When I lived in New York City, many of my friends were “starving” artists and actors. When we got together for dinner at each other’s apartments, we usually prepared a meal that was ethnic in nature and always affordable. Everyone brought wine, bread and cheese to begin the evening and it was always such a great time. When you live in a city like New York there is so much offered, in the way of food. We never shopped for groceries to last a whole week. Instead, it was a daily excursion, shopping cart in hand, to the various neighborhood stores for cheeses, fresh produce, the best breads and wines. Zabar’s was one of my favorite haunts. Located on the West side on Broadway, it still stands and offers any foodie the ultimate experience in gourmet possibilities, both of the food variety as well as, what I refer to as, “Kitchen Toys”.
Today’s menu began, years ago, as one of our favorite meals to prepare and share. I’ve tweeked it a bit, added some more up to date ingredients and paired it with a crisp salad of Italian greens. I love the sharp bitterness of radicchio in a salad with endive spears and escarole. Add a crusty loaf of French bread and you’ve got a delicious meal. We usually topped a dinner off by indulging in a bit of Haagen-Daz ice cream or Ben & Jerry’s….both truly decadent and something none of us bought on a regular basis. I hope you’ll prepare this and enjoy it with friends. It is truly delicious!
Imported Cheese Platter
Wings & Pasta
Italian Salad
Crusty Bread
Chianti
Imported Cheese Platter
Choose your favorites! I personally like three…Fontina, Gorgonzola and a delicious Taleggio cheese.
Wings & Pasta
Heat oven to 350 degrees
2 flats of chicken drumettes
1 box giant pasta shells, cooked
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 cup assorted olives
1 cup heirloom cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
juice of two lemons
Sea salt & pepper to taste
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
In a cast iron skillet or other oven proof skillet, heat the oil. Add the chicken drumettes and cook, turning to brown well on all sides. Add the garlic, parsley and olives, tossing to combine and cook for about five minutes. Add the tomatoes, white wine and lemon juice. Place in the oven for about twenty minutes. Place the cooked pasta shells on a serving platter and top with the chicken mixture and all of the pan juices. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve with plenty of crusty
Italian Salad
1 head escarole
1 head radicchio
2 heads endive
Italian dressing – recipe below
Cracked black pepper
Italian Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Sea salt & pepper to taste
Hand tear the greens, add the dressing and toss. (Note: I usually tear the greens then pack them in paper towels and refrigerate until I’m ready to assemble the salad. This keeps the greens cold and crisp.)
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