I finally did it. I let every cooking magazine lapse. No more Bon Appetit’s or Vegetarian Times or any other food-related mags cluttering up the house. This past September, we even donated close to 200 cookbooks to the Tredyffrin Library. Dust collectors, all.

I haven’t stopped cooking, and I haven’t stopped looking for new recipes, but it seems like the same stuff is being rehashed in these magazines, or they’re redoing recipes using “convenience” foods. Not my cup of tea.

So, in picking up the mail this afternoon, I find an unsolicited copy of Cuisine At Home Magazine. My first instinct is to toss it into the recycle bin. I don’t want another magazine. But I notice on the bottom that there are recipes from Mary Ann Esposito – The Ciao italia cook! I lik Mary Ann, because she uses simple foods and lets flavors speak for themselves.

She had a recipe for Pappardelle with Chicken, Mushrooms, and Wine that sounded really good, and since I was actually planning to do something with chicken and mushrooms for dinner tonight, anyway, I thought I’d give it a go.

The recipe:

Saute in 2 tbsp butter:
1 lb mushrooms, quartered

Stir in:
1/2 cuup dry red wine

Combine/Dredge:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 chicken or rabbit (4lb) cut up, washed, and dried

Brown Chicken in:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil

Saute/Stir in:
4 oz pancetta or bacon, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
1/2 lb fennel, bulb only, cut into strips
3 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1 tbsp minced fresh sage
Cooked mushrooms with liquid

Return chicken and bake at 325 about 40 min; Stir in:
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Prepare according to directions:
1 lb dry pappardelle or egg noodles

Easy enough! I thought I had some pappardelle, but I had used it a while back, so my first substitution was 24″ long spaghetti.

I had presliced mushrooms, so I used those. No red wine, but lots of white, so I used that, instead. I didn’t have any fennel, but I had 2 Belgian Endives in the fridge, so I used them. Oh – and no red onion. I used yellow.

It came out great! And the possibilities are endless.

And the magazine?!? Into the recycle bin. I really didn’t care for the way the recipes were written, and while I did get one good recipe, I just don’t need another magazine coming into the house.

But thanks for a great dinner, Mary Ann!