A Taste Of Italy At Home

Chef Michael White's food provides the easiest way to get to Italy without leaving your home. He is preparing a three- course meal for four with our The Saturday Early Show Chef on a Shoestring $40 budget.

White takes traditional, regional Italian dishes and adds his own modern spin without sacrificing the original recipe. He wants people to understand that cooking can be a wonderful thing, if they just let go and let the ingredients speak for themselves.

He is the executive chef at four restaurants, including "Fiamma Osteria," located in New York City, and "Fiamma Trattoria," located in Las Vegas.

The following are his recipes
Note: All recipes yield four portions.

First Course
Pinzimonio (Traditional Raw Vegetable Plate)

Ingredients:
1 large red pepper
2 small carrots
1 bulb fennel
2 stalks celery
1 box cherry tomatoes
1 endive
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 can anchovy filets (chopped)
1 stick butter
8 cloves garlic (minced)
Salt /pepper to taste

Procedure:
Wash and peel all vegetables and cut into bite size pieces. Plate.

Dipping Sauce #1:
Oil & Balsamic: In small ramekins, place 1/4 cup of olive oil, the balsamic vinegar and then season with salt and pepper. Place by each guest for dipping the raw vegetables.

Dipping Sauce #2:
Bagna Caoda (means "hot bath" in Italian and is a traditional dipping sauce in the Piedmont region)

Place chopped anchovies, butter, remaining olive oil, salt and pepper into a heavy sauce pan, heat on low and let cook for 30 minutes while slowly stirring with a wooden spoon. Place in small ramekins for dipping.

Second Course
Polenta con Ragu di Salsiccia

Ingredients:
For Ragu:
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1.5 lbs Italian pork sausage
1 small onion (diced)
1 stalk celery (diced)
1 small carrot (diced)
1 cup dry white wine
1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes (crushed)
1/3 cup milk
12oz chicken stock
Salt / Pepper to taste

For Polenta:
9 cups water
2 tsp salt
2 cups ground corn meal
2 tbsp butter
1 cup parmesan cheese (grated)

Procedure:

Polenta - Bring water to a boil. Season water with salt and whisk in the corn meal with a heavy gauge whisk. Cook for 35-40 minutes. The mixture will become very thick and bubbly. At this point whisk in the butter. After combined smoothly, pour into dishes. You will then be ladling the Ragu over the polenta and finishing with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Ragu - Add butter and oil to a sauce pot at medium heat. Once hot, add vegetables and cook them for five minutes. At this point add sausage and cook for another 10 minutes until the sausage loses its raw color. Next, add the white wine and reduce for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and stock, then cover and cook for 1.5 hours. At the end, add milk and cook for a final 30 minutes.

Dessert

Cioccolato Calda con Panna in Tazza (Italian Hot Chocolate with Orange and Whipped Cream)

Ingredients:
8 oz dark chocolate
1 orange (for zest only)
2 tbsp sugar
24 oz milk
1/2 pint heavy cream, whipped

Procedure:
Hot Chocolate - Over a double boiler filled with water, melt dark chocolate and sugar over low heat until melted. Turn off heat. Next, slowly whisk in milk until fully combined.

Whipped Cream - Lightly fold orange zest into whipped cream.
Pour hot chocolate into clear mug. Top with dollop of orange whipped cream. Serve immediately.