Bucatini all’Amatriciana

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Pasta | 5 comments

I went to my favorite local Italian restaurant last week for their monthly wine dinner. Capri Restaurant, if you’re in the Raleigh area please check it out. Delizioso!  One of the dishes this month was Bucatini all’Amatriciana. It was so yummy. My only complaint was that there was not enough of it! LOL I could hardly wait to get home and re-create the recipe.

Bucatini is a long, fat, tubular pasta. If you can’t find it in your grocery, try a local specialty food shop. This dish was made famous by the city of Amatrice in Italy, which is near Rome. Typically either pancetta or guanciale (cured pork cheek - which is said to be a delicacy) is used, but you can substitute bacon. It’s an incredibly zesty, hearty meal. There is something just fun about the tubular pasta & the way it cascades off of your fork! I hope you’ll give it a try!

Spicy Shrimp Bites

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Appetizer, Seafood | 14 comments

These are perfect as an appetizer or an entrée. If you want to make it an entrée, I recommend serving it over a bed of yellow rice & arrange your shrimp on top, almost like a shrimp cocktail-but with rice! LOL Or if you prefer, you can place the shrimp onto a skewer when they’re finished cooking if you want to shake things up! Either way you serve them they are scrumptious!

The flavors are spectacular in this dish. The way the sugar/pepper mixture gives you that sweet & spicy at the same time is fab. You can’t just eat one, they’re addictive! I have found the easiest way to make these is to create a little assembly line: shrimp, pineapple, bacon, toothpicks & then season mix! Makes things go smoothly.

Quick tip: Be sure to NOT touch your hands to your face after you have handled the cayenne pepper! Trust me on this one. Wash your hands subito (immediately)!

Kielbasa Lasagne

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Pasta, Pork | 3 comments

This is such a comfort food for me. I have had this dish since I was a child. It’s a nice variation on a traditional lasagne. I love the unexpectedness of the kielbasa sausage inside. The flavors work so well together. It’s quick and easy to make.

You can double the recipe if you need more than 8 pieces. Be sure to use wooden toothpicks, you don’t want to use plastic, they’ll melt! This is quite hearty & is actually even better the next day (if there is any left).

New Series: Paula’s Passions

Posted by Paula in All Recipes | 1 comment

Today, I’m launching a new segment to the blog: Paula’s Passions. This will be a place where I post kitchen, cooking, and food products that I’m passionate about. These are things that make my life easier in the kitchen.

I love a good kitchen gadget (who doesn’t) & literally can find myself perusing the aisles in kitchen stores for as long as the kids will let me look, searching for my next new thing. I don’t think you can have too many kitchen gadgets, pots, or pans – LOL. So for the first inaugural edition I want to feature … ta da!

Rachael Ray’s 8 quart Hard Anodized Orange Covered OVAL Pasta Pot! (Whew that’s a  mouthful!)

I LOVE THIS POT! I had my eye on it for quite some time. I’d like to, once again, thank my MOM for giving it to me for Christmas!

I cook a lot of pasta dishes, no surprise there, and breaking the pasta noodles is NOT an option for me. In the past I would have to stand over my traditional pasta pot, pushing the pasta down until it was fully emerged in water! NO LONGER! With this amazing OVAL pot you simply wait on the water to boil & drop your pasta in HORIZONTALLY, all at once submerged. It’s a beautiful thing. Just give it a stir, place the clear glass lid on & you can see your pasta cooking away to a perfect al dente.

Another fab feature of this pot is it’s draining spout. There’s a little spout on one side which allows steam to escape while cooking so you don’t have those nasty spill overs & it also allows you to hold onto the lid & drain your pasta! FAB! It’s a nice grey color with her signature orange cushiony handles. Thanks Mom, for giving me this FAB Pasta Pot that doesn’t leave the top of my stove! If you need a Pasta Pot, I hope you’ll give this one a try!

Purchase through Amazon.com:
Rachael Ray 8-Quart Hard Anodized Orange Covered Oval Pasta Pot

*BTW this is the least expensive I have seen this Pot listed ANYWHERE! *

Bruschetta

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Appetizer, Vegetarian | 6 comments

This is a wonderful, quick, & easy dish to make. It is usually served as a snack or appetizer. Pronounced brus-ket-a, this can be served with a number of different toppings. This is the version that I make most often. The crunch of the freshly toasted bread, along with the flavors of garlic and tomatoes is simply a feast for your senses, both smell & taste and is always a crowd pleaser.

Eggplant al Forno

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Appetizer, Sides | 3 comments

Eggplant is such a versatile vegetable. On a recent trip to Rome, I encountered so many deliziosi eggplant dishes, that I was taken by it’s ability to transform itself from light and airy to meaty and filling. I now find myself picking up an eggplant on just about every trip to the grocery. This is one of my recipes that was inspired by that trip. It’s perfect as an appetizer served with fresh hot bread or as a side dish to a meal. You’ll find that one eggplant goes a long way! Which is good for your stomach & your wallet.

Tips: I really like to use the Amore concentrated Pesto! It comes in a tube, making it so convenient. I also find it easiest to grate my parmigiano reggiano cheese directly onto the eggplant slices using my microplane grater! There’s no right or wrong with the amount of cheese you use – but I’m more of a “more is better” when it comes to cheese !

Champagne Slushi

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Drinks | 11 comments

Why should kids have all the fun with slushis? Well, they don’t get to anymore! I came up with this recipe this past December before New Years Eve. We were going to our neighbors party and I just didn’t want to show up with the predictable bottle of champagne, hence Champagne Slushis. They were a huge hit! They’re flavorful & fun to drink!

Herb Roasted Chicken

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Poultry | 4 comments

This is one amazing, fragrant, moist, delicious chicken! I have an herb garden & take full advantage of it whenever possible. In fact, my Rosemary bush is almost as big as my car! So naturally I have an abundance of this herb & you’ll see it featured in a lot of my recipes.

1. your butter is at room temperature,
2. that you chop your herbs finely {you don’t want any huge chunks getting caught in your teeth do you ; )}
3. that you get the butter down as far underneath the skin as you can (a long tea spoon works well for me along with massaging it as well). When separating the skin tissue from the breast with your paring knife, be slow & steady. You DON’T want to rip the skin.

Herb Roasted Chicken

Pollo al Marsala {Chicken Marsala}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Poultry | 16 comments

Another classic Italian dish. Pollo al Marsala is simply translated to Chicken Marsala. If you’ve not had this dish, you’re missing out (or well at least I think you are ; ). What is Marsala you ask? Marsala, is a dessert wine and is produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of what else, MARSALA in Sicily. Marsala is meant to sipped at room temperature and is as you can guess, fantabulous in recipes as well. 

Linguine con Gamberetti (Shrimp)

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Pasta, Seafood | 4 comments

Seafood & Pasta. A perfect marriage of flavors. I am always searching and experimenting with pasta dishes. I adore seafood & LOVE pasta, so for me it’s a natural combination.

Choco Chip Cookies

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Cookies | 3 comments

These are my kids ALL TIME favorite cookies. They ask for them on a weekly, if not daily, basis. We tend to like our cookies more ooey & gooey than crisp. If you happen to like yours more done, just cook them longer.

I have found that using a silpat mat (type of silicone mat) really helps. It seems to bake the cookies more evenly. I don’t bake without one. I also only use Madagascar PURE Vanilla extract. You can truly taste the difference, & the smell is divine! If you happen to have any cookies left over once they have cooled completely, place them into an airtight container & they will stay soft & chewy for about a week (if they last that long!)

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Pasta | 19 comments

This is one of the first dishes I ever ate – or I should probably say, experienced – when I moved to Italy as a tweenager.  Since then it has been my all time favorite pasta dish. I can’t seem to get enough. Evah! It’s creamy, luxurious and sexy. Yes, it’s sexy!

Risotto

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Sides | 2 comments

I can remember sitting in my Italian neighbor’s kitchen {cucina} & watching her make risotto. I was always amazed at how they would take the most basic ingredients: arborio rice, chicken stock – theirs was homemade (naturally), some onions, a little butter, and, of course, extra virgin olive oil & turn them into powerfully flavorful and filling dishes. I am still amazed!

I loved being the stirring helper (a chore I have now passed on to my daughter). Risotto is such a very versatile dish. It takes a little effort (lots of attention, lots of stirring haha) to make, but it’s totally worth it in the end. You have to use arborio rice. This rice is so lush & creamy, and when it’s cooked it has a velvety texture that just floats in your mouth. You have to be patient … “Pazienza, Paula, pazienza Paula,” they would tell me. (If you know me you know that patience is not one of my strong points. LOL)

Asparagus alla Paper Bag

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Sides, Vegetables | 7 comments