Proud Italian Cook is 4 Today! and a Giveaway

Today, August 15Th is the Italian holiday called Ferragosto and the day I started my blog, it's very fitting since it's a holiday that revolves around family, friends and food. It's hard to believe it's been 4 years already? It seems like only yesterday that I wrote my first post! I still feel exactly the same way about basil today.

When I reflect back on these past 4 years all I can say is that I'm grateful, grateful that I started this little blog and that I'm part of such a supportive community of people who share a little bit of themselves everyday and who inspire the heck out of me!

If you were to ask me which posts are some of my favorites I would have to say the ones that involve my family and friends, like the time my son ran his first marathon, or the post about my daughter, daughter-in-law and niece walking in The Chicago 3-Day for breast cancer, our picnics at Ravinia, the birth of my granddaughter, making ravioli together and Timpano. Foodie trips with my friends like this and this have become popular, I get quite a few emails requesting I do more.

I must say though that the most emails I've ever gotten on a post so far was the one I did about neckbones, silly me I didn't think anyone would even be interested in it other than my own family so I didn't even post the recipe! but to this day I'm still getting heartfelt emails from readers thanking me for writing that post and bringing back memories they had that were tied to that humble meal, apparently there's a lot of fellow neckbone eaters out there! According to my stats, this has been one of my most popular posts, along with this.



I could go on and on why I love blogging but really I just simply want to say thank you, thank you to all my loyal readers those who have stuck by me since the beginning, actual friends who I've come to know so well. Thank you to all those new to my blog, to my many subscribers, Facebook friends, and those who take the time to write me a personal email, I truly appreciate each and every one of your comments! A special thanks goes out to my husband Tony for always being my number one fan as well as my family and friends.

I don't know whats in store for the next year, but I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and enjoying it every step of the way!







For a small token of my appreciation I'm giving away 4 gifts for 4 years, each will consist of an amazing bottle of Mandarano Balsamic Glaze, (you're going to love how this enhances all your food!), plus The Silver Spoon Pasta cookbook by Phaidon, (because you know I love my pasta, and I love all the Phaidon cookbooks!) The winners will be picked by my 11 year old granddaughter and announced on Monday August 22nd in my next blog post. Just leave a comment and if you'd like I'd love to hear what your favorite Italian dish is. Thanks again everyone!

Balsamic, Reduced to Perfection!

A long time ago I tried reducing down a bottle of balsamic vinegar, everything was going good, I was about 35 minutes into it, stirring constantly and watching it slowly thicken up, I turned away for a brief minute and when I came back it was at the point of no return, completely caramelized and stuck to my pan plus I was left with a horrible smell of burnt vinegar lingering in my house, that was the last time I did that! Since then I've been buying bottled balsamic glaze already reduced and ready for me to use on the spur of the moment. You'll always find a bottle or two stocked in my pantry.

Recently I was asked if I wanted to do a product review for Mandarano Balsamic Glaze & Sauce, the company produces and bottles entirely out of Modena, Italy using authentic regional grapes along with an award winning 400-year old family recipe, of course I said yes, and I'm so glad I did! The intense thick, rich, sweet yet sour flavor that comes through enhances everything you use it on, and I mean everything! I would highly recommend it!

Check out their website they're running a promo, with an additional discount at checkout using the letters,PIC

Wonderful on meats of all kinds, vegetables, grilled and roasted (to die for!) I love roasting those mini red, yellow and orange peppers in olive oil and then to finish them off I gently drizzle balsamic glaze all over and toss, add some crumbled goat cheese and it becomes a beautiful side dish, what flavor!

Go easy and taste as you go, you don't need to use so much. Try it on potatoes, eggs, caprese salads, cheese, fruits, I could go on and on, and because its already in a squeeze bottle its a convenient way to garnish your plates just like the Chefs do!

I like to use my glaze as a finishing sauce as I did in this chicken recipe. I marinated the chicken breasts in a zip lock bag for a couple of hours using an everyday balsamic vinegar that I have, ( I would never use my glaze to marinate) along with olive oil and some crushed garlic.
Grill up your chicken and when its done place fresh mozzarella on top along with basil leaves and either a garden fresh tomato slice, or as I did, a roasted red pepper. Garnish and drizzle with that rich and dreamy balsamic glaze! Perfection in each bite!

Like I mentioned above balsamic glaze enhances fruit, think strawberries, pears and apples etc. If you peeked into my fridge right now you would see 3 containers of grilled stone fruits, apricots, peaches and plums. I grill them ahead of time and use them for all sorts of things, like this quick salad above. Simply toss some greens with your favorite vinaigrette, add crumbled goat cheese, ( check out the one below) toasted walnuts and top it with a grilled peach drizzled with balsamic glaze, so simple but it tastes like a million dollars!

OK, my other new obsession, ( thanks to my friend Mary-Alice) is honey goat cheese, have you tried it? Oh my, it's out of this world! Where have I been? She got it from Costco and I've since bought it there and I recently discovered Trader Joes has it, a different brand but it tastes exactly the same. If you don't shop at any of those stores check out your local cheesemonger I'm sure they know all about it, but FYI, my Whole Foods didn't carry it either.

It's creamy, tangy and slightly sweet with a touch of honey, its the perfect balance, everyone that has tried it falls in love at first bite, if you love goat cheese, you'll love this!

Have a nice weekend and Buon Appetito!