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

Today in my kitchen I opened up  the largest can of tomatoes (5 lbs 10 ounces)  I have ever opened. It was also the sweetest can of tomatoes I ever opened… not because they were  San Marzano tomatoes..but because they were one of the last ingredients found in my aunt’s kitchen the day she passed away, almost a year ago.

The can weighed just as heavy on my kitchen shelf as her loss weighed on my heart. It almost seemed that as long as the can was there ,she was here , at least in spirit. But today I was finally able to bring myself to open this 5 lb can of tomatoes and  making 10 small containers of sauce.

As the can opener whirled around this gigantic lid, I found myself staring inside almost thinking that something else would be inside. Her life ,her face, quickly glimmered in my mind. But all that appeared inside the can  were these beautiful fragrant, red ripe tomatoes. She would have approved these for a tomato sauce.The aroma was haunting. True to her last words, “Please don’t ever forget me”. This sauce will produce even more reasons to reminisce about her ..now I have this empty can that I absolutely can not trash.Who knows maybe I will put a tomato plant inside…

Spaghetti with Red Clam Sauce

1 lb baby clams

4 tblsps olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tblsps finely chopped parsley

1 14 oz can peeled tomatoes

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 lb spaghetti

Steam clams for 2 minutes. Discard clams that remian closed.  Set liquid aside. Remove clams from shells, leavea few intact for plate  garnish.  Place oilive oil in saucepan with garlic. Saute till garlic begins to turn golden.  Add in chopped parsley, liquid from clams. Suate until liquid has evaporated. Add in clams, tomatoes. Simmer for 20-25 minutes. Cook pasta in boiling salted water till al dente. Drain. Place in sauce ,toss and serve.  Garnish with parsley, and whole clams.

For more recipes get your copy of the Gourmand World Cookbook Award Winning Book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions.

Events:
June 11-12, Great Grapes wine tasting, food festival, Cockeysville, MD. The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati t mtakes center stage wit hcooking demos and book signings. Email: events@marialiberati.com for more info or sponsorship info

July 13- Harleysville, PA,  Girls Night Out in Tuscany-Cooking class/demo. Join The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm for a cooking class/demo and sample  a 4 course Tuscan picnic meal from the Gouramnd Award Winning book The Basic Art of  Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions. registration is limited. For more info, contact Sue Thomson at 215-436-9524 or events@marialiberati.com To be held at Agehman Remodelers Kitchen Showroom, 355 Main St,  Harleysville, Pa

July 21-24, Festa Italiana, Milwaukee Wisconsin, the largest Italian festival in the USA . This year Maria Liberati will be the Celebrity Chef along with PBS Chef Nick Stelllino. Maria will be taking center stage wit hcooking demos and book signings thorughotu the event. For more info or sponsorship opportunities contact: Sue Thomson at events@marialiberati.com

July 29-31 Gourmet Food & wine Show, Bally’s Casino, Atlantic City, NJ.  The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm takes center stage with cooking demos, book signings thorughout the event. For more info and sponsorship opportunities contact Sue Thomson at events@marialiberati.com

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm produces culinary events, for your company, organization, Corporate training events with a culinary theme, fundraisers, meet and greets wtih Celebrity Chef Maria Liberati and book signings of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking, wine pairing events/classes. Let us design your nextspecial event with a culinary theme, anywhere in the world. For a free proposal email: events@marialiberati.com

copyright, 2009, Maria Liberati

Editor: Patrick Coyne

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking

Food, Art, Life….  all related topics..cooking is an art…the way we eat is an art , the way you present your food is an art..parmigiana-reggiano cheese is a work of art since it is made by an artisan  process as are many other Italian cheeses and wines..all works of art.. Even freshly grown produce are works of art..think of a fresh San Marzano tomato or the blood red oranges of Sicily or the fresh lemons form Sorrento. These are things that can only be described as works of art.

But even more than this the masters of art Michelangelo and DaVinci made ‘living an art’. (DaVinci invented the table settings that we use today). DaVinci even influenced some of the Mediterranean diet.

To discover more about Michelangelo, one of my favorite books to read over and over is A  Journey Into Michelangelo’s Rome by Angela K. Nickerson and published by Roaring Forties Press.  I love the book because it not only discusses his works of art but also contains letters he wrote while creating his works of art and personal glimpses into his life-which was a  work of art in itself.  Michelangelo devoted his whole life to his art and sometimes was so intent on finishing up his masterpiece that he would go without eating. He often said “if people knew how hard I have had to work to gain my mastery it wouldn’t seem so wonderful”

  The accomplishments of Leonardo DaVinci are great and many. His contributions to fields from art to aerodynamics is well documented and still felt 500 years after the Renaissance. The depth and brilliance of Da Vinci’s accomplishments has been thoroughly explored so instead I’d like to take a look at the dietary habits of this Renaissance man. Many factors play an integral part in the diet of Da Vinci, the new herbs and vegetables discovered, his strict vegetarianism, and the 16^thCentury Italian recipes that are still used today. Undeniably, Leonardo Da Vinci was a genius but by exploring the day to day foods he ate, we can form a better understanding of the man rather than simply the historical figure.

One of the most surprising facts about DaVinci that was uncovered through my research is that he was a staunch vegetarian. There’s always an inclination to view vegetarianism as a relatively new or trendy movement and to find that a man who was alive nearly 500 years ago, speaks volumes about his genius.

Now that we know what Da Vinci did not eat, the question remains, what foods were a part of the Master’s diet? The Renaissance played a huge role in nearly every aspect of Italian life, their diets included. The discovery of the Americas in 1492 and Marco Polo’s exploration of Asia led to the trading of new crops, spices and herbs never before experienced in Italy. The potato and corn were quickly adopted and became staples of the Renaissance diet but the tomato surprisingly was met with avoidance and fear. Despite it’s prominence in so many modern Italian dishes, the veggie didn’t gain popularity until nearly two centuries later. The indigenous herbs and vegetables of foreign nations exposed the Italians to new tastes and sensual delights but techniques for food preparation were also discovered. It is said that the Chinese were the first to create “stews” but the Italians were the first to use fruit and wine, leading to many of the modern dishes we eat today and possibly the genesis of tomato gravy( or sauce, but that’s another article).

Despite the new experiences and schools of thought, money still dictated your meals. Pizza was generally peasant food in the 16^thCentury. It was sold by street vendors and without tomato sauce. Pasta at the time was quickly becoming the main course of the Italian diet. Da Vinci was born a poor child but was apprenticed to a wealthy artist and from there became a revered and affluent artist in his lifetime. Leonardo was most likely given the chance to taste all the new and exciting feast influenced by the discovery of the New World. I suppose being one of the most intelligent and influential persons in human history does have a few perks.

Despite the seemingly endless contributions to humanity the Renaissance has afforded us, it’s interesting to explore the lesser discussed contributions taken from the era. One could argue that there are more important discoveries and ideas to be taken from the Renaissance but learning about something as seemingly mundane as the everyday foods eaten by 16^th century Italians, can give us a better understanding of the influential period and a stronger connection to our modern dishes and their origins.

http://www.socyberty.com/History/What-Would-DaVinci-Eat.610927

March 28th- I will be signing copies of my best selling book at Gourmet Women & Wine event at Citizens Bank Park from 11-2. Join us for panel discussions on wine, wine pairings and tastings and more!

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Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

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(Photo credits : http://www.mets-de-provence.fr)

Have you ever had a ‘voglio’? A voglio is the way Italians express a strong desire for something- someone that you love, a food, a dish,  an experience. One way to say I love you is ‘te voglio bene’- which literally translated means I desire you very much. Or as the students text  the abbreviation t.v.b.(te voglio bene) to each other.

Well enough for our Italian lesson.

Today I had a strong ‘voglio’ for eggplants. There are eggplants everywhere you go since this is their season for the next few weeks and they are grown everywhere. The farm markets are filled with them.

The dish I selected to make for ‘pranzo’ (lunch) was Ratatouille of eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes. But to be worthy of a ‘voglio’ thsi dish must be made with the freshest and best ingredients. There are only a few ingredients in this dish and each one is important.

Let’s start with the tomatoes. I used fresh San Marzano tomatoes (by the way these tomatoes deserve a t.v.b.all  to themselves. They are as sweet as candy and if you ever need a reason to visit Italy- one of those would be to taste a fresh San Marzano tomato grown in Italy-nothing like it.) However if  you can’t get fresh San Marzano tomatoes use a fresh plum tomato that is red and ripe. If you must use canned, use only a high quality canned tomato (but only as a last resort).

Olive oil- use a good quality extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil from Italy. If  you use anything less this dish will not be a success.

Mozzarella cheese- usea freshly made mozzarella

Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese-use only parmigiano-reggiano cheese-don’t use anything that is called anything else- parmesan is not real parmigiano-reggiano cheese.

Fresh zucchini, eggplant, onion- these vegetables should be very fresh, eggplants and zucchini should be firm. Buy your produce locally from a local farm is possible to insure freshness.

Ratatouille of Zucchini and Eggplant

*2 medium fresh eggplants

*3 medium size zucchini

*5 fresh plum tomatoes

*2 cloves of garlic

*3 tblsps of olive oil

*1 slice of  fresh onion chopped

*pinch of salt

* 1/2 cup dry white wine

*4 ounces of fresh mozzarella

*3 tblsps parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Wash eggplant and zucchini. Cut zucchini into 1/4 inch slices. Cut eggplant into 1/4 inch cubes. Wash tomatoes. Filet them by removing inside liquid and seeds. Slice into thin slices.

In large saute pan, heat olive oil. Saute whole garlic cloves, chopped onions till golden. place in cut eggplants and zucchini and 1/2 cup dry white wine, 1/2 cup water. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring. Add in tomatoes, stirring and saute for another 10 minutes or until eggplant and zucchini are tender. If at any time liquid is needed add in a little water.

When done remove from heat and add in cubed mozzarella and grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese. Stir, mozzarella cheese will become stringy. Serve warm or cool. Either way this is a delicious dish for a summer day. Serve with grissini sticks and  dry white wine. We had some Falenghina (one of my favorite white wines) with this dish.

Buon Appetito!
For more recipes get your copy of the bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com