02/13/08 Chicken Liver, Onion and Sage Bruschetta from OreganoFromItaly.com
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"Vai in piazza e chiedi consiglio; vai a casa e fai come ti pare." (Go to the square and ask advice; go home and do what you like.) Welcome to another recipe edition from Angela's Organic Oregano Farm!
This week's Italian recipes:
-Bruschetta con Fegato di Pollo, Cipolla e Salvia
-Linguine con Salsa di Vongole
-Pollo al Cacciatore
Enjoy the recipes and the complimentary news article report from "Only In Italy.com".
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Yours Truly,
Angela Reina
Recipe: Bruschetta con Fegato di Pollo, Cipolla e Salvia
Bruschetta con Fegato di Pollo, Cipolla e Salvia
Chicken Liver, Onion and Sage Bruschetta
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
1/2 pound chicken livers, trimmed and halved
2 large garlic cloves, sliced
2 large fresh sage leaves, minced, or 1/4 teaspoon dried, crumbled, plus 16 small fresh leaves for garnish
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon coarse salt
A pinch of ground allspice
For 16 toasts:
A 24-inch-long loaf of crusty Italian or French bread
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
In a large skillet heat olive oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and in it saute onion, stirring, until golden.
Transfer onion with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.
Pat chicken livers dry.
Add garlic to skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until pale golden.
Add chicken livers and saute over moderately high heat until golden and just springy to the touch, about 1 and 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side.
Stir in minced or crumbled sage, pepper, salt, and allspice and in a food processor coarsely puree.
Mound about 2 teaspoons chicken liver mixture on oiled side of each toast and garnish with onions and sage leaves. Makes 16 bruschetta.
That's it!
Recipe: Linguine con Salsa di Vongole
Linguine con Salsa di Vongole
Linguine with White Clam Sauce
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (preferably Italian)
8 garlic cloves, chopped
Four 6 and 1/2-ounce cans chopped clams, drained, juices reserved
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon white wine Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound linguine, freshly cooked
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions:
Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add chopped parsley and chopped garlic and saute until garlic just begins to color, about 45 seconds.
Add reserved clam juices, whipping cream, dry white wine, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper.
Simmer until mixture is reduced to thin sauce consistency, about 10 minutes.
Add chopped clams and freshly cooked linguine to pot and toss until sauce coats pasta thickly, about 5 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, passing Parmesan cheese, if desired. Serves 4.
That's it!
Recipe: Pollo al Cacciatore
Pollo al Cacciatore
Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients:
One 3 and 1/2-pound chicken, cut into 6 pieces
1/2 cup all purpose flour
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 pound mushrooms, halved
2 green bell peppers, diced
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon (generous) dried oregano
1 cup purchased marinara sauce
2/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
3 tablespoons drained capers
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions:
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place flour in plastic bag. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat completely.
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add chicken pieces to skillet and saute until brown, about 4 minutes per side.
Transfer chicken to plate. Pour fat from skillet.
Add remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil to skillet.
Add halved mushrooms, diced green bell peppers, chopped onion, chopped garlic and oregano and saute until onion is tender, about 10 minutes.
Mix in marinara sauce, chicken broth, Marsala wine and capers.
Return chicken pieces to skillet, spooning sauce over. Bring sauce to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover skillet and simmer until chicken is tender, about 20 minutes.
Using tongs, transfer chicken to large platter.
Boil sauce until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes; spoon off fat. Spoon sauce over chicken.
Serve, passing Parmesan cheese separately, if desired. Serves 4.
That's it!
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Only In Italy!
"Only In Italy" is a daily news column that translates & reports on funny but true news items from legitimate Italian news resources in Italy. Each story is slapped with our wild, often ironic, and sometimes rather opinionated comments. And now, for your reading pleasure, a sample of today's edition:
Priests Advised To Use Ghostbusters
Vatican City – March 5, 2008 – A Vatican official has warned priests that they should call in the exorcists when faced with a member of their flock who is possessed by the devil rather than try to deal with the problem themselves.
In an interview with Vatican daily Osservatore Romano, Bishop Gianfranco Girotti of the Apostolic Penitentiary said priests should proceed with caution in cases involving "diabolic or mystic phenomena with a presumed supernatural element".
Girotti said that he deals with incidents linked to mysticism, which often manifest themselves in "delusions, hysteria and other symptoms". But when faced with "possessions, obsessions and persecutions" it is best to call in trained ghostbusters who can perform an exorcism, he added.
Girotti is currently running a six-day refresher crash course at the Vatican for priests who hear confession in an effort to address a crisis of confidence among church-goers in Italy.
A survey revealed that many believers were unhappy with the performance of priests in the confession box and said they found it difficult to talk about their sins. Topics covered in the course include what to do with homosexual and divorced Catholics, with the bishop recommending that priests avoid "assuming an apocalyptic tone".
"Ahhh! Sei posseduto!" "Ahhh! Va a cagare!" How does one convince that Vatican that "delusions, hysteria, possessions, obsessions and persecutions" are also manifested when members of the flock are condemned to waking up early and going to work? They do not need an exorcist; just anyone to explain to that satan of a spouse that he/she needs the evil entity of aggravation evicted from their daily lives. To the surprise of none, Italians are a complicated people. Many of them, especially the older folks, are ardent believers in the Catholic Church. On the other hand, a large chunk of the population, especially in the south, believes in the infamous "malocchio" (evil eye).If your world begins to crumble around you – a bad school grade, an injury, a sickness, extortion or embezzlement gone wrong – chances are a lovely person probably already had a "malocchio" cast upon you. Relax. No need to call in an exorcist with too much free time. Just call a "nonna" (grandmother), preferably one whose face could cook a seven layer lasagna just by staring at it.She'll put drops of oil in water, chant something ridiculous and incomprehensible, look at her artistic design of the oil and water mixture and tell you if you had the "malocchio". Amazingly enough, 9 out of 10 times, you will have the "malocchio".The nonna will rid you of the "malocchio" for free and bore you the rest of the time about all the other evil aspects in your life you should be ashamed of that's causing misery to your family.