Pane Italiana (Italian Bread)

I made this special bread on Sunday to go with homemade lasagna al forno. Both recipes are in the Mangia e Taci cookbook, available through www.lulu.com. The bread is very simple, although making the shapes takes a little know-how. Here you see roses, pumpkins, and crescent rolls, before and after.

Savory Roasted Herbed Chicken

Something new from Peg's kitchen. Simple, elegant and delicious!

This is a dish that was first served to me by my dear friend Lori. She is an amazing cook, and I believe she adapted it from another recipe, but not sure whose.  It is similar in ingredients to the roasted chicken recipe in Mangia e Taci, but the prep and results are different and yummy. I made it for my mom when she was visiting last summer and she has since asked me for the recipe. It is simple and quick to prepare so no excuse not to try it. Just be sure to have plenty of good bread on hand to soak up all the juice because it is incredibly tasty.

One large chicken cut into serving sized pieces (I often just buy the separate parts that I like—breasts, legs, thighs, or what ever—leave the skin on!)

Olive oil

Garlic (as much as you like, leave the cloves whole and unpeeled; I use at least a dozen cloves)

1-2 lemons

White wine (about ¾ cup)

Fresh herbs (the original recipe calls for a large handful of fresh basil leaves, but I have also used lesser amounts of fresh rosemary and thyme when basil is not in season)

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400-425 degrees (depending on your oven).

Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper and place in a single layer in a non-reactive roasting pan. Drizzle enough olive oil over the chicken pieces to moisten them and make a shallow pool in the bottom of the pan. Lightly squash the garlic in its skin and tuck the cloves all around the chicken. Squeeze the juice from the lemons over the chicken and drop the lemon shells in the pan too. Place in oven and roast for about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven tear up the basil leaves, scatter over the top, mixing a bit, and pour the wine over. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes or until the chicken skin is nicely browned and crisp. Serve in large bowls with the pan juices spooned over the top. The roasted garlic can be easily squeezed from their peels to enjoy along with the chicken.