BUONA PASQUA ITALIANO!

Easter Sunday dinner 2019

The theme, once again, is Italian.

Our gardens are in full bloom!

Easter is my favorite holiday. It represents new beginnings, hope, and limitless possibilities for love, joy and happiness. Being brought up in a non-religious household I did not learn the true meaning of Easter until much later.

In our house Easter was a time of feasting! This Easter is extremely special for me because I am ONE year cancer free! I am grateful for a complete and successful recovery and forever thankful to my husband, Jerry and my friends and family who supported me throughout my recovery.

However, this year also marks a very sad note as it is the first Easter celebration without our dear friend Dennis who passed away in October 2018. We have shared Easter dinners with Dennis and Diana for nearly 15 years. Cheers to you Dennis! Thankful for so many fabulous times together.


Jerry and Dennis Easter 2006
La Dolce Vita!

AND HERE'S OUR MENU...

 

APERITIVO

EASTER DEVILED EGG CHICKS

PARMESAN FRICO

CATHERINE DE MEDICI TUSCAN PATE

ANTIPASTO

SEAFOOD TERRINE ON MIXED GREENS WITH TARRAGON DIJON DRESSING

INTERMEZZO

ZESTY LEMON SORBET

PRIMO

CREAMY ORZO WITH ASPARAGUS TIPS

IL SECONDO E CONTORNO

STUFFED LEG OF LAMB SERVED WITH MINT JULIP GASTRIQUE

ROASTED BEET SALAD WITH FRENCH FETA CHEESE AND CANDIED PECANS

FOCACCIO BREAD

 

DOLCE E DIGESTIVO CON CAFFE

PANNA COTTA WITH RASPBERRY COULIS

BUNNY SUGAR COOKIES

COFFEE/ESPRESSO

HOUSE-MADE LIMONCELLO

WISHING YOU ALL MUCH

HAPPINESS

ON THIS BEAUTIFUL HOLIDAY!

 

ENJOY COOKING YOUR OWN FEAST!

 

TUNE IN AGAIN SOON...

 

WWW.COOKWITHCINDY.COM

MANGIA ITALIANO!

I am in love with all things Italian and food is high up on the list. Here are a couple easy Italian goodies I made recently, which I hope you enjoy.

TRADITIONAL ROSEMARY AND GARLIC FOCACCIA

Previously I posted a recipe for Focaccia Bread (http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/search?q=focaccio), but I think this one is even better because it uses more olive oil and lots of fresh herbs. If you don't have fresh you can always substitute dried herbs. This ancient Italian bread dates back to the Estruscan period, although some believe it may have been invented by the Greeks. However, the Estruscans, Romans, and Greeks were so intertwined back in the 8th - 6th century BC it's hard to tell where recipes originated. It's also thought to be the precursor to modern-day Italian pizza as it is a flatbread with lots of leeway for toppings. As with so many recipes I find online I have doctored this one a bit with more herbs and more garlic.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil*
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme or 3 tsp. dried
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary or 3 tsp. dried
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)
1 tsp. honey or a tsp. of sugar
2 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

*This time the extra-virgin is important as olive oil is a dominant flavor in this bread. You don't have to buy a super expensive oil, just one you really like the taste of.

Preparation:

MAKE THE DOUGH:
In a cold medium skillet, combine olive oil, minced garlic, thyme, rosemary and the black pepper. Place the pan over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, 5-10 minutes or until aromatic, but before browning garlic. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and honey. Stir a few times then let sit for 5 minutes. If the yeast mixture does not begin to grow (foam up), then either your water was too cool, too hot, or your yeast is dead and you will need to start over. The water should be quite warm to the touch, but not scalding. 105 to 110 degrees is ideal.

Add 1 cup of flour and a 1/4 cup of the infused garlic/herb/olive oil mixture to the bowl with the yeast and honey. Stir 3 to 4 times until the flour has moistened. Let sit for another 5 minutes.
Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour and the salt. I like to use the dough hooks on my hand mixture as it shortens the kneading time necessary because the hooks act somewhat like the kneading process getting air pockets out and stimulating gluten process resulting in a light, fluffy dough. Because focaccia is a flatbread the crust becomes crisp and interior is moist and soft.
When the dough comes together, transfer to a floured board and knead 10-15 minutes until very smooth in texture. Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl, cover with a warm, damp towel and let rise for 1 hour. You want to keep the dough out of drafts so consider rising in your oven (with no heat on).

This is the dough after rising for an hour.

After it has risen to about double in size, punch it down, knead for a couple minutes and transfer to a lightly greased 9x12 baking sheet or pan. Using your fingers spread the dough evenly pushing out to reach the edges of the pan, dimple the dough, pressing down into the pan with your fingertips.

Drizzle the top with remaining garlic/herb/olive mixture.

Let the dough rise until it puffs slightly; about 15-20 minutes. Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and if you like sprinkle with course sea salt and a little freshly chopped rosemary. Cool baked focaccia on wire rack. Cut into 2 inch squares. This bread freezes well for up to a month.

Here's a twist on another Italian favorite...

ITALIAN MEATBALLS WITH HERBS AND RICOTTA

I also found this recipe online. It's from the Food Network with just a couple tweaks from me. Hard to improve on a Food Network recipe!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground turkey
4 oz. (1/2 cup)whole milk ricotta
1/3 cup minced flat-leaf parsley (I used curly as that's what I have growing.)
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 medium onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
4 Tbsp. finely grated pecorino (I used parmesan.)
1 slice bacon, finely minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. minced fresh thyme
1 Tbsp. minced fresh basil (My addition.)
1 Tbsp. dried Italian seasoning (My addition.)
1 large egg
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Freshy ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 cups homemade or jarred quality marinara sauce
Fresh basil for garnishing

Preparation:
Mix ground meats and diced bacon, ricotta, parsley, panko crumbs, onion, pecorino, bacon, garlic milk, thyme, egg, salt, Worcestershire and black pepper. Here is my trick. Meatballs become tough if they are overmixed so thoroughly mix all ingredients listed above, except the ground meats. Then add the ground meats and using your hands gently mix until just combined. The mixture is pretty soft.
Using your hands, gently form mixture into 1 Tbsp. small meatballs (make smaller balls if serving as an hors d'oeuvres or larger balls for a dinner entre). Put the raw meatballs on a large plate or tray.

Cover and refrigerate at least an hour or overnight. Bring the meatballs back to room temperature before cooking. Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 1/3 of the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally until well browned on all sides; about 6 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate and repeat with the remaining meatballs.

After removing the last meatball, drain the oil out of the skillet and wipe clean with a paper towel. Return the meatballs to the skillet and pour in the marinara sauce. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat to low simmer, cover and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your meatballs. Serve with toothpicks if using as an appetizer with a dollop of sauce over each meatball and freshly chopped basil. Serve either room temperature or warm.

I'm going to close today with the simplest Italian hors d'oeuvres you will ever make. Why I have not made these sooner I do not know, but recently had them at our annual tennis party made by my good friend and tennis buddy Claren Scott. They are fantastic.

Here's Claren off the tennis court!
She looks like a movie star!

PARMESAN CRISPS, aka FRICOS!

Frico in Italian literally means "cooked Montasio cheese', but frico is also a typical dish made in the North Eastern region of Italy--Friuli. It is made either as a 'Soft Frico', which generally includes roasted potatoes and onions cut into wedges to serve, or as a 'Thin Frico', which are little fried or baked crisps used as an appetizer. No recipe necessary for the crisps. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grate about 2 cups parmesan cheese or other well-aged Italian cheese. Originally the fricos, either Soft or Thin were made with Montasio cheese. Place mounded tablespoons of grated cheese on a sheet pan lined with a silpat silicone baking sheet, parchment paper or use a non-stick pan. This is very necessary as crisps will stick to the pan otherwise.

Spread the cheese out leaving about 1 inch in between. Bake in preheated oven until just golden; about 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool for about 1 minute before removing to wire rack to cool completely. These store well in a tightly sealed glass container for 4-5 days.
I made my fricos totally plain since I've never made them before, but next time might try adding:

Lemon zest and fresh basil
Minced garlic
Finely chopped rosemary
Hot sauce or lots of black pepper
Claren added a small piece of salami in the center of each frico. Delicious!

That's it for today.

I'm getting very excited about the Easter holiday,

which is only a week away. I've been working on

my menu, which also has an Italian theme.

I will share it with you next week.

UNTIL THEN...BUON APPETITO!

www.cookwithcindy.com

Bread Can Be Good For You!

Here is my Mom!

It seems bread has gotten a bad reputation these days and although I don't eat much plain old white bread, I do make some yummy whole grain breads, muffins, and scones.  My Mom used to make white bread nearly every day. After she retired, she did a lot of baking and was one of the best bakers I have ever known. She was also a good cook, but her baking skills were matched by none; especially pie crust...but that is a story for another blog. I am going to start today with my Mom's recipe for white bread. This is a simple, straightforward recipe and if you are going to eat refined white flour, the bread might as well be delicious! I love the fact that I have this recipe written out in my mothers hand. I am guessing she wrote out this recipe about 40 years ago when I was leaving the "nest".  It makes 2 beautiful big loves.

WHITE BREAD

Baking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
6 cups white flour
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cup water
1 pkg. yeast (can use 2 for faster rising)
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. shortening (I use butter; Mom used Crisco)

Preparation:
Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
Combine yeast with 1/4 cup lukewarm water and 1 tsp. sugar--let soften 5 minutes in a small bowl. The warm water and sugar activate the yeast and it will start to bubble up. This is how you know the yeast is "good". If no bubbling; start over. Your yeast is dead. This is called "proofing" the yeast.
Add shortening to milk and scald until shortening melts. Put hot milk into large bowl, add salt and sugar and stir until dissolved. Then add 1 cup cold water. When this mixture becomes lukewarm, add the softened yeast and stir well. Then add about 1/2 of the flour and beat with an electric mixer if you have one; otherwise stir well. Continue to add remaining flour and keep mixing well.
Turn out onto floured bread board and let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile wash and grease the large bowl.  Knead dough well.  Put dough back into large, buttered bowl and roll it around so all sides get buttered. Let rise until DOUBLE in bulk. Punch down and knead again slightly and form into 2 loaves and bake. Bake for 50 minutes until crust is golden brown.

WHOLE WHEAT DINNER ROLLS

I recently made these rolls for my woman's club luncheon. The recipe calls for making 28 rolls, but I made mine a bit large and came out with 24. They are light and delicious and special enough for a holiday.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup water plus 1/4 cup for proofing yeast
1 cup oats
3 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. yeast
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached white flour

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degreees.
Bring water to a boil and add oats and butter. Let set until is has cooled to lukewarm. In a mixer bowl combine 1 1/4 cup water, oat mixture, yeast, brown sugar, and salt. (I always proof the yeast before adding as described above. It is rare for yeast NOT to rise, but why take a chance.) Stir well. Add whole wheat flour and mix. Add remaining unbleached flour until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl and you have a nice soft dough.  Cover with a clean dish towel (to keep out drafts) and let this rest for about an hour.
Punch down and divide the dough into 24 pieces. Roll each piece and place in two 9x13" pans that have been sprayed with PAM or any cooking oil.
Let them rise until doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes depending on how warm your kitchen is. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.


MORNING GLORY MUFFINS
This is also a recipe my Mom made often. They are dense and substantial and one muffin will serve you well for breakfast. I also have this recipe written out by Mom on an index card and the ink is fading so you know how long ago she wrote this one!

2 cups flour (I use 1 cup each whole wheat/white)
1 1/4 cup sugar (I cut that down to about 3/4 cup sugar)
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 cup raisons
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup coconut


1 apple, peeled, cored and grated
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the grated carrots, raisons, nuts, coconut and apple. Beat together eggs, oil and vanilla. Stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into well-greased muffin tins. Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

My husband is my biggest fan!  Thanks Jerry!

He really is not going to eat 3 muffins!

NANCY SMITH'S WHOLESOME SCONES
Nancy is one of my "gym" ladies and she shared this wonderful recipe for scones. I am going to write it out just as she gave it to me. The key here is to have fun and  IMPROVISE!

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
2 cups oatmeal
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking power
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

1 cup blueberries, dried cranberries, dates, cherries, etc.

1 cup walnts, chopped

1/3 cup Plain 0 fat yogurt (I like to use the Greek style.)
2/3 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar. Fold in wet ingredients. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Here's a tip: Of course, you will preheat the oven. Spray a cookie sheet with PAM or cooking oil and drop about 2 large Tbsp. batter per scone onto the sheet.

FOCACCIO

Here is another recipe where you can play with the seasoning. Focaccio is similar in texture to pizza dough, but I think it is much better. It is wonderful right from the oven and dipped into a saucer of Olive Oil mixed with herbs, garlic, roasted red pepper, parmesan or other herbs or spices.  I made this for the first time in Ireland. I have a healthy little herb garden outside my kitchen so added a liberal amount of fresh, chopped rosemary and a clove of garlic right into the dough. I think it would also be delicious with sun-dried tomatoes and chopped basil. The key is to use a fancy salt on the top, like Fleur de Sel, which is a French sea salt, but any course-ground salt works.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour, divided
1 tsp. sugar (for proofing yeast)
1 pkg. dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
3 Tbsp. Kalamata Olives
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp.+, course ground salt, like Fleur de Sel or Himalayan sea salt

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On my little stove in Spiddal that would be somewhere between 6 and 7 on the temperature dial. This may be helpful to you if you find yourself baking in Ireland or England.

In a large bowl dissolve sugar and yeast in 2/3 cup warm water. Let stand 5 minutes.
Combine 1 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, (this is where I added the extra clove of garlic and about 3 Tbsp. chopped rosemary), Mix well.  Add flour mixture and 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil to yeast mixture. Stir to combine.  Fold in Kalamata Olives. Turn dough onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic-5-7 minutes.  Add flour as necessary.  Place dough in a large greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until double-about 1 hour.
Press dough into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.  Brush (or use your fingers) remaining Olive oil over top of dough. Add 4 Tbsp. slivered garlic and rosemary or other herb. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden.

THAT'S IT FOR TODAY!

FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T BAKE MUCH, I HAVE NOW SHARED TWO BAKING BLOGS IN A ROW! 

MAYBE I LIKE TO BAKE AFTER ALL...

HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED ANOTHER EPISODE OF

 COOK WITH CINDY.

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

MUCH LOVE FROM MY KITCHEN TO YOURS!