A few little “Piccolini” dishes to bring to my BIG Italian family dinner....

       I get a phone call from my mother earlier this week that my Aunt is coming to town and we are going to have a BIG Italian dinner at a family friend’s place... naturally I’m excited. That means LOTS of Red Wine and LARGE portions of incredible Italian food. Since many members of my family and friends have been supporting my blogging adventure, I naturally must whip up a few things to bring to the dinner. I flip to Chef Burrell’s “Piccolini” section and decide on the first two pages- Mortadella Pate and the Zucchini and Parm Fritters with Spicy Tomato Sauce.

      

       To be completely honest, I had no idea what Mortadella was and called a few local stores to make sure they had it. Funny thing is that some of the delis had no idea what it was either. For those of you who had no clue... I’d like to call it a high end bologna with pistachios in it. The fritters seemed relatively simple to make, but how afraid of frying something was I! So off to the store to get my Mortadella ingredients with extra pistachios and the scary yet delicious Peanut Oil for frying purposes!     

       Since I was sweating from nervousness due to the frying task I was   about to undertake, I slammed a glass of Cabernet (The Cab also gave me a $.10 fuel perks for purchasing it... there’s always great benefits for drinking wine!). I needed to get in the zone, so I started with the Pate. Melted some butter into a sauce pan and whisked in the flour and chicken stock. Next, you puree the large chunks of Mortadella (you have 2 oz diced up Mortadella on the side for later) and the butter mixture. Once smooth and consistent, Chef Burrell has you move to a mixing bowl where you add the diced mortadella and slowly add in the whipped cream until the mixture is well combined. You move it into a serving dish and sprinkle with chopped pistachios. I also toasted some sliced 5 Grain Italian bread to spread the Pate on. This was a very simple appetizer to make and our group really enjoyed it, plus who doesn’t LOVE pistachios??

        

            Now onto the fritters... two different things going on here- 1. The Sauce and 2. The Fritters. For the sauce, Chef Anne’s instructions have you coat a sauce pan with EVOO, 1 chopped onion, crushed red peppers and salt. You cook the onion until “soft and aromatic” and then you add 1 28oz can of San Marzano tomatoes and bring to boil and reduce to simmer and let it cook for about 20 minutes.... just enough time to get it thick and ready for dipping the fritters into! Now onto the fritters, EVOO into a pan and cook 2 chopped onions until what’s those words again?? “Sort and Aromatic” and then add a zucchini chopped. Meanwhile in a bowl you are mixing flour, Parmigiano, and baking powder then adding the zucchini/onion mixture once it cools. Peanut Oil is filled in your large sauce pan over medium-high heat. I clump 1 inch balls of the mixture and dropped them into the pot. No oil gets on me, no horrid noise, no one dies.... it’s not that scary. I did stick my finger into the oil at one point.... I was trying to prevent two fritters from sticking together and the thought that this was high heat hot as heck oil never snapped into my mind.... amateur hour! These fritters were topped with a little fresh Parmigiano cheese and ready to be dunked in the delicious sauce with my family.

            

      Another couple recipes down and at the same time enjoying them with family, friends, and red wine.... all in the name of cooking like a Rock Star!