Innamorata

copyright, 2010, Maria Liberati

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

I am in love with the wind… it caresses me

I am in love with life… it makes me laugh

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

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

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

Torta Di Pere

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

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

5 dried dates chopped

2 tablespoons of Cognac

2 tblsps of unsalted butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 -1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 egg yolks

3 egg whites beaten or whisked till firm

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

For decoration

1 fresh pear ,peeled and sliced thinly

1 tablespoon butter melted

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons of pear or apple jelly

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

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

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

Visit me at OpenSky

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

copyright 2010, Maria Liberati

I think we should make the ‘Day after Valentine’s Day’ a  Day to celebrate!! … boxes of chocolates are still there to be enjoyed.. half opened bottle of  Prosecco still in the fridge waiting to be finished..so there… you have  some of the makings for one special meal-Prosecco and chocolates.

So celebrate..the “Day after Valentines’ Day” ..as a special Occasion.. Tonight’s meal is Farfalle with Gorgonzola cheese served  with Prosecco (left over from last night’s dinner) and chocolates for dessert..and to keep things warm..and light- chocolate truffle coffee for an after dinner drink.

Farfalle (bow tie pasta) in Gorgonzola

Copyright 2009-2010 from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards

4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese

1 tablespoon +  ½  tblsp butter

3 tablespoons cold milk

1 lb of farfalle (bow tie) pasta

4 tblsps of  pasta cooking water

Place gorgonzola in saucepan with butter and milk, melt over low to medium heat. Add in pasta cooking water to thin sauce. Cook farfalle till al dente. Toss pasta  in Gorgonzola sauce. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley. Serve with a glass of  Santa Margherita Prosecco.

For more recipes and menus to make any day a Special Occasions

visit me at OpenSky

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

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

Hope you enjoy our continuing posting of  yummy Holiday recipes. Share your favorite Holiday recipe with us here or email to us at editor@marialiberati.com

 Here is the perfect main course for one of your Holiday meals, thanks to Fred Cohen of J & A Culinary Arts School in Philadelphia, the recipes use   Sempre Sapori-Tuscan Picnic  Spice Blend,all natural spices with Tuscan flavors, that  I developed in Tuscany, you can still get them for the Holidays here    and enjoy our Holiday Gift Guide, products that were selected by our staff for their exceptional artisan quality and for the experience  they provide consumers. Find a special coupon offer for the open sky store on the last page!

Holiday Gift Guide 2009

Tuscan Roasted Chicken with Savory Herb Bread Pudding and Buttered Cauliflower

*Bread Pudding*:
Serves 6:
One large crusty loaf bread (crust removed)
1 t Sage leaves chiffonade
1 T chopped parsley
2 t chopped chive
1 egg yolk
3 oz chicken stock
1 oz heavy cream
1-2 oz milk
2 t Tuscan spice mix

*Tuscan Spiced Chicken*:
2 Cornish Hens, halved, serves  2 – 4:
2 oz butter
1 T Tuscan Spice Blend

*Procedure*:
-Remove the crust from the bread and cut into small dice. Place into a deep
dish container. Combine remaining ingredients to form a creamy batter. If
batter seems too thick, thin it down with a little bit of water, stock, or
milk to reach a creamy but not heavy consistency. Place mixture over the
bread and mix well. Allow to soak for 1 – 2 hours.
-In the mean time, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
-Create a compound butter by mixing the spice mixture into raw butter. Smear
the mixture over and under the skin of the Cornish hens.
-Place the chicken onto a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 35 – 40
minutes.
-Pack the bread pudding into ramekins that have been lightly sprayed and
bake for 20 – 30 minutes, depending on how brown you want it to be.
-To plate, take the bread pudding out of the ramekin and center it in the
middle of the plate. Lay the chicken on the side and on the opposite side,
lay some buttered cauliflower. Drizzle some parsley oil (or any oil of your
choosing) onto the side of the plate.

UPCOMING EVENTS

See you on Saturday December 12th in Somerset NJ at the Franklin Township library at 2 PM.. Cooking demo and book signing will feature my latest relaese The Basic Art of  Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions- winner of The Best Italian Cuisine Book of 2009 from Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

http://twitter.com/Marialiberati

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

Special gifts are sometimes the simplest things… At The Basic Art of ItalianCooking  by Maria Liberati tm we are getting ready to release our Holiday Guide of 2009 with some fantastic gift ideas.

I do  enjoy material gifts, but  I am so enamored with gifts that can’t be wrapped up in a package.. There are so many special gifts that come to mind that I could never put a price on and everyone has those gifts that are not appreciated enough for those are the gifts that are the real treasures..the gifts that we are not thankful enough for..Think about it…

In one of my online chats with my significant other yesterday   evening…while he was in Rome, he emailed  me a photo of a colorful sunset in Rome he experienced that day and he told me how much he wished I was there to see it.. and I wished I was there so much to see it as well. But the photo really brightened up my evening..just imagining myself  being in Rome to see another beautiful sunset there..with this photo..if only for a minute I could take myself there.. this photo and thought was my favorite gift of  the day… I have included it here to share with you.

A purchased gift is a nice thought as well, but remember all the gifts you have all throughout the day.

As we are getting ready for the Holiday  Gift Guide we have gotten to work with many an exceptional olive oil in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking kitchen. Here is a recipe  that put the olive oil to good use:

ORZO e GAMBERETTI (orzo pasta and shrimp)
(from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:Holidays &Special Occasions

½ lb orzo pasta

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

½ lb shrimp

1 pouch of saffron

2 scallions

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, cold pressed

Vegetable broth

1/2  cup dry white wine or sparkling white like Franciacorta

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 spoonPour in white wine let liquid evaporate. Then add in 1 cup vegetable broth and stir with wooden spoon. Uisng 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 broccoli, 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 finely chopped parsley. Stir. Let sit one minute before serving. For serving idea, serve in small glasses. Top with one whole shrimp and a broccoli floret for decoration

Serve with Franciacorta white wine.

 Get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking : Holidys & Special Occasions   just in time for the Holidays with over 140 recipes ,wine pairing tips, menus and more.

Hope to see you at my upcoming book events/ cooking demos/ tastings at:
December 9th-Girls Night Out- Chestnut Hill Business Association, Chestnut Hill, Pa

December 12th- Franklin Twp Library, Franklin Twp, NJ at 2 PM

To schedule a cooking class , wine pairing event or  a culinary tour  in the US or Italy with The Basic Art of Italian Cooking  by Maria Liberati tm  email us at events@marialiberati.com

For more appearances and upcoming events go to http://marialiberati.com

“L’appetito vien mangiando”

Maria

http://twitter.com/Marialiberati

copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

Holidays are almost here and at The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Kitchen we are up to ‘our ears’ in new and interesting and great product submissions for our Holiday Guft Guide..coming soon in the next The Basic Art of Italian Cooking byMaria Liberati tm ezine  that  you will recieve in late November/early December and here on the blog.  It is really a lot of work but my staff is great in helping me select from 100’s of great products. This year’s selected products will get to display a seal showing that they were specially selected or voted best of the Holiday Gift Guide.

Stay tuned for more on some great products you may want to consider as a unique gift for that special foodie or traveler or all around bon vivant in your life.

Here is a Holiday recipe from my latest book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:Holidays &Special Occasions  SEE  BELOW

Wild Mushroom Risotto

(for 2 people)

*1 cup rice for risotto

*1 cup dry Prosecco

*4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

*1 slice onion-chopped

*2 tblsps extra virgin oilve oil

*2 tsps butter

*4 tsps grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese

*2 ounces dried wild mushrooms

Place mushrooms in small dish, pour in ½ cup warm water, soak for 15 minutes. Heat broth till hot. In saute pan, place in olive oil and chopped onion, place in rice and toast for 30 seconds, then pour in Prosecco. When liquid is absorbed, pour in ¾ cup broth, stir, and when liquid is absorbed repeat ,place in mushrooms with their water and stir, then repeat with broth and stirring till al dente. Remove from heat. Top with butter and grated parmigiano cheese, stir and serve hot.

 Hope to see you for  a  Holiday  Book Signing    on:

November 14th at Warren Twp Library, Warren, NJ

December 12th at Franklin Twp Library in Somerset NJ

Mangia Bene ,Vivi Bene,

Maria

Lunch (per my previous post today) was a treat for the taste buds and the recipe for the Torta Rustica-which literally means- rustic pie.

A few tips on Torta Rustica-this recipe contains spinach but you can substitute swiss chard or make a torta rustica using grilled eggplant and/or mushrooms.. my favorite is the spinach one.  We made the puff pastry crust but it is quite time consuming so I am going to recommend that you purchase a high quality (one that contains NO hydrogenated fats). If you would like to make your own puff pastry email me for the recipe at: editor@marialiberati.com and put ‘puff pastry’ in the subject.

And ohh can’t forget  the Pecorino wine we chose..it complemented this dish so well.

TORTA RUSTICA

*1 ready made puff pastry for a crust

* 1 lb of fresh or frozen spinach-washed and chopped

*1/2 cup grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese

*1/2 lb fresh ricotta cheese

*2 cloves garlic

*2 tblsps extra virgin olive oil

Unroll crust and place in  pie or torte pan-greased with butter. Place olive oil in saute pan with 2 peeled whole cloves of garlic. Saute till just about golden. Then place in chopped spinach. Saute till cooked. Remove garlic cloves, salt to taste. Place fresh ricotta in a bowl and place in spinach, grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese. stir till well blended.

Place mixture into crust. Place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden.

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene, Maria

Get your copy of my latest book for the Holidays before it hits the stores it is available now at amazon.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

 Continuing along for World Pasta Day here is another favorite recipe, but with a little ‘tweaking’ I have made it lighter ,less fat, less calories.

A crowd pleaser on the menu in most Italian restaurants is fettuccini alfredo, a deliciously creamy mixture of fettuccini, cream, butter, and cheese. Although this dish is most certainly mouth watering, it is also waistline expanding, as it contains an astronomical amount of calories and little nutritional value. While most people who mind their cholesterol and do their best to maintain their bikini body would not dream of indulging in such a dieting disaster for a meal, there are healthy alternatives to make this Italian classic approachable for all dinners. The healthy lower calorie version may not be offered in many dinning establishments, but within the comfort of your own home, this Italian favorite can be a delicious alternative. For example, using whole-wheat fettuccini makes the dish rich in fiber, while adding chicken and broccoli boosts the protein content and helps to make it a well-rounded meal. So the next time you’re craving some comfort food, but would still like to button your jeans Friday night, try this healthy version of the classic fettuccini alfredo.

FETTUCINI ALFREDO

1 lb whole wheat fettuccini alfredo

1 lb chicken tenders(or chicken-soy based substitute)

2 heads of broccoli

2 tblsps butter

1 pint of fat free half-and-half

1 cup pecorino romano cheese

Boil water and add fettuccini. Cook until al dente

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then sauté in olive oil. Once cooked, drain the oil, add the butter and half-and-half. Pour everything over the fettuccini.

Steam the broccoli for 4 minutes and add to the mixture once the pasta is cooked. Add black pepper to taste.

For more recipes and great tips get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com

And it is not too early to plan your Holiday Meals. Get your copy of The Feast of the Feast of the Seven Fishes and More at:

http://www.lulu.com/content/4488255

“Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene”

Maria

 copyright, 2008, Maria Liberati

As  I was thinking back to almost 3 weeks ago, and the wedding celebration I attended in the beautiful, medieval city of L’Aquila, my mind became filled with all sorts of flavors. Besides the beautiful occasion, the sights and tastes of the sumptuous banquet make for unforgettable memories.The wedding was held in one of the 99 churches that populates the city. The reception at a small farm with hotel and banquet hall on the top of a hill. The view down to the city was just as memorable as the food.

The meal began outside with 2 large tables filled with any appetizer you can imagine and more, the Prosecco  was overflowing. You can imagine our surprise when a waiter  announced that we would need to go inside and sit at our assigned seats for dinner.(wasn’t this 25 course buffet table our dinner??).

Inside we found place cards at our seats listing the courses for this 8 course dinner to come.  All of a sudden, when we began to eat this magnificent dinner made up of all the local flavors, nothing seemed to have any importance but the flavors that seemed to attach themselves to my memory forever, flavors that are memories that still linger on.

The  friends and  family sitting around me seemed to have disappeared and the food commanded all of my attention to savor each and every morsel..

One of my favorite dishes  was the antipasto, the opening act to this ‘cena’:

Crespelle con funghi porcini  served with  a saffron vellutata’ (velvety) sauce. The saffron is locally produced in that area.  Crespelle is the Italian version of the French crepe.  The  crepes were made into delicate, little pouches filled with this incredible beschamel sauce.

The recipe and the memory are yours to share:

The pouch is made of a crepe (crespelle):
1 cup flour

3/4 cup milk

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon melted butter

Heat small crepe pan and when hot enough pour 1/4 cup batter onto pan, coat pan with batter, when cooked on one side ,turn over and cook on other side. Set crepes aside on plate, stacking them on top of each other putting a piece of towel paper in between each one.

For filling, a type of beschamel sauce:
1 -2 ounce package of  dried funghi porcini mushrooms, soaked in 1/2 cup warm water for 15 minutes.

1 cup milk

2 tblsps flour

2 tbsps butter

pinch of salt

1 tblsp parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Place butter in saucepan and melt. Quickly remove from heat. Sift  flour into the butter , a little at a time, mixing in well with wooden spoon or whisk. When well blended, whisk in milk. Place over heat and add in mushrooms and their liquid, then parmigiano-reggiano cheese.  Stir mixture continuously till it becomes a thick sauce, remove from heat.

When beschamel sauce is cool, take a flat plate, oen ata time, place crepe on plate and place 2 tblsps of mushroom sauce in center of crepe. Gather ends of crepe and tie like a puc hwitha long strand of fresh parsley. Repeat using all ingredients.

Place finished  pouches on baking sheet and place under broiler for 2-3 minutes, just until top becomes golden.

Vellutata Sauce:
1/3 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup flour

3 cups vegetable broth

pinch salt

pouch of saffron

Place butter in sauce pan and melt, then add in flour a little at a time whisking or stirring wiht wooden spoon till well blended.  Whisk in cold vegetable broth, a cup at time. When well belnded add in next cup, then repeat. When al lbroth has bee nadded in, continue stirring till liquid is consistency of a light sauce. Whisk in saffron quicly and remove from heat. Serve on side of pouches.
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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

http://twitter.com/marialiberati