Rachel's Chicken alla Romana

Chicken all Romana a la Rachel

This past week has been a tough one for me, and I am beginning to realize that one of my coping mechanisms is to cook. Duh! Although I have been in a winter funk food wise, I made no fewer than six new-to-me-recipes over the past two weeks. Some were good, one not so good.

Ina Garten's Lemon Chicken with Croutons was a total disappointment. My chicken lacked the flavorful juiciness that was to flow over the crisp croutons. The staff of one national magazine dubbed this recipe "Engagement Chicken" because every staffer who made it for a date ended up engaged to be married. Let's say that I am glad that I've been married for forty-one years.

Next came a scrumptious Orecchiette with rapini and goat cheese from Saveur via David Lebovitz' Pinterest Board which we shared with L and J along with a nice Sauvignon blanc.

One cold afternoon I simmered a Sausage and Pork Ragu for four hours then tossed some with rigatoni and dusted the dish with Pecorino Romano cheese. This was shared with T and J with a lovely Amarone.

No photo of the finished dish--so this is the beginnings of the sofrito base

I've already written about the deliciousness that is Domenica Marchetti's Crema di Pomodoro Soup,  a great addition to any cold-weather soup repertoire.

But my favorite of the week has to be Pollo Alla Romana from rachel eats. Rachel's food is straight forward and quite satisfying. Braising is one of my favorite ways to cook chicken, especially in the winter, and this chicken braise does not disappoint. Using a good chicken, some pancetta, white wine, canned tomatoes and beautifully ripe red peppers you will be able to create a delicious dish. Click on the recipe and start cooking.

Cook's Notes: Instead of a whole chicken, cut up, I used 8 chicken thighs. I used about 2 ounces pancetta, 6 ounces of white wine and a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained. May be made ahead and reheated before serving.

Rigatoni With Sausage Cream Sauce

This beastly winter shows no signs of loosening its grip, and Spring seems further away than ever. Having no alternative, I embraced the cold drizzle and made one last  hearty dish for dinner.  Spring just has to emerge soon--right?

This pasta dish comes from an old classic cookbook favorite of mine, Italian Family Cooking, by the late Anne Casale. Her book is full of family favorites from the Italian regions of Tuscany and Campania, as well as Sicily.  As usual, I made the recipe mine.

 
I sauteed 1/2 lb. of sweet Italian sausage meat in a little bit of butter until just cooked through. While 8 ounces of  pasta was boiling--in this case mostaccioli--I  added 1/2 cup heavy cream to the saute pan stirring to blend with  the sausage and cooking until slightly thickened. Next time I would add a bit more cream.  I then added a pinch of nutmeg and some salt and pepper.  After the pasta was drained, it went into the saute pan to be coated with the sauce.  Off heat, I tossed the pasta with 1/2 cup grated Parmesan.  To serve, I added a sprinkling of chopped parsley and a bit more grated cheese.