Today, Feb 19th is the birthday of one of my famous Italian actors, gone too quickly, but never forgotten..Massimo Troisi. I remember him most for his last movie role in Il Postino (The Postman), a fictional story embellished to the true life story of exiled poet Pablo Neruda, who lived out some of his life in Italy.  The movie was filmed on the island of Procida..one of my favorite hideaways.. this little paradise is  neatly tucked  into the Gulf  of Naples.   A true romantic, most of Neruda’s poems are about love but some are odes to foods and wines mixed in with love sonnets.

Ode To Wine by Pablo Neruda (excerpted)

……..Wine stirs the Spring,

 happiness bursts through the earth like a plant,

 walls crumble,

and rocky cliffs chasms close

as song is born

……………….

Early white wines of Spring will soon be appearing on many tables.   If you have any leftover..especially just a cup… These biscotti are the perfect way to use the  leftover white wine…since it  is delicate and can’t be stored for long periods of time, especially when opened. ..

White Wine Cookies (or Ciambelline al Vino)

1 cup sugar

1 cup sunflower  oil

1 cup dry white wine

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 tsps sugar for the top

3-4 cups flour

1 tsp grated lemon peel

First combine oil and sugar to make a creamy paste. Add in wine. Then add in vanila, lemon peel, then blend in flour with hands, a little at a time, until a smooth ball is formed. Divide dough into small pieces of approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons each. Roll each piece into a thin rope,pinch the edges, then form a small ring. Dip one side into granulated sugar. place on baking sheet llined with parchment paper and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Congratulations to Award Winning Chef Vincent Tropepe who was selected Chef of the Year by the USACC this week with an award ceremony at his restaurant in NYC ..EPOCA..truly a talented chef!!

For more great recipes, get your copy of the book selected as Best Italian Cuisine Book of the Year by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition

 copyright 2010, Maria Liberati/artofliving,PrimaMedia,Inc

Those who travel have many a tale to tell …or something like that… as an old saying goes..not only stories of places and sights but of foods and new flavors experienced. Thomas Jefferson who not only served as President but also an international ambassador. He  had a knack for great food and wine… Just think of the stories he told of his journeys in Italy, and his love of Italian pasta so much that he is credited with bringing the first pasta or maccheroni machine to the US and  the first Italian winemakers to the US.

Oce can only imagine his tales of far off foods and wines from a far off land (Italy) and how fascinating those tales may have been back in the day or should I say his day..Thanks to the former Prez… pasta machines and Italian wines are very well known in the US.

But local regional specialties in many a small town  have still not made their way here. Make it a point to find them wherever you go and you will also have many a tale to tell and cook for friends and family.

Here’s one of my favorites..I think President T.J. would have loved it, don’t you? It’s from a region rich with culinary history-Emilia Romagna. It’s a perfect treat for this time of year-Pampepato and if you are fortunate to travel to Emilia Romagna and find a local bakery that makes this-be sure to savor the experience there! You can find this in some gourmet stores in the US-but just not the same as experiencing the flavor in it’s hometown..

This recipe serves 6

PAMPEPATO

1 cup flour

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup powdered unsweetened Dutch cocoa

1/3 cup candied fruit

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp chopped cloves

milk or water

Icing:

16 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl-except chocolate for icing. Add milk or water until the dough is smooth  and sticky with some substance to it. Place parchment paper on cookie sheet and place dough in shape of a round ‘cupola’. Or place in small cake pan covered with parchment paper. Place in oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for 90 minutes. Remove from oven. Place in a cool,humid place covered for 10-15 days. Then melt the dark baking chocolate in a double boiler and spread the chocolate on  tops and sides of the Pampepato  Serve when chocolate has hardened to form an icing.

Hope to see you at:

December 3rd-Copper Fish Restaurant- 6PM_ cape May NJ for a Feast of the Seven Fishes Dinner and book signing from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition

December 4th-Borders, Mount Laurel NJ at 1 PM

Visit OpenSky

Peace, Love & Pasta!
Maria

.

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

Mint, another flavor of Spring and Summer…a flavor we want to remember all year round..

….that the mounds of ices, and the bowls of mint-julep and sherry cobbler they make in these latitudes, are refreshments never to be thought of afterwards, in summer, by those who would preserve contented minds.”
Charles Dickens, while traveling in America (1842)

Mint syrup is has become ‘de rigeur’ or a something we can’t do without in my house during  the warmer months..to refresh..cool down and create all sorts of drinks and desserts..

Mint Syrup

3 lbs of fresh peppermint leaves (no stems)

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 fresh lemon

1/2 cup water

Wash and clean peppermint, remove leaves from stems.  Dry carefully. Pass leaves through  a potato ricer..  Place  this compost with juice from  the mint in a ceramic or glass bowl with juice of one lemon and peel of one lemon.. Let  sit ,covered for approx 2 hours. Place water and sugar in a saucepan and let bring to a boil, remove from heat let cool and before it thickens, pour into mint juice and stir. When syrup is cool, sieve out the peppermint leaves,  remove lemon peel and place in jars, top.

For more recipes get your copy of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards Winner- The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions

April 14th-Book signing at Free Library of Philadelphia

Visit me at OpenSky

Innamorata

copyright, 2010, Maria Liberati

I am in love with the sun … it gives me warmth

I am in love with the wind… it caresses me

I am in love with life… it makes me laugh

I am in love with flowers.. they make my mind drunk with beauty

But chocolate..I am ‘innamorata‘ ( the Italian word meaning’ to be in love’) with because of infinite  reasons and those of you who have a passionate palate will agree that dark chocolate, hot,cold ,or any temperature.. (containing a minimum of 65% cocoa) is the ultimate in comfort food!

Use some of those winter pears for this Torta Di Pere, that mixes dark chocolate and fresh pears for a scrumptious taste experience!  One bite of this and you can not help but utter  the Italian word  ‘innamorata’ from your lips

Torta Di Pere

(from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions 2009;art of living,PrimaMedia, Inc; winner of the Gourmand Cookbook Awards 2009)

2 fresh pears-peeled, cored and cut into small cubes

5 dried dates chopped

2 tablespoons of Cognac

2 tblsps of unsalted butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 -1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 egg yolks

3 egg whites beaten or whisked till firm

16 ounces baking or dark chocolate (minimum 65 % cocoa)

For decoration

1 fresh pear ,peeled and sliced thinly

1 tablespoon butter melted

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons of pear or apple jelly

In a food processor place in the chopped dates and pears, and Cognac, blend well, do not liquify. In a bowl, place in  2 tablespoons of unsalted butter,sugar,flour, baking powder,egg yolks, fruit from food processor with liquid and whipped egg whites. Blend well. Butter and flour an 8 ” cake pan and pour in the mixture. Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 45 minutes. remove from oven and let cool

Melt baking or dark cocoa in double boiler and use this to  glaze  top of cake. Measure butter and melt, add in sugar. Dip thinly sliced pear in butter and sugar  and  then dip one side of pear slice  in pear jelly  and arrange as a  decoration on outside of cake with pear slices placed all around, stuck to border of cake. Place in fridge till chocolate  glaze is hardened and become……. innamorata …..

Get more recipes to make any day a Special Occasion in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions

Visit me at OpenSky

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

copyright 2009, art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc/ Maria Liberati

For those of you that came to my book reading /signing at the Warren Twp Library in Warren, NJ..here is the recipe for the chocolate ricotta tartufi that we enjoyed during the presentation.

Thanks to everyone that came out and to everyone at the library.  I enjoyed meeting everyone and sharing my stories of  Holidays spent in the mountains of Abruzzo and special undiscovered places in Italy and my Holiday recipes. The  stories  and recipes  are  included in my latest release The Basic Art of Italian Cooking :Holidays & Special Occasions, get your copy now in time for the Holidays.

Everyone in Italy is crazy for their decadent tartufi found in many parts of Italy and used sparingly on pizzas, salads, risottos, pasta, polenta as well as truffle oil. They are really a treasure to behold… and luckily for me they are found in parts of Abruzzo..someone usually sends them to our house before I get back in December..so the first thing I do when I get to our country home before Christmas is open up my freezer to find the tartufi ..waiting for me…my favorite Christmas present! You only need a little, so one tartufi will last for many dishes.

 But many desserts are made  in the shape of the treasured tartufi from ice cream desserts to little sweets. These (below)  are easy sweets to whip up in no time but taste like you have been baking all day. They are no bake as well. Tartufini means little tartufi or little truffles

Ricotta Chocolate Tartufini

*1 lb of ricotta

*1 lb  of  amaretti cookies crushed

*1 tbsp of  amaretto liqueur

*1/2 cup powdered sugar

* 1/2 cup powdered unsweetened cocoa

Mix ricotta with crushed amaretti, amaretto liqueur, sugar. Place powdered cocoa on a flat plate.  divide ricotta mixture into small balls the size of a nut (to resemble tartufi) and roll in the powdered cocoa, refrigerate for at least an hour or until served. Serve with  Bracchetto D’Acqui for a really festive touch.

Get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions  just in time for the Holidays

Hope to see you at: my book signings/readings at:
Dec 9th-Girls Night out-Chestnut Hill Business Association

December 12th-Franklin Twp Library

December 29-January 29th- Italy- I will be hosting one day semi private culinary and vineayrd tours and cooking classes. We still have a few spots open if you will be in Italy during that time and want to join one of our culinary tours or cooking programs email : events@marialiberati.com  for more info

In just a few more days we will be releasing The 209 Holiday Gift Guide..look out for some great and yummy special gifts for this Holiday Season

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

http://twitter.com/Marialiberati

 copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

After many of my posts praising the little known Italian cornetti (as compared to its’ French cousin -the croissant) and how  my long flight into Rome is spent with my mind pondering  which coffee bar I will get to first to  have my first cornetto.  After landing, once I find my luggage, my goal is to have a cornetto and cappuccino to wake me up.. it seems that I just can’t function without that first cornetto and cappuccino..once  downed they are like a magic potion to wake me up for no matter how long my day is………. filled with meetings or functions or events.

Here is the recipe so many of you have been emailing and requesting for- fresh cornetti to make at home. If this  is your first time making these be sure to have a few hours to try this recipe out.  Sorry for taking so long to put this up here, but it takes almost as long to write out the  recipe as it does to bake them. Of course there are many versions, this is just one home made version, but I think it is the easiest for the home cook to try.

Cornetti

3 cups flour (can use whole wheat flour  for a whole wheat version)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp honey

4 tblsps sunflower seed oil

1 cake yeast or 1 packet powdered yeast

1 cup tepid milk

3 eggs

pinch of salt

1 tsp real vanilla

Brush on topping:

2 egg yolks

2 tsps sugar

pinch of milk

 Melt yeast in tepid ( warm not hot) milk. Place flour in center of large bowl or wooden board, make a well, place in center the dissolved yeast/milk mixture, and all ingredients. Mix for approximately 20 minutes till you have a smooth dough, then cover dough and let rise in a warm (not hot place) for approximately one hour.

Cut the dough into triangles and place a spoonful of honey or marmalade in the center. an easy way to do this would be to first form dough into a circle by using a large plate to cut a large circle of dough,.The cut circle into triangles, place a spoonful of marmalade or honey on center and let triangles rise this way for approximately 40 minutes.

To top cornetti before baking

In a bowl., mix another 2 egg yolks, 2 tsps of sugar and a drop of milk.

roll up the triangles into the shape of a cornetti. Place parchment paper on baking sheet, place cornetti on top, brush this mixture on top of each cornetti and bake in oven preheated to 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden.

 If you’d like to serve them with cappuccino- here’s how to make it at home

Hope to see you at upcoming book signings/cooking demos:

Nov 14th-  Warren Twp Public Library, Warren NJ

Dec 12th-Franklin Twp Public Library, Somerset, NJ

 or at the  upcomimg wine dinners and pairings. Did you ever think of having a wine dinner or wine pairing dinner for an upcoming event or a corporate team building event? Email The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by  Maria Liberati tm for info on booking one for your next event.

Email: events@marialiberati.com

Get The Basic Art of Italian Cooking : Holidays & Special Occasions filled with Holiday recipes ,menus and wine tips.

 Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking kitchen here in Italy was busy with many recipes today, although still hot,hot, hot and no desire to use an oven or a stove but preparing for some end of summer picnics to take advantage of the summerl iek weather that will be ending soon (I think).

Of all the recipe swe worked on my favorite is a sort of cheesecake made with fresh ricotta..my faovrote part of making the cheesecake was taking a walk to the local place in town where they produce the fresh ricotta.. Here it is ..

Ricotta Raisin Cheesecake

1 1/4 lbs (fresh, if possible) ricotta

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

6 eggs

1/4 cup raisins

peel and juice of one fresh lemon

1 tsp of orange flower water

a pinch of salt

1 tsp baking powder

Place raisins in a small bowl of warm water for 15 minutes. Place ricotta in a bowl with sugar, blend with wooden spoon until you it is a smooth creamy mixture, add in egg yolks. Sift 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and add into ricotta cream. Blend, then  and add in orange flower water and juice and peel of lemon. Blend

Beat egg whites till firm  with pinch of salt. Add t oricotta mixture blending in with wooden spoon. Drain raisins, dry with paper towel and dust with remaining flour. Add into ricotta cream. Blend in with wooden spoon.

Line a pie pan with baking paper. Place in battter, eve nout batter with wooden spoon. Cook in ove npreheated to 360 degrees for 55 minutes or unti ltop is golden in color.

Get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:Holidays & Special Occasions before the holidays with 140+ recipes, menus, Holiday stories and more!

Mangia Bene, Viv Bene,

Maria

http://twitter.com/Marialiberati

 copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

Today is a coffee Monday! Even though I have heard that drinking hot coffee in the heat of summer keeps your body cool, you may want  to drink your coffee cool on a hot summer day.

The dish for today in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Kitchen was a Sorbetto di Caffe (Coffee Sorbet). It was great as an after dinner dessert..replacing my usual cup of hot coffee.

It’s really quite easy, made with simple  ingredients, no special equipment  needed to make it. Before the summer is gone try this for a dessert or a cool afternoon treat! Reminds me a of a stroll through the center of Rome and taking a coffee sorbetto in one of the chic coffee bars.. I can see it now..passing the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain the hot Roman sun beating down and nothing but a sorbetto di caffe will do!

Sorbetto Di Caffe

*1/4 cup of white sugar

*4 espresso size cups of espresso  coffee

*1 cup water

Make 4 cups of espresso in a 4 cup of espresso and let cool.In a saucepan place 1 cup cooled coffee. Place ina feeezer container or ice tray. In one hour stir mixture, and stir again in 2 hours. Then let freeze.  When frozen solid it is ready to serve. Stir with a dollop of whipped cream

Just in time for the Holidays:
The Basic Art of Italian Cooking -Holidays & Special Occasions- get yoru copy at www.marialiberati.com

*Get the bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at www.marialiberati.com

*July 16th, Whole Foods market, Annapolis,MD, call store t oregister or email: events@marialiberati.com

July 18th- Whole Foods Market, Fair lakes/Fairfax, Virginia. A Tuscan Picnic and a wine pairing. Call store or email :events@marialiberati.com

July 31-August 2nd-Atalantic City Food & Wine Show, Bally’s Casino. Email: events@marialiberati.com

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

http://twitter.com/Marialiberati

http://mariaandco.blogspot.com
 

 copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

Where did this messsage come from..all of a sudden in my e-mail  mailbox after a trying day.. a well needed message to remind me to look for the rainbow outside ..such a metaphor for I really did need to find my rainbow by the end of today…

The timing was perfect..Look for the rainbow..”that’s it Maria” (I said to myself)..”always look for the rainbow”. There is usually a rainbow amidst a cloudy, dark  sky you just have to look for it.. If you don’t look for it you will never find it…

First of all a special thanks to a special friend who sent this message ..

A perfect way to end a not so perfect day!

And it also reminds me of a favorite saying of my better half

“Rosa di sera, bel tempo si spera” he will remind me after a particularly rainy night and the sky will open up with this beautiful red color to remind us that the weather tomorrow will become beautiful

Roughly translated means that ‘the red evening sky will bring beautiful weather tomorrow’.

Where is this leading to…….. anginetti cookies…something else that really cheers me up when I have had an unuusally stressful day. They are light little angel puffs…Baking up a small batch of these brings the sunshine back into a dreary day. And oh yes ,eating them are just as much fun..and put that lightness back into your spirit…

Hope you got to see a rainbow today….
Anginetti Bite-Sized Cookies: (yields approximaely 40 cookies)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon zest

6 tbsp butter

½-cup skim milk

½-cup regular or organic sugar

3 whole eggs

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.

copyright, 2009, Maria Liberati, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking  

Today, (here in the mountains of Abruzzo, Italy) while I was enjoying my colazione (breakfast )with radio station centocinque (105) and listening to Betty give her gossip and advice I began to plan out the recipe for today..sacher torte…

While  the conversation on today’s radio program was about the new website in Japan that talks about places around the world that have memorable aromas (good and bad)  I began thinking of the great perfume of chocolate that will soon be filling The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Kitchen here (in Italy).

Yes that’s right..the famous Austrian  Sacher Torte.. I learned this scrumptious dessert while studying a bit of Austrian delights in Austria a few years back and have been promising to make this for Alfonso’s birthday for a few too many years.

 Now that The Basic Art of Italian Cooking kitchen is here in Italy also and I have some extra hands to assemble everything ..well I decided to begin this experience.. This morning we made and baked the cake, and tomorrow we willassembled the cake.. The smell from the ovens were heavenly…. if you love the odor of melted butter and rich dark chocolate. I am guessing that many people do since we had some locals come by and ask what was ‘in the oven’ today?

Sacher Torte was ‘born’ in Vienna, Austria but is loved all throughout Europe and why not.. it is just as beautiful as it is delicious a dessert and made primarily with dark European chocolate ,butter ,eggs and apricot marmelade and of  course some sugar and flour. No preservatives, chemicals just real ingredients..

It has been awhile since I had my culinary classes in Austria and have not made a Sacher Torte for awhile and almost forgot how laborious a dessert this is..but well worth it.

First to locate ‘farina di frumento’ the flour that will give the cake some substance. Not an easy flour to find, but after a trip to the local shop for professional baker’s in town…I found it..

 Next the measuring out of all ingredients with our scale, then the melting of the dark chocolate on the ‘bain-marie’ (double boiler). Then the creaming of the butter and melted chocolate, then half the sugar. Then beating the egg whites till peaks form.. gently folding in the egg whites and flour and …almost there…..butter and flour the spring form pans, place in batter and cook for about 1 hour at 180 degrees centigrade or 360 degrees fahrenheit.. Well in our oven here they took less than an hour to bake. But the whole process took up all morning into afternoon..

This more than filled our day and by 2 PM we were ready to sit down and eat ‘pranzo’ (lunch). Stay tuned for tomorrow and the assembling of the Sacher Tortes. … and my recipe for the Sacher Torte

For more great recipes get your copy of my best sellling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria