(photo credits: The Morning Call)
Copyright 2012 Art of Living,PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati
Brightened up my weekend yesterday by catching a spectacular performance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival..spectacular actors,set design ,direction….
(catch a trailer at www.pashakespeare.org)
Theater is very similar to cooking..the recipe, just like the script is important but if you don’t have the best quality ingredients to put that recipe together or to interpret that script..no matter how great your playwright is or how wonderful that recipe is ..it is just not the same….
And with that in mind the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival brought together the best ‘ingredients’ (actors, directors, set designers) one could find to interpret this beautiful production.. it was definitely a treat to see Greg Wood (who has many TV, Movie and theatre credits) seemed not to play the role of Prospero but for 2 hours he became Prospero….a strong but loving character.. the young lovers were portrayed by Kelsey Formost and Brandon Meeks(both with impressive credits also) …all of these actors,as well as the other talented actors in the production made for superior artisan like ingredients to Shakespeare’s recipe…
This type of theater is definitely food for the senses! If you are starved for culture this Festival is just what you need…if you are anywhere near catch a production or what’s left of the season..you don’t want to miss this
Here is a dreamy dessert that would inspire even Shakespeare!
Ricotta Pudding
(from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition)
(photo credit: cookaround.com)
Serves 6
- 1 lemon peel
- ½ cup brandy
- 2 tablespoons candied dried fruit
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup fresh fruit in season
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 5 eggs
- Pinch of cinnamon
- ¹⁄³ cup powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pass the ricotta cheese through a sieve to get a creamy texture. In a bowl, place the ricotta, 1 tablespoon flour, 2 whole eggs and 3 egg yolks (save egg whites for later use), pinch of cinnamon, powdered sugar, lemon peel, candied dried fruit, and brandy. Blend all together.
In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until peaks form. Fold gently into the ricotta mixture. Butter a glass baking pan, dust with remaining flour, and place in mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until firm.
When finished, remove from oven and let cool. When cool, take out of pan and place in serving dish. Serve with sliced fresh fruit on top.
For more recipes get The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition
July 28th- Bally’s Casino See you at the Gourmet Food and Wine Festival. I take center stage at 2 PM in the Italian Pavillion..For more info email: events@marialiberati.com
