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, Art of Living, PrimaMedia,Inc./ Maria Liberati

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today as I finished up a panel discussion at the Chestnut Hill Book Festival in Chestnut Hill, Pa on writing  your own cookbook (with  noted cookbook writers’ ) someone in the audience came up to thank me for noting that cookbook writing and cooking should be a passion.  But he also put it more succinctly…… that cooking and eating a meal should be more than just putting ingredients together..it should be an experience no matter how simple!
Think of  eating a meal as an experience..an experience to try a new food  or a new flavor combination. It can be a simple dish..bruschetta with fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella..a truly delicious experience of  true flavors! An fun experience to lift up your spirits..to give you something to look forward to at the end of the day!

Here are some great recipes to experience:

Zucchini Parmigiana Frittata

*6 eggs

*2 small zucchini, chopped

*4 tblsps of olive oil

*4 tblsps of parmigiana-reggiano cheese grated

*handful of fresh parsley finely chopped

*salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in saute pan. Place in chopped zucchini. Saute for 5 minuts. Break eggs in a bowl. wisk with a wire whisk, place in chopped parsley, grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese wisk together. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Place in saute pan with zucchini. When all sides are dryu and top does not have runny liquid, flip over with a plate on top and place back in sauce pan. Brown on that side, take out of pan and slice and serve.

Panzanella (tuscan bread salad)

*4 slices of thick crusty bread

*1/2 cup  extra virgin olive oil

*4 plum tonatoes chopped

*1 cucumber peeled and chopped

*1/2 red onion peeled and chopped

*handful of fresh basil leaves chopped

Tear bread slices and place in bowl with chopped cucumber and chopped onion. In  small bowl whisk together olive oil and red wine vinegar. Pour over bread and salad and let marinade for 30 minutes.

Then place in tomatoes, and toss, top with chopped basil leaves and serve.

Hope to see you at the upcoming The Basic Art of Italian Cooking events at:
July 16th- Annapolis, MD- Whole Foods Market, Annapolis Culinary Center, 7 PM- A Tuscan Picnic cooking demo and book signing. Call store for info or email events@marialiberati.com

July 18th- Fair Lakes/Fairfax, Va., Whole Foods Market, A Tuscan Picnic  and Wine Pairing, 1PM. Call store for info or email:events@marialiberati.com

July 31st-August 2nd ,Atlantic City Wine and Food Festival. Email:events@marialiberati.com

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

http://twitter.com/marialiberati

http://mariandco.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Your email:

 

Nothing epitomizes summer more than a picnic or barbecue on July 4th. Here’s some healthy and fun ideas to make yours

For healthy  Holiday dish for the grill this weekend here’s one of my favorite salad recipes..easy to make..quick..healthy and it includes some grilled veggies…

A recipe for a simple, refreshing Greek salad on hot summer days. Try grilling the tomatoes and red onion slices for some added flavor to this classic summer salad.

Grilled Greek Salad

You will need:

1 large beefsteak tomato cut into 1/2″ slices

1 large red onion cut into 1/2″ slices

1 cucumber split lengthwise, deseeded and cut into 1/4″ slices

1 cup pitted kalamata olives

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 head romaine lettuce

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper

Instructions:

Brush the tomato and onion slices with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a hot grill and cook for one and a half minutes per side to achieve grill marks. Cut the slices in half and set aside while you assemble the dressing.

Fruit Skewers are a fun idea and healthy as well:

Makea patriotic dessert with strawberries, watermelon, blueberries, banana slices and cherries. Alternate fruit pieces on skewers in ed white and blue colors and serve fresh!

Refreshments:
Serve freshly squeezed lemonade over fresh strawnberries.

Serve freshly brewed iced tea with fresh orange slices and fresh mint leaves.

Cold  Pasta Salads;

Toss cold pasta with red and green peppers, cherry tomtaoes, yellow or green zucchini, chopped red onion to add a rainbow of color.

Grilled veggies:

Cut up fresh veggies, marinate in a dressing made up of 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, fresh parsley and minced garlic. Marinate for 10 minutes, plae sliced veggies on skewers and grill till tender.

Hope to see you at one of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking School events:
Thursday, July 9th- Whole Foods Market, 6:15 PM- The Basic Art of Italian Cooking presents The Outdor Kitchen with Celebrity Chef Maria Liberati, Recipes for the picnic and the beach all tasty, fun and easy. Samples and recieps provided. Call store at 215-481-0800  to register or for more info or email events@marialiberati.com

July 11th-Chestnut Hill book festival book signing and cookbook panel -2 PM at Magarity’s on Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill. For mroe info email:events@marialiberati.com

July 16th- Whole Foods Market Culinary Center, Annapolis Maryland, 7  PM  for more info call store or email events@marialiberati.com

July 18th- Whole Foods market, Fairfax Virginia, Tuscan Picnic and Wine Pairing at 1:30. Call store to register or email events@marialiberati.com

July 30-August 2nd- Atlantic City Food & Wine Show, Bally’s Casino for info email: events@marialiberati.com

For your copy of the bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking go to www.marialiberati.com

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copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

Summer should be filled with delicious, uncomplicated foods…….

Although food always evokes some kind of memory, the warm beautiful summer sun that shone briefly today, took me away (if only for a brief moment ) to  my thoughts of  hiking in the mountains of Abruzzo, the warm summer sun beating down on you, the fresh summer air..the only thing missing is the view from the top….you know I can stand there when I get to the top and look down. Serene and quiet and peaceful where I am at the top but yet I can look down on the busy traffic and the town below me.. and still enjoy the peaceful quiet at the top where I am..

Once at the most serene spot, we take a break for lunch and eat our fresh pannini sandwiches made with fresh mozzarella ,fresh tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil…

Wherever you are spending your summer..make sure you get to enjoy it ..if even for a weekend..a week or whatever you can spare..get to the top of  a mountain the beach..even your backyard and don’t forget to take along something special to eat..a piece of fresh summer fruit..a freshly made pannini..delicious..not complicated..

After all, it is easy to make delicious and uncomplicatd things with the fresh produce Mother Nature gives us in the summer.

One of my favorite things to make in the summer is simple Pizza Margherita using fresh tomatoes and fresh basil and it’s  great hot, warm or even cold for a picnic lunch..or bring it to the office and pretend you are on a picnic.

Pizza Margherita

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lb. tomatoes, crushed

1/2 tsp. salt

Enough dough to make a pizza pie about 12″ around and roughly 1/8 – ¼ inches thick (most bread machines have a pizza dough setting).

6 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded

6 fresh basil leaves cut into julienne strips

extra virgin olive oil

1. Let olive oil, tomatoes, and salt marinate in bowl while making the dough.

2. Flatten dough out with hands and lightly rub with some olive oil. Remember to flatten the dough evenly and thinly to ensure it will rise appropriately

3. Turn the edges of the dough up slightly and top with tomatoes and mozzarella, then sprinkle some olive oil on top.

4. Preheat oven to 450F and bake on pizza stone (clay stone) for about 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

5. Top pizza with basil leaves after removing it from the oven.

6. Allow pizza to cool, then cut into slices and enjoy.

Join me on July 9th at WHole foods Market, Jenkintown, Pa for the Outdoor Kitchen.  Recipes from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking for the  beach or a picnic. Samples and recipes provided. Call store at 215-481-0800 or email events@marialiberati.com

July 11th- Book signing of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at the Chestnut  Hill Book Festival in Chestnut Hill, Pa.

July 16th, Whole Foods Market, Annapolis ,Maryland, Picnic in Tuscany cooking Demo. Email events@marialiberati.com for more info

July 18th- Whole FoodsMarket, Fairfax, Virginia, Picnic in Tuscany and wine pairing. Call store or email events@marialiberati.com

Mangia bene, Vivi Bene

http://twitter.com/Marialiberati

 copyright, 2009, Maria Liberati

Editor: Kate Hollinger

Umbrian olives have been known as the best olives in Italy since ancient Roman times. Even today, Umbrian olives are notorious for making olive oil with an amazing potent flavor and digestive qualities and nutritional values to boot. The recipes for olive oil have been passed down through generations of Umbrian farmers, starting with the Romans and Etruscans. The region of Umbria is perched on a pyramid of hills 380 to 600 meters above sea level, which is surrounded by miles of olive groves. These olives come from the slopes of Apennine where the shoots are located, facing west.

 

Extra virgin olive oil is obtained by chilling the olives that are found in the foothills of Umbria and these are picked annually and entirely by hand. This process, known as pruning, involves the farmer climbing a ladder and picking the olives from the trees, working from the top down. The picking, transportation, washing and milling processes are all done so that they maintain the characteristics of the century-old olive oil.

 

Olive oil types are distinguished by their acidity level, and they are broken down into four categories. The extra virgin is the highest grade you can find and therefore the most popular, and has an acidity level of less than 1%. Virgin olive oil has a flavor that is more inconspicuous and a higher acidity, usually around 1.5 to 2%. Semi-fine is a blend of the two and has an acidity of 3% per 100 mL of oil. Finally, pure olive oil has a very modest flavor, color, and style and doesn’t overpower your dish.

 

Extra virgin olive oil, which is most prominent in Umbria, has an intense green color, a soft olive scent, and very rich, full flavors. It is best used for dipping uncooked breads in and flavoring soups, vegetables, salads, meat, and fish. To keep the product at its best, you should store it in a closed container in a cool environment away from direct sunlight. In some parts of Italy farmers even press small amounts of olives for the oil with fresh citrus fruit.

Check out the new Recipes and Articles page with lots more recipes and articles for you. Check back often, we are always updating with more articles. Go to Recipes & Articles

 Experience Italy Cooking School & Tour- if you want to see first hand the olive oil making process in Umbria, join me September 23-Oct 6th for a 7 day ,6 night stay at the villa that houses The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm Cooking School in Italy. Join me for a hands on authentic Italian cooking classes, visits to local oilve oil mills and vineyards, local excursions and La Dolce Vita lifestyle at the villa nestled in the hills of  Umbria.  Participation is limited. Register with deposit by May 1st and receive a $200 discount. Go to Cooking School in Italy for photos, itinerary, prices and more or call Sue at 1-800-581-9020

 

Thanks to all who have come out to The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm Cooking School programs at Whole Foods Markets in your area for the month of Febraury.  If there is a Whole Foods  Market in your area, ask for the next The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm Cooking School Program and book signings. Go to http://www.marialiberati.com for upcoming dates

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

A special thanks to everyone that came out to my book signing and ‘Holiday Dinner in Tuscany’ event at Whole Foods Market last night. It is always so nice to see familiar faces and great to meet new ones and hear how you are using the recipes in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking. There is another event coming up at a Whole Foods on November 8th….if you go to http://www.upcoming.org/ you will find it posted there, or email us at events@marialiberati.com

I was beginning to feel as if  I was the only person in the US celebrating World Pasta Day, but since beginning my blogs on World Pasta Day I have been flooded with emails from companies and people all over the world doing something special for World Pasta day.

For all of my friends in the San Francisco area if you are in or near the San Francsico, California area.Fuzio Universal Bistro, a ten year old San Francisco based restaurant company that made its mark in the industry by putting global toppings on all different forms of pasta (www.fuzio.com), is celebrating World Pasta Day with a high-end pasta giveaway.
In honor of World Pasta Day, Fuzio is giving Americans some “economic relief” with free macaroni & cheese. Every entree ordered at Fuzio on October 25th nets a free macaroni & cheese (a $6.95 value). Fuzio makes its macaroni & cheese with black forest ham and three cheeses – cambazola, sharp cheddar and parmesan. In these tough economic times when many restaurants are watching food costs, Fuzio is giving away a high quality, high value menu item (you don’t see that much these days).
World Pasta Day is celebrated at all of Fuzio’s ten locations - http://www.fuzio.com/location.html .

This  year’s celebration is the eleventh celebration of World Pasta Day — always on October 25th.
  The celebration is organized by the International Pasta
 Organization (IPO), an association of pasta manufacturers around the
 world.  (see www.internationalpasta.org for more information). This year’s event will be held in Istanbul and will also incldue, as it does every year, a scientific colloqium on the benefits of eating pasta.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog it will contain more info on World Pasta Day.  Here is another recipe to celebrate with using one of my favorites….orzo…….

ORZOTTO GAMBERETTI E CAVOLFIORE (orzo pasta, shrimp & cauliflower)

copyright, 2007,2008, Maria Liberati

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking

½ lb orzo pasta

1/2 lb cauliflower-cleaned, cut into florets and steamed

½ lb shrimp

1 pouch of saffron

2 scallions

3 tblsps extra virgin olive oil

Vegetable broth

Parmigiano-reggiano

1/ cup dry white wine

Fresh parsley

Place 2 tablespoons olive oil in sauté pan Chop scallions finely. Heat oil and place in scallions. Saute till they begin to turn golden. Add in ½ of teamed broccoli, uncooked orzo pasta to toast, stir with wooden spoon Pour in white wine let liquid evaporate. Then add in 1 cup vegetable broth and stir with wooden spoon. Using the same technique as cooking risotto, add in ½ cup of vegetable broth when liquid evaporates and repeat until orzo is al ‘dente’ (following cooking time directions on orzo package). Five minutes before cooking time is up- add in remaining steamed cauliflower, steamed, cleaned shrimp, packet of saffron. Stir until saffron is well blended in.

When finished cooking, remove from heat. Place 1 tsp butter on top, stir in. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese, and finely chopped parsley. Stir. Let sit one minute before serving. For serving idea, serve in small glasses. Top with one whole shrimp and a cauliflower floret for decoration

Serve with a Spumante rose wine..

“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 for my  Holiday book on the Feast of the Seven Fishes go to  http://stores.lulu.com/marialiberati