This dish has been brought to my attention by my lovely sister-in-law (hugs and kisses for you) and she was inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe as far as I was told. I like chicken and vegetables and if everything is done in one dish and the oven is a must to try. It’s light and flavorful from all the herbs used. Please try and let me know what you think.
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I always thought they are a hassle and how much trouble to make them, until I actually made them. You probably have noticed by now that I like the quick and easy recipes, but the ones that have a taste and a look to them. Well, this is definitely a dish that has both. It’s an Italian dish, but oh so popular in America and it has been one of my family’s favorites. Since I first prepared them I have played around with the recipe and I even made them once placing inside each shell, together with the spinach and cheese mixture, a meatball. You should have seen the reaction on my family’s faces when they tried it. So, as I am always saying: be creative with your food and don’t be afraid to try new things.
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A quick recipe but full of flavor. The combination between apples and pork it’s been always a match made in heaven. I have found this recipe in a magazine and I decided to give it a try. Of course I ended up by changing things - as always - but I am really pleased with the result. I have made it since pretty often and every time I love it more and more. I hope you’ll give it a try.
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A recipe by mistake so to call it. My intention was to make chicken legs and use wine, but the wine bottle just sliped through my fingers straight on the kitchen floor - not to talk about the wine smell for couple of days. So, without wine I browsed my fridge and I found a bottle of dark beer left in the back of the shelf so I decided to use it and see what’s going to come out of this. Well, I really liked the taste of the chicken legs so I decided to share with you my recipe.
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In Romania where I am from we prepare a lot Polenta with different kinds of meat sauces. My mom used to make every Sunday for breakfast “Tocanita”. It’s a dish that can be made with chicken, pork or beef and the sauce is always made with milk and thickened with flour. You can also add paprika to it or leave it white. My recipe here is a spin off the traditional Tocanita and I used only chicken livers (my favourite) and added a little white wine. But enough with the talk. Here’s the recipe:

• 1 large onion
• 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil (I personally prefer sunflower oil)
• 1 lb (500g) chicken livers
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) white wine
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
• 1 tbsp flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh parsley

I started by washing well in cold water the livers until no blood left. Then in a medium pot I added the oil and the chopped onion and cooked it until translucent. At this point you can add the livers, cover the pot with a lid and cook for about 3 minutes. Not too much as the livers will become tough if overcooked. When the livers look cooked (brown and not much blood coming out when pressed with a fork), I added the wine and cooked for another 2 minutes, time in which I mixed together in a bowl the heavy cream with the flour. I added this mixture to the livers and cooked until thickened. At this point everything should be ready and after removing from the heat I added the parsley.

In all this time I had prepared my polenta too using only water, salt and the instant polenta flour (found in almost all supermarkets or the Italian specialty stores).

I served them together and of course with a glass of the white wine I used in this recipe.

I always enjoyed ground meat in any form  so I am always looking to ways to prepare it. I used to make often stuffed peppers, but lately they don’t agree with me too well, so I replace the peppers with other vegetables. I know that there are several recipes with stuffed zucchini, but this is how I like it.  I hope you’ll find it to your taste too.

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When I first went to Italy as a child and I stayed with an italian family for the summer I first came in contact with the Italian cuisine. I immediately felt in love with it. The family I stayed with taught me several dishes eaten in the Northern part of Italy, in Lombardia.
This dish (although not exactly the same as they made it) is meant to copy one of their recipes. At the time I stayed with them I was still a child, but I picked up on the flavors of this dish and tried to recreate it home. Here is my version of it.
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A quick recipe for busy people. When you have a busy day and come home to prepare dinner what can be easier than pasta and sauce? This recipe is very quick and doesn’t ask much for you so that you can have dinner ready in no time and with less effort.
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Wiener Schnitzel (from German Wiener Schnitzel, meaning Viennese cutlet) is a traditional Austrian dish and popular part of Viennese and Austrian cuisine, consisting of a thin slice of veal coated in breadcrumbs and fried. In Austria the dish is traditionally served with a lemon slice, lingonberry jam and either potato salad or potatoes with parsley and butter. While traditional Wiener Schnitzel is made out of veal, it is now sometimes made out of pork, though in that case it is often called Schnitzel Wiener Art (Germany) or Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein (Austria) to differentiate it from the original. The dish may have originated in Milan, northern Italy, as cotoletta alla milanese, and may have appeared in Vienna during the 15th or 16th century. According to another theory, it was introduced by Field Marshal Radetzky, who spent much of his life in Milan, in 1857. The term “Wiener Schnitzel” itself dates to at least 1862.

Romanian șnițel is very common in restaurants, fast food places, and homes across the country. Normally served simple and unadorned, the fast food version is differentiated by being served sandwich/burger style. Cordon bleu șnițel (made from pork tenderloin stuffed with cheese and ham) is also very popular. The Romanian șnițel is made in the same manner as the Austrian one, but as a local characteristic is made of almost any type of meat (chicken, pork, veal or beef). A specialty from Western Romania is the mosaic șnițel made of two thin meat layers (usually each layer of different meat) and a vegetable (usually mushroom) filling.
I chose to make the classic one, but I used the pork cutlets as my meat. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.
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This is a quick and easy pie or no crust pizza. I make it often in several ways, depending on what there is in the fridge or freezer. I hope you’ll like it.
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