Michael Angelo's Chicken Piccata

Because school has me studying hard and running around like a chicken with my head cut off, I have not been cooking (or blogging) like I want to. As a result, I've been buying frozen dinners fairly frequently. Lately, I was craving Italian anything, so I went to the grocery store and perused the frozen dinner section. I stuck with the usual (rhymes with Topher with an "S" in front) meals but a meat lagnasa by Michael Angelo's caught my eye so I bought one. It was great! Much better than the other brand.

I went back a few days later and decided to try several of the other Michael Angelo's products. Oh. My. God! The Chicken Piccata is to die for! I don't think I could make it from scratch any better than theirs! YUM! YUM! YUM!

I searched for a recipe like it but have come up empty handed as they add a few more ingredients than the recipes I've found. So, as soon as I have some time, I'm going to modify a recipe and make it. I'll let you know how it comes out and will post the recipe if it's as good as Michael Angelo's is! Otherwise, I'll be purchasing the family size Michael Angelo's Piccata!

At any rate, if you are in a hurry and don't have time to cook, the Michael Angelo's products, particularly the Piccata, are wonderful. Besides the Piccata I liked the Meat Lagnasa and the Baked Ziti with Meatballs. Back to studying now. Ciao!

Lent Is Upon Us

Mardi Gras season ended with Ash Wednesday yesterday and now Lent is upon us. Time for all us South Louisiana Catholics to repent for the drunken debauchery we partake in the rest of the year! Mea Culpa!

Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter and is a time of sacrifice for Jesus. It lasts for 40 days and culminates with Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. On Ash Wednesday, every Friday and on other Holy Days during Lent, we do not eat meat.

Because seafood is acceptable and Louisiana has an abundance of fabulous seafood, we make a lot of our best and favorite seafood dishes during Lent. I've linked seafood recipes and other non-meat recipes that I've previously posted on the site so you can peruse them easily.

Shrimp Jambalaya
Seafood Gumbo
Seafood Eggplant Casserole
Cajun Cornbread Casserole
Copeland's of New Orleans Hot Crab Claws
Barbeque Shrimp
Crawfish Bisque
Garlic Cheese Grits Just Add Shrimp!
Shrimp Salad
French Onion Soup
Chicken Enchiladas Substitute the chicken for Shrimp!
Vegetable Boil Season it up some more and add any seafood!
Shrimp and Spinach Salad or Dip
Creole Crawfish Etouffee
Crawfish Stew
Spinach Madeline Add some lump crabmeat or shrimp!
Shrimp Creole
Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca

Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca

Let's face it, we all love spaghetti! I know I did and so did my sister. When she was in elementary school (about 8 or 9 yrs old), she declared that she loved spaghetti so much that she was going to marry an Italian man (a doctor) and eat spaghetti every day for the rest of her life.

Then she would slurp that noodle into her mouth with such force, the end would slap her chin, nose, cheek...you get the picture. Well, she married an Italian but he was a CPA. As far as eating spaghetti every day, ummmm, she sure could...if he let her!

As I've aged my tastes have changed and I don't care for all the sauce as much. So, I set out on a quest to find another way to enjoy pasta and still have the same flavors. And guess what? My sister, the spaghetti loving slurper, acquired a new recipe from a friend and it was to die for. This robust combination is known as Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca which I usually serve with a chicken breast or pan-fried fish.

1 lg can tomatoes, cut into chunks
2 tbls olive oil
2 - 4 anchovy filets , optional
3 - 4 plump garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 small jar capers, drained
1 small can sliced black olives
1 pkg spaghetti
2 tbls parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt
Pepper

Put pasta on to boil. Optional: Soak anchovies for 15 minutes in water then rinse and chop. Heat the oil on medium heat in a large skillet or pan. Add the optional anchovies saute, then crush with the back of a spoon until they fall apart.

Add the tomatoes with juice, garlic, capers, olives and seasonings. Saute about 15 to 25 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.

Cook the pasta, strain, and rinse the pot. When the pasta is strained return it to the pot and put it on medium heat. Add the sauce and cheese. Toss together over medium heat until it is well coated. Serve.

Crawfish Fettuccine

Crawfish usually come fully into season midway through Lent. As a result, one of my family's favorite Easter dishes is Crawfish Fettuccine. It's a nice fattening celebratory splurge after the restrictive fast of the Lenten period so this is the only time I make it!! This dish is absolutely fabulous and really not all that difficult to prepare. You will need a very large pot and two large 9x13 casserole dishes (or equivalent), however. This recipe makes enough for a fairly large gathering or you can have plenty of leftovers. It also freezes well. Just put it into gallon size ziplock bags and squeeze all the air out before sealing the bag closed. Lay the bag on its side and flatten it as much as possible before placing it in the freezer. Shrimp may be substituted for the crawfish. Beware! Crawfish Fettuccine produces cravings!!!

2 lg onions, chopped
1 bellpepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 sticks butter
2 12oz pkgs fettuccine
¼ cup flour
1 qt Half & Half
1 can mild chopped green chili peppers
4 lbs crawfish tails with fat (or peeled Small to Medium Shrimp)
1 lb Mexican Velveeta cheese, cut up into chunks
Grated Parmesan cheese

Put pasta on to cook. In the large pot, saute vegetables in 2 sticks of butter. Add flour, blend well. Add peppers & crawfish. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until crawfish are done. Raise heat a little, add cheese and Half & Half slowly. Stir frequently until cheese melts. Drain cooked pasta. Add remaining stick of butter to crawfish mixture and allow to melt. Stir well. Mix pasta and crawfish mixture together until well blended. Separate mixture into 2 lg greased casserole dishes. Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese and bake @ 350 for approx 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and browning on top. Serve with a nice salad and french or garlic bread.

Odds And Ends Cooking

I love making a great meal by just pulling odds and ends out of the fridge. Last nite, I had 1 lb shrimp, leftover cooked angel hair pasta, butter, garlic, green onion...ok, I thought...Shrimp Scampi. Then I found some heavy cream and fresh grated parmesean cheese! Shrimp Alfredo! Gotta love cooking from scratch! Accompanied by a side salad with romaine and a home grown tomato, a little green onion, a pinch of anchovy paste, a splash of Italian dressing, salt, pepper...YUMMY

Edith Head's Chicken

Edith Head was a famous Hollywood costume designer who worked for Paramount and Universal from the late 1930's to the early 1980's. She designed gowns for famous actresses such as: Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly and was the costume designer for equally famous movies: Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Rear Window and Breakfast at Tiffany's. She also designed Tippi Hedren's wardrobe for The Birds! This is one of her favorite recipes that my grandmother found in Life Magazine in the 1960's. It became one of my grandmother's favorites as well as my mother's and mine.


2 pkgs boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 lb fresh sliced mushrooms
2 lg cans black olives
1 bunch chopped green onions
3 cloves garlic, sliced or minced
2 cans chicken stock
1/2 cup cooking sherry or dry white wine
1/2 stick butter and 1/3 cup olive oil
salt pepper, paprika
Tony's, to taste
Rotini spiral pasta

Season chicken with salt & pepper. Saute in butter and olive oil until brown. Add mushrooms, olives and green onions, cover and simmer until vegetables are wilting. Sprinkle with flour and stir until blended. Add chicken stock, garlic and wine, stir. Sprinkle with paprika and blend. Simmer till tender. Serve over rotini pasta.

***See Tips and Information on Tony's.