The Cookbook Club Goes to Italy
Joanne Tracey over at Brookford Kitchen Diaries has started up a monthly cookbook club and the rules such as they are are loose enough that it's easy to follow along and participate. I had taken a short hiatus from participating but I could not resist this month's theme-- Italy!
I love Italian food!
I got this book from our local library:
I did not know Rocco Dispirito but I loved this book. It was filled with family memories and photos and so many delicious looking recipes.
We ended up picking Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe to make.
I did have to make a few substitutions. This recipe only serves 4 so I had to double it and I only had penne on hand so we used that. I didn't have enough sausage so my son suggested we use a bit of bacon too and that was delicious! I subbed out broccoli florets for the broccoli rabe and even used garlic scapes in place of the garlic (what can I say; I think of recipes as a guide line!)
Here's what we used and what we did:
1 16 ounce box protein enriched penne pasta
4 cups broccoli fresh broccoli florets; washed and cut into bite sized pieces
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic scapes
a good sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes
3 sweet Italian sausage links broken into bite sized pieces
1/2 pound of bacon sliced into bite sized pieces
4 cups chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese-- maybe 1/4 cup or so?
In a large pot I boiled water for the pasta; cooking it for just 7 of the 8 minutes the box calls for before adding in the broccoli for that final minute.
While the pasta was cooking I used a large sauce pan and heated up the oil; sauteing the garlic until fragrant then adding in the red pepper flakes. I also added in the sausage and bacon and kept stirring until all the meat was cooked through.
Once the meat was done I added in the chicken broth and brought it to a boil. Then we tossed in the drained pasta and broccoli. I sprinkled on some salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese then served it.
I hadn't been expecting so much broth so we quickly swapped out our plates for bowls. We all agreed it was absolutely delicious and such a nice, light pasta dish for our hot summer weather.
Linking up with:
This looks really good! I've had to do the same thing with some dishes that ended up being more liquidy than I anticipated- using bowls instead of plates. I like how you modified the recipe to use what you had on hand. I do that quite a bit as well. I know what we like and have enough confidence that my modifications will enhance, and not detract, with the understanding that my final dish will not be exactly as described by the recipe creator....
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a fabulous meal, lots of colour with the greens! I also use recipes as a guide, as it's hard to have everything in the cupboard.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with us for #wwwhimsy
Deb #Teamwwwhimsy
Wow! That looks and sounds amazing! Italian good is our fave :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a wonderful cookbook and what a great recipe to choose. The meal looks delicious!
ReplyDelete