So I’m home alone tonight and that means I get to cook for me!  In honor of the new USDA guidelines for healthy eating (choosemyplate.gov) I decided to make a greens side dish to MY tastes!  My family would never eat this….oh it was so good.

Here’s the recipe, plain and simple – slice 1 green onion and 3 cloves garlic (I like a lot of garlic!).  Saute in 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium-high heat for a minute or so.  Add in 1/2 cup shredded carrots (I love that they are already sold shredded at the store!) and continue to saute until carrots get soft.  Meanwhile, place 2 cups frozen chopped collards (these frozen collards are fabulous tasting and cook really quickly) into a microwave-safe dish.  Cover lightly and cook on high for 4 1/2 minutes or until soft and tender.  (Every microwave varies so check every so often with yours).  Add steamed collards to the skillet and flavor with 1 tablespoon sweet curry powder, a dash of garlic salt, and 1 tablespoon or so of prepared hot mango chutney (if you haven’t tried mango chutney you really should!  It will make anything green taste great!).  Stir well and you’re done.

This dish reminds me a bit of how Sicilians (which I am) make their greens.  Usually savory/sweet by adding raisins or vinegar to a greens dish.  But I happen to love Indian curry spice…so this was a natural transformation.

And a shout out to Mrs. Obama – this dish was 1/2 my plate and the other half was 2 homemade empanadas with beef that I previously made and were staring at me from the freezer.  A meal that I consider quite healthy and filling.  Now what’s for dessert?

Here’s a link to the new dietary guidelines

Choosmyplate.gov 2011 Dietary guidelines

Last night I had a wonderful evening with some girlfriends.  We decided to share a Cinco de Mayo dinner.  Well it was a great evening and I had the pleasure of preparing the tacos and assorted chicken and beef fillings.

I’ve always wanted to master the art of shredded chicken.  I find that chicken breast is so dry when shredded.  Luckily I happened upon this recipe from the NYTimes.com site by Mark Bittman.  It really was easy and delicious.  I have added my own notes at the bottom to enhance the flavor and moistness if preparing this shredded chicken ahead.

Shredded Chicken for Tacos

Servings: 7

2 pounds boneless chicken thighs
1 large white onion, peeled and quartered
5 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 ancho or other mild dried chili, optional
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and add water to cover. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, and skim anyfoam that comes to the surface. Partially cover and adjust heat so mixture simmers steadily. Cook until meat isvery tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from liquid and cool.

2. Shred meat with fingers. Taste and adjust seasonings; use within a couple of days.

Chef Lia’s Notes:  I strained the broth that was made.  I put it back in the saucepan and boiled it down to reduce it to a flavorful thicker consistency.  I spooned much of this over the shredded chicken and then cooled completely and stored in the fridge.  The extra moisture from the reduced broth made it easier to reheat the chicken without drying out!

I also seasoned the meet with a bit of Adobo seasoning, Smoked Paprika, and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, and a dash of Cayenne.   Delicious!

Up until now I never broke down and bought a deep fryer.  I’m not a big deep frying fan, however, there are a few Italian dishes that I’ve never had much success making without one.  I’ve tried to deep fry in a large heavy stock pot, but I could never get the oil to the proper temperature on an electric stove.  So last week I went and bought a reasonably priced one ($59) by Presto.  I have to say, this is an amazing tool when you need it.  I’ve been having fun all week testing a variety of  dishes like Shrimp Tempura, Breaded Zucchini Sticks, and this past weekend at the request of my husband, Sicilian Arancini.

These rice balls bring back so many fond memories of my childhood.  My grandparents would take me to an Italian street fair.  These were always sold there and you’d eat them right out of hand.  They are made with already cooked rice mixed with a bit of butter and parmesan cheese.  The filling is made of ground meat sauteed in a bit of butter with tomato paste and a bit of wine, and peas. The best part of the filling, though is that special little piece of fresh mozzarella and better than that the crispy breaded outside crust!  MMMM!  

When you assemble the balls, you cup your hand and put some rice in it.  Then add some of the meat filling, a piece of fresh mozzarella and more rice on top and press firmly to create a ball.   It takes a bit of practice to get the ball of rice to stay together but I find if you use risotto rice, it’s a bit easier to mold them as the rice is “stickier”.  Once you have the ball formed, you roll it in egg whites, then breadcrumbs.  (Be sure to form and bread all your arancini before starting to fry so you don’t walk away from the fryer).

Be sure the fryer is set to 350 degrees and that the oil reaches that temperature before settting the arancini in the oil.  I only fried 3 of them at a time to be sure the temperature of the oil didn’t drop too fast.  After 3 minutes they came out perfect! They were crisp and perfect and not oily at all!  We saved a few and reheated them in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes before serving.  They were just as crisp and delicious as the day before!  My husband even said they tasted better the next day.

I am sold on the deep fryer for this application and others that require a proper deep fry   like fried calamari which has been attempted several times on stove without much success. The deep fryer is truly a great little tool that I will be using but only on occasion or until that craving for zeppole creeps up on me!

For many years I’ve been trying to replicate those delicious little crunchy sesame-coated biscuit cookies only found in Italian bakeries. I happen to love biscotti cookies the best. So these Regina cookies are a great add-on to my collection of crunchy cookies that go great with a cup of tea or coffee.