dough in and a small bowl with lukewarm water for the yeast. First, pour the yeast in the small bowl (1/3 cup with the water) and add a pinch of sugar and let set for about 5 minutes or until a foam is present on the surface.
- To the larger bowl, add the flour and a pinch of salt (about 1 T spoon) then add the water/yeast mixture and mix well with your clean hands and mix until the water is completely absorbed into the flour. Work this mixture until your dough has been formed.
- Transfer your dough to a floured wood surface and knead until it is smooth which will take anywhere between 5 and 12 minutes. Now you have a dough ball shape and it will need to rest in a bowl greased slightly with your olive oil, cover it with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let sit for approximately 45 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
- So while your dough is doing its thing, we will work with the topping for this wonder !
- In a skillet on low heat, add about 3 T spoons of olive oil, add the onions and cook until they are soft, stir often and this will take about 15 minutes. You want to cook them til soft but not to become darker in color ! You may need to add after about 5 minutes a bit of warm water to prevent this discoloring.
- Now that your dough has risen, we need to transfer the dough back to the floured surface and very carefully roll it out with your hands and form about a 10-12 inch round or square form about 1/4 inch in thickness.
- Place the above on a try and let sit for approximately 15-20 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 380 F
- Now, with your onions, scatter over the top of the dough as well as your cheese, pepper and nutmeg.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the crust is browned.

ENJOY !!!!

CHICKEN WITH MUSTARD AND TARRAGON

This is another one of my variations of the classic sauteed chicken and a good friend of mine from Corsica (a French island situated off the north western coast of Italy)Catherine introduced me to this dish years ago and still one of my favorites, especially at a hot summer nights dinner after a wonderful day at the beach ! Your wine selection is very important due to the mustard and radish in this dish so my advise here is a well chilled extra dry, light white wine under 12 degrees proof.

YOU'LL NEED:
(serves four)
- 4 good size boneless chicken (I prefer a mixture of dark and white meat)
- 3 t spoons french mustard (I prefer Dijon because its got a nice kick to it)
- 2 t spoons fresh tarragon
- 1 bunch of radish, at least 15 of various colors
- 2 T spoons unsalted butter
- 2 T spoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 T spoon shallot (minced)
- 1 T spoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 T spoon white wine vinegar
- 1 cup chicken both (unsalted is better)
- 1/2 cup white wine (dry)
- 1 t spoon salt
- 1 T spoon all purpose non bleached flour

PREPARATION:

- First, pull out a good size skillet and on medium heat, melt the butter and add in the olive oil. Add to this your chicken to brown on both sides. When done, remove the chicken and set aside as we will use the same skillet with butter and oil to prepare the sauce.
- So, in the same skillet, add your shallot and when soft, add the chicken broth and add in the mustard and a T spoon of all purpose flour and whisk, then add in the tarragon then your white wine and cook until the sauce thickens somewhat.
- Turn down heat of the above skillet to low and pull out a smaller sauce pan or smaller skillet and add to this 1 T spoon of butter with 1 T spoon of olive oil, then add in the thinly cut radishes, your pepper and let brown slightly (5-8 minutes).
- With the chicken (that you kept warm on a platter), gently place the radishes over the chicken and pour in small quantities your sauce a top and serve warm.
- Good to serve with a simple endive and tomato salad and some wonderful cuts of hard and soft southern European cheeses (French or Italian)

ENJOY !!!!!

TUSCAN CHICKPEA SALAD

Spring za comen.... and I want to start a series of easy and delicious dishes that are simple and flavorful starting with a typical Tuscan salad dish which can be a meal in itself or a good starter. I have seen other versions that appear more complex in taste and unfortunately the complexity covers the basic flavors, being the fresh garlic, basil and olive oil so my advise is to keep it simple !

YOU'LL NEED:
(SERVES 4)

- 30 oz can of chickpeas (rinced)
- 1/2 cup of grated (coarse or in strips) parmesan cheese
- 6 T spoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic clove, pressed and cut finely
- 3 T spoons Italian parsley (fresh and chopped well)
- 1 T spoon fresh basil (chopped well)
- 1 t spoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 T spoon white wine vinegar
- 3 T spoons lemon juice (fresh is better)
- 1 challot cut finely
- OPTIONAL 1 can of tuna OR chicken (in water NOT in olive oil)

PREPARATION:

- In a medium size bowl, add the rinced and drained chickpeas, parsely, basil, lemon juice, garlic, challot, olive oil and vinegar and mix (manually).
- To the above, add in the Parmesan (it looks much better if your cheese is grated with a hand grater using the larger holes or slits to form thin and narrow sheet like forms). Add the black pepper and let sit in your fridge for about an hour before serving.
- Great with a dry white wine and perhaps simple crostini with diced tomatoes, garlic and olive oil !

ENJOY

A FUNKY PESTO SAUCE OR DIP

I need to share this one with you all, its an odd version of the Genova Pesto which can be used as a dip or a flavory sauce to top your pasta or to drizzle (sounds good, love that word) over grilled chicken or a blaze' fish !

Not to offend the Genovese but Pesto can also be prepared without the fresh basil (and of course that is the base ingredient) and with a little creativity one can create something that just kicks the heck out of any normally bland meat or fish or even to give something so wonderfully good to the daily spags !

YOU'LL NEED:

- 1 cup of fresh flat parsley (I call this Italian)
- 1/2 cup of baby spinish (cleaned and stemmed)
- 1 T spoon freshly chopped tarragon
- 3 T spoons unsalted pistachios (shell them please)
- 2 T spoons lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin)
- 1/4 cup ricotta cheese

This can't get any easier now.... place all of the above in your food processor and blend until you have a smooth texture.

ENJOY !

ZUCCHINI FRITTERS

Last night I opened the fridge and found it pretty sad as I feel great when its stuffed. So my creative juices saved me and my daughter. I found a couple of zucchini, some parmigiano cheese, some onions, eggs, breadcrumbs, lemons and .... went to work !

The flavor is wonderful and could work really was as a simple hor d'oeuvre, ok you can call it antipasto or anything else you want and goes down really well with a cold dry white wine (I drank fizzy water with lemon but that was just my preference).

YOU'LL NEED:
(serves 8)

- 1 lb zucchini (medium sized) make sure you trim them
- 1/2 cup green onions (cut very thin)
- 2 T spoons chopped mint
- 1 T spoon chopped dill
- 3 garlic cloves (crushed and minced)
- 2 t spoons grated lemon zest
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 1 cup parmigiano cheese grated (I prefer a stronger flavor thus parmigiano Romano)
- frying oil (canola is preferred)
- Greek yogurt

PREPARATION:

- Start off by grating your zucchini with a large grater (cheese grater is fine but you will want larger grating holes for this)
- Place the grated zucchini on a towel so that they are dry, dont want much moisture in the mixture and add about 2 t spoons of salt and put aside for about 20 minutes.
- Place the zucchini in a medium size bowl and add in your green onions, chopped dill, mint, garlic, lemon zeast and a dash of black pepper. Mix all together well.
- To the above mixutre add in the breadcrumbs, the egg and your grated parmigiano romano and mix all together so that the text is very homogenous
- Now, with a spoon (I prefer larger fritters but you can also use a t spoon for smaller pieces) form 2 inch patties on your baking sheet (make sure to put down parchment paper first. Then put the sheet in your fridge for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Now that your patties are chilled, remove them from the fridge and in a good size deep skillet, add the frying oil so that it will just get to the half way point of your fritters (probably about 1/4 - 1/2 inch of oil.
- When the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium and place your patties in the skillet and cook til golden which will take from 3-5 minutes for each side of the newly born fritters.
- Remove and arrange on a simple platter and drizzle your yogurt on the top, garnish with lemons and mint or dill.
Serve warm and ENJOY !!!!