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Award-winning cookbook author and good home cook Barbara Kafka once told me how difficult it is to recreate a restaurant meal at home. This may be so, but as I tasted each dish from Demontis’ sparkling kitchen, I decided to play around with my own versions of his recipes.
Takeout is one thing, but nothing is better than a meal from your own kitchen. Combine the two worlds of fabulous restaurant fare and lovingly selected ingredients to equal one delicious dinner.
One evening last week, Cousin Carl and I savored a scrumptious meal at Melograno at its new location on Sansom Street. Chef/proprietor Gianluca Demontis whisked us to Italy with his flavorful dishes that spoke to us with simplicity and authenticity.
Award-winning cookbook author and good home cook Barbara Kafka once told me how difficult it is to recreate a restaurant meal at home. This may be so, but as I tasted each dish from Demontis’ sparkling kitchen, I decided to play around with my own versions of his recipes.
I can’t give you my take on Demontis’ exquisite tagliatelle with wild boar ragu because I never cooked wild boar. You will have to go to Melograno to sample it. Or just make a Bolognese sauce over fresh pasta. Carl and I ate the pasta after the salad and before the poussin.
Buy a loaf of bread or focaccia and serve it with a small ramekin of seasoned olive oil. Carl and I sipped a Rioja with dinner, but any dry red would pair well with the following.
Chicken Livers with Roasted Red Peppers
Ingredients:
1 pound of chicken livers, thoroughly washed and dried
Cornmeal and flour, for dredging
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Olive oil, to coat the bottom of a large skillet
1 15-ounce jar of roasted red peppers, rinsed, patted dry and sliced into thick strips
Directions:
Mix the cornmeal, flour, salt and pepper on a plate or in a brown paper bag. Dredge each liver in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess.
Heat the oil over medium-high. Add the liver and sauté for a few minutes on each side or until golden brown outside and lightly pink inside. Drain well on paper towels.
Divide evenly among four warm plates. Serve with the roasted peppers.
Serves four.
Note from Phyllis: I am sure Demontis roasts his own peppers, so feel free to do so too. All you have to do is half two large red bell peppers, place on a cookie sheet, brush with olive oil and broil until the skins are soft.
Until about 10 years ago, I did not know chicken livers are a favorite antipasto in Italy. My friend and cookbook author Anna Teresa Callen, who was born and raised in Abruzzo, prepared them for me just as her mother and grandmother did for her. Her book "Food and Memories of Abruzzo: Italy’s Pastoral Land" is the only cookbook published in English on this cuisine.
Arugula Salad with Proscuitto di Parma and Parmigiano-Reggiano
Ingredients:
2 large bunches of baby arugula, washed and patted dry
1/2 pound of Proscuitto di Parma, sliced into razor-thin strips
Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Place the arugula leaves in a large mixing bowl. Add the Proscuitto. Using a vegetable peeler, slice strips of Parmigiano-Reggiano as if peeling a carrot and add to the bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper together.
Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss. Divide evenly among four salad plates.
Serves four.
Poussin with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 poussins or top-quality Cornish game hens, halved and patted dry with paper towels
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
Olive oil, for drizzling
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Sprinkle the poussins or game hens with salt and pepper. Roast in a shallow pan for about 30 to 45 minutes.
Place the sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet. Drizzle on some oil and toss with your hands to coat. Season with the salt and pepper. Roast with the hens for the same amount of time.
Serve the hens with their natural pan juices.
Serves four.
