When leaving Rome, Italy, in the airport there is always a holdup with tourists trying to smuggle jars of Nutella in their carry on luggage to take home. Not sure why they just don’t wrap the stuff well and put it in their checked in bags. Americans seem to have grown fond of this Italian staple.  My last memory of Rome, as I left last week was a half hour hold up in line because someone in front of me had 10 jars of  Nutella in their carry on luggage..10 jars!!!

I can understand bringing the stuff back from Italy since, the Nutella they sell in the USA is different and not as good as the one sold in Italy..but check in your bags..please…all 10 jars were taken away from them!!not because it is contraband simply because you can not bring that type of creamy substance on the plane…

However, it is one of the few things Italians are famous for that is processed and contains a lot of unhealthy for you fats..read the label and you will discover..however if you really love the stuff..there is a healthier way to get your Nutella fix by making it yourself.. Joy Johnson , a Canadian nutritionist came up with this healthy recipe..and I agree it is yummy just like Nutella, slightly less creamy, but healthy for you.. And if you don’t have an addiction yet to this creamy, heavenly mixture..try it on toast instead of jam..this is a real wake me up..have a cup of coffee with that toast and you are in for an ultra wake me up to get your day going..the caffeine in the cocoa plus the coffee make for the perfect morning ‘cocktail’.

Let’s hear from you if you try this..we worked up a batch in my test kitchen this morning and it went in a few hours…. Besides it is easier to whip up a batch at home than try to get the stuff past customs at the airport and carry the stuff all over the Eternal City..

Homemade  Chocolate/Hazelnut Spread

Ingredients

1/4 cup hazelnut meal*
1 tbsp raw cacao powder or cocoa powder
2.5 tbsp real maple syrup
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp of organic coconut oil

Method

*Take about 1/2 cup hazelnuts and food process them until they form a fine ground meal. This makes about 1/4 cup. If you can find hazelnuts already ground, more power to you!

Combine the ground hazelnut and cacao powder in your food processor until blended completely. Add the remaining ingredients, process until combined, and enjoy!

You won’t get a smooth finish like you get with processed hazelnut spread, but it will be free of refined sugar and additives.

Spread this dish on toast, add to a smoothie, slather it on a crepe or a pancake. Just be sure to use in moderation — this is meant to be a sweet treat!

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/09/27/hazelnut-spread-recipe_n_927201.html

* October 2, 2PM  The Basic Art of Italian CookingaVinci Style will be released on Oct 2nd at a presentation  for the Utah Humanities Festival at the Salt Lake City Library, downtown, 2PM> For further info go to www.utahhumanities.org- Hope to see you there

*Join me in Italy, May 3 ,2012 for an all inclusive luxury cruise to the Mediterranean leaving from Venice and stopping at many Italian landmarks. I will be doing culinary demos and dinners onboard and will  be hosting a tour of a vineyard in Sicily while cruising. Even your flight to Venice from wherever you are is included (from a key city). For more info call Julie at Rosenbluth Travel at 1-800-257-8279

*Oct 21-23rd see you at the Suburban Home Show at Greater Philadelphia Convention Center in Oaks, Pa..Culinary demos and book singings from my latest book on Friday at 1:30, Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 and 4:30 PM.

What is it about coffee and chocolate together that make such an inebriating, hypnotic blend of flavors..the two flavors make the perfect match ( better than Napooleon & Josephine or Cleopatra & MarcAntony).

A true Barista is a coffee chef, professionally trained in the Art of Coffee. Here is a drink I put together with my favorite Barista at my favorite cioccolateria in Italy. A ‘Cioccolateria’  is a chocolate version of a coffee bar-everything chocolate! This drink makes  a luscious substitute for a hot chocolate and makes a great morning drink to give you a positive outlook on the day ahead or an evening drink to take away the evening chill in the winter or fall.

Caffe al Coccolato

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon chocolate syrup

1 espresso

shaved dark chocolate

whipped cream

Froth the milk with a frother, or heat till just before boiling, set aside. Place the chocolate syrup in a tall glass. Prepare one shot of espresso or one short  cup of espresso, place in glass with  chocolate syrup. Mix well till chocolate syrup melts. Fill glass with frothed milk still hot, stir and top with whipped cream. Sprinkle shaved chocolate on top.

For more recipes get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd ed. winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards

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

Love is the poetry of the senses      Honore de Balzac

and  so then is  food…here is a perfect  Valentine’s Day gift ,recipe and kitchen accessory….

Dolce by Beka- an elegant, yet simple foundue set,makes a beautiful addition to the kitchen, compact and easy to store as well. But you may want to keep this somewhere in the open as a decorative item. It is also dishwasher safe and comes with a candle to prevent the chocolate from scorching. Just the right size for a fondue for 4 and if you want to make a luscious fondue for Valentine’s Day, this recipe works perfectly in the Dolce  fondue set.

Chocolate & Creme Fondue

1’2 lb of fresh, plump strawberries

16 ounces of dark chocolate (minimum 60% cocoa)

3 tblsps Brandy

1/2 cup whipping cream

Gently hull strawberries, wash and dry gently with paper towels. Prepare the fondue by melting the chocolate in a double boiler. Then add in the cream and stirring constantly till the mixture is creamy. Add im Brandy. Blend well, do not boil.  Transfer into the fondue, be sure candle underneath the fondue has been lit. Skewer the strawberries and dip in fondue.

Get more recipes in the Award Winning Book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holdays & Special Occasions-2nd edition

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

The basic art of simplicity….is how I describe this cake. It is simple and uses fine breadcrumbs instead of flour (so if you have leftover bread,here’s your chance to make use of it before it is no longer useable) and a few other ingredients. Of all the things I have learned in Italy is the art of simplicity in everything..from cooking to design to style to life…and keeping things simple is an art. Recipes with only a few basic ingredients that still have the power to ‘wow’..that is an art…

Torta Pane e Cioccolata (Bread & Chocolate Cake)

*6 tablespoons sugar

*6 eggs

*6 tablespoons plain fine breadcrumbs

*2- 16 ounce chocolate bars-grated (At least 65% cocoa)

*whipped cream

Beat egg yolks with sugar till the yellow color disappears and mixture is a clear color. Add in breadcrumbs and grated chocolate a little at a time. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl till firm. Gently fold in egg whites into egg yolk mixture with a rubber spatula.

Butter an 8” cake pan, dust with fine bread crumbs, Bake in oven preheated to 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes remove from oven and let cool. Remove from pan. Sprinkle some finely chopped candied fruit on top and serve with whipped cream.

For more great recipes get your copy of the award winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition

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

Scarpediem…has become one of my favorite new stores in the center of town here..okay,it has nothing to do with food or the kitchen but is a play on words for the Italian word for shoes-scarpe and the Latin Phrase Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)..all of the Italian designer shoes in one place makes you want to ‘seize the day’ and purchase all the shoes or better yet ‘seize the shoes’….

Italian have an artistic penchant for creating new words to express clearly an idea like

*Capri Diem-(instead of Carpe Diem) expressing love of enjoying the island of Capri

*Cinepanettone ( Combining cine for cinema or movie and panettone-the traditional Holiday bread at Christmas time) to describe films that are released for Christmas.

*Decembrini-to discuss things that are’ December-ish’..for instance a fruit that is not totally mature yet in December can be described as Decembrini or the weather that is typical for December,

*Settembrini-something that may come out in September or is ‘September-ish’. For instance fig trees bear fruit in August  and September..those figs of September  can be described as Settembrini or even the change of the weather or coolness that usually begins in the air to describe the weather as Settembrini.

and there are many others…

 Today I am preparing a chocolate-orange cake..my own version of a Sacher Torte for a dinner on Sunday. The Austrians combine apricot with chocolate in their traditional cake. But Italians love the combination of chocolate and orange..and if you taste them together you will quickly understand why..

Here’s the recipe

Torte di Cioccalata all’Arancia (Chocolate and Orange Cake)

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

*8 ounces baking chocolate with at least 60% cocoa content

*3 tblsps milk

*3/4 cup butter

*3/4 cup sugar

*5 eggs

*1 tsp baking powder

*grated zest of 1 orange

*1 cup flour

Filling:
*1 ½ cups orange marmelade

*1 tsp brandy

Topping:

*8 ounces baking chocolate (at least 60% cocoa)
* 1 cup powdered sugar

*1 cup whipping cream

In a double boiler, melt chocolate with milk, stirring with a wooden spoon. When melted remove from heat and cool. Place softened butter in a bowl and whip with electric beater till creamy mousse consistency. Add in sugar and beat it until you get a creamy blend. Add in cooled, melted chocolate, and flour and baking powder a spoonful at a time. Mix till well blended. Add in eggs, one at a time. Blend well after adding each one. Then add in orange peel. Butter and flour an 8 inch pan. Bake for 25 minutes in an oven preheated to350 degrees. Place toothpick in center to be sure cake is done. Remove from oven. Remove cake from pan and let cool. When cool, slice cake in center in half so as to get tow layers.

Warm orange marmelade with brandy. Remove from heat. Spread mixture on one half of cake. Top with other half., Spread orange mixture on top of cake. Let sit.

In double boiler melt chocolate for topping, add in powdered sugar and a few spoons of water. Mix with wooden spoon. Remove from heat. Let cool to warm. Spread on top of marmelade on top of cake and cover sides and entire cake with chocolate mixture. Let cool and chocolate harden. Whip whipping cream and serve each slice with a spoonful of whipped cream

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

The book was selected as Best Italian Cuisine Book in the USA by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards

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

What does Chianti have in common with cornflakes..well not  much. But this past summer when I was invited to spend some time at Castello D’Albola in Chianti and made my way to all the little towns I found a particular cookie in many of the ‘forno’ (bakeries) there that I have been wanting to test out in my test kitchen here in Italy.

The cookie got my attention when I quickly spotted it in the window of a little bakery in the chic little town of Radda in Chianti, next to all the cantucci biscotti (the local biscotti produced in that region) The reason..it is very similar to a cookie that I remember from my childhood in the US that is made with cornflakes..and really delicious.

If you purchase them in Chianti they sell for 15 (about $22US) Euro a kilo (2 pounds), but you can make them at home for much less. Who would have thought that a little infamous cornflake cookie from the US would be featured in a bakery next to the famed cantucci biscotti.?

While spending time in my test kitchen here I was finally able to put together a recipe and added other flavors to make them decidedly Italian-dark Italian chocolate and peel of fresh oranges, another delicious memory of Chianti….

Cornflakes in Chianti Cookies

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

*2 cups flour

*3/4 cup sugar

*2 eggs

*1/2 cup butter

*1 tsp vanilla

*16 ounces dark baking chocolate (at least 60% cocoa)

*grated peel of one fresh orange

*approximately 2 cups of cornflakes for coating cookies

*1 tsp baking powder

Sift flour and baking powder together. In separate bowl blend together sugar and eggs. Add in softened butter and sifted flour/baking powder-1/2 cup at a time. When blended, add in vanilla, chocolate and orange peel. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Place cornflakes on flat dish. Separate dough into small balls, roll in cornflakes, flatten cookie, place on cookie sheet, be sure to leave space between each cookie.

Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven.

 For more great recipees get yoru copy of the book selected as the best Italian cuisine book in the USA by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards  The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition

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

by Maria Liberati

Eat like you Love with passion…make recipes that are easy but provide pleasure for cooking and eating…..one of my favorite and fuss free recipes is ‘chocolate salami’ -an uncomplicated but fun to make and eat dessert.

No it is not a meat dish… but it is a dessert and is meat free! And best of all quick and simple to prepare..but the secret is to use only the best ingredients..even in a simple dish like a chocolate salami.

Take 3 ounces of bitter cocoa powder-use a good brand one that is at least 70% cocoa…place cocoa powder in a bowl and add in 2 whole eggs,4 tablespoons of sugar,1 ounce of unsalted butter-melted.Stir with a wooden spoon till well blended. As you are blending you will, be hypnotized by the fragrance of the cocoa and butter being melded together..mmm..enjoy the aroma and now crush an ounce of amaretti cookies and 2 ounces of biscotti into the chocolate mixture. Blend crushed cookies into the chocolate mixture with your hands…now place a little sample of yoru creation into your mouth, close yoru eyes and concentrate on the pure,intense taste..but what could be missing..some crushed nuts, perhaps a liqueur??brandy or a coffee liqueur?? Now add in and mix..

Place the mix onto a piece of parchment paper.Roll up into the shape of a salami. Massage it into form so that it forms a perfect compact salami shape.Cover with parchment paper, place in freezer for a few hours. Remove from freezer,remove parchment paper and slice..

All in all the chocolate salami should take no more than 30 minutes to make ..but will provide so  many hours of eating pleasure,..

Get more recipes in the award winning.. The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions

Visit me at OpenSky

May 25th 11 AM-Re-release book signing at Book Expo America, Jacob Javits Convention Center in NYC. First 100 visitors to the booth gets a free mini pre-release copy of the book.. Hope to see you there..

copyright 2010, Maria Liberati

Apologies  for not gettting this out sooner but think that you still have time to make this for your Easter dinner. I have been scouring my recipes and looking for just the right one for our community of  ’foodies’..not too difficult-some of the Italian Spring Holiday breads can be so time consuming and something well a little unique.. So for a little bit of inspiration and no Easter egg shaped something… I decided to go with one of my favorite cakes. … a recipe I learned in Austria, the cake is named after a famous Austrian-Italian Prince-Prince Eugenio of the Royal Family of Savoia.
Although he doesn’t have anything to do with Easter..the cake is really a special one..it is made with lots of chocolate ..which always reminds me of Easter..and not too ordinary-as a Holiday dessert should be- and great to have with a glass of bubbly Brachetto d’Acqui or with some dessert coffee or .. alone.. And to make it even more interesting here is some info on Prince Eugenio
Buon Appetito and Buona Pasqua! Please write and let us know how your  torta turns out!

Prince Eugenio’s Cake

( This cake was created  in Austria and named after Prince Eugenio who was born in France to royalty related to the Royal Savoia Family . His mother was Italian. He became a high ranking soldier in the Austrian army and protected Italy from some of their military rivals in the early  1700′s. He was an aficionado of art and this ‘torta’ or cake was created many years ago in homage to this Prince)

16 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

1 tablespoon sugar

6 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 a low cake pan and bake for 35 minutes in oven at 350 degrees.

Remove from oven. Leaving a 1 /12 “ border around cake, cut out the interior cake , to make about ¼ cup of crumbs. Place crumbs in oven on cookie sheet for 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 and top with whipped cream and serve.

If you are in the area,  stop by and say hi!
April 14th-Free Library of Philadelphia-Book signing

 May 8th-Borders, Warrington, Pa-Book Signing

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 Maria

at marialiberati.com

where food meets art, travel and life!!

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copyright, 2010, Maria Liberati

“A torta (cake) made with love always bakes perfect and delicious!”..that was the conversation at a dinner we hosted . An acquaintance of ours recounted how she made a cake for her young son. Anxiously awaiting the freshly baked torta, sitting at the kitchen table and upon tasting the still warm, freshly baked sweet, he exclaimed “Mamma, the torta is ‘perfetta’ (perfect)!

So we all deduced that must be it ..the secret ingredient in Italian cooking.LOVE…

As we supped on the meal I made of Lasagne Melanzane (Lasagne with Eggplant), Zuppa di Pesce (Fish Soup), Insalata (salad), Macedonia (Fresh Fruit salad), Torta di Principe Eugenio ( Prince Eugenio Cake-chocolate and raspberries)..with dinner guests from not only Italy but Russia, Slovakia, France, Spain and other parts of the World…

The unanimous vote about the best ingredient for a recipe..from our United Nations confab of  ‘foodie’ dinner guests was always LOVE..

So here is one of the recipes from the dinner, but remember the only ingredient that you must put in that is not listed here is LOVE…….

Lasagne alla Melanzane ( lasagna with eggplant)

(from the  winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards-The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:Holidays &Special Occasions)

1 pound of fresh pasta for lasagna

2 lbs fresh eggplant- sliced and grilled

1 lb fresh mozzarella or scamorza

1handful of fresh basil

1 tsp dried oregano

2 lbs fresh tomatoes or 2-16 ounce cans of plum tomatoes

4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

4 tblsps of grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese

2 cloves garlic-whole

In saute pan,  place in olive oil, 2 cloves garlic. Saute for 1 minute or until garlic is just turning golden. Remove garlic. Add in tomatoes and oregano. Stir and cook for 20 minutes.

In baking pan, place thin layer of sauce, one layer of pasta, one layer of eggplant slices, then thinly sliced mozzarella, sauce, freshly chopped basil. Repeast till all ingredients are used up ending with slices of eggplant,mozzarella, sauce on top.  Bake in oven preheated to 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Then sprinkle grated parmigiana cheese on top and bake for another 20 minutes. Put under broiler for last 5 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Serve hot.

After a dinner like this serve artisan chocolates.

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene

Maria

http://marialiberati.theopenskyproject.com

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