Abudanza, oh what a meal!

I am sick.of.snow. It is only January and I know I live in New England but the extra strength that it takes to drive white knuckled to and from work 3 days a week is enough to drive me crazy!

My sweet bf, who drives twice as far to work (through Hartford to boot), suggested we go out to dinner on Wednesday. He left the choice up to me and I thought....lets try Abudanza. I am SO damn smart!


I had been to Abudanza when it was located at the X in Springfield. It was BYOB when I went and the food was really good but the location was a little difficult for me. I was really happy to hear that it was now on Boston Road in Wilbraham. Right up the road from me....yeah!

S and I prefer sitting at the bar if it is just the two of us. We can hear each other but we also like the connection a bartender has with their customers, if they are good.

We started off with the combo/pick three appetizers. When trying a new restaurant I think it is a nice way to try a few things but usually the same things are offered which can be a bit boring. We got calamari, mozzarella sticks and wings. The serving size was more than generous! The calamari was crisp and not greasy but I would have liked it to be tossed with something like cherry peppers, garlic oil...something. The mozzarella sticks were awesome! You get 4 sticks, they are cut to order and breaded right then. Very tender and don't taste like a freezer which I hate. The wings were large and tender but the sauce was not my favorite. We picked the mild buffalo sauce and it was too sweet for my taste. I will try a different sauce next time.

For dinner I ordered Abudanza Chicken which was a thinly pounded chicken breast surrounded with wild mushrooms, artichoke hearts, fire-roasted tomatoes, huge salty capers and prosciutto. I had it served over fettuccine. OMG! So good. So huge. Chicken was SO tender. The portions are ridiculously large. This also came with mixed veggies and a huge garden salad. This was all for $14.99. I had enough for a generous lunch portion the next day.

S had a one of the specials that evening, I don't remember the name of it but it was Lobster, Shrimp, Chicken, Sausage in a Fra Diavlo over fettuccine. This came out in a vat. I would have served this to four people! It was a wonderful sauce, not too spicy but definitely had a bite to it. He had enough for lunch for 2 days and dinner the next night!

As a former restaurant manager there are a few things that I would like to recommend to Abudanza.

1. Music. Please. Play some music. While I know we are in the bar. There is no need for sound on TVs in the bar unless it is the Superbowl or a Red Sox game (yes every Red Sox game)...put on the closed caption and play some music. I don't care what it is but the silence is deafening. As a former restaurant manager, I know the few times that the satellite would go out, the dining room felt off. A little Sinatra would go far.

2. Kitchen noise. You don't have an open kitchen so I really don't want to hear whats going on back there unless I am walking back to the bathroom.

3. Cell phones. I realize it is 2011 but it will forever be rude to me. People go out to eat to escape. The fact that this employee walked by and all of the sudden out of his ass I hear Steven Tyler's voice screaming "I don't want to miss a thing" didn't make me happy. I turned to S and said "he needs to be fired".

4. This place takes pride and makes everything from scratch and to order. I appreciate that. In this world where we want everything to be as fast as a game on their PlayStation, there needs to be an explanation. People talk about slow service and they are mistaken! The service is great. Attentive even. You need to educate your staff on how to communicate this to your customers. Perfection takes time. Maybe put it on the bottom of your menu. Have the server give a little intro when the customer first sits down how it is done. Might snuff some of the idiots who don't understand that your food doesn't come from a box so it takes time.

All in all, I would say our food was a 9 out of 10 and ambiance was 7 out of 10. We will definately be back and next time I will wear my stretchy pants!

Post Ice Fishin Double Meat Lasagna

After being outside in the cold all day, sipping beers, telling stories...oh ya and ice fishing...when my sweetie comes home from ice fishing, he is usually starving for something hearty.

So today I put together one of his favorites, Double Meat Lasagna. It is very easy to put together and actually tastes better the next day (well in my humble opinion).

Now, I am not Italian. So please don't send me posts about how this isn't authentic Italian. I know it isn't so I beat you to the punch. I don't know why my mom did this but she used to use cottage cheese instead of  ricotta.So that is how I grew up eating it. While playing around with different recipes I found the combination of the two if what I like the most. My kids love it. Friends love it. So just try it and don't tell kids that there is something like cottage cheese in it.


Here is the recipe folks.....Enjoy.

1 medium onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 TBSP oil
2 lbs of meat ( I usually do half sweet sausage, half hot sausage. You can use any meat combination you prefer)
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (I prefer Redpack tomatoes)
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 box of Barilla flat lasagna no cook noodles
15 oz. of whole milk ricotta
15 oz. cottage cheese
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese plus 1/2 cup to put on top
1 lb of fresh mozzarella sliced into 16 pieces

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Warm the olive oil and saute the onions until they are nice and fragrant.Add the garlic and cook for two minutes. Make sure you don't burn it. Add the meat and break into small pieces. Brown it all the way through. Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook for 10 minutes to thicken it. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In the meantime, mix the beaten egg with the ricotta, cottage cheese, pepper and 1 cup of Parmesan.

Take your 9x13 pan and ladle 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom. It is not going to be a very thick layer. Lay the dry, uncooked noodles over the top. (it should take 4 noodles). Lay 8 mozzarella pieces on top, followed by half of the ricotta-cottage cheese mixture, and a third of the sauce. Cover with 4 more noodles, rest of the mozzarella, cheese mixture and finish with the rest of the meat sauce. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan on top. Bake until nice and bubbly, usually 25-35 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes prior to cutting it.

Bon Appetit!