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

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

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

 

The variety of landscapes in the region of Abruzzo, Italy, in November are filled with subdued colors. Close to the sea, the fields that once were overflowing with  grapevines and olives are now scraggly fields  and make silhouettes against the oft gray skies. The new winter frosts have dimmed the once cheerful giardini (gardens). Sunflowers have closed and gone to sleep for most of the winter. The cold harsh winds drive the rains against terra cotta roofs. In the mountains, off in the distance the snow capped mountain tops , can be seen as a sign of things to come to the valley below.

 

The sheep still graze outside on the muddy hills with a sheepdog, known as an Abruzzese shepherd minds them  under a watchful eye.

Truffle and mushroom hunters roam the mountainsides. The open air markets provide a point of color on the brown landscapes, filled with colorful apples, oranges, pears, kiwi, pomegranates on display.

Vino Novello, the new wine that has just been produced from the ‘vendemmia’ in October can be found everywhere as people begin to prepare to gather items for the Holiday table.

As November wears on the harsh rains halt and I wake up to crisp morning skies with a sun as  brilliant as the sun of August, so harsh it hurts your eyes. It provides the perfect setting for local farmers to cut and cord the wood for fireplaces everywhere. Especially the kitchen fireplaces that will be used to grill meats and cheese or roast chestnuts for the Holiday meals to come.

Fall signals the time for certain foods ,especially pears in wine, and roasted chestnuts. Jars of white -flesh, preserved pears, now make a stark contrast next to the bright red  jarred tomatoes from  summer’s end. that decorate  many wine cellars or cantinas usually in home basements or separate small attached buildings. But it is time to think of the Holiday meals.

Although Thanksgiving is not officially celebrated here, meals leading up to the Holidays rival any Thanksgiving celebration. Panetone and Pan D’oro the sweet dessert breads of the winter Holidays line the windows of local bakeries and aisles of the supermarkets.

One of my favorite,elegant yet simple appetizers to make for Holiday  soirees or to start off a Holiday meal are these mushroom appetizers since mushrooms are in abundance.

An online culinary arts education is what some people pursue when they want to become a chef.

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.

 

**Join me on May 2012 in Italy for an all inclusive luxury cruise to Italy and the Mediterranean. There are a few more spots left, don’t miss out. This is all inclusive luxxury cruise with absolutely everything included. Call Julie at Rosenbluth Vacations now at 1-800-257-8279

 

 

I have been receiving requests from the media asking for recipes that are unique for Thanksgiving dinner. This  dessert that comes form Siena, Italy, is an interesting cross between a rice pudding and a cake. It’s not your typical Thanksgiving day dessert but one that will make it a memorable one and this will bring Siena, Italy close to your dinner table for one day…

And if you love to cook here is a resource for finding cooking classes

Torta Alla Senese (Siena Style Cake)

excerpted from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: DaVinci Style

½ cup (100 gr) milk

1 ½ cups (300 gr) rice

1 cup (200 gr) sugar

3 eggs

1/3 cup(70 gr) raisins

8 hazelnuts

¼ cup (50 gr) pinoli nuts

1/3 cup (70 gr) butter

1 tsp baking powder

zest of ½ lemon grated

Boil milk. Add in uncooked rice and sugar. Cook till liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and cool. Add in eggs. raisins, hazelnuts, pinoli nuts, softened butter, baking powder, grated lemon zest. Blend all together. Butter and flour an 8” cake pan, pour in batter. Bake in oven preheated to 400 F (200C) and bake for 30 minutes. Serve chilled.

For more great recipes get your copy of

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: DaVinci  Style

 

 

Join me in Italy on May 3, 2012 for an exicting all inclusive luxury cruise to Italy and the Mediterranean. A few spots remaining, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to expereince the delights of the Mediterranean, including to onboard culinary events and visits to vineyards as wel as other excitign excursions. Call Julie at Rosenbluth Vacations at 1-800-257-8279 to reserve your spot now! Hope to see you there!!

copyright 2011 Art of Living, PrimaMedia,inc/Maria Liberati(except sorbet photo)

Cranberries are here..and these health filled beautiful red berries can be used in so many ways…. to dress up a meal, to accompany a poultry dish or in a dessert. One of my favorite desserts this time of year is a (very easy to make) cranberry sorbetto (sorbet). A dish that adds a lot of color to your table but also one that brings a lot of antioxidants your way

 

(photo from:countryliving.com)

Cranberry Sorbetto

• 1 pound fresh cranberries
• 10 cups water
• 5 ½ cups sugar
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin with 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 4 egg whites

In large saucepan combine cranberries, 1 cup water, 2 cups sugar.Bring to boil and cook just until berries pop open. Cool then place in food processor to puree. Add orange and lemon juices and zests to puree. In a deep saucepan, boil 9 cups water and remaining sugar for 20 minutes over medium heat. Dissolve gelatin in small bowl with 2 tblsps cold water. Stir gelatin into hot water/sugar mixture. Add in cranberry mixture and blend together.

Pour this mixture into two flat pans. Freeze till slushy consistency, approximately 30 minutes.

Remove from freezer and place slushy mixture into lareg bowl and break up. In a bowl beat egg whites till fluffy. Fold ½ of cranberry mixture into egg whites and blend together. Then ad this into the remaining cranberry slush. Pour this back into flat pans and freeze again for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer, stir. Freeze again til firm. When completely frozen, serve and//or store in containers and freeze for serving. Garnish with orange peel.

For more colorful recipes that are truly a work of art, but easy to follow…..Get your copy of the newly released The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: DaVinci Style and follow Leonardo DaVinci’s travels to some of Italy’s most delicious regions, including recipes from those regions.What recipe did DaVinci use for The Last Supper meal? Why did he only spend a short time in Bologna and quite longer time in Venice?? Find out why and get some great easy to cook recipes Get your print copy or a Kindle edition

Join Me in Italy on May 3 2012 for an all inclusive Mediterranean cruise starting in Venice going to Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, Portofino, Sicily. Tuscany, Rome, Ancona, then to Monte Carlo, Corfu. Montenegro and Dubrovnik.I ncludes a  visit a vineyard in  Sicily and I will be doing onboard cooking demos and events.Everything is included from all your food, tips ,transfers, excursions to those beautiful cities, flights to and from, even your first night will be a stay at a luxury hotel in the city of Venice Italy before we board. Only a few spots left, reserve your place now, call Julie at Rosenbluth Vacations at 1-800-257-8279 or email us at events@marialiberati.com

One of my favorite dishes is a traditional Gatto….traditionally from Naples.. the dish was a joint creation of French and Italian hence the name Gatto (Pronounced like the French word for cake- Gateau) but spelled in an Italian way..probably in a dialect of the Neapolitan language….. and it is a creamy potato casserole that bakes in the oven and can come out looking a bit like a fluffy cake…but anyway you describe it is absolutely yummy… makes a great substitute for those (boring) mashed potatoes…

As promised for those who joined me at my appearance at the Suburban Home Show and the Philly Food and Wine Show..here is one of the recipes made on the Fiestaware Baking Dish…what a beautiful way to show off this artisan recipe…

Gatto

*2 lbs potatoes baked or boiled, peeled

*1/2 cup milk

*4 tablespoons butter

*3 eggs

*8 ounces provolone cheese

*4 ounces shredded fontina cheese

*4 tablespoons grated Parmigiana-Reggiano cheese

*Handful fresh parsley leaves chopped finely

*!/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

*Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

*Optional pinch of salt

Boil or bake potatoes till cooked, peel and mash while still hot. Add in milk eggs, parmigiana-reggiano, softened butter, black pepper and salt. Blend in food processor till well blended. Add in chopped parsley. Butter baking dish,sprinkle bread crumbs on bottom of dish. Spread thin layer of potato mix on baking dish, cover first with slices of provolone cheese, then shredded fontina. Top with remaining potato mixture, Top with 1 tablespoon grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese. Bake in oven preheated to 425 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with finely chopped parsley on top.

 

**Join me in Italy on May 3,2012 for an all inclusive luxury cruise to the Mediterranean. I will be hosting on board culinary demos, dinners and vineyard excursions. And best part is everything is included. This is truly the way to see Europe. Your flight from a major city anywhere in the world to Venice and one night in a luxury hotel in Venice is included. With stops in Sorrento, Tuscany, Sicily, Ancona, Monte Carlo, Dubrovnik,Montenegro and Corfu this promises to be a true luxury experience. All food, gratuities, tips,meals excursions transportation to and from Italy are all included with a $400 on board credit..A few places left..reserve your spot and join me..call Julie at Rosenbluth Vacations at 1-880-257-8279

Get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: DaVinci Style for 100 recipes from the very regions DaVinci traveled to with poetry from Davinci’s prized notebook and stories on his travels to some of Italy’s most delicious places..

Thanks to all my fans that ‘spent the weekend with me’  (this weekend)and attended my appearances at the Suburban Home Show and the Philly Food and Wine Show.  It is always fun  to meet you and thanks you for sharing  all your stories about your experiences and questions trying the recipes in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking book  series  and questions about the places I visit in the books …. and sharing stories about your family’s origins in Italy and stories about the  towns they come from.

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: DaVinci Style has had a very successful release and is doing very well ..thanks to the support of all of you…thanks for all your love and support!!

 

As promised, here is another recipe from my onstage cooking appearances and photos of the beautiful items I paired the recipes with. It is just as important to know what foods to pair together as well as the items they are presented in, And I am sure you will agree that the Fiestaware and Wendell August pieces were the perfect pairing. Fiestaware’s  75th anniversary color –Marigold- added the perfect touch to show off the other colors in the ingredients used.

 

Rotini Pasta alla Spinaci

1 pound rotini pasta (whole wheat )

8 ozs. fresh spinach (washed, chopped)

2 cloves garlic (peeled)

1/4 cup cooking cream or cream

4 ounces steamed crabmeat, shredded

3 ozs. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup dry white wine

Cook pasta in boiling water  10-12 minutes. While pasta is boiling, place olive oil in saute pan, place in whole garlic cloves. Saute just till garlic becomes golden. Add in fresh spinach, saute for 2 minutes, than add in crabmeat. Saute for 3 minutes, add in wine. Saute for 5 minutes or until half of liquid has been absorbed.  remove garlic cloves.Add in  cream. Saute till creamy. remove from heat,keep warm. When past is al dente, drain and place into saute pan and toss pasta to coat with creamy sauce.  Serve hot.

**Join me on in Italy for my Cruise to the Mediterranean and a culinary adventure (May 3, 2012). This luxury cruise will leave from Venice Italy and go to Rome, Tuscany, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, Sicily, Monte Carlo, Your flight to Venice,  and a night in a luxury hotel in Venice (included) and all your food, excursions, on board alcoholic beverages,flight back and shuttles to and from airport are all included. The suites you wil stay in are luxury suites. No better way to see Europe and I iwll be happy to introduce you to the Mediterranean that I know so well! I will be doing on board dinners and cooking demos and taking you on a visit to a vineyard in Sicily. Only a few spots left..join us call Julie at Rosenbluth Vacations at 1-800-257-8279…see you then