America's Biggest Italian Festival | My Time at Festa Italiana

 

At WTMJ Studios Milwaukee Wisconsin
At WTMJ TV Studios, Milwaukee with Marie Lieber, in  charge of Cucina Showcase and my right hand assistant while at Festa, she  was responsible for making all (including mine) Cucina events a success!
 
 
If you thought I was AWOL….since many of you have been wondering why you have not received a new blog post for a week you are absolutely right!!  I was invited  to be one of the guest Celebrity Chefs along with Nick Stellino and Buddy Vilastro at Festa Italiana in Milwaukee Wisconsin..most of you probably  don’t know  that Festa Italiana in Milwaukee Wisconsin is the biggest Italian Festival in the USA ..and ohhh what a Festa it is!!  From the beautiful setting along Lake Michigan to the great music and the food and the spectacular old style fireworks..it is just one unforgettable event..and I  was so honored to be a part of it!
And did I mention that most of the people helping out behind the scenes to make Festa run smoothly are all volunteers! they work many hours before the event  and then when the actual event happens they work non stop for the 4 days of the event to make sure the event runs smoothly…the secret ingredient to the success and the excitement of the Festa is not the food or the events but the volunteers behind the scenes who run this Festa with true passion..like the best Italian things! The yare passionate about their Festa and well they should be!
And they also have a passion for showing off their beautiful city..from Lake Michigan to the beaches and the Marina and the Milwaukee Arts Center….not to mention the spectacular restaurants!!  So many came to my book signing after to say HI! from all over the US> If you have any photos of Festa email so we can put them up on my facebook event page.  Email  to: events@marialiberati.com
 
Both Milwaukee and its’ Festa Italiana are truly 2  little known gems. For all of you that saw my  TV appearance there (promoting Festa)  on the morning TV  show on WTMJ  (the Milwaukee NBC affiliate) and asked for the recipe here it is. Here’s a clip from the TV appearance
http://www.todaystmj4.com/multimedia/videos/?bctid=1073291883001
Here  is a link to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Celebrity Chat article:
http://www.jsonline.com/features/food/125779703.html
 
Farfalle Pasta with Ricotta
copyright 2011, Art of Livong,PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati


 
(from the Gourmand World Cookbook Award Winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions
 
1 pound farfalle pasta
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 small finely chopped onion
½ cup dry white wine
8 ounces fresh spinach chopped
½ cup ricotta
2 tblsps cream
pinch salt and pepper
1 tblsp chopped parsley
2 fresh basil leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
pinch nutmeg
3 tsps coarse salt
4 tablespoons Parmigiana-Reggiano
 
Place olive oil in saute pan and heat. Place in chopped onion, saute onion till just golden. Add in white wine and let liquid evaporate for 1 minute. Add in spinach and ricotta, mash ricotta with fork. Add in cream, salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
 
Boil water for pasta, boil, add in salt. Cook pasta till al dente. Drain. Add into cream sauce, remove from heat and add in basil, parsley, oregano, nutmeg. Toss gently and serve topped tih freshly grated parmigiana reggiano cheese.