A Quick Trip to Italy for an Italian Feast with Friends

Bonjour mes amis – Hello friends. Thanks for joining us on our 2007 culinary tour of Provence in the south of France. Today we had planned on going to the outdoor market and purchasing some tiny baby clams we saw a few days ago, but friends have invited us to an Italian feast so we’ll get the clams another day. Join us on a quick trip to Italy. It’s a close neighbor to Provence and we’ll easily be able to drive over for the day. 

Marie of Proud Italian Cook and Maryanne of Finding La Dolce Vita have invited their friends from all over the virtual world to meet them for their 2nd Annual Italiana Day, held during the first week in March. They’ve set up huge tables to hold everyone’s dish for their fiesta and they await our arrival so let’s cook Italian today. I hope you’ll prepare a dish and join us. Click on either of the links above to find out more.

I’m making Chicken Cutlets with Baby Greens Salad, see recipe below. I first tasted a veal dish similar to this many years ago at Antoine cote cours, a trattoria in Aix-en-Provence. Along with French cuisine, they also serve some fine Italian fare. Located on the cours Mirabeau in an 18th century townhouse, film and fashion icons such as Emanuel Ungaro hang out with the local “Aixers” here.

Along the way we’ll stop in Nice, once part of the Italian Riviara, and park along the beautiful promenade des Anglais with its immense sidewalks lined in palm trees and take a peek at the Mediterranean. Nice didn’t join France until 1860. Hopefully we can find a spot to park near the beautiful Belle Époque Hotel Negresco along the seafront. Infamous American dancer Isadora Duncan died tragically outside the hotel when her trailing scarf caught in the wheel of her Bugatti and broke her neck. The Negresco is home to the elegant two starred Chantecler restaurant. 

I want to pick up a big bouquet of sunflowers to take to Marie and Maryanne for their table so we’ll walk over to Vieux Nice (old town) and visit the beautiful Cours Saleya flower market where the medieval city thrived and today still feels like it’s in a time warp. I also think a bottle of Limoncello would make a good hostess gift. Limoncello is a lemon liqueur produced in Southern Italy that is a perfect palate cleanser. I’ve got Andrea Bocelli’s latest CD playing in the car to get us into an Italian mood and we can sing along as loud as you like. So join us as we dash off to Italy for the day.

Chicken Cutlets with Baby Greens Salad

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 cups fresh Italian bread crumbs

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

3 tablespoons or more Italian extra-virgin olive oil

2 beaten eggs

Shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, optional

Preheat oven to 400 F. Pound chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap to a thickness of 1/4" using mallet. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Combine crumbs, flour and parsley in a bag and shake well. Put chicken through the egg wash and then coat thoroughly with the crumb/flour mixture.

In a large, heavy oven-proof skillet heat the oil until it is hot. Add chicken pieces, skinned side down, and cook until beginning to brown, 1 – 2 minutes on each side. Do not crowd the chicken. If your skillet is not large enough, use two or prepare in batches. Place skillet in oven and bake 10 minutes, until chicken is golden brown on underside. Remove skillet and turn pieces with tongs. Return to the oven and cook about 10 minutes more or until chicken is done. If chicken begins to stick, add more olive oil. Remove chicken from oven and top with mixed baby salad greens dressed with lemon vinaigrette. Top with cheese shavings if using. Serves 4.

Baby Salad Greens with Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing

Baby salad greens for four, washed and spun dry

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

6 tablespoons Italian extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine lemon juice, olive oil and mustard in a screw top jar and shake well to combine. Toss salad with vinaigrette and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Please join us again when we go the market and purchase some special baby clams only found in Provence and attempt to prepare them from a recipe told to us in French. Until next time, a bientot. See you soon.

Market Day 2 in Saint-Remy-de-Provence in the south of France

Market Day two. Join us as we discover more of the Wednesday market in Saint-Remy-de-Provence in the south of France.

Nuts – Les Noix vendor

French frommage vendor displaying his cheeses made of cows, goats and sheep’s milk.

Country breads in the market are typically much larger than those sold in the Boulangerie (bakery). Fresh loaves of bread disappear in a few hours.

Poulet roti (roasted chicken) et Canard (duck) avec les pommes de terre (with potatoes) basting in the drippings ready for you to take home.

French markets have many more attractions other than food.

If you need a scarf, hat, jewelry, skirt or blouse, browse the markets.

The south of France was chilly in the early mornings of April during the beginning of our visit in 2007. The French women believe in protecting ones neck so naturally I purchased many scarves.

Join us next time at the market when we purchase special baby clams only found in Provence and the lovely Madame gives us her own recipe for preparing them – only one problem - she only spoke French.

Wednesday is market day in Saint-Remy-de-Provence in the south of France. Part 1

Bonjour (hello). Wednesday is market day in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, a beautiful old Roman walled village 19 km (12 miles) south of Avignon, France. Saint-Remy is on the western side of the limestone Alpilles Mountains. It’s most famous resident was the French Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh, who spent the last year of his life in an asylum here.

The markets of Provence have existed for centuries and are almost untouched by modern times. Scenes such as these are repeated throughout Provence day in, day out, year after year, in sun, rain, snow and even on holidays. It's a traveling carnival that goes from village to village, attracting locals and tourists alike.

Join us as we stroll through the Wednesday market in the Place de la Republique in Saint-Remy on our culinary trip of a lifetime in the spring of 2007.

Olive vendor displaying a few of the many varieties of olives available, such as Nyons, Pimentee and Provencale. Try a handful of several different kinds to find your favorite.

Garlic in white and purple, enough to feed an entire village.

Colorful ground spices from north Africa and the Mediterranean.

Shaded by umbrellas, shoppers carefully pick the freshest produce. Piled high in the morning, it may be gone by noon.

Fresh fish, brought up from Marseilles this morning.

Enjoying un petite biere (small beer) with my husband after a morning of shopping.

A bientot (see you soon) et bonne journee (have a good day). Join us again next time as we return to the markets of Provence.

Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez - Let the Good Times Roll - It's Mardi Gras Day

Today is Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wedneday. Also known as Mardi Gras Day or Shrove Day, it's the day when people eat all they want of everything and anything before Lent begins tomorrow. So whether you are enjoying jambalaya or pancakes, let the good times roll. My computer is in the hospital but I'll be back posting soon. Please stay tuned.
Sam

February is Mardi Gras Month and a great time to serve Red Beans & Rice

Louisiana Red Beans & Rice make a perfect dish to serve as a celebration of Mardi Gras. This year Mardi Gras Day is February 24, also called Fat Tuesday. It is the last day of the Mardi Gras Carnival season, is always forty six days before Easter and therefore falls on a different day each year. More information on Mardi Gras, its customs, the parades and Louisiana cuisine can be found on the Mardi Gras Day website.

Red Beans & Rice is believed to have originated with African-American cooks on plantations in Louisiana. Today it is a New Orleans favorite that you will find from fine restaurants to home kitchens and everyone has a different recipe. Here’s our favorite version.

New Orleans Red Beans & Rice

2 quarts water

1 lb. red kidney beans (soaked overnight in water to cover)

3 slices thick bacon

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb. kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 lb. thick ham, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 yellow onion and 1 red onion (about one pound), diced

½ of a red bell pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley plus more for garnish

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Louisiana hot sauce, such as Tabasco

Cooked brown rice tossed with fresh flat leaf parsley

Drain soaked beans and put back in soup pot with fresh water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn down and simmer, slowly, covered.

In a saute pan over medium heat, cook bacon until done, crumble and set aside. Discard most of the pan drippings and add the olive oil. Add the sausage and ham and cook over medium high flame until browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage and ham to a plate.

Add the onion and red bell pepper to the drippings in the pan, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add thyme and tomato paste. Cook for a few minutes until the mixture comes together and the paste starts to turn a light brown, being careful not to burn. Transfer the onion mixture to the bean mixture, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the pan. Add the bay leaf and parsley. Cook until beans are soft and almost ready to eat, approximately one hour. You may need to add more water if the beans get dry. Season with salt, pepper, and add bacon, sausage and ham to the pot and stir to combine. Add hot sauce to taste.

Remove the bay leaf and discard. If it is not thick enough, use the back of a spoon to mash some of the beans against the side of the pot and stir to thicken the broth. Serve in individual bowls over parslied brown rice. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and a hot sauce to taste. Serves 8 to 10.

Note: This is a rich dish, but so is much of southern Louisiana cuisine. We use this for special occasion. You could leave out the bacon and ham to lighten it up. We have also made it vegetarian with good results.

Laisser les bons temps rouler - let the good times roll as they say in Louisiana.