The Best Italian Dish

         I watched Tyler Florence’s show on the Cooking Channel one afternoon. The meal he was making looked absolutely mouth-watering, “The Ultimate Meatballs al Forno with Creamy Polenta.” I decided to fire up the printer, and I was off to the grocery store with the list of ingredients in hand. I decided to prepare dinner while I still had that delicious image in mind.

       After the meatballs were out of the oven, and the Polenta was cooked to creamy perfection, we savored the wonderful Italian flavors. This dish had a spectacular flavor. The creamy Polenta really enabled this dish to come alive. The mixture of herbs and the pine nuts, really made this cuisine have one of the best harmonies of flavors I had not experienced in ages.

The baguette the recipe calls for however, I found to be completely unnecessary. I found it to be somewhat wasteful because you are only using the inside of the baguette, leaving the rest to go to waste. I would replace the bread form the baguette with regular italian breadcrumbs. I’ll also note (in my cook book), to keep an air blender on hand. I don’t know if they are really called air blenders; that’s just what I call them because they push are into the mixture to get the pockets out. It is very difficult to get Polenta to achieve that creamy texture without one of these bad boys. 

I really enjoyed this dish. I give it 4 stars out of 5. I had to make a few alterations to the recipe, but the overall flavor––exceptional. This recipe will definitely go into my cookbook. 

As always i have provided the link to the recipe on the Cooking Channel website. Happy cooking!

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/tyler-florence/the-ultimate-meatballs-al-forno-with-creamy-polenta-recipe/index.html

Italian Dinner and a Western Movie

                                                   

         My boyfriend and I, had yet another date night where we ate dinner and watched a movie. I’m happy to report that both the meal and the movie were fantastic. Next time, I should try to create a themed dinner and a movie night. We ate an italian dish and watched a recreation of an old western movie- True Grit. If I had thought of it before, I would have made a dish from the American west, and paired it with the movie. I also could have paired the italian dish with a movie like The Godfather; I guess I’ll have to try out a theme night next time.

The dish I made is called Bucatini All’Amatriciana with Spicy Smoked Mozzarella Meatballs. This recipe comes from Food Network’s website. The recipe is created by Glada De Laurentiis. I have to say, I thought this meal was wonderful. My boyfriend said “it has a lot of flavors,” and I have to say I agree. This dish is very flavorful. If bland food is what you would rather have, this recipe would not be right for you.

There are only a few alterations I would make to this recipe. I found that some of the ingredients were a little too expensive. I thought that the recipe called for one too many cheeses. Don’t get me wrong, I love cheese, but the Pecorino Romano was incredibly difficult to find. It also was another expense that I didn’t think really added significantly to the dish. In fact, it could have been omitted completely. The other thing I found difficult to find, was the bucantini. I looked through every box of pasta at the grocery store searching for it. I decided to just use regular spaghetti because I could not locate the bucantini anywhere. I think the spaghetti made a great alternative. 

Overall, I give this recipe 4 stars out of 5. I thought the flavors were amazing; my stomach and taste buds were very full by the time we finished eating. My boyfriend and I enjoyed this meal immensely. This dish will definitely go into my cookbook for future use. I’ll be sure to make the alterations to the recipe that make it less expensive. This was a great meal that didn’t take to long to make, and wasn’t difficult to prepare. I think this meal makes a great alternative to waiting for a table at a restaurant on a Friday night. I’ve posted the link below so you can check it out for yourself. If you like Italian cuisine, you should try this recipe out.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/bucatini-allamatriciana-with-spicy-smoked-mozzarella-meatballs-recipe/index.html

The 4th With A Bang

                                                    
                                                        

There was more than just beautiful fire- works in the sky on the 4^th of July. A great American appetizer also provided a terrific explosion of flavor.  Loaded Deviled Eggs….mmmm.  The recipe, which I retrieved from Paula Dean’s magazine, had this beautiful gem nestled in its pages. This recipe was incredibly easy to make. The combination of the bacon and green onions provided an explosion of flavor equal to the occasion of the holiday celebration. The recipe also calls for the use of cream cheese. This is an ingredient I never thought to use; however, it was absolutely perfect for enhancing the flavors within this appetizer. My family could not get enough of these little devils!  When I put these out on the table; they seemed to vanish instantly. The ingredients cause the flavors to complement themselves very nicely. There was nothing about the recipe that seemed wasteful; all the ingredients were used. This version of deviled eggs is a wonderful summer time surprise, and perfect for the 4^th of July. My family gave them a five star rating, and I must agree. This recipe gets a five star rating, and is definitely going into my cookbook.