Italian dinner party

REC: Crespelle with Radicchio & Goat Cheese...

CRESPELLE WITH RADICCHIO AND GOAT CHEESE

Recipe By :Mario Batali
Serving Size : 4

3/4 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 pinch salt
4 tablespoons virgin olive oil -- plus
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion -- finely chopped
3 heads Treviso radicchio -- chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
8 ounces goat cheese
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 bunch Italian parsley -- finely chopped to yield 1/4-cup
4 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 3 5 0 degrees F.

To make crespelle, sift flour into a bowl. Crack eggs into bowl and beat, adding milk a little at a time until all is incorporated. Allow to rest 30 minutes.

To make the filling, heat olive oil in an 8-inch saute pan until smoking. Add onion and saute until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add radicchio. Saute until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes, and pour mixture into a bowl. Stir in goat cheese, balsamic vinegar and parsley and set aside.

Heat a 6-inch non-stick pan until hot and brush with olive oil. Turn heat down to medium and pour 1 1/2 tablespoons batter into pan. Cook until pale golden, about one minute, and flip. Continue the process until all the batter has been used, yielding between 8 to 10 crespelle. Fill each crespella with 2 tablespoons goat cheese mixture and fold in half. Continue filling all crepes until all crepes are full. Be sure to leave 4 tablespoons goat cheese mixture for topping.

Butter bottom and all sides of 10-inch by 8-inch ceramic baking dish. Lay filled crespelle overlapping in baking dish. Smear remaining goat cheese mixture over top and place in oven until piping hot and crispy on top, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove and serve with a raw radicchio salad.

 
REC: Escarole Calzone--Calzone Di Ricotta E Escarola...

ESCAROLE CALZONE---CALZONE DI RICOTTA E ESCAROLA

DOUGH:
1/4 cup light red wine -- or white wine such as Fiano del Avellino
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 ounces yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil -- plus
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
FILLING:
1 1/4 pounds escarole -- (One large head) about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lbs
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic -- thinly sliced
4 tablespoons very small capers -- rinsed 3 times in water and drained
4 salted anchovies -- finely minced
1 cup Gaeta olives -- pitted but left whole
1/4 cup currants
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cups ricotta cheese
Salt and pepper

To make the dough: place the wine, water and yeast in a large bowl and stir until dissolved. Add the honey, salt and olive oil and mix thoroughly. Add 1 cup of flour and mix with a wooden spoon until it becomes a loose batter. Add 2 more cups of flour and stir with the spoon for another 2 to 3 minutes, to incorporate as much of the flour as possible. Bring the dough together with your hands and turn it out onto a floured board or marble surface. Knead for about 6 to 8 minutes, until you have made a firm, smooth dough. Place it in a clean, lightly-oiled bowl and cover it with a towel. Let it rise in the warmest part of the kitchen for 45 minutes. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and knead it into rounds. Let rest 15 minutes.
For the filling: bring 3 quarts of water to boil. Remove leaves from escarole head and rinse of all sand and dirt. Drop the leaves into the boiling water and cook until tender, about 8 to 9 minutes. Remove, drain and allow to cool. Stack the leaves, cut them into 1-inch thick ribbons, and set aside. In a 12 to 14-inch saute pan, heat oil over high heat until smoking. Add garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until light golden brown. Add the capers, anchovies, olives, currants and pine nuts and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until garlic is dark golden brown. Add the escarole and stir until well mixed. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Gently stir in ricotta and season
mixture with salt and black pepper. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and place a clean pizza stone in the oven to preheat.
Dust a clean work surface lightly with flour. Take the first of 4 rounds of dough and flatten it with your fingers and palms until it is about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick and oval-shaped, and about 10 inches across. Place one 1/4 of the escarole mixture in upper part of center of the rolled dough. Fold the dough to form a half-moon, then seal the edges. Repeat this process with the other 3 pieces. Place each piece on the stone in the oven and cook 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and serve. This dish is often served at room temperature, but can be eaten fresh from the oven.

 
REC: Stuffed Chicken, No Bones About It (Braciola Di Pollo)...

STUFFED CHICKEN, NO BONES ABOUT IT (BRACIOLA DI POLLO)

Serving Size : 6

1 fryer chicken -- (2 1/2 to 3 pound) backbone and bones removed
Salt and pepper -- to taste
1/4 pound prosciutto -- sliced thin then cut into 1/4-inch batons
1/4 cup parsley -- finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup provolone cheese -- grated
1 bunch basil -- leaves only
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Lay the chicken on a cutting board, skin-side down, and season all over with salt and pepper.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the prosciutto, parsley, bread crumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, eggs, provolone, basil leaves and rosemary leaves until lightly mixed.

Lay the filling in a layer over the chicken’s interior to within 1-inch of any of the perimeter. Roll the bird up like a stuffed roast and tie tightly at regular intervals with butcher’s twine.

Season the outside with salt and pepper and place on a roasting rack in a roasting pan. Place chicken in oven and cook 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp and golden on the outside and the internal temperature is 160 degrees F on a meat thermometer. Remove from oven, allow to rest 10 minutes, carve into 3/4-inch thick medallions and serve.

 
The hardest part is finding the pan that hasn't been used as a bed pan

The company that Joan Tucci (I think that is her name, Stanley's sister) refers you to no longer has them that I was able to find out when I contacted them so I set out on ebay to find one where it seemed most were referred to as bed pans so I chose not to risk it. Betting I might culd find one in one of those big Amish stores like Yoder's or such if I ever got near one.

 
Our gourmet club made this timpano. Two of the guys actually made it.

I was one of the lucky ones who enjoyed it without the work. It was a 2-day marathon for them. One made the meatballs and the other made the ragu ahead of time. The day of the dinner, they met, made the dough, assembled and baked the timpano. One of the challenges was to find a large enough ovenproof bowl. The timpano is quite large. If you read the recipe you realize just how big this is - two cups of salami, 2 cups of cheese, 2 cups of meatballs, 8 cups of ragu, 3 pounds! of ziti. The recipe says that it serves 8, but that would be if nothing else is served with it. The servings are large. We all oohed and aahed at the unmolding. It's a large impressive dome of food. The slices have beautiful layers of all the different ingredients. It was, of course, delicious and worth the effort. In fact, one of our friends made it again! I'm sure there is a photo somewhere, but I don't have it.

 
Wow! Now I can say that I kind of know someone who knows someone who's made it.

I bet it was a fantastic dinner.

KC, how does a gourmet club top something like this for the next meeting? Have you done Babette's Feast?

 
We considered Babette's Feast, but a local theatre showed the movie, and

After the movie a wonderful restaurant across the street actually recreated the feast. It was truly wonderful - and absolutely no work at all!

I would say that the amount of work that went into the timpano dinner was comparable to your cassoulet. As you know, it's a lot of work, but it's worth it.

 
REC: Chicken with Capers and Olives

This can be done ahead and gently reheated. It's easily doubled or tripled. The original recipe calls for rabbit. Do not get fancy with the vinegar--ordinary supermarket white vinegar works best (but it is not a vinegary sauce, don't worry).

Chicken with Capers and Olives
Serves 4

1 chicken, cut into serving pieces
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour with salt and pepper
Olive oil1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup quality green brined olives, pitted
8 oz jar pickled capers, drained (rinsed salted capers work nicely too)
1 cup sliced celery
1 tsp sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted if you wish

Rinse and pat dry chicken pieces. Dredge in seasoned flour.

In a large casserole (with lid), heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Fry chicken in batches until golden brown. (Remove if need be, otherwise leave in pan.)

Saute onion until softened but not browning, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, olives, capers, and celery. Return chicken if need be. Cover and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes or until meat is fork tender, adding water if necessary. (The meat, esp. rabbit, will throw off juices.)

Sprinkle with sugar and vinegar; stir in.

Turn off heat but leave pan on heat for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with pine nuts.

Serve with small boiled potatoes, and bread to sop up juices.

 
Shaun, this sounds really good, love capers and olives. One question,

is the 8 ounces of capers correct? That seems like a lot. The jar I usually buy is about 3 or 4 ounces. Just wanted to make sure. Thanks!

 
This looks wonderful, Shaun -- I never know what to do with the fennel fronds -- thank you!!

Actually, thanks Marilyn for posting the recipe originally with your (as usual) comical additions!

 
I've made Timpano too- not exactly this recipe but close. I made it in a wok.

I just covered the handle with aluminum foil and put it in the oven. It worked perfectly.

Timpano is a labor of love but well worth the effort! I made it for a party a few years ago. Just the awestruck wonder of the guests looking at what they would eat was worth the work of making it.

 
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