Holy Cannoli!

Editor: Kate Hollinger 

Copyright, 2009, Maria Liberati

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm

http://www.marialiberati.com/blog2

A cannoli, which is Sicilian for “little tube”, is an ever- popular pastry dessert found sprinkled throughout cafes and restaurants in Italy. We thank the Sicilian region of Italy for these rich desserts that are found today throughout the United States as well, thanks to the immigrants who brought the recipes over in the early 20^th century. Cannoli originally came from the Palermo region of Sicily as early as the first century A.D., served as a treat and given to friends in dozens during the season of Carnevale, a festive European celebration held right before Lent. It is said that cannoli was most likely a symbol of fertility during this pre-Easter celebration similar in some ways to Mardi Gras.

An original cannolo (the singular form of cannoli) consists of fried, rolled up and open-ended pastry dough (the thinner the better) filled with a sweet, rich filling of ricotta or mascarpone cheese blended with flavorings such as vanilla, chocolate, or pistachio flavors. Occasionally additional ingredients are added, such as chocolate chips, citron, or candied cherries. The filling inside the cannolo are most commonly flavored with Marsala wine, vanilla extract, or rosewater. The size of cannoli ranges from small finger-sized bits referred to as cannulicchi to portions five times the size.

Nowadays we see different Italian American variations of this Sicilian treat. Many bakeries in the United States may fill the pastries with sugar, milk, and cornstarch custard instead of any kind of cheese. When looking for the best possible version of this Italian delicacy, search for the cannoli that has not been sitting for a long time with the cheese filling already inside. The longer a cannoli is left sitting, the soggier the pastry tube gets as a result of its contact with the filling. After about a day of sitting together, it is a soggy pastry not worth of being called a cannoli Bakers who make a lot of cannoli at a time fill the inside of the cannoli with chocolate that hardens and can then handle touching the creamy filling for longer than 24 hours.

For a cannoli recipe and lower calorie  cannoli recipe

Find more info  on cannoli

Hope to see you on Thursday, March 12th at the Harleysville Book Shop, 674 Main St Harleysville, Pa at 6-8 PM. I will be doing a book signing and cooking demo of recipes from the book, Free and open to the public. For more book signing,cooking demos, keynote speaker events coming up on foods, Italian culture and more go to

http://www.marialiberati.com/appearances.php

Join me for The Basic Art of Italian Cooking School  in Italy on Sept 23- Oct 6th for 7 days of hands on cooking classes, wine tastings, vineyard tours, artisan food producers, excursions, nature walks in the hills of Umbria all while staying at the villa that houses the cooking school. Register by May 1st and receive $200 off entire program. Go to

 http://www.marialiberati.com/blog2/?page_id=542

for more recipes and articles go to http://www.marialiberati.com/blog2/?page_id=400

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

Holiday cookies are overflowing and The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Kitchen is filled to capacity!
A typical Italian cookie that is made for the Holidays is the ‘pizzelle’. The most important ingredient for this sweet, besides the ingredients, is the pizzelle iron-you can’t make pizzelle without it.

The pizzelle is known by different names and is made crunchy or soft, flavored or plain depending on the different regions of Italy you are in. This flavorful cookie originated in Abruzzo, but is now made all over the world. They are considered a rustic type of treat, an old world delight and are found in many small bakeries in Italy or made at home.

While a staple at many Italian American weddings here in the US, I have never seen pizzelle at weddings in Italy. 

Once made with manual irons one at a time, the electric ones allow you to make 2 at a time in a few minutes. Like many delicious Italian recipes, they do take some time to make but are well worth it.

 Here is my favorite recipe

http://www.notecook.com/Desserts/Cookies/How-to-Make-the-Classic-Italian-Pizzelle.218199

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

Order your copy by December 20th and receive free expedited shipping.

“Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene”

Maria

copyright, 2008,Maria Liberati

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 -j1/2 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, 2008 Maria Liberati 

As I am always on the lookout for wonderful places for my ‘foodie fans’ to be aware of..I have stumbled upon a wonderful British find for Sweets and Chocolates of all kinds.  You might say they are all done with a bit of style as well.  At least I know one place I will be visiting on my next trip to London..Hope & Greenwood.

If you have a fancy for a terrific sweet sweet..in the proper British style check out Hope & Greenwood. It is the perfect place to get some proper British style sweets but with a nostalgic twist.

Hope & Greeenwood have done what I think is so ‘fantabulous (if it is  real word ..well it is a combo of fantastic and fabulous)! Taking a food that they have a passion for-SWEETS- and expressing their yearning for everything nostalgic through them.

 For the chocoholics and those who love their ‘cioccolata’ or CHOCOLATE.. there is plenty to be ecstatic about. From British truffles to Organic chocolate in flavors like Organic Fudge Cake and Organic Apple Pie bar….

And so you don’t have to feel guilty they have a dark chocolate bar that contains 72% cocoa-a proven antioxidant.  And if you would like to see what marvelous things their chocolate does in a recipe, try the recipe below and see what happens (recipe for Budino Al Cioccolato). For this recipe try their Perfectly Simple Dark Chocolate Bar that is 72% cocoa.

However, if you are in the mood for a bit of  nostalgia…. what could settle a sweet tooth more than good old fashioned ‘LOLLIES’

Lollies that will bring you back to the  memories of the  lazy days of summer picnics and childhood. They are guaranteed to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Budino Al Cioccolata

32 ounces of Dark Chocolate

2 tblsps of corn starch

2 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. When chocolate is melted  remove from heat and set aside.  In seperate saucepan mix corn starch and sugar with wooden spoon. Add in the milk a little at a time, mixing in well constantly stirring. Add in melted chocolate and stir in well. Place on heat and bring to a boil stirring constantly. When boiling remove from heat. Let cool for a 3 minutes and add in butter cut into pieces and egg yolks. Mix vigorously with wire whisk. When well blended, place in a pan or mold and place in refrigerator for 3 hours. Unmold and serve with whipped cream.

For more recipes get your copy of the bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati at http://www.marialiberati.com

Ciao for Now!

Maria

http://www.marialiberati.com

If  you had a choice between a Ferrari or a Ferrari - replica made by Neapolitan pastry chefs what would you choose? By the way the pastry was made in Sorrento..which makes it  especailly difficult to pass up..

Well if you were in Sorrento (Italy) between now and Sunday (Feb 24) you could have your choice. On display there is a model Ferrari made out of  handmade pastry. Made by   volunteers there and  in the exact shape and Ferrari red  color. The volunteers from 25 bakeries in and around Naples labored for 400 hours to create this luscious masterpiece-not unlike its’ real counterpart.

It was commisioned by the Pastry Chefs Club of Italy with the collaboration of the Ferrari club of Naples to ensure the authentic scale of the model.  A special water solubile coloring was used to match the  red Ferrari color and it includes authentic Belgian Chocolate..mmmmmm

The model is said to be an exact 1:1  scale model of the Ferrari and weighs approximately 1,000 pounds.

So what is your vice- speed or sweets..with beauty of course..  In my opinion, no matter what you choose you still come out a winner.

So what will it be a Ferrari or the Ferrari chocolate pastry   ?  let’s start a poll..look forward to hearing your choice..

Ciao for now..

Maria

http://www.marialiberati.com

http://www.mariaandco.blogspot.com

http://mliberati.diaryland.com