A Taste of Quinzio's Kitchen

We visited my brother-in-law Quinzio recently and, in classic Italian style, we hung out in the kitchen and watched him cook.  He has fantastic ideas about preparing good, simple dishes. Here's what he whipped up for us:

Roasted Red Pepper Salad

He started with a few firm red peppers. He roasted them on a gas grill by blackening sections and turning them to evenly blacken the skins.  They get soft as they cook and look like this when done:

Quinzio cleaned out the
insides and cut them into strips.






Then he added chopped fresh basil, salt, pepper, and fried garlic.  Here's his technique for frying garlic.  He slices it and fries it in olive oil slow and long until it turns a lovely golden brown.  He uses the infused oil for other dishes.



The peppers were finished off with a nice dressing of garlic-infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  I love these peppers on a piece of crusty Italian bread.





Chick Pea Salad

Next he made us another salad with lots of fresh vegetables. He layered lettuce, meaty red tomatoes, green pepper slices, red onion slices, chick peas, fresh basil, fried garlic, salt, and pepper.

Then he added small chunks of sharp provolone, and a dressing of olive oil and vinegar.




It was wonderful with a hunk of good crusty bread!