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

 

Today, after weeks and weeks of baking and cooking for the Holidays, a sort of  inventory of all the leftovers is taken… The day after Christmas, Santo Stefano (Saint Stephen’s Day) has become known as the national day of leftovers. Italian cooks tend to over prepare….it is just simply not possible to eat as much as is prepared..so there is the inevitable leftovers filling every kitchen.

I have a leftover basket of pears from my organic farm and 2 trays of amaretti cookies, baking chocolate and half a bottle of Zebibo – a sweet wine from Sicily. The supermarket is not open..a quick inventory of my fridge and there is just the right amount of ingredients for a Chocolate Pear Torte..

Zebbibo wine has become a fave of mine here, it is made in Sicily. But if you can’t find this sweet wine then substitute a Vin Santo or Pantelleria wine

 

 

Chocolate Pear Torte

7 ripe Pears

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups Zebbibo WIne

8 ounces Baking chocolate

3/4 cup butter

1 cup Flour

1/2 cuo Sugar

1/2 cup crushed Amaretti cookies

Peel, core pears, cut each pear into 4 pieces. Place in sauce pan with wine. Heat till wine has evaporated for approximately 20 minutes.  In a double boiler, melt chocolate with 1/2 cup butter, when melted set aside and let cool.   In another bowl, mix egg yolks with  1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup softened butter  till creamy.  Blend in chocolate mixture. Add in crushed amaretti,  flour, baking powder Blend till creamy compost.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with sugar till peaks form. Gently fold this into chocolate mixture.

Butter and flour a cake pan. Pour in 1/2 batter. Arrange pear slices around cake pan on top of batter. Pour in remaining batter on top of pear slices. Bake in oven preheated to

 

Place flour into mixture a little at a time. Place in crushed amaretti cookies. When well blended, blend melted chocolate mix into egg yolk mix ,a little at a time till well blended.

Whip egg whites till peaks form. Gently fold  whipped egg whites into chocolate mixture. Place a layer of cake batter ,about 1 inch thick in cake pan. Arrange sliced pears on top of cake batter, pour in remaining batter. Bake for 40 minutes in oven preheated to 375 degrees. Let cool before removing from pan and top with powdered sugar.

 

Stay tuned for more recipes ,we are in Holiday mode here  till January 6th (La Befana) for more Holiday recipes and stories get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition. And you can get the digital version exclusively at Kindle.com

May 3, 2012, Join me on  luxury cruise to Italy and the Mediterranean

 

(Photo credits  http://benvenutiinitalia.it)

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

Happy Holidays and a thanks to all of our 100,000 subscribers. The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm wishes you  a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Healthy & Delicious New Year! Thank you for helping us grow to over 100,000 worldwide subscribers and a worldwide classic!

I  want to personally thank those that have come out to book signings and special events and appearances. Thanks also for  sharing your stories and experiences with using recipes  from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking book series as well as visitng some of the lesser known captivating little towns here in Italy as mentioned in the book.

As a special gift from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm from our kitchen to yours a FREE Mini version of the award winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition.

For your Free Mini Holiday Book, click the title below:

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

 

Maria

xox

Hope to see you on my all inclusive luxury Mediterranean cruise in May 2012!

 

I never realized how welcoming a hot plate of pasta could be on a cold, blustery day….nothing fancy now I am not talking about some of the lobster and pasta dishes but a simple pasta and a tomato sugo (sauce) and a sprinkle of freshly shaved parmigiano-reggiano cheese..a glass of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and there you have it ..my best defense to venture out on a cold, snowy  day in the mountains of Abruzzo

 

But if you want more  Holiday  cheer, here is another recipe from the Gourmand World Award Winning Cookbook The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions- 2nd edtion..I think this dish will also be making it’s way onto our table for Vigilia dinner (Christmas Eve dinner) or as many have come to call this The Feast of the Seven Fishes..it makes a great first course or one of the many courses..

Tagliolini Pasta with Mussels

excerpted from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Award. You can find it here, but it is now available from kindle in many different countries

First Course

Tagliolini is an egg noodle pasta that is a traditional pasta served in the Emilia-Romagna region but is now sold all over the world.

Serves 4.

• 1 lb Tagliolini pasta (Egg Noodle Pasta)
• 1 lb zucchini
• 1 ½ pounds fresh mussels
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• 1 scallion
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 handful fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley leaves
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

  Chop onion and scallion. Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan. Saute on medium low heat for 5 minutes, do nor brown. Wash and slice zucchini into small sticks. In another saucepan,place in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, warm for 1 minute and place in zucchini, saute for 5 minutes,season with salt and pepper to taste. In another sauce pan place in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, place in washed mussels and chopped parsley. Cover and when mussels have opened their shells, remove from heat. Set aside. Remove mussels from pan and shell. Filter the water from cooking mussels and set aside. Place shelled mussels, cooking water, sautéed zucchini, in saute pan with onion. Saute together for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Place in chopped basil and remaining olive oil. Cover and set aside. Cook noodles. Drain. Place into saute pan with mussels, place over moderate low heat for one minute, toss gently.

  Serve.

.**Need Last minute ideas for Holiday Gifts,find them here

**March 24-45, Charlottesville, Va, Virginia Festival of the book appearance with my ,latest book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: DaVince Style that was selected to be a part of the event! see you there or for more info and opportunities on sponsoring the appearance or The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm there email us at : events@marialiberati.com

 

**May 3 ,2012-join me on a luxury once in a lifetime,all inclusive  cruise to Italy

 

 

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

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

After surviving another Feast of the Seven Fishes in Italy  last year (the meal typically celebrated in Italy and now all over the world for Christmas Eve with many seafood dishes) I wanted to jot down some quick tips on cooking seafood many different ways. Everyone always seems puzzled as to what to make and how to make it. These are some quick, easy tips to help, but not only for the Feast of the Seven Fishes but all year round seafood dishes too! These are the principal 5 ways to cook specific types of seafood.

Alla Brace (usually refers to cooking in a fireplace or wood burning oven -over wood or coal)

Fish that has firm meat inside like tuna, are perfect for cooking this way,not all fish can hold up to this cooking method.

You can add a sort of aroma and splash with white or red wine or seafood broth to reinforce the perfume of the herbs/spices added. Choose a double sided grill that will make turning the fish easier.

Alla Griglia (grilled)

If you are going to grill fish you shouldn’t scale it, the skin protects the delicate meat of the fish from the intense heat of the grill. Before placing on the grill, dry the fish well with paper towels, even if it has been soaking in a marinade. Don’t overcook the fish. For example, sardines cook for only 1 minute on each side, for a sea bass-10 minutes per side. A large fish should be cooked slowly and drizzled with oil every so often to keep it moist.

Alla Mugnaia (a la meuniere- a French cooking term that means lightly dusted with flour and sautéed with butter)

A whole fish or one that has delicate meat inside like Sole should first be sautéed in a sauté pan with butter, then cooked over medium heat. In general, most fish can be lightly salted and breaded before cooking. The cooking time varies from between 2-3 minutes per side.

Fritto (Fried)

Fish best fried are small fish or those cut into smaller pieces or those like cod and sole. Always dry the fish before frying, coat with flour and dust with breadcrumbs. Oil should be hot but not smoking and should also be in an abundant quantity. Avoid keeping the breaded fish in the pan for too long a time, after cooking remove and place on absorbent paper or paper towels to absorb the oil.

Al Forno (Baked)

Al Forno – best to cook medium or large fish this way. You can also flavor the fish with flavorful spices and/or herbs or herb butter, broth, white wine. And if the fish is big enough you can also bake it stuffed with bread crumbs or shrimp or crab meat. In the oven, you can also cook smaller fish in parchment paper

So many of you have emailed  asking about how to celebrate this feast. So for those of you that do, please share with readers your favorite Feast of the Seven Fishes traditions and recipes. Christmas Eve is almost here!

For more Christmas recipes get a copy of the Gourmand World Award Winning Cookbook The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays &Special Occasions-2nd edition

**December 10th- Join me at Wendell August (103 Woodcutter Dr) in Exton, Pa from 1:30 –2:45 for a book signing of the Holiday book and Holiday recipes. Hope to see you then. For more info email: events@marialiberati.com

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

copyright 2011  art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati

Your email:

 

 

“Non si puo non mangiare, non si puo non amare”

One cannot live without food or love…

Ohh the necessities of life…food and love…

Torta Sbrisolana di Mantua (Crumbly Cake from Mantova)

excerpted from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:DaVinci Style

excerpted from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: DaVinci Style

1 ½ cups(300)gr cornmeal flour

½ cup(100 gr) white flour

1 cup (200 gr) chopped almonds

¾ cup (150 gr) butter

2 egg yolks

½ cup (100 gr) sugar

grated zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp (95 gr) pure vanilla

Confectioner’s Sugar for topping

In a bowl place flours, egg yolks, lemon zest,softened butter. Vanilla. Blend the dough till it is well blended but crumbly. Crumble or sprinkle the crumbly batter into a buttered cake pan and bake in oven preheated to 350F (180C) for 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool before removing from pan. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

**Join me on May 3 2012 in Venice Italy for an all inclusive luxury cruise to Italy and the Mediterranean, it is a trip of a lifetime, truly a luxury cruise but an all inclusive one too. A few places left, call Julie at Rosenbluth Vacations at 1-800-257-8279