What can I say about this chicken dinner? It was part of my do nothing, I am still jet lagged cuisine. Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, leftover mashed potatoes and gravy and frozen spinach – I have got to try harder!
Chicken breast with mashed potatoes and spinach
Thursday’s dinner was slightly better. After starting with a salad we had white beans with juniper berries and sweet Italian sausage.
White beans with juniper berries and sweet Italian sausage
While discussing what to make for dinner the other morning we came up with a soup idea for the 6 oz. of lamb we still had from Sunday. We decided on lamb with cannellini beans and ditalini. However we had not soaked the beans overnight. Instant Pot to the rescue!
We put our 12 oz. of beans in the pot and added 1 tablespoon of olive oil to control foaming, a Bay leaf, a sprig of thyme, some onion, and a smashed garlic clove along with 7 cups of water and 2 teaspoons of salt. We set the Pot to pressure cook for 40 minutes and turned it on. We waited until the pressure came down naturally and opened it up to perfectly cooked cannellini beans and it only took about an hour of hands-free cooking!
We used half the beans, chicken stock, carrots, onions, carrots, parsley, the lamb and ditalini in the finished soup and topped it with a dollop of chimichurri.
Cannellini bean and lamb soup with ditalini
On Sunday we had the family over for a festive dinner. John grilled a boneless lamb leg and I made some fancy mashed potatoes and asparagus. Our daughter made macaroons. On Monday we had the replay.
Festive asparagus topped with olive oil, capers, parsley, and chopped egg
Fancy mashed potatoes made with cream cheese and sour cream and topped with butter, paprika, and parmesan
Here’s what a plateful looked like on leftover night.
Sliced grilled lamb with chimichurri sauce, mashed potatoes and asparagus with chopped egg
And I cannot forget our daughter’s delicious almond flavored macaroons. Happy Easter and Passover!
Almond flavored macaroons
Nothing says being home more than my favorite chicken dinner. Usually I serve this on Chicken Mondays but I just could not wait. Because we are in the throes of jet lag I cheated a little and used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
Chicken breast with rutabagas and broccoli
While we were traveling no chicken was had with the exception of John ordering some in Sicily. The thing to remember when you are in Italy is that when you order a meat dish that is what you get, meat. Only very occasionally do you get a vegetable or a starch with it. They have to be ordered separately.
John’s plate of chicken in Palermo
Hey, home at last from Italy! Wish I had posted more of what I ate but I just ran out of time. I have a travel blog and could not keep up with both.
So what to make the first night home? Spaghetti with meat sauce!
Spaghetti with meat sauce
Actually I had a container of sauce in the freezer so it was the easiest thing to grab when I was so tired.
Amazingly I did not eat anything similar to my beloved spaghetti and meat sauce until the very end of the trip in Palermo, Sicily.
Tagliatelle with mushrooms and cinghiale (wild boar)
By the way, walking everywhere and climbing uncountable steps is a great way to lose weight while eating everything you like. I am five pounds lighter after being on vacation.
I cannot say enough good things about Yuri Buono’s Vincanto on Via Nolana in Pompeii. He is a locavore and advocate of the “slow food” movement in Italy. Feast upon these pictures!!
Local wine – San Paolo Agliatico
Cheese and salumi plate
Bruscettoni – lard, mushroom, and onions on ancient grain bread on left and tomatoes and cheese on right
Porchetta with paparcelle (preserved peppers)
Pistachio and cream mousse
This food was shared among the three of us. It was delicious and economical.
Sometimes you say, oh, I don’t care. I just want something to eat. You’re wrong. You care. This lasagna was not good but at least the serving person was charming.
Glop on a plate – lasagna at Binario 47
It is raining as we leave Rome. We are headed down the A-1 to Pompeii and stop at an Autogrill. It has never been good when I have eaten at one. We go to the Ciao! section and I have a most surprising lunch.
Artichoke risotto with a mixed vegetable lentil salad
This was actually very good! The subtle taste of the artichokes came through the not-stuck-together-almost-creamy rice.
Ordered a fav of mine for lunch, spaghetti alla vongole (clams) which unfortunately had gritty clams and stuck together pasta. C’mon, Rome, you can do better!
Gritty clams in the spaghetti meant I could not entice anyone to eat my leftovers!
First step in my search for the Holy Grail of pizza – crust is tasty but not bubbly or charred enough and the tomato sauce lacks depth. Being a girl from the Jersey shore, I have standards when it comes to pizza. I will have to continue my search.
Pizza Margarita in Rome
We are in Rome! After a busy morning sightseeing and walking a lot, we stop at Ristorante Leonetti for some typical Roman dishes. I chose cacio e pepe. It is a simple dish of pasta, cheese, and black pepper.
Cacio e Pepe at Ristorante Leonetti in Rome
For dinner we were too tired to go out so we just had few free bar snacks at the hotel.
Bar snacks – mini sandwich and salad plus a fried stuffed zucchini blossom
This is our last supper before leaving for Italy tomorrow! We made something easy, steak and asparagus. The asparagus was on sale for $1.29/lb. and I could not resist.
Asparagus cooking in a little water
John used the immersion circulator to cook the steak to 125F and then gave it a quick sear on the grill.
The steak enjoying a warm bath
This is the last dinner I will be cooking for while but I will definitely post some Italian delights from our trip!
Steak and asparagus
Omnivore 