Mother's day was coming up and, as always, I started looking for inspiration to create a yummy feast. It just so happened that I spent most of the day watching Food network while Talal was out golfing. After 2 episodes of Everyday Italian and Barefoot Contessa, inspiration struck pretty quickly. It was 2 hours of easy-going, yet hearty Italian food.
My theme: Upscale Italian.
My Menu:
Lamb Chops
Shrimp Scampi
Cheesy Arancini
Caprese
Roasted Artichokes
Fresh Bread from Tina
Pistachio and Cherry Biscotti
Fruit Salad
Here's the Breakdown:
Since the lamb meatballs turned out so well, I guess you could say that I'd gotten over my lamb-xiety. So, I thought, let's do lamb chops! I marinaded them over night in olive oil, rosemary, oregano, salt, pepper, and fresh garlic. When he time came, I just salted them and threw them on the Creuset grill pan.
I watched Ina make this recipe on Barefoot Contessa and realized that it looked very familiar. Why could that be? Oh yea, it's in her Back to Basics cookbook. I pulled out the recipe and i'm not ashamed to admit that I actually followed her recipe... except for the cooking instructions. For time's sake, I sautéed them on the stove and they were perfect. The flavor combo was pretty unbeatable - lemon, shallots, rosemary, garlic, white wine.
Arancini is essentially risotto that has been made into balls that are breaded and fried. Giada had just made her variation of these (with crab), but I wanted to make a version Tina could eat. I made standard risotto. warm broth in a pot, arborio rice in the other. I added in some garlic boursin, parmesan, and green onions when the rice was done cooking. I let them cook completely and formed balls with cold, clean, wet hands. I breaded them with panic and deep fried them at 350 degrees until crispy and golden. YUM! Nothing beats something fresh forms he frier.
I turned the caprese up a notch. I marinaded the mozzarella balls all day in garlic, basil, salt and red pepper flakes. It's something I've always wanted to try. Today seemed like the day. I roasted the tomatoes on the vine to give them a sweeter edge.
Artichokes, oil, foil. done. The sauce was a bit more complicated. I made an emulsion from a garlic clove, mustard, lemon juice and olive oil. Tina loved ti so much she put it on everything. Can't say I blame her.
Last but not least was 4 fresh steccas from Tina. She literally brought the dough and made them here. Can you say fresh?? I had pesto, cheese and salami ready to put on the bread.
Biscotti was oddly my favorite part of the meal. I never knew how much I loved biscotti. Once again I followed Ina's recipe from Cooking with Jeffrey and it was AMAZING! I snacked on them every step of the way. Not great for my figure, but frankly I couldn't care less.
Berries and orange juice were the fresh dessert we needed to end the meal.
Gosh - all in a day's work. For mommy, it's worth it.
At Home
With Talal, Mommy, Daddy, & Tina