copyright, 2008, Maria Liberati

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking

Editor:Sara Harris

What is it about cookies (dolci- in Italian) that have even the harshest food critics saying, Mmm! Whether these sinfully sweet desserts are prepared warm and gooey or tastily crunchy, I’ve never met a cookie that even Santa Claus didn’t like. Derived from the Dutch word koekie, meaning little cake, in most countries cookies are referred to as biscuits. Dating back as far as the 7^th century, these perfectly sized treats journeyed globally into the hearts of society by the 14^th century, quickly becoming a scrumptious crowd-pleaser among travelers, street vendors, and social classes alike. By the 1600’s cookies marched straight into the ovens of the Americas, proving a multitude of recipes were anything but ‘cookie-cutter’. The delicious aromas springs a nostalgic vision of generations hovering over antique appliances, waistlines cinched in funky aprons, as family traditions and bakeoffs leaves us wanting more.

Indigenous to parties and holiday dinners, Anginetti (a personal favorite) is a traditional Italian cookie-biscuit crafted to pillowy-white hints of lemon, vanilla, and confectioners’ icing. Perfect for tea parties, I located a family recipe and skillfully tried it… unsurprisingly they tasted exactly how I remembered. Versions of Anginetti float throughout the internet, but if you’re not in the mood to bake visit http://www.bellasbakery.com or http://www.gullaces.com for delectably purchasable homemade goodies.

With a cookie-versatility ranging from chocolate sambuca, buccellati, cannoli, biscotti, dolce di fichi, as well as popular originals like chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin… it seems someone always has their hands in the cookie jar.

Anginetti Bite-Sized Italy (yields approximately 40 cookie-biscuits)

Cookies:

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon zest

6 tbsp butter

½-cup skim milk

½-cup regular sugar (or Splenda)

3 whole eggs or ¾ cup of Egg Beaters

3 -1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

Icing:

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

1-cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees while lining large cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and non-stick coating.

In large mixing bowl, beat vanilla, zest, margarine, milk, and sugar with electric mixer on medium setting until texture is well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating each addition, and then continue to beat mixture for 1 minute.

On low speed, blend flour (1 cup at a time), powder, and baking soda until consistency becomes firm, sticky dough. If needed, have wooden spoon available for mixing. Dust hands lightly with additional flour, rolling dough into bite-sized balls. Place approximately 20 onto prepared cookie sheet, spacing 2 “apart.

Bake 10-12 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Icing: While first batch is baking, combine vanilla, lemon juice, sugar, and water into a small mixing bowl, whisking ingredients until mixture is completely blended. Remove cookies from oven, placing a sheet of wax or parchment beneath wire rack. Using a small pastry brush, frost the tops of each cookie with icing, sprinkle with additional confectioners’ sugar, and transfer to rack for cooling. Begin second batch.

Still have a sweet tooth? Check out Maria Liberati’s delicious Cannoli recipe… http://marialiberati.com/blog2/?p=221

Be sure to visit http://www.marialiberati.com and get your copy of the bestselling book, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking, by Maria Liberati.

Increase Flavor and Decrease Cost with Your Own Herb Garden

by Maria Liberati, copyright 2008

http://www.marilaiberati.com/

editor: Lauren Scheller

Herbs are quintessential to Italian cooking and everyone knows that the fresher they are the better they are. So, why not plant a mini-herb garden this summer to bring the taste of Italia right to your kitchen table. Don’t worry if you haven’t a green thumb, with these simple steps you’ll have a hassle free herb garden in no time!    

            First, you must decide what to plant in your garden. You need not go over board in this area. While there are certainly a variety of herbs in Italian cooking, carefully choosing five or six key spices that you enjoy and use often will suffice. Just remember, a little fresh flavor goes a long way. A good place to start is with the following five herbs which are common in numerous Italian dishes and always delicious: rosemary, oregano, basil, fennel, and parsley. Sage and thyme would be great additions or replacements too, depending on your taste.

            After choosing your herbs, the second step is to decide where to plant them. Depending on the climate in which you live, warm and sunny preferably, planting your herbs outside is an option. However, for convince sake it may be better to plant your herbs in small terracotta pots. These pots can be placed in sunny areas of your home, such as window ledges, or placed outside daily to get maximum sunlight. This method decreases the amount of pesticides needed, extinguishes the need for transplanting perennial herbs come winter, and, as an added bonus, will make your house smell great.

            After securing your pots and potting soil, it’s time to plant! Rosemary, basil, and fennel seeds can be placed directly in the soil, covered lightly, and watered. Parsley seeds should be soaked two days in cold water (leaving them in the refrigerator is fine) and then planted, this cuts down on the seeds germination time. Oregano can be grown directly from seed as well; however, a new oregano plant can easily be started from a cutting of an existing one. Talk to a friend or gardener with their own oregano plant, and ask for a cutting. Your chances for success will increase dramatically. Now place your pot(s) in an area of your home which receives the maximum amount of daily sunlight, and remember to water- lightly, but often.

            Hopefully if all goes well, you will see buds in no time. But how will you know when your herbs are ready? Each herb is different oregano and rosemary are ready once they flower. The basil plant will single its ripeness with flowers as well, but these should be pruned as they cause the plant to lose its flavor. Parsley will be ripe about 70 days after planting and fennel will be ready about two weeks after the bulb reaches egg size. While this may seem like a lot to remember, the pay off is certainly worth it. Good luck and best wishes!

For additional information visit http://www.helpfulgardener.com/organic/2006/italianherbs.html

For more cooking ideas for your herbs,get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com and save $5 off retail price…

edited by Lauren Sheller

Copyright, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking, 2008, Maria Liberati

http://www.marialiberati.com

Few foods have the mass appeal of pizza; in fact, American’s eat over 300 acres of it in a day. Make your pizza a family favorite with these 10 steps and keep them coming back for more.

Step 1- Plan and Prepare

If you are making your own dough it will take time to rise, so start early! Know what you are topping your pizza with beforehand so you don’t put the sauce on your pizza and realize you have no cheese.

Step 2- Stone or Screen?

 Stones work great for wood oven pizzas, but can often be a hassle in the kitchen.  For a cheaper and easier method, try a pizza screen which is a tin circle with holes in the bottom. These holes allow for quicker cooking time and crisper crust, what’s not to love about that!

Step 3- Dough

Pre-made pizza dough can be found at your local grocery store, but if you are going to be authentic and make your own remember these few things. Make sure the water you combine the yeast with is warm, not cold or hot. It’s also important to give the yeast enough time to become active so let it stand for ten minutes after you add it to the water.

Step 4- Cheese Please!

Experts agree that the cheese makes the pizza, so splurge! Make sure to pick a cheese with low moisture, this allows for less chance of brunt cheese. From mozzarella to provolone, it doesn’t matter what you top your pizza with as long as you remember strong cheese should be used sparingly.

Step 5- Toppings

There are literally a million different things to top your pie with, so find what works for you. Fresh veggies give your pizza that homemade taste, but never underestimate the power of plain, old cheese pizza. Everybody loves it!

Step 6- Sauce

What sauce to use on your pizza is totally a preference issue; some of the best pizza sauce comes in a can-go ahead and take a short cut on this one. Just remember that the sauce holds the cheese on your pizza, so don’t spread it too thin.

Step 7- Roll-out the Dough

We’ve all seen professional pizza makers throw their dough high in the air to achieve the perfect circle, but that is truly a skill that must be developed. Do your best, no one cares if the pizza is not exactly round as long as it is the same thickness throughout.

Step 8- Adding it all together

Place your crust on the pan and then add the sauce, cheese, and toppings. It’s too hard to transport the pizza with all that stuff on it, make sure the topping mounds are even too.

Step 9- Watch Closely

Preheat the oven to about 425 degrees. Once your pizza goes inside don’t walk away, watch the pizza closely and rotate accordingly-cooking time will vary.

Step 10- Enjoy!

For more great tips and recipes and stories about life in a small village in Italy get your copy of the bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com and receive $5 off retail price and get free shipping.   

Ciao for now!
Maria

http://www.marialiberati.com

http://mariandco.blogspot.com