Grilled Stuffed Pork Chops are so moist and tasty, you won’t believe how simple they are to make. Vito recreated this recipe from memory of a family recipe which his mother and maternal grandmother would make but never wrote down; it was served very often a family summer barbecues. The simple but flavorful stuffing permeates the pork while the very simple marinade (two ingredients!) tenderizes and moisturizes the pork chops; relatively quick grilling locks in all that flavor to produce very tasty results. Fire up your grill and prepare some Grilled Stuffed Pork Chops at your home; serve them with Broccoli Aglio e Olio (Broccoli with Garlic and Oil) or Green Beans Marinara for an Italian dinner.
Grilled Stuffed Pork Chops
Chicken Abruzzese
Chicken Abruzzese combines tender chicken with crispy bacon, herbs and spices, melted cheeses… and a history lesson too! The Abruzzo region of Italy, to the east of Rome with a lovely Adriatic coastline and the Apennine Mountains, is rugged and mountainous with hilltop towns from the medieval and Renaissance periods tucked in and around national parks and nature reserves. From a culinary point-of-view, Abruzzo has a tradition of reliance on rich herbs and local cheeses and eclectic variety, incorporating coastal, mountain, and rural influences, but always using local ingredients; it can truly lay claim to being part of the cucina povera of the Italian Mezzogiorno region; Interestingly, some of the most sought-after saffron in the world comes from Abruzzo.
Vito’s maternal grandparents emigrated from Vasto, Abruzzo and brought their cooking traditions with them; Chicken Abruzzese is an homage to that cooking, employing simple but hearty ingredients and a rich mix of spices. Enjoy Chicken Abruzzese with a simple Wilted Arugula Salad, some fresh, crusty bread and a good, dry red wine.
Prep Time: 20 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes. Serves 2.
Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Chicken Abruzzese recipe for $1.00.
Broccoli al Limone
Broccoli al Limone or Broccoli with Lemon presents broccoli in fresh and tasty way. It can be served as an appetizer or salad or as a side dish for roasted meats, such as Savory Grilled Pork Roast, and poultry dishes like our Harissa Spiced Chicken. Broccoli al Limone was served often by Vito’s parents and a family favorite. The broccoli is steamed, using either a conventional stove-top steamer or an easier to use microwaveable steamer as we do. Steaming not only preserves more of the nutritional value of the broccoli but the bright green color too. The simple lemon and extra virgin olive oil dressing adds to the freshness of the dish. Try our Broccoli al Limone and enjoy!
Prep Time: 15 minutes. Serves: 2 to 4.
Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Broccoli al Limone recipe for $1.00
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Grilled Shrimp Scampi Pasta
Grilled Shrimp Scampi Pasta is a delight! Sweet marinated shrimp, grilled to perfection, top pasta in a zesty sauce for a delicious dish. The marinade and quick grilling yields tasty, soft shrimp full of flavor. The easy to make yet richly flavored sauce coats the pasta and together serve as the perfect platform for the succulent grilled shrimp. Enjoy Grilled Shrimp Scampi Pasta with a Wilted Arugula Salad and a dry white wine for a light but lovely meal. Buon Appétito!
Prep Time Shrimp: 15 minutes, Cook Time Shrimp: 6 minutes. Prep and Cook Time Sauce and Pasta: 10 minutes. Serves 2.
Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Grilled Shrimp Scampi Pasta recipe for $1.00
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Sicilian Style Cauliflower Pasta
Sicilian Style Cauliflower Pasta is real Sicilian home cooking, humble but with flavor and texture. Vito’s Dad would make it, adding the pine nuts only on special occasions, always advising that the pinch of nutmeg was crucial to the flavor of the dish and he was right! Use grated sheep or goat milk cheese for true authenticity. Sicilian Style Cauliflower Pasta may be unfamiliar to you, but after your first taste of it, you will be adding this humble dish to your pasta repertoire. Pair it with a Sicilian Orange Salad starter for a very Sicilian meal.
Prep Time: 30 minutes, Total Time: 45 minutes. Serves 4.
Italian Sausage Curry
Italian Sausage Curry has an irreverent vibe to it. While using Italian sausage in an Indian curry might seem unusual, it yields wonderful results. Savory and not-too-spicy, Italian Sausage Curry is delicious as is, over rice or with naan on the side. Take your dinner international with either Sicilian Orange Salad or Greek Cucumber Tomato Salad as a starter followed by Italian Sausage Curry as your main course.
Prep Time: 15 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes. Serves: 4
Pork Marinara Pasta Sauce
Pork Marinara Pasta Sauce or Pork “Gravy” as we say in New Jersey, is a pork-based tomato sauce which uses readily available ingredients and yields a deeply flavorful pasta sauce. This family recipe comes from Vito’s maternal grandmother and mother who would make it a fairly often. Oddly enough, we’ve never seen this really tasty sauce on a menu in any Italian-American restaurant.
This recipe makes a good quantity of sauce; Pork Marinara Pasta Sauce, sans pasta, can be portioned into sealed containers and frozen for future use within a month. Packed with rich flavor and not fatty, we’re sure Pork “Gravy” will become a popular pasta sauce at your dinner table. We recommend a light starter, like Broccoli al Limone, when serving Pork Marinara Pasta Sauce over your favorite pasta.
Total Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes. Serves 8.
Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Pork Marinara Pasta Sauce recipe for $1.00
Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomatoes
Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomatoes is mildly zesty and very colorful. Chicken thighs are a juicy alternative to chicken breasts and really lend themselves to browning and then simmering in a sauce; using boneless, skinless chicken thighs make this a lot easier to eat.
Prep Time: 15 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes. Serves 2.
Breaded Cauliflower Antipasto
Breaded Cauliflower Antipasto the ultimate snack to keep hungry guests under control before a holiday meal but it’s also perfect for a game night. Jan was first introduced to this delicious snack or antipasto during an Easter dinner almost 40 years ago at Vito’s parents’ home. Curiously, while popular in Italian-American households, it is rarely seen on a restaurant menu. Ever since the first bite, you will be in love with Breaded Cauliflower Antipasto. Try it yourself, perhaps as an appetizer before Beef Braciole, and enjoy!
Prep Time: 10 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour.
Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Breaded Cauliflower recipe for $1.00
Grilled Pasta alla Norma
Lush and smoky, Grilled Pasta alla Norma, is our take on this classic Sicilian dish, said to be a favorite of the 19th century composer Vincenzo Bellini and named for his greatest opera heroine. Bellini was a native of Catania, Sicily as was Vito’s paternal grandmother. Here we grill the eggplant, yielding a deep, smoky element, prior to incorporating it into the sauce. Start with our Sicilian Orange Salad, then have our Grilled Pasta alla Norma with penne, ziti or rigatoni pasta, topped with freshly grated ricotta salata, and accompanied by a Nero d’Avolo or Primitivo for a Sicilian themed dinner.
Prep Time: 20 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes. Serves: 4.
Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Grilled Pasta alla Norma recipe for $1.00
