Che cosa è per la cena? (Is that right?) Che cosa c'e per cena ? (I have been sweetly corrected!)

Part of the job that I do, among other things, is to help people figure out what they want for dinner. A great many Americans no longer cook and so they rely on the frozen food section of the supermarket.

I work for a great company and we have developed a cooking program to help people get back in the kitchen. Anyway...everyone at one point or another needs a little suggestion in the area of dinner. I think it would be interesting to know, if you cooked last night, what it was and how did it turn out. Who knows we might inspire each other!

If it is something that you want to pass along then put the ingredient's and steps.


I'll go first.

Last night I marinated a pork tenderloin for 10 minutes in balsamic vinegar, sprinkled it with a little salt & Pepper and then grilled it on the stove top with my grill pan.

Slice two potatoes into wedges, spray them with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper and bake for 30 minutes @ 400. (make sure to turn them so that they do not burn)

Steam Broccoli and toss with olive oil.

Dinner in about 30 minutes!

:)

We had chopped steak, Broccolini and fruit salad.
First you brown the steak in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil, add a can of beef mushroom soup and some thinly sliced carrots, add a half cup of red wine and let simmer for about 30 minutes, longer if you like.
I blanch the broccolini for about five minutes and then drain it well and add to a hot pan with olive oil, garlic , sea salt and hot pepper flakes and saute until tender , about 7 minutes. Cut up fresh fruit and serve with the meal.
We love broccolini but love friarielli (not sure I spelled that correctly)even more, but can't find it in the states. We had it all the time in Naples.
Oh, yeah, I forgot the vino, we had great bottle of Nero di Avola!
Buon appetito!!

Che cosa c'e per cena ? ( what's for dinner )
Che cosa hai mangiato a cena ? ( what did you have for dinner ? )

Thank You!

When you write it out, I can see it. I'll get it right, I'm determined!

Did you cook?

Since i live alone, dinner has always been a simple affair for me and since its summer, i stock up a lot on fruits and veggies

last night had simple salad:
chopped 'lattuga gelitina', tomatoes, a can of sweet corn and a can of tuna in olive oil. Mix everything together and just a dash of pepper. No olive oil used because there's already enough olive oil from the canned tuna.
Also some slices of 'melone di mantova' and 2 'pesca bianca'

Ummm - I love salad in the summer. Tonight I will use the left over pork and make a pork, Caesar salad.

Danno...sounds yummy.

We eat so much at lunch we almost don't need a dinner at all.
So no pasta for dinner, just one portata, often meat or fish.
This is my case only, however.

I remember my Italian neighbor telling me that Italian women do not eat pasta at night because it goes to their hips! That's how they keep looking so trim.

I'm with Zidanie5 and Danno - no pasta with the evening meal - like Zidanie we have a large lunch with pasta as primo piatto, followed with meat and vegetables, then fruit - by which time we're ready for a siesta. Dinner in the evening is usually home-made minestrone, then salumi and cheese.

My wife does all the cooking, except I make a lot of breads.

Last night was Irish Soda Bread (hope this doesn't violate any international laws by posting an Irish recipe!)

This is a "quick bread" recipe, meaning it doesn't have to rise...no yeast is involved.

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat flower
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oatmeal (original recipe author said he liked the taste/texture oatmeal gave his bread. Not sure if you can just ignore this or if you need to make up for the volume with more flour)
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375f

1. Mix all dry ingredients in bowl (or counter. No matter what, you’re getting your hands dirty at some point!)
2. Add buttermilk
3. Kneed and shape the dough and place is on baking sheet (or loaf pan…I like the sheet ’cause then you can make a circle if you want)
4. Bake in preheated oven at 375f for 35 minutes (original says 45 but that seems too long for me--this will all depend on your own ovens)

...
Also some slices of 'melone di mantova' and 2 'pesca bianca'


You had white peaches? I am so jealous!

When I was a little girl, I was able to reach outside my bedroom window at mia zia's house and pick a fresh wild white peach from the tree for breakfast. I remember the peaches were still cool as the sun didn't reach that part of the garden until later.. they were wonderful.. sweet, juicy.. argh.. I want one now! :)

You had white peaches? I am so jealous!

When I was a little girl, I was able to reach outside my bedroom window at mia zia's house and pick a fresh wild white peach from the tree for breakfast. I remember the peaches were still cool as the sun didn't reach that part of the garden until later.. they were wonderful.. sweet, juicy.. argh.. I want one now! :)

I bought 2 kilos of them every week at the weekly fresh market..The white peaches like you said are much more sweeter and juicier than the normal peach...
a kilo of those peach costs about 1.90 euros while the melons cost around 90 cents per kilo...