copyright 2017 Art of Living, Prima Media,Inc/ Maria Liberati
Hoping that you had a Happy Easter! Mine was bright and filled with delicious memories..but my favorite way to describe the day is from the words of my 7 yr old niece- Sofia Liberati…. in this Letter to the Easter Bunny (here’s hoping you had a Letter to the Easter Bunny in your house).
Dear Easter Bunny:
Easter Morning is finally here! We could hardly sleep..and woke up early this morning. How did you know I wanted that soccer ball and Jojo Bow and my sister Elena wanted Princess Elena of Avalor sceptre? Wow you are so smart too!
Did you like your carrots and water? They were gone when we woke up..so I guess you really liked them!
Did you know I have a cast on my arm?And did you see it when I was asleep..I picked out the color pink for my cast since it matches your pink bunny ears. I am so sad to have it on but the color pink reminds me of you!
Thanks for being so nice to us!
Love Sofia, Elena and Sweetie Bear..
And my favorite Easter recipe that is delicious anytime of the year is this Braided Bread with lemon and ricotta..
Treccia con Limone ( Braided Bread with lemon)
2 cups 00 Flour-sifted
1 pound freshly made ricotta
grated peel of one organic lemon
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 egg
1 egg for the top
decorative sugar granules
Blend sugar with ricotta till well blended. Add in egg, vanilla, then sift in flour and baking powder a little at a time, mixing with wooden spoon after each addition. Then blend dough by hand and place on a wooden board that has been dusted with flour. If dough is too sticky add in more flour till firmer consistency. Form dough into 6 long cylinders. Use 3 to make one treccia or braid, so that you will have 2 treccia. Place on a cookie sheet that has been covered with baking paper. Beat remaining egg and with pastry brush, paint tops of braids with egg, sprinkle with sugar granules Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until top of braid is golden.
Hope to see you at my Authentic Tuscan Cooking Event on May 12th at the Nordon Culinary Center in Langhorne Pennsylvania. It includes an authentic Tuscan dinner, wine pairing and cooking demo from my limited edition book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:DaVinci Style which will be available at the event. Registration is limited, you can easily register at eventbrite.com here is the link to register:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
Check out “Cooking Authentic Tuscan Style” on Eventbrite!
Date: Friday, May 12, 2017
Location: Nordon Food Service Equipment, Cabot Drive in Langhorne Pennsylvania
If you have any questions or want more info, email: events@marialiberati.com
How to Make Easter Memories with Treccia con Limone (Braided Bread with Lemon)
That Easter Bunny letter is too adorable! I hope your niece’s arm heals as well! Casts are no fun but I’m glad it makes her think of happier things!
First of all, this bread looks amazing! What alternative flour would you suggest using? We have almond and coconut flour here, do you think either one would have the same effect? Also why the ricotta? I know that may be a dumb question but I’ve never seen a non-garlic bread recipe call for cheese!
Ariel: thanks for visiting and your comments! The ricotta makes the bread really moist, it comes out wih almost a cheesecake like consistency and flavor. And ricotta cheesecake is so popular in Spring in Italy… As for an alternative flour, I have not tried this recipe yet with any alternative flours yet, but have been experimenting with coconut flour, chickpea, casava flours in many recipes as well as corn flour instead of using wheat. Will be trying this recipe shortly with an alternative and will let you know one that may work well.. BTW all questions welcome here..no questions are considered dumb..thanks for yours..questions are great for learning!!Thanks again Maria