Italian night

[Optimistic]

Yum!

I think I'm just going to do a flatbread with sliced tomatoes, gruyere, and spinach. I HAVE decided that I want wine.

[Catseye3]

@Mik said in Italian night:

Rigatoni with Roasted Tomatoes and Burrata

That sounds so good! Had to look up burrata; new one for me.

At the very moment you were posting, I was reading a recipe for a classic Mediterranean salad with these ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (grilled and torn into bite sized pieces)
1/4 cup olive oil (really good)
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 lemon
2 tablespoons capers (drained)
20 cherry tomatoes (halved)
1/2 pound green beans (cooked)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Not that original, but so good and so versatile.

[Mik]

Both sound delicious!

I just cracked open the Italian red too, Opti. Got a case of this stuff on deep discount - $6 a bottle and it's really quite good. I think it got cut to half price because the screw cap is really hard to open. I can handle that. Cherries, tar, violets and a little taste of fennel.

[jon-nyc]

Simple dinner, grilled chicken sandwiches, chicken has been marinating in oil and Italian seasoning.

Simple but yum.

[Mik]

Italy is everywhere!

I have a feeling I'm going to evangelize this recipe. The sauce is amazing, especially for something so simple. The flavors of tomatoes picked yesterday I guess.

[Optimistic]

@Mik I'll have to check that out. Six bucks is a steal! I bought the cheapest Sauvignon Blanc at my local place, which was Dark Horse. Not a bad cheap wine. Very crisp.

[Catseye3]

@Mik said in Italian night:

Cherries, tar, violets and a little taste of fennel.

Tar? Did you say tar???

[Mik]

Yep. It's pretty common in fuller bodied Italian wines.

[Loki]

The most simple original thing I do to pasta (rigatoni or penne) is add butter, olive oil, garlic powder, grated pecorino, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt. It’s not really a meal but a bachelor special. Tastes awesome.

[Mik]

Sounds delicious. I like it with just olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and some crushed red pepper. Simple and satisfying.

I'm trying to master Cacio e Pepe, which is a lot more difficult than it looks to get the sauce right without the cheese clumping up.

[Catseye3]

Mine: EVOO, salt & pepper, red pepper flakes and very light parmesan.

[89th]

Sounds delicious! We had salmon burgers with corn on the cob.

[Mik]

Yep. You need this recipe. Delicious.

[Jolly]

Back in the dim mists of time, Mik might have meant something else with his thread title...

[Mik]

No Italians. But the was this one French girl.

[bachophile]

@Mik said in Italian night:

Both sound delicious!

I just cracked open the Italian red too, Opti. Got a case of this stuff on deep discount - $6 a bottle and it's really quite good. I think it got cut to half price because the screw cap is really hard to open. I can handle that. Cherries, tar, violets and a little taste of fennel.

If u want to see a great movie which features Abruzzo , watch “The American” with George Clooney.

And they even serve a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo in one of the scenes.

[Mik]

Montepulciano is, I think, the most versatile food wine ever. Only Zinfandel comes close. But I love Italian wines, and even French cuisine started in Italy.