My favorite italian chefs

Between all the food related televisions shows I watch and my obsession with Pinterest, I'm on recipe overload!  So, rather than share awesome recipes, I thought I would share my favorite italian chefs with you instead.

My #1 favorite italian chef is David Ruggerio.  His PBS cooking show from back in the day, Little Italy, remains my favorite cooking show ever.  He briefly went on to the Food Network, however, he ran into some personal problems that kept him in the headlines, but not in a positive light.  He disappeared from the Food Network and I haven't been able to find old episodes of Little Italy on PBS.  His recipes most closely resembled those of my nana, which is probably the reason he is my favorite.  I'm hoping he can overcome the obstacles and make a triumphant comeback.  Until then, he has a page on Facebook . . . and I found a video on You Tube . . .






Nick Stelleno spent the first 17 years of his life in Palermo, Sicily.  He enjoyed a successful Wall Street career after immigrating to the United States, but a culinary career kept calling him.  With no formal culinary education, he went from a dishwasher to one of the most popular chefs in the United States.

Click here for one of my favorite recipes from Nick Stelleno, which includes a video.  Check it out if you have never experienced Nick Stelleno, he is very entertaining!

Lidia Bastianich is an Emmy award-winning public television host, a best‐selling cookbook author, restaurateur, and owner of a flourishing food and entertainment business.  I've enjoyed her television series for as long as I can remember.  What I love most about Lidia is the way she weaves stories of the old days in Italy, her travels, and her recent series features Italian-Americans and how they have brought the Italian culture to their communities . . . along with her delicious recipes and cooking tips.





What a busy lady!  Her zest for life and a passion for everything Italian is delightful and makes me so very proud to be an Italian-American.

There you have it, my top 3 favorite italian chefs . . . each of them has influenced my italian kitchen!

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

April is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month

It has always been my philosophy that you will never go hungry as long as you have a loaf of bread, butter and some cheese.  There have been times in my life when I was forced to put that philosophy in action.  I would always thank God that at least they are a tasty treat and actually fool the mind into thinking I was spoiling myself.  If I happened to be lucky enough to have a jar of dill pickles in the fridge, it was a feast!

With the variety of cheese and breads in the market, the combinations for a great grilled cheese sandwich are endless.

Cheese is one of my favorite things and I love to experiment with all types as the budget allows.  My favorite thing to do with a grilled cheese sandwich is mixing two different types of cheeses.  Try it sometime!

Tips For The Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich from The Nibble

Use real butter. 

The flavor of fresh butter is important for a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich.

Butter the outer side of the bread, not the pan. The butter will be more evenly distributed, which ensures a properly golden, crisp sandwich.

Grate or shred the cheese; it will melt faster.

When using dense breads, slice them no more than 1/2-inch thick, so that the heat can penetrate and melt the cheese.

Press the sandwich with a spatula after it’s been flipped, to help the melted cheese spread evenly.

Use a nonstick pan instead of cast-iron. The sandwich is less likely to stick to the pan, which makes clean-up much easier.

Click here for an awesome variety of

grilled cheese sandwich recipes and ideas.

Empanadas . . . a tasty treat!

"An empanada (called pastel in Brazilian Portuguese) is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries in South Europe, Latin America, and parts of Southeast Asia. The name comes from the Galician, Portuguese and Spanish verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. 

Empanadas are made by folding dough or bread around stuffing, which usually consists of a variety of meat, cheese, huitlacoche, vegetables or fruits, among others."

Source:  Wikipedia

click on the link for more history of the empanada

Today is National Empanada Day . . . if you have never had an empanada, let the celebration begin and try out an empanada recipe (links for recipes listed at the end of this post).  They can be as simple or as difficult to make as you like, depending on the method used :)

For as long as I can remember, empanadas have been a part of my life.  As a child, my nana made the most delicious sweet empanadas with guava and cream cheese.   As an adult, I made them stuffed with Italian sausage with peppers and onions cooked in a savory tomato sauce and lots of mozzarella cheese.  You can stuff them with whatever you like . . . great for leftovers!

As I think of these delicious treats, it occurs to me that you can take plain ole buttered American sandwich bread, place a generous portion or two (or three) of sliced guava paste (found in the ethnic section of your grocery store) and lots of cream cheese . . .  prepare in a sandwich maker, toast in the oven or grill in a pan (like a grilled cheese sandwich).  Not quite an empanada, but equally tasty!

My original recipe for empanada dough was lost, along with a huge notebook of  my favorite recipes and I still have not found a recipe that is up to the standards of the original recipe, but I'm still searching!  In the past, I used Hot Roll Mix, but it has been difficult to find at the grocery store.  So . . . to celebrate National Empanada Day, I decided to go on a search expedition for all types of recipes that I can start experimenting with.

About.com has an awesome section on empanadas!  That is where I am going to begin my search.

An excellent website dedicated to empanada recipes!


All About Empanadas from Laylita


Simple Empanada Dough and Fillings from My Columbian Recipes

There are plenty of recipes on these websites to get started discovering the delicious world of empanadas.  Enjoy . . . and Happy National Empanada Day!

Chicken and Rice ~ Two variations

Since we found that awesome little neighborhood meat market and deli that runs ridiculously cheap specials on chicken, don't you know we have been eating a lot of chicken.  I've said it before, but it is worth repeating . . . it is well worth the effort of looking for these little markets that offer package deals.  Even after getting a great deal on a package, our market will offer buy one get one free whole chickens.  Woohoo . . . double savings!!!  We usually buy a package that will provide us enough chicken for a whole month . . . so much cheaper buying this way!

To save on time, it is also a good idea to cook enough chicken in order to have leftovers for another meal.  Buy chicken stock and cream of chicken type soups when they are on sale to have on hand, they are awesome for putting together a delicious meal from leftovers.

The following two videos are all about chicken and rice . . . a great dish that is perfect for leftovers.  When you learn the basic techniques of putting these type of meals together, you can vary them to what you have on hand or what you like.