ITALIAN FOODIES

                           

There is no recipe today, just a quick post to tell you about our pizza special!! Sarah recently asked me to do a little post on the specials in La Cucina so I’ve decided to do a regular post!! We are also changing our menu at the moment and have added a few new pizzas and taken off some of the less popular items. The food business always amazes me, the very minute we decide to take off something because it’s not selling everyone starts ordering it????

We’ve had to reduce the menu a little as there was just too much on it and this was putting pressure on the kitchen!! One of the main problems we are having at the moment is that everyone keeps changing the dishes, we could get an order for 3 boscaiola, 1 no mushroom, 1 no bacon and 1 normal, the problem here is this requires 3 different pans instead of 1 and we only have 4 gas rings so it slows the whole thing up!! It’s gotten to the stage where every order has a different requirement, I’m amazed by the amount of people who don’t like mushrooms or tomatoes! The thing is you can’t go into any of the franchises and change the dish but because we make everything fresh people like to mix and match e.g. adding peppers and mushrooms to Carbonara, adding chicken to spaghetti bolognese!! You can imagine how happy our Italian chef Alessandro is making all these changes to his authentic Italian dishes!! Originally when we opened first and were fairly quiet it was no problem but now with it being so busy it is becoming an issue but what can we do???? If we were to refuse there would be uproar and we have done it for so long now I don’t think we can turn back, we’re hoping by reducing the menu a little it might help even though I know there will be problems with that too and we”ll probably still have to do some of the items we have removed  so we’ll just have to wait and see!!

Back to the pizza special, I had it today myself and it is delicious, we have a really good Italian sausage in stock at the moment coming through a small Italian distributor based in Dublin, we are getting an excellent buffalo mozzarella from him too!! The special is:

 - Italian sausage
 - fresh rosemary
 - pancetta
 - parmesan
 - tomato sauce
 - mozzarella

and here’s 2 happy members of staff - Alessandro and Bruno:)

                               

p.s. pizzas never hold their crisp base “takeaway” so I always put on my oven at home at the highest temperature and then pop it in for 5 mins when I bring the pizza home and it comes out perfect!!

p.p.s. - red blush oranges are in season at the mo and Superquinn have an Italian orange available in their Superior range which are really good!! They also have San Marzano tomatoes originating from Italy in stock too!! I should really be on commission:)

Ciao:)

                                          
I’m going to apologise in advance for the amount of soups that will be on this blog over the next few weeks as I have  decided to make a new soup every Monday!!! I just find it so handy to have a container of soup in the fridge both for myself for lunch and for the princess. She’s loving soup at the moment and it’s a great way to get some veg into her, I just add some baby pasta and lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and she nearly licks the plate clean. We always add Parmesan to soup when serving as it gives it that extra flavour, I highly recommend you do it, you’ll never go back:) I know you have all seen leek and potato soup a million times and it has definitely been over used and abused here in Ireland but it is still one of my favourites!! This recipe can also be served like a minestrone but I’m still liquidizing for the “boss”!!!

what you need:

 - 5 medium potatoes peeled and chopped into cubes!! I like this soup really thick!!

 - 3 leeks, white parts only sliced.

 - 1 onion finely chopped.

 - 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock - I used vegetable stock cubes from La Cucina!!

 - olive oil

 - 25g butter (optional if you are on a diet or healthy eating plan)

 - sea salt and black pepper.

what to do

 - heat some olive oil and your butter in a pot and add your onions and leeks and cook until softened but not coloured.

 - add your potatoes and stock and leave to simmer until all your vegetables are tender.  This takes about 30 mins.

 - take off heat,  liquidise(optional) and season.

 - serve with freshly grated Parmesan!!!

                                      
buon appetito!!!

p.s. just looking for new ideas so would love to know what your favourite soup is????

                                      

One thing I always love when I’m in Italy is the sauteed greens, I would eat a plate of them on their own with just some crusty bread which I often do when I can’t fit a “secondi”(meat or fish)!! They do a really good version in Bru’s aunt’s restaurant Il Viccolo in Atina. We were actually watching some old home movies on Sunday in Bruno’s house of his Nonno and Nonna’s 50th wedding anniversary when he was about 10. It was so nice to watch as the whole family were there, about 30 of them all dressed up in their 1980’s finery and of course the whole video was taken in a restaurant in the local hotel which is where they still go even now to celebrate family birthday’s etc. This is what I love about Italy as an outsider - the family traditions whereby all generations of the family come together frequently to eat good food and spend quality time together, maybe I have a romantic image of it from the outside looking in or that it just didn’t happen in mine, either way I like it!!. 

That same hotel hasn’t been updated or modernised since and it only costs about €25 a night, my own family stayed there a couple of years back. We’ve eaten there lots of times and to this day they still don’t have a menu or much staff, the dining room is as simple as you can get, no candles or music, the atmosphere is provided by the local families and their “loud” conversations!! It’s run by a local couple, he serves and she cooks and you basically eat whatever she has made that day which for some reason always seems to be an antipasto of parma ham and mozzarella, pasta fagioli and then rabbit done in white wine which I love, bring on the holiday!! I am now counting the days until “I’m leaving on a jet plane” lalalalala (sorry couldn’t help it) - I bet you sang along though;)

As most of you know I live near Superquinn so it is where I do most of my shopping, they all know me at this stage with all the requests and questions I’m always asking. The veg guy just laughs when he sees me on Monday mornings as most of their stock isn’t on the shelves yet so there is always something he has to find for me. My latest request is purple sprouting broccoli as it’s in season and they had it last year so I asked for it last week so I’m waiting in anticipation!! I was delighted to see Kale in stock last week so teamed with spinach I decided to make this dish that I love to have as a “contorno” with fillet steak. 

what you need:

 - spinach & kale  - you can also use swiss chard and purple sprouting broccoli!!!

 - 1 chilli finely chopped

 - 1 garlic clove finely sliced

 - juice of 1 lemon

 - sea salt and black pepper

 - olive oil

what to do:

 - wash your spinach and kale thoroughly, the large leaf spinach tends to be quite dirty.

 - bring a a pot of water to the boil, add salt and cook your greens for 3-5 mins. Drain and rinse under cold water, squeeze out excess liquid and chop.

 - heat some olive oil in a pan, add your garlic and chilli and cook over a low heat until soften. Add your greens, season and saute until heated through.

 - add your lemon juice and serve!!!

                                       
buon appetito!!

                                     
Did you watch Gordon Ramsay’s “cook along show” on Friday night??? As you can probably tell by all the TV I’m watching at the moment there’s not much socialising going on in the Italian foodie house. A sick 14 month old plays havoc with one’s social life and sleeping patterns, 1 full night’s sleep since New Year’s Eve and counting and if one more person tells me “ah well that’s the joys of it”, I’LL SMACK THEM:) We’ve had a rough few weeks with other things going on too so we’ve decided to whisk ourselves off to Italy in March or April - it’s about time the princess got to meet her Italian aunts and uncles and see where she is going to spend her summers for the next 18 years. We haven’t been in 2 years so I can’t wait, bring on the food:) I’ll do a full report of course so you can see for yourself what I’m always going on about!!

Anyway back to Gordon and his cook along show, did any of you actually cook along?? The menu was quite nice and simple, I will definitely try the scallops as I have never cooked them before even though I have a load of recipes bookmarked and Superquinn always have them in stock. I found the whole show to be a bit too frantic and I was getting dizzy watching it, he came across a bit hyper I thought!! I presumed the whole point was to get people  cooking at home and to enjoy it but I would have been stressed out if I had followed him, I never checked the website, maybe you had to prepare before the show started??? Chris Moyles was funny but was so busy and stressed he hardly talked but there were a few laughs and I do think it’s good TV, it beats Pat Kenny hands down anyway:)

I love Shepherd’s pie and although it does take a little time to prepare it is sooooo worth it. I find the easiest and quickest way to make it is to make the mash the night before, we had a couple of fillets with Parmesan mash and spinach and kale(recipe to follow) on the side so I just made extra mash!! Bru had seen Gordon making Shepherd’s pie a couple of weeks back so I looked up the recipe and it is very similar to the way the MIL makes it but she doesn’t use thyme and the Worcestershire sauce so I added them in just to be a little bit “crazy”;) Now there is nothing low-fat about this recipe as the mash is very important and no cutting calories people, if you are going to make this, make it properly - full fat butter, milk and lots and lots of Parmesan, if not have a salad;) 

                                        

what you need: (I made 2 trays which would serve 6-8 people and froze one)

 - olive oil

 - 1kg mince - I used sirloin.

 - 1 carrot finely chopped

 -  onion finely chopped

 - 2 cloves garlic finely chopped 

 - 1 sprig of rosemary and thyme leaves picked and chopped.

 - 2 tbsp tomato puree

 - 300 ml red wine

 - 500 ml chicken stock

 - 50g butter

 - 1.5 - 2kg potatoes (I used Oilean from Superquinn which work really well for mash as they don’t go to “mush”)

 - 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

 - 2 egg yolks

 - milk

 - lots and lots of grated Parmesan, I have no idea of weight but at a guess 8-10 tbsp if not more so don’t be afraid!! Add to taste!

 - olive oil

 - sea salt and black pepper.

what to do for the potatoes:

 - cook your potatoes in a pot of salted boiling water.

 - drain and return to the pot.

 - add butter, milk, Parmesan and a little olive oil and season!!!!

what to do for the filling:

 - preheat the oven to 180 degrees

 - fill the base of a large frying pan with olive oil and cook your onions, garlic and carrot until soft.

 - add your mince and season well and cook over a medium heat until cooked through. With a wooden spoon regularly break up the mince to avoid big lumps of meat.

 - add your worcestershire sauce, tomato puree and herbs and cook for 1-2 mins.

 - add your wine and leave to evaporate.

 - add your stock and leave to simmer until sauce has thickened, about 15-20 mins.

 - grease an ovenproof dish.
 
 - fill with your meat mix, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and top with your potato. Sprinkle some more Parmesan on top and some knobs of butter.

 - cook in the oven for about 20 mins until the top is crisp and bubbling.

 - serve and enjoy!!! There is no better comfort food for a miserable January:)

                                           

buon appetito!!

                                 

I’m loving Channel 4 at the moment with the amount of foodie programmes they are showing!! The big food fight is proving to be one of the most informative pieces of TV I have ever seen about food and the direct relationship with our bodies and health. I thought I knew a lot about the food I eat but after watching “Chicken Out” and Jamie’s “Fowl Dinners” I realise I still have so much to learn. I know we all hear about battery raised chickens etc but it’s not until you see it in real life do you realise the extent of what goes on. I couldn’t believe the factory where all the little chicks were processed like cans of beans along a conveyor belt. In my innocence or ignorance I presumed they were all born on farms with their mothers and everything was natural and as it should be. I even shed a little tear when the little male chicks were gassed on Jamie’s show because we are so far removed from the whole meat process that we have no idea what actually happens. The chicken out campaign is continuing and you can sign up here

                                          

Jamie’s “Eat to live” programme last night was another informative piece of TV with lots of shock value with the corpse being cut up but if that’s what it takes for people to wake up and start questioning what we are eating then so be it! Ready meals and convenience food seems to be the biggest problem today, I can’t believe that some people never cook and only eat junk food all the time and most of the people on the show seemed to do this. It was interesting as well that the thinner guy was actually the least fit and had a much higher body fat ratio than the heavier guy who played rugby and who was considered obese. This kind of fits in with my last post, we all focus on weight so much and although it is very important I think what we put into our body is of greater importance. I couldn’t believe the amount of sugar and salt that was in a simple jar of tomato sauce, a lot of people would probably think they were being good by having pasta with a jar of tomato sauce and not realizing that there was 8 teaspoons of sugar in it so once again the message is make your own and he demonstrated how easy and fast it was using a recipe very similar to this one. There is another programme on tonight about eating out and what the food contains so I’ll be glued to the telly again with a bottle of water and an apple;)

I saw this recipe in Taste Italia magazine recently, it’s a great healthy snack that takes 5 minutes to make and is delicious. It’s great to have in the fridge and use with crostini, grissini or some veggie sticks.

what you need:

 - 400g can of cannellini beans drained and rinsed

 - 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked.

 - 1 small garlic clove.

 - olive oil

 - juice of 1 lemon

 - sea salt and black pepper

what to do:

 - put everything into the food processor and mix together!! It’s that easy:)

                                     

buon appetito!!

                                      

This recipe was actually one of my first when I ventured into the unknown world of blogging last year but I didn’t take photos back then so I’ve decided to spruce it up and do it again. I was watching the Afternoon Show yesterday and they were talking about healthy eating, fish of course was the main feature and I was shocked to learn that 48% of Irish people don’t eat fish, I was aware that we don’t eat enough fish in this country but never realised it was that bad. It’s quite shocking really as we live on an island and I can’t imagine life without fish!! In saying that I never really ate it until I met Bru and travelled to Italy where fish is a major staple in their diet and chicken isn’t!!!

Speaking of diets everyone seems to be on one, especially in my family for the upcoming social event of the year  - my sister’s wedding!! I can happily say that I never diet anymore and haven’t for years even after having the princess I just returned to my normal weight. Now I’m not bragging here because it took me a long time to get to this stage with lots of disastrous diets and lots of unused gym memberships and still weighed in at 12 stone at my heaviest, which is pretty heavy for me! The most important thing I have probably taken from the Italian culture is their attitude to food and the understanding of what they eat!!

The main difference I noticed when I met Bruno first was how he would never spoil his appetite, he would much prefer to wait for his dinner and enjoy it rather than snack beforehand and then not finish it. We as Irish are always amazed by how much the Italians eat in one sitting, starter, pasta, main course and then a little sweet to finish it off. I didn’t understand it for a long time and could never get further than the pasta course but eventually after it being highlighted to me by numerous Italians (they say what they think btw) I was always snacking. I had this insane need to fulfill my hunger on the spot, I could never wait for my dinner. I’d start to shake and feel weak and convince myself I’d never last until dinner because I’d probably die from starvation:) so I’d have a slice of toast or something to keep me going, never a piece of fruit of course, always a carb!!!!Over the years I’ve gotten rid of this habit and will happily wait for my dinner and eat as many courses as I like without the guilt!! 

these are the main changes I’ve made to my eating habits over the years:

 - I rarely use cream.
 - I gave up toast, a slice of white toast here and there is a killer!! It was one of my main snacks.
 - I rarely buy low-fat, I feel I’m being cheated and that it’s not the same so therefore depriving myself which used to make me want full fat more!! I was a terror for buying low-fat biscuits and crisps which goes completely against everything because if you feel the need for them just have the full fat in moderation. I used to convince myself because they were lower in fat I could have them everyday.
 - I never calorie count or look at the back of a packet.
 - I gave up joining gyms, I think I took out full membership 3 years in a row and ended up getting heavier because I ate more because I was going to the gym 4 times a week. At the time I blamed my metabolism and my “big bones”:), it was never the food.
 - I never deprive myself, I always have starter, main course and dessert when I go out for dinner!! I have a packet of crisps with a sandwich if I feel like it but you know what the amazing thing is before I would have wanted a packet everyday for lunch when I wouldn’t let myself whereas now I might only have them once a week if even without even thinking about it!!
 - I don’t really drink fizzy drinks - maybe the odd 7up with dinner.!!
 - I don’t eat convenience foods or pre-packed meals!! In my dieting days I would buy weight watchers meals or the likes but you’re better off just having a piece of fresh fish and salad or a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce!! I can’t do brown pasta or rice either, I know it may be better for you but it’s not for me!! I’ve actually never seen brown bread in Italy but then they don’t eat sliced pan like we do here!! 
 - we always have an Italian breakfast which normally consists of a cappuccino and croissant or biscuits so I never feel the need for anything sweet as I’ve satisfied it first thing in the morning!! I know, I know I’m probably a nutritionist’s nightmare but hey they all do it in Italy and they are supposed to have one of the most healthy diets in the world so I’m with them!!

Now just in case you are thinking I’m a size 0 food angel I’m far from it and I do have my vices like everyone else but I just eat them in moderation - doritos topped with salsa and melted SQ superior range cheddar anyone???? mmmmmm:) , the most important thing for me is not even about weight loss it’s to have a healthy relationship with food! If I do need to lose a few lbs I just cut down on my portion sizes, cut out alcohol, have 2 biscuits instead of 4 in the morning;) but still eat the same food so losing weight isn’t an issue. Whereas before I’d be starving myself, cutting out everything I love, counting calories, eating tubs of weight watcher’s ice-cream, thinking about food constantly, dreaming about it in my sleep and generally feeling absolutely miserable!!! The main thing I have learned form the Italian culture is to understand my food, relax and enjoy it, never feel guilty and most importantly BE HAPPY !!   

I love swordfish and had it for the first time on my first visit to Sicily a few years back where it is a speciality, the last time we were there I was pregnant with the 10lb princess so I couldn’t eat it and it killed me as I love the smoked swordfish as an antipasto!! Superquinn often have it in stock and we regularly have this recipe, it’s quite a meaty fish so the best way to eat it is as simple as you can, it doesn’t need a heavy sauce so this marinade works really well with it and most importantly it’s healthy!!!

                                       

what you need:

 - 1 large clove garlic sliced very thinly

 - 1 chilli chopped finely

 - flat parsley chopped

 - juice of 1 lemon

 - olive oil

 - sea salt and black pepper

 - 2 swordfish steaks

what to do:

 - mix all of your ingredients together in a bowl and pour half over your fish and leave to marinate for 20-30 minutes if you have time.

 - heat a grill pan and cook your steaks until cooked though.

 - serve and spoon the remainder of your dressing over your fish.

 - we usually have a simple rocket salad on the side.

                                    
buon appetito!!!

p.s. sorry for the long post and probably boring the majority of you:(

p.p.s. - what things could you change about your eating habits???

The main thing I need to do for 2008 is eat more fruit and drink more water and give up those damn doritos:)

                                       

Everything is slowly getting back to normal in the Italian foodie house, the princess is getting better, Thank God, you never realise how important sleep is until you have a sick baby!!! We’re moving house in the next few weeks as well so blogging might be taking a hit for the next month or so, but I’ll post as regularly as I can!! Like everyone else I’m on a healthy binge after my “complete” over indulgence during Christmas so there will be lots of healthy recipes featuring a lot of soups especially with the cold weather we are having. My sister is getting married in March and I’m bridesmaid so it would be nice to fit into the dress, even though being part of an Italian family doesn’t help!! The MIL called in this morning with 2 Italian cakes for our breakfast so I can say goodbye to the Cheerios for a few days:) I’m actually heading over to London in February for the fitting so my sister is trying to get us a reservation in Locanda Locatelli’s which I have been dying to try so fingers crossed, It’s impossible to get in there without booking months in advance but she knows people who know people who know other people etc etc;)

This is probably the simplest soup I have ever made and it is so full of flavour it’s definitely worth trying especially when you need something fast that’s still healthy and nutritious.

                                                              

what you need:

 - 3 to 4 courgettes sliced

 - 1 onion thinly sliced

 - 1 garlic clove thinly sliced

 - 1 Lt chicken or veg stock

 - 25g butter

 - sea salt and black pepper

what to do:

 - melt the butter in a pot and add your courgettes, garlic and onion and season. Cook for 15 mins.

 - add your stock and cook for another 15 mins. Check your seasoning and add more if required.

 - liquidize with a hand blender or a food processor and serve.

                           

buon appetito!!

                                                       

                                      

The nominations have begun for the 2008 blog awards, this little blog only started last February so this is my first year attending(fingers crossed)!!! You can nominate here for the best food blog or newcomer - AHEM, AHEM;) The standard of Irish blogs is very high and there are lots of them so it would be great just to be nominated!!! No pressure people;)

Grazie:)

Lorraine

                                       

Happy New Year everyone!!! The princess is a bit under the weather with her teeth so I’ll be back posting as soon as she’s better!! We had a lovely Christmas - ate and drank way tooooo much but it was so worth it!! The MIL was kept busy feeding us all and didn’t dissapoint, I’ll be dieting for a year:) The grapes and lentils pictured above are an Italian tradition eaten on New Year’s Eve , along with everything else!!

I’ll be back soon, happy hangovers:)

Lorraine