Slow Cooked Beef Stew - Spezzatino

For the winter season there is nothing more comforting than a nice warm beef stew. Which is also one of my favorite winter dishes.


Ingredients:

Beef chunks for stew (I used 2 Lbs)
4 potatoes
2 or 3 carrots
Italian parsley
onions
red wine
extra virgin olive oil
Tomato paste
salt and pepper

Start by rolling the meat in some flour and just lightly brown it in a skillet. In your crock pot pour some extra virgin olive oil, the chopped carrots, potatoes, onions, and parsley. Mix everything well, and then pour the meat on top of the veggies. To finish pour 2 cups of water, 1 cup of red wine and the tomato paste. Give it a good stir and cook it on low for about 7-8 hours. I set mine to cook overnight and this morning when I woke up my wonderful stew was ready! Yummy! Enjoy! Buon appetito!

Supreme Mashed Potatoes

I made mashed potatoes many times cause it is one of my favorite side dish, but this time I wanted to add a few extra ingredients to make it even more yummy!


Ingredients:

4 Large potatoes
Sour cream
Milk
Butter
Salt
Pepper

Start with boiling the potatoes. Drain them and start mashing them when still hot, incorporating the butter immediately.... so that it will melt nicely. Add the milk and the sour cream little by little. Salt and pepper to taste! Sometimes I also add some ham and chives to it! Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

The other night I decided to try one a Thai restaurant by my house I heard a lot about, and I am so glad I went there!!


It really was the best fried rice I have ever had! It had Macademia nuts, bell peppers thinly sliced delicious beef, pineapples chunks, green onions and it was pretty spicy! Sooo good!!! I will definitely try to make it myself with my Wok pan! :)

Eggplant Crostini

As you already know, I love finger food! Here is another recipe I created the other day while looking around my fridge :)


Ingredients:

Melba toast (or any other crostini like cracker)
Cream cheese
Eggplants

I started by coating my eggplant slices with a mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Then I grilled them. I put some cream cheese on my toasts and topped each of them with a slice of eggplant. They were delicious!! Enjoy! Buon appetito!

Slow cooked Cranberry Turkey

This year for thanksgiving I wanted to try cooking my turkey in the slow cooker, and I have to say that the result was great! The sweetness of the cranberry and the flavor of the orange was a wonderful match!


What you need:

A small butterball turkey breast
1 can cranberry sauce
1 pack onion soup mix
1/2 cup orange juice

In a bowl mix the cranberry sauce, orange juice and onion soup mix. Pour a little bit of extravirgin olive oil at the bottom of the crock pot. Place your turkey inside the slow cooker and pour the cranberry mixture on top. Cook on low for 7 hours. Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

Biscuit Sandwiches

Turn your biscuits into little sandwiches! This can be a nice snack idea, as well as a nice appetizer!Bake your biscuits following the instructions on your box (or you can even make them from scratch if you have enough time available!). I also sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on top of them before baking!

Cut them in 1/2 and spread some butter inside each one. Use your favorite sandwich meat and cheese to stuff them. This time I used Italian Salami, Honey Ham, and sharp Cheddar cheese. Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

Fried Pickles

Here is a southern North American recipe. Fried Pickles!


First you need to slice your pickles (I used the ones pre-sliced in the jar). Beat an egg with some milk, paprika, salt, pepper, and hot pepper. Dip the pickles in the egg batter and then coat them with some breadcrumbs. Fried them until golden brown. Place them on a paper towel sheet to drain the excess oil, sprinkle some salt on top when they are warm. Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

Club Sandwich

This was my first attempt making a club sandwich and I have to say it turned out pretty darn good!












You will need 3 slices of bread. Start by toasting them and spreading a thin layer of mayo on top of the first one. Next place some lettuce, ham and cheese on top of it. Now it's time for the second piece of bread to be places on top , and spread both sides of it with mayo. Put some more lettuce, Salami, cheese and pickles. Finish by placing the third piece of bread on top. Insert 4 toothpicks along the center of each side and cut the sandwich diagonally, forming 4 little triangles. There you have it! A wonderful and yummy club sandwich! Of course you can make many variations to it with your favorite spreads, cheeses and meats! Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

Porcetto Arrosto - Roasted Suckling Pig

Porcetto arrosto is one of the traditional foods that make Sardinian Cuisine popular.

This wonderful dish is made with a suckling pig, roasted for hours inside a brick oven or over a fire on the ground and just sprinkled with some salt. In Italy we don't like to put sauces or any strong flavor that could potentially cover the real flavors of fresh meat and fish; Instead we like to highlight their freshness just by adding simple things like extravergin olive oil, salt, pepper and simple spices. The taste of the soft meat and the crunchiness of the skin is just to die for! It is generally served with just some salt sprinkled on top. When I was a kid I remember during our family gatherings, I used to walk around the table from person to person and ask if they could give me the crunchy part of their meat! LOL Enjoy! Buon Appetito!