A guest blog by Wendi Warren
I have been blessed to be married to a wonderful Italian man for the past 16 years. During that time I have learned many things from him regarding his Italian heritage. One that is lived out every holiday, is the assurance that I will be making some Italian dish to go along with the rest of the holiday feast. See, growing up in an Italian family, Bobby would have all the “traditional” fixings as any family in the great United States of America would enjoy, but then they would also have gravy (spaghetti sauce), ravioli, eggplant parmesan and the like. So we have continued this tradition in our home since we have been married. I have tried many different recipes. Sometimes easy and sometimes more complicated. One of our favorites is stuffed manicotti. We have used the America’s Test Kitchen recipe and it turns out great every time. (Incidentally, I don’t think I have ever had a recipe turn out badly that I have followed from America’s Test Kitchen. Which I guess is their point—they make a dish dozens of times to find the best way to do it so that cooks at home don’t have to find it by trial and error.)
Anyhow, this year for Easter I wanted to try my hand at chicken parmigiana. So I turned to our trusty America’s Test Kitchen cookbook and found their recipe. It was a little involved, but totally worth it. I bet it would have been even better if I had remembered to mix the parmesan cheese with the bread crumbs. (I had them measured out, but forgot to add them. I had to sprinkle the parmesan on top of the already breaded chicken, but it worked out O.K. anyhow.)
Bobby was pleased as was the rest of the family and I felt good that it was so well received. Another holiday, another Italian dish, another chance to share Bobby’s heritage with family in Lodi; what more can a girl ask for? I know, enjoying another Italian tradition—“the sweetness of doing nothing.” I think I’ll go and put that into practice right now!
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