Page 10 - Italian American Herald - February 2020

10 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | FEBRUARY 2020 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD
THE CHEF’S PERSPECTIVE
After festive feasting, time for homemade moderation
By Murray Schulman
This start of the new year has been busy, fun and exciting. We got through the holidays fully enjoying the company of the entire
family. New Year’s Eve was Liz’s birthday. One of her gifts from the children (grown with families of their own) was an overnight trip to Lake Naomi in the Poconos just a few days after the New Year began. We had the use of a big house and the 10 of us just ate, drank, told stories, were entertained by skits that the grandkids came up with and played games. There were only disappointments: There was no snow, and the grandkids soundly trounced all of us adults at every game we played.
Two days later, it was my grandson Owen’s 8th birthday. They live in California. To the dismay of my son and daughter-in- law, we sent Owen a large remote-control robot for his birthday. Owen thought that it was “totally cool.” I am not quite sure of his parents’ reaction as I did happen to mention that Owen should have fun chasing his parents around the house with the robot. Finally, we got a short reprieve our wedding anniversary rolled around on Jan. 23. I
toned that celebration down a bit. After all, I booked a trip to Punta Cana as a birthday gift for Liz. Yes, I will be going also.
Of course, there was dinner and a gift. After all, missing an anniversary for a married man is a direct route to shame and misery.
Finally, we arrive at February. My birthday, which I share with some other famous figures from the history books, is Feb. 10.
Now, my friends, you are all up to date and in the loop with what I have been up to. I am sure that many of you have stories of your own to tell.
Something that always stands out for
me is the role that great food plays in all these happenings and events. I can tell you that there was plenty of it. Liz’s big birthday celebration was a small party for 24 of our closest family and friends. Once again, we chose to celebrate with Dominic and his team at Chianti’s in Mullica Hill, New Jersey. As always, that team outdid itself.
We started off with antipasto loaded with charcuterie, roasted vegetables and a variety of aged cheeses and great bread. We followed that up with two kinds of pasta. There was classic spaghetti Bolognese and rigatoni with broccoli, roasted garlic and olive oil. Both were delicious. But the rigatoni dish for
me was over the top. The third course was thin chicken breast cutlets with lemon and capers. It was the ideal complement to the heavy pasta course. For dessert, I purchased a spectacular Italian Rum Cake from Gianino’s Pastries in Sewell, New Jersey. This is a small shop where owner Nino prepares every cookie, pastry and cake from scratch. Even his fillings and creams are scratch-made. Theresults rival the greatest pastry shops anywhere in the world. I’ll get back to the cake in a moment.
I just have to tell you that I tried some
of his pignoli cookies. There is no skimping here. These soft delicate cookies were completely covered with pignoli nuts. I could not stop eating them. I was nice and saved one for Liz to try. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Nino’s cannoli. Six varieties were on display that day.
Back to that rum cake: It was 12 inches around and a good 6 inches tall – three layers of the lightest sponge cake perfectly soaked in rum and layered with chocolate and custard cream that melted in the mouth. The frosting was just sweet enough without being overly sugary. The cake was finished in the traditional style with toasted almond slices around the sides and tastefully garnished to my specifications with purple flowers and a bold “Happy Birthday” inscribed on top.
Gianino’s is a must-try pastry shop if you are looking for authentic cakes, cookies and pastries in the Italian style.
On another night during this hectic timeframe we visited a restaurant in Wilmington. Del Pez Mexican Gastropub was a first-class experience. From the moment we walked in the door, the warmth and top-quality service was evident. The menu selections were interesting and so well balanced as to more than satisfy any palate. Liz and I started things off with a side of sweet plantains served in a skillet
as an appetizer. I knew we were in for a great evening immediately after tasting this
specialty. Liz chose the short ribs served over smashed red skin garlic potatoes and crispy roasted Brussels sprouts. The portion was generous
and each component was perfectly prepared and delectable. Her margarita was served in a mason jar and was expertly mixed.
I went in a completely
different
direction,
choosing the
chef’s taco
combo. This
dish was made
up of four
soft-shell tacos.
There was marinated steak, Atlantic salmon, sliced duck breast and shrimp. Each taco was finished with a unique sauce that was just right with each variety of taco. I ordered a flight of malty style beer that progressed from tan to a full porter. I was tempted by the tequila menu listing at least 12 brands
of tequila. Del Pez turned out to be a winner in every way.
As all of you would expect, I did in fact do a bit of cooking during this time. Two dishes come to mind, as they were just what was needed following the heavy eating that was taking place for nearly a month. The first dish was chicken with lentils. This is a super easy dish to prepare and is full of flavor and easy on the calories. I gently pounded out a couple of boneless chicken breasts. I dredged the chicken lightly in flour seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika. Using my oil sprayer in which I have equal parts vegetable and olive oil, I sprayed a light coating of the oil into my
Liz Schulman and friends celebrate her birthday at Chianti’s on New Year’s Eve.
heated saute’ pan. I sautéed the chicken until it was golden on both sides. I then removed the chicken from the pan, set it aside and began the next phase.
For this dish, I used canned lentils, which I rinsed and drained dry. Using the same pan, I added a bit more oil and sautéed a small onion that I had diced. Once the onions began to cook, I added a clove of thinly sliced garlic. As the garlic began to sweat, I deglazed the pan with a small splash of Pino Grigio that I just happened to have open. As soon as the “pan goodness” was incorporated, I added the lentils and topped off the mixture with a can of drained diced tomato and a few basil leaves. The temperature came right back pretty quickly as planned.
Into the pan went the chicken breasts.
A quick toss and a few shavings of aged parmesan and the dish was ready to serve. Normally I would have added a few pats of unsalted butter to finish this dish just prior to adding the cheese. But I was trying to behave