Vincenzo loves his Osso Bucco!!!

Of coarse we have to feed our pup, Here is Vincenzo enjoying some left over Osso Bucco bones after we were done! HAHA Since Vinny is a part of Mi Famiglia he gets to eat like a part of Mi Famiglia!!!

Enjoying!

Begging for MORE!

Full & ready for a nap!

haha nothing like having a half Sasquatch, half person dog, but Vincent sure now how to eat! haha

-freddy g

Chicken Parmesan!!!

Chicken Parm!

I have been cooking every Wednesday night for Krista & her parents and it has been great cooking for them and letting them taste some good home-made Italian Food from my Pop and Grandma. This Chicken Parmesan recipe was my fathers as well and came by request from Krista's Pop. This recipe is great, it does take a little prep time but is very good!





Chicken Parmesan

For this recipe it takes around 8-10 hours of the chicken soaking in a egg & milk mixture. Crack an egg and add in a 1/2 cup of milk in a bowl then add the chicken to soak. Refrigerate for 8-10 hours mixing every 4 hours. This makes the chicken soak in the flavor and makes the chicken very juicy.



Recipe Ingredients:

- 1 egg

Fresh Mozzarella

- 1/2 cup of milk
- Italian Style Bread Crumbs
- 1/4 stick of butter or margarine
- 1/2 Cup of E.V.O
- 4 balls of Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 Cups of Parmesan Cheese
- 3 lbs of Chicken breast or Chicken Breast
- 1 can of 12 oz Tomato Sauce
- 2 cans of 8 oz Tomato Paste
- 1/2 Onion Chopped
- 4 cloves of Garlic diced
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- Fresh Chopped Basil
- Salt & Pep

Chicken Parmesan

Soak & Crumb Station

The first thing that needs to be done is crack an egg and mix with 1/2 cup of milk. Then tenderize your chicken tenders. If using Chicken Breast you need to fillet them very thin and then place in mixture. Let chicken bath in the mixture for 8-10 hours stir every 4 hours.

Butter & E.V.O

Once the Chicken has soaked, you can place in a skillet 1/4 stick of butter and a 1/2 cup of E.V.O over medium-high heat until butter is melted and oil is hot enough for chicken. In a separate bowl place your Italian Style Brad Crumbs. Take your Chicken and run through bread crumbs until completely covered then place into skillet. I usually do around 4-5 pieces at a time, so the skillet does not become crowded and it makes it easier to flip and turn the Chicken. You want to cook each piece for 4-5 minutes total 2 or 3 minutes on each side until chicken is cooked thoroughly through and you have a nice golden brown crisp to the chicken. Now for the sauce.

Sweet Sauce (Marinara)

It can be made two different ways depending on the time you have. The first way is the old fashioned way, pick 8-10 fresh tomato. After you Pick your tomatoes you need to wash them, De-core them which is basically just removing the vine from the top. Bring a large pot filled with water to a boil, then place the De-cored tomatoes into the boiling water, after 8-10 minutes they should be plumbed and ready to be cooled and peeled. Again use your eye and best judgment, once they are ready, drain the water and split and peel the tomato. Let Cool, and once you can handle, mash with hands until the tomatoes are broken down. Now you can start adding, Fresh Basil, 4 TSP of Sugar, 1/2 cup of fresh chopped onion, 2-3 chopped cloves of garlic and Salt & Pep to taste and throw in some Olive Oil for some taste. Stir Sauce on Medium-High for around 15 minutes. Ounce on Medium-High for at least 15 minutes you can place on low heat and remember the longer you have the sauce and ingredients together the more flavor!!!


The second way  and the way I made it for the Stuffed Shells is much less time consuming and less laboring. Instead of using fresh tomatoes, you can use 2 cans of tomato sauce and 2 cans of tomato paste. Then repeat the last steps and flavor to taste. You can add meat to the sauce for more flavor, I have made this sauce with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef, both are delicious and add great flavor to the dish. Just Saute meat of choice with some olive oil and place in sauce while heating on medium high.
Chicken Parmesan

415 for 15-20 minutes

Once you have the sweet sauce made up you can add just a small amount with some E.V.O to cote the bottom of the tray that you are using. Then place your Chicken into the tray, cover with a nice layer of the sweet sauce. Then you can cover with a healthy dose of Parmesan Cheese. Then take Fresh Mozzarella cheese cut into thin slices and place on top. You can add the extra sauce if you have any left over around the edges and top off with some fresh Basil!!! Set your Oven to 415. Leave in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and has a nice color to it.

Once out of the Oven, let sit for 5 minutes and Serve! Another classic Suo Tutto Mangiare Meal!!! Its all to eat!!! Manga!!!

Step 1 : Sauce, E.V.O & Chicken

Step 2 : Sauce & Parmesan Cheese

Step 3 : Fresh Mozzarella, Sauce & Basil

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

BELLA!!!

Fresh Romaine Salad w/ raisons, chopped  & pine nuts

This dish came out great again, we paired the Chicken Parm with a nice side salad that really went well with the meal! A glass of wine great conversation, great food and spending it with great family, turned out to be another wonderful evening! I hope you enjoy! I will be making eggplant parmesan soon as well as some nice tips for Thanksgiving, which is right around the corner! Hope everyone stays safe and spends some quality time with the famiglia & friends, and remember It's All To Eat!!!!

Suo Tutto Mangiare!

-freddy g

Halloween Snow Storms Crazy Week Check Out the Damage!!!

Happy Halloween!

So here are some pictures of the Halloween Snow Storm! Left us without power and the rest of NJ without power for almost a week!!! Hope Everyone was safe! Now they are calling for a heatwave for Thanksgiving and a Tsunami right in time for Christmas! All joking aside I am getting ready for the holidays and cooking some delicious plates for all of you!!! Remember not to let anything get you down and ITS ALL TO EAT!

Fireplace!

Huge Tree Fell Down

Damage

Limbs down!

Krista & the first snow man of the year!!!

More limbs down

Damaged tree

SNOW!

Pop with the first Snowman of the year!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!


-freddy g


SUO TUTTO MANGIARE!

Sicilian Style Pizza & A Snow Blizzard on Halloween?!?!?

Happy Halloween!?!?

So after a real crazy week where we had a blizzard before Halloween and most of New Jersey was without power this entire week, I have done more landscaping then cooking as of late, but needless to say I just got my internet back and I wanted to let you all in on a secret...If you love pizza or went to college and spent your evening drinking cheap beer and eating dollar slices then your in for a real treat (or trick) sorry had to put that in there a lot of pun intended. Happy Halloween!!!

Sicilian Pie!!!

This recipe is for homemade from scratch Sicilian Style Pizza, this is my grandma's recipe and has been tweaked over the years and so has the toppings. We decided to dress this beautiful lady up with some Juliane zucchini and chopped fresh red peppers and do the other half with a strong original topping, pepperoni. This came out great, I would recommend setting some time away for this recipe though, mainly for the dough, the more you let it rise, the better and the more to MANGA!!! So lets get cooking!

Sicilian Pizza

Like I stated before you should set some time away to let the dough rise, anywhere from 2-6 hours if you are going to use it that day and if you want you can make it the day before and let sit covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator and this will give enough time for the precious dough to rise.

Fresh Zucchini and Red Pepper Toppings!

Recipe Ingredients:

-6-8 cups of all purpose flour
-Packet of Yeast
-E.V.O (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
-32 oz Shredded Mozzarella
-8 oz Parmigiana
-2 Cans of 12oz Tomato Paste
-2 Cans of 8oz Tomato Sauce
-Fresh Basil
-1/2 lb of Chopped Beef
-2-4 tbsp of sugar
-1 Large Onion
-2-3 cloves of Garlic
-Italian Seasoning
-1/4 stick of Butter

Toppings:

-Be Creative!!! We used Zucchini Shavings and sliced Red Pepper for half and Pepperoni for the other half!!!

Sicilian Pizza Dough

Dough!

Ok, so before we do anything else, you need to make your dough, In a Large mixing bowl pour in your 6-8 cups of all purpose flour. Take a mixing spoon and cover the end and also your hand in your E.V.O (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) this is a helpful hint when your cleaning up, it helps keeping the dough from sticking to your hands or mixing spoon while making your dough. Now take a cup of Luke warm water and slowly pour into flour a little at a time while mixing together until dough becomes solid, add in the whole packet of yeast and a few teaspoons of E.V.O and continue to mix together. Once your dough is mixed together and settled pound down and place back in mixing bowl. Let sit for 2-6 hours if your going to use it that day, if not place plastic wrap over the bowl and place in the refrigerator.

Now the next step is to prepare a large square deep dish, I use one that was used for baking, it is strong and sturdy and really is perfect for making the Sicilian Style Pizza, you can use a round pizza dish or make it in any shape you want, again make it your own! Place non stick spray on pan, or you can use a mixture of butter and E.V.O which helps with the dough sticking to the pan. Now you need to pound the dough down and mead it by hand place in the center of the pan and start spreading the dough out a littler at a time, until the whole pan is covered. The recipe I gave is for a large pizza, you can alter the amounts to make a smaller or larger pie or more than one at a time.

Once the dough is spread, I like to add a crust, by slowly indenting your fingers around the outside of the dough. This helps to hold the sauce and gives a nice thick crust to dip in after your eat your slice! Then I sprinkle my Italian Seasoning over the dough all while pressing it into the dough as I go. This adds flavor and texture to the dough. The last thing I do before making the sauce is place in a microwavable cup 1/4 stick of butter and Italian seasoning and place into the microwave for 30 seconds. Then take a basting brush and baste the entire crust with the mixture adding flavor to the crust. Now we are ready for the meat sauce.

Meat Sauce

Fresh Meat Sauce

After you have prepared your dough you can start making your sauce. First in a medium-large sized pan place a half pound of chopped beef and some E.V.O on medium heat until the meat is cooked through. You can add turkey or chicken any meat you want to the sauce, really gives it a great taste. Once you know your chopped meat is done you can add in your 2 cans of tomato paste and 2 cans of tomato sauce, if the mixture is to dense you can always add a little bit of water to loosen it up. Then place in your 2-4 tbsp of sugar, chopped basil & Onion as well as your crushed cloves of Garlic, Salt & Pep to taste and mix all together over medium-high heat. Again the sauce should be done in 20-30 minutes and if you want to let it sit on low heat for longer you can, this gives the ingredients more time to mix and become a part of each other, it will only add more flavor. You can also use my recipe for homemade sauce as a replacement, found in a few other of my posts, if you have the time.

Sicilian Pizza

Step 1 : Meat Sauce

Step 2 : Parmigiana Cheese

Step 3 : Mozzarella Cheese

Now, once we have our sauce completed we can start to build our masterpiece like Leonardo da Vinci creating the Mona Lisa, you need to create your own work of art. First, take a large spoon and place your sauce onto the dough starting in the middle and working your way out, until everything except the crust is covered, don't be shy with the sauce, its delicious!

All together before going into the oven!

After all the sauce is on the pie, you can save what is left over if there is anything for the crust. Then its time for the cheese & toppings, cover the sauce with your parmigiana cheese then on top place your shredded mozzarella, once both of these are ready you can now top your Sicilian Pizza.

Place your oven on bake at 375 degrees and then let the magic happen, the pizza should be ready in 30 minutes check on it and keep an eye. Once the crust and cheese melts and is a nice golden color you know your good to go. Let the Pizza sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting to let the sauce cool and make it easier to remove. Now all you have left to do is enjoy!!!

THE FINISHED PRODUCT:

BELLA!!!!

BELLA!!!!

This Pizza came out perfectly and tasted amazing, I love making this and best of all it leaves everyone full and counting down the days until I make the next one!!! My Grandma would make this pizza every Friday for all 5 of her boy's (my father and my uncles) and they never left hungry that is for sure, this pizza will fill you up and I know I can only eat One or Two slices myself. I hope you all enjoy, next is Pops Pasta & Seafood, Hope everyone had a safe Halloween and I look forward making a lot of great dished for everyone for the Holidays! Stay True to yourselves and remember Suo Tutto Mangiare!!!! IT'S ALL TO EAT!!!

-freddy g