Hope you enjoy the sauces, and come back again soon. Just stop in any time and see what’s going on and order your next “heaven in a jar” marinara sauce.

Luv, Pam

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Here is a recipe for veggie-stuffed boneless chicken breasts with marinara:

Slice thin strips of carrots and red and peppers.  Also use whole long green beans.  You can add any veggies you like.  These are just a few suggestions.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a knife, carefully butterfly each chicken breast almost to the end. Lay flat and place chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and using a meat mallet, pound each breast to 1/4-inch thickness. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.

Lay chicken breasts flat on a cutting board and sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Place 3 to 4 strips each of the long green beans, carrots and red pepper leaving 1/2-inch on the side furthest from you. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons cheese.  Roll chicken breast up and place seam side down in a medium skillet that has a think layer of olive oil coating the bottom.

Pour my Chunky Marinara sauce over the chicken and place in oven. Bake 30 minutes basting with the marinara sauce halfway through cooking.

Remove breasts from pan. To serve slice each breast into 4 or 5 slices and fan on the plate with additional marinara sauce on the side.

Take my word for it. It is definitely as good as it sounds. Plus, it’s a great way to get the kids to eat some veggies!

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Former international supermodel, turned celebrity chef, Best Selling author-Maria Liberati will be appearing at the Toast to the Coast in Bally’s, Atlantic City ,NJ On June 26-28. Ms. Liberati will be bringing her The Basic Art of Italian Cooking to the stage at 5:30 pm on Friday, June 26th when she will bring her The Basic Art of Italian Cooking to the stage.

Attendees to the event will also be treated to a book signing at The Basic Art of Italian Cooking booth on the show floor and get to sample the gourmet Italian sauces of Casericco’s Italian Sauces.

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This is one of my best sellers for the Holidays and the reason why it’s one of my favorites is it uses my homemade marinara sauce!

Mozzarella Cheese (grated.  Add salt, pepper and some garlic power and parsley)

Ricotta (Add an egg and beat to mix through, salt and pepper)

Grated Romano (fresh grated)

Mix all of the cheeses together.  Refrigerate overnight if you can.  Not absolutely necessary.

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

When you are ready to prepare the shells, cook Large shells as directed, but less cooking time, maybe 10 minutes instead of 12.

Remove them from the water and set aside on paper towels on a baking sheet so the water can drain off them. Put a layer of my marinara sauce (either smooth or chunky), on the bottom of a baking dish. Using a tablespoon and spoon heaping portion into each shell and place in a row in a baking pan, cheese side up.  Pour marinara sauce over the top of each shell and sprinkle with more Romano cheese.  Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 350 just to melt all the cheeses.

This only works with a good-tasting marinara sauce.  So, make sure you have made your purchase of one my sauces before you start.

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I will be putting all the recipes in my RECIPE BOX.  All the different ways you can use a gourmet marinara sauce, and believe me, it is very versatile.  You can add a few ingredients to change it up for any type of meal.

How about this one…

Puttanesca (with black olives, capers and basil)

Sauté sliced onion and garlic in olive oil, sprinkle (just a few) red pepper flakes.  Add my chunky marinara sauce, chopped olives, and some capers.   Simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir in a big piece of torn fresh basil and just server over your favorite pasta.

Or… you can serve it over polenta.  Fry up some already prepared polenta (you can buy polenta tubes from me also.  I have fantastic cooked rosemary and garlic polenta tubes).  Slice it up, fry it in some olive oil, and pour the above prepared sauce on top.

If you like sausage, just fry up some hot Italian sausage, cut it up, pour one of my red marinara sauces over them, simmer to cook through, and serve over polenta.  That is the best!!!!

You can do the same thing with fried chicken parts.  Just marinate the chicken parts in red wine vinegar, either half hour before cooking or the night before.  Fry them up in chopped garlic and olive oil, salt and pepper.  Heat up some chunky marinara sauce, pour over chicken and top with parsley and grated Romano cheese.  A side of sautéed green beans in olive oil, butter and lemon pepper and you’ve got a complete meal.  And it will take under an hour if you use boneless chicken pieces.

……..One more for the recipe box.

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I hope you’re not too upset that there’s only a few left:

TARTUFO:  A truffle, of which there are both white (bianco) and black (nero)

TIRAMISU:  (another favorite in these parts): A dessert of ladyfingers soaked in espresso and layered with a cream, often made with mascarpone cheese.

ZABAIONE:  An egg custard made by beating egg yolks with sugar and wine over a water bath until fluffy.

ZEPPOLE:  Fritters, served sprinkled with sugar.

We’re done.  Hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about what you are seeing on an Italian menu.  If you have a recipe that you’ve conjured up yourself using my gourmet marinara sauces, share it with us. Lynn shared her fish filet recipe with us.  Check out her comment.

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More importantly, I’ll be there this Saturday and Sunday (May 17th and 18th) with my sauces.  That’s right I am a vendor this year and am looking forward to sharing my sauces with all the people walking around.

Exciting!

Join me or stop to say HI but don’t forget to check out my gourmet marinara sauces in person.  Bet you have never seen sauce with a purple label before.  That will be me.

I also plan on selling some gift baskets filled with my famous sauces with pasta and polenta.  You will find a wide variety of vendors, delicious food and a good time.

***************************

I had a great time at the Festival.  I want to thank all those customers who stopped by and tasted and bought some sauce.  I hope to see you again.  There are a lot of nice people in this area.  Looking forward to doing business in the future!!!  Tell your friends.   Thank you, Pam

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ALLA PUTTANESCA: A tomato sauce flavored with capers and anchovies, and often with olives, garlic and chile flakes.

You can add these extras to my sauces for a variety of main dishes.

RIBOLITTA: A soup made with white beans, vegetables, stale bread and cheese. Ribolitta means re-boiled because the soup is to be cooked then left to stand before it is reheated.

RICOTTA: A fresh cheese made with whey that is drained off in the process of making another cheese (often Pecorino), and then cooked: Ricotta salata is dried, salted ricotta cheese used for grating and shaving; it has a much longer shelf life than fresh ricotta.

RISOTTO: A savory dish of rice cooked slowly in broth, served as a first course. Risotto is made with a special Italian rice that remains firm during cooking while it imparts its starch to the dish, thickening the broth to a creamy texture. Try it with my mushroom and wine or chunky variety on top!

SALSA: Sauce. (Like CASERICCO Marinara Sauce, of course)

SALTIMBOCCA: A dish of pounded veal scallops rolled with prosciutto and fresh sage. The name means “leap into the mouth.”

SALUMI: A general word for cured meats including those made with ground meats, such as salami and mortadella, and whole bone-in meats, such as prosciutto.

SCALOPPINA: A thin, pounded piece of meat, such as veal scallop.

SECONDO: Main course of a traditional Italian meal.

SEMIFREDDO: The word means “partly frozen” and refers to an Italian dessert of molded custard or ice cream.

SFORMATO: A molded dish, sweet or savory.

SOFFRITO: A mixture of chopped vegetables, usually onion, carrot, celerey and garlic, which forms the base of many Italian soups, sauces and stews.

SPECK: A ham, traditionally from the Alto Adige region of northern Italy , that is boned, cured and smoked. This is a rare example of a salami that is both cured and smoked, and reflects the influence of Eastern European tradition on Italian cuisine.

SPIEDINO: A skewer, as in skewered, grilled meats.

THAT’S IT FOR TODAY. COME BACK SOON FOR MORE. TO CELEBRATE YOUR NEW DINING SKILLS, ENJOY A NICE CHILLED GLASS OF WINE, AND THINK OF ME.

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Try this if you like white wine if you’re looking to add the perfect touch to a fine Italian dinner using one of my gourmet marinara sauces.

Cavit Pinot Grigio - Originating in northern Italy’s Delle Venezie region, this is smooth, crisp and light with delicate nuances of fruit and is very versatile.

The price is just right too with a 1.5 liters bottle of Pinot Grigio for only $14.00. Enjoy it particularly with the seafood lover’s recipe or an endless variety of cuisines. Serve well chilled.

Let me know what you think about this suggestion or any other wines you love to have with dinner.

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After you are done reading up on these, why don’t try out one of my gourmet marinara sauces to try on a few of these dishes!

 Integrale:  whole wheat.

 Marinara:  (as in Casericco, hehe): a tomato sauce with garlic, olive oil and Italian seasonings.

 Mascarpone: a fresh Italian cream cheese with a very soft, creamy texture and buttery flavor.  Mascarpone is used in both sweet and savory dishes.

 Al mattone:  a technique by which an ingredient is cooked under a brick so that it lies flat for sautéing or grilling.

 Minestra:  (like minestrone) soup.

 Mozzarella di bufala:  cheese made from the milk of water buffalo.  Mozzarella is also made from cow’s milk (much more commonly found here in the states), in which case it is called fiore di latte.  Both spoil quickly and should be used as soon as possible after purchase.

 Nicciola: hazelnut, widely used in Italian cuisine in both sweet and savory dishes.

 Olio di oliva:  extra-virgin oil, made from the first pressing of the olives, is the highest quality.  (As in Casericco)

 Panzanella:  a traditional salad made with stale bread, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and olive oil.

 Parmigiano-reggiano:  an excellent hard, cow’s milk cheese originally produced in and around parma.  If you’re in doubt, true pamigiano-reggiano will have those words stenciled on the rind.

 Pecorino:  a hard sheep’s milk cheese made in the area around Rome (called pecorino Romano), as well as in Tuscany, Sardinia and Sicily.

 Peperoncino:  a hot chili pepper used in Italian cuisine.

 Pesto:  a famous green sauce from Genoa, made with basil, olive oil, pine nuts and pecorino, traditionally mashed together.

 Pignoli:  pine nuts.

 Pizza:  (tough one) open-faced pie made with yeast dough topped with savory toppings, originally from Naples.

 Pizzailo:  fresh tomato sauce from Naples often used in pizza-making.

 Polenta:  both an ingredient – cornmeal – and a porridge made from cornmeal.  Try some heated up with my sauces on top. 

 Polpetta:  meatball.

 Polpo:  octopus. 

 Pomodoro:  tomato. (Like me, the ponodoro queen, hehe, or saucy lady).

 Porchetta:  split-roasted, whole suckling pig (lots of garlic and pepper)

 Porcini:  a meaty mushroom used both fresh and dried in Italian cuisine.

 Primo:  the first course of a traditional Italian meal. 

 Prosciutto:  although in America we think of prosciutto as a raw ham, in Italy the word simply means ham:  prosciutto cotto is cooked, prosciutto crudo is raw.

 Provolone:  a sharp cow’s milk cheese.

 See you soon with more helpful translations.  Hopefully, my new video will be ready soon.  Don’t forget to come back and check it out.

If there is a recipe that you see on my website that you might want to see prepared in a video, let me know.

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