TANTALIZING TUSCAN TIDBITS...!

Easter 2017--To Tuscany...with Love--fabulous celebration of food, friends, laughter and love. I want to share a couple of the Hors D' Oeuvres that got our Easter feasting underway.

PEPERONI ARROTOLATI

 

Rolled Bell Pepper Delights

Peppers are front and center.

Having just come off a total hip replacement I needed lots of help prepping this years Easter dinner...and I got it! My good friends, Debby Vis and Myrna York did hours of work on Saturday, which made finishing the dinner on Sunday much smoother. All of the guests pitched in on Sunday to pull the final details together. Truly...a Cook with Cindy! event.

These little bites of Red Bell Pepper were stuffed with 3 kinds of meat. Super yummy!

Deb is mixing the meat stuffing for the peppers.

Here is Deb with peppers all rolled up and ready to
bake on Easter Sunday. She is already working on
her next project: Limoncello Tiramisu.

Ingredients:
6 large Red Bell Peppers, cut into 1 inch strips. Cut along the longest length after they are roasted.
1 lb. Mortadella (I could not find Mortadella so used 2 Italian sausages out of their skins.)
1/4 lb. Cooked Ham
1/2 lb. Ground Beef
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 Egg
Salt/Pepper to taste
Toothpicks
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preparation:
Soften peppers by placing 2 at a time inside a plastic bag and heat in microwave for 3 minutes. I did this the day before to make assembly a little faster. The microwaving did soften the peppers, but they were still too firm to peel so I placed them under the broiler until they just started to singe. Cool. Remove seeds and skin. Cut into 1 inch strips along longest side.
Prepare the meat filling by processing the mortadella (or sausage) and ham in a blender or mini-food processor. Stir in the ground beef. Because we used raw pork instead of mortadella, Deb lightly cooked the 3 meats in a large saute pan. Cool and then add the rest of ingredients. In a large bowl add bread crumbs, egg and mix well with the ground meats. Add salt/pepper.
Spread about 1 Tbsp. of meat mixture on the Bell Pepper strip. Roll up until you have a small roll. Fasten with a toothpick. Pour enough olive oil to lightly cover the bottom of a large cookie sheet or baking tray. Put peppers in one layer on the tray.
At this point we covered and refrigerated overnight until ready to bake.
Next day, bring to room temperature. Drizzle a little more olive oil over tops of peppers. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 30-35 minutes until tops of rolls are slightly browned. Remove and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

SOLE POMODORI SECCHI e FORMAGIO SPALMABILE PESTO

 

Sun Dried Tomato and Pesto Cheese Spread

Yes, I did also add some thinly sliced Sopresato to the platter.

Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tsp. fresh basil leaves
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 2/3 cups softened cream cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
1/3 cup tomato paste
3/4 cup butter
Salt/Pepper to taste

Myrna is putting together the Cheese Spread
 on Easter Eve. Lots of steps, but well worth it!

Preparation:
Chop garlic in food processor. Mix in basil, lemon juice, pine nuts and olive oil. Process until well blended. Mix in 1/3 cup cream cheese and Parmesan cheese. Blend using pulse setting until almost smooth. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.
Coarsely chop sun-dried tomatoes in the food processor. Mix in tomato paste and 1/3 cup cream cheese. Blend until smooth.
Place 2 cups cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until fluffy. Season with salt and pepper.
Lightly grease a 1 1/2 quart baking dish (Myrna opted to use a couple smaller dishes which made the presentation much more elegant.) Line the dish (or dishes) with plastic wrap so that the wrap extends over sides of the dish.
Evenly spread 3/4 cup cream cheese and butter mixture in the prepared dish. Layer alternately with 1/2 the sun-dried tomato mixture, 1/2 cup cream cheese and butter mixture and 1/2 the pesto mixture. Repeat layering, topping with remaining cream cheese and butter mixture. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight. Carefully invert dish onto a platter and remove plastic. Garnish with pine nuts and fresh basil leaves.

The third hors d'oeuvre we had was Cecina (Farinata), a Tuscan flat bread made with Garbanzo (chickpea) flour. The story behind this bread is better than the actual bread. I served the Cecina with a dipping oil laced with garlic and fresh herbs. Here is the story:  Cecina was "invented" by accident along the coast when a ship carrying garbanzo flour was caught in a storm. The flour was all wet, but not wanting to throw it out, some oil was added and then it was baked like bread...voila, Cecina! If anyone wants the recipe please send me an email. It's really easy to make (3 ingredients: chickpea flour, water and oil); has an interesting flavor and somewhat odd texture, but I love the story!

Lots of wines accompanied our feast, both Italian and others. Here are a few:

Dennis and Diana Makes with 2 lovely bottles of Italian wine.

Getting one of these giant bottles of wine open is not all that easy.
Centine is on the left and the 'normal' bottle beside
is Educated Guess-gorgeous cab from Napa.
From l to r: Dick York, my husband Jerry and Steve Vis.

This is a big bottle of Centine. Very smooth blend from Tuscany.

Diana enjoying a laugh with Jack Zittere!

I HAVE MANY MORE RECIPES TO SHARE

FROM EASTER 2017!
STAY TUNED...

 

UNTIL NEXT TIME, HAPPY COOKING!

 

www.cookwithcindy.com

BEEF TONGUE!

Before you say, YUCK, let me describe how I prepared this delicious dish and then  you decide. I had never cooked or even eaten tongue before so I was pretty excited. OK, some of the photos are pretty gross, but the end result was surprisingly good.

I did not realize that Beef Tongue is so large. This one was nearly 3 lbs. and a little over 12 inches.

BEEF TONGUE in DIJON CREAM SAUCE

Ingredients:
1 (3 lb.) Beef Tongue
1 large onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, smashed
1 bay leaf (I used 2.)
1 whole star anise (Also added 2.)
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
2 Tbsp. salt (Next time I would double amount of salt.)

This gives you a better idea of just how big this thing is!

Preparation:
I did quite a bit of research before beginning to prepare the tongue and somewhere read that soaking your tongue overnight in salt water is a good idea so that is what I did.

Rinse tongue well with cold water and place in a deep 6-8 qt. pot. Add cold water to cover by 3 inches, then add remaining tongue ingredients. (I added all the ingredients first and then placed the tongue on top.) Cover pot and bring to boil. Simmer, partially covered, until tongue is fork-tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours. (The recipe called for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, but my tongue needed more time.)

Once tender, transfer tongue to a cutting board (reserve 1/2 cup liquid) and when cool enough to handle, peel off skin and trim any fat or gristle. (This part was pretty gross.)


Cooked, unpeeled.

 

Cooked, peeled. The skin is quite thick and leathery.

Skim off fat from cooking liquid (--there really was not much fat. My tongue was very lean.) and pour liquid through a paper-towel lined sieve into a large bowl, discarding solids. Keep tongue warm, covered.

DIJON CREAM SAUCE

Ingredients:
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup heavy cream (I only had light and it worked well.)
2 Tbsp. whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. prepared Horseradish
1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp. dill, chopped
1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
Cook shallot in butter in 2 qt. saucepan over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until softened. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking for about a minute. Gradually whisk in reserved cooking liquid and cream, then bring to a boil while whisking. Simmer sauce, whisking, until slightly thickened; 2-3 minutes. Whisk in mustard, herbs, lemon juice, salt/pepper to taste.

Thinly slice across the tongue (not length-wise) and serve with the sauce. I served with Pickled Asparagus and a thinly sliced French Baguette. There was lots of leftover tongue, which I cut even finer--nearly shredded--and used for Lengua Tacos; very popular where I live on the Mexican border!

QUICK PICKLED ASPARAGUS

Ingredients:
3/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar (I used brown sugar.)
2 Tbsp. pickling spices
1 - 1 1/2 lbs. asparagus, rinsed, tough ends removed
Preparation:
In a wide 4-5 qt. pan combine: vinegar, salt, sugar, pickling spice, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add asparagus. Make sure asparagus is completely covered with water. If not, add more. Simmer, stirring occasionally until asparagus has faded to dull green and is tender-crisp-about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup ice cubes to stop cooking. Let stand at least 30 minutes (I let mine stand an hour so it would get a little more pickled.) Drain asparagus and either serve right away or store in a container in the fridge.

THAT'S GOING TO DO IT FOR TODAY...!

 

I LOVE TRYING NEW THINGS AND HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS ONE, TOO!

 

TUNE IN AGAIN SOON FOR

ANOTHER EPISODE OF...

WWW.COOKWITHCINDY.COM

HAPPY EASTER! BUONA PASQUA!

This year, in honor of our fabulous trip to Italy last summer, I am doing an Easter feast featuring Tuscan favorites.

TO TUSCANY...WITH LOVE

 

 EASTER CELEBRATION 2017

 

Olives groves and grapevines as far as the eye can see.

ANTIPASTO:
Peperoni Arrotolati-Rolled Bell Pepper Delights
Cecina-Chickpea Flatbread
Sole Pomadori Secchi e Formagio Spalmabile Pesto-Sun Dried Tomato and Pesto Cheese Spread

IL PRIMO
Ravioli di Zucca con Burro Fuso e Salvia Fritti-Pumpkin Ravioli with Brown Butter and Fried Sage Leaves

INTERMEZZO
Melone e Menta Granita-Honeydew Melon and Mint Granita

IL SECONDO
Lonza di Maile Arrosto con Riduzione di Vino-Roast Pork Loin with Prunes and Red Wine Reduction

CONTORNI
Toscano Asparagi Arrosto con Parmigiano e Pistacchi-Tuscan Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan and Pistachios
Pure di Patate con Olio d'Oliva Toscano-Tuscan Potato Mash with Olive Oil

IL DOLCE
Tiramisu al Limoncello-Limoncell Tiramisu
Cantucci-Tuscan Almond Biscotti

Vin Santo-Sweet Tuscan "Saint Wine" for dipping the Biscotti
Cappacinno/Espresso

This dramatic crucifix resides in St. Francis of Assisi's Cathedral.

WISHING YOU ALL A JOYOUS, BLESSED

AND VERY HAPPY EASTER!

 

THANKS, AS ALWAYS, FOR TUNING IN!

Of course, we have many EXQUISITE Tuscan wines for each course!

www.cookwithcindy.com