copyright, 2009, Maria Liberati

One of the most engaging holidays of the season, Halloween, has been carving out ghoulish jack-o-lanterns and the likes of trick-or-treaters for centuries. Highly recognizable are the spellbinding tales of campfires, midnight marshmallow roasts, and guising costume festivals… thus for many, October 31^st marks the modern-day events of the Eve of All Hallows. Originating from Irish immigrants, the traditions spread across Europe to North America in the 19^th century, as Halloween’s many rituals are now celebrated throughout world. Respectively, while some religious perspectives ascribe certain disbeliefs, the expansion of commerce chose to capitalize significant revenues based upon candy sales and billion-dollar costume industries. The evolution of haunting imagery, black cats, witches brew, religious ceremonies, and product commercialization, inevitably, remains the heart of the equinox. But more than ghost stories and prominent symbols, accounts of this spooktacular event date back as far as the first Pagan rituals, hailing ancient Celtic harvest festivals called, Samhain or Celtic New Year. Often paired with the Day of The Dead and All Saints’ Day, many cultures commemorate (the notional holiday) outside the Americanized standard of door-to-door candy solicitation, by marking November 1^st and 2^nd as calendar days of remembrance.

Carnevale Di Venezia, a long-established Italian tradition seems to parallel a combination of both Mardi gras and Halloween’s costume masquerading. However, its elaborate artistry, first recorded in 1268, is celebrated 40 days before Easter with restrictions of Lent and a grand festival just before Ash Wednesday. While gala dinners and extravagant costume balls of this winter festival trumpet throughout the various regions of Italy, some reports claim the urbanity of Halloween is literally beginning to mask those of Carnevale.

As food plays a significant role in the aspects of any celebration, the annual harvest of apples lend an air of entertainment to the many Halloween-themed activities performed. The friendly competition of apple bobbing or as the Scottish refer to as, dooking, remains a pastime favorite. Even holiday ‘begging’ has transformed throughout history, bringing phrases like ‘Do ye want guisers?’ to the simplicity of ‘Trick or Treat’. So, whether it’s pumpkin risotto to pumpkin carving or candied apples to brimming bags of candy cuisine… the sheer magic surrounding such mythical traditions can be enjoyed by all ages, young and old.

Have your own traditional Carnevale celebration for Halloween with these recipes

 

Frittelle

Ingredients (for 6 people):

1 lb flour

1 cup raisins

2 tblsps pine nuts

1 tablespoon sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

I/2 cup grappa

1 packet brewer’s yeast

a pinch of salt

peanut oil to fry

icing sugar to decorate

Melt the brewer’s yeast and sugar with a little bit of warm water; then add flour, the eggs, grappa and milk. Don’t forget the pinch of salt. Mix everything and knead it for a while until you see some kind of small ‘air bubbles’ forming on the surface. Cover then with a napkin and leave it in a warm place to rise. When the dough will have doubled its volume, add the raisins (and pinenuts). Make ‘balls’ with a teaspoon and let them ‘slide’ into peanut boiling oil (oil should be deep enough to cover all the small balls; and remember not to put too may of them at a time). When they rise to the surf, turn them over, so that they become brown all over. Dry on kitchen paper, sprinkle with icing sugar and enjoy your fritoe!

Crostoli (is another typical Carnival dessert).

Ingredients (4 people):

1 cup flour

½ cup sugar

¼ cup butter

2 eggs

½ cup grappa

1 lemon

icing sugar

a pinch of salt

1 tsp pure vanilla

peanut oil to fry

Mix flour, sugar, vanilla, grated lemon peel and salt on the pastry board. Then make a well and put the eggs, the soft butter cut into small cubes inside the hole. Work it till it is smooth. With the rolling pin roll the dough very thin. Cut rectangles (about 8×12 centimetres) with the pastry cutting wheel and make three cuttings on each of the rectangles. Fry two or three rectangles at a time in abundant boiling peanut oil. Drain, dry on kitchen paper, cover with icing sugar. You can eat them either hot or cold.

 

For  Holiday recipes and tips get your copy of the newly released The Basic Art of Italian Cooking : Holidays & Special Occasions

Follow Maria on Twitter : http://twitter.com/marialiberati 

Special Thx to everyone at teh Lower Southampton Libnrary in Festerville, Pa for hosting my book signing this week!
Other Apperances coming up:
November 2- Willngboro LIbrary-book singing and cooking demo 7PM

November 4th-6th- Christmas in Italy weekend at Harvest Moon Bed and Breakfast in Lancaster,Pa.. Cooking classes and wine pairings from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking : Holidays & Special Occasions. Call 888-824-3763 for reservations and info.

November 14th-Warren Twp Library, Warren NJ 2PM- Book signing and cooking demo

November 21-Kuhn’s Corner Books- Perkasie ,Pa 12 PM- book signing and sampling

December 12th- Franklin Twp Library, Franklinville, NJ 12 noon- Book signing and cooking demo

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

 

 

This month’s newsletter is filled with articles and sweet treats for Carnevale in Venice, menu of the month, recipe of the month, Recipe Contest with La Cucina Italiana Magazine, Interview with Food columnist Rosie Saferstein and more! This month you can select to read it in 3 different ways: as a word file from this link below:

february-march-2009-issue.doc 

Or in digital magazine format:

http://http://tinyurl.com/aext7x

Or below in plain text:

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm

A trademark of Art of Living, PrimaMedia,Inc.

February/March 2009 issue

CONTENTS

Quote of the Month

Editorial

Delicious Treats in Venice & Carnevale

Featured Recipe

Menu of the Month

What’s in Your Fridge? Interview with Rosie Saferstein

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking School in Italy Events

Tea..Healthy Tea…a great after dinner drink

La Cucina Italiana Magazine Recipe Contest

Featured Products

 

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”

• George Bernard Shaw

 

 

EDITORIAL

 

This month has been a busy one San Valentino (Valentine’s Day ) and the beginning of Carnevale. I have just returned from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm cooking school sessions held at the villa in Sissmano in the hills of Umbria. The next cooking School session will be held Sept 23-Oct 6^th. (see below). Next month will be a special videotaped interview at the villa in Sissmano and cooking school highlights

February has such beautiful colorful Holidays to celebrate in some special way. Whether it be preparing a meal for a loved one, friend, family members, preparing a meal together with friends and special others or just enjoying a great meal together-any ordinary meal becomes a special one when you enjoy it with someone. Decorate the table with colorful tableware to get in the Carnevale spirit. Simple touches set the mood. Don’t forget to enter our La Cucina Italiana Magazine Recipe Contest to win a free subscription to one of the premiere magazines on Italian Cooking. What’s your best summer recipe??Deadline is June 1^st 2009

As always, we at The Basic Art of Italian Cooking^TM by Maria Liberati would love to hear from you. Have you tried our recipes? Do you have any ideas for feature articles that you’d like to see in future issues? Would you like to find a specific recipe or share a favorite family treat? Email us at: editor1@marialiberati.com

We want to hear from you!
Let us know how you like our celebrity Q & A column…and if you have a favorite celebrity, that you’d like to hear from, send us an email at editor1@marialiberati.com.

Delicious Treats of Venice and Carnevale

copyright, 2008, Maria Liberati

http://www.marialiberati.com

 

Here it is ….Carnevale, the period between Christmas and Easter, which ends before Lent. But no matter what Holidays you follow..Carnevale is always a time of sweets and delicacies, in my opinion. The following recipes are of two typical ‘cakes’ (this name does not really explain what they are: they are absolutely unique!) eaten in that time, especially in Venice. Fritole, fritoe (different dialect varieties for the Italian frittelle) are round pastries with raisins. Many types developed from the basic recipe, so that you can find them filled with custard, with zabaione, with apples, or even empty. What follows is the typical Venetian recipe. But, before giving it to you, I should perhaps explain what grappa is, since this is one of the ingredients.

Grappa is a spirit distilled from the fermented remains of grapes after pressing. It has specific taste deriving from the kind of grapes that is used: grappa from Prosecco, for example, is fine. Of course the alcoholic degree is very high (40/42°) and one has better be careful about the quantity one drinks… It is used in the preparation of cakes, it enhances the taste of coffee: coffee and grappa is a typical drink here in Italy (in the Veneto region, mostly) and can be drunk as a powerful digestive after dinner. If you pour a little quantity of grappa onto a small plate and light it with a match, it burns for quite a long time. You could see the blue flame indicating the alcohol being consumed.

So, here it is:

Frittelle

Ingredients (for 6 people):

1 lb flour

1 cup raisins

2 tblsps pine nuts

1 tablespoon sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

I/2 cup grappa

1 packet brewer’s yeast

a pinch of salt

peanut oil to fry

icing sugar to decorate

Melt the brewer’s yeast and sugar with a little bit of warm water; then add flour, the eggs, grappa and milk. Don’t forget the pinch of salt. Mix everything and knead it for a while until you see some kind of small ‘air bubbles’ forming on the surface. Cover then with a napkin and leave it in a warm place to rise. When the dough will have doubled its volume, add the raisins (and pinenuts). Make ‘balls’ with a teaspoon and let them ‘slide’ into peanut boiling oil (oil should be deep enough to cover all the small balls; and remember not to put too may of them at a time). When they rise to the surf, turn them over, so that they become brown all over. Dry on kitchen paper, sprinkle with icing sugar and enjoy your fritoe!

Crostoli (is another typical Carnival dessert).

Ingredients (4 people):

1 cup flour

½ cup sugar

¼ cup butter

2 eggs

½ cup grappa

1 lemon

icing sugar

a pinch of salt

1 tsp pure vanilla

peanut oil to fry

Mix flour, sugar, vanilla, grated lemon peel and salt on the pastry board. Then make a well and put the eggs, the soft butter cut into small cubes inside the hole. Work it till it is smooth. With the rolling pin roll the dough very thin. Cut rectangles (about 8×12 centimetres) with the pastry cutting wheel and make three cuttings on each of the rectangles. Fry two or three rectangles at a time in abundant boiling peanut oil. Drain, dry on kitchen paper, cover with icing sugar. You can eat them either hot or cold.

So glad Carnevale is here!!…

 

 

 

 

MENU OF THE MONTH

Appetizer: Bruschetta with tuna, red onion and celery, extra virgin olive oil

First Course: Farfale con Gorgonzola

Second Course: Salmone al Forno

Dessert: Crostoli & Frittele per Carnevale (see recipe above)

Wine: Falenghina

All recipes can be found in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking^TM or at http://www.marialiberati.com/

All recipes are copyright 2006,2007,2008,2009- The Basic Art of Italian Cooking^TM, by Maria Liberati, Art of Living, PrimaMedia, Inc.

Send us your ideas, feedback, and tips. If your submission is featured here in our newsletter, you will win a limited edition gift tag. Email to: info@marialiberati.com  
All ideas emailed to info@marialiberati.com become the property of Art of Living, PrimaMedia, Inc.  By emailing them to us you automatically authorize us permission to use in any publications.

CELEBRITY Q&A

WHAT’S IN YOUR FRIDGE?

With her culinary acumen, this month, food columnist, Rosie Saferstein gives us a peek inside her fridge and her kitchen…

Rosie Saferstein is a food writer for njmonthly.com, the Web site for New Jersey Monthly magazine. Her column “Table Hopping With Rosie” features New Jersey restaurant news and more.

Rosie created Food Bytes®, one of the first ever Internet food discussion forums, and served as editor of Food Bytes’ New Jersey Restaurant News.

Rosie is often asked to judge food contests, teaches cooking classes–and she has been a keynote speaker for organizations for many organizations. She is also a member of the James Beard Foundation and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

 

Maria Liberati: What is in your refrigerator now? What types of food do you like to keep on hand in your refrigerator?

Rosie Saferstein: Two bottles of Albarino (white) wine from Spain and two from Argentina as we are on a search for our favorite Albarino this month. Next month we’ll hone in on another type of wine from a specific region. Fat free plain yogurt draining from a colander into a bowl in order to make Greek yogurt. Eggplant/tomato sauce to serve over pasta. We keep the usual victuals on hand-fruit, veggies, milk etc. And of course my husband Lowell’s homemade granola.

Lowell’s Best Ever Granola

6 cups oatmeal

1 cup dry milk powder

1 cup sesame seeds

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup Vermont Maple syrup grade B

1 cup raisins or craisins

Directions:

Mix the oatmeal, powder milk, sesame seeds and walnuts in a bowl. Mix together the vegetable oil and maple syrup thoroughly and then add to the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly so that all the oatmeal is coated with the oil mixture. This is important. Mixing must be extensive so that no oatmeal particles look dry. Cover a tray with parchment paper and spread the mixture onto the paper. Bake in an oven at 250º for 75 minutes stirring several times. Add one cup craisins when removed from the oven. Store in airtight container in refrigerator or freeze.

ML: What are your favorite foods?

RS: My favorite food is cow. I love cowboy steak the best but if it is cow I am happy. Next to that it is red wine and m&m’s together.

ML : Do you stick to a special eating regimen?

RS: As I eat out 3-4 times a week for work, I try to have a healthy light meal when dining at home. When I dine out if there is something unusual on the menu such as horse mackerel or fresh water eels I will order that. So except for eating 3 times daily (sometimes more) I do not have a special eating regimen.

ML: What foods do you like to indulge in?

RS : Any form of foie gras, cheeses, or bone marrow but not together.

ML: Is the kitchen an important part of your house?

RS: My fantasy is to have just a large modern kitchen and a bedroom in my house. Don’t need any other rooms.

ML: Do you cook and/or enjoy cooking?

RS: Yes to both. I cook and used to grow all of my vegetables. Now I enjoy going to the farmer’s market or supermarket to create a meal from whatever strikes my fancy or looks interesting that day.

ML: Do you share your fridge with anyone?

RS: Just my husband.

ML: What are your favorite things to cook?

RS: Cholent

This is a fabulous stick to your ribs dish that I wait for the cooler weather to make and it is just a matter of throwing the ingredients in a pot and letting it cook overnight. I soak a 16-ounce bag of mixed beans during the day for about 8 hours. BTW-the kosher section of my supermarket ( has a bag of cholent beans that are cheaper than the non-kosher beans in the rice/bean section of the supermarket. I put the drained beans in a 5-quart crock pot. Add some sliced onions (I use a lot) and carrots and a hunk of brisket (about 3 pounds). Mushrooms, potatoes, garlic, can of diced tomatoes, salt and pepper -whatever you want– can also be thrown into the mix. This is a whatever you have in the house dish. Cover with water. Put the lid on the pot and let it cook overnight on low. In the morning turn off the pot and take out the meat. It will be fall apart tender. Shred it with your hands and return it to the pot. Refrigerate or freeze. This is a one-pot meal that is a standard in our house. It can be made with chicken or meatless if you prefer. Be adventurous. If you don’t have a crock pot buy one!! Or bring to a boil in a pot and then cook covered in a 225 to 250 degree oven at least 8 hours.

ML: Is there someone in particular who has influenced your cooking and/or eating habits, in what way?

RS: My dad has influenced my shopping and eating. He was a butcher and taught me how to cut up a chicken. So when whole chickens are ridiculously cheap I buy 10 of them, cut them up, and freeze the parts. And his love for food and being willing to try various cuisines has been passed down to me.

ML: In your dream dinner party whom would you like to invite to your home for a dinner party?

RS: With all the hustle bustle today my family and I never have enough time to spend together although we do get together on the holidays. So I would love to have a “holiday” dinner party weekly with my family.

Additionally, I would have a dinner party with all of my yoga teachers, as they are kind, loving people who are always in the present and mindful of their surroundings. They would be most appreciative and interesting guests who would enjoy all the subtleties of flavors in the food I served.

ML: What would you serve or what would be on the menu?

RS: For my family I would serve a traditional Friday night dinner: chicken soup, brisket, kugel (noodle pudding), any vegetable in season although they love my roasted cauliflower, and mandel bread a k a biscotti and fruit salad for dessert.

RS: Mandel Bread

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 cup or more of dried cranberries or yellow raisins (I prefer the cranberries)

1/2 cup or more of crushed nuts-I use walnuts or pecans but you can also use almond pieces. The nuts should not be pulverized but should be recognizable small pieces. About the same size as the raisins.

Mix liquids together and then add dry ingredients which have been mixed together. Add raisins and nuts and stir. Mixture will be thick.

Form into 2 logs and bake on a cookie sheet about 35 minutes at 325 degrees. (I bake until brown on top. Time can vary.

Take out of oven and slice into about 1/2 pieces. Put back on baking sheet cut side down and bake another 20 minutes till brown. Turn and bake till both sides are brown. Cooking time varies so keep an eye on them.

Directions are not precise but have fun with this recipe. These freeze well if you have any left over.

**

For my yoga teachers I would make a vegetarian dinner. Perhaps a strawberry soup in the summer or hearty bean and kale soup in the winter; an apple, beet and cabbage salad; vegetable lasagna, or Chinese stir fry with brown rice.

Cooking School in Italy Events

A view of the villa in the hills of Umbria

Enjoying a dinner after a cooking class at the Villa…

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm Cooking School in Italy-Sept 23- October 6^th. Join Celebrity Chef-Maria Liberati for a the 7day -6night Experience Italy event filled with hands on cooking classes, wine tastings at local vineyards, olive oil artisans, work with locally grown produce, sightsee, experience nature trails in the hills of Umbria all while relaxing as a special guest at the villa which houses the school. Limited to 12 participants only. Includes all meals, transportation from Rome -Fiumicino airport and back, all meals, 4 hands-on cooking classes, wine tastings, special farewell dinner at local castle, wine tastings, sightseeing,stay at the villa (double occupancy. Single occupancy available but for extra amount). All while you relax at the villa in the picturesque, quiet hills of Umbria. $1795. Or register with deposit before May 1^st and receive a $200 discount plus free souvenir apron upon arrival. To register or for an email brochure send email to: events@marialiberati.com or call 1-800-581-9020.

Tea Healthy Tea..a great after dinner drink…

By tea expert- Patricia Bontempo

Did you know the number 2 New Year’s resolution made is to lose weight, get fit, or eat healthier? I even make that resolution every year. When I was younger I usually resolved to lose those dreaded 5 to 10 pounds. But getting older you put things in perspective. It is more important to eat healthier, make better choices and stay physically fit.

To help achieve that goal I have opted to drink more tea. I have always been a tea drinker but now I drink more green, white and oolong teas. It is a very simple change or addition to your daily routine.

Besides that you get a great deal of other health benefits:

- Medical studies have shown that green and oolong teas help increase metabolism, helps burn calories, and aids in lower fat absorption.

1. Tea contains high levels of antioxidants, some of which are called polyphenols, flavonoids, and catechins, and all of which take on the “free radicals” in the body and prevent them from harming the healthy cells on board.

- Tea contains flouride which benefits your teeth and has bacteria killing properties which helps control bad breath and the formation of plaque.

• Higher quality teas, such as loose teas, have more catechin antioxidants than lower quality teas (bagged tea).
• White tea has more antioxidants than any other tea.
• Green tea has more catechin antioxidants than black tea since black tea goes through more processing.
• Freshly brewed teas have more polyphenol antioxidants than instant or bottled teas.

- Oolong tea may prevent the onset of some neuro diseases such as Parkinson’s disease

- Polyphenols found in loose Oolong tea also prevent inflammation and it has anti-allergy compounds

- Tea also aids in depression that it can activate your dopamine happy hormones.

Next month a selection of some of the recent studies that boast health benefits of teas.

Don’t forget to check out the new flavors of teas from Sempre Sapori. Real whole leaf teas, the same teas served at the villa at The Basic Art of Italian Cooking School at tea time. The teas will soon be available online..

SUMMER IN ITALY RECIPE CONTEST..

THE BASIC ART OF ITALIAN COOKING BY MARIA LIBERATI

& LA CUCINA ITALIANA MAGAZINE

Win a free subscription to La Cucina Italiana Magazine & your recipe printed in the Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm ezine.

Give us your best summer recipe. Do you love to barbecue, grill, preserve fresh produce, make summer salads or fresh fruit preserves or anything that uses fresh fruits or vegetables in season during the summer months of May, June, July & August. Send us your best recipe and you could win a subscription to La Cucina Italiana Magazine-each issue filled with recipes from Italy but in English.

Qualifications & Rules : Summer in Italy Recipe Contest!
Recipes must be original and should contain either fresh fruits or vegetables , herbs that are in season during May, June, July & August. We are looking for recipes that promote locally grown produce.

*No processed ingredients, no corn syrup, lard, margarine allowed in recipes and recipes containing these will be eliminated.

*By emailing or mailing your recipe you give all rights to the Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm and art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc for any reprints or publishing in print or electronically. The recipe(s) may be reprinted without any permission or monetary compensation to the sender.

Deadline: recipes must be postmarked or emailed no later than June 1^st 2009. Winners will be selected by staff of the Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm and all winners are final. Winner wins a year subscription to La Cucina Italiana Magazine and their recipe will be featured in an issue of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm ezine .

This contest void where prohibited by law. The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm is not responsible for any lost mail, emails, any omissions or guarantee of receipt of subscription of La Cucina Italiana magazine. La Cucian Italiana Magazine is responsible for winning prize of annual subscription and winenr must correspond with :La Cucina Italiana Magazine if any delays I nreceivign subscriptions. The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati, Art of Living, PrimaMedia,Inc is not responsible for issuing the subscription to the magazine and can not be held responsible.

Where to send recipes:
Email recipe, name ,address ,phone number & email to us at:
recipecontest@marialiberati.com

Mail recipe(s) to: Place recipe on 3x 5 card, include recipe, name, address ,phone and email (if you have one) to:
Recipe Contest, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm, 292 Main St, Unit 291, Harleysville, Pa 19438

Recipe must be legible or will be automatically elimiinated if not legible

BUONA FORTUNA ( Good Luck!)

FEATURED PRODUCTS & SPECIAL OFFERS

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking^TM makes a terrific gift, any time of year.

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking^TM is full of good food, but by purchasing it you’ll do more than expand your cooking skills. Proceeds from the cookbook benefit Gilda’s Club, an organization dedicating to supporting victims of cancer, and their families.

Get a copy of the bestselling book at http://www.marialiberati.com/

or http://stores.lulu.com/marialiberati

Sempre Sapori -the first product originally by The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm includes flavors from all over the world. Tuscan Picnic was developed by Maria Liberati so that anyone from non-experienced to experienced chef could make a Tuscan style meal in a minute. Tuscan Picnic captures all the flavors of Tuscany as developed by Maris Liberati from her cooking programs in the Tuscan region and always incldues a recipe booklet to make Tuscan meals. Makes a great gift for the Holidays also. Spices are all natural and can be ordered in a special gift pack for the Holidays. Go to : http://www.marialiberati.com/ to order yours now. Free samples provided with every order.

CLASSIFIEDS

*Place your ad here and reach thousands of subscribers and gourmet food lovers, for info email: advertising@marialiberati.com

Special Advertising Sections Coming up: Mother’s Day (May/June 2009 issue)

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Find recipes and more…

See you next month

March/April issue will contain video segments of the cooking school and the villa that houses it as well as other features and recipes.!

This month’s newsletter is filled with articles and sweet treats for Carnevale in Venice, menu of the month, recipe of the month, Recipe Contest with La Cucina Italiana Magazine, Interview with Food columnist Rosie Saferstein and more! This month you can select to read it in 3 different ways: as a word file from this link below:

february-march-2009-issue.doc 

Or in digital magazine format:

http://http://tinyurl.com/aext7x

Or below in plain text:

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm

A trademark of Art of Living, PrimaMedia,Inc.

February/March 2009 issue

CONTENTS

Quote of the Month

Editorial

Delicious Treats in Venice & Carnevale

Featured Recipe

Menu of the Month

What’s in Your Fridge? Interview with Rosie Saferstein

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking School in Italy Events

Tea..Healthy Tea…a great after dinner drink

La Cucina Italiana Magazine Recipe Contest

Featured Products

 

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”

• George Bernard Shaw

 

 

EDITORIAL

 

This month has been a busy one San Valentino (Valentine’s Day ) and the beginning of Carnevale. I have just returned from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm cooking school sessions held at the villa in Sissmano in the hills of Umbria. The next cooking School session will be held Sept 23-Oct 6^th. (see below). Next month will be a special videotaped interview at the villa in Sissmano and cooking school highlights

February has such beautiful colorful Holidays to celebrate in some special way. Whether it be preparing a meal for a loved one, friend, family members, preparing a meal together with friends and special others or just enjoying a great meal together-any ordinary meal becomes a special one when you enjoy it with someone. Decorate the table with colorful tableware to get in the Carnevale spirit. Simple touches set the mood. Don’t forget to enter our La Cucina Italiana Magazine Recipe Contest to win a free subscription to one of the premiere magazines on Italian Cooking. What’s your best summer recipe??Deadline is June 1^st 2009

As always, we at The Basic Art of Italian Cooking^TM by Maria Liberati would love to hear from you. Have you tried our recipes? Do you have any ideas for feature articles that you’d like to see in future issues? Would you like to find a specific recipe or share a favorite family treat? Email us at: editor1@marialiberati.com

We want to hear from you!
Let us know how you like our celebrity Q & A column…and if you have a favorite celebrity, that you’d like to hear from, send us an email at editor1@marialiberati.com.

Delicious Treats of Venice and Carnevale

copyright, 2008, Maria Liberati

http://www.marialiberati.com

 

Here it is ….Carnevale, the period between Christmas and Easter, which ends before Lent. But no matter what Holidays you follow..Carnevale is always a time of sweets and delicacies, in my opinion. The following recipes are of two typical ‘cakes’ (this name does not really explain what they are: they are absolutely unique!) eaten in that time, especially in Venice. Fritole, fritoe (different dialect varieties for the Italian frittelle) are round pastries with raisins. Many types developed from the basic recipe, so that you can find them filled with custard, with zabaione, with apples, or even empty. What follows is the typical Venetian recipe. But, before giving it to you, I should perhaps explain what grappa is, since this is one of the ingredients.

Grappa is a spirit distilled from the fermented remains of grapes after pressing. It has specific taste deriving from the kind of grapes that is used: grappa from Prosecco, for example, is fine. Of course the alcoholic degree is very high (40/42°) and one has better be careful about the quantity one drinks… It is used in the preparation of cakes, it enhances the taste of coffee: coffee and grappa is a typical drink here in Italy (in the Veneto region, mostly) and can be drunk as a powerful digestive after dinner. If you pour a little quantity of grappa onto a small plate and light it with a match, it burns for quite a long time. You could see the blue flame indicating the alcohol being consumed.

So, here it is:

Frittelle

Ingredients (for 6 people):

1 lb flour

1 cup raisins

2 tblsps pine nuts

1 tablespoon sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

I/2 cup grappa

1 packet brewer’s yeast

a pinch of salt

peanut oil to fry

icing sugar to decorate

Melt the brewer’s yeast and sugar with a little bit of warm water; then add flour, the eggs, grappa and milk. Don’t forget the pinch of salt. Mix everything and knead it for a while until you see some kind of small ‘air bubbles’ forming on the surface. Cover then with a napkin and leave it in a warm place to rise. When the dough will have doubled its volume, add the raisins (and pinenuts). Make ‘balls’ with a teaspoon and let them ‘slide’ into peanut boiling oil (oil should be deep enough to cover all the small balls; and remember not to put too may of them at a time). When they rise to the surf, turn them over, so that they become brown all over. Dry on kitchen paper, sprinkle with icing sugar and enjoy your fritoe!

Crostoli (is another typical Carnival dessert).

Ingredients (4 people):

1 cup flour

½ cup sugar

¼ cup butter

2 eggs

½ cup grappa

1 lemon

icing sugar

a pinch of salt

1 tsp pure vanilla

peanut oil to fry

Mix flour, sugar, vanilla, grated lemon peel and salt on the pastry board. Then make a well and put the eggs, the soft butter cut into small cubes inside the hole. Work it till it is smooth. With the rolling pin roll the dough very thin. Cut rectangles (about 8×12 centimetres) with the pastry cutting wheel and make three cuttings on each of the rectangles. Fry two or three rectangles at a time in abundant boiling peanut oil. Drain, dry on kitchen paper, cover with icing sugar. You can eat them either hot or cold.

So glad Carnevale is here!!…

 

 

 

 

MENU OF THE MONTH

Appetizer: Bruschetta with tuna, red onion and celery, extra virgin olive oil

First Course: Farfale con Gorgonzola

Second Course: Salmone al Forno

Dessert: Crostoli & Frittele per Carnevale (see recipe above)

Wine: Falenghina

All recipes can be found in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking^TM or at http://www.marialiberati.com/

All recipes are copyright 2006,2007,2008,2009- The Basic Art of Italian Cooking^TM, by Maria Liberati, Art of Living, PrimaMedia, Inc.

Send us your ideas, feedback, and tips. If your submission is featured here in our newsletter, you will win a limited edition gift tag. Email to: info@marialiberati.com  
All ideas emailed to info@marialiberati.com become the property of Art of Living, PrimaMedia, Inc.  By emailing them to us you automatically authorize us permission to use in any publications.

CELEBRITY Q&A

WHAT’S IN YOUR FRIDGE?

With her culinary acumen, this month, food columnist, Rosie Saferstein gives us a peek inside her fridge and her kitchen…

Rosie Saferstein is a food writer for njmonthly.com

 

This month’s newsletter is filled with articles and sweet treats for Carnevale in Venice, menu of the month, recipe of the month, Recipe Contest with La Cucina Italiana Magazine, Interview with Food columnist Rosie Saferstein and more! This month you can select to read it in 3 different ways: as a word file from this link below:

february-march-2009-issue.doc 

Or in digital magazine format:

http://http://tinyurl.com/aext7x

Or below in plain text:

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm

A trademark of Art of Living, PrimaMedia,Inc.

February/March 2009 issue

CONTENTS

Quote of the Month

Editorial

Delicious Treats in Venice & Carnevale

Featured Recipe

Menu of the Month

What’s in Your Fridge? Interview with Rosie Saferstein

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking School in Italy Events

Tea..Healthy Tea…a great after dinner drink

La Cucina Italiana Magazine Recipe Contest

Featured Products

 

 

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”

• George Bernard Shaw

 

 

 

 

EDITORIAL

 

This month has been a busy one San Valentino (Valentine’s Day ) and the beginning of Carnevale. I have just returned from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm cooking school sessions held at the villa in Sissmano in the hills of Umbria. The next cooking School session will be held Sept 23-Oct 6^th. (see below). Next month will be a special videotaped interview at the villa in Sissmano and cooking school highlights

February has such beautiful colorful Holidays to celebrate in some special way. Whether it be preparing a meal for a loved one, friend, family members, preparing a meal together with friends and special others or just enjoying a great meal together-any ordinary meal becomes a special one when you enjoy it with someone. Decorate the table with colorful tableware to get in the Carnevale spirit. Simple touches set the mood. Don’t forget to enter our La Cucina Italiana Magazine Recipe Contest to win a free subscription to one of the premiere magazines on Italian Cooking. What’s your best summer recipe??Deadline is June 1^st 2009

 

As always, we at The Basic Art of Italian Cooking™ by Maria Liberati would love to hear from you. Have you tried our recipes? Do you have any ideas for feature articles that you’d like to see in future issues? Would you like to find a specific recipe or share a favorite family treat? Email us at: editor1@marialiberati.com

We want to hear from you!
Let us know how you like our celebrity Q & A column…and if you have a favorite celebrity, that you’d like to hear from, send us an email at editor1@marialiberati.com.

 

 

Delicious Treats of Venice and Carnevale

copyright, 2008, Maria Liberati

http://www.marialiberati.com

 

Here it is ….Carnevale, the period between Christmas and Easter, which ends before Lent. But no matter what Holidays you follow..Carnevale is always a time of sweets and delicacies, in my opinion. The following recipes are of two typical ‘cakes’ (this name does not really explain what they are: they are absolutely unique!) eaten in that time, especially in Venice. Fritole, fritoe (different dialect varieties for the Italian frittelle) are round pastries with raisins. Many types developed from the basic recipe, so that you can find them filled with custard, with zabaione, with apples, or even empty. What follows is the typical Venetian recipe. But, before giving it to you, I should perhaps explain what grappa is, since this is one of the ingredients.

Grappa is a spirit distilled from the fermented remains of grapes after pressing. It has specific taste deriving from the kind of grapes that is used: grappa from Prosecco, for example, is fine. Of course the alcoholic degree is very high (40/42°) and one has better be careful about the quantity one drinks… It is used in the preparation of cakes, it enhances the taste of coffee: coffee and grappa is a typical drink here in Italy (in the Veneto region, mostly) and can be drunk as a powerful digestive after dinner. If you pour a little quantity of grappa onto a small plate and light it with a match, it burns for quite a long time. You could see the blue flame indicating the alcohol being consumed.

So, here it is:

 

 

Frittelle

Ingredients (for 6 people):

1 lb flour

1 cup raisins

2 tblsps pine nuts

1 tablespoon sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

I/2 cup grappa

1 packet brewer’s yeast

a pinch of salt

peanut oil to fry

icing sugar to decorate

 

Melt the brewer’s yeast and sugar with a little bit of warm water; then add flour, the eggs, grappa and milk. Don’t forget the pinch of salt. Mix everything and knead it for a while until you see some kind of small ‘air bubbles’ forming on the surface. Cover then with a napkin and leave it in a warm place to rise. When the dough will have doubled its volume, add the raisins (and pinenuts). Make ‘balls’ with a teaspoon and let them ‘slide’ into peanut boiling oil (oil should be deep enough to cover all the small balls; and remember not to put too may of them at a time). When they rise to the surf, turn them over, so that they become brown all over. Dry on kitchen paper, sprinkle with icing sugar and enjoy your fritoe!

 

 

Crostoli (is another typical Carnival dessert).

Ingredients (4 people):

1 cup flour

½ cup sugar

¼ cup butter

2 eggs

½ cup grappa

1 lemon

icing sugar

a pinch of salt

1 tsp pure vanilla

peanut oil to fry

 

Mix flour, sugar, vanilla, grated lemon peel and salt on the pastry board. Then make a well and put the eggs, the soft butter cut into small cubes inside the hole. Work it till it is smooth. With the rolling pin roll the dough very thin. Cut rectangles (about 8×12 centimetres) with the pastry cutting wheel and make three cuttings on each of the rectangles. Fry two or three rectangles at a time in abundant boiling peanut oil. Drain, dry on kitchen paper, cover with icing sugar. You can eat them either hot or cold.

So glad Carnevale is here!!…

 

 

 

 

 

 

MENU OF THE MONTH

Appetizer: Bruschetta with tuna, red onion and celery, extra virgin olive oil

First Course: Farfale con Gorgonzola

Second Course: Salmone al Forno

Dessert: Crostoli & Frittele per Carnevale (see recipe above)

Wine: Falenghina

All recipes can be found in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking™ or at http://www.marialiberati.com/

All recipes are copyright 2006,2007,2008,2009- The Basic Art of Italian Cooking™, by Maria Liberati, Art of Living, PrimaMedia, Inc.

Send us your ideas, feedback, and tips. If your submission is featured here in our newsletter, you will win a limited edition gift tag. Email to: info@marialiberati.com  
All ideas emailed to info@marialiberati.com become the property of Art of Living, PrimaMedia, Inc.  By emailing them to us you automatically authorize us permission to use in any publications.

CELEBRITY Q&A

WHAT’S IN YOUR FRIDGE?

With her culinary acumen, this month, food columnist, Rosie Saferstein gives us a peek inside her fridge and her kitchen…

Rosie Saferstein is a food writer for njmonthly.com, the Web site for New Jersey Monthly magazine. Her column “Table Hopping With Rosie” features New Jersey restaurant news and more.

Rosie created Food Bytes®, one of the first ever Internet food discussion forums, and served as editor of Food Bytes’ New Jersey Restaurant News.

Rosie is often asked to judge food contests, teaches cooking classes–and she has been a keynote speaker for organizations for many organizations. She is also a member of the James Beard Foundation and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

 

Maria Liberati: What is in your refrigerator now? What types of food do you like to keep on hand in your refrigerator?

 

Rosie Saferstein: Two bottles of Albarino (white) wine from Spain and two from Argentina as we are on a search for our favorite Albarino this month. Next month we’ll hone in on another type of wine from a specific region. Fat free plain yogurt draining from a colander into a bowl in order to make Greek yogurt. Eggplant/tomato sauce to serve over pasta. We keep the usual victuals on hand—fruit, veggies, milk etc. And of course my husband Lowell’s homemade granola.

 

Lowell’s Best Ever Granola

6 cups oatmeal

1 cup dry milk powder

1 cup sesame seeds

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup Vermont Maple syrup grade B

1 cup raisins or craisins

 

Directions:

Mix the oatmeal, powder milk, sesame seeds and walnuts in a bowl. Mix together the vegetable oil and maple syrup thoroughly and then add to the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly so that all the oatmeal is coated with the oil mixture. This is important. Mixing must be extensive so that no oatmeal particles look dry. Cover a tray with parchment paper and spread the mixture onto the paper. Bake in an oven at 250º for 75 minutes stirring several times. Add one cup craisins when removed from the oven. Store in airtight container in refrigerator or freeze.

 

ML: What are your favorite foods?

RS: My favorite food is cow. I love cowboy steak the best but if it is cow I am happy. Next to that it is red wine and m&m’s together.

 

ML : Do you stick to a special eating regimen?

RS: As I eat out 3-4 times a week for work, I try to have a healthy light meal when dining at home. When I dine out if there is something unusual on the menu such as horse mackerel or fresh water eels I will order that. So except for eating 3 times daily (sometimes more) I do not have a special eating regimen.

 

ML: What foods do you like to indulge in?

RS : Any form of foie gras, cheeses, or bone marrow but not together.

 

ML: Is the kitchen an important part of your house?

RS: My fantasy is to have just a large modern kitchen and a bedroom in my house. Don’t need any other rooms.

 

ML: Do you cook and/or enjoy cooking?

RS: Yes to both. I cook and used to grow all of my vegetables. Now I enjoy going to the farmer’s market or supermarket to create a meal from whatever strikes my fancy or looks interesting that day.

 

ML: Do you share your fridge with anyone?

RS: Just my husband.

ML: What are your favorite things to cook?

 

RS: Cholent

This is a fabulous stick to your ribs dish that I wait for the cooler weather to make and it is just a matter of throwing the ingredients in a pot and letting it cook overnight. I soak a 16-ounce bag of mixed beans during the day for about 8 hours. BTW—the kosher section of my supermarket ( has a bag of cholent beans that are cheaper than the non-kosher beans in the rice/bean section of the supermarket. I put the drained beans in a 5-quart crock pot. Add some sliced onions (I use a lot) and carrots and a hunk of brisket (about 3 pounds). Mushrooms, potatoes, garlic, can of diced tomatoes, salt and pepper –whatever you want– can also be thrown into the mix. This is a whatever you have in the house dish. Cover with water. Put the lid on the pot and let it cook overnight on low. In the morning turn off the pot and take out the meat. It will be fall apart tender. Shred it with your hands and return it to the pot. Refrigerate or freeze. This is a one-pot meal that is a standard in our house. It can be made with chicken or meatless if you prefer. Be adventurous. If you don’t have a crock pot buy one!! Or bring to a boil in a pot and then cook covered in a 225 to 250 degree oven at least 8 hours.

 

ML: Is there someone in particular who has influenced your cooking and/or eating habits, in what way?

RS: My dad has influenced my shopping and eating. He was a butcher and taught me how to cut up a chicken. So when whole chickens are ridiculously cheap I buy 10 of them, cut them up, and freeze the parts. And his love for food and being willing to try various cuisines has been passed down to me.

 

ML: In your dream dinner party whom would you like to invite to your home for a dinner party?

 

RS: With all the hustle bustle today my family and I never have enough time to spend together although we do get together on the holidays. So I would love to have a “holiday” dinner party weekly with my family.

 

Additionally, I would have a dinner party with all of my yoga teachers, as they are kind, loving people who are always in the present and mindful of their surroundings. They would be most appreciative and interesting guests who would enjoy all the subtleties of flavors in the food I served.

 

ML: What would you serve or what would be on the menu?

RS: For my family I would serve a traditional Friday night dinner: chicken soup, brisket, kugel (noodle pudding), any vegetable in season although they love my roasted cauliflower, and mandel bread a k a biscotti and fruit salad for dessert.

 

RS: Mandel Bread

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 cup or more of dried cranberries or yellow raisins (I prefer the cranberries)

1/2 cup or more of crushed nuts—I use walnuts or pecans but you can also use almond pieces. The nuts should not be pulverized but should be recognizable small pieces. About the same size as the raisins.

 

Mix liquids together and then add dry ingredients which have been mixed together. Add raisins and nuts and stir. Mixture will be thick.

 

Form into 2 logs and bake on a cookie sheet about 35 minutes at 325 degrees. (I bake until brown on top. Time can vary.

 

Take out of oven and slice into about 1/2 pieces. Put back on baking sheet cut side down and bake another 20 minutes till brown. Turn and bake till both sides are brown. Cooking time varies so keep an eye on them.

 

Directions are not precise but have fun with this recipe. These freeze well if you have any left over.

**

For my yoga teachers I would make a vegetarian dinner. Perhaps a strawberry soup in the summer or hearty bean and kale soup in the winter; an apple, beet and cabbage salad; vegetable lasagna, or Chinese stir fry with brown rice.

 

Cooking School in Italy Events

 

A view of the villa in the hills of Umbria

Enjoying a dinner after a cooking class at the Villa…

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm Cooking School in Italy-Sept 23- October 6^th. Join Celebrity Chef-Maria Liberati for a the 7day -6night Experience Italy event filled with hands on cooking classes, wine tastings at local vineyards, olive oil artisans, work with locally grown produce, sightsee, experience nature trails in the hills of Umbria all while relaxing as a special guest at the villa which houses the school. Limited to 12 participants only. Includes all meals, transportation from Rome -Fiumicino airport and back, all meals, 4 hands-on cooking classes, wine tastings, special farewell dinner at local castle, wine tastings, sightseeing,stay at the villa (double occupancy. Single occupancy available but for extra amount). All while you relax at the villa in the picturesque, quiet hills of Umbria. $1795. Or register with deposit before May 1^st and receive a $200 discount plus free souvenir apron upon arrival. To register or for an email brochure send email to: events@marialiberati.com or call 1-800-581-9020.

 

Tea Healthy Tea..a great after dinner drink…

 

 

By tea expert- Patricia Bontempo

Did you know the number 2 New Year’s resolution made is to lose weight, get fit, or eat healthier? I even make that resolution every year. When I was younger I usually resolved to lose those dreaded 5 to 10 pounds. But getting older you put things in perspective. It is more important to eat healthier, make better choices and stay physically fit.

 

To help achieve that goal I have opted to drink more tea. I have always been a tea drinker but now I drink more green, white and oolong teas. It is a very simple change or addition to your daily routine.

Besides that you get a great deal of other health benefits:

- Medical studies have shown that green and oolong teas help increase metabolism, helps burn calories, and aids in lower fat absorption.

1. Tea contains high levels of antioxidants, some of which are called polyphenols, flavonoids, and catechins, and all of which take on the “free radicals” in the body and prevent them from harming the healthy cells on board.

 

- Tea contains flouride which benefits your teeth and has bacteria killing properties which helps control bad breath and the formation of plaque.

 

• Higher quality teas, such as loose teas, have more catechin antioxidants than lower quality teas (bagged tea).

• White tea has more antioxidants than any other tea.

• Green tea has more catechin antioxidants than black tea since black tea goes through more processing.

• Freshly brewed teas have more polyphenol antioxidants than instant or bottled teas.

 

- Oolong tea may prevent the onset of some neuro diseases such as Parkinson’s disease

- Polyphenols found in loose Oolong tea also prevent inflammation and it has anti-allergy compounds

- Tea also aids in depression that it can activate your dopamine happy hormones.

Next month a selection of some of the recent studies that boast health benefits of teas.

Don’t forget to check out the new flavors of teas from Sempre Sapori. Real whole leaf teas, the same teas served at the villa at The Basic Art of Italian Cooking School at tea time. The teas will soon be available online..

 

SUMMER IN ITALY RECIPE CONTEST..

THE BASIC ART OF ITALIAN COOKING BY MARIA LIBERATI

& LA CUCINA ITALIANA MAGAZINE

Win a free subscription to La Cucina Italiana Magazine & your recipe printed in the Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm ezine.

Give us your best summer recipe. Do you love to barbecue, grill, preserve fresh produce, make summer salads or fresh fruit preserves or anything that uses fresh fruits or vegetables in season during the summer months of May, June, July & August. Send us your best recipe and you could win a subscription to La Cucina Italiana Magazine-each issue filled with recipes from Italy but in English.

Qualifications & Rules : Summer in Italy Recipe Contest!
Recipes must be original and should contain either fresh fruits or vegetables , herbs that are in season during May, June, July & August. We are looking for recipes that promote locally grown produce.

*No processed ingredients, no corn syrup, lard, margarine allowed in recipes and recipes containing these will be eliminated.

*By emailing or mailing your recipe you give all rights to the Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm and art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc for any reprints or publishing in print or electronically. The recipe(s) may be reprinted without any permission or monetary compensation to the sender.

Deadline: recipes must be postmarked or emailed no later than June 1^st 2009. Winners will be selected by staff of the Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm and all winners are final. Winner wins a year subscription to La Cucina Italiana Magazine and their recipe will be featured in an issue of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm ezine .

This contest void where prohibited by law. The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm is not responsible for any lost mail, emails, any omissions or guarantee of receipt of subscription of La Cucina Italiana magazine. La Cucian Italiana Magazine is responsible for winning prize of annual subscription and winenr must correspond with :La Cucina Italiana Magazine if any delays I nreceivign subscriptions. The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati, Art of Living, PrimaMedia,Inc is not responsible for issuing the subscription to the magazine and can not be held responsible.

Where to send recipes:
Email recipe, name ,address ,phone number & email to us at:
recipecontest@marialiberati.com

Mail recipe(s) to: Place recipe on 3x 5 card, include recipe, name, address ,phone and email (if you have one) to:
Recipe Contest, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm, 292 Main St, Unit 291, Harleysville, Pa 19438

Recipe must be legible or will be automatically elimiinated if not legible

BUONA FORTUNA ( Good Luck!)

 

FEATURED PRODUCTS & SPECIAL OFFERS

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking™ makes a terrific gift, any time of year.

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking™ is full of good food, but by purchasing it you’ll do more than expand your cooking skills. Proceeds from the cookbook benefit Gilda’s Club, an organization dedicating to supporting victims of cancer, and their families.

Get a copy of the bestselling book at http://www.marialiberati.com/

or http://stores.lulu.com/marialiberati

 

 

Sempre Sapori -the first product originally by The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm includes flavors from all over the world. Tuscan Picnic was developed by Maria Liberati so that anyone from non-experienced to experienced chef could make a Tuscan style meal in a minute. Tuscan Picnic captures all the flavors of Tuscany as developed by Maris Liberati from her cooking programs in the Tuscan region and always incldues a recipe booklet to make Tuscan meals. Makes a great gift for the Holidays also. Spices are all natural and can be ordered in a special gift pack for the Holidays. Go to : http://www.marialiberati.com/ to order yours now. Free samples provided with every order.

 

 

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Keep up with The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm also at

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Find recipes and more…

 

 

 

See you next month

March/April issue will contain video segments of the cooking school and the villa that houses it as well as other features and recipes.!

 

 

I have been blogging about it  for a few weeks in anticipation of  this beautiful ,colorful event. If you can’t be there in Venice, you can watch..take a look at what you missed

(taken from my twitter.com blog)

 Latest: Carnevale in Venice  http://tinyurl.com/demsvw

 sweet treats for Carnevale in Venice http://tinyurl.com/d4fgm6

Bring some flavors of Carnevale into your kitchen.

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm Cooking School is on the road and we will be at

Feb 18-Whole Foods, Marlton, NJ- 6 PM for a book signing and cooking class-Pasta & Sauces
Feb 19th- Whole Foods in Philadelphia, Pa at 6 PM for a book signing and Cooking Class.

Cooking on a Budget from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking will include a 4 course authentic Italian meal

For more info or to register, email events@marialiberati.com or call Sue at 215-660-5045

Join me Sept 23-Oct 6th and The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm cooking school in Italy at the villa in the hills of Umbria. Spend 6 nights ,7 days in the villa, join em for cooking classes, local winery tours and tastings, local olive oil mills,sightessing and La Dolce Vita relaxing at the villa by poolside or in the courtyard enjoying a meal from the  wood burning oven. All meals included and transport to and from the Rome Fiumicino airport.  Email events@marialiberati.com for more info. Only 12 spots are available. Hope to see you at the villa!!

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

http://marialiberati.blogster.com

http://vinovidivici.today.com

Maria

 Have been blogging about  upcoming Carnevale and Venice in most of my posts in the past few weeks. But if you want to pick your wines for Valentines’ Day dinner- Venice also has some great wines to choose from.

Discover the wines of Venice here:

http://www.trifter.com/Europe/Italy/How-to-Discover-Wines-in-Venice-Italy.210287

Join Me Sunday, Febraury 8th at 2 PM at Jenkintown, WHole Foods Market at 2PM for a book singing and Cooking class. The class will be a 4 course authentic Italian Valentine’s Day Dinner. Recipes and samples will be included. To register for this event call the store at 215-481-0707

For your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking go to http://www.marialiberati.com

http://mariaandcom.blogspot.com

http://marialiberati.blogster.com

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

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

Halloween, Mardi Gras where did it all come from- from Venice of course. Well the Romans had a type of Carnevale that they celebrated and the Venetians made it famous…  wherever the Holiday started the most important thing is the treats that are made during Carnevale….

As promised here are more highlights from my short visit to Venice. If you are not able to visit in person, you can  bring a taste of Venice into your kitchen. My first  blog post at http://marialiberati.com/blog2/?p=486 contained recipes for local favorites there. 

For tips on visitng Venice go to http://tinyurl.com/6sj6dg

Here is another special  recipe for a typical sweet  treat and more on Carnevale http://tinyurl.com/8bzrvp

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

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

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

Our short trip to Venice was enough inspiration for many delicious Venetian treats. Carnevale is in the air and many are anxiously awaiting it’s arrival.  The brightly colored masks are beautiful and some of  the costumes are so authentic to the time of Casanova..But besides the beauty of the masks and the costumes there is a meaning behind the tradition of wearing the costumes & the masks. When a mask and costume were worn no one knew your true identity..in so much as no one knew if you were rich or poor of nobility or not. And for this, the tradition of wearing of the mask and costumes grew ever so popular.  

Carnevale brings to mind the beauty of the masks and the tradition behind wearing of the masks as well as the sweets and traditional foods that Venice has to offer..You knew I had to somehow tie in food with this..but in Italy everythig nis somehow related to food..

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking kitchen here in Italy will be working on some of the recipes we were inspired by in Venice. Sweets to first courses to appetizers.  Our recipes this week will be:
Baicoli..a traditonal sweet biscuit made with Marsala wine

Risi e Bisi..a traditional dish from Venice but famous all over Italy (it means rice and peas)

Cicchetti..traditional appetizers served at happy hour at coffee bars in Venice. Cicchetti is realy a word that comes from Venice and means appetizers or snacks which are sometimes known in the rest of  Italy as ’stuzzichini’

These traditional recipes will give you a chance to experience Venice from your own kitchen, wherever that is. But if you do get a chance to visit Venice, here are some sightseeign tips we came up with:

http://www.trifter.com/Europe/Italy/Sightseeing-Tips-for-Your-Venice-Trip.275877

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

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

 

Today will be another day in the US, but for most children in Italy it marks the last day of the Christmas Holidays. The day the good witch known as ‘La Befana’(taken from the word Epiphania or Epiphany) leaves caramelle (candies) and toys in their stockings if they were good,if they were bad they can be sure to receive a stocking full of ‘carbone’ or coal.

Although, in the US the Christmas trees have been put away and decorations are just a memory, in Italy they still linger ,Christmas music is sitll playing ,stores still offer  Christmas wrapping and plenty of Holiday treats still abound in mnay homes.. at least for one more day ..today, January 6th, the Epiphany.

But for me here it is a day trying to decide which celebration to go to..for instance in Venice there is always the La Befana Regatta..The men dress up in La befana costumes-complete with red lipstick and wigs- and compete in their small boats. after the race, they hand out little candies to the crowds of people and hot wine and sweets are served ,there is usually a concert by a local choir..

Then in Rome, Piazza Navona concludes it’s final day of the Christmas market.  Both ‘La Befana’ and Santa Claus are walking around and available for photo taking. Stockings filled with candies and  toys can be purchased as well as nativity scenes, la befana dolls, flying  la befana’s  (on a broomstick),candies, roasted nuts and more..

In the small towns nearby the piazzas all have their own little celebrations…

I have already attended many a La Befana Regatta in Venice and Christmas market in Piazza Navona in Rome.. I think this year I will opt for something quieter since both of those events have grown into ‘touristy’ attractions. 

I am opting to do a dinner .. since we have many  recipes we have been working on at The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Kitchen here in Abruzzo.Here are some recipes you can try also and no matter what age you are you can still have your own La Befana Celebration at home with some of these recipes for dinner, a Prosecco to accompany dinner or even a sparkiling red wine that is festive -Bracchetto D’Acqui.

Here is more info on La Befana Celebrations

http://marialiberati.com/blog2/

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/17784/la_befana_italys_good_witch_rules_italian.html

Some Special Recipes we have been working on at The Basic Art of Italian Cooking kitchen:

Mille Feuilles & Sapori

 

*3 cups Grana Padano cheese

*1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

*2 cups fresh or frozen peas

*2 potatoes (cut into small cubes)

*2 tsps Sempre Sapori spice blend (Tuscan picnic flavor)

*1 scallion minced

*1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock

*1 clove garlic

*extra virgin olive oil

 

Place dried mushrooms in a small bowl and pour 1 cup of water on top. Let sit for 30 minutes.In center of non-stick, hot pan, melt a tablespoon of grated grana padano cheese over low heat. As cheese melts it becomes a wafer. Before it browns, transfer to flat plate and allow to cool. Repeaat and make 16 wafers. Place 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in saute pan, warm and place in chopped scallion and cubed potatoes. Saute till till golden. Add in broth and fresh or frozen peas. When mixture begins to boil, remove from heat. Place in food processor. Transfer t omixing bowl and fold in Sapori spice blend.

Place 1 tblsp of extra virgin olive oil in saute pan and warm, place in whole garlic clove and drained mushrooms. Add a pinch of salt. Saute for 5 minutes abd remnove from heat.

 

Prepare dish by alternating layers of cheese wafers with mushrooms and puree. Top with puree. Decorate plate with sprig of fresh rosemary.

 

Walnut, Pomegranate ,Gruyere salad

*4 handfuls mixed salad greens (arugula, romaine,baby spinach)

*1 lb gruyere cheese

*2 hard boiled eggs

*3 tblsps extra virgin oilve oil

*4 tblsps shelled walnuts

*2 tsps Sempre Sapori spice blend (Tuscan Picnic flavor)

*2 tblsps pomegranate seeds

 

Wash, dry salad greeens. Slice cheese int overy thin,transparent slices. Boil eggs for 8 minutes, peel and chop. Fold cheese, eggs, walnuts,pomegranate seeds into salad in a large bowl.

In small bowl whisk together lemon juice, 3 tblsps extra virgin olive oil, Sapori. Pour over salad, toss and serve.

 

Buona La befana!
Stay tuned for our video blogs and recipes from my upcoming visits to parts of Umbria Italy..Borgo Fontanile and La Veranda farm  resorts there as well as some sights from some medieval cities there!

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

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene

Maria

copyright, 2008, Maria Liberati

Editor-Michaela Pompeo 

It only figures that the Italians would invent a Holiday to honor their most revered of foods..PASTA..So one of my favorite Holidays has become World Pasta Day. This year it is on October 25th. In honor of this  being one of my favorite holidays and a day set aside to worship one of my favorite foods I will be highlighting some facts from some of the Pasta conferences (yes that is right conferences on pasta!!) that I have attended in Italy and of course some recipes too!

If you have ever been to Venice or want to experience Venice in your own kitchen, here is a local pasta recipe that originated in Venice, it is interesting and certainly different than the regular pasta with a tomato and parmigiano cheese topping. Try this and  get a taste of Venice in your own kitchen.  Oh.. and by the way if you can’t find  Bigoli pasta- although some gourmet stores may carry them, try a perciatelli or thicker spaghetti instead.

As everybody knows, there are many different types of pasta, enough to allow a great variety to Italian daily meals.

Bigoli, (in Venetian dialect they are called bigoi), is one of them: they look like spaghetti, long and thin, but they are empty inside. Their diameter is 2-3 millimetres and they are about 20-25 millimetres long. There is a special machine that makes a long ‘hole’ inside them. They are typical of the whole Veneto region and they are especially eaten with a fish-based sauce (in salsa as the name of the recipe says) during the period of Lent. For Catholics, to keep Lent meant in the past to fast every Friday. Nowadays, it means not to eat any kind of meat on Fridays. That’s why fish is used instead. And no wonder that, since Veneto looks on to the sea (let alone Venice!), fish is something always present in its cuisine.

Apart from the traditional in salsa they can be served with many kinds of sauces. The ones prepared in Vicenza, for example, in duck sauce (bigoi co l’arna= bigoli con sugo d’anatra), are very famous. The dough is made with flour, butter, eggs and milk. These last two ingredients have been added quite recently to make the dough softer; of course in the past, when milk and eggs were expensive, they made it with only flour and some butter.

A variety of bigoli is the ‘black one’ (bigoi neri). To give them their black colour there are two ways: either you use whole wheat flour in the preparation of the dough (in this case the colour is really brownish, rather than black) or you add nero di sepia (= sepia): black indeed!!!!

So, if you want to prepare delicious bigoi in salsa, this is what you have to do (first you’ll have to buy a packet of them! Impossible to make them at home because you would need a special tool to make the hole inside them!):

 

Ingredients:

1 onion

1 clover of garlic

4 or 5 salted anchovies

2 or 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

pepper to taste.

 

Chop the onion and garlic very finely. Put the oil in a frying pan and when it starts boiling throw the chopped onion and garlic and immediately lower the heat. On a very gentle heat let them cook for about half an hour, so that they can soften without burning. In the meantime, bone the anchovies and rinse them thoroughly under running water so that they will lose most of their ‘too salty’ taste. Add them to the onion and garlic in the frying pan and, with the help of a fork, press them till they almost ‘melt’ into the sauce. Cook for about 5 minutes: the sauce should look brownish in colour and its taste should be a balanced mixture of salty (from the anchovies) and sweet (from the onion).

Cook bigoli in abundant salty boiling water and strain them. Add the sauce, some pepper and serve very hot.

 

“Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene”

Maria

For more great recipes get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com or now available as an ebook at http://http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=3101829

 

I am going to be hosting a culinary cruise throughout the Mediterranean in April ‘09- leaving from Venice on April 26th and traveling to Dubrovnik, Greece, Istanbul and Bari, Italy.  Before the cruise departs, I will be hosting a luncheon and wine tasting at one of my favorite restaurants in Venice (name to be announced) for cruise attendees.

 In anticipation of this event I am going to give you a taste of some of the traditonal recipes from Venice.  We will be making some of these recipes on baord during the culinary lessons.

The first traditional tase of Venice I would like to leave you with is a dish known as Rise e Bisi or Rice and Peas. This recipe is the traditional recipe to come out of Venice. I prefer to make mine with a lighter,vegetable broth.

Oh.. and while you are making this recipe if you are thinking about coming on the culinary cruise with me for more culinary lessons and wine tastings, send us an email to:
events@marialiberati.com

and we will email you all the info.Hope to see you there!!

Risi e Bisi

copyright, 2008. Maria Liberati

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm

Editor: Michela Pompeo

It’s difficult to define what kind of dish this is: is it minestra (= kind of soup) or risotto (= rice dish)? Probably a mixture of the two. What is certain is that since the 16^th century ‘Risi e bisi’ has become a typical Venetian dish, especially prepared for 25^th April, day of St Mark, patron saint of Venice.

The preparation is rather long because in order to cook rice, you’ll have to make meat broth before, and this takes a while.

 

Ingredients (for the meat broth):

1 lb beef

1 lb veal

1 lb chicken

1 onion

1 carrot

a stick of celery

1 tomato

some cloves

1 bay leaf

salt

pepper

 

Put the meat in a pot filled with abundant cold water and add a generous pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat and when water stats boiling add the onion (into which you will have inserted some cloves), carrot, celery, tomato, bay leaf, pepper. Boil moderately for about an hour and a half skimming regularly with a slotted spoon. Take then the meat out and filter the broth. When it is cold and it has formed a layer of fat on the surface, take it away with a wooden paddle.

 

Now that you have the broth you can prepare risi e bisi:

 

Ingredients:

1 lb  rice ( arborio or carnaroli)

1 lb very fine and small peas

2 ounces bacon cut into small cubes

1 onion finely chopped

1 tblsp butter

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (grated)

salt to taste

a handful of chopped parsley

meat broth (it’s impossible to give exact quantities here, but you’ll need a liter of broth, more or less; it depends on the quality of the rice you use: meaning how much liquid the rice will absorb…)

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

 

Ciao for now,

Maria

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