All Posts By: NANCY DeLUCIA REAL

Make this Basic Chicken and Vegetable Soup in no time. It’s so easy and also tastes better than any readymade soup from a restaurant. All you need is one chicken, carrots, zucchini, potatoes and seasonings. When the soup is done, you won’t have to cook for the next three days.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Makes: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (about 2-1/2 to 3 pounds), skin removed
3 bay leaves
1 brown or white onion, peeled and halved
4 zucchini, tips discarded
4 medium carrots, peeled with tips discarded
4 medium potatoes (any variety)
1 chicken bouillon cube
Salt (to taste)

1. Place chicken, bay leaves and onion in an 8-quart saucepot. Cover chicken completely with cold water.

2. Set sauce pot with chicken and water, covered, on a stove burner and bring to boil.

3. Meanwhile, cut the zucchini into 1-inch circles and transfer them to a 6-quart bowl filled with cold water.

4. Cut the carrots into 1-inch pieces and transfer them to the bowl with zucchini.

5. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch chunks. Transfer potatoes to the bowl with zucchini and carrots; set aside.

6. When chicken soup boils, remove cover and add bouillon cube.

7. Cook on medium-high for about 45 minutes to one hour or until chicken is done.

8. After 45 minutes, test doneness of chicken by cutting into the thickest part of the breast meat with a fork and knife.

9. If the meat is completely white, it is done. If it is still pink, cook chicken 10 to 15 minutes longer.

10. When chicken is done, using thongs and an extra large fork or spoon, transfer the chicken to a large glass or porcelain bowl or platter. Set aside to cool.

11. Meanwhile, strain the broth into an 8-quart bowl. Return the broth to the sauce pot.

12. Bring the broth to a boil. When broth boils, add the zucchini, carrot and potato chunks.

13. Boil for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are crunchy-tender (test by inserting a fork in potato). If needed, cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.

14. Meanwhile, as soon as the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones.

15. Tear the chicken into bite-size pieces.

16. Add the chicken pieces to the soup and heat through.

17. Taste the soup and, if needed, adjust the salt level. Serve immediately with fresh bread.

Text and Photograph ©2014 Nancy DeLucia Real

What’s all the hubbub about at Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery (hereinafter referred to as “Bay Cities”)? For most people, it’s about the pre-made, fresh salads, pastas, eggplant parmigiana, meatballs, deli meats and desserts. However, among all those selections, there’s one item that is the VIP of all foods here! Standing on its own, Bay Cities even pays tribute to it.

It is the “Godmother” sandwich!

Eating this sandwich is almost surreal – at first, you bite through a golden crust of soft, freshly-baked bread (it’s made every morning on the premises). Then, you sink your teeth into ham, domestic provolone, mozzarella cheese, salami, peppers, lettuce, tomato, mustard, mayonnaise and more. The experience of tasting all these flavors simultaneously is HEAVENLY!

The wonderful personnel at Bay Cities knows that you can’t wait ’til you go home to enjoy the sandwich. So as soon as you dash out the door, you’ll find tables and benches where you can instantly devour the “Godmother” in peace. No distractions, please!

Bay Cities is one of the food sanctuaries I run to for “hard-to-find” ingredients. You name it and Bay Cities has it. Let’s start with the artisanal pasta varieties that I love so much! Are you looking for chiocciole or ziti? Look at how deliziosi they look – hard to choose, isn’t it?

If you want to treat your dinner guests to something unique and colorful, then I suggest the Italian Harvest® Organic Orecchiette. Orecchiette is an Italian word for “little ears.” Orecchiette are from the southern Italian regions of Puglia and Basilicata.

You still need a sauce. You can start by purchasing tomatoes in glass jars. Go ahead and select your favorite brand.

You will probably need premium quality olive oil to start making that sauce.

One of the brands I prefer is none other than our local Ojai Olive Oil Company® 100% Organic olive oil. If I run out of this pure olive oil, I can quickly pick up a bottle or two at Bay Cities in Santa Monica, instead of driving 125 miles into the Topatopa mountains.

Bay Cities also carries my favorite flour for making pizza.

If you’re not sure about what cheese you need, Lawrence is the cheese meister and is sure to guide you in the right direction.

How about dessert? Since it’s a few weeks after Christmas and New Year, Bay Cities still carries Italian traditional panettone used during the holidays.

Tre Marie Panettone® is my favorite brand. This panettone is moist and rich with luscious ingredients. Notice all the fruit Tre Marie® Panettone contains. I’m sure you’ll want to rush back into Bay Cities to buy a panettone for dessert. You can order a coffee or cappuccino and enjoy it outside before heading back home.

Oh – I forgot something! I’ve gotta go back inside to get that beautiful dish I was looking at and, of course, Bay Cities’ delicious, homemade bread. Buon Appetito!

Text & Photographs ©2014 Nancy DeLucia Real
[except for Antimo Caputo The Chef’s Flour photograph]

Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery
1517 Lincoln Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA. 90401
310-395-8279
http://www.baycitiesitaliandeli.com

I’m sure many of you worry, as I do, about bacteria in salads and/or lettuce leaves.

Many years ago, my mother-in-law, Esperanza, was watching me prepare a salad (I don’t think anyone likes to be “watched” by their mother-in-law – lol!).

Just as I was about to transfer the rinsed and spun-dry lettuce into a salad bowl, I heard the words, “Nancy, after you’ve washed lettuce 3 to 5 times, let it sit in cold water with a little distilled vinegar for about 5 minutes. This will kill any bacteria that has stuck to the leaves.”

Although this wonderful matriarch and loving woman has passed many years ago, every time I prepare a salad, I still hear those words. Of course, I heed the advice. Here’s the trick:

Recipe for Treating Lettuce

1 head lettuce (any type), cut into strips or chopped and washed 3 to 5 times, until water runs clear
1/4 cup distilled vinegar

1. Place the cut and washed lettuce pieces in a salad spinner or a bowl.

2. Completely cover the lettuce with cold water.

3. Stir in 1/4 cup distilled vinegar.

4. Let the lettuce sit in water/vinegar mixture for 5 minutes.

5. Drain the lettuce and spin dry.

6. Use the lettuce as directed in recipe.

Text and Photograph ©2014 Nancy DeLucia Real

Now that the holidays are over, we’re still running around. Whether paying up on our credit cards or returning gifts at department stores, we need to take time to unwind and enjoy some good eats.

From my days in Italy, pasta e fagioli or pasta with beans, has always been comforting during the most stressful times. Since we Italians always have a can of beans and one of tomatoes in our pantries, it takes no time to serve this classic, peasant fare with some robust red wine.

Don’t forget that sprinkle of cheese over your pasta e fagioli. Can a last-minute meal get any better than this?

Prep time: 15 to 20 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
One 15-ounce (or 1-1/2 cups) whole, peeled tomatoes (puréed in a blender)
3/4 teaspoon salt
Dash ground pepper
Dash ground nutmeg (optional)
One 15-ounce can Cannellini or Great Northern beans
1 pound (16 ounces) small pasta shells
5 to 6 fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese

1. In a 2 to 3-quart sauce pot, heat the oil.

2. When oil is hot, add the garlic cloves. Stir-fry on medium heat until the cloves are light golden.

3. Add the puréed tomatoes, salt, pepper and nutmeg to the garlic; simmer on medium heat. Stir occasionally and cook for about 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, bring a 4-quart sauce pot filled with water to a boil.

5. Stir in the pasta shells into the boiling water. Follow package directions for cooking time.

6. As the pasta cooks for the last 2 to 3 minutes, drain and rinse the beans.

7. Immediately add the rinsed beans to the tomato sauce and warm through.

8. In the meantime, when the pasta has cooked (preferably al dente or crunchy-tender, drain it and reserve 2 cups of the pasta water.

9. Return the cooked and drained pasta to its sauce pot. Add 2 ladles of the sauce and about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

10. Warm the pasta e fagiolithrough. Adjust sauce level and pasta water, to taste (some people like a more watery soup, while others prefer more tomato sauce).

11. Garnish with basil leaves and serve immediately. Ask guests to add some grated cheese to their individual pasta e fagioli.

Red wine suggestion: Chianti or Aglianico.
Text and Photograph ©2014 Nancy DeLucia Real

“Omg, I’m in the middle of holiday baking and just ran out of baking powder! I can’t run out to the supermarket right now. What do I do?”

If you run out of baking powder, just make your own. And, you can also rest assured that it’s aluminum-free.

Here’s a recipe for homemade baking powder. It’ll help alleviate some of the holiday stress.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cream of tartar

2 tablespoons baking soda

1. Stir 1/4 cup cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons baking soda through a fine strainer.

2. Repeat the above instruction two more times.

3. Store baking powder in an airtight container at room temperature (I prefer a glass jar with a cover or a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid).

4. Use this baking powder in the same manner as a commercial baking powder.

Note: Homemade Baking Powder may clump, so be sure to resift it before using.

This recipe for baking powder can be made up to 4 weeks ahead.

Text and Photograph ©2013 Nancy DeLucia Real