Eggplant and Zucchini Casserole with Potatoes

406.  Cookbooks!  Cookbooks!  Cookbooks!!!

"Cookbooks for everyone!!!"...was the theme of our Christmas gift exchange.  Not only cookbooks but books in general.  

A fabulous cookbook is Stanley Tucci's "The Tucci Table" filled with great home recipes that are simple but incorporate memories and tips from his family.  You can order this great cookbooks HERE.

This recipe incorporates veggies, potatoes, and tomato sauce smothered in cheese.  I used Stanley Tucci's recipe but adjusted it a bit to our liking.  Here is my recipe:

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This recipe strays away from pasta for a carb and adds potato instead which is a really great substitute.

And, it is such a hardy meal.  It warms you up and fills you up without the extra carb stress.

It also tastes delicious as leftovers the next day or to freeze for a later date.

"Throughout my childhood, almost every night in the middle of dinner, my father would shake his head and ask, 'What does the rest of the world eat?' That's how good my mother's cooking has always been--to my dad, it was inconceivable that anyone could possibly eat as well as we did.  And I agreed with him every time."

~Stanley Tucci

Chicken Piccata with Ziti

384.  Lemony,  cheesy,  warm and crispy chicken smothered with a lemon caper sauce nestled over hot ziti noodles.  Now that is an ideal meal.  I found this recipe that was Paleo, Whole30 and Keto compatible and it was so delicious, you could be fooled.

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This recipe is very similar to most chicken cutlet recipes cooked in sauce.  You can find this process in Polish, Italian, French and Russian cooking and so many other nationalities.   

It's what is for dinner tonight!  Try it!

Question:  "What is your favorite smell?"  "Basil or sautéing onions."  ~ Stanley Tucci

Chicken Piccata originated in Italy and was originally made from veal instead of chicken. Chicken Piccata is chicken cooked in lemony sauce and sometimes served with noodles. Piccata is a method of preparing food, not The dish as such : meat is sliced, coated, sautéed and served in a sauce. The dish originated in Italy using veal (veal piccata).

In Italy, veal piccata is considered as a “secondo” (second course) and would be served after the pasta course.

Manicotti

368.  A homespun Italian dish that always brings satisfaction and delight is Manicotti.  Traditional Italian cooks will make homemade crepes from egg and flour but with our modern means, you can pick up a box of pre-made manicotti shells in your grocery store.  I find that using a better brand of pasta you will have less breakage and the shells will stay round.
I made this recipe for my family  and it is always a great meal.  My mother-in-law would make Manicotti and called it "Man-ĭ-got".  It was always a favorite meal!

I used the Barilla brand of pasta and they were beautiful!  My filling was mixed together and I placed it in a large zip-lock bag.  I snipped the end and it worked well filling the pasta tubes.

I over-filled them so the cheese would not pour out during baking, lined them up and then poured sauce over.

Now, the beauty of the lined up shells bursting with cheese is a beautiful sight.  Once the sauce is poured over you loose that beautiful display.  Often, this is where some cooks will cover the shells only with a white sauce to bake.  It helps to maintain the moisture but maintains the beauty of the dish.  Then they serve red sauce on the side.  Stanley Tucci in his great cookbook The Tucci Cookbook makes this recipe but uses the homemade crêpes and white sauce.  Now this is a cookbook worth having in your collection.

Here is my recipe:

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I don't use too much cheese on top due to the over abundance of cheese in the dish itself.

Now...this is a scrumptious dish...or as stated in the movie "Big Night"...PARADISE! 

"You have to be serious about what you do but you mustn't take yourself seriously.  That way you'll be happier and ultimately you'll be more successful.  You'll be better at what you do."  ~ Stanley Tucci

"If you find that thing you love, it doesn't necessarily matter whether you do it well or not - you just need to do it."  ~ Stanley Tucci