I don’t generally make boneless breast of chicken recipes, as I find them a little on the dry and on the boring side. Sometimes, though a recipe like chicken marsala calls for it, and this is anything but humdrum.

I wanted a go to recipe that was easy, approachable and still big, fat, healthy food that could bring a little excitement to the middle of the week.

The best recipes I saw on the internet were from Serious Eats and Tyler Florence. I liked both of them, and took pointers from each, while keeping this on the low-carb side.

Easy and Fast Chicken Marsala

Between prep and cooking you are investing about ten minutes of time.

The prep only involves pounding the chicken and slicing the mushrooms and can be done ahead of time.  If that’s ready to go, this dish will be finished by the time it takes to make the spaghetti.

Gluten Free Approach to Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms Recipe

Most recipes have you dredge the chicken cutlets in flour. I did not do that. It’s not necessary and the flour takes away from the nuanced flavors of the Marsala wine and butter.

I used a gluten free pasta, but this would be great with mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower for a full low-carb dinner.

The sauce can be thin (no flour, no starchy thickener) or the sauce can be thicker from those ingredients. There are other options.

Serious Eats suggests gelatin be added to any store bought chicken broth/stock. Gelatin is flavorless and a trick of many chefs. That’s how he makes his chicken marsala.

This makes sense, as ideally, the stock should be full of it’s own gelatin which would give body to the sauce. The best store bought sauce will not have the same viscosity (body) that a restaurant chicken marsala has.

I often keep chicken bone broth like this me in the freezer in small amounts. When I don’t, I use xanthan gum gel.

How to Save Money buying Premium Quality Chicken for Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms Recipe

I can’t stress enough that the quality of your chicken is important. I wait for organic chicken or Greenwise chicken to go on sale (whole chicken) and buy several packages. I also LOVE Belle Evans brand.

Save money by cutting chicken breasts off the bone. It’s really easy to do. I have a pair of poultry sheers and cut the chicken up the back and cut out thigh/leg combinations and breast. The breasts from a whole chicken can feed yield 2-4 servings, and works perfectly for this recipe.

Slice through each breast piece horizontally, resulting in four substantial pieces. You can freeze the leg/thighs for a different day, and separately freeze the back for broth

I used cremini mushrooms, sliced and added Irish butter to the pan to cook them. Make sure they have released their water and are golden brown before adding marsala to pan.

Prosciutto bring flavor to Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms  

Tyler Florence has an easy recipe for chicken marsala and he includes prosciutto. If you don’t have prosciutto, you could use bacon.

If you don’t eat pork or don’t want to use prosciutto, add in some shallots.

How to Pound Out Chicken Cutlets

Take precautions with raw chicken, as you don’t want to contaminate your surfaces. I never lay cutlets on a wooden cutting board. I have a special “chicken only” color coded mat that I lay over my cutting board or on the counter. I only use my wooden cutting boards for fruits, vegetables, cheese and have devoted mats for meat and fish.

The safest thing to do is to put the chicken in plastic bag and pound it flat, so chicken pieces aren’t flying around, contaminating the kitchen.

The one thing both recipes emphasized was frying the cutlets golden brown. You can still do that without flour, keeping the cutlets at a medium low heat. If the cutlets are cold right from the refrigerator, the low heat is especially important, so that they cook through.

Marsala Wine

Marsala wine is an inexpensive, fortified wine from Sicily. Once open, keep it refrigerated. I’ve seen recipes using it with steak and with veal, so it’s not limited to a chicken marsala with mushrooms recipe.

Never buy cooking wine. Period. It’s full of sodium and tastes terrible.

Use fresh Italian parsley at the end of the dish, and if you like a squeeze of lemon to add brightness.

Serve chicken marsala with mushrooms recipe solo, with pasta, with mashed cauliflower or mashed potatoes.

Make this dish keto friendly with these sides

Make this Keto Friendly. Serve with Mashed Cauliflower Rice, cauliflower rice risotto, or Spaghetti Squash.

More Chicken Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Low Carb Keto Chicken Picatta
• Greek Chicken Kabobs
• Chicken Francaise
• Chicken Stuffed with Ricotta
• Mayonnaise Parmesan Chicken Bake
• Chicken Breasts with Mustard Cream Sauce

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Chicken Marsala

Easy chicken marsala, twenty minutes start to finish, with gluten free pasta.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsaltedbutter
• 4-6 slices prosciutto thinly sliced
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms about 8 ounces
• 1/2 cup marsala wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 package unflavored gelatin
• chopped parsley for garnish
• lemon wedge optional

Instructions

• Slice chicken breasts horizontally.
• Put chicken breasts in ziplock bag, pound about 1/4 inch thick.
• Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
• Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in frying pan on medium heat.
• Brown chicken a few minutes on each side, until golden.
• Remove chicken to a warming plate.
• Add prosciutto to pan, lower heat, cook for a minute, stirring.
• Add sliced mushrooms, saute until golden, about 5 minutes.
• Add Chicken back in, add marsala wine, cook down for a few minutes.
• Sprinkle gelatin onto broth. Stir in.
• Add broth and remaining butter into pan. Sauce should thicken rapidly.
• Add parsley.
• Squeeze a little lemon for brightness (optional)
• Serve immediately.

The post Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms and Prosciutto appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

What is Braciole?

Braciole is thin slices of steak, (round or flank) stuffed with parmesan, garlic, parsley, prosciutto and bread crumbs, browned and braised in a tomato sauce. I skip the bread crumbs and I add wine and broth to the tomato sauce and allow it to cook down for several hours. You end up with a flavorful and tender Italian braised steak.

This is a simple dish, which helps to stretch the budget, using a less expensive cut of meat. I like to make this with flank steak, but round steak is cheaper and will still be delicious if you opt for that.

However, you must use fresh parsley, freshly chopped garlic and a very good cheese such as pecorino romano or parmigianna reggiano.

Often a braciole recipe will call for prosciutto, which is a nice addition and adds more flavor like these prosciutto meatballs. I’ll leave that as an option. Prosciutto is expensive and as prices are today, I found that chopped pepperoni is a great addition. Make your own simple tomato sauce from scratch, which is nearly just as easy as opening a jar. Trust me.

You can choose to serve braciole with pasta, mashed potatoes or just an Italian salad and bread. This is a dish that is better the next day, and one in which you should make plenty and freeze.

When I made this braciole recipe a few years ago, I got kids involved. They enjoy the pounding, stuffing and wrapping in string. Please do engage your family in the kitchen. I know, I  say this all the time, but it’s one of the few joys in life and makes amazing memories.

How to Pound Steak for Braciole

You can use flank or round steak. I use round steak, which is not that easy to pound. If either steak is too thick, try to get your butcher to slice through it butterfly style.

Put the meat on either parchment sheets or a plastic cutting board with colored mats that you only use for meat. I like this set from Amazon. Use a meat pounder like this (which I’m an Amazon affiliate).

If your round steak is not wide enough to roll from short side up, roll it cross wise. You will need to use string. If I can roll it all in one piece, I will do that and then cut it into more individual pieces. These are easier to fry and put into the sauce. Don’t worry how it looks. By the time it’s fried, braised and sauced, it will look delicious.

Don’t worry if your rolled steak does’t look good before you fry it. Just make sure it’s tied enough to be able to fry without falling apart. Once it is in the sauce, it will look just fine. Serve with more sauce, and smattering of cheese and parsley.

Add wine and broth (beef or chicken) to the Sauce to add more flavor, and let the braciole cook for hours. You’ll know it’s ready when you jab at with a fork and it wants to comes apart.

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More Italian Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Italian Pork Chops
• Italian Pork Steak
• Beef Ragu
• Brined Pork Roast
• Italian Cheese Stuffed Meatballs
• Italian Pot Roast
• How to Cook Pasta Like an Italian
• Mashed Cauliflower for Low Carb Option

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Authentic Braciole (Stuffed Rolled Steak)

Flank or Round Steak stuffed with parsley, cheese and garlic, braised in tomato sauce.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Keyword braciola, braciole, flank steak, round steak

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons avocado or olive oil
• 2 pounds flank steak or round steak
• 1/2 cup Itallian Parsley chopped (more for garnish)
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 cup Pecorino or Parmesan freshly grated (more for garnish)
• 1/4 cup chopped pepperoni
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs optional
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Tomato Sauce

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 28 ounce cans San Marzano whole tomatoes
• 1 cup broth or water can be beef or chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Steak

• Pound steak very thin. Depending upon the size of steak, you may get more steak slices. You may stuff two large pieces and then you will roll lengthwise and cut into pieces.
• If you are using prosciutto, lay a piece across the steak before filling.
• Chop parsley, mince garlic, grate pecorino or parmesan cheese together along with pepperoni.
• Add this mixture to center of each piece.
• If you want to add a little heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
• Roll up from short side to long. You might also roll lengthwise as stated above, depending on what is easier.
• Tie with string. If rolling lengthwise in large piece, cut Into pieces before tying. You will will get 6 to 8 pieces.
  
• Fry in large frying pan, browning all sides.
• I prefer to make my sauce separately and add braciole to pot.

Tomato Sauce

• Add olive oil and a few garlic cloves to pan. Remove garlic once it turns golden.
• Using hands squeeze tomatoes into oil, along with the juice.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add browned braciole to sauce and braise on low for 2 to 3 hours.
  
• Remember to remove string before eating.
• Freeze: Braciole freezes well and can be reheated in oven or microwave.

The post Braciole Recipe, Italian Stuffed Steak appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

You can absolutely trust my culinary view and opinion, as I only collaborate with brands and products I love, and I’m happy to share these products with you. I made this salad last year for Spectrum Foods and am republishing because it’s so beautiful for the holidays.

I have made this colorful, vibrant Festive Kale Salad most recently for a dinner party. Everyone loved it, but I especially received compliments on the vinaigrette made with Spectrum® Rosemary Olive Oil, honey and apple cider vinegar.

Spectrum® has been producing high quality olive oils for thirty years and has recently come up with a culinary line of infused olive oils such as rosemary, cayenne, garlic and chili sesame and more.  These can be used for dressings, sauces, a light sauté and as finishing oils.

I’ve enjoyed many Spectrum® products while developing recipes, as they make oils for various cooking needs, including more than 30 varieties of seed, nut and plant oils, including coconut oil, apple cider vinegar (which I used here), and avocado oil. I also use the Spectrum® olive oil baking spray.

The extra virgin olive oils come from Spain and Tunisia, each estate grown and produced in small batches, using no chemicals and expeller pressed to ensure the highest quality.

I hope you know by now that Spinach Tiger strives to bring you the freshest food using ingredients that are better for you and this is why I stand by the Spectrum® brand. I use organic ingredients as much as possible, so naturally want to use an organic olive oil.

I can feel confident that this gorgeous salad is getting adorned with an olive oil I can trust.

Festive Kale Salad with Honey Rosemary Vinaigrette Screams Merry, Happy, Joyful Food

There is so much beauty in this festive kale salad which is packed with various textures, sweet, salty and holiday flavors. It is the one salad you can take to a gathering to wow the guests or make a splash at your next dinner party.

There are a lot of components to this salad, such as apples, figs, oranges, and pomegranates, because these come to mind during the holidays and are readily available. This can be the “fruit you have on hand salad” but don’t leave out the butternut squash, which we’ve made the star of the show. You can switch apples for pears or use both. You can also add in dried cranberries for pomegranates.

Roasting Butternut Squash for the Festive Kale Salad

Butternut Squash often perplexes cooks, because it’s difficult to cut into. I suggest microwaving for two to three minutes to slightly soften, and peel with a potato peeler. Once peeled, slicing into discs is fairly easy. The smaller end will have the most seeds, but you should be able to get a good amount of discs without seeds. Roast these for twenty minutes, brushing lightly with oil. Once cooled, you can use a cookie cutter to cut them into stars.

Honey Rosemary Vinaigrette with Spectrum® Organic Rosemary Olive Oil

Just as Spectrum® tests their oils with their own internal quality team to meet high standards for any and all type of cooking, I tested this dressing at least three times to get the right oil with the right vinegar to make sure your salad will taste its best.

We all agreed that for this Festive Kale salad, the Organic Rosemary Olive Oil won hands down for bringing a winter holiday flavor profile, and it pairs perfectly with Spectrum’s apple cider vinegar.  The rosemary flavor is well balanced and does not overpower the greens, yet delivers a nice herbal lift.

I will be making a second recipe, a Spicy Italian Soup with Sausage using Spectrum^® Extra Virgin Cayenne Olive Oil. You will want to come back for that one. Do please follow me on Instagram as many of my process pictures end on stories.

Much love during the upcoming happiest time of the year.

This Honey Rosemary Vinaigrette would be a great choice for any of these additional kale salads from Spinach Tiger.

Tuscan Kale Salad

Autumn Potluck Kale Salad

Chopped Kale Salad with Toasted Almonds

More Butternut Squash Recipes

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash with Brussels Sprouts

Butternut Squash Risotto

Butternut Squash Stacks with Crispy Quinoa Pancake

Butternut Squash Cocktail

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Festive Kale Salad with Butternut Squash, Honey Rosemary Vinaigrette

Festive Kale sale with Butternut Squash, Figs, Prosciutto, Pomegranate, Nut with a Rosemary Olive Oil Vinaigrette.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 bunches lacinato kale see notes
• 1 to 2 cups or handfuls arugula
• 1/2 navel orange peeled
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
• 4 figs cut in halves or quarters
• 6 slices proscuitto sliced thinly, torn into pieces
• 1 medium sized butternut squash
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1 to 2 gala apples or mix of apple and pear
• Honey Rosemary Vinaigrette
• 3 to 6 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 6 tablespoons Spectrum® Rosemary Olive Oil

Instructions

• Microwave butternut squash for 2 to 3 minutes to slightly soften.
• Peel butternut squash with a potato peeler. Cut into 1/2 inch discs crosswise and remove seeds.
• Brush lightly with olive oil and roast at 400 degrees F. for 20 to 30 minutes until softened.Turn over at 15 minutes.
• Roast walnuts for 4 to 5 minutes at 400 degrees F.
• Cool Squash. Then cut into stars with cookie cutter. There will be some left over you can use for another recipe or add into the salad.
• Roast
• Peel orange, cut into bite sized pieces, making sure to remove pith.
• Slice apple and or pears with skin on, thinly or if you prefer, you can dice.
• Remove arils from pomegranate.
• Chop kale into small bite sized pieces, less an inch.
• Toss kale with vinaigrette, just enough to wet leaves.
• You can add more later if needed. (recipe below). Let kale sit in vinaigrette for 20 minutes if you have time.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add arugula to the kale.
• Arrange on large platter or large bowl.
• Add, oranges, sliced apples. Toss until combined. You may leave some sliced fruit on side if serving at party. You can choose to keep figs and prosciutto on side of platter, instead of in the salad.
• When ready to serve, add prosciutto and figs.
• Top with walnuts, pomegranate seeds.
• Top with butternut squash.
• Season again with sea salt and black pepper.
• Taste to see if you need to add more vinaigrette.
• Instructions for Vinaigrette
• Mix vinegar with honey until well incorporated. I do this in a jar.
• Add olive oll. Mix well.
• Taste for acid. You may need to add more vinegar if not acidic enough or more olive oil. This will depend on your own taste. We like kale salad with a lot of acid. Add salt and pepper before you add more vinegar, as that affects flavor.

Notes

Lacinato kale also known as dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale is the long leaves with thick ribs. Remove the ribs before chopping. You can use a curly kale, but I always prefer this kale as a better option for salads.

The post Festive Kale Salad, Butternut Squash, Honey Rosemary Vinaigrette appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Why am I’m telling you how to arrange a beautiful cheese plate?

It’s not because everywhere I turned in France, I was blown away by the cheese. I was and it seems that the French never tire of it either. I remember one night at a party in Grenoble, after several courses of food, the cheese came out and it nearly caused a riot as people elbowed their way to the cheese table.

My decision to write about a cheese board actually started this past summer with a conversation at a cocktail party. I was having a conversation with an amazing home designer who said she wouldn’t know where to start in arranging a cheese plate. She can arrange furniture at magazine level, so I got to work to make this easy and no fail.

How to Build a Beautiful Cheese Plate

Do not be intimidated by the hundreds of cheeses available. If you follow my simple rules, you can put together a fantastic cheese plate. The key is BALANCE, and I’ll make that easy for you.

Establish a Budget 

Cheese can be pricey, as high as $30 a pound, so decide a budget first for the cheese and for the accompaniments.

You can build a cheese plate by shopping at a gourmet cheese department or going to a places like Costco. The advantages of shopping in a gourmet cheese department such as Whole Foods or your local cheese shop is that they will let you taste anything.

They are well versed with how to make selections, and they will offer lots of variety.  They will even cut you smaller pieces of cheese, something you cannot do at the warehouse stores. Nashville has a very nice cheese shop in East Nashville, the Bloomy Rind and they will be happy to help.

More on shopping tips at the bottom of this post.

Balance Your Cheese Board with an Assortment of Cheeses and Complimentary Accompaniments.

A balanced cheese board will contain, cheese, crackers and bread, jam and honey, nuts, fruit and something perhaps something savory such as prosciutto or salami, although that’s not necessary.

Use only Four or Five Cheese Selections, and Vary the Type.

Cheese can be broken down into 4 categories. Bloomy, Hard, Semi-Soft, and Fresh.  (Fresh means not aged and spreadable, such as goat cheese ).

Choose one or two hard or medium hard cheeses, a soft bloomy cheese such as brie, and either a goat cheese or a blue cheese. Not all bloomy or blue cheeses are alike, and I highly recommend you taste the cheese in advance.

Taste Your Cheese Before You Buy. Your cheese monger may recommend a cheese you hate. Cheese is subjective. Don’t feel obligated to like their pick of the day. Tell them it’s not for you and your guests and select another sample.

Bloomy Cheese. Soft Ripened Cream Cheese.  Saint Angel is a triple-crème cheese that is very mild in flavor. I like my cheese a little tangier, but this is a good selection for a well rounded cheese plate. We purchased a very pungent bloomy cheese in a French Market for the train to Italy, and we fell in love with Saint-Felicien’s mushroom tang and it’s heaven when served with crusty bread. We also love  Cowboy Creamery from California.

Medium and Hard Cheese. I have a propensity for sheep’s milk cheese and will always include one on my cheese tray. Sheep’s cheese is easier to digest than cow’s milk and is often a good choice for those who are lactose intolerant. I love the nutty sheep’s milk cheeses like P’tit Basque from France, and Manchego from Spain. If I can find a good Toscana Pecorino, I’ll consider myself lucky. Unlike Romano Pecorino (which is very sharp and salty), this is more approachable as an appetizer, and is especially nice with honey.

A mild cheese that is very festive is Wensleydale with Cranberries. Made with cow’s milk and some sheep’s milk from the United Kingdom, originally made by Monks and passed to farmer’s wives, most people like this.

Fresh Cheese which is not aged. We have a local goat’s milk cheese here from Noble Springs Dairy that is of the highest quality chèvre and my favorite, a little soft-ripened crottin called Harpeth Fleur, a perfectly elegant cheese. I’m also quite fond of award winning Humboldt Fog from California.

A small amount of blue cheese is wonderful to add depth and saltiness. Here, I served pears with Roquefort, and this would be a great addition to a cheese table. You could choose a blue such as Maytag Blue, a french blue sheep’s milk, Roquefort, or an Italian Blue, Gorgonzola. Blue cheeses vary greatly in tartness and creaminess, and you might be surprised that you think you hate blue cheese until you find that right one, or you love blue cheese and find one you cannot tolerate. Keep tasting.

Serve Cheese at Room Temperature – Be sure to take the cheese out an hour before your party. Cold cheese is tasteless and dreadful. Even a bland cheese will come a little bit to life once it warms up.

Choose a Few Accompaniments, Fruit, Nuts, Jams etc. to Build Your Beautiful Cheese Plate

Jams, Honey, Chutney – After you have decided upon your cheese, select one or  two sweet accompaniments, such as one fig jam, preserves, or honey. Some people like pepper jellies, but unless they are quite special, I tend to stay away from them. I would not pour anything over the cheese, but allow guests to help themselves. Serve these in little bowls.

Bread – You can make a delicious loaf of bread like this no-knead artisan bread. 

Here is an awesome gluten free French Bread recipe that would be a wonderful addition.

Crackers – Water or pita crackers are best. You might also include a gluten free cracker. Avoid textures like saltines and Ritz. I also included a chocolate fig cake that is dense and amazing when paired with a hard cheese. Trader Joe’s has a gluten-free seeded cracker we love.

Fruit – Grapes, sliced apples, pears, or nectarines already sliced bring sweetness, texture and color to the board. In this picture, I drizzled syrupy raspberry balsamic over nectarines. Apples, pears, and grapes pair well with every kind of cheese except semi-softs like Mozzarella. Strawberries and apricots go best with soft ripened cheese and goat’s cheese.

Salty Savory Meat – I wrapped melon with prosciutto to add a dairy free element, and because it’s so good. You could add in slices of salami as an alternative. You could also serve this bacon jam.

Nuts or Olives –  Marcona almonds are the perfect accompaniment to any cheese board. In the winter near Christmas, these roasted rosemary walnuts are wonderful. Or, you could add some rosemary to the Marcona almonds. Olives are a nice way to add some salty, briny notes. Add some orange or lemon zest to the olives.

Serve a Sweet with Your Cheese Platter

You might add a tray of dark chocolate, which will go well with red wine for a nice finish. You could also include a light tart such as this pear almond tart, which I tend to serve when the only thing I”m serving is a cheese tray.

Step out and be Different with a Savory Cheesecake

Here is a Savory Cheesecake with a Potato Chip Crust. Recipe Here.

Serving Wine or Beer with a Beautiful Cheese Plate

I am not a wine expert, and I want to keep this simple for you. If you have such an assortment of cheese from mild to hard and strong, include some white wine such as chardonnay (Louis Jadot Macon-Villages Chardonnay is lovely)  or sparkling white which will pair well with the bloomy and softly ripened cheeses. Pinot Noir is a mild red that will also work, even with bloomy cheeses.

Do serve some full-bodied red wine for the stronger cheeses, (I like a deep, fruity Zinfindel) and Doug likes smoky reds like Malbec. Consider serving one sweet wine which will go well with salty blue cheese. Feel free to serve beer with a cheese platter too. Here is a good article on how to pair cheese with beer.

Arrange Your Cheese for Your Beautiful Cheese Plate

You can use your imagination to make the board attractive. Use cake plates, tile slabs, traditional cheese boards, platters, and pretty little dishes for the accompaniments.

Slice some of the cheese ahead, but put out cheese knives for each cheese. You might also want to put name tags at each cheese. Do not slice all the cheese at once. 

Have fun. I have these little mice that always make into on the cheeseboard. After all, a cheeseboard is part entertainment, part delicious.

Shopping Tips for Cheese Buying

• Buy your cheese at least a few days in advance of your event, so that you can shop with leisure, not settling for the local grocery that doesn’t carry much.
• Costco has some really great cheese. It’s where I buy my Manchego and Gouda. They also have Brie and Speciality Cheeses. The only issue might be the larger pieces.
• Trader Joe’s has the cheese, the crackers, the nuts and jams. You could also buy a pre-made tart or cookies as the sweet part. I love the Burrata and the Basque.
• Aldi’s sells cheese, which you can check out, but there have been times I couldn’t get what I wanted.
• Whole Foods will be pricier but you can taste and get assistance. You can ask them for a soft, a hard, a bloomy and a fresh and they should know what you mean. They also have several sheep’s milk cheese choices aside from Manchego and they carry Cowgirl Creamery.
• Some Kroger’s carry Murray’s Cheese, which is very good, but don’t expect to taste or get much assistance unless you run into a demonstration.
• If you have a local cheese shop, take the time to visit and make it an enjoyable experience.

So tell me, what is your favorite cheese?

The post How to Pick an Assortment of Cheese for a Cheese Board appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

These are big fat party sandwiches.  These are the sandwiches that saved a party’s life a long time ago and catapulted me to start a food blog.

We were invited to a very large potluck goodbye party. Something stirred in me all day, as I worried that there wouldn’t be enough good food. The gal we were saying goodbye to was known for her culinary talent and the food she brought to gatherings.

I wanted the food to be deserving of her, so I made five dishes, including these big fat party sandwiches.

I’m a little obsessive like that. It’s not that I knocked myself out  in the kitchen the whole day. I merely put together the best big fat party sandwiches, special enough to celebrate a person who knew her food.

Ingredients like prosciutto, mozzarella, pistou, arugula were tucked into a long crusty bread baguettes  (store bought) for one of the sandwiches.  You can add in hard salami other Italaian meats if you desire. I also made ham, swiss, butter, mustard. I like that combination too.  If you use butter, use Irish butter. People will go crazy! I think mayo should be avoided for any kind of potluck, but that’s just me.

Why You Should Make Your Own Big Fat Party Sandwiches

You might be thinking that the local grocery store can make you big fat party sandwiches, but they never make them big and fat. The only big you usually get is too much bread and not enough meat. You also typically won’t get caprese or prosciutto, unless you’re in Italy, but then you don’t need my help.

How to Purchase Prosciutto for Your Big Fat Party Sandwiches

Prosciutto di Parma is expensive, You could be spending $28 a pound. There’s a reason prosciutto di parma is so expensive, and I talk about that in this post. But, sometimes you can find a decent prosciutto, locally made that will be more affordable. You can also shop for Boar’s Head which is reasonable in price.

Scoop out some of the inside of the bread after it’s cut lengthwise. You don’t need all that filler. When you use prosciutto, you don’t need as much as you do with regular ham, because the flavor is there. You could think of these as more caprese sandwich with prosciutto.

Back to that party that inspired these sandwiches. My five dishes disappeared quickly and two women fought over the last of these cupcakes, which have a gluten free counterpart.

This recipe is more inspiration than anything exact. You can leave out the prosciutto to make the sandwiches completely vegetarian. The pistou is a basil/olive oil condiment that adds a lot of punch for the mellow mozzarella.

Pistou is easy to make. It’s just olive oil, garlic and basil. (no cheese).

Tips for Making the Best Party Sandwiches

• Make sure the bread is crusty, not doughy. Do not use soft rolls, wrapped in plastic. Do not wrap the sandwiches in plastic, once made. Instead use foil; otherwise the bread will be soft and go soggy.
• Make sandwiches ahead, but do not add tomato or pistou/olive oil until right before serving.
• If making fresh and serving immediately, take the mozzarella out of the refrigerator 30 minutes in advance. It will taste better.
• If you can’t use FRESH mozzarella, opt for a different cheese, such as fontina or provolone.
• Use toothpicks to hold the sandwiches together, but make sure your guests can see them.  Use toothpicks like these.

If you’re entertaining gluten free guests, take these same ingredients and make an antipasto or big Italian cold cut salad.

You can also add in this amazing Cheese Plate. Yes, that’s prosciutto with melon. The women tend to gravitate to this.

You may also like these prosciutto appetizers for your party.

Prosciutto Cups

Prosciutto Tuscan White Bean Bruschetta

Prosciutto Crepes

Prosciutto Pear Pizza

Blackberry Shallot Crostini with Crispy Prosciutto

More Appetizers and Small Bites from Spinach Tiger

Crostini Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Prosciutto Party Sandwich

Prosciutto mozzarella pesto in big fat crusty french bread, perfect for parties..

Course Sandwich

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 long french baguettes any kind or size you like
• 1/2 pound prosciutto
• 10-15 slices fresh mozzarella or provolone cheese or fontina
• 1/2 cup pistou recipe here
• fresh tomato slices
• salt and pepper for seasoning

Instructions

• Slice french bread lengthwise
• Remove some of the inside bread (optional). I like less bread.
• Layer meat, cheese, tomato. Add pistou.
• If you don't have pistou, layer chopped basil (chopped put on at the very last minute before serving) with drizzled olive oil. Feel free to add a smattering of oregano or Italian seasoning.
• Season with salt and pepper
• Cut cross wise into two-three inch pieces.

Notes

I also like to make French inspired ham and cheese, using cold butter, mustard, ham and cheese. You can however, mix a grainy dijon mustard with mayonnaise for an easy sandwich spread. Fill with arugula or mache as your green.

If you don't have pesto, layer chopped basil (chopped put on at the very last minute before serving) with drizzled olive oil. Feel free to add a smattering of oregano or Italian seasoning.
Season with salt and pepper
Cut cross wise into two-three inch pieces.

The post Party Sandwiches and Appetizers appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

This is a sponsored post and giveaway in partnership with Vidalia onions. All opinions and recipes are my own.

How exciting is this Vidalia Onion Summer Fruit Pizza?  Very, especially because,  thanks to the Vidalia Onion Committee, we are sponsoring a $1,000 gift card giveaway. Just imagine how handy this will come in for early holiday shopping.

Earlier this summer, I was invited to a lovely dinner at this much loved East Nashville restaurant, sponsored by the Turkey Foundation and the Vidalia Onion Committee. Chef Hal Holden-Bache prepared a gourmet meal centered around these Vidalia onions and turkey. We started with a camembert onion soup that was a dream combination and ended with a Vidalia onion ice cream sandwich that left us astonished. There wasn’t a bite left on any plate.

The History of the Vidalia Onion is Intriguing

The Vidalia onion gets it name from Vidalia, Georgia, where the onions got their surprising start. Only a limited number of counties  in Georgia can produce these sweet onions, which were grown “sweet” by accident.

When developing my recipe, there were so many ideas swimming in my head for how to make onions the star of the show. This Vidalia onion summer fruit pizza is just one of several dishes I will be featuring in the coming days, so be sure to come back to visit for Vidalia onion risotto and Vidalia Onion Savory Cheesecake. I decided to make the summer fruit pizza the highlight of this group of recipes because of the summer fruits complementing the sweetness of  Vidalia onions. Add to this a layering of salty prosciutto and sweet corn, and you have the best of the summer in one bite.

The blackberries, honey and basil garnish the pizza AFTER the summer fruit pizza comes out of the oven. The berries give the bite that extra juice and texture, meld perfectly with onions and compliment the corn and peaches. It’s a fantastic bite.

Make sure to not over top the toppings. Proscuitto is salty, so place small amounts here and there. The fresh corn adds texture and another layer of sweetness. The Vidalia onions are thinly sliced and added as the last ingredient (with a smattering of olive oil) before hitting the oven.

Make sure you put the blackberries on the pizza after it comes out of the oven and then drizzle honey.

Please come back this week to get more Vidalia onion recipes. Think risotto and savory cheesecake. The Vidalia Onion Website  has lots of great recipes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Vidalia Onion Summer Fruit Pizza

How to make a summer fruit pizza sizzle with vidalia onions and proscuitto, sweet corn, peaches blackberries and drizzle of honey.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 16- ounce pizza dough store bought or recipe here
• 6 slices prosciuitto thinly sliced
• 2 ears fresh corn
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese see note
• 1 large peach
• 1 -2 Vidalia onions thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 16 large blackberries
• 6 leaves fresh basil for garnish
• 1 tablespoon honey for drizzle

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees (500 degrees if your oven goes that high)
• If using a store bought pizza dough, bring to room temperature for at least one hour. If the dough seems to resistant to stretching, allow to warm up even more.
• Slice peaches, leaving skin on.
• Cut corn off of the cob.
• Slice Vidalia onions thinly.
• See notes on bakeware for pizza. Divide your dough accordingly, depending on size of pizza.
• Stretch out as much as possible to get a very thin crust. If you make holes in pizza, just push dough together. Holes will fill as pizza is baking.
• When assembling ingredients, place them sporadically.
• Put prosciutto on bottom, followed by corn, peaches, cheese, onions and drizzle of olive oil. Do not put blackberries or honey until the pizza comes out of the oven.
• Bake in very hot oven 450 - 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes, checking at 8 minutes.
• Slice basil chiffonuad style, but not until you are ready to apply.
• Stack basil leaves, roll, and slice perpendicular to the roll.

Notes

You can use cast iron griddle, frying pan, pizza stone or baking sheet pan for pizza. If using sheet pan, make one large pizza. It will not reach sides completely. That's okay. If using stones, this will make two medium sized pizza or three small individual pizzas.

Mozzarella Cheese - if using fresh, make sure you get all the moisture out, especially if packed in water. You can crumble into bite sized pieces with your hands and place on paper towels.

More Pizza Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Let’s Connect on Instagram

Vidalia Onion Sweet Corn Risotto 

The post Vidalia Onion Summer Fruit Pizza appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

In Italy, veal is served frequently. In fact, when I was there almost every dinner I ate had veal in it. If you’ve been around here for a while, you’ll notice a lot of veal recipes.

I grew up on veal, and love it for its tenderness and flavor. It’s always been considered a delicacy growing up and is most often served with elegant sauces. It can also be considered a romantic, special occasion choice, especially, when prepared with brandy, wine and puff pastry.

I chose a brandy, white wine melange of shallots and mushrooms inside of a puff pastry with prosciutto and fontina cheese. It’s a divine mixture of elegance that would be a distinct dinner party entree or starter.

Veal itself is lean and nutritious, not calorie or fat laden like beef, and a good choice for a healthy diet. One of the most important things to me is that it is raised humanely.

Cedar Springs veal family farmers use best practices and as part of a promotion, they sent me some veal cutlets to create a recipe. I wanted to step outside the box of the typical veal dishes and made a sort of modern day, savory veal pop tart, which is elegant, and richly satisfying.

I was very pleased with their veal and impressed with their practices. Mountain States Rosen veal growers have come together to establish protocols which focus on animal quality of life and well being. This is important to me.

Veal can be found in many cuts and is very versatile. While playing around I also made very healthy stuffed veal rolls, which I’ll post at another time, but for the contest, I wanted to go all out and make something very luxurious.

Quick Puff Pastry Recipe with Veal, Prosciutto, Fontina, Mushrooms

Quick puff pastry stuffed with prosciutto and veal is tasty, elegant, and will get a few bravos.

This is a romantic recipe, easy to prepare in advance, and comforting without being too heavy. It pairs well with charred carrots. Simply microwave peeled sliced carrots to soften and then throw into a hot frying pan with butter or olive oil for a few minutes.

The good news is how easy this quick puff pastry recipe is to make. Starting with a defrosted puff pastry,  this can made in under 30 minutes.

You roll out a puff pastry sheet to 14 x 14, and and then cut four pieces. Layer fontina cheese, prosciutto, veal, mushrooms, herbs. Fold and bake seam side down. Easy and elegant, this is a super quick puff pastry recipe.

I mixed some brandy into white wine to create a more complex flavor for the minced mushroom/shallots mixture.

Prosciutto brings flavor, and the fontina cheese brings creaminess, but is mild enough to not disturb the balance of the dish.

This veal was sent to me from Mountain States Rosen, which makes veal under the Cedar Springs Veal name.

Cedar Springs Veal has been provided for this post for contest entry.

So tell me do you ever make veal cutlets. I grew up on them, fried in Italian breadcrumbs and served with lemon. They were always a treat.

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Quick Puff Pastry Recipe with Veal and Prosciutto

Veal, Prosciutto, baby bella mushrooms and Fontina cheese stuffed into puff pastry for a very elegant meal.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 4 oounces veal cutlets
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups baby bella mushrooms finely chopped
• 2 shallots finely chopped
• 4 slices fontina cheese
• 4 slices prosciutto thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon brandy
• 8 sprigs thyme or 1 tablespoon parsley
• salt
• pepper
• 1 egg

Instructions

• Defrost puff pastry sheet.
• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Pound veal cutlets with meat pounder until very thin.
• Dredge in flour.
• Put 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter into frying pan. Add more oil if you need to.
• Fry cutlets until browned (but not too brown). Drain on paper towels. Set aside.
• Set cutlets aside.
• In clean pan, use remaining oil and butter to soften shallots and mushrooms (over medium low heat). Don't brown shallots, just soften.
• Add in wine and brandy. Be careful and use a lid immediately to prevent a grease splash. Remove lid to continue cooking.
• Simmer until alcohol has evaporated and there is a sauce, but no juice.
• Roll out puff pastry to 14 x 14 square. You may need to flour your surface first.
• Cut into 4 pieces.
• Layer cheese prosciutto, veal, mushroom sauce, and garnish with some time or chopped parsely).
• Add black pepper.
• Fold and using water crimp edges closes.
• Place on baking sheet seam side down.
• Brush with egg wash.
• Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

More Recipes with Veal from Spinach Tiger

Veal Bolognese

Veal Meatballs

Veal Osso Bucco

Veal Stew with Onion Sauce, Sage and Peas

Veal and Beef Shepherd’s Pie

Veal & Turnip Stew with White Wine

Veal Sugo

The post Quick Puff Pastry Recipe with Veal and Prosciutto appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

It has been way too long since I’ve talked about pizza, but now I just may overload you.

I recently got out Marcella Hazan’s Pizza Dough recipe and then got a little pizza crazy. We’ve been making pizza every day. I love playing the the dough and we even made a video making dough and will be embedding a video of this pizza here as soon as we clear the music copyright.

I’m always giving Retro Rose a lecture about eating too much pizza, trying to get her to cut down on the grains, but ask me how I’m doing with that. You know she was the first to arrive at my most recent pizza party, but while she sticks to the traditional, I like unusual toppings, and I tend to play around with fruit a lot.

Pears and prosciutto are a natural together, and last year I made prosciutto pear amuse bouche. That same combination with cheese and honey on a crispy, chewy pizza crust is even better.

Now this a pizza of two lives. It could almost be a dessert pizza because of the honey and the pears. However, it could just as easily be a main course pizza or an appetizer pizza. That’s up to you.

More Pizza Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Pizza Dough

Pear and Fig Jam Pizza on the grill

Broccoli Rabe Pancetta Pizza

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Pear Prosciutto Goat Cheese Pizza

Pizza that is good for dessert, appetizer or main event, sweet, salty, chewy, crispy.

Course Pizza

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• Pizza Dough Recipe found here
• 2 Bosc Pear thinly sliced
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 8 thinly sliced pieces prosciutto
• 4 Tablespoons goat cheese
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

• Roll out pizza dough
• Arrange mozzarella cheese almost to the ends of dough
• Cover with pears
• Tear prosciutto and place intermittently
• Add in some goat cheese in small amounts, intermittenly
• Put pizza on heavy cast iron griddle or stone that has been preheated.
• Place on bottom rack of the oven.
• Bake at 450 or 500 degrees F for 6-10 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper out of the oven.

The post Pear Prosciutto Goat Cheese Pizza with Honey Drizzle appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I eat out frequently, which is where I get a lot of my cooking inspiration. I’ve noticed a new trend.

A lot of upscale casual restaurants that are not specifically Italian are adding papparadelle with meatballs, bolognese sauce or a rabbit ragu to their dinner menus. I’ve thought about this because I think about food and food culture a lot. I watch food trends. I pay attention not just to what people are dining out on but what people are dining in on.

The typical American family doesn’t dine at home the way people used to. They rush and split up venturing out to various sports games or other activities. The dining table is piled up with everything except plates and dinner napkins. They are too busy to invite people over and they are too busy to relax at the table at leisure. It’s not because women work, because all the women in my family worked full-time throughout my entire childhood, yet I still have a book full of food memories and conversations at the table, where television was not allowed, and we lingered for a long while because it was fun, entertaining and heart warming.

Taking all of this into consideration, it’s not easy to find someone taking the time to make a homemade pasta, homemade meatballs and a homemade sauce. Yet, no dish screams of comfort more, and I think these restaurants have realized they can offer the family experience at their own table. Such a meal has a value outside of the home much more than it did in the past. It’s a way to get what I had in the past. You have to talk. You can’t leave the table. It’s an experience that will be remembered far longer than an activity.

This is my twist on a classic. The prosciutto in the meatballs adds an interesting layer of flavor to the beef. A chunky tomato sauce pairs well with papparadelle, which is a wide egg noodle made here. You can substitute papparadelle with a macaroni such as a rigatoni or penne pasta which also likes a chunky sauce. Store bought pasta is almost as good if it’s a premium pasta. Chunky tomato sauce made with San Marzano tomatoes is cooked just enough to extract the flavor of the tomatoes and finish the meatballs.

The journey to get to this dish is also part of the experience. Kids can help you make the pasta, or mix the meatballs. There is always something a child can do to be a part of the family food culture. The day we ate this pasta with meatballs, my table was stretched with three extra leaves, and I had to borrow chairs to seat everyone. Two little almost 6 year old boys served each plate to each guest and then cleared each plate. I almost tear up when I think of how many children are missing this kind of experience. Good food is important, but it’s always more than the food that makes the memory and creates a culture.

So tell me, do you have a childhood dish that screams comfort to you?

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Papparadelle with Prosciutto Meatballs, Chunky Tomato Sauce

Prosciutto Meatballs and Chunky tomato sauce add great flavor to a homemade papparadelle.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Tomato Sauce

• 2 large cans San Marzano Tomatoes
• olive oil
• 1/2 onion quartered
• 1 garlic clove peeled left whole
• fresh herb such as fresh Italian parsley or fresh basil
• sea salt
• black pepper

Meatballs

• 1 slice white sandwich bread torn into large pieces
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pound grass fed ground beef you can use half and half ground pork
• 1 large egg
• 3 1/2 slices prosciutto finely chopped
• 2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Tomato Sauce

• Place oil in pan with onion. Sweat onion for two minutes on medium heat. Add in garlic clove. Cook until almost golden. Remove onion and garlic. Add in tomatoes and one half can water. Add salt, pepper, herbs. On medium low heat, cook for 15 minutes. Add in meatballs. Cook for 30 minutes. Sauce will chunky and fresh. If you need to keep warm longer on stove, simmer at lowest possible heat.

Meatballs

• Combine ground beef and one egg.
• Add bread, prosciutto, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Combine with hands gently. Do not overwork.
• Form into 2 tablespoon portions and form meatballs. Fry in olive oil for 3 minutes.
• Place in tomato sauce, cook for 30 minutes.
• Cook pasta according to instructions or see homemade pasta here.
• Assemble pasta, meatballs, sauce.

The post Papparadelle with Prosciutto Meatballs, Chunky Tomato Sauce appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Roasted Broccolini wrapped in prosciutto is so tasty that I will confess here and now that when I made these, I ate them all at once. Enough said. But, wait, there’s so much more to know.

Broccolini is related to broccoli, but a smaller version, a little sweet, a little pungent, and edible from stem to flower. It’s attractive, and has no waste. Broccolini makes a nice side dish when plating for a dinner party, because a bunch is usually the same size. Of course, there are those health benefits such as boosting the immune system which has become very important this season.

Prosciutto is cured Parma ham, boasting a 2000 year history. It’s mostly meant to be eaten just as is, and rightly so. But, every now and again, we crisp it up in dishes like prosciutto wrapped asparagus or this prosciutto asparagus frittata.

Roasting broccolini that is wrapped in prosciutto is a clever idea, but not my own. I found it at Claire K Creations.

Roasted Broccolini and Prosciutto di Parma

Prosciutto di Parma is what I’m most familiar with as an Italian. It’s so special, it’s nearly sacred in it’s tradition, It’s protected by a Consortium, and boasts the Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) you will often see with products from Italy. The pigs are bred in North Central Italy and the prosciutto must be produced in Parma.

Prosciutto is 100% natural with no additives or preservatives outside of salt. Prosciutto is made from the hind leg of a pig. They are fed cereal grains and whey from another Italian protected product, Parmigiano-Reggiano. The process is carefully adhered to and can take as long as two years.

Italian food is adored all the world over. One of the reasons is the long well kept traditions that have been perfected for hundreds to thousands of years. When I buy something like Parmigiano-Reggiano or Prosciutto di Parma, I don’t just think about my recipe. I think about what it took to prepare the food, and import it. I think about the people generations ago who developed the methods, worked in the fields, raised the pigs (or cows for the cheese). I think about how they fretted over the right climate, the right feed, and the proper and safe way to preserve this succulent, sweet and at the same time savory wonderment called Parma Ham or Prosciutto di Parma. It is often eaten thinly sliced with fresh melon or figs. I like it with either and a drizzle of honey.

Roasted Broccolini is wrapped with proscuitto and placed on baking sheet.

Serve with lemon wedges and drizzle with a little honey.

If you love prosciutto di parma as much as me, try it on your next cheese platter.

More Low Carb Vegetable Recipes Here

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Roasted Broccolini Wrapped in Prosciutto

Roasted Broccollini wrapped in prosciutto. Can be an appetizer or a side dish.

Course Appetiser

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 bunch broccolini
• 8 slices prosciutto or enough for a slice (or half sliced per piece
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
• sea salt
• black pepper
• lemon slices

Instructions

• trim the ends of the broccolini, wash and dry thoroughly.
• wrap each piece with prosciutto. If the piece is too skinny, use two pieces. You could do a bundle, but I found it cooks better to do very small bundles or individual pieces.
• Add mustard and vinegar together. Add in oil. Mix well.
• Brush vinaigrette generously on the broccolini.
• Roast for 15 minutes (checking 10) at 350 degrees.

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