Cicchetti

 Cicchetti (pronounced chi-KET-tee) are small, savory snacks or side dishes traditional to Venice, Italy, often described as Venetian tapas.

This is my plan for the May 21, 2026 Italian White Wine Tasting.

Wine Pairing Considerations

• Classic Aperol Spritz 

• Moscato d'Asti with the Gorgonzola e Fragole All'aceo Balsamico

• Prosecco or Pinot Grigio with Prosciutto Grissinis, Prosciutto e Melone

• Vermentino with Le Migliori Polpette di Tonno (Tuna Meatballs)

• Pinot Grigio or Vermentino with Italian Cheese, Rustic Bread and Jam

Gorgonzola e Fragole All'aceo Balsamico

A modern twist on a Venetian classic that perfectly balances a creamy, sharp blue cheese with sweet fruit. 

• Ingredients: Fresh baguette (sliced), gorgonzola dolce, fresh (room temperature) strawberries, and balsamic vinegar.
• Instructions: Marinate sliced strawberries in a splash of balsamic vinegar for 10-15 minutes. Spread a generous layer of gorgonzola onto toasted bread/brushetta, top with a balsamic strawberry, and finish with a crack of black pepper. Could drizzle with honey.

Prosciutto Grissinis  

Italian Bread Sticks and Proscuito. Roll half of the bread stick with proscuito. Wrapping the sticks is easier if you cut the meat into 1-inch wide strips and wrap multiple strips of the meat until the bread is covered as far down as you want. Toasted them just for a few minutes in the oven (325 degree F) to help the prosciutto kind of shrink around the breadsticks and to add a crispy texture to the meat (this step is optional).  

If making the grissinis ahead of time, bake them first, refrigerate until about 20 minutes before serving. Allow to come to room temperature before serving. Do not reheat them in the oven or they will become soft under the prosciutto and will fold over like a bunch of dead flowers. Stand them up in a glass. 

Chef Patrick suggsted serving with a dipping suace. Try this Creamy Pesto Dip.

• Mix 8 ounces cream cheese (also use sour cream, Greek yogurt, or hummus) and 2 Tablespoons basil pesto in a small bowl. Finely chop 1 Tablespoon pine nuts and add to mixture. Zest the lemon into the other ingredients, then juice and stir that in as well. Add 2 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan. Taste and add more pesto, lemon juice or Parmesan to your liking.
• Spoon creamy pesto into serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle remaining pine nuts on top. The creamy pesto can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature to allow dip to soften again before serving.

I am going to cook leeks and mix them with ricotta cheese.

Prosciutto e Melone

In Italy, Prosciutto e Melone is typically served plain. No herbs, cheese, or dressing are added. It’s traditionally left unseasoned, so the natural contrast between melon and prosciutto stands out.

• Chose a ripe melon, Charentais or Tuscan cantaloupe are ideal. Keep it chilled before assembling to keep the bites fresh and the prosciutto firm.
• Use thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma or Prosciutto San Daniele for their balanced saltiness and delicate texture. Keeping a thin layer of fat, about 1 to 1.5 cm (½ inch), helps retain moisture and flavour, but it can be trimmed if desired.
• Fresh mint adds a cooling contrast that keeps the flavours bright. The mint in this dish is completely optional. You can serve it plain or use another herb you prefer.

Step 1: Using a melon baller, make small melon balls and set them aside.

Step 2: Fold the prosciutto slices to match the size of the melon balls.

Step 3: Assemble the skewers using toothpicks. Start with a melon ball, followed by a folded prosciutto slice and a mint leaf.

Step 4: Serve immediately.

Le Migliori Polpette di Tonno (Tuna Meatballs)

This recipe from Jamie Oliver: tuna meatballs (Le migliori polpette di tonno)

Brushetta Con Salmone Affumiacto, Avocado e Feta

Link to recipe

Italian Cheese, Rustic Bread and Jam

Use a semi soft cheese (fontina, aged Asiago), sliced. Place on rustic bread, slather with fruit jam, place a slice of cheese and garnish with parsley

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This information came from Tina Prestia May 29, 2021 "Venetian Cicchetti (Part 2) – How to Plan a Cicchetti Menu & Recipe for Fried Eggplant “Flying Saucer” Sandwiches"

Leeks

Thinly sliced, cooked and mixed with soft cheeses (ricotta, gorganzola). They can also be served raw, julliened on top of a crostini 

Tuna

Utilized in polpette and on crostini. Use good quality tuna in opil versus in water.

Polpette are often meatballs but not limited to meat. They can be balls, patties or croquettes of either meat, vegetable, legumes, fish, cheese or even old bread. For tuna polpette mix tuna with potato, capers, egg and parsley. Form patties and fry them. Or mix tuna, ricotta cheese, egg and citrus zest. The possibilities are endless.

On corstini, mix tuna with mayonnaise, salt and pepper and garnish as you desire. Could be topped with cocoa powder, edible flowers, raw leeks (juluenne style)

My plan is to try this recipe from Jamie Oliver: tuna meatballs (Le migliori polpette di tonno)

Eggs

Half of a hard boiled egg with a tookpick stuck in it and emblesshed with a simple topping: 

• Drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper
• Drapped with an anchovy (this combo is iconic and superb)
• Topped with smoked salmon or smoked trout
• Dolloped with salmon roe
• Simply topped with a sunpdried tomato

You could also make a simple frittata, cut it into squares and stick some toothpicks into each square.

You could make crostini with eggs. Simply scramble eggs (delicately) slice a baguette and top with eggs and garnish as desired. Ot you can make an egg salad and make crostini with that. Add a pretty garnish to make it special.

Radiocchio

Picks up on Italian fondness for bitterness. 

Radicchio can be used as a granich, stuffing, salad, Crostini topping, or even a vegetable side. It adds a beautiful color to your table.

Gorganzola

Can be gorganzola dolce (sweeter, creamier, and younger) or gotganzola piccante (stronger and aged longer). 

• Gorgonzola dolce and anchovy
• Crostini with gorgonzola dolce with chopped or whole walnuts
• Mix your cheese with cooked, julienned leeks
• Sprinkle with chopped pistachios
• Top gorgonzola piccante with marmalade or honey

Cured Meats

 Get the best quality cured meats preferrably from Italy.

• Mortadella cubes plain or garnished with things like pickled onion or pickled green chili
• Creative crostini with cured meats combined with an unlimited variety of garnishes
• Soppressa (a cured meat from the Veneto) or other salame sliced thickly and served plain or on a crostino
• Mini sandwiches filled with cured meats and Italian cheeses
• Prosciutto with melon.

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Nancy Waldeck "How to Make Venetian Cicchetti" has some good recipes.

Pickled Egg Salad

 Recipe from Bobby Parish

Pickle Egg Salad 🥒🥚Recipe below 👇

Ingredients: 

3 hard boiled eggs

1 ripe avocado

¼ cup chopped pickles

3 tbsp red onion, chopped

1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 tbsp fresh green onions, sliced

1 tsp capers

¼ cup Greek yogurt

Juice from ½ lemon 

1 tsp stone ground mustard

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Add everything to a bowl and mash it up til well combined. 

Serve on toast or lettuce and enjoy. See less

Butternut Squash Soup

 https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023539-butternut-squash-soup  New York Times

Red Lentil Soup

 Link to recipe New York Times - Cooking

Sheet-Pan Chicken With Rhubarb and Red Onion

 Try this recipe Recipe from the New York Times, Cook

Ingredients

Yield:3 to 4 servings

• 1¾pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks (see Tip)
• 1teaspoon ground coriander
• 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), plus more as needed
• ¼teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
• 1large red onion, cut into ½-inch-thick wedges
• 5thyme sprigs
• 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
• 8ounces rhubarb stalks, sliced into ½-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
• 3tablespoons honey, plus more to taste
• ½cup cilantro or mint leaves and tender stems, torn

• Preparation

  1. Step 1

     Heat oven to 425 degrees and line sheet pan with parchment paper. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season all over with coriander, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

  2. Step 2

     Place onion wedges on the prepared sheet pan and lightly season with more salt and pepper. Add chicken and thyme sprigs to the pan and drizzle 3 tablespoons oil over everything. Toss until well coated, then spread chicken and onions in a single layer. Roast for 10 minutes.

  3. Step 3

     While the chicken is in the oven, combine rhubarb and 3 tablespoons honey in a medium bowl. Lightly drizzle with oil, add a pinch of salt and pepper, and toss until rhubarb is well coated.

  4. Step 4

     Remove chicken from oven and carefully spoon rhubarb onto the hot pan around the onions and chicken. Continue roasting until the chicken is cooked through, and the rhubarb and onion are tender and caramelized, 25 to 35 minutes longer, tossing the rhubarb and onions (not the chicken) once about halfway through.

  5. Step 5

     Stir the rhubarb and onions very well, making sure to incorporate all the browned bits and chicken juices from the bottom of the pan (this is the tastiest part). Then sample a piece of rhubarb. If it’s very tart, drizzle with a little more honey, tossing well. Serve chicken with rhubarb-onion mixture garnished with herbs.

  Tip

  • You can substitute bone-in, skin on-breasts for the thighs and drumsticks. Just start checking 10 minutes earlier since white meat takes less time to cook than dark meat.
  • FYI . . . 2 stalks of rhubarb = 1 1/2 cups, 1/2" dice. To make this, you'll need 2-3 stalks. Tossing vegs is not difficult if you put the chicken at one end of the sheet pan and the veg on the other.

Venison Satay with Sicy Peanut Sauce

 This recipe was given to me by Linda Pecht. Her husband Tom gave us venison backstaps. The recipe comes from Linda "Big Games" cook book. The meat was so tender and the peanut sauce was a perfect pairing.  Speaking of perfect pairing, try this with a  Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, or a Rhône blend. 

Satay is am Imdonesian favorite consisiting of marinated meat threaded on skewers, grilled or broiled with spicy peanut sauce for dipping.

INGREDIENTS

• 1# venison loin steaks or substitue, well trimmed, cut into 4 X 1/4 inch strips. I used vension backstaps
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy suace
• 12 wooden skewers (6 inch)

PEANUT SAUCE

• 1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
• 2 Tablesonn water
• 2 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoon fresh ginger root
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 hot pepper sauce (optional) I did not use

6 servings

DIRECTIONS

In a shallow dish, combine venison srips, vinegar and soysauce. Cover with plastuc wrap. Refigerate for 30 minutes. Soak skewers in warm waterfor 30 minutes. Drain. In small mixing boel, combine sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Drain and discard marinade from meat stips.

Evenly thread strips, accordina-style on skewers.

Spray rack in broiler pan with non-stick vegetabel cooking spray. Arrange skewers under broiler with surface of meat 4 - 5 inches from heat Broil 4 - 5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, turning skewers over once.

Serve skewers hot with peanut sauce.

Slow Cook White Checken Chili

 This revipe is from The Kitchn. I made it for the first time in January 2026. It was delcious. I have included my modifications.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds, skinless checken breasts, thighs or a mix.  I used left over chicken breasts that I had already roasted and added them later.
• 1 lg yellow onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 (4 ounce cans diced gree chili peppers (use fir orasted if you like more heat. I did not)
• 3 coves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground corriander
• 1/2 teaspoon dired oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cups chicken broth. (I used my own chicken stock)
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellinin or navy beans, drained and rinse. (I made my own cannellini beans. Then took 1 1/2 cups and blended them until creamy. I added this to the crock pot wioth the stock)
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels. (I added corn relish that I make)
• For serving: shredded Monetrey jack cheese, lime wedges chopped cilantro, sour cream. I also added avocado.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. I sauteeded the veggies BEFORE putting them in the corck pot.
   
   
2. If you don't cook the chicken ahead of time then combine the chicken,  q large diced onion, 2 stalks diced celery, 2 (4oz) cans diced green chili peppers, 3 minced garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons ground cumin,1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher saly, 1/2 teaspoon ground corriander, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, and 1 bay leaf in a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Stir to make sure the spices coat everything and nestle the chicken into the veggetables. Pour the 4 cups of chicken broth over the top, coverin the chicken and vegetables by an inch or so. I tis is when I added the creamy beans. This is to make the chili thicker in the end.)
   
   
3. Cover and cook on HIGH setting for 4 hours on the LOW setting for 6 hours. (It's fine to cook for 8 hours on low, if needed, but the chicken tend to fall apart a but more when you shred after cooking, rather than staying in pieces. (I much prefer to cook the chick ahead of time. You can even use left overs.)
   
   
4. About 30 minutes before the end of cooking, remove the lid of the slow cooker and stir in 1 (15 once) can drained cannellini or navy beans and 1 cup forzen corn kernel. Taste and add another 1/2 teasppn of salt or other seasonings as desired. Cover and cook for the remaining time. This is when I added the already cooked chicken.
   
   
5. Transfer the chicken onto a large plate and shred it into large, bite sized pieces with 2 forks. I didn;t shredd the chicken, instead prepared smaller thin chunks. Stir the chicken bakc into the chili and remove the bay leaf.  I add the shredded cheese, chopped cilangro sour crea, and avaocado chuncks into each bowl.