what other tasty Italian meals out there for me to cook?

Question

ive cooked spag bog, osso bucco, lasagne but i want to try something different but keeping with the italian theme

Answer 1

CHICKEN ITALIANO

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced lengthwise
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 chicken breast halves (skin removed) or 8 chicken thighs (skin removed)
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, in thick puree
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper
2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini, rinsed and drained (white kidney beans)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 cup pitted kalamata olives
freshly grated parmesan cheese, for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In Dutch oven over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon oil.
Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and saute until slightly tender, about 7 minutes.
Remove to a plate.
Add remaining oil and brown chicken about 5 minutes on each side.
Drain on paper towels and remove excess grease from pan.
Return chicken, vegetables and remaining ingredients to Dutch oven and mix gently.
Cover and bake until chicken is no longer pink in center, about 1 hour, stirring once.

Answer 2

Non Alcoholic Summer Cooler Have this waiting for you in the fridge for after work or gardening. Use your own combination of fruit (all may not be available at the same time) but I do recommend that you keep the base cranberry juice 1 (40 ounce) bottle cranberry juice cocktail, chilled 1/2 cup fresh orange juice 1 lemon, juiced 1 lime, juiced 1 whole orange, sliced thin 1 lemon, sliced thin 1 lime, sliced thin 1 cup fresh strawberries, cleaned & halved 2 fresh peaches, peeled,pitted and thinly sliced 1 small apple, peeled,cored and thinly sliced 2 tablespoons sugar or Splenda sugar substitute 1 (26 ounce) bottle club soda ice cubes Combine all the ingredients except the club soda. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate for a couple of hours. Just before serving add the club soda and pour over ice cubes (Or put a splash of soda in a glass and fill up with ice cubes and the sangria).

Answer 3

Attention: Fettuccine Alfredo is a meal cooked only in _one_ restaurant in Rome. Nobody in Italy knows Fettuccine Alfredo. It is NOT a typical Italian meal. It is famous only in USA.

If you want to cook a typical Italian meal, you can try Risotto, a recipe with rice:
http://italianfood.about.com/library/rec/blr0063.htm
or Brasato a recipe with beef and red wine
http://chezedorovio.blogspot.com/2005/11/brasato-al-barolo.html
Brasato is usually served with Pure' (smashed potatoes) or Polenta (maize porridge).

Risotto, Polenta and Brasato, like Osso Buco, are meals typical of north Italy.

Answer 4

A great Italian meal is pasta with grilled vegetables. Remember that in Italy, they match the sauce to the pasta shape (as certain shapes hold different textures of sauce better). I suggest that you try making your own pesto from scratch. Here's an authentic Italian recipe:

Ingredienti (per 4 persone):
3 mazzetti di basilico (three bunches of fresh basil- rinsed and chopped)
1 spicchio d’aglio (o più, a seconda dei gusti) (one garlic clove)
1 cucchiaio di pinoli (spoonful of pine nuts)
1 cucchiaio di pecorino (spoonful of grated pecorino cheese)
1 cucchiaio di parmigiano (spoonful of grated parmesan)
5 cucchiai di olio extra-vergine di oliva (five spoonfuls of olive oil)
1 pizzico di sale (pinch of salt)

Just mix all the ingredients EXCEPT THE OIL in a food processor or blender. Once they're mixed, SLOWLY drizzle in the oil with the motor running (or stop-start-stop-start if necessary) until your pesto is the texture you want. You can totally adjust it to your taste. Pesto is best served with orchiette, which is pasta shaped like small, shallow cups. It's also great on gnocchi (you can make it yourself or buy it).

An easier recipe is garlic broccoli sauce, which is common in many Italian restaurants. To make my own version I just boil broccoli until it's mushy. When it's very soft I drain it and set it aside. Then I chop a garlic clove or two and fry it in olive oil. I add in the broccoli and mush it in with the garlic oil using a fork. Then I just add more olive oil until it reaches the consistency I want. This is good with spaghetti and other long, thin pastas.

To grill vegetables, wash eggplants, peppers and zucchini. Cut them into small cubes, toss in olive oil and grill. If you don't have access to a grill, roast them in your oven until they're soft. Either way they're great and a typical Italian side dish.

Answer 5

my girl and I get together a bunch of itailian foods and see what we come up with. Here's a recipe that works good. I was never into exact measuring, so I'll try to make it approx.

Ziti al DeBoard

1 pkg of sweet itailian sausage ( try to use authentic if possible, no Johnsonville stuff)

1 box of your favorite Ziti

2 Jars of your fav tomato & basil pasta sauce

1 ball of smoke mozz.

3 roma tomatoes

1/4 cup of EV Olive oil

3 cups of shred mozz

1 tbs of basil
1 tsp of oregano
salt & pepper

salt & boil water. add pasta let cook a little under al dente
cook sasuage til brown, if not ground already cut links
when pasta is done, drain and add EV olive oil, cut smoked mozz into small cubes and adsd to pasta and olive oil, mix well.
add both jars of sauce and mix well. Get a baking dish, add one layer of ziti/smoked mozz/ oil / sauce mixture. Slice romas and add layer ontop of the pasta mixture. Add a layer of shred cheese. Add another layer of the pasta & sauce mixture. Put the rest of the shred mozz on top. Add some salt&pepper to taste, Sprinklie basil & oregano on top. Stick it in a 350 degree oven til cheese is melted and browned.

Eat that with some crusty itailian bread, maybe a salad & a nice bottle of red....your set. Enjoy!

Answer 6

Chicken parmesana, eggplant parmesan .... things along that line include sked sauce, parmesan cheese, etc. Don't forget "spaghetti pie" which is a cool recipe you "may" be able to find on the web. (If not, let me know.) You make the "crust" with the noodles, eggs, etc. and then the filling is the meat and sauce and more cheese. YUMMY! Oh, and don't forget the garlic bread!

Answer 7

So many it's hard to know where to begin! I love chicken cacciatore, pasta puttanesca, and shrimp scampi, but I'm also a big fan of the old standby, spaghetti and meatballs. It's a little different than the bolognese you mentioned.

Answer 8

Chicken Picatta is a recipe that my 13 year old cooks at least once a week for us. It is Italian and non-tomato based.

Food Network has a few recipes. We use Giada DeLaurentiis's recipe from her cookbook (I'm betting it will also be on their site) and it's easy enough for him to handle and absolutely delicious.

Answer 9

You can try gnocchi, a potato dumpling that is made, cooked, and then tossed in sauce. It's delicious but remember not to handle it too much so that it can remain light.

Answer 10

Baked Ziti, Carrots Marsala, Fettucine alfredo, pasta with garlic and oil.