Notes about Recipes in this book

• Fettuccine primavera

  • nicolepellegrini on April 26, 2020

    I made a few small changes and it ended up being perhaps the best primavera I've ever made. I used half olive oil and half butter instead of all butter; half and half instead of light cream; and also increased the quantity of asparagus and broccoli to make it a little more veggie-forward. Came out outstanding - rich without being overwhelmingly heavy and the vegetables were just delightfully crisp-tender.

• Ravioli alla Bucco

  • ellencooks on March 15, 2018

    Quantity of flour seems high. Filling was great!

• Stuffed calamari (Calamari ripieni)

  • nicolepellegrini on January 23, 2021

    Had a hankering for stuffed calamari as we didn't have our traditional 7 Fishes dinner this past Christmas Eve, where that's always the most anticipated dish. I usually make mine grilled but wanted to try this more traditional Italian-American style, which seemed quite similar to how my in-laws like their stuffed calamari. I thought it was pretty good. I was worried the calamari would be tough after the slow and long cook time but the low simmer in the sauce gave them a rich flavor. I'm not sure the stuffing combination is my favorite, though. Will keep playing around with different recipes until next Christmas Eve, I suppose!

• Fried zucchini flowers (Fiori di zucca fritti)

  • ellencooks on August 22, 2017

    These were so good!

• Roasted sausages, peppers, potatoes, and onions

  • nicolepellegrini on February 29, 2016

    Vegetables WAY overcooked following the oven time & temperature suggested, and sausages not cooked enough. Also, bland. Definitely not a repeat recipe here, now I have to figure out how to salvage this mess into a decent dinner.

• Orange and fennel salad

  • nicolepellegrini on September 24, 2013

    Decent take on a classic. Be sure to use enough salt and the best olive oil, and I like to add a touch of fresh ground pepper.

• Fried veal cutlets

  • nicolepellegrini on June 14, 2020

    Very basic but did the trick. I added some chopped fresh rosemary to the egg and cheese mixture. Also cooked less than recommended time as the cutlets would have been completely dried out and overcooked otherwise.

• Tuna steaks with lemon and oregano (Tonno alla griglia)

  • nicolepellegrini on April 21, 2020

    Basically a standard salmoriglio sauce - I've made from other books for swordfish before, but obviously works just as well for tuna. Prepared under the broiler, came out just fine.

• Stuffed veal rolls (Spiedini)

  • nicolepellegrini on September 12, 2020

    I was afraid the recipe suggested size for the veal pieces would be too small to roll properly, and it just barely worked - but next time I would make the veal slices a little better so it's easier to put in the mozzarella pieces and avoid having some of it fall out/melt out on the grill pan.

• Balsamic grilled veal chops

  • Breadcrumbs on July 17, 2013

    p. 174 – Lovely dish with simple ingredients that enhance the sweet, natural flavours of the veal vs overwhelm them. I’ve made this using balsamic vinegar and balsamic glaze and we prefer the glaze. The rosemary is subtle and draws out an earthy flavour in the veal. These are at their best when grilled over charcoal. The provimi veal chops from Tortera were outstanding – super tender and juicy. Definitely a simple recipe to be used again and again. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/909248#8197757