THE Dish: Chef Lidia Bastianich's ultimate chicken and potatoes

Chef Lidia Bastianich may be best-known as the host of "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen," on PBS -- but she is also one of the nation's most successful restauranteurs.

She is owner or co-owner of four acclaimed restaurants in New York -- Felidia, Becco, Esca and Del Posto -- plus two more, in Pittsburgh and Kansas City.

Bastianich is also the author of eight cookbooks, and in 2010, she wrote a children's book inspired by her own grandchildren, "Lidia's Christmas Kitchen."

On "CBS This Morning: Saturday" for THE Dish segment, Bastianich shares her ultimate dish: Her mother's chicken and potatoes with bacon and peppers.

MY MOTHER'S CHICKEN AND POTATOES

Pollo e Patate della Mamma

Chicken and potatoes, cooked together in a big cast- iron skillet until the chicken is crisp and moist at the same time, is my mother's specialty. Growing up, my brother and I demanded it every week; a generation later, our kids, Tanya and Joe, and my brother Franco's children, Eric, Paul, and Estelle, clamored for it, too. And now the next generation of little ones are asking their great-grandmother to make chicken and potatoes for them. This is by far one of our most requested recipes; I am sure Grandma's personality must have something to do with it, but the tasty dish has merits all its own.

Serves 4

for the basic chicken and potatoes:

2 1/2 pounds chicken legs or assorted pieces (bone- in)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

1 pound Red Bliss potatoes, preferably no bigger than 2 inches across

2 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil, or more as needed

2 medium- small onions, peeled and quartered lengthwise

2 short branches fresh rosemary with plenty of needles

for my special touches- try either or both

4 to 6 ounces sliced bacon (5 or 6 slices)

1 or 2 pickled cherry peppers, sweet or hot - or more! - cut in half and seeded

Rinse the chicken pieces, and pat dry with paper towels. Trim off excess skin and all visible fat. Cut the drumsticks from the thighs. If using breast halves, cut each into two small pieces.

Make the bacon roll-ups: Cut the bacon slices in half crosswise, and roll each strip into a neat, tight cylinder. Stick a toothpick through the roll to secure it; cut or break the toothpick so only a tiny bit sticks out (allowing the bacon to roll around and cook evenly).

Pour the canola oil into a deep skillet, and set over high heat. Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with half the salt. When the oil is very hot, lay the pieces, skin side down, in the skillet an inch or so apart- watch out for oil spatters. Don't crowd the chicken: if necessary, you can fry it in batches, cooking similar pieces together.

Drop the bacon rolls into the oil around the chicken, turning and shifting them often. Let the chicken fry in place for several minutes to brown on the underside, then turn and continue frying until the pieces are golden brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes or more. Fry the breast pieces only for 5 minutes or so, taking them out of the oil as soon as they are golden. Let the bacon rolls cook and get lightly crisp, but not dark. Adjust the heat to maintain steady sizzling and coloring; remove the crisped chicken pieces with tongs to a bowl.

Meanwhile, rinse and dry the potatoes; slice each one through the middle on the axis that gives the largest cut surface, then toss them in a bowl with the olive oil and the remaining salt.

When all the chicken and bacon is cooked and out of the skillet, pour off the frying oil. Return the skillet to medium heat, and put in all the potatoes, cut side down, in a single layer, pouring the olive oil into the skillet with them. Fry and crisp the potatoes for about 4 minutes to form a crust, then move them around the pan, still cut side down, until they're all brown and crisp, 7 minutes or more. Turn them over and fry another 2 minutes to cook and crisp on their rounded skin sides.

Keeping the skillet over medium heat, toss the onion wedges and rosemary branches around the pan, in with the potatoes. Return the chicken pieces - except the breast pieces - to the pan, along with the bacon rolls; pour in any chicken juices that have accumulated and add the cherry peppers. Raise the heat slightly, and carefully turn and tumble the chicken, potatoes, onions (and bacon and/or pepper pieces) so they are coated with pan juices, taking care not to break the potato pieces. Spread everything out in the pan - potatoes on the bottom as much as possible, to keep crisping up - and cover.

Lower the heat back to medium, and cook for about 7 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally; then uncover, and tumble the pieces and potatoes (and bacon rolls) again. Cover, and cook another 7 minutes or so, adding the breast pieces at this point. And give everything another tumble. Now cook covered for 10 minutes more.

Remove the cover, turn the pieces again, and cook in the open skillet for about 10 minutes, to evaporate the moisture and caramelize everything. Taste a bit of potato (or chicken) for salt, and sprinkle on more as needed. Turn the pieces now and then - when they are all glistening and golden, and the potatoes are cooked through, remove the skillet from the stove and - as I do at home - bring it right to the table.

For more recipes, go to Page 2.

STUFFED TOMATOES

Pomodori Farciti al Forno

These stuffed tomatoes are best made in the summer, when tomatoes are abundant. Make sure the tomatoes are all approximately the same size and not overripe; firm tomatoes will yield good-looking results. This is a family favorite, and whether I make it as an appetizer or a side dish, there is never any left over. This dish is very good when hot out of the oven, but I prefer it at room temperature. It is a great buffet dish, or, when you are doing a lot of grilling, it can be your vegetable and starch all in one. For best results, make sure you fill the tomatoes loosely - do not overstuff, or they will be too dense after baking.

Serves 8

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

2 fresh bay leaves, or 3 dried

3/4 cup Arborio rice

2 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil

8 firm- ripe medium tomatoes

3/4 cup fresh mozzarella cut into small cubes

2 ounce piece ham, cut in small cubes

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano - Reggiano cheese

10 large basil leaves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Prepare the rice: In a small pot, bring 2 cups water with 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil with the bay leaves. Stir in the rice and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Bring to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, until rice is al dente and liquid is almost all gone, about 10 minutes. Scrape into a bowl to cool.

Slice the tops off the tomatoes, reserving for later. Scoop out the inner flesh of the tomatoes with a spoon, leaving a thick shell. As you work, put the flesh in a strainer set over a bowl to collect the juices. Once all of the tomatoes are scooped out, season the

insides of the tomatoes with1/2 teaspoon of the salt.

Chop the tomato flesh, and put it in the bowl with the rice. Add the mozzarella, ham, 1/2 cup of the grated cheese, the basil, the oregano, and the remaining1/4 teaspoon salt. Toss to combine.

Pour the reserved tomato juices into the bottom of a large baking dish. Evenly divide the stuffing between the tomatoes. Arrange the cut- off tomato tops in the baking dish, cut side down, and place a stuffed tomato on each top. Depending on the size of your tomatoes, you may have a little leftover stuffing. If so, roll it into "meatballs" and place in the spaces between tomatoes in the baking dish. Drizzle tomatoes with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and sprinkle tops with the remaining grated cheese. Bake until the tomatoes are soft and juicy and the stuffing is browned on top, about 20 to 25 minutes.

EGG- BATTERED ZUCCHINI ROLL- UPS

Involtini di Zucchini Fritti

This is a picnic favorite: the bite- size rolls are perfect to pop into your mouth at room temperature. Zucchini is readily available and affordable, especially in the summertime, and when prepared with a little imagination, as in this dish, it is delicious and festive- looking. This favorite recipe first appeared in Lidia's Family Table. I have literally grown up on zucchini prepared this way- sliced into thin strips, dipped in egg, and fried. It was one of my favorite vegetables when I was little, and my mother often made our school lunch sandwiches with these strips.

Serves 10 as hors d'oeuvres or 6 as a side dish

2 pounds (5 or 6) small zucchini

2 cups all- purpose flour for dredging

5 large eggs

3/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Canola oil for frying (2 cups or more, depending on skillet size)

1 or 2 tablespoons well- drained tiny brined capers

Freshly squeezed juice of about 1/2 lemon

To coat and fry the zucchini: Rinse and dry the zucchini, and trim off the stem and blossom ends. Use a sharp knife to slice the squash lengthwise into strips about 1/8 inch thick, flexible but not paper- thin. (You should get five or six strips from each small zucchini.)

Dump the flour into a wide bowl or shallow dish. Beat the eggs well in another wide bowl, stirring in 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and some grinds of pepper. Set a wide colander on a plate, to drain the battered strips before frying. Tumble five or six zucchini strips at a time in the flour, coating them well on both sides. Shake off the loose flour, and slide the strips into the beaten eggs. Turn and separate the strips with a fork so they're covered with batter; pick them up one at a time, letting the excess egg drip back into the bowl; lay the strips in the colander. Dredge and batter all the zucchini strips this way, and let them drain. Add the egg drippings collected under the colander to the batter, if you need more.

Pour 1/3 inch of canola oil into a deep skillet, and set it over medium- high heat. Cover a baking sheet or large platter with several layers of paper toweling, and place it near the stove. When the oil is very hot but not smoking, test it by dropping in half a strip of battered zucchini. It should sizzle actively and begin to crisp around the edges, but not smoke or darken. When the oil is ready, quickly slip several strips into the skillet, using kitchen tongs or a long fork to avoid spatters of hot oil. Don't crowd the strips- no more than seven at a time in a 12-inch pan - so they crisp quickly and won't absorb oil. Fry the zucchini strips in batches, and when they are golden on both sides, remove them and set them on the paper towels to drain. Salt them lightly, and lay additional paper towels over the fried strips, so you can layer over them the next ones to come out of the skillet. Let the slices cool for a few minutes.

To form the roll-ups: Place a fried strip on your work table, with the wider end (from the blossom end of the zucchini) closer to you. Place three or four capers on that end, then roll the strip tightly, enclosing the capers in the center. Weave a toothpick all the way through the roll-up, so it stays together. Roll up all the strips, or as many as you want.

Just before serving, stand the roll- ups on end and squeeze drops of lemon juice all over the spiral tops. Arrange them on a serving platter. (If you like capers as much as I do, scatter another teaspoon or so of drained capers all over.)

CHOCOLATE BREAD PARFAIT

Pane di Cioccolato al Cucchiaio

This dessert recalls for me the chocolate-and-bread sandwiches that were sometimes my lunch, and always a special treat. How simple but how delicious those two pieces of bread with chocolate in between were. This is another inventive way to recycle leftover bread as the foundation of an elegant layered dessert. Though it is soaked with chocolate-and-espresso sauce and buried in whipped cream, the bread doesn't disintegrate, and provides a great textural contrast in every heavenly spoonful. Even when you think you have nothing in the house for dessert, this is a recipe I am sure you can conjure up. It is best when served immediately, while the melted chocolate is still warm and runny.

Serves 6

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

8 ounces country- style white bread, crusts removed

1/2 cup freshly brewed espresso

2 tablespoons dark rum

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl set in a pan of hot (not boiling) water. When the chocolate begins to melt, stir until completely smooth. Keep it warm, over the water, off the heat.

Slice the bread into 1/2 inch-thick slices, and lay them flat in one layer, close together, on a tray or baking sheet.

Pour the warm espresso into a spouted measuring cup, stir in the rum and sugar until the sugar dissolves, and stir in half the melted chocolate. Pour the coffee-rum-chocolate sauce all over the bread slices, then flip them over and turn them on the tray, to make sure all the surfaces are coated. Let the bread absorb the sauce for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, whip the cream until soft peaks form.

To assemble the parfaits: Break the soaked bread into 1-inch pieces. Use half the pieces to make the bottom parfait layer in six serving glasses, dropping an equal amount of chocolate-dipped bread into each. Scrape up some of the unabsorbed chocolate sauce that remains on the baking sheet, and drizzle a bit over the bread layers. Drizzle some of the remaining melted chocolate as well. Next, drop a layer of whipped cream into the glasses, using up half the cream. Top the cream layer with toasted almonds, using half the nuts. Repeat with another layer of all ingredients. To finish, dollop another layer of whipped cream, using it all up, and sprinkle

on the remaining almonds and drizzle remaining melted chocolate on top of each parfait.