Recipe(tried): Hey Julie... and Ya'll thanks for asking...here are the recipes!!!

Well... for all of you wondering... I thought I would start out by telling you that I had no idea what I was doing with the fried Calamari.... One thing I have discovered over the years... is act like you know what you are doing... and people will treat you like it is so.... In other words... act like you belong there and people will treat you that way!!!

In any case... I was a little apprehensive since I have never cleaned Calamari before. I read everything that I could in the cook book...but my companion's aunt's "war stories" really had me stressed out (she was Italian ... and mentioned how she had squid INK all over the place...) but I knew not to 'let it show". I went and bought about 3 pounds... since I wasn't so sure how much calamari I would be left with once I removed the bone, insides and head... The recipe called for 1 1/2 pounds of calamari. It talked about pulling off the skin... and the fins... I was very confused since I like to know EVERY LAST DETAIL... I hate to not know what I am doing... but .. believe it or not... it is impossibe to not know what it is talking about.. once it is in front of you... I was really scared...but typical of my personality... I will approach anything I am afraid of to prove something to myself... boy was I glad... It really is a simple process... infact I think it is even easier than shelling shrimp!!! I know it took less time.

In any case... the fried calamari turned out really great... it was very TENDER since I was the one who had control over the cooking time...

On another note... I got to share a major screw up with ya'll... of course something I am not proud of ... but something I really think you need to hear so that when you make mistakes you realize its ok to be part of the human race... ( I tend to be very critical of myself... and hearing that others make mistakes helps me realize that people don't always expect perfection from me...) When I made the Chicken Cacciatorie I could have sworn that the recipe called for 8 pounds of tomatoes...(how embaressing!!!) but I decided that I was going to do the recipe as it stated... so I bought 8 pounds of tomatoes... (by NYC prices that amounted to almost 25 dollars...) I kept thinking... this is suppose to be peasant food... what am I doing??? In any case... the recipe calls for 8 CUPS!!!!! not 8 pounds... needless to say that my chicken cacciatorie turned out with a lot more sauce...but it still turned out good anyway.... It wasn't perfect... but... it was still very good... so here is the recipe... as well as the rice casserole recipe that you were asking for Julie...

Since I am sharing all the embaressing moments I might as well share how mistakes happen for a reason... I ended up using 5 pounds of meat...not a whole chicken cut up... I used a mix of thighs and breasts that I chopped up a bit to fit... and then some legs... then I added a lot of fresh basil and then extra tomato paste... I had a HUGE!!! amount... my companion who is 1st generation italian I kept teasing him since the recipe stated it was for 4-6 people...and when I was done with it ... Welll... let me just say that I could have fed an ARMY!!!! I kept teasing him asking " what exactly does 4-6 portions mean to someone italian!!!??" His response was "Well of course... it means... 4-6 italian sized portions!!!"

The next day one of my closest friends who has a 1 year old, made a comment when I told her how much I ended up with... recommended that we exchange extra portions ... so each of us could benefit from making sooo much extra the night before... so Nina ended up with a much needed dinner... since she is ALWAYS very busy since she is one of these really incredible mothers!!! and spends most of her days being with her BABY!!! and what a baby she is!!!! so I then realized I was supposed to make some extra to pass along... (Isn't that what life is all about anyway??? HELPING each other!!!????)

Here are the recipes...and thank you for indulging me... You are all the greatest!!!

Chicken Cacciatorie--- Chicken Hunter's Style Serves: 6

1 chicken (5 pounds), cut into pieces
cup olive oil
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup julienned carrot
1 cup julienned green pepper
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
8 cups chopped, peeled tomatoes
cup tomato paste
cup red or Marsala wine
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
freshly grated Romano cheese

Wash and drain the chicken pieces. Heat the oil in a deep skillet. Roll and coat each chicken piece in the flour , and brown each piece on all sides to a golden brown. Transfer the chicken to paper towels to drain.
Saute the onion, mushrooms, carrots, green peppers, and garlic in the same skillet for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and saute for another 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, wine, herbs, salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes.

Add all the chicken pieces and mix well. Turn down the heat very low, and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Adjust the salt and pepper to your taste. Serve with some freshly grated cheese and a nice warm loaf of Italian bread. I like to dip my bread in the sauce don't you?


Rice Casserole Serves: 4-6

2 cups white rice
2 bunches green onion , chopped
3 medium zucchini squash, chopped
cup butter
cup olive oil
7 eggs
2 cups grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
teaspoon pepper
cup Italian bread crumbs, seasoned

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the rice and stir. As soon as the rice begins to boil, cover and turn down the heat very low. Let simmer until light and fluffy, about 20 minutes. Set aside and cool. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a skillet, sautee the chopped onions and zucchini in the butter and olive oil until they are tender. Be sure not to brown the onions.

Whip 6 of the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add the rice and grated cheese. Be sure the rice is not too hot or it will harden the eggs. Stir in the sauteed vegetables, salt and pepper.

Oil a large glass baking dish. Coat with the Italian bread crumbs and spread the rice and vegetable mixture evenly in the dish. Whip the last egg in a small mixing bowl and , using a pastry brush, brush the egg evenly over the top of the rice. Bake until golden brown, about 45minutes. Cool for hour, cut into squares and serve. This mixture can be made ahead of timethawed out and baked.


I hope ya'll enjoy!!!

Joel---NYC