copyright 2011 Art of Living, PrimaMedia,Inc

 

(photo credit : www.olomedeia.it)

 

Post offices are becoming unbearable here,,today there were 100 people ahead of me in line at , my only salvation was that( since it is the Holiday season and everyone plays Tombola or bingo at get togethers) I could imagine myself playing the game as the  numbers appeared on a big screen in the  middle of  the post office..so my half day wait became a game of Tombola..I was number 262 and they were only up to 120….when we finally got to 257 I could yell out “cinquina” only 5 left to go…..and then finally 262,”Tombola” I yelled out ( to myself only)…

Finally out of the post office and it was 12:45..only 15 minutes  (stores close at 1 PM) to get to the fresh pasta store in town…not enough time to make the  fresh pasta..but their fresh pasta is the next best thing to home made..( it is called La Fraiola)… for a bean soup I planned for pranzo (lunch)..a  bean soup with freshly made egg noodles..couldn’t help but but have a hankering for soup since the temps are in the low 30’s and we are surrounded by snow capped mountains.. Here is today’s lunch..

Pasta e Fagioli Borlotti (Borlotti Bean Soup)

excerpted from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: DaVinci Style available in print here or in digital version exclusively on Kindle

8 ozs. freshly made egg noodles

1 cup borlotti beans (dry and soaked overnight, cooked in water for 1hr)

2 carrots

2 tomatoes

1 leek

1 stalk celery chopped

2 whole cloves garlic

3 tblsps extra virgin olive oil

Place oil in a large pot and place in garlic and chopped leeks Then saute for 3 minutes.

Place in 5 cups (2 ½ liters) hot vegetable broth, carrots, tomatoes, bring to a boil and  simmer place in beans, cook till tender, at least 20 minutes. Boil again and then place in fresh pasta and cook for 5-8 minutes ,and cook for 20 more minutes. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve and top with a drizzle of olive oil. and freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

Torta Paradiso (Heavenly Cake)

1 cup (200 gr) butter

¾ cup (120 gr)confectioner’s sugar

¼ cup(60 gr) flour

1/3 cup (70 gr) potato starch

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

grated zest of one lemon

extra confectioner’s sugar for topping

Place softened butter in a bowl and whip till a creamy consistency, add in confectioner’s sugar a little at a time. Beat 1 egg + 1 yolk in another bowl till creamy. Add in butter mixture. When well blended add in grated lemon zest, then sift into mixture the flour and potato starch. Mix till well blended.

Butter a 9” cake pan.  Pour in batter. Bake in oven preheated to 350 F (180C) for approx. 1 hour or until cake is firm in center. remove from oven, let cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

 

**Get more recipes from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: DaVinci Style here or available in digital form exclusively on Kindle

 

**See you on March 24-25 in Charlottesville, Virginia at the Virginia Festival of the Book.  The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: DaVinci Style is one of the books selected to be featured in this year’s festival

*May 3, 2012 join me on a luxury cruise to Italy and the Mediterranean

 

 

A perfect Christmas  concert at Santa Prassede in the center of Rome, was an unexpected surprise as I arrived on Sunday. I have heard about this church before but it has always been closed..what a hidden gem.

Outside it is plain and doesn’t beckon to come inside, but once inside you are splendidly surprised with so many frescoes and mosaic tiles and balconies in marble. Your mouth will drop in awe as your head spins around savoring every beautiful bit of color…

The Christmas concert just happened to be an extra something..with the International Choir of Rome and pieces from Mozart and Bach….

But of course my favorite part was getting home to enjoy a pre –Holiday dinner with friends and a dish of pasta with lobster, it has become a favorite for dinner and is excerpted here from my Award Winning book The Basic Art of  Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition

Pasta Shells with Lobster and Spinach

First Course

Serves 4.

• 8 ounces cooked lobster meat
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces dried mushrooms
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 1 pound washed and chopped fresh spinach
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• ¼ Cup cream
• 1 pound pasta shells
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

  Cut lobster meat into small chunks. In a bowl, blend lemon juice with 4 tablespoons olive oil. Let stand for 15 minutes. Place dried mushrooms in 1 cup warm water and let sit for 15 minutes.

  Place 1 tablespoon olive oil in sauté pan with chopped onion and spinach. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add in mushrooms, lobster meat, pinch of salt and pepper, and cream. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

  Cook pasta until al dente, then drain. Place pasta in sauce and toss.

  Serve on individual plates. Drizzle with olive oil/lemon sauce and sprinkle fresh parsley on top. Serve with a dry white wine or even a sparklling Prosecco.

 

For more recipes get your copy of the Gourmand World Award Winning Cookbook The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special  Occasions-2nd edition you can still get a copy rushed for a Christmas gift or get a Kindle or ebook version

May 2012-Join me in Italy for a luxury cruise across Italy and parts of the Mediterranean. it is an all inclusive cruise… so even your flight and luxury suite, food ,tips, excursions are all included..makes a great Christmas gift also!

March 24-25, 2012- see you at Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, Virginia. The latest release The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: DaVinci Style was just selected to be part of this amazing festival celebrating the written word. If you are in or near Charlottesville, Virgina, stop by! For more info and/or to be included as one of the sponsors of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm email: events@marialiberati.com

copyright 2011 Art of Living,PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati

(excerpted from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition)

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/

Christmas and the holiday season in Rome has never been as commercial as it is in most large cities. For example, in the Eternal City, a lavish Nativity scene is more commonplace than a light up reindeer or glowing elf. Head straight to the Piazza di Spagna (The Spanish Steps) and you will see a rustic version of an 18th century presepio (nativity scene), scaled down and reconstructed on the second level. To make your own original presepio, head over to Piazza Navona for the Christmas Market and you can purchase anything: the figurines, mini light up pizza ovens, small working fountains, innumerable moving and light up items for your presepio, terra cotta tavern keepers, butchers, bakers, mangers, paper with the picture of the sky above with stars, and anything else you can think of. To do it the easy way, you can get up early on a Sunday before Christmas and head over to that endless market, Porta Portese, and purchase an already created ceramic presepio handcrafted at Capodimonte in Napoli.

(photo credit: www.ciaobambino.com)

As we anticipate our Feast of the Seven Fishes Dinner, here is a suggested First Course.not sure what we will have at our house but this is a strong contender!

Farfalle con Tonno

(Bow Tie Pasta with Tuna)

excerpted from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition

First Course

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Juice from 1 lemon
• Pinch of salt and black pepper
• 1 garlic clove
• 8 ounces tuna in olive oil
• 1 pound farfalle pasta
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

In a small bowl and with wire whisk, mix together olive oil, lemon juice, and pinch of salt and pepper. Cut garlic clove in half, and rub on bottom of large salad bowl. Flake tuna in a separate dish.

Boil pasta until al dente. Drain. Place in large salad bowl and top with dressing and flaked tuna. Toss. Serve with chopped parsley on top.

 

For more recipes get your copy of the Gourmand World Award Winning Book: The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition. It makes a great gift! You can now pick up a copy at Wendell August in Exton, Pa..it’s a beautiful place to visit also  and pick up lots of Holiday gifts!

Thanks to all those that visited my book signing event at Wendell August Forge in Exton, Pa this past Sunday. Loved hearing your stories of visits to special places in  Italy  mentioned in my books and cooking from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking book series.

*Join me on May 3 2012 for a luxury cruise of a lifetime throughout Italy and the Mediterranean. It is an all inclusive cruise, even flight is included. Call Rosenbluth Vacations at 1-800-257-8279

Love hearing your heart warming stories of food and cooking Italian  with The Basic Art of Italian Cooking! Here is a story from one of our readers. And if you have a story to share with our The Basic Art of Italian Cooking readers…. love to hear it…. Send your story (500words of less) to info@marialiberati.com.

This story comes form Anna M. Aquino (www.annamaquino.com) Thanks Anna!

Guest Post by Anna M. Aquino

I still remember the scene. My husband and I were newly married and I was trying to be a good wife by cooking what I thought would be a good meal. We were renting the back end of a house in downtown Pittsburgh, Pa. at the time and the floorboards of my kitchen were warped and uneven. The smell of bean soup flavored with a ham hock and corn bread had been a cultural staple of my childhood. I grew up with foods like mashed potato candy and corned beef and cabbage. I knew what was the American version of  spaghetti, but that is as far as my Italian cooking went. Culturally I come from the most politically correct term of Appalachian, but with loving humor I say I’m an Ohio Redneck.

 

(photo of Pietra Fietta from examiner.com)

“What is that?” I could tell my husband was forcing a smile. It was a look that was painted on with humor and obligation. My husbands’ family immigrated from a small village called Pietra Fietta Cosenza Italy in the 50’s. While he has never set foot in his motherland he grew up in an oasis of Italian culture and life. He didn’t speak English until he went to school. He had no need to.

He tried the meal, and if I remember correctly with a slight gagging reflex he managed to consume a bowl. I realized that night I would have to learn to cook Italian.

As an outsider looking into my mother-in-law’s kitchen it can be a bit overwhelming. Italians celebrate food like one would examine a fine piece of art. My mother-in-law is a Rembrandt in the kitchen. When you ask her how to cook something she’ll tell you by memory. There are  no exact measurements and it’s done all to taste. She wields her wooden spoon like a paint brush wafting homegrown ingredients out of my father-in-law’s back yard garden teasing the palate. Mouthwatering dishes, that until I married my husband, I had never heard of: Vitello, gnocchi, homemade tiramisu and melanzana. The women come together for weeks before the holidays to make Turdilli,a traditional sweet from Cosenza… They still cure their own capicollo, prosciutto, and make their own sausages. It’s as if they have an internal scale in their mind and it isn’t okay to leave their home unless you have tasted everything. Family meals are seas of faces, copious amounts of wine, and people shouting Mangia Mangia !

I’ve been trying my Italian wings now for 12 years. I’ve learned the family secret to the sauce, but don?t ask me what it is because I can?t tell you. My cooking still  isn’t as good as my mother-in-law’s but I’m working on it, and I understand my husbands need to have some kind of pasta on Sundays. I still make my Ohio foods, and my husband has learned to tolerate them. My tour through Italian cooking has been a journey but like any good wine, and it just keeps getting better!

Turdilli

1 cup of olllive oil

1 cup of white Vermouth

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

honey

peanut oil for frying

Heat olive oil and vermouth in a pan till just before boiling. Place sugar in a bowl. Pour hot olive oil mixture into bowl and stir until sugar melts. Add in sifted flour, about 1/4 cup at a time. Stirring after each addition. Mix dough until soft, but lucid. Place on a floured wooden board and work the dough till not sticky. Cut dough into pieces that are 1-1/2 inches in diameter and 1 inch long. Dust pieces with flour and press each piece with a fork. Cover pieces with towel, let stand for 30 minutes. Heat oil in frying pan, enough oil to cover pan and about 2 inches high. Fry till golden, dough will puff up when fried, remove and place on towel paper. When cool, heat honey in saucepan, place in cooled turdilli, toss gently and coat with honey. Place on parchment paper on serving plate, decorate with colored sprinkles.

*December 10th 1:30-2:45  Holiday Entertaining and Holiday Book signing at Wendell August, Exton, Pa Join me for a book signing, sampling from the Award Winning Book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition. For more info email: events@marialiberati.com

*Join me in Italy for an all inclusive luxury cruise to Italy and the Mediterranean where everything is all inclusive. A few spots are open, Makes a wonderful Holiday gift! Call Julie at Rosenbluth Vacations at 1-800-257-8279

Your email:

 

To Celebrate the Holidays I will be posting excerpts from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards and was selected as the Best Italian Cuisine  Book in the USA. (follow along if you have a copy of the book) It is also available on Kindle.

 

Memories of Rome

(excerpted from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition, page 54

Christmas and the holiday season in Rome has never been as commercial as it is in most large cities. For example, in the Eternal City, a lavish Nativity scene is more commonplace than a light up reindeer or glowing elf. Head straight to the Piazza di Spagna (The Spanish Steps) and you will see a rustic version of an 18th century presepio (nativity scene), scaled down and recon­structed on the second level. To make your own original presepio, head over to Piazza Navona for the Christmas Market and you can purchase anything: the figurines, mini light up pizza ovens, small working fountains, innumerable moving and light up items for your presepio, terra cotta tavern keepers, butchers, bakers, man­gers, paper with the picture of the sky above with stars, and any­thing else you can think of. To do it the easy way, you can get up early on a Sunday before Christmas and head over to that endless market, Porta Portese, and purchase an already created ceramic presepio handcrafted at Capodimonte in Napoli.

Tortini ai Funghi

(Mushroom Tarts)

Appetizer

Serves 4.

• 2 scallions
• ¾ pound fresh mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Pinch of salt and black pepper
• 1 large puff pastry strip, or 4 small strips
• 2 eggs
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 ounces grated Comté cheese
• 3 finely chopped leeks
• 4 small ceramic or glass baking cups; should be about four inches in diameter

Peel and finely chop the scallions. Carefully wash, clean, and thinly slice the mushrooms. Place 1 tablespoon butter in a sauté pan and sauté the scallions over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and let simmer until all liquid has been absorbed. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and let cool.

Use the remaining butter to butter the baking cups. Place puff pastry in baking cups and cover the bottom and sides of cups with pastry. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, pinch of nutmeg, pinch of salt, and grated Comté cheese.

Cover bottom of each baking cup with mushroom slices, then cover with chopped leeks. Pour egg mixture on top.

Cook in oven preheated to 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then for an additional 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Best served hot.

*Dec 10th from 1:30-2:45-  join me at Wendell August in Exton, Pa

Wendell August located at:

103 Woodcutter Street
Exton, PA 19341
Store Phone:610-363-2426

I will be signing copies of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition and serving recipes from the book on beautiful Wendell August pieces. For more info email:events@marialiberati.com

 

Join me for an all inclusive luxury cruise in Italy leaving from Venice Italy. Everything is included ,join me for the trip of a lifetime. Call Julie at Rosenbluth Vacations at 1-800-587-8279 or email:events@marialiberati.com Makes a great Christmas present for that special someone

Another Thanksgiving , another day to give thanks and  remember the  simple things that we probably take for granted.. ..if you can celebrate the Holiday in anyway then you should give thanks…

 

Food doesn’t make the Holiday, it’s the company you share it with…can turn a plain meal into a festive one…And if you don’t like turkey create your own menu..opt for something special or something that makes you feel special..your favorite dish….as simple or as elegant as can be..but let it be your choice! Some people look for an online culinary arts school when they love cooking

My Black Friday gift to all subscribers of the BLOG is a free Holiday mini-booklet.  An excerpted booklet from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition- the book that was selected as a Gourmand World Cookbook Award Winner. The book is filled with warm holiday stories ,recipes and tips..This offer is valid for November 25th for 24 hours (12AM to 12PM) only and is a special offer for subscribers to this BLOG only..  If you are not a subscriber just subscribe before you order. To get your free copy,send an email to:
info@marialiberati.com place FREE HOLIDAY BOOKLET in subject and you will get an ebooklet ready to download.

Join Me in Italy on May 3, 2012 for an all inclusive luxury cruise to Italy and the Mediterranean. 10 days of all out luxury with everything included! Makes a great gift for that special someone! Only a few spots left, call  Julie Steinberg at Rosenbluth Vacations at 1-800-257-8279

Here’s Wishing a Happy day to give Thanks to all!!

Happy Thanksgiving

coyright 2010 art of living, PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati

La Befana is almost here or as tradition goes she should be ‘flying’ by on her broomstick sometime before dawn tomorrow morning, the 6th of January. And the streets are bustling with cars and people whizzing by.. under my office window here in the center of town. Fireworks can be heard from far and near signaling the last day of a long, (seemingly) never ending 12 day Holiday feast.
Tomorrow’s mid day meal will be just as special as the rest of  the Holidays. While the day after Chrsitmas was a day for ‘recupaerating’ from all the preaparations. People are anxious to  use up all their  leftovers on that day. But we have  had a few days of relaxation from the big feast on New Year’s Day so another feast is in order.

La Befana vien di notte (the Befana comes in the night)

con le scarpe tutte rotte (with tattered shoes)

con cappelle  alla Romana (A Roman style hat)

VIVA VIVA LA BEFANA! (Long Live La Befana)

 

Torta Principe Eugenio (Prince Eugenio’s Cake)

 

6 ounces unsweetened dark chocolate (containing at least 60% cocoa)

1 1/2 cups crushed almonds

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 tablespoons butter

6 eggs

1 tablespoon rum

1 tablespoon brandy

butter for pan

Topping

2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 ounces milk chocolate

½ cup whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

Beat softened butter,sugar and egg yolks until creamy. Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave. Add the chocolate into the egg yolk mixture,then add in ground almonds,brandy and rum.

Beat egg whites till soft peaks form. Fold into the egg yolk mixture gently till well blended.. Butter and flour an 8″  cake pan and bake for 35 minutes in oven at 350 degrees.

Remove from oven. Leaving a 1 /12 “ border around cake, cut out some of  the interior cake , to make about ¼ cup of crumbs. Place crumbs in oven on cookie sheet  to dry and become crisp, set aside., to use as crumble on topping.

Cook raspberries and sugar over low heat for 2 minutes let sugar melt. Let cool. Place whipping cream and vanilla, sugar in bowl. Whip cream till peaks form, add in grated chocolate. Place cooled raspberry mixture in cavity of cake made from digging out crumbs. Top with whipped cream mixture in center of raspberries. Sprinkle with cake crumbs on top of whipped cream and serve.

 For more great Holiday recipes get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd editon

 

copyright 2010, art of living,PrimaMedia, Inc./Maria Liberati

Quote of the Day:
“ We all  exist under the same  sun, no matter where we live”

Did you know that...

When you make your own mayonnaise at home, the lemon and oil do not mix or blend in together, but when you add in egg yolks, because of their lecithin content, they act as a natural emulsifier and emulsify the oil and lemon mixture naturally..no chemicals needed. If you have ever made mayonnaise at home, share your tips and recipes here for home made mayonnaise..

 Lemons pair so well with seafood and this recipe combines both.. I use this dish as an appetizer or sometimes as a main course for a light dinner meal. Either way, it is easy and quick to make and will impress your guests. Serve with a glass of chilled white wine. It was certainly a welcome change today..,a light Holiday Lunch..after a full week of  multi course meals everyone seems without energy for cooking as well as eating..still 4 more days to go of Holiday celebrations here

 

Limoncini with Creamy Tuna

• 4 lemons
• 12 ounces of tuna packed in olive oil
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• 4 ounces of green olives
• 1 tsp capers
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Cut lemons lengthwise and ‘clean out’ the pulp inside. In the food processor, place drained tuna, pitted green olives, hard boiled eggs, capers. Blend until creamy consistency. Placei n bowl and dilute with olive oil and juice of one lemon. Fill 8 lemon halves with this mixture. Place a bed of salad greens on a plate and place 2 lemon halves on top of greens on each plate, serve.

copyright 2010 art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati

New Year’s Day Lunch/ Dinner was a meal filled ( of course) with  great food. and conversation…but also  with keywords to avoid.. words like-potatoes.. biscotti…. torrone…chocolate..panettone…particular cheeses..particular breads…any words that meant food -had to be avoided.

 As we sat down to eat a long 5 hour meal that seemed to be endless… anytime the mere mention of any food was heard in the conversation our gracious host would jump up and say..”wait a minute I have some of that, they make it specially in this particular town it is their specialty..you should try it” and automatically another course was added to the meal…So we began to realize that it was not a good idea to continue to speak about anything that was food related. Or if we continued to do so we would be sitting down to a meal that would last into the wee hours of the night and we could barely finish what had already been planned.

Not that the meal was anything but delicious,it was all delicious ..every last drop,, but there is only so much one person can eat! The Holidays in Italy are like a continuing 2 week meal..with one meal ending and one meal beginning immediately after..

 Breakfast, during the Holidays..other than a cup of coffee- to get you going for the day- is almost impossible to eat..the meal eaten the night before is enough to hold you over till the next day’s lunch..

Now that our Main meal of the day was  eaten… it is time to clear the dishes and set the table with new ones for our final meal of the day..a New Year’s Supper..let’s hope that this will be a light one.. oh well, only 5 more days to go of this constant feasting!

In the meantime, would love to hear your Holiday menus and stories,share them here..

Buon Anno, Happy New Year

Maria

copyright 2010 art of living, PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati

 

Cassola is traditionally a Jewish dessert, but because the main ingredient is fresh ricotta cheese it is also a traditional cheesecake served in Italy. Simple, sweet and delicious as all Italian dishes are, this one only has 5 ingredients and is easy for even the novice cook to whip up. The trick to its’ creamy consistency is using freshly made  ricotta not ricotta that has been made in a processing plant or sitting in the refrigerated aisle of a large supermarket for many days.  Fresh ricotta is creamy, and smooth, and almost nothing like it’s factory made version.

Cassola

*2 pounds freshly made  ricotta cheese

*5 whole eggs

*1 1/3 cups sugar

* grated zest of one fresh lemon

*1/2 fresh vanilla bean, ground

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place riocotta cheese i na food processor and belnd with a steel balde until smooth. In another bowl, place in eggs, sugar, ground vanilla bean, grated lemon zest. Beat until a  smooth and creamy mixture.  Place into ricotta (already in food processor) about 2 tablesponns at a time.

Butter the bottom of 9 1/2 inch springform pan, then ocntinue ot line with parchment paper. Pour in mixture and place into the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes. When finished the outer edges will be firm but inside will be a bit soft and will not be firm. Turn off oven when done and continue to leave in oven for 15 minutes. Open oven door and let cool for 15 minutes in oven. This dessert can be eaten warm or cool.

For more traditional Italian Holiday recipes get your copy of the Award Winning Book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays &  Special Occasions-2nd edition