DMC Italian Dressed Chicken

Dalla Mia Cucina Italian Dressed Chicken

I think you�ll love.. LOVE, this Italian Dressed Chicken, moist, flavorful and all yummy goodness. You�ll never think of fried chicken the same way again!

Chicken drumsticks, Newman's Own Olive Oil & Vinegar Dressing, fresh Oregano, fresh basil and spices

This actually was a recipe I created specifically for use with Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing. I received a yummy boxful of Newman's products to review, rate and create.. and I knew immediately what I wanted to do. Previously in my Rosemary and Mushroom Fried Chicken recipe I showed you that I boil the chicken before I fry it. This procedure cuts down on the frying time and ensures a moist chicken done to perfection. So when I had the product in front of me, my immediate thought was, "I wonder what the results of boiling the chicken in the dressing would be?"
Scrumptious.. delicious.. delectable.. superb and moist to the bone!! This was a great idea and definitely worth trying.
I hope you enjoy this DMC Italian fried chicken.. courtesy Newman's Own Olive Oil & Vinegar Dressing.
Buon Appetito!
Laurie

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:
12 chicken drum sticks cleaned and skin removed
1 bottle Newman's Own Olive Oil & Vinegar Dressing
� cup white balsamic vinegar
1 shallot finely chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
3 sprigs fresh oregano cleaned, dried and chopped
1 bunch fresh basil leaves, cleaned, dried and chopped
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Although this technique may seem different than most fried chicken recipes, I always get a wonderfully moist chicken this way and the fry time is lessened so drying out the drummies is less likely to occur!

1. Pour Newman's Own Olive Oil & Vinegar Dressing in a deep frying pan. Add the white balsamic vinegar.
2. Turn heat to medium and allow dressing to come to a simmer. Add chicken drummies.
3. Simmer chicken till cooked through.. approximately 20 minutes.
4. Remove chicken from pan.
5. In a heated clean skillet, drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil, add chopped garlic and shallots. Saut� till tender.
6. Add chicken. Sprinkle fresh herbs and freshly ground black pepper on top. Cook on medium, turning till chicken is browned on all sides, around 10 � 12 minutes.

Enjoy your Italian Dressed Chicken with a salad and spring vegetables on top of brown or white rice.

Stuffed Mushrooms

If there's one side dish that is most requested by my children in our home.. it would have to be stuffed mushrooms. I love cooking with mushrooms and in my opinion they make a successful ingredient in almost everything. :) One of my first posts here on DMC was an onion and mushroom saute. Yumm! You can check it out here.

You can use white button mushrooms, which are also called agaricus, crimini mushrooms, portabello mushrooms or porcini mushrooms for the base. Did you know that portabello mushrooms are the same as crimini just on a larger scale.
For the stuffing I use bread crumbs, freshly ground from a stale loaf of bread or store bought crumbs are fine too. I add Parmesano Reggiano grated cheese, finely shredded mozzarella, melted butter, white wine and salt and pepper to taste. Very little black pepper for it will overwhelm the flavors if your not careful. I don't have exact quantities for this recipe but I do always start with the bread crumbs and cheese for the base and work from there. Add the liquids a little at a time. A few tablespoons of melted butter then a few tablespoons of the wine till the mixture is moist enough to hold together when pinched. Have your mushrooms ready, stems removed, mushrooms cleaned with a damp cloth or a dry brush. Don't ignore your stems from the mushrooms.. they will make a wonderful addition to your stuffing if finely mince and added to the rest of the ingredients.

Bake in a preheated 375� oven for approximately 12 - 15 minutes. They will be golden brown in color and the cheese from the inside should be oozingly delicious.

Ciao and Buon Appetito!
Laurie

Zucchini Pineapple Bread

Thank you to all of you who still come by and leave comments or send emails to check up on me. :)
Life is busy and full of changes at every corner. Some fun events and new ways for me to express my creativity have come up within the past couple of months, but I really want to get back here to DMC with some new recipes and photo's to share. My friend Marie from "Proud Italian Cook" say's simple recipes and pictures only are o.k. too. Hugs Marie.. you are an awesome friend and inspiration and I appreciate you!
Have you all read her interview with Mary Anne Esposito of Ciao Italia? Congratulations Marie, well done!!

Oh so simple.. this recipe was already yummy but I just played it up a bit by adding the drained crushed pineapple, substituting rum for the vanilla and adding chopped walnuts. Enjoy and Happy New Year!!

Buon Appetito,
Laurie

Adapted from Ashley Christensen recipe
featured in Food & Wine Magazine

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons rum
1 1/2 cups zucchini, coarsely shredded
3/4 cup crushed pineapple liquids completely squeezed out
3/4 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375�. Butter an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan and coat it with sugar. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder. In a medium bowl, whisk the canola oil with the eggs, sugar and rum. Add the shredded zucchini and pineapple. Stir the zucchini, crushed pineapple batter into the dry ingredients. Add chopped walnuts and mix.

2. Pour the zucchini pineapple bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the zucchini pineapple bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

* My pineapple and walnut addition