Author: Stef

Taco Tuesday or any night! Tacos are a great choice for a quick dinner.  Adding tomato sauce at the end is a great way to add texture.

Ingredients

2 tbsp of olive oil.
1 lb ground turkey (or beef), at room temperature if possible.
1 med/large onion, fine dice.
2-3 cloves garlic, minced.
3 teaspoons taco seasoning.
1 tsp each additional of cumin and oregano.
1 can of your choice: Black, Kidney or Pinto Beans. Rinsed and drained.
2 cups of Due Cellucci TraditionalSauce.

Preparation

1. Heat oil and sauté onions for 2-3 minutes, until soft.  Add minced garlic

and sauté some more.
2. Add in ground meat and brown, crumbling meat as you cook, about 5-8 minutes.
3. Add in all dry seasonings and continue cooking and breaking meat apart.
4. Add in drained beans and mix well.
5. Add in Due Cellucci Sauce and stir well.

Cover and keep warm.
Serve in hard-shell tacos or soft warmed tortillas. Garnish as desired.  If not using taco meat right away, hold off adding in tomato sauce until you warm up meat on another night.

These wings are flavorful and spicy!  Feel free to adjust the heat level to your personal taste.  Serve with carrot sticks, celery, and a Blue Cheese or Ranch dip.

Preheat oven to 450.

Ingredients chicken:
24-26 chicken wing pieces (drumettes & wingettes), rinsed and patted dry.
3 Tbsp of cornstarch
1 Tbsp flour.
1 tsp of Italian seasoning.
1 tsp sweet paprika.
1 tsp cayenne.
1 tsp red pepper flakes.
1/2 tsp each: salt & pepper.

Ingredients sauce:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, fine dice.
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp smoked paprika (*smoked, not regular)
2 tsp Tabasco sauce
2-3 tsp Worcheshire sauce
1 jar of Due Cellucci Arrabbiata Sauce
1 tsp each: cumin, turmeric, oregano.
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes.
2-3 Tbsp of unsalted butter.

Preparation chicken wings:
1. Add all dry ingredients to a large ziplock bag, close and give a shake or two.
2. Add rinsed and patted dry chicken to bag, shake numerous times to coat chicken pieces well, pressing seasoning mix into the crevices. *Note: if you feel dry ingredients aren’t sticking well, feel free to first toss chicken pieces in a little bit of olive oil, then reintroduce back to seasoning bag.
3. Spread the coated chicken onto a large rack, on a baking sheet – ideally, you want chicken raised off of the baking sheet itself.
4. Bake high at 450 for about 15-20 minutes, turning both the baking sheet and chicken pieces halfway through.
5. While chicken is cooking, start the sauce preparation below.
6. Remove crispy chicken from oven, set aside and continue with sauce.  Keep oven on, reduce to 375

Preparation sauce:
1. Sauté diced onion in olive oil until soft, about 5-7 minutes. (Use a deep sauce pot as you will be using an immersion blender.)
2. Add in cayenne and smoked paprika, stir.
3. Add in one jar of Due Cellucci Arrabbiata Sauce, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, red pepper flakes, and turmeric.
4. Use an immersion blender in the pot to blend away most of the chunkiness and get a smoother sauce, continue simmer.
5. Add in cold butter and keep stirring until you have a silky sauce to coat chicken.

With tongs, coat the crispy chicken pieces in the sauce and place them back on baking sheet (rack no longer needed, wipe away any crumbs from the previous cook, grease pan lightly.) and bake for another 8-10 minutes, remove and serve.
Optional: cut up celery and carrot sticks and make a favorite (or use store-bought) blue cheese or ranch dressing.

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Make sure you have plenty of fresh, crusty baguette or rustic Italian bread when you make this dish, because you will want to sop up every last bit of sauce!  This dish is easy to make, presents beautifully and delivers on taste.  The heat has a good kick, but is not too overwhelming.

Ingredients:
2 lbs mussels, scrubbed and debearded*
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, fine dice (though leeks and shallots work beautifully if you have them!)
2 medium carrots, fine dice
2 celery stalks, fine dice
4-6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 cups nice dry white wine
1 Jar Due Cellucci Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce
Salt & Pepper (about 1/4 – 1/2 tsp each)
Italian seasoning (about 1/4 -1/2 tsp)
Crushed red pepper to taste (about 1/4 tsp, they add heat!)
Parsley, chopped.  To toss at end of cooking and some left fresh for final garnishing.
Warm crusty bread, for serving

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in large tall stock pot and sauté onion, carrots, and celery until soft. Add garlic and sauté for another minute.
2. Add wine, followed by Arrabbiata sauce, the Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and bring back up to a simmer.
3. Add mussels and cover, steam for 4-6 minutes over medium heat until mussels all open.  (Use a tall stock pot, as mussels really grow once they start to open.)  Any unopened mussels should be tossed away as they will not be safe to eat.
4. Taste broth and season with salt & pepper to taste.  Toss with plenty of chopped parsley just before serving.

*How to clean and debeard mussels

Clean: Soak mussels in a large bowl of cold sea salted water to purge any sand.  Rub mussels to remove any debris or seaweed on the outer shells.

Debeard: Mussels attach themselves to stable surfaces using thin, sticky membranes referred to as “beards.” Many store bought mussels will already be debearded, but you’ll likely find a few beards left over.  To remove, grasp it between your thumb and forefinger and pull firmly downwards towards the hinged-end of the mussel shell until it comes out and discard.

Check for Dead Ones Prior to Cooking: Mussels (and clams) tend to gape open when they’re dead. Not all gaping mussels are dead though. You can check if they are alive and fresh by squeezing them a few times.  If the mussel closes itself back up, it’s alive. If not…toss it!  Post cooking: ANY mussels that do not open after cooking should be thrown away.

Whether you like your eggs runny or firm, the egg in a hole (or birds nest or egg in a basket!)  is an easy and quick way to enjoy an egg.  We like to add toppings to ours for added flavor and fun.

Ingredients:
1 Slice of Bread per person – We like to use an Italian round. Use whatever you have like sourdough or sliced loaf bread.
1 Egg per slice of bread
Olive oil
Sea salt & ground pepper to taste
Any Due Cellucci Tomato Sauce or Basil Pesto

Preparation:
1. Cut a hole in middle of bread — can be round, heart shaped, square, whatever you like! Tip: using a cookie cutter makes it easy to get a clean cut
2. Drizzle olive oil on both sides of bread and rub to cover evenly
3. Place bread in heated pan of griddle and cook until golden brown.
4. Flip bread and crack egg into the open hole. Sprinkle with black pepper
5. Cook until desired firmness of egg over med heat.
6. Remove from heat and plate.  Sprinkle with sea salt and desired topping.

My Dad likes to make this flavorful, salmon pasta dish on Christmas Eve.  You can make this anytime in just minutes (about the time it takes to cook a lb of pasta!) when you start with our vodka sauce as the base.  I love salmon cooked pretty much any way and this is one delicious way to mix it up every once in a while.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper
2 salmon fillets
1 lb farfalle (bowtie) pasta
1 jar Due Cellucci vodka sauce
1 cup frozen peas, thawed (optional)

Preparation:
In med-large pot, bring water to boil for farfalle pasta and cook according to directions.  (make sure you salt the water!)
While pasta is cooking heat olive oil in pan and sauté garlic and onion until soft light golden brown color.
Move onions to sides of pan.
Add a touch of oil to middle of pan if needed and lay salmon fillets skin down in middle
Salt and pepper the salmon and cook over med heat a few minutes, uncovered
Cover pan, lower heat and let salmon steam to finish (about 10 mins)
While salmon is cooking, heat Due Cellucci Vodka Sauce in a separate sauce pan and leave to simmer on warm until ready to combine.
The Salmon is cooked when the fish easily flakes at the middle. Turn off heat and using two forks, start to flake meat, discard skin from bottom of fillets.
Add vodka sauce to onions, garlic and flaked salmon. Keep warm until pasta is strained and ready to combine. Optional: add a cup of thawed frozen peas to the salmon sauce during this step for bright pop of green.
Once pasta is cooked and strained,  return to pot and spoon in the salmon sauce.  Mix well until pasta is fully coated (you can also add additional sauce once plated).
Enjoy!

Fast and delicious, pesto shrimp skewers are great for a crowd or anytime really!  They are so easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 container Due Cellucci Pesto
2lbs medium sized shrimp (I like to remove the tails)
Skewers

Preparation:
1. Toss shrimp in basil pesto sauce and marinate for at least 15mins
2. Thread shrimp onto skewers (I have found that shrimp cooks so quickly that you can skip soaking wood skewers first)
3.  Cook on preheated grill about 2-3 mins per side or until pink and
no longer translucent. Can also be cooked indoors on a grill pan

Note: In the photos I was making this batch as part of lunch for 8 people.  You can adjust the recipe accordingly for more or less. If you don’t use the whole container of pesto just be sure to spread a layer of olive oil on top before putting it back in the fridge.This will keep it from browning too quickly.

This is a favorite at our home.  Everyone loves to eat it and the person cooking loves how easy it is to make! It’s one of those perfect dishes to make when you haven’t planned anything and you need dinner on the table fast.

Ingredients:
1 lb Penne Pasta
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb Boneless Chicken Breast, cut into pieces (you can also mix or sub with sausage)
Chicken Stock
1 container Due Cellucci Basil Pesto
Grated Parmigiano Cheese
Optional: 1 small onion or 2-3 garlic cloves

Preparation:
1. Cook pasta as directed in well salted boiling water (make sure the water tastes salty otherwise your pasta will lack flavor). Be sure to save some of the pasta water to use later before straining the pasta.
2. Warm pesto sauce over low heat.  You can add a little olive oil to it while warming up.
3. While pasta is cooking sauté chicken in a skillet pan.  (Optional: Sauté onion or garlic before chicken to add additional flavor). You can use a little chicken broth to deglaze the pan and soak up all that good flavor stuck to the pan.
4. Toss the pasta, chicken and pesto together in the skillet over low heat.  Use a little of the reserved pasta water if it’s drying up.
5. Mix in parmigiano cheese and serve.

Serves 4-6

Crostini are the perfect vessel for many yummy toppings.  This is one of our favorite quick nibbles. Serve them as hors d’oeuvres or eat them as an accompaniment to a light lunch like a soup or salad. The crostini bread base can be made ahead and then top them when you’re ready to serve.

Ingredients:
1 baguette,  sliced on the diagonal
Cherry tomatoes, sliced
Due Cellucci Basil Pesto Sauce
Fresh Bocconcini Mozzarella, sliced (or any fresh mozzarella sliced into small pieces
Fresh basil for garnish, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste (we like to use freshly ground sea salt and peppercorns)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Slice a baguette on a diagonal into about 1/2″ slices. Drizzle slices with a bit olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
3. Arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Toast until light golden brown 7-9 minutes.
4. Spread pesto on each crostini. Top with 1 or 2 pieces of mozzarella and 1 or 2 pieces of tomato. Garnish with fresh basil and season with salt and pepper and serve.

Tip: Here’s an easy way to slice basil in long uniform curls (if you want to be fancy it’s called chiffonade!)
– Stack 4 or 5 basil leaves on top of each other.
– Roll into a tight little tube.
– Grab your favorite sharp knife, and starting at one end of the basil roll, slice into very thin slices.
– Viola! Basil, confetti!

Tomato Option: You can also roast the tomatoes before assembling: Slice cherry tomatoes in half. Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast 15 minutes or until shriveled and soft.