Chicken Piccata

Chicken piccata was a dish that sounded pretty familiar to me, but I didn't know what it was composed of until yesterday. Usually for every recipe I complete, I look at the recipe on Foodnetwork.com to see different reviews and to see if Giada has any videos for that recipe. When I looked up the recipe for chicken piccata, I was super happy to find this video! It's nice to see Giada actually preparing the dish because I have a MUCH better idea on what I'm supposed to do. If you watch the video, you'll notice Giada "butterflying" a chicken breast. I learned that technique earlier when I made chicken parmesan last month. When you cut the chicken breast in half, the chicken breasts are then cutlets. Because the chicken cutlets are thin, they take much less time to cook! I was very comfortable butterflying the chicken breast yesterday because I was more experienced with that technique and I was able to watch Giada do it herself. Once the chicken cutlets were prepared, I seasoned them with salt and pepper. The chicken cutlets were sauteed in a little oil and butter for about three minutes on each side. I took the chicken out and de-glazed the pan with chicken broth, lemon juice, and capers. After the sauce simmered, I put the chicken cutlets back in and let everything cook together for about five minutes. Then once the chicken was fully cooked, I took them back out, added some more butter to the sauce, poured in on top of the chicken. I garnished the final product with parsley. I didn't love this dish, but I enjoyed the lemon flavor with the chicken. It was good to learn another way to prepare chicken breast too!

Time spent: 1 hour and 30 mins 

How to Shuck a Clam

When I read over Giada's recipe for clams oreganata, one word was completely foreign to me. The recipe called for "scrubbed and shucked clams." Shucked? I never encountered that word before, so I did what most people do when they don't know something - I looked it up on Google. Shucking a clam basically means removing the clam from its shell. Sounded simple, but I had no clue how to properly shuck a clam. This kind YouTube-er then showed me how. I was a little nervous because I wasn't experienced as this old man clearly was, and shucking the clams seemed kind of dangerous.
Nevertheless, I got out my small paring knife and began to shuck the clams. The very first clam I tried to shuck opened up pretty easily, but I had a hard time getting the knife inside the lip. The second one got a little more difficult, and after the second one, I couldn't get the knife in any of them. I tried my best, cut my finger, and realized that it wasn't doing any good. Frustrated, I had to figure out a way to get the clam meat out of it's shell. I knew this shucking thing wasn't working out, and I remembered that steaming the clams would make them open up.

Even though it didn't follow Giada's recipe, I steamed the clams, and once they opened I removed the meat from inside and put them aside. I saved one of the two shells on each clam, and placed them on a baking sheet. A breadcrumb mixture would be needed for this recipe, and it consisted of breadcrumbs, oregano, parsley, mint, oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper. I placed the clam meat back on each shell lined on the baking sheet, topped it with the breadcrumb mixture, and drizzled some more oil on the top. The clams were broiled for about 3 minutes, just to brown the breadcrumb mixture. Since the clams were already cooked, the end result was a little too chewy. I didn't mind too much, but the textures would have worked better if I was able to shuck each clam. I don't think I would make dish again, but it was a good dish to try and had a very nice presentation. The hassle of shucking the clams wasn't worth the end result. Maybe one day I'll be able to successfully shuck...more than two clams!

I also made Pinzimonio - An olive oil dip consisting of olive oil, of course, salt, and pepper. It was ridiculously simple, didn't taste bad, but I didn't think it was a very flavorful, unique recipe. If nothing else is available, it makes a good snack with baby carrots.

Time spent: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Buitoni does it again!

Wild Mushroom Ravioli with Basil Pine Nut Sauce. I chose this recipe to complete this past Thursday because it was simple, and I thought the flavors would blend really well together. I wanted to make something quick for dinner; I had a lot to do that day! So I spread all the needed ingredients on my counter and got to work. Once I read the directions, I realized that this basil pine nut sauce was REALLY similar to the brown butter sauce that I made last week. You melt the butter, then put in fresh basil leaves and cook until crisp. A little salt, pepper, and nutmeg is then added to the sauce. The brown butter sauce a little more nutty flavor because the browning of the butter, but they were both similar techniques. I boiled the Buitoni Wild Mushroom Ravioli and toasted some pine nuts. After only five minutes, the ravioli was cooked and I coated it in the basil sauce. The toasted pine nuts were then sprinked onto the whole dish, along with some parmesan cheese. This tasted AMAZING! Buitoni gets a lot of the credit though; the wild mushroom raviolli was delicious and tasted gourmet! The basil was crispy, the butter was well, BUTTER, and the pine nuts were crunchy, but melted in your mouth at the same time. As I'm writing about this dish, I'm wishing I had some right now!! Super successful, quick, and yummy!

Time Spent: 35 mins

I'm Gonna Need Some Mouthwash After This...

Garlic and tuna - two of the most common smelly foods. Today I made two dishes with those ingredients being the main components. First was turkey tonatto. I had never heard of this dish prior to starting this project, and I knew why once I looked at what this dish was composed of. The turkey aspect of turkey tonatto was a standard baked turkey breast, but as I read the ingredients for the sauce that accompanied the turkey, I made this face. Tuna, anchovy paste, capers, lemon juice, and mayonnaise. I don't know about you, but those ingredients make me think "blech!" Even though those listed ingredients didn't sound good at all, I thought the recipe had the potential of turning out really good, so I decided to try it today. I made the turkey breast by coating it with olive oil, salt, pepper, dried thyme, basil, and oregano. After putting the turkey breast in a baking dish, I poured about one cup of chicken broth into the dish and baked it at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes. The turkey breast was very moist and the dried herbs made it taste great. Then it was time to make the tuna sauce. I put all the ingredients for the sauce into my food processor and the smell reminded me of my cat's Fancy Feast. After that, I had such a difficult time looking at the sauce as appetizing. The turkey and sauce didn't taste bad at all, but the strong flavor of the sauce was something I wasn't a fan of. Picturing my cat's food when I took a bite didn't help at all! My parents loved this dish, and were happy to have something to take to work tomorrow for lunch. So I knew my turkey tonatto turned out good,  I just didn't like the strong, pungent flavor of the tuna sauce.

Along with the turkey tonatto I made roasted baby potatoes with herbs and garlic. I started by coating dutch yellow baby potatoes in olive oil, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Once all the potatoes were coated I used a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes to a baking sheet. I baked them at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes, tossing occasionally. The unique thing about this recipe was that after they were done baking, I put the potatoes back in the olive oil with the garlic and seasonings. While the potatoes were baking for 40 minutes, the garlic and seasonings infused into the oil which made the potatoes really flavorful and delicious. I would definitely make this again - meaning it was a success. I can even say they were the tastiest potatoes I've had (excluding restaurants)! I think the method of putting them back in the garlic oil made the difference. After being around all these pungent fishy, garlicy foods, I was ready to take a shower and brush my teeth.

Time spent: 2 hours and 20 minutes

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

The title for this blog post is PERFECT (thanks, Jerry George) because of all the cloudy/rainy weather this weekend, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs being one of my favorite movies, and because I made spaghetti and meatballs this past Friday. Spaghetti and meatballs is the epitome of classic Italian food and is a dish that every cook should know how to make. So for those reasons, I was very excited to complete it! I started by making the meat mixture to form the meatballs. Giada's recipe called for ground turkey instead of ground beef. I liked this change because I prefer the lighter, leaner taste of the turkey. I mixed ground turkey, lightly beaten eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley, milk, salt, and pepper. I was sure that the recipe needed more so I grated onion and garlic into the mixture. After combining all the ingredients, I formed bite-sized balls that would then be cooked in a skillet. The meatballs we're very fragile, so when I cooked them they flattened out a bit and became more like small meat-cylinders. Despite that, I browned them all and then added marinara sauce into the skillet of meatballs. Once all the flavors mended together, I removed the meatballs from the marinara, tossed cooked spaghetti into that marinara, and replaced the meatballs. The end result was a huge success!! The meatballs tasted delicious, and I'm glad I made the onion & garlic additions. Lately, I think I've been getting better with knowing when to add extra ingredients and when not to. Knowing how different flavors interact with each other is a skill that I hope to improve as I complete each recipe.

Time spent: 2 hours and 10 mins

Mushy Gushy Tomatoes & Buitoni Tortellini Part 2

If someone asked me what my least favorite food was, I'd say tomatoes. Why? That mushy, seedy, pulp in the middle of a tomato makes me cringe. So, Giada's recipe for stuffed tomatoes scared me a little. Thankfully, the pulp of the tomatoes would be removed and filled with a rice mixture. Stuffed tomatoes was definitely in the list of recipes that I'm not too excited to make, but another big reason why I started this project is because it forces me to try foods I wouldn't normally eat. Despite my fears, I completed the recipe and the result for me was.... eh. I wanted to give the recipe a little more pizzazz so I added mushrooms and onions to the rice mixture that was composed of basil, parsley, garlic, parmesan, and rice of course. I liked the taste of the rice but the tomato with it was just OK to me. No big flavor or anything special, so I don't think I would make this recipe again. That's okay with me though, because you never know till you try! Luckily my mom really liked this dish so it won't go to waste.

Along with the tomatoes, I made cheese tortellini in a light broth. This was a very simple recipe, and required me to use the rest of my Buitoni Tortellini that I bought for the brown butter sauce. I boiled the tortellini in chicken broth, giving the tortellini a nice, light flavor. Once the tortellini was cooked, I ladled it along with the broth into a bowl, added some thyme, and topped it with parmesan cheese. Just like the baked rigatoni with bechamel, this dish was a very warm, comforting dish that reminded me of watching movies on a rainy day. It also requires very little, basic ingredients, which is always good.

Time Spent: 1 hour and 30 mins

"Cheesy Mashed Potatoes" and Mozzarella Sticks Remixed

Yesterday, I decided to make risotto for the first time. I knew risotto was a creamy rice dish that had a reputation of being rather difficult to make, but I was ready for the challenge. I think risotto had that reputation because you have to constantly watch and take care of it; a mother and her baby being a pretty good comparison. My first step was to melt about a tablespoon of butter and saute onions in that butter for roughly two minutes. Next I "toasted the rice" - a phrase I learned while looking up tips on how to make risotto. Toasting the rice means cooking the rice in hot butter (in my case, onions and hot butter) before proceeding to add liquid (chicken broth). Giada's recipe actually called for a little white wine before adding chicken broth, but I didn't want to make my parents buy wine just for using 1/4 of a cup. So it's definitely possible that I didn't get Giada's FULL risotto experience. Anyway, I learned that the key to making a good risotto is to slowly add the chicken broth, allowing the arborio rice to absorb the chicken broth a few amounts at a time. This method cooks the risotto slowly, and is the part that requires much attention. I followed Giada's recipe, and the rice mixture smelled like cheesy mashed potatoes, which is odd considering it contained no cheese (yet), but it was a delicious smell nonetheless. I added parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. The end result came out very good! I was pleasantly surprised and thankful that nothing went wrong. This was just a basic risotto recipe that would be great accompanying a really flavorful dish to balance out the strong flavors. It's also extremely versatile - I can add any vegetables or seafood I want to the riostto. I'd say it was very successful and I'm excited to experiment with it later on.

My favorite picture so far!!

In Everyday Italian, Giada has a recipe that uses basic risotto called, Arancini di Riso. This was a dish I was completely unfamiliar with. It was basically a fried rice ball with a mozzarella center. As I was reading the recipe, I had a really good feeling that it would turn out pretty appetizing. Like I always say, everything's better with cheese! I had to alter Giada's recipe a little, according to what was available to me. I mixed about one cup of basic risotto with seasoned breadcrumbs (while the recipe calls for plain breadcrumbs), an egg, and parmesan cheese. Next, I cut cubes of mozzarella to roll the rice mixture around. I made the rice balls, and rolled them in more breadcrumbs. Since I used seasoned breadcrumbs inside the mixture, I wanted to use unseasoned breadcrumbs to roll them in. The only unseasoned breadcrumbs I had were Panko breadcrumbs - flaky Japanese breadcrumbs. The only difference I thought these breadcrumbs would make is that the exterior of the rice balls would be a little more crunchy and brown. That was fine with me! So I followed the recipe and fried each rice ball. I was right - the end result was delicious! My mom thought some chopped jalapenos in the center would also be even more tasty. I completely agreed. Arancini di Riso would be a great (and unique) appetizer! I'm really glad I used seasoned breadcrumbs inside the balls because it gave a good amount of flavor. VERY successful.


Time Spent: 1 hour and 20 mins

Buitoni Tortellini

I'm loving all of these Italian words I encounter I as continue with my project. It makes me wish Italian was offered as one of the language courses in my high school! Anyway, this morning I flipped through my cookbook looking for recipes that I would make this week. I usually look for recipes that have common ingredients to be more cost-efficient. I decided on the recipes listed to your left. After coming home from the grocery store and the orthodontist, I wasn't in the mood to make turkey meatballs or risotto, so I opted for the simple brown butter sauce recipe. I boiled the Buitoni Tortellini until al dente. Following that, I made the brown butter sauce which was incredibly easy. I melted about 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and thyme. Giada explained in the cookbook that I could put any herb of my choice into the sauce. Thyme is my favorite herb as of now - it's so lemony and fresh! So, I cooked the butter mixture over medium heat until the butter was browned and poured it over the drained cheese tortellini. My first bite and I literally said "Woahh!" It was delicious!! But then again, how can anything with butter as the main ingredient NOT be delicious? Giada reminds me again of how incredible simple things can be. The browning of the butter made it have such good flavor. It may not be the healthiest sauce, but it's awesome for when I'm really lacking ingredients and want something tasty and comforting. I want to figure out what else I could put that sauce on. This was very successful**.


25 recipes down.... 100 more to go!


**Successful dish = I would definitely make it again




Time spent: 30 mins

Can you say... Béchamel?

Béchamel Sauce - A classic Italian white sauce. I only remember hearing it being mentioned on various Food Network shows. I had no idea how to properly make this sauce though, assuming it was a type of cheese sauce. After reading Giada's recipe for béchamel I learned that it is made by melting butter, then whisking in flour and warm milk. It sounded very blah to me, so I was anxious to see how it would turn out. Another thing that added to my anxiousness was the worry of overcooking the butter and flour mixture, or not whisking fast enough, resulting in a lumpy béchamel. This was another instance that proved my "confidence is key" theory. I followed Giada's directions, and the mixture turned out surprisingly well. After simmering for 10 minutes, the sauce was thick and ready to be seasoned. A little nutmeg, salt, and pepper was enough to take this sauce from boring, to deliciously simple. Who knew such basic ingredients could turn out to be a great sauce? Not me! My next step was to add some prosciutto and fontina cheese to this béchamel party in order to complete the baked rigatoni with béchamel sauce recipe found in Everyday Italian. Fontina cheese was introduced to me when I made my very first recipe out of Everyday Italian - a frittata with tomato, asparagus, and this appetizing cheese. It has become one of my favorite cheeses ever since! The taste is delicious but the smell... not so much. I think the taste makes makes up for its odoriferous smell. I proceeded to add the prosciutto and fontina, having pretty positive feelings on how the final product would turn out. I tossed some rigatoni with the sauce and baked it in the oven until golden brown and bubbly. Mmmmm. The sizzling sound of that baked rigatoni coming out of the oven put a smile on my chubby cheeked face (the chubbiness as a result of my surgery on Monday). While staying on the subject of my chubby cheeks, this dish was much friendlier to my sensitive teeth and jaws, so I could actually taste it. This recipe was appropriately listed under a section in Everyday Italian called "Everyday Indulgences." It's the kind of dish that makes you want to curl up on the couch on a rainy day and watch a movie. Overall, it was a great success!! Even my two biggest critics approved - the parents; a much needed confidence boost. Béchamel sauce is definitely something that I can experiment with, and I'm thankful that Giada showed me how to make it! I only hope that I'm pronouncing Béchamel correctly.


Time spent: 1 hour

If only I could chew...

This past Monday I got my wisdom teeth out so for this week, I had to cut back on my recipes to be completed due to my lack of being able to chew. Despite that, I still made grilled tuna steaks last night that I ate slowly, chewing with my front teeth (it wasn't a pretty sight). Then for dinner tonight I had left over grilled tuna that I thought would go great with sauteed broccoli and green beans, one of the recipes in Everyday Italian. Broccoli and green beans... sounds simple enough right? Wrong. I stared at the broccoli florets and thought "...is there a certain way I'm supposed to cut these?" Ahh, one of the basic abilities that reminds me why I chose this project. I called the one person I know is always there to give me cooking advice - Mom to the rescue!! She explained to me that I cut a little bit of the stem off, and separate the stem into smaller florets. So I followed the recipe, blanching the broccoli and green beans and sauteing them in olive oil, red-pepper flakes, and garlic. After I finished cooking, I realized that I underestimated how difficult it would be to chew broccoli and green beans with my front teeth. Then once I felt a burning sensation on my lips, it was clear that I put a little too much red pepper flakes. Good thing my parents are Indian, because they don't mind the extra spice! Even though I didn't get to properly taste this dish, I'd say it was a success and something I'll probably make again with some adjustments. So what I've learned from today is 1) how to cut broccoli florets, 2) be wise with spice, and 3) you can't chew broccoli OR green beans with your front teeth.


Time spent: 40 mins

Better Late than Never

About six long months ago, I decided to take on the task of completing 125 recipes out of Giada De Laurentiis' cookbook, Everyday Italian. Why? There are many reasons to answer that, but let me start with how this idea came about. It started with the graduation project that all students must complete before...graduating (duhh) in my high school. This project requires some type of "new learning" to occur, over a period of 60 hours. It should preferably be related to something that I'm interested in, or one of my hobbies. I was at a complete blank on an idea for my graduation project. Then one day while talking this project over with a friend, the idea of cooking came up. I had expressed to her my love of baking, but my lack of skills in the cooking department. One thing led to another, and my friend brilliantly thought of having the Julie and Julia Project (a true story, also a major motion picture)be the foundation for my graduation project. I thought it was an awesome idea - it would broaden my cooking abilities, allow me to get my grad project done, and benefit me in the long run. My next step was to pick a cookbook.

Giada De Laurentiis was the first thing that popped in my head. I could picture watching "Everyday Italian" on Food Network every Saturday morning with my Mom, and being intrigued by how effortlessly Giada could put a simple dish together, that had amazing results. I wanted those same abilities. Having loved Italian food and culture, and knowing Giada's cookbook was full of reasonable, simple dishes, I thought it was best to pick her Everyday Italian Cookbook as thee cookbook for my project. I knew it would be hard... and I was right! Completing 125 recipes is no simple task, but I was ready for the challenge. 

After my project proposal was approved, I decided to start this project in the Summer. My plan was to try and get at least five or six recipes done a week, especially since I had a lot of free time during Summer. This meant I'd literally be eating Italian almost ...everyday. I officially started about one month ago, originally planning to just make a word document to log how each recipe went and take pictures of each recipe completed. Despite multiple people telling me how cool it would be to make a blog like Julie did, I shot down the idea right away, thinking there was no need to put it out there. It's taken a month, but I've finally realized that putting my thoughts down in a blog will not only keep me accountable, but allow me to go into more detail and really put my best effort into this project, making it much more interesting.

Recipes that have been completed:

• Frittata with Tomato, Asparagas, and Fontina
• White Bean Dip with Pita Chips
• Arugula Pesto
• Marinara Sauce
• Eggplant Rollatini
• Italian Egg Sandwich
• Panino de Proscuitto e Fontina
• Chicken Parmesean
• Spaghetti with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Red Pepper Flakes
• Roasted Asparagus wrapped in Proscuitto
• Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone
• Grilled Pineapple with Nutella
• Basic Polenta
• Fried Polenta
• Farfalle with Turkey Sausage, Peas, and Mushrooms
• Smashed Parmesean Potatoes
• Chicken Saltimboca
• White Bean and Tuna Salad
• Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
• Basil Pesto
• Grilled Tuna Steaks

As you can see, I'm well into this project already. Some of these recipes were very successful, and some... not so much. I've learned much more than I thought I would in the first month. Some lessons that have stuck with me:

1) Following a recipe word for word doesn't mean it will taste good. My preconceived notion of recipes before starting this project was that if you followed them exactly as written, the result would always be successful. What a false notion that was! As amazing as Giada is, I know I may not have the same set of taste buds as her. Also, growing up consuming Indian food has made me prefer dishes with a little more spice or pizzazz. So, because the recipe is written a certain way, doesn't mean that's the only way to prepare it. With Giada's array of simple, clean Italian dishes, I don't want to add too much spice or extra ingredients to mess with that great simplicity, but enough so the dishes are more palatable to me (AND my family who are forced to eat these dishes as well).

2) Confidence is key. Over this past month, I have learned that confidence is the key ingredient to every recipe.... (that was a cheesy line, but everything's better with cheese right?) Confidence is something I lacked, and still do, in the kitchen. I am consistently worried about whether or not I'm properly preparing a dish, I wonder if the recipe is too bland, I never know how much salt and pepper something needs, I have trouble keeping the ingredients OFF of my clothing, and the list goes on and on. These flaws have shown me the need for confidence when cooking, and I know that confidence will come as I continue to get more comfortable in the kitchen.

3) A good marinara sauce is a necessity. Lots of recipes in Everyday Italian call for marinara sauce. I made marinara according to Giada's recipe, but it didn't come out too great, so the dishes where marinara needed to be used didn't come out too great either... kind of like a chain reaction. Perfecting that marinara sauce is definitely on my to-do list!

Now to conclude my first blog post EVER, my game plan is that I hope to blog about the recipes I make, thoughts that I feel should be expressed, and  the things I learn along the way.