Chicken Marsala a la Ryan�s Cafe

Certain dishes have a special place in my heart and this is one of them. The first real restaurant job I had in San Francisco was at a small place called Ryan�s Caf�. It was run by a husband and wife team, Michael and Lenore Ryan. They were true �foodies� before that term had even been coined. This Chicken Marsala dish was the most popular dish on the menu and the first one that I was taught. I had cooked with wine a few times at culinary school, but this was the first time that it had really hit me what magic could be created by adding the right wine to certain ingredients. Every time I make this dish, I fondly remember that 23 years old cook (with full head of hair), so thirsty for knowledge, just drinking it all in, both literally and figuratively.

Marsala wine originates from the Italian city of Marsala, which is in Sicily. It is similar to the more commonly know Spanish Sherry, and like Sherry is a wonderful wine to cook with. It has a complex, slightly sweet flavor that makes it the perfect choice for this great chicken and mushroom dish I�m demonstrating today. Be careful when buying your bottle of Marsala. You don�t need anything too expensive, but make sure it�s just regular Marsala wine, and not �Sweet Marsala� which is a desert wine and too sweet for this dish. This same recipe can also be made the with Sherry or Madeira wine with very nice results.


Ingredients:
2 boneless chicken breasts, skin on
1 shallot minced
2 tbl fresh parsley
3 tbl butter
2 tbl olive oil
1 tbl flour
5 white mushrooms, sliced
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup Marsala wine
1 tsp salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper

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Italian Meatballs � Let�s get rolling!

While the ingredient list may look a bit long, home-made meatballs are a very easy to make, and since we skip the very messy step of pan-frying these before they hit the sauce, it becomes downright simple. Here I use a standard 1/2 beef, 1/2 pork mixture. Some recipes use 1/3 beef, veal, and pork, which is also nice, yet more expensive. These days you can find all sorts of lean to fat ratios for ground beef. Most stores sell 90% lean, 10% fat, but I prefer the 80% lean, 20% fat ratio for this recipe.

The other trick here is soaking the bread crumbs in milk before adding. This makes for a moister meatball, and the milk actually helps keep them tender. If you make your meatballs the same size (golf ball) I do, this recipe will make about 30 portions.

This is one of those dishes that just get better the next day. So, if you have time, make these a day ahead and refrigerate in the sauce and re-heat slowly the next day to serve. The meatballs will be even more tender and flavorful. I know I will get emails requesting the sauce recipe, so let me save you the time and tell you that I plan on filming a nice meat sauce soon.



1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/3 plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk (can substitute water or beef broth)
1 diced onion
2 tbl olive oil
3 cloves crushed garlic
2 eggs
1/4 bunch fresh parsley
2 tbl grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried Italian herb mix (basil, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, etc.)

* Once shaped, bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes, then simmer slowly in a rich tomato sauce for 1-2 hrs.

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Homemade Pizza in 3 Acts

Made properly, pizza at home can be just as good, and probably better, than the stuff you have delivered. Except for the pizza pan you�ll see later, I tried not use any special equipment, like pizza stones, or exotic ingredients you would have a hard time finding.

Act 1: The Pizza Dough (Pay attention or you�ll get pizza D�oh!)

In clip one I make a very simple standard pizza dough. It�s amazing how intimidated people are when it comes to making any kind of dough or bread at home. Hopefully this demo will cure that. By the way, I will add ingredients to all these clips so you can have the exact measurements. This is only really crucial for the dough. The sauce recipe and final pizza can be varied as you see fit. So, let�s get this Pizza party started right! The key to a great pizza dough is a moist, sticky dough. We only want enough flour to be able to work with the dough�too much flour will result in a dry, tough pizza.

The �Sponge�:
2 teaspoons dry yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm water
2/3 cup bread flour

The Rest of the Dry Ingredients:
4 cups unbleached white flour
1/4 cup rye flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil

Act 2: The Pizza Sauce

The sauce for our pizza is also very simple. A fast and tasty base for whatever wonderfully creative toppings we decide to go with later. This is an important point. If you�re going to top the pizza with lots of spicy and/or salty ingredients, your sauce better be fairly basic. Regardless, this quick, homemade sauce will destroy any canned grocery store sauce, as well as most pizzerias. By the way, I�m giving away an ancient family secret in this clip, so pay attention, my Grandmother is watching from pizza sauce heaven!

1 can whole peeled tomatoes (28 oz) �San Marzano� if possible!
3 cloves garlic
2 tbl olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt to taste
1/2 tsp dried Italian herb mix (basil, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, etc.)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
pinch sugar
small pinch baking soda (shhh)

Act 3: The Pizza

OK, so I�m not giving a list of ingredients for the finished pizza. You know what you like. But, here are a few key mistakes most people make when doing pizza at home. They put too much sauce. They put too much cheese. They put too many toppings and when they try to eat it, it all slides off on to the floor and all their left with is a wet piece of steaming bread. Don�t be that person. Watch me restrain myself and also watch how my pizza pie ends up being the shape of a heart. Wow, what a great Valentines gift idea for you guys out there�make your lady a heart shaped pizza! By the way, go to the local Bed, Bath and Beyond, or other kitchen wares store, and get one of the pizza pans with holes in it that I used in this clip. It really makes crispy crust a reality without the 70 pound pizza stone that you probably aren�t going to pull out of the bottom cupboard anyway.

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Spicy Mediterranean Chicken with Sausage Stuffed Cherry Peppers

A culinary tour of the Mediterranean! Succulent Chicken thighs, artichoke hearts, olive, pepperoncini, and sausage stuffed cherry peppers! WARNING: This is an intense food experience, not for the bland palettes of the world.

As I mention in the clip, if you want this dish to be less spicy and intense, drain the pepperoncini before adding. This is great on top of rice or pasta. By the way, I got the inspiration for this dish from my Uncle Bill, who stuffs the �Peppadews� (a great brand of jarred cherry peppers from South Africa) with sausage and grills them as an appetizer.

Ingredients:
6 Chicken Thighs
1 Onion
1 Cup Sliced Pepperoncini
18 Cherry Peppers (Pepperdew if possible)
6-8 Oz. Italian Sausage
Herb De Provence
Salt And Pepper
Cumin
14 Oz Can Artichoke Hearts
1/2 Cup Greek Olives, Pitted
Olive Oil
Chicken Stock
Fresh Herbs to Garnish

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Slow Roasted Lamb Shanks with Garlic and Rosemary

This is simply the easiest and most flavorful way to enjoy lamb. This cut of lamb is also the most affordable, which makes it a great choice for entertaining. Moist, fragrant and falling off the bone, this recipe should be a regular in your fall/winter dinner repertoire. We served this over a wonderful ragout of white beans and aromatic vegetables. You can also see that clip, as it makes a great base to any slow-roasted meat.

PLEASE NOTE: You should get an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is at the proper temperature. Many home ovens are not that accurate when set to a very low temp, like 200 degrees as directed in this clip. To be safe, check your shanks after 2 hours and see if they are �fork tender,� if not simply wrap back up and put them back in.

Also, the shanks from the front legs of the animal are not as large as the hind shanks. This is also a reason to check the doneness after 2 hours. When you buy the shanks, be sure to have the butcher give you ones that are the same size!

Ingredients:
2 Lamb Shanks
Olive Oil
Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Thyme
5 Cloves Garlic
Black Pepper
Salt

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Pastafazool � Italian Soul Food at its Best!

The dish we are making today is really called �Pasta e fagioli,� �pasta and beans.� But, is (mis)pronounced and (mis)spelled by most Italian-Americans (me being one) as "Pastafazoo.� As I mention in the clip, if there is ever a Soul Food Olympics, this simple and hearty Italian meal of beans and macaroni should be that country�s entry! There are so many different kinds, ranging from very soup-like to thicker stew-like versions. Some have meat, some don�t, some have tomato, some don�t, etc. The only standard ingredients are pasta and beans, the rest is up to you (and by you, I mean me).

The pasta I decided to use is called �Orecchiette,� which means �little ears� due to its shape. It really works great as you�ll soon see. For the beans I went with jars of cooked Cannellini beans, seeing no need to cook dry beans from scratch. Also, it was cold and raining outside as I made this dish, and I was very happy about that, as I knew it would make this taste that much better.

Ingredients:
1 pound Italian sausage
8 oz dry pasta (Orecchiette, Penne, Elbow, etc.) careful, that only half a box!
2 jars cooked Italian white Cannellini beans (14 oz each)
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch Italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes
1 tbl dried Italian herbs
1 bay leaf
3 tbl tomato paste
1 quart beef stock (or chicken)

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Calabrese Lollipops � Antipasto on a stick!

This is an extremely easy and fun appetizer perfect for a cocktail party or wine tasting event. In fact, this item was created for a wine and food pairing at the fabulous Frick Winery in Sonoma, CA. Bill Frick produces some amazingly delicious wine, and it�s always a pleasure to pair food with (and very easy, since everything tastes great with them).

As you can see from the ingredients below, you can do multiple variations this by switching the meats, cheese and greens. It�s also great since your guests fingers will stay perfectly clean do to this item�s brilliant construction!

By the way, the �Curb Your Enthusiasm� reference at the end of the clip is only funny if you�ve seen the show (although, it may not even be funny if you have!).

Ingredients:
thin sliced salami or soppresatta
cream cheese or any spreadable cheese
arugula leaves, or spinach, baby romaine, etc.
bread sticks

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Brodo di Manzo with Tortellini and Greens � Shank you very much!

The soul of this dish is an incredibly rich, and deeply flavored, beef broth or �brodo.� This is accomplished by slowly simmering a beef shank for a long time, a really long time - like 4 hours, so if you�re in a hurry, this dish is not for you. But, if you want to enjoy a bowl of something that will warm you to the bone (or shank) then give this extremely simple soup a try.

As you�ll see in the clip the first part of the dish is making the dark and delicious beef broth, after that we add some tortellini and kale to finish. That�s the point where you can swerve in your own direction by adding different types of pasta or greens. This would be just as savory with Swiss chard, mustard greens, etc. As far as pasta substitutions, if you�re not into the cheese tortellini I added, then virtually any other short pasta or macaroni will work.

When I look at the ingredient list I find it hard to believe how such a short and simple list can produce something this satisfying and wonderful. Those �winter blues� will never know what hit them!

Ingredients:
1 beef shank (about 2 inch thick)
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
olive oil
3 tbl tomato paste
1 quart beef broth plus 1 quart water
1 bunch kale
8 oz dried cheese tortellini
salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
parmesan cheese to garnish

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