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

My Memorial Day..’food and the city’ adventure will take me on a culinary road trip today to Lancaster, Pa and the surrounding area..as a foodie living in the city I am always looking for sources for fresh local produce..not sure what I will find today..but whatever is fresh and local should do..

Maybe I take my trying to make my ‘city feel a bit more country life’ to the extreme..but it’s difficult adapting to life in the city …A few hours isn’t that long to travel to bring freshness into my kitchen.

If you have some fresh basil in your kitchen or garden (local and fresh)..here’s an authentic recipe for making pesto. Pesto..( I love the bright green color it adds to any plate) can be used on many things. Okay..pesto does make a perfect match with pasta….but try it as a spread for a pannini (instead of mayonnaise).pizza topped with pesto and shaved parmigiana-reggiano cheese, potato salad with pesto as a dressing….you can re-invent so many dishes…

Pesto Genovese

*10 leaves of fresh  Basil

*3 cloves of garlic

*1/4 cup pinoli nuts

*1/4 cup grated Parmigiana- Reggiano (aged 24 months)

*1 tblsp of Pecorino cheese (aged 15 months)

*pinch of sea salt

*8 tblsps of extra Virgin Olive Oil

Separate the leaves of the basil from the stems. Wash the leaves, and dry gently with paper towels. Peel the garlic and place in a mortar and pestle and crush. Crush the pinoli nuts as well in mortar. Add in the basil and salt and continue to crush until blended. Add in cheese and continue to crush in the mortar. Add in olive oil a drizzle at a time, mixing before each addition of olive oil. If pesto is too dense, add in a drizzle of warm water or hot water used to cook the pasta (if serving with pasta).

Happy Memorial Day..wishing you a celebration that is fresh and filled with local flavors..wherever you are!

Maria

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copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

 A Happy Memorial Day weekend.. Does this mean summer is finally here? It must be summer, I got to purchase my first baby watermelon yesterday and plan on eating the whole thing  myself!!

I can’t  think of a more refreshing way to spend a warm summer style day..besides it reminds me of my summers spent in the mountains of Abruzzo..eating lunch on the terrazzo and reveling in the beautiful Italian sun and peaceful quiet while being cooled down by  munching on a  slice of   sweet watermelon..

For those of you that don’t  want to eat a whole watermelon or would appreciate another type of fruit..try my second favorite summer time dessert fresh strawberries with lemon.

Fragole con Limone

1 pound of fresh strawberries

1 fresh lemon

1/4 cup sugar

handful of fresh mint leaves

Wash and quarter strawberries. Squeeze juice of one lemon on top, sprinkle sugar and toss gently. let marinade in refrigerator for 2 hours. Serve  chilled garnished with fresh mint leaves.

Enjoy!

Hope to see you on June 4th at Foster’s Gourmet in Philadelphia and /or Horsham Day in Horsham, Pa at Deep Meadow Park..See you then..

Happy summer eating.

Mangai Bene, Vivi Bene

Maria

Memorial Day is fast approaching here in the USA, and, well, in Italy our thoughts go to all the upcoming picnics and dining al fresco we have to look forward to this summer. Summer and strawberries go so well together. For a perfect Memorial Day dessert- impress your guests with my version of the traditional tiramisu- using strawberries instead of coffee. Definitely not your ‘run of the mill’ strawberry shortcake.

If you want to cut back on calories choose yogurt and cream cheese that are low or no fat and use a sugar substitute instead of sugar.

Strawberry Tiramisu

16 ounces of savoiardi or ladyfingers

2 lbs of fresh strawberries

24 ounces of vanilla yogurt (regular, low fat or fat -free)

8 ounces softened  cream cheese (regular, low-fat or fat-free)

6 tblsps of maraschino or amaretto liqueur

6 tblsps of orange juice

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsps of vanilla

¼ cup powdered sugar

*In bowl place orange juice and liqueur and sugar. Stir with wooden spoon till sugar is dissolved.

*Add in vanilla, stir.

*Sift the powdered sugar .  In separate bowl, place yogurt and softened cream cheese and stir in sifted sugar. Blend to make a creamy mixture.

*Wash strawberries and hull. Leave 4 strawberries  whole for garnish and slice the rest.

*Add strawberries to yogurt mixture and stir in.

*Dip the ladyfingers into the orange juice mix for few seconds until moistened. Place on a serving dish to make one layer of ladyfingers.

*Cover this layer with yogurt mix.

*Repeat another layer of ladyfingers and cover with yogurt mix. Top with whole strawberries. Place in refrigerator 5 hours before serving.

For more great recipes, get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com for $5 off retail price.

Ciao for now

Maria

http://www.marialiberati.com