An Italian Christmas...

[Puddy]

We've decided on Italian food this Christmas. My pain in the ass SIL wants to make the lasagna and bring it to the house. So instead of the host making the main course, I need to think of other ideas. Well I suck at thinking of other ideas so what dish or two can I make that will either be good compliments to the lasagna or alternatives for anyone not wanting lasagna. We'll have about 15 people including kids.

 

Oh and I also need the recipe.

 

Thanks.

[wiegie]

Tell you SIL that she can only bring the lasagna if she dresses up like La Befana.

 

As for what you should make. Screw making anything and just buy some Panettone. (Although I suppose you could make it too if you wanted.)

[Bier Meister]

you could make a tuscan white bean soup, bruschetta, pizzettas, mediterranean salad, anitpasti, pasta salad with pesto, polenta cakes..... if something sounds good to you i'll post recipes.... i also haven't had my coffee yet, so i'm sure i'll think of more later.

Edited December 7, 2008 by Bier Meister

[Kid Cid]

There's Italian and then there's Italian. In a lot of traditional Italian meals the pasta is a side dish, not the main course. That's kind of a hard sell with lasagna though. Here's a couple of things that are not main stream pasta and sauce. I also like Bier's soup idea as well.

 

Bagna Calda

 

The is a garlic, anchovy, sardine appetizer that can be used as a spread for bread or as a dip for vegetables. Very simple.

 

1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup minced garlic

4 (2 ounce) cans anchovy fillets packed in olive oil, drained

3 (4 ounce) cans sardines packed in olive oil, drained

1 cup butter

 

Place the evoo in a skillet and heat over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the butter, anchovies, and sardines. Cook and stir until well blended, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Celery Milan Style

 

6 large celery stalks

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp instant chicken bouillon

2 Tbs butter

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

 

Cut celery into 2 inch pieces. Heat celery, water and bouillon to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain the celery and transfer to serving dish. Dot with butter, cover and let stand until butter is melted. Sprinkle with grated cheese and parsley.

[Chief Dick]

I think you should make everything that people are posting here. Just dazzle your SIL with some real Italian witchcraft.

 

Then you can look at her smugly as if to say:

 

"You thought making lasagna would make you look good. Well, noodle THIS." Then point at your crank. That'll learn her.

[Azazello1313]

I'd go with garlic bread...

 

[Zooty]

Feast_of_the_seven_fishes

[Zooty]

You could always do Prime Rib or a roast pork loin to go with the Lasagna.

We always had lasagna as a compliment to the main course (ie meat).

 

You can also do Italian Wedding soup (pretty easy, basically chicken soup) as an app along with bruscetta and olives, cheese, procusitto, etc.

[Puddy]

Okay, how about a chicken parm recipe and maybe that Tuscan white bean soup recipe Bier.

 

Thanks for the ideas guys. I'm going to keep it pretty simple since we are simple folks.

[Bier Meister]

easy..... i need to head out to the doc to see what's going on with my ankle. i'll post both when i get back.

[keggerz]

Feast_of_the_seven_fishes

man i loves me some smelts :yummy:

[detlef]

You want simple? One of the easiest side dishes ever is rapini with garlic and dried chilis. Rapini is a leafy form of broccoli common in italian food. Just trim the bottom 1/4 of the stalk away (discard that). Then blanch the rest in salted water. That means bring salted water to a boil and drop the veggies in for about 30 seconds. Remove, drain, rinse with cold water, and allow to cool. This can be done hours ahead of time.

 

Right before you're ready, warm a few cloves of chopped garlic in plenty of olive oil with the chili flakes. once the garlic turns golden, add in the veggies. Toss in a bit of chicken stock and salt to taste. Done and delicious.

 

You can do the same thing with Asparagus only you don't need to blanch it as long.

 

A nice garnish for either is freshly grated parm. or locatelli romano cheese.

[Bier Meister]

chicken parm:

 

4 b/s chicken breasts

1-2 c flour

2 eggs (beaten with a tbs of water)

1-2 c bread crumbs

2 c of marinara sauce

4 slices of smoked provolone

grated parm

 

prehat your marinara (hold warm). pound the chicken breasts until they are about 1/4" thick. you can do them in a ziplock bag or under parchment. either season your chicken breasts or your flour with salt and pepper. dredge in flour. coat in egg. coat in bread crumbs. pan sear in a saute pan. transfer to a baking dish large enough to hold the chicken. pour sauce over chicken. provolone over sauce. sprinkle with parm. melt cheese under broiler.

 

edit: making lasagna now.. i'll post the white bean soup after dinner

Edited December 23, 2008 by Bier Meister

[Bier Meister]

1 c dried cannellini beans

5 c water

1 sprig of sage

1 sprig of rosemary

2 cloves of garlic

 

2 tbs evo

1 yellow onion (small dice)

4 sage leaves (chopped)

2 oz of pancetta

1 clove of garlic (minced)

2 large tomatoes (peeled, seeded, small diced)

5 c veg or chicken broth

1 sprig of rosemary

s&p

chopped parsley for garnish

 

 

-rinse beans. soak them overnight. drain. add them to water ina large saucepan (or pot). bring to boil. add rossie, sage, and garlic. reduce heat to low. cover partially and simmer until beans are very soft (about 1-2 hrs).

 

-heat oil. saute onions (about 3-4 min). add sage and pancetta saute until golden (abot 7 min). add garlic and saute 2 min. remove cooked pancetta and discard. reduce heat to low and add tomatoes. simmer for about 7-10 min.

 

-remove herb sprigs and garlic from the beans and discard. pass the beans through a food mill into the soup pot. add some cooking liquid as need to help pure the beans. add 2 c of cooking liquid to the broth and set aside. pass the tomato mixture throught the food mill into the soup pot. stir in broth an place over med-low heat. add rossie sprig season with s&p. cook uncovered until soup thickens (about 20 min) discard rossie sprig.

[Seattle LawDawg]

Feast_of_the_seven_fishes

 

that was the first thing i thought of.

[Caveman_Nick]

Arancini by Emeril

 

or

 

Arancini by random person

 

The second recipe looks easier to follow, but both are not terribly tough.

 

Step 1: Make Risotto ahead of time and refrigerate

Step 2: When ready to make Arancini, form into balls stuffed with cheese

Step 3: Fry.

 

EDIT: Link Fixed

Edited December 23, 2008 by Caveman_Nick

[AtomicCEO]

This thread reminds me of a song the local radio used to play.

Christmas in East Haven

 

East Haven, or 'Staven as it is known locally, is a big Italian community in CT where my wife's family is from.

 

Maybe only Whomper would find this funny.

Edited December 23, 2008 by AtomicCEO

[detlef]

Arancini by Emeril

 

or

 

Arancini by random person

 

The second recipe looks easier to follow, but both are not terribly tough.

 

Step 1: Make Risotto ahead of time and refrigerate

Step 2: When ready to make Arancini, form into balls stuffed with cheese

Step 3: Fry.

Your second link was broken but I've never bothered breading them to the degree that Emeril does. We just make the rice balls and toss them in rice flour right before frying. There's little reason to need all that breading around them. The rice should work just fine. One less major mess to contend with and makes for a lighter, crispier arancini.

[Caveman_Nick]

Your second link was broken but I've never bothered breading them to the degree that Emeril does. We just make the rice balls and toss them in rice flour right before frying. There's little reason to need all that breading around them. The rice should work just fine. One less major mess to contend with and makes for a lighter, crispier arancini.

 

 

I agree...just trying to provide some options for a very Italian choice

 

The link is fixed.

[isleseeya]

Some old school Italian coming your way (and dont forget the cannoli's )

 

A variation of Cold Sicilian Christmas Eve Fish Salad

 

 

1 lb. shrimp (med., cleaned and deveined)

1 lb. Calamari, cleaned and cut up

1 lb. scallops

1 lb. baby pulpo, cleaned

1 lb. imitation crabmeat

3 pieces celery, diced

6 cloves garlic, chopped

4 lemons, squeezed

1/3 c. fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 c. olive oil

 

In a large pot of boiling water put shrimp, calamari, scallops, and baby pulpo. Bring water to a second boil and let fish cook 3-5 minutes. Drain fish.

In a large bowl put cooked fish; add crabmeat, celery, garlic, lemons, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Mix well; cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve.

[HowboutthemCowboys]

Some old school Italian coming your way (and dont forget the cannoli's )

 

A variation of Cold Sicilian Christmas Eve Fish Salad

 

 

1 lb. shrimp (med., cleaned and deveined)

1 lb. Calamari, cleaned and cut up

1 lb. scallops

1 lb. baby pulpo, cleaned

1 lb. imitation crabmeat

3 pieces celery, diced

6 cloves garlic, chopped

4 lemons, squeezed

1/3 c. fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 c. olive oil

 

In a large pot of boiling water put shrimp, calamari, scallops, and baby pulpo. Bring water to a second boil and let fish cook 3-5 minutes. Drain fish.

In a large bowl put cooked fish; add crabmeat, celery, garlic, lemons, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Mix well; cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve.

 

1. what the hell is pulpo?

2. this looks like it would be great....adding imitation crabmeat to this seems silly to me.

[detlef]

1. what the hell is pulpo?

octopus

[whomper]

Feast_of_the_seven_fishes

 

 

Thats a hugh Christmas eve dish. My neighbor brought me over 2 big plates of it on Christmas eve. Absolutely delicious. Nobody in my house can even look at it I cant get enough. He made it with artichokes , onions , black and green olives and white Rice.. So Fin delicious

[Caveman_Nick]

Thats a hugh Christmas eve dish. My neighbor brought me over 2 big plates of it on Christmas eve. Absolutely delicious. Nobody in my house can even look at it I cant get enough. He made it with artichokes , onions , black and green olives and white Rice.. So Fin delicious

 

Sounds like you need to have a Party of the Seven Fishes....

[HowboutthemCowboys]

octopus

Oh. Thanks.