Gnocchi con Sugo di Pomodoro {Gnocchi with a light Tomato Sauce}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course | 25 comments

Gnocchi Gnocchi Gnocchi! It’s just fun to say, isn’t it ; ) They’re little pillows of potato goodness! And when done right, they’re light, creamy & luscious! Yes, I said LIGHT! It’s not something I make all the time, so I like to make a big batch {and this would be a big batch}. I cook half immediately and freeze the rest for another day. You’ll want to as well, trust me, you’ll thank yourself ; ) It’s fantastic to pull a bag of homemade gnocchi out of the freezer when you need a quick dinner! No fuss, no muss!

Capellini ai Funghi e Caviale {Angel Hair w/Mushrooms & Caviar} + GIVEAWAY !

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Seafood | 153 comments

It’s almost Mother’s Day! Yes, that’s right, honey are you listening ; ) For me, it’s a day when all I really want is peace & quiet in the house {Miss Priss, Middle Man & Bruiser you listening} & for someone else to cook for me. And if there happens to be a little something extra well then that’s just icing on the cake! Okay maybe a nice bottle of wine too ; ) 

Linguine ai Frutti di Mare {Seafood Linguine}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Seafood | 31 comments

Frutti di Mare translates to fruits of the sea and boy is this dish full of fruits from the sea. It has almost all of my favorite seafood: Mussels, Clams, Shrimp and Scallops. If it happened to have had some lobster & crab well I would have just been in seafood heaven! If you don’t happen to like some of these *and gasp if you don’t* just leave them out.

Stufato di Agnello {Lamb Stew}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course | 18 comments

Naturally we made LAMB for Easter this past weekend. We celebrated with a feast of foods. Feasts usually mean there will be leftovers no matter how good something  was. I do not like to waste any food. Ever. So as we had some of our Roasted Leg of Lamb leftover I thought LAMB STEW would be a fantastic way to make a second completely different meal from it!     

Bistecche ai Funghi {Steak w/Mushrooms}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Beef, Main Course | 16 comments

Ah steak & shrooms, they just go hand in hand don’t they! Well as usual, everything sounds better in Italian. I think I’m just going to start speaking in Italian full time. Cosa pensi? eh he he… Bistecche ai Funghi is pronounced Biz-stay-kay I foon-gee & it’s just that, steak & shrooms.Are you ready for a different take on this classic combination? I had this dish (as with every other LOL) in Italy forevah ago & thought it was genius. You’ve got this crunchy toast (essentially a piece of Texas Toast as it’s known round here ; ) on the bottom, a luscious piece of medium steak. Because yes, I think that steak should be eaten medium with a warm pink center *drool* and then it’s topped with a blanket of scrumptious shrooms that have been basking in a tomato wine based sauce! SUBLIME! It’s full of texture, flavor & it’s oh so filling! What more can you ask for!

Petti al Mascarpone {Chicken Breasts Stuffed w/Mascarpone}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Poultry | 35 comments

Did you LURVE those Chocolate Truffle Brownies that Susan of Doughmesstic did for us earlier this week? Of course you did, what’s NOT to love, They’re ooey gooey chocolately truffly squares of deliciousness! Okay I’m trying to focus, but it’s so hard thinking about Chocolate (you know I’m weak)…

Pollo alla Cacciatora {Chicken Cacciatore}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Poultry | 27 comments

It’s COLD today in my part of the world. Bone chilling COLD (well, okay, maybe not THAT cold, but cold to me) and what better way to warm up (besides downing Grappa LOL) than some Pollo alla Cacciatora {Chicken Cacciatore} It’s a perfect ONE DISH (happy dance, yeah, I HATE doing dishes so one dish meals make me happy) hearty satisfying meal.

Lamb Chops & New Potatoes w/Rosemary & {a GIVEAWAY !}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Reviews | 63 comments

I was recently sent a complimentary copy of The Silver Spoon for Children cookbook. This cookbook is adapted from The Silver Spoon, Italy’s best selling cookbook for over fifty years. The Silver Spoon for Children features over 40 authentic Italian favorite recipes & is broken down into “Lunches & Snacks”, “Pasta & Pizza”, “Main Courses” & “Desserts & Baking”. They’re all easy to make recipes (like 3o mins or less people) are good for you & are geared at children 8 and above. You know you want a copy, don’t you *wink wink*!

Risotto all’Aragosta {Lobster Risotto}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Seafood | 33 comments

Awhile ago I was contacted by Challenge Dairy and was asked to create an Entrée for their holiday recipe showdown. To help me get inspired to create my entrée they sent me a complimentary care package which included:

Pollo al Vino {Chicken w/Wine}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Poultry | 22 comments

Hi, I’m Paula & I can’t get enough of chicken. Nope, there I said it. I feel so much better about sharing that (not that you couldn’t have figured that out by the sheer size of the poultry file here on bell’alimento). Whew! Perhaps I should start a group on Twitter or a Facebook Fan page. I’m sure I’m not the only one (considering again how very popular my chicken dishes are here) who wouldn’t mind admitting their chicken dependency too. I’m thinking of calling it “Chicks for Chicken” kinda has a nice ring to it, no?

Pollo allo Spumante {Chicken w/Sparkling Wine}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Poultry | 21 comments

So you’re thinking CHICKEN again Paula? Come on! Well, yes, it IS technically another chicken recipe but hold on, just because it’s chicken doesn’t have to mean bland or boring. You should know by now (if you’ve been following me on my culinary tales) that I don’t have your run-of-the-mill chicken recipes. Oh no, it’s one I know you’re going to want to put into your poultry files! It’s one that I’m fairly sure you probably don’t have. It’s Pollo allo Spumante. Pronounced Po-low all-oh Spu-mon-tay or Fizzy Chicken as I like to call it LOL! And I’m sure it’s one you’ll be coming back to again & again.

Maccheroni alla Vodka {Macaroni w/Vodka}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Sauces, Vegetarian | 24 comments

So you like things a little Piccante? Well then this dish is perfect for you! It’s just the right amount of spiciness without being so overwhelming that it sets your mouth completely on fire. It definitely has a kick to it.

Ragu’ alla Bolognese {Bolognese Sauce}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Beef, Main Course, Pasta, Sauces | 36 comments

Some things in life are worth waiting for, and a good sauce is one of them (at least for me anyway). And no surprise then, this is one of those sauces! Ragu alla Bolognese. Pronounced bowl-own-ez-ay, it’s an amazing, rich, beautiful, robust sauce.

Orecchiette alle Cipolle {Orecchiette Pasta with Onions}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Vegetarian | 46 comments

You might not be so familiar with this type of Pasta, but you should be! Just because if nothing else it’s incredibly cute & well it goes perfect with sauces! Orecchiette is a type of pasta that is native to the Apulia region of Italy (located in the heel of the boot). The shape of this pasta looks like a small ear. No surprise that in Italian the word for ear is Orecchio. So Orecchiette translated means little ears. Orecchiette (ore-ay-key-et-ay) alle Cipolle (chi-pole-ay) is simply little ears with Onions. Yes, not so appetizing once translated into English, as always, everything sounds so much nicer in Italian! So we’re going with the Italian name. I’ve been telling you this forevah – LOL. Ah, quanto che amo L’Italiano! : )

Gnocchi Rosa {Pink Gnocchi}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Sides, Vegetarian | 31 comments

Gnocchi Rosa (GNYO-KEY ROW-SA) is Italian for {Pink Gnocchi} It’s Gnocchi with a pale pink veil of color glistening in a creamy buttery Sage Sauce! OH MY GOODNESS! I just can’t help it. Yes, it’s good! No, it’s better than good! It’s Semplicamente Delizioso! What’s not to love right? Potatoes, Cheese, Butter, Sage & just for good measure a little Grappa thrown in! Schweet.

Bistecche al Rosmarino {Rosemary Steaks}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Beef, Main Course | 16 comments

Want a nice steak dinner but not the nice steak price tag? Well, you’ll need to try this out! Bistecche al Rosmarino (be-stay-kay rose-mar-e-no) is simply Italian for Rosemary Steaks.

I think you all know by now about my honking big Rosemary Bush! So, I <3 to use fresh Rosemary whenever I have a chance. I was lucky enough to pick up a package of Sirloin Tip Steaks for $4.22 (yes it was on sale! yippee!) at my grocer & it was enough to feed my family of five!

Bucatini al Prosciutto {Bucatini with Prosciutto}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Pork | 22 comments

Okay before the pasta police come after me,  I didn’t actually use Bucatini when I made this recipe to photograph it, but that’s what is supposed to be used. I didn’t have any in my pantry & ever since my little specialty store closed, they’re extremely hard to find. So, I used Trenette pasta instead. It’s a fab pasta that has a little texture on the outside which helps this creamy-licious sauce stick to it! So if you can’t find any bucatini you can use any long type pasta you have on hand.

Il Riso di Giovedi’ Sera {Thursday Night Rice}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course | 31 comments

I’m so excited to share this recipe with you! It was one of my most favorite things I ate while I was in Italy earlier this year. Okay … before we get started I’m going to confess that’s not really the name of the recipe but I truly can’t remember the actual name of this oh so ah-mazing dish, but trust me it’s dee-lish. So, it’s aptly named “Thursday night rice” because, gasp, I ate it on Thursday night. I’m not complicated people! LOL

Galletti alle Noci {Chicken with Nuts}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Poultry | 17 comments

Galletti (Gah-let-tee) alle Noci (No-chi) in Italian means Chicken with Nuts, or as I like to call it, Nutty Chicken! As you may or may not be aware, I’ve been on a bit of a chicken tear lately. I know, I know, but chicken is cheap! You must be thinking, “How many ways can she possibly make chicken?” Well, there are a thousand different ways you can prepare chicken. And yes, I might actually try to introduce you to all of them tee hee!

Zucchine Farcite {Stuffed Zucchini}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Beef, Main Course, Vegetables | 28 comments

Zucchine Farcite is Italian for Stuffed Zucchini! Again, everything sounds so much better in Italian. It’s just the way everything rolls off the tongue. So poetic, so rhythmic, so…swoon! If I ever have to hear really bad news I’d like to hear it in Italian. Just sayin’.

Zucchini are an amazing little veggie & they’re in abundance right now. I have had stuffed zucchini so many ways. Once you get the basic recipe down the possibilities are endless.