Paris Postcards
August 13, 2018
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Desserts, Food, France, Gastronomy, Music, Paris, Photography, Street Photography, Travel, Travel Photography, Vacations
Patricia Turo
The vibrant street life of Paris is magical. The only way to really experience the city is to walk and view the impressive architecture, art and monuments. Stroll through the gardens, visit the museums and walk along the Seine. Feel the magic atmosphere where cafe life is the center of social life. Romance is what Paris is all about in every aspect of life and known as “The City of Love”. Everywhere you look Paris awakens every emotion!
Come with me on short walk and visit one of my favorite cities in the world, Paris.
Paris Postcards
Easter Dolci – A Taralli that Floats on Air
Traditional Italian food of Easter typically includes: capretto o agnello al forno (roast lamb), carcioffi fritti (fried artichokes), pizza rustica (a pie stuffed with ricotta, sausage and hard boiled eggs), la colomba di Pasqua (a dove-shaped sweet bread). Taralli, cassatelli, biscotti di pignoli, pena di Pasqua (sweet bread with hard-boiled, pastel colored eggs baked in the center), and torta di ricotta (Ricotta cheese cake) are prepared in every Italian home.
Chocolate Easter eggs are a special treat for children in Italy. The “uovo di pasqua” – a large decorative chocolate egg that comes with a gift inside are beautifully wrapped in elaborate and colorful decorative foils weighing from a few ounces to about 18 pounds. Stores are filled with “uovo di pasqua” creating a psychedelic and festive atmosphere. In past times, parents would take the gifts to their cioccolataio (chocolate maker) and it would be placed inside the chocolate egg.
The taralli is a treasure from Apuglia and are eaten any time of the day. Simple yet delicious recipes are created with eggs and flour. Fennel seed, black pepper, red pepper flakes and wine added and formed into oval or round shapes. In southern Italy, taralli come in many sizes and flavors. These are typically referred to in Neapolitan dialect as “scaldetelli” little boiled things. Many, but not all taralli are dipped in boiling water before being baked creating a nice sheen on the outside. Some are baked and brushed with egg wash. Taralli are biscuits or snack food, but can also make an appearance as a dessert after a meal is over and dunked into wine. In our family they are the star of the Easter desserts along with the Ricotta Torta and Torta di riso. They are traditional desserts that make each and every day special and holidays a delight for everybody. The Italians have a saying “no matter what the argument it can be resolved over a glass of wine and handful of taralli”.
The Easter egg taralli (as I call them) are only made at Easter and have no other flavoring. Typically, taralli are not frosted, but there is a version called “Charmel” that are lightly frosted with a confectionary glaze and sprinkled with tiny colorful sprinkles. Egg taralli are hard, but as light as clouds. Our recipe for egg taralli are boiled and then baked turning a warm caramel color. I make large quantities of them and serve them in an Italian hand painted bowl from Apuglia. Taralli dunked in “Vino Santo”, a sweet Italian white wine coming from the Tuscany is like floating in air. Very appropriate for Easter!
Easter Egg Taralli
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 20 minutes at 400ºF or until light brown
Yield: 5 Dozen
Dough Ingredients
7 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons oil
11 eggs
DOUGH
Add the salt to the flour in a large bowl. Mix the egg and oil into the flour and form a ball. This step can be done in a mixer. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel. Let it rest in a warm place for an hour.
ASSEMBLY
Roll out pieces of dough into 6” x 1” cylinders. Take each piece of dough and bring the ends together to form a doughnut shape. Press the ends together with your thumb.
BOILING
Fill a large saucepan with water and let it to come to a boil. Drop them one at a time into the boiling water. When they rise to the top, remove them to a dry board or kitchen towel. Make a cut along the outside edge of the doughnut. This allows them to rise.
BAKING
Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in a 400ºF oven until they are a light golden brown. The taralli will be hard on the outside, but light and airy on the inside. They are not sweet, but more like a biscuit. They will store in an airtight container for weeks.
Serve them with “Vino Santo”, a white sweet wine from the Tuscany.
‘Buona Pasqua!
In “Deserts”: A Frosted Taralli, Charmel are an Easter Specialty
In “Food”: Taralli: An Italian national biscotti
in “Biscotti”: Double Dip Wine Taralli
6 Responses to “Easter Dolci – A Taralli that Floats on Air”
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A Frosted Taralli, Charmel are an Easter Specialty
Taralli usually don’t have sugar added and are almost never frosted. They can be found in bakeries that make bread call “Panetteria”. These bakeries produce biscotti, bread and taralli. Panettone is about one of the few exceptions although they are considered sweet bread, they are also found just about anywhere.
I’ve written about taralli a few times because they are so much a part of Italian everyday cuisine and there are so many versions. Usually they are not frosted and eaten as a snack or with wine. They are not breadsticks (Grissini), but even in high-end restaurants they can be one of the bread offerings or in bars served with wine. Sometimes they are very small and called “tarallini”. Italians add just about anything they want to the dough, but some are traditional such as pepper (red or black), rosemary and fennel.
Taralli are found all over Italy and are also an Easter specialty. Charmel are one of the few that are frosted with a very light glaze. My grandmother usually made them at Easter and they are on my Easter recipe list. I remember her rolling and forming the traditional doughnut shaped dough and dipping each one in boiling water. They didn’t look like much at this point, but after baking it was almost a miracle when they came out of the oven puffed and beautifully golden. I usually serve Ricotta Torta for dessert on Easter but a large bowl of Charmel taralli are there for an added dessert. Although taralli are most often served with a glass of wine, because Charmel are glazed they don’t pair well with wine.
Homemade taralli are far crispier and flavorful then the store bought variety, which tends to be a little like eating dry cardboard. Even in Italy the packaged taralli just don’t beat the ones made in a “Panetteria” or homemade. Since the recipes make a large amount and last for weeks, making them at home is worth the effort. I usually store them in a tin because you don’t want moisture to get at them. Whether you make them for Easter or just to have around to munch on, taralli are a delicious snack food.
Charmel Taralli
Recipe Summary
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes @ 450º F (variation 10 minutes @ 375ºF)
Yield: 1 dozen
Dry Dough Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons, heaping baking powder
Wet Dough Ingredients
8 egg yolks
2 tablespoons oil
Variation
3 tablespoon sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
12 egg yolks
1 teaspoon shortening, melted
GLAZE
1 cup confectionary sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons milk
2 drops of lemon juice
2 drops of lemon extract
Sprinkles or jimmies (optional)
Food coloring (optional)
GLAZE
Add lemon juice and extract to the confectionary sugar. Slowly add in the milk until all confectionary sugar is mixed in and frosting is smooth. It should not be too thin or it will all drip off the cookies and dry transparent. The frosting should be thick enough so that it sits on the top of the cookie.
Place frosted taralli on counter or flat surface until glaze has hardened.
PREPARATION
DOUGH
Beat the eggs and oil together. Mix the dry ingredients and add it to the egg mixture. Knead the dough and let it rest for 1/2 hour on the counter covered. Knead the dough again for another 10 minutes and let it rest for 10-15 minutes more on the countertop covered.
ASSEMBLY
Roll out pieces of dough to 6” x 1”. With a sharp knife make a slit all along the outside edge of the strip and form into a donut shape; press the ends together with your thumb.
BOIL
Bring a pan of water to a boil, and boil the taralli until they float to the top. Place them on a clean kitchen towel to dry.
BAKING
Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them for 10 minutes at 450º F. They should be golden brown.
VARIATION
Follow the same direction as above except bake @ 375º F for 10 minutes.
FROSTING
When completely cool, frost them with a layer of glaze flavored with lemon extract.
http://turosdolci.pturo.com/easter-dolci-a-taralli-that-floats-on-air/
http://turosdolci.pturo.com/taralli-a-italian-national-biscotti/
Holiday Candied Fruit Biscotti
Candied fruit are made by cooking and soaking fruits in sugar syrup. The fruit is saturated with sugar which conserves it. They have been prepared by many cultures worldwide for centuries. Depending on the amount of sugar absorbtion, the fruits can last for years.
In Italy they are commonly used in desserts such as Spumoni, (Sicilian ice cream), Panettone, (a sweet bread commonly made at Christmas), preserves, Florentins, Cassata, (a Sicilian cake), gelato, tarrone, and biscotti.
Candied Fruit Torrone
Cassata
Baskets of candied fruit are traditionally given during Christmas. This time of the year you can find stands in Christmas markets all over Italy filled with all sorts of colorful candied fruit selections.
Candied Fruit Gifts
We make candied fruit biscotti as part of our Christmas biscotti tray. These biscotti are colorful and are also very pretty in a Torta di Biscotto di Nozze (Italian wedding biscotti cake). It needs no frosting and is very easy to make.
Napolitano
Candied Fruit Biscotti
Napolitano
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes @ 375º F
Yield: 5 Dozen
Dry Ingredients
2 cups sugar
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup of walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup candied fruit, chopped
Wet Ingredients
6 eggs
2 teaspoons anise extract
2 sticks butter
DOUGH
Cream the eggs and sugar, and add the butter and extract and beat until smooth. Gradually add the flour and baking powder. Fold in the nuts and chopped candied fruit. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Chopped candied fruit
Sticky dough
Candied fruit dough
ASSEMBLY
Form the dough into long cylinders about 12” long. Place the loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Teflon mat.
Biscotti loaf
BAKE
Bake at 375º F for 20-25 minutes. Remove them from the oven and slice the loaves diagonally when cooled. Place the slices on their side and return them to the oven. Bake for another 2 minutes on each side.
Cooked loaves
Double baking
Unglazed Candied fruit biscotti
Baklava, in an Italian Recipe Box?
When my grandparents moved from Italy to American in 1896 to about 1912, they anticipated the beginnings of a better life. Living in the same areas of communities with others of their nationality seemed to give them comfort that their world would continue somewhat like the old country. In their country they came from small villages where everyone was the same nationality, religion, spoke same language, and their lives were clones of each other’s. Kids married into neighbors or friends families and arranged marriages were common in those days. The only difference was that the burden of support shifted and a new member provided another helping hand in support of the family.
In their new country they weren’t the only nationality in the community and their children had some ideas of their own. Suddenly children were bringing home friends of different nationalities and religions. Marriages sometimes broke a family up rather then bring them together. It was one thing for a child to marry a person of another nationality, but to marry outside of the religion caused, at times, irreparable breaks in relationships.
Italian food wasn’t the only food on the on the table any more. This brought new insights into other nationalities cuisine, and we didn’t need any encouragement to embrace especially the desserts. One of my uncles married into a Swedish family and an aunt into a Greek family. The results were sweet indeed as our culinary world opened up to some wonderful new foods.
My aunt learned to prepare a number of Greek specialties that we all were happy to add to our already large Italian recipe box. One in particular is Baklava. My aunt’s recipe isn’t overly sweet and for large group parties it is a winner.
Baklava
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour @ 350ºF
Yield: 32 pieces
Dough
1 1/2 pound package phylo dough
1 1/2 pounds butter, melted
Filling
1 1/2 lbs. walnuts, chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup superfine sugar
Syrup
6 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/2 orange or lemon, zest only
1 cup honey
ASSEMBLY
Combine the nuts, sugar, and cinnamon and set aside.
Brush the bottom of a 13” x 9” pan with melted butter. Take half of the phylo dough one layer at a time brushing each layer with melted butter. Spread the walnut mixture all over the top. Using the remaining phylo dough, follow the same process of buttering each layer until the complete package is used.
BAKE
Before baking, cut through the layers to form triangles. Cut from corner to corner. This is done at this point because it will be very fragile after it has been baked. Cover the top with wax or parchment paper. Bake @ 350º F for 30 minutes and reduce the oven to 300ºF. Remove the paper and bake for 30 minutes more or until it is golden brown. Remove the baklava from the oven and finish cutting through the layers.
Five minutes before the baklava is done baking, prepare the syrup.
SYRUP
Cook water, sugar rind, and cinnamon over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the honey and vanilla, and stir until well blended.
Pour the syrup over the hot baklava and allow it to completely cool. Let it sit for 24 hours, lightly covered, but not in the refrigerator.
A Fruit That Descended from Paradise – Figs Poached in Red Wine
My grandfather’s hobby and passion was his garden. Two fig trees stood at the head of the garden next to his beloved grapevine covered terrace. One was green and the other purple figs. We watched as they matured and their beautiful tropical foliage gave the garden an exotic look. Artists have painted the fig leaf to depicted modesty. But the fruit is sweet and alluring.
My grandfather would cover them with burlap and bury the trees in the ground during the winter. We watched this ritual and thought this was so strange, but they are delicate and susceptible to frost damage.
Vegetable and fruits are a main part of our diet and using fruits in the main course of a meal is one way of incorporating them into your diet and getting children to enjoy them. I think figs are one of these foods that many people don’t experience and they don’t know what they are missing.
Figs are very versatile and pare well with meats, breads and desserts. They can be canned, made into jams, dried or in cookies such as cucitdati (Sicilian stuffed cookie). Make a a tart, cake or poached as in this recipe, there are many ways to prepare them. Their sweetness adds an exotic dimension to a meal.
This recipe is so easy anyone could make it and with a little cinnamon ice cream it is dream of a dessert.
Poached Figs in Red Wine
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 people
Ingredients
8-10 ripe fresh figs
1 bottle red wine
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Skin of a lemon
Skin of an orange (optional)
1 Star Anise
POACHING
Put them in a saucepan, pour the wine and add the cinnamon stick, skin of the lemon, star anise and add the sugar. Cover the pan and cook at medium high temperature for 10-15 minutes. Turn the figs around so that all sides are stained red. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Test the figs with a skewer. If it goes through easily they are done. Remove the cinnamon stick, star anise and lemon.
SAUCE
Remove them from the pan and add the butter and reduce the wine down to about 1/2 cup. The figs should not be too sweet and usually don’t need extra sugar. The butter will make the sauce glisten and will give the sauce a warm buttery taste.
They can be served hot or at room temperature. When you are ready to serve, place 2-3 figs in a glass or decorative dish and dribble the wine sauce over them. Or scoop some cinnamon or vanilla ice cream in a bowl and add the figs with dribbles of the wine sauce.
Note: reduce the sugar and serve the figs with a main course of game, pork or chicken.
Black Squid Ink Risotto with Grilled Calamari
Black squid risotto can be found in many restaurants in Italy but not often anywhere else in the world. I suppose it is because it isn’t easy to find sepia ink. It is a powerful dye made from the ink of the cuttlefish. Where to buy it is the question. You can try to collect the ink bag when cleaning the squid, but this is difficult. It is often sold in small packets or bottles in some Italian specialty stores. You can ask your fish monger if he can order it for you. I buy it in small bottles at the fish section of the market in Switzerland or in Italy and store it in my refrigerator. I often make black tagliatelle and risotto and it always makes a big impression with guests. The ink is mild and doesn’t have a strong fishy flavor. It’s beautiful black silky color is impressive and best of all it is delicious mixed with shell fish of squid as I have here in this recipe.
Risotto Nero
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 Servings as a side dish, 2 servings as a main course
Ingredients
1 cup Arborio rice
5 cups chicken broth or vegetable or fish stock broth
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (light flavor)
1 small white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup good white wine
2 tablespoons seppia ink
Ground pepper
Salt as needed
Heat the stock and seppia ink in a pan and leave it on low temperature to keep it warm.
Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil in a sauce pan. When they are translucent, add the rice and allow the rice to become opaque in color stirring it for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add the wine enough to cover the rice and stir. Cover the rice with broth until the rice has absorbed the liquid and then add more doing the same thing until the rice is al dente.
The cooking should be about 20 minutes. Remove the risotto from the stove and stir in the butter until it has melted into the rice. This will create a nice creamy risotto. Add salt to taste.
Note: If you wish you can add some squid rings or chopped the tentacles at the very end and cook only a few minutes. Squid cooks very fast and it will be nice and tender with just a few minutes cooking time.
Grilled Squid
PREPARATION
Remove the tentacles, sac, beak, eyes and spine and wash any sand off the squid. Using a kitchen scissors cut the squid lengthwise. You can either cut it in quarters or in half lengthwise. Make small incisions in both directions with a very sharp knife on the inside flesh of the squid.
This will help to keep the squid flat instead of curling up.
Place them on long wet skewers.
Place them on a very hot grill a few minutes on each side. You will see when they start to brown. Squid can become very rubbery so the timing is critical. Salt them immediately.
Spätzli And Game, A Swiss Specialty
Hunting season starts in September in Switzerland and the locals look forward to the hunt (Jagd). Switzerland strictly controls the hunt by setting limits to each species. The season lasts only about 3 weeks. Hunters bring their catch of mountain goat, wild boar, elk or deer to local butchers (Metzgerei). He prepares the animals into steaks, roasts, racks, bunderfliesh and hirschpfeffer, venison meat marinated in wine and a specialty here. It is not unusual to see a deer sitting in front of the butchers’ door waiting for him to arrive in the morning. After the hunter takes what he wants, the rest is sold by the butcher. If you are a good friend of the butcher, you can make your selection early in the season and have him store it for you in his freezer for the rest of the winter. When you want it, just give him a call and he will have your selection ready and waiting for you.
This is the start of Fall and the Alps are amazingly beautiful with the trees turning yellow and rust tones and light dusting of snow on the mountaintops. The anticipation of winter on its way moves people here. Winter is the bread and butter season in the Alps. The excitement begins with the hunting season, when the slow summer goes back to sleep and the cool air means getting the hay cut and into the barns, grapes harvested and the hotels and ski operations start preparations for the winter tourists.
Venison is traditionally served with spätzli and caramelized chestnuts. Spätzli is a thick batter that is scraped off a wet board into boiling water. It is similar to dumplings except looks more like pasta. Spätzli is a Swiss specialty and I can’t imagine venison without it. It also goes well with other meats and once you have learned to prepare it, you will find that when you are looking for something different to take the place of pasta or potatoes, spätzli is a very good substitute. The Austrians, Germans and Italian have their version of spätzli, but they are all pretty much the same except maybe for the size.
There is a gadget that is available to make spätzli but it is so simple by hand that I think it is a waste of money and effort to use it. I like the old fashion way.
Spätzli
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: In boiling water approximately 2 minutes per späzli batch
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons butter
Prepare a large pasta pan of boiling salted water. Mix the flour, egg, and water, milk and salt. The batter should have the consistency of thick pancake batter.
Dunk the board into the boiling water so that the board is wet.
Place a ladle full of the batter on the wet cutting board.
Holding the board over the boiling water, scrap small amounts of batter about the size of ziti macaroni into the boiling water. When they float to the top, which takes about 2 minutes, remove them to a dish. Toss them immediately with some butter to prevent them from sticking and continue finishing each batch.
When you are ready to serve, put a tablespoon or two of butter into a frying pan and toss the spätzli with the butter until they are warm.
Note: You can mix mashed beats, spinach or carrots etc. into the batter to make different colors and flavors. Broth can be substituted for the cooking water.
Cherry Crumble Tart: A Tart with a “Wow Factor”
August 15, 2010
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Desserts, Food-Gastronomy, Food-Photography, Holiday Dishes
Patricia Turo
Making as much in advance when having guests for a party or dinner is part of my meal plan. I want to have fun also and enjoy my guests after all that is why I invited them in the first place. But I also want to have a “wow factor” dessert without have to work in a hot kitchen for hours. I don’t want any last minute thing that I have to do to finish it off either. This tart fits all my needs but also makes it look like I’ve spent hours preparing it. If you have a food processor the crust is quickly prepared and there is no rolling out the dough. You just press it in with your hands and mix all the filling ingredients and into the oven it goes. It can be made the day before so that you can concentrate on all the other dishes you are going to prepare.
Cherry Crumble Tart is not sweet and the binder of crushed amoretti is typical of Italian desserts. The only thing you have to watch for is that it has the right amount of sweetness. If you use another biscotti such as ladyfingers that are less sweet then you might have to add a little sugar. I generally use what ever biscotti I have in the house. This tart can be made with other types of fruit such as apples, pears, maybe even figs, although I haven’t tried figs yet.
Ciliege torta della Nonna
Recipe Summary
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes @ 350º F
Yield: 8 servings
CRUST
2 cups flour
3/4 cups hazel nuts, ground (ground almonds can be substituted)
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
6 tablespoons water, ice cold
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter, for greasing the pan
Filling
5 amoretti or ladyfingers, crumbled
1 1/2 lbs. dark cherries, fresh or frozen, stones removed
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup currant jelly
CRUST
Place the flour, hazelnuts (or almonds) and baking powder in a bowl. Put the unsalted butter and sugar in a food processor. Pulsate the ingredients until they are fluffy and add the egg. Add the dry ingredients and mix until it looks like cornmeal. Add 1/2 of the water and process for 30 seconds. Feel the dough; it should stick together, if it doesn’t add the remaining water. Place the dough wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator while you are preparing the filling.
Rub about 1 tablespoon of butter onto a spring form pan. Press 2/3 of the dough on the bottom and up the sides to about 1” of the side of the pan. The remaining dough will be crumbled over the top.
FILLING
Put all the filling ingredients in a bowl and coat the cherries well. Taste for sweetness. The type of cookies that you use will determine if additional sugar is needed. Spread the filling in the prepared crust.
Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the cherry mixture.
Place the tart into the middle of the oven and bake for 1 hour.
SERVING
Release the spring form the pan and allow the tart to cool. Serve the tart warm or room temperature with a spoon full of creme fraiche over the top.
A No Bake Dessert that is Fast & Pretty: Ricotta Truffles
There aren’t too many desserts that are not high in calories and fat. Also something you can make that is fast and pretty. Ricotta truffles are easy to make and you can use a variety of coatings according to your taste. It takes very little time and the only requirement is that they must be refrigerated until you serve them.
I like to make them with coconut, pure dark and milk cocoa powder and crushed pistachios. But other coatings such as chopped dates, any kind of chopped nuts or chocolate shavings in any of the different flavors available. It all depends on how many calories you want to add. They are pretty, flavorful and you don’t have to know how to bake to make this dessert. In fact people will ask you what they are made of because you can’t tell that it is Ricotta.
A friend of mine introduced me to these at a lovely Italian dinner in Milano. I’ve also used low fat Ricotta when we have been on a diet using only dark chocolate as a coating and a sweetener, and they can also be served to a diabetic.
Ricotta Truffles
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 30 balls
Ingredients
1 cup confectionary sugar
1 cup good quality cocoa powder (no sugar added)
1 7 oz. package shredded sweet coconut
1 lb. of whole milk ricotta
PREPARATION
Mix equal amounts of ricotta and powdered sugar and place the mixture in the refrigerator until it hardens to the point of being able to roll into a ball.
ASSEMBLY
Roll out into small balls the size of chocolate truffles. Roll 50% of them in the cocoa powder and 50% of them in the grated coconut. Keep them refrigerated until you are ready to serve them.
NOTE
It is possible to prepare them in the morning and serve in the evening. However, they will only stay a few days in the refrigerator and are never as good as when eaten the same day.
Almond Ricotta Biscotti
July 21, 2010
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Biscotti, Desserts, Food-Gastronomy, Food-Photography, Holiday Dishes
Patricia Turo
In Puglia almonds are a common choice of nuts to include in pastries and cookies. Pasta di mandorle (almond paste) is often used in cookies here such as amaretti. Mixed and crushed with mascarpone, ricotta or fruit and in torte, they are a versatile nut. They are grown in the south of Italy and used in sweet and savory dishes.
Almond oil is extracted from both bitter and sweet almonds and the seed of the bitter almonds are used to make almond oil and almond flavorings used in confections. Pure almond extract can be purchased at any market, but almond oil is much harder to find. Some Internet sites such as King Arthur Flour and Italian specialty stores carry it. The intense flavor of almond oil makes a very big difference in baked goods especially this cookie. When using oil vs. extracts, you use just a few drops; a little goes a long way.
It is natural to consider that Ricotta and almonds would be married together into a delicious soft biscotti flavored with almond oil. Almond ricotta biscotti are delicate cookies but with an intense aroma. We always include it on a “Torta di Biscotto di Nozze” because they are so perfect for a biscotti wedding cake.
I decorate them with a thin slice of almond on white confectionary sugar frosting flavored with almond oil. I love the way the caramel exterior outlines the white interior of the almond. Adding Ricotta does reduce the amount of time these biscotti can be frozen. The most I would keep them in the freezer is about 2-3 weeks. They are best eaten fresh and last a week or so in a container that doesn’t hold in moisture. Freeze them before frosting and let them completly defrost before frosting them.
Ricotta Mandorle Biscotti
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes @ 350º F
Yield: 4 Dozen
Dry Ingredients
4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Wet Ingredients
2 sticks butter
2 eggs
1 lb. Ricotta
2 teaspoons almond extract
FROSTING
BASIC Confectionary Sugar Frosting
1 cup confectionary sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons milk
2 drops of lemon juice
2 drops extract or 1 drop almond oil (if using oil taste before adding another drop)
48 almond slices
Sprinkles or jimmies (optional)
Food coloring (optional)
DOUGH
Cream the butter then add the sugar and eggs. Beat the mixture for 1 minute and add the dry ingredients. When all the ingredients are well blended, mix in the almond extract and ricotta and thoroughly blend. Form the dough into a ball and cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
ASSEMBLY
Flour your hands, which you may have to do from time to time to keep the dough from sticking. Form balls about the size of small golf balls and place them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.
BAKE
Bake them for 15-20 minutes at 350º F or until the bottoms are brown. Allow them to cool completely before you frost them.
FROSTING
Add lemon juice and extract to the confectionary sugar. Slowly add in the milk until all confectionary sugar is mixed in and frosting is smooth. It should not be too thin or it will drip off the cookies and dry transparent. The frosting should be thick enough so that it sits on the top of the cookie.
Italian Street Food, Zeppole first made in Naples
Zeppole are traditionally served on San Giuseppe (St. Joseph’s Day) in Naples, which is on March 19th. They were first made in Naples by a baker and sold in front of his bakery from a street stand. You can still find them served in stalls on the streets today as well as in bakeries. Sometimes they are not rolled into a ball but scooped into the hot oil and look more like a fritter. Recipes can be found in cookbooks as early at 1834.
Emanuele Rocco (Le Zeppole, in Usi e Costumi di Napoli e contorni — Uses and Customs of Naples and Environs, Naples, 1857), who gives Cavalcanti’s recipe and adds, jokingly, that the inventor of such a delight deserves a statue with the following plaque: “Naples invented zeppole and all Italians licked their fingers.” He then says, “Thus our city government will be able to boast that they finally got one right, after all the mistakes they’ve made and continue to make every day.”
They can be made as either a savory or sweet dish. My grandmother made them with a piece of baccala in the middle, which I will post at a later date. My aunts say they were the best zappole they ever had, light as a feather with the salty taste of baccala. But they are still arguing over the recipe.
Zeppole are eaten anytime of the day as a snack or as a dessert after a meal dunked in a sweet wine, Moscato or Grappa.
ZEPPOLE
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes, or until they are golden brown
Yield: 24 Zeppole
Dry Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup raisins
1 small apple, finely chopped
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Grappa (Italian Liquor)
2 tablespoons Rum
1 small orange, zest only
COATING
Confectionary sugar
PREPERATION
Put the raisins into the Grappa and Rum; it should cover the raisins. Let them stand for about 1/2 hour or more.
BATTER
Blend the eggs and sugar together until fluffy. Add the flour, baking powder, zest, vanilla and sugar together and add it to the egg mixture in a mixer. Pour in the Grappa and rum from the raisins. Chop the apples very fine and fold them in with the raisins into the batter.
ASSEMBLY
Scoop out about 1/2 tablespoon of the batter. Cover your hands with flour and roll them into about the size of a golf ball. You can also scoop them out with a spoon and make them like fritters.
FRYING
Heat the oil and drop them one at a time into the oil. They will float to the top and, with a ladle, constantly roll them around in the oil so that they brown on all sides – approximately 3 minutes or until they are golden brown. Place them on a rack or paper towels to drain and cool.
COATING
Put them in a bag filled with powdered sugar or granulated sugar mixed with a little cinnamon and gently toss them, coating them with the sugar. They can also be dipped in warm honey.
Italian Easter Ricotta Torta
Ricotta torta is a much lighter cheese cake then the traditional NY cheese cake. It has less fat content then cream cheese and like most Italian desserts is far less sweet. This is a large cake and only has 3/4 cup of sugar. Fruit, such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, honey or jam glazes not only add color but additional sweetness. We don’t usually add anything as it has a lovely lemon flavor.
Ricotta is made from sheep’s, goat, buffalo or cows milk whey, it containes a little less fat and is less dense as well. Ricotta is used in both dessert and savory recipes in Italy. Torta Di Pasqua Al Formaggio is an Easter speciality.
Torta Di Pasqua Al Formaggio
Recipe Summary:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour or until done @ 350º F
Yield: 12 Servings
Dough Ingredients
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups solid vegetable shortening
1 egg, mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
Additional cold water to mix the dough, if needed
Filling
2 pounds whole milk ricotta
12 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, zest only
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Other things needed
1 9” x 13” baking dish
Crust
Mix the dough ingredients and roll the dough into a 9” x 13” rectangle. Reserve 1/4th of the dough to make lattice strips to go on the top of the torta. This step is optional. Place it in a baking dish, fitting it so that it covers the bottom and sides of the pan. Trim the edges so that are the same size as your baking dish.
Lattice (optional)
Cut the strips about 1” wide the width of the baking dish with a fluted cookie cutter. Lay one set of strips about 4” apart on the diagonal over the filling. Make another set of strips layering them over the first layer in the opposite direction. Cut the edges so that they fit against the sides of the pan.
Filling
Mix all the ingredients for the filling beating in one egg at a time.
Bake
Pour the mixture into the shell and place it in a 350º F oven for 1 hour or until done. Stick a toothpick into the middle; it should come out clean. Let it cool and place it in the refrigerator.
Topping
Cut the torta into squares. Serve fresh strawberries, or other toppings of your choice served on the side. You can also make a berry syrup, pureeing berries in your blender. Strain the berries to remove all the seeds. Add a few teaspoons of liquor and sugar to taste depending on how sweet the berries are. The syrup can be poured on the bottom of the plate; place the slice of cake on top and drizzle the syrup over the top.
Easter Dolci – A Taralli that Floats on Air
Traditional Italian food of Easter typically includes: capretto o agnello al forno (roast lamb), carcioffi fritti (fried artichokes), pizza rustica (a pie stuffed with ricotta, sausage and hard boiled eggs), la colomba di Pasqua (a dove-shaped sweet bread). Taralli, cassatelli, biscotti di pignoli, pena di Pasqua (sweet bread with hard-boiled, pastel colored eggs baked in the center), and torta di ricotta (Ricotta cheese cake) are prepared in every Italian home.
Chocolate Easter eggs are a special treat for children in Italy. The “uovo di pasqua” – a large decorative chocolate egg that comes with a gift inside are beautifully wrapped in elaborate and colorful decorative foils weighing from a few ounces to about 18 pounds. Stores are filled with “uovo di pasqua” creating a psychedelic and festive atmosphere. In past times, parents would take the gifts to their cioccolataio (chocolate maker) and it would be placed inside the chocolate egg.
The taralli is a treasure from Apuglia and are eaten any time of the day. Simple yet delicious recipes are created with eggs and flour. Fennel seed, black pepper, red pepper flakes and wine added and formed into oval or round shapes. In southern Italy, taralli come in many sizes and flavors. These are typically referred to in Neapolitan dialect as “scaldetelli” little boiled things. Many, but not all taralli are dipped in boiling water before being baked creating a nice sheen on the outside. Some are baked and brushed with egg wash. Taralli are biscuits or snack food, but can also make an appearance as a dessert after a meal is over and dunked into wine. In our family they are the star of the Easter desserts along with the Ricotta Torta and Torta di riso. They are traditional desserts that make each and every day special and holidays a delight for everybody. The Italians have a saying “no matter what the argument it can be resolved over a glass of wine and handful of taralli”.
The Easter egg taralli (as I call them) are only made at Easter and have no other flavoring. Typically, taralli are not frosted, but there is a version called “Charmel” that are lightly frosted with a confectionary glaze and sprinkled with tiny colorful sprinkles. Egg taralli are hard, but as light as clouds. Our recipe for egg taralli are boiled and then baked turning a warm caramel color. I make large quantities of them and serve them in an Italian hand painted bowl from Apuglia. Taralli dunked in “Vino Santo”, a sweet Italian white wine coming from the Tuscany is like floating in air. Very appropriate for Easter!
Easter Egg Taralli
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 20 minutes at 400ºF or until light brown
Yield: 5 Dozen
Dough Ingredients
7 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons oil
11 eggs
DOUGH
Add the salt to the flour in a large bowl. Mix the egg and oil into the flour and form a ball. This step can be done in a mixer. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel. Let it rest in a warm place for an hour.
ASSEMBLY
Roll out pieces of dough into 6” x 1” cylinders. Take each piece of dough and bring the ends together to form a doughnut shape. Press the ends together with your thumb.
BOILING
Fill a large saucepan with water and let it to come to a boil. Drop them one at a time into the boiling water. When they rise to the top, remove them to a dry board or kitchen towel. Make a cut along the outside edge of the doughnut. This allows them to rise.
BAKING
Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in a 400ºF oven until they are a light golden brown. The taralli will be hard on the outside, but light and airy on the inside. They are not sweet, but more like a biscuit. They will store in an airtight container for weeks.
Serve them with “Vino Santo”, a white sweet wine from the Tuscany.
‘Buona Pasqua!
Annecy France, a tableau of color
February 18, 2010
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Food-Gastronomy, Food-Photography, Street Photography, Tarts, Travel, Travel Photography, Vacations, Wine
Patricia Turo
Annecy is in the southeastern part of France. It lies on northern tip of Lake Annecy in the Haute-Savoie surrounded by mountains where goats and cows quietly graze in alpine pastures. Farms along the route produce and offer chèvre for sale and beautiful chateaus can be seen behind tall majestic trees.
During the 1400 hundreds, it was in the possession of the Genevois and the Princes of Savoy and later under Sicilian, Sardinian, Spanish, Austrian and finally French rule. You can clearly see the influence of these countries in the cuisine. The production of salami can be found in shops and farm stands throughout the region. Some stuffed with hazelnuts or rolled in crushed peppercorns and herbs. Large ones, small links, soft and hard varieties are produced by small farms in the area.
The old village (Annecy-le-Vieux) rambles along the Canal du Thieu where passages along the streets are lined with colorful houses and flowers. It is a strange beauty in a way, as many of the houses look as if they will crumble into the canal at any time. Paint clings onto the buildings, but losing its battle. This tableau of colorful buildings precariously leaning in all directions is simply charming. The arcades are lined with shops with traditional crafts, antiques, dried flowers, and chocolates. The small restaurants that are tucked into these houses serve foie gras de carnard, fondue Savoyarde, salade du chèvre chaud or poisson du lac. You think, should I chance walking up the narrow stairs; the scent of the Savoie specialties lures you up to small restaurants with views of the canal and cafés below.
There is a farmers market on Saturdays with vendor stands throughout the old city. Along the street crowded with people waiting to make their purchases, you can find local specialties such as kraut and saucisson cooked in large copper pots, fromage melted on large crusty pieces of bread, freshly made local breads, pastries as well as fresh fish, fruits and vegetables. There are many antique shops and once a month there is an antique market along the arcades (check the web page for exact dates).
Locals fill the large park located at the lakeside on the weekends. Children enjoying the carousel beg to go on again and again. There are ball games and people just taking in the sun or enjoy the day with friends and family outdoors. Artists painting the unique village create memories for tourists of Anncey for many years to come.
Brasseries line the narrow passages along the canal and the specialty of plateau fruits de mer is our favorite. My husband and I actually enjoy going to Anncey on a grey day and even light rain. Sitting in a brasserie with a large plateau du fruits de mer and a bottle of local white wine is one of our favorite ways to spend a rainy day.
Anncey is a romantic resort town. If you are visiting France or the French region of Switzerland, take a side trip to Anncey. It is about 1 hour from Geneva and 5 1/2 hours from Paris.
Check the Anncey tourist web site for more history, cultural events and markets.
www.annecy.org.
The recipe below is from France Monthly.Tartiflette is a typical “Savoie” dish. www.francemonthly.com
La Tartiflette
Servings: 6
Preparation time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs of potatoes
1 medium onion (larger or smaller according to your taste)
1/2 lb Canadian bacon
1 Reblochon cheese (or 1 lb of Swiss Gruyere)
3/4 cup white wine
2 Tablespoons oil
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
The recipe recommends that you use a cheese from the region, called “Reblochon”, and a white “Savoie” wine. This wine is very difficult to find in the United States and we therefore advise you to use a bottle of white Burgundy (Chablis, Saint Veran, Macon Village) or of Muscadet (from the Loire region).
If you cannot find the Reblochon, or prefer a milder cheese, Swiss Gruyere can be used. To accompany this dish we recommend a green leaf salad.
Peel potatoes and boil or steam for 20 minutes. Peel onion and cut into thin slices.
Heat large frying pan with the oil and sauté the onion slices. Cut bacon into small cubes and add to pan. Cook on medium heat until onion slices are soft (10 minutes). Stir as needed.
Add potatoes that have been diced and pour white wine over it.
Salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cut the Reblochon in two halves across its thickness. If you are using Gruyere, slice in thin strips.
Put half of the potato preparation in a round ovenproof dish.
Place half of the Reblochon (or Gruyere) cheese side down, on top.
Cover with remaining potatoes and finish with the second half of the Reblochon (or Gruyere).
Place in 350º F oven for 20 minutes
Carrot Cake with Mascarpone Maple Cream
I tried many carrot cakes and always feel as though I can’t ever finish it. They are usually heavy and all seem to be somewhat the same. This is a very old recipe of my mothers and is lighter with an Italian twist. The original recipe was topped with cornflakes, however I have replaced the cornflakes with chopped walnuts sprinkled at the bottom of the mold pan so that the top of the cake is decorated with walnuts and doesn’t need the cream cheese frosting. Put a dollop of cream cheese or Mascarpone maple cream topping on the side or make two carrot cake molds and fill the middle of the cake with the topping. I find that the cream cheese topping done this way helps to keep the cream cheese moist and prevents it from drying out and cracking.
Pecans can be substituted and the cream cheese topping can be substituted with Mascarpone Cream. Add little maple syrup and crushed walnuts or pecans to the Mascarpone for a different variation.
Carrot Cake
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour @ 350ºF
Yield: 14 servings
Dry Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Wet Ingredients
2 cups solid vegetable shortening or half shortening and butter
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 cups grated carrots
Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 oz. butter, softened
1 1/3 cups confectionary sugar
Or
Mascarpone Maple Cream Filling
Yield: 1 1/2 cups
1 8 oz. container Mascarpone Cheese
6-8 tablespoons of maple syrup
1/4 cup pulverized walnuts/pecans
Other Things Needed
1 bundt pan, greased
BATTER
In a mixer, place the shortening and sugar and beat until blended. Add the eggs one at a time while mixing. Put in the lemon juice. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder and add it a little at a time to the mixing bowl, blending it before you add more flour. Once the batter is smooth, fold in the carrots.
BAKE
In a well-greased bundt pan, spread the walnuts/pecans over the bottom of the pan. Pour in the batter and place the pan in a larger pan of hot water. The water should come up to about the middle of the pan.
Put it in a 350ºF oven for 1 hour. Allow the cake to cool before adding the filling.
NOTE: Put the larger pan on the rack in the oven, pour the hot water in the pan and place your cake pan into it. This way you don’t risk dropping the hot water or splashing water into your cake batter. It is much safer than doing it on the counter and bringing it to the stove.
Two mold pans can be used instead of one. Fill the center of the cake with your Cream cheese or Mascarpone cream filling.
FROSTING
Mix the softened cream cheese with the softened butter and add the vanilla and sugar blending it until it is smooth.
Mascarpone Maple Cream
Bring the Mascarpone to room temperature. Pulverize the nuts in a food processor. Mix all the ingredients together until the cream is smooth. You can adjust the recipe to make it stronger. Add other varieties of syrup or chopped dates, chopped fruit etc. to compliment your dessert.
An Italian Christmas Tradition and Pizzette for dessert
November 30, 2009
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Biscotti, Chocolate, Desserts, Events, Food-Gastronomy, Food-Photography, Holiday Dishes
Patricia Turo
My grandmother would make biscotti for days before Christmas and hide them in an armoire in her front hall under lock and key. If she allowed any of us to get close to them, they would have disappeared long before Christmas. But if we asked her nicely, she never said no. She took the key out of her apron pocket and unlocked that treasure chest filled with sweet, spiced biscotti and handed you some of your favorites.
She had a small white sideboard with a roll-down top. Here she made all her biscotti and that sideboard was our first stop when we entered her kitchen. We could never understand how so many wonderful desserts could be prepared on such a small surface. When I was young I remember her cooking on a black iron stove and blocks of ice being delivered for her wooden icebox. She was in her element even through she wore herself out during holidays. Her family showed their appreciation by filling her home with all their kids in a flurry of noise feasting on all her specialties made with a strong dash of pride. The variety of cookies, cakes, stuffed artichokes, pasta and breads, that came from that kitchen was like being in Grandma’s Christmas Wonderland. We all loved and looked forward to these holiday reunions.
The tradition continues with members of our family preparing their favorite biscotti for events such as wedding, showers and holidays. Every child in our family begins to take part in this tradition at an early age. You don’t have to encourage them, as they can’t wait to get their little hands in all of that dough. It is a way to bond with the kids and make them part of a family tradition. We know that future generations will enjoy these recipes and get to know a little about Grandma and our heritage.
An Italian family can have many versions of the same biscotti and every person takes great pride in their recipe. Pizzetts are a family recipe that is used on almost every tray we make. Pizzette are a double chocolate biscotti scented with spices, roasted almonds, orange zest, expresso and chocolate chips. They are the star attractions on our cookie trays for Christmas and every special event. You can make these cookies in advance and freeze them for up to 2 months unfrosted.
My Christmas greeting to all my readers and let me know if pizzettes are on your Christmas dessert table.
Pizzette
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes @ 375ºF
Yield: 4 Dozen
Dough
Dry Ingredients
4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup roasted almonds, cut in half
4 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate. chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground clove
2 teaspoons baking powder
Wet Ingredients
Zest of one orange
2 eggs
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup warm water, orange juice or coffee
1/2 cup vegetable oil
FROSTING
12 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn sryup
2-3 tablespoons Brandy or Cointreau, Grand Marnier or tablespoon Kahlua
DOUGH
Mix the cocoa powder into the water or juice. Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl including the nuts, add orange zest, almonds and chocolate chips. Make a well in the center and add the eggs and the water cocoa mixture. Slightly beat the liquid while in the center well and begin to bring in the dry ingredients (you may have to add a little more liquid if it is too dry). Gradually add vegetable oil to form the dough. You may need to wet your hands with oil. The Dough will be thick and will have an oily glaze. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
ASSEMBLY
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut small portions and roll out the dough in the form of a cylinder. Pat down the top and cut into 1” slices on a diagonal to form a diamond shape. Place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
BAKE
Bake 375º F for 8-10 minutes. Do not over-bake the cookies as they will be become dry and hard.
FROSTING
Melt the chocolate with the butter over a double boiler or in a microwave oven. Add the liquor a little at a time. Taste and add more if needed. The original recipe did not include liquor and is fantastic just with the chocolate, butter and a little syrup.
Frost the cookies when they are completely cool.
Traditional Holiday Cookie, Cartellate are filled with Honey, Chocolate, Nuts & Spices
November 12, 2009
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Biscotti, Desserts, Food-Photography, Holiday Dishes, Travel
Patricia Turo
You ask, what could be more decadent, and I say absolutely nothing. Cartellate are traditionally made during Christmas. They are traditional Pulgiese fried pastries filled with roasted almonds, honey, spices and chocolate.
Apuglia is a peninsula that forms the heel of the “boot” of Italy and has had many conquerors. The Greeks, Romans, Goths, Lombards, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Angevins, Argonese, Spanish, the German emperors, Burbons, Turks, Venetians and more. Referred to as a melting pot – each left their mark on the region. You can see the influences in the clusters of white stucco flat roofed dwellings. But the influences of these cultures are also evident in the food and none more then Cartellate.
I have eaten many Cartellate in Puglia. I can honestly say my aunt’s recipe is the best. She came from Peschici, Foggia and called them “Cluster”. Cartellate is dough mixed with wine, formed into a wagon wheel shape and fried. The pockets in the wheel are the receptacles for honey or mosto cotto (a syrup made from fruits or grape skins), spices, nuts and chocolate.
The Cluster I have had in Puglia are delicious and the syrup is mostly made with honey or mosto cotto mixed with lemon zest and walnuts. Some have no nuts and might have a sent of cinnamon. My aunt Rafaela filled hers with roasted almonds, chocolate, spices both cinnamon and clove melted in honey. The combination is positively addicting.
In earlier times my family only made them at Christmas, but as time passed and the love of cartellate overtook us, we began to make them the star of our Thanksgiving desserts. They were never included in the “Torta di Biscotto di Nozze” trays for weddings as they are usually dripping with honey, but today we also make a separate tray of cartellate for weddings.
These cookies are a labor of love and not easy to make, but the good news is that you can place the shells in a brown paper bag and keep some for Christmas. I make the filling and store it in a glass container so that they are ready to fill and take center stage with the rest of our Christmas biscotti. The only problem is that having them around until Christmas challenges your will power.
Cluster Cookies
Cartellate
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 5 minutes each
Yield: 30 Cookies
Dough
Dry Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs. flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
1 cup shortening
4 egg
1 jigger of Sherry or Marsala
Tepid water to mix
FRYING
1 quart Canola or peanut oil
FILLING
48 oz. honey
1 lb. roasted almonds, cut in half
12 lb. dark chocolate chips, good quality
1 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground cloves, or to taste
DOUGH PREPARATION
Put all the dry ingredients together in a bowl or on a board, and make a well in the middle. Put in the shortening, eggs, Sherry or Marsala and, if needed a little warm water. Mix until you are able to form a ball. Knead until the dough is smooth and place it in the refrigerator for about 1 hour covered with plastic wrap. You can also mix the dough in a food processor but add the almonds in by hand.
ASSEMBLY
If you have a pasta machine, you can roll out the dough to its second to the last level, or you may roll out a piece with a rolling pin as thinly as possible. Using a pastry cutter with a fluted edge, cut strips out about 2” wide and 8” long. Holding the dough at one end, begin to pinch the dough about 3/4 inch apart, creating small pockets along the strip. Bring the dough around from one end crimping the dough together pinching it along the strip to form a circle. These pockets will hold the filling. The cookie looks like a cartwheel, which is the definition of “Cartellate” The cluster cookie should be about 4” round; however they can be made whatever size you want them to be.
Secure the ends with a toothpick so that they will not unravel during frying. You can keep them overnight and fry them the next day. This is important because you don’t want them to puff up too much closing the pockets during frying. Otherwise they will need at least 4 hours drying time.
FRYING
Fry a few at a time in hot oil. Remove when they turn a deep golden color. Allow the shells to drain on paper towels or on a rack. Remove the toothpicks and fill them or place them in a paper bag or box until you are ready to fill them.
FILLING
To make the filling, melt all of the ingredients together in a saucepan, taste for seasoning and place in the refrigerator. The filling will get hard, but will stay in the shells better if somewhat cool.
Start by placing a tablespoon of filling in each cluster cookie. When this step has been completed, go back and keep filling each cookie until you have used all the filling.
The filled cookies will stay a week or more. If you want to make the cookies in advance, place them in a paper bag and they will stay for several days to a month. Never store them in a sealed container or wrap them with plastic wrap.
Limoncello: Sorrento’s Liquid Gold
In Italy there are many alcoholic drinks that are favorites as a digestive. To name a few are Grappa, Moscato, Vino Santo and Prosecco for example. But Limoncello has become one of the world’s favorites in recent years. Although it was well know in Italy, the world has gotten to know the deep yellow after-dinner drink of Limoncello recently. Prior to that it was produced in small productions and mainly drunk in Italy.
Although many areas of Italy produce Limoncello today, it originated in Sorrento. The “oval” Sorrentino – the denomination of geographic Indication (IGP) was granted in November of 2000 and can be found on the bottles from the Sorrento region. This IGP of the Sorrento lemons opened up a whole new commercial opportunity for the area. The lemons grown in this area originally were exported, but today about 40% are sold for fresh consumption and 60% are used to make Limoncello. The Sorrento lemons are medium-large, with a thick, rough, light-yellow skin, an intense aroma and are rich in essential oils. They have a pleasant flavor with a low number of seeds. The key for Limoncello is the oil in the skin and the color of the skin, as it is just the rind that flavors and gives the rich yellow color to the liquor. The maceration of the peel with alcohol and sugar slowly develops the aroma and color.
The unique fresh taste and the aroma of Limoncello is an excellent digestive served cold. Especially after a meal with strong flavors, Limoncello refreshes the palate. The bottles are stored in the freezer and I also put the glasses in the freezer for about 10 minutes or so before serving.
Many Italians make Limoncello themselves. Along the Almalfi coast there is hardly a house that doesn’t have lemons growing in their garden.
Limoncello is used to flavor gelati and cakes, poured over fruit and can be used with shrimp or other fish dishes.
I make Limoncello once a year and store it in our wine cellar – keeping one bottle in the freezer ready for a digestive. I have prepared bottles as gifts to give friends who come to visit or for Christmas gifts. Very small bottles can be made as favors for a wedding or parties. One recipe goes a long way. It is a different idea that makes people really happy.
Limoncello
Recipe Summary
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: N/A
Yield: 1 1/2 quarts
Ingredients
9 large lemons
4/5th bottle Vodka
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
PREPARATION
Wash the lemons and using a vegetable peeler remove the skins making sure that you do not remove the white part of the lemon.
ASSEMBLY
In a large jar, place the skins and the vodka and seal tightly. Place the bottle in a cool location for 3 weeks or more.
Remove the lemon skins, strain the liquid and add the sugar and water. Allow the mixture to stand outside the refrigerator for about 2 days or until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the Limoncello into bottles and store in the refrigerator or freezer.
SERVING
When serving Limoncello put the glasses in the freezer for about 10 minutes and pour the Limoncello into the ice cold glass.
I make Limoncello to give to my very best friends and family for Christmas gifts. Create your own label – they will appreciate that you took the time to make such a special gift.
For those who would like to read the history and legends of Lemoncello, view the following web site.
http://tasteofsorrento.sorrentoinfo.com/articoli/sorrento_limoncello.asp
Ravioli Dolci di Puglia
One of my friends on Foodbuzz was looking for ideas on how to use Ficoco, which is fig jam with cocoa. Sugar was expensive so many desserts were made with jams or mosto cotto (grape syrup) to sweeten cakes, cookies etc. Itlians have many jam or fruit filled cookies that ficoco would be perfect for, in fact figs were also used to make mosto cotto.
http://turosdolci.pturo.com/a-grape-surprise-that-give-tarts-a-new-twist/
I have several stuffed cookie recipes that we make and one is “Ravioli Dolci”. This cookie is a recipe from Apuglia. Ravioli Dolci is a fried cookie that does not have a long shelf life, in fact this is best eaten the day they are made.
Ravioli Dolci di Puglia
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 1 1/4 hours
Cook Time: 1 second per batch, about 3 at a time
Yield: 26 Dozen
Dry Ingredients
8 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
Wet Ingredients
1 cup shortening
4 eggs
1 shot glass of Marsala wine
Warm water, as needed
Canola or peanut oil for frying
Filling
8 oz. size bottle of honey or mosto cotto
1 lb. roasted almonds, finely chopped
1/2 lb. chocolate or chocolate chips, chopped
Ground cinnamon, to taste
Ground cloves, to taste
Variation
A teaspoon of any variety of jam or Ficoco.
Topping
Confectionary sugar
Filling
In a pan on medium heat, melt all of the ingredients together, taste for seasoning and place it in the refrigerator.
Dough
Put all the dry ingredients together in a bowl or on a board and make a well in the middle. Put in the shortening, wine and if needed a little warm water. Mix until you can form the dough. Knead until the dough is smooth and place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. You can also mix the dough in a food processor.
Assembly
If you have a pasta machine, you can roll out the dough to the second to the last level. Or you may roll a thin layer of dough with a rolling pin. With a round cookie cutter, cut circles about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place a small amount of jam or of the roasted almond honey mixture with the tip of a teaspoon in the center of each circle. Fold over like a half moon and crimp the edges with a fork.
Frying
In a deep pan filled with oil, fry about 3 at a time until they are golden brown. They turn brown very quickly; only about a second per batch.
Topping
Allow them to cool and sprinkle confectionary sugar over the top.
Panettone: A Traditional Sweet Bread is a Symbol of Christmas Greetings
A traditional sweet bread made at Christmas time, panettone was created in the Lombardy region of Italy and is the undisputable holiday favorite. Scholars have traced panettone back to the middle ages. The dome shaped sweet bread is traditionally made with candied fruits, zest and flavored with liquors. Today you can find it with chocolate chips and other ingredients. It is less like a cake then light fluffy sweet bread. The use of natural yeast results in a dough that rises slowly. The rising time can be as long as 48 hours. The long leavening contributes to the long shelf life, which can be as long as 6 months. Italian bakers take pride in the age of their leavening and some are maintained over many years.
It is eaten in Italy with a glass of white wine and in earlier time generally served as a dessert. Panettone is recognized in Italy as a very special greeting gesture of the Christmas season. Restaurants and shops offer panettone to their customers as a Christmas greeting and they can be found in all bakeries and markets in all sizes. At Christmas time you can be overwhelmed with gifts of panettone and I often use them to make panettone bread pudding or French toast for my overnight guests and I also freeze it. Panettone has become so popular that you can find it year round not just in Italy but all over the world.
They are baked in greased paper molds, which is removed like a cupcake. The greased paper molds help to maintain their freshness. The molds are available on Internet sites as well as metal panettone pans. The disposable molds are traditional and I prefer them to the pans. Usually packaged in brightly decorated boxes or colored decorated foils in blue and red – they are stacked high in markets.
We make panettone in smaller paper molds similar to cupcake cups but larger, and individually wrap them in cello wrap. We sell them as wedding favors, for parties and business conference breaks. Make them yourself and give them as Christmas gifts to special friends and family.
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: Yield: 375ºF for 35-45 minutes
Yield: 12 Panettone cups
YEAST PREPARATION
2 1/4 teaspoons. active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 pinch of sugar
Dry Ingredients
4 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 cups raisins, soaked in dry Marsala, rum or brandy for 30 minutes
3/4 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
Wet Ingredients
6 oz. unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup candied fruit, mix with a tablespoon of flour
1 orange zest
1 lemon zest
1 teaspoon flour, to mix with the zest
EGG WASH
1 egg yolk, beaten
2 tablespoons water
TOPPING
Almonds sliced
Combine the yeast, pinch of sugar and water and mix well to dissolve the yeast. Let it stand for about 10 minutes in a warm place such as the oven to activate. When foam appears on the top of the water, the yeast has been activated.
Put the flour, sugar, salt, butter and eggs in the large bowl of an electric mixer or food processor. Mix the dough with the dough hook at low speed. Add the yeast mixture slowly. When all the ingredients are incorporated, increase to medium speed or until the dough forms a ball.
Spread a little flour in a large bowl and place the dough in it. Cover it with plastic wrap and place in a draft-free place to rise for 4 hours. It should double in volume. Remove the dough and knead it for 5 minutes and return it to the bowl. Cover and let it rise again until it has doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
Strain the raisins and press down on them to remove the liquid. Lightly flour the work surface. Punch down the dough and make a large circle with your hands. Sprinkle the raisins, candied fruit, orange peel and lemon peel over the dough. Fold the dough over the mixture and knead it lightly until all of the ingredients have been incorporated. If you are adding the citron and/or zest, mix with the flour and add it to the dough.
ASSEMBLY
Divide the dough into 12 round equally sized balls, approximately 4 1/2 ounces each. Butter each of the panettone cups lightly and place a ball in each cup. Cut a cross into the top with a knife. If using scissors make a small cut in both directions on the top or each ball of dough. Brush the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle some almond slices over the top. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for another 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until it has doubled in volume again.
Preheat the oven to 375º F. Bake the panettoni for 30 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Allow them to cool on a wire rack. In this case we don’t have cups and we are cooking several cups.
Note: The Panettone can be made in one or two molds to make a larger cake. They are wonderful gifts as they have a long life and can be beautifully packaged.
Panettone molds
http://www.fantes.com/panettone-pandoro.html
History of Panettone
http://int.primopiatto.barilla.com/
From Cape Cod bog’s – Cranberry Walnut Bread
October 14, 2009
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Cakes, Food-Gastronomy, Food-Photography, Holiday Dishes, New England, Travel Photography
Patricia Turo
Cranberries are native to North America and it is known that Indians served cranberries at the first Thanksgiving dinner and served them with venison. They are an amazing fruit growing under sand and wetlands. European settlers actually gave them their name even though the Indians were eating them long before they came to North America. Massachusetts and Wisconsin are the largest producers of Cranberries in the world.
I spent my summers on Cape Cod where there were cranberry bogs in our back yard. After the harvest was over there were many berries lying on top of the bog that got left behind. We would collect them and make muffins and mix them with apple pie – they add a little tartness to the pie that I really like. They are only available in Switzerland in November for a few weeks and to my surprise I am able to buy Ocean Spray cranberries. I buy several bags and freeze them for the year. The European varieties don’t have the same flavor and are much smaller. For more information on cranberries log onto the Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. web site. http://oceanspray.com/
We tend to think about cranberries only during Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I freeze them and use them as a salsa for meats, in apple pie and crumble, and cranberry bread. I dry them in the oven and toss them in my homemade granola, muffins, biscotti and scones. I make cranberry sauce year round serving it with venison, chicken and pork. Cranberries are a good source of vitamin C and are also full of antioxidants.
Cranberry Walnut Bread
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour @ 350º F
Yield: 12 slices
Dry Ingredients
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons all purpose flour, for dusting the berries
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely broken, save 3 for decoration
Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons orange zest or
2 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups cranberries
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Other things needed
Parchment paper, cut the size of the bottom of your loaf pan
BATTER
Cream the butter, sugar and eggs until they are fluffy. Add the sour cream, orange zest, and orange juice.
Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients a little at a time. Using the 2 tablespoons of flour – toss the cranberries into the flour coating them. Fold in the berries and walnuts by hand. Place the parchment paper at the bottom of the load pan. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan with parchment paper at the bottom and three place whole walnuts on the top of the batter. Drop the pan onto the countertop a few times so that the batter settles evenly.
BAKE
Bake in the oven for 1 hour at 350ºF. Test with a toothpick; it should come out dry when done. Remove it from the oven to a rack and allow it to cool before removing from the loaf pan.
Apples, Apples, Apples and homemade Apple pie | The News is NowPublic.com
The early settlers brought Apple seeds to Massachusetts from Europe. A farmer named John Chapman, from Leominster Massachusetts was known as “Johnny Appleseed”. He distributed apple seeds all over North America and became a part of American folklore.
Apples, Apples, Apples and homemade Apple pie | The News is NowPublic.com.
The passion of a New England farm & homemade apple pie
Smolak Farm is surrounded by preservation land in a country setting in North Andover, Massachusetts. A distinct seasonal personality of New England set in a green valley surrounded with vivid warm autumn foliage.
As you drive down this quite country road you are drawn to this lovely farm framed with stonewalls and fruit orchards. Driving closer your pallet begins to salivate as you are pulled towards the sent of cinnamon, sugar, apple cider and the aromas of homemade doughnuts, pie’s and muffins. Without even noticing it you are standing in front of the counter trying to decide which of these desserts you will enjoy. It is impossible to resist. I select some cinnamon sugar doughnuts to take home for breakfast in the morning and look forward to making a warm apple pie for dessert this evening.
Apple picking is a family tradition and we are off to the apple orchards with rows of trees all marked by the variety of apples grown; this is what we came for. As usual we select the largest bag and fill it with several varieties especially good for baking apple pies, apple crisp and apple muffins. Our eyes are bigger then our stomach and we think what are we going to do with all of these apples.
Within a few days they will all be smothered with spices and baked into apple dumplings, pies and crumble and shared with friends and family. Then we head for the pumpkin patch. It is a treasure trove of gourds. We select several for carving and some for baking pumpkin pie. This is New England and the joy of filling our home with autumn scents is a tradition we look forward to.
The passion of the New England farm is alive and well throughout the region.
Apple Pie
Recipe Summary
Cook Time: 60 minutes – 15 minutes @ 425ºF, 45 minutes @ 350ºF
Yield: 8 servings
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening (one cup of shortening if you eliminate the butter)
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (the butter makes the crust flaky)
2/3 cup ice-cold water
Pinch salt
USING A MIXER OR PROCESSER
Mix the flour, shortening, and salt until it looks like a crumb mixture. Add the butter to the crumb mixture. The mixer or processor does a good job of crumbing the mixture. The butter should only be pulsated a few times to assure it isn’t over processed. The original recipe calls for a total of 1 cup of shortening; you can use a mixture of butter and shortening. Remove it from the mixer or processor and mix 2/3 cup of ice-cold water a little at a time until the dough forms. You may not need the entire amount of water. DO NOT OVER PROCESS OR OVERWORK THE DOUGH. Once you have brought all the ingredients together, cut it in half and form a disk shape by patting it with your hands and put it in plastic bags. Refrigerate them for at least 1/2 hour.
BY HAND
If you are mixing the dough by hand, place the flour in a bowl and add a pinch of salt. Cut the shortening into small pieces and crumble it either with you hands or with a fork. Cut the butter in, but in larger chunks. Add the ice-cold water and bring it together into a ball, the same as the directions above.
Roll half of the dough out and place it into your pie plate. Fill your pie with whatever filling you are using (follow the directions according to the recipe you are using in the Pie Section). Roll the second piece of dough out and place it on top of your filling. Evenly cut the dough around the edges and crimp the dough according to the directions in the recipe. Return the pie to the refrigerator for 15 minutes to 1/2 hour to cool down before baking. The crust should be kept cold. This will make the crust flaky.
FILLING
12 large apples (mixed varieties, see apple varieties list)
1 cup sugar (the sugar quantity depends on the sweetness of the apples)
4 tablespoons butter, cut in quarters
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 cup cinnamon
Zest of 1 lemon
EGG WASH
I egg
2 tablespoons water
PIE CRUST
Prepare the dough and cut it in half. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you are ready to use it.
Retrieve 1/2 of the pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll out the dough to fit a 9” pie plate. The dough should overlap the plate.
FILLING
Peel, core and cut into sections all the apples and put them into a bowl. Add the flour, cinnamon, sugar and lemon zest and toss the apples until they are completely covered with the ingredients. Put the apple mixture into the prepared cold pie crust and return it to the refrigerator.
TOP PIE CRUST
Retrieve the remaining dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out. Retrieve the pie from the refrigerator. Cut the butter into cubes, dotting the top of the apples in different places. Cover the apples with the second pie crust. Cut around the edges evenly so that it falls uniformly below the rim of the plate; about 1 inch. Roll the dough under all around the rim by hand and crimp the edges. Brush the top with the egg wash and cut the top crust with a sharp knife in decorative cuts. This allows the steam to exit. You can make some decorations with the dough, for example in the shape of leaves etc. and put them on the top before you put the egg wash on. Sprinkle with a little sugar and place the pie in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to cool down the ingredients before baking.
BAKE
Bake in a very hot oven at 425º F for 15 minutes. This will set the crust. Turn down the oven to 350º F for 45 minutes or until done. You can put a skewer into the slit in the piecrust to test if the apples are soft. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool on a rack to room temperature.
Apple pie is best served warm. A scoop of vanilla ice cream or a slice of good cheddar cheese compliments the pie.
EXAMPLES OF APPLES GOOD FOR PIES
Cortland: Mild, tender
Red Delicious: sweet, crunchy
Jonathan: Tart, juicy, crisp
McIntosh: Slightly tart, tender, juicy
Rhode Island Greening: Tart, firm
Yellow Delicious: Transparent, tart, soft
Granny Smith: Green, tart, crisp
NOTE: You can add raisins, or walnuts and also some fresh ginger or a shot glass of Calvados (Apple Brandy) for an exotic flavor.
Zuccotto a Cake for all Occasions
Zuccotto is light as a feather yet full of fruit and soaked with rum. Fill it with fresh fruit such as, strawberries, raspberries or peaches. You can prepare it as shown here in this recipe or serve it in a pretty bowl, maybe one with a pedestal, top it off with the whipped cream and scoop it out.
Pane di Spagna is a light sponge cake found in most markets in Italy. It is often layered with mascarpone, pastry cream and fruit. Biscotti are also crushed and layered in the same manner. These are common everyday desserts in Italy and are very easy to prepare. There are no rules, just use the fruits that are in season.
Zuccotto
Recipe Summary
Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: Follow a recipe for pastry cream
Yield: 1-10”x5” Cake, 12 servings
Ingredients
3- 9” x 2” plain sponge cakes or cut in half 2 Pane di Spagna
FILLING
6 large, fresh peaches or 1 large container fresh strawberries
2 pastry cream recipes
DRIZZLE LIQUID
1/2 cup dark Rum
2 cups Confectionary sugar
1 cup water
TOPPING
1 16 oz. container whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectionary sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 pound almond slices, toasted
OTHER THINGS NEEDED
Bowl 10” x 5”
PANE di SPAGNA
Chef Franco, Pasticceria Monte S. Angelo, (Foggia) Italia
Recipe Summary
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes @ 375ºF
Yield: 1 10” sponge cake
Dry Ingredients
1 cup flour, sifted
1 cup confectionary sugar
Wet Ingredients
6 large egg yolks, beaten
6 large egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks
2 teaspoons lemon or vanilla extract
OTHER THINGS NEEDED
10” round layer cake pan
Batter
Separate the egg yolks and egg whites. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
Beat the egg yolks, add the confectionary sugar and extract and blend well until the batter is smooth. Add in the sifted flour a little at a time and blend well. The batter will be a little thick at this point. Fold 1/4th of the egg whites into the batter. Fold in the remaining egg whites gently.
Baking
Pour it into a greased baking pan. Bake for about 30 minutes. Prick it with a cake tester until it come out dry.
PREPERATION
FILLING
If you are using fresh peaches, peel them and cut them into slices. Put 2 cups of granulated sugar and 1 cup of water in a pan and dissolve the sugar until you have syrup. Place the peaches in the syrup and cook them until they are soft, but still have a slight stiffness. Remove them and allow them to cool, and reduce the syrup to about 1 cup. You can add a little peach brandy or rum to the syrup. Sprinkle the syrup over the cake instead of the rum as you would if you were using fresh strawberries. You can also use canned peaches. If using strawberries they should be washed, shucked and sliced.
PASTRY CREAM
Make the pastry cream according to the recipe directions and let it cool.
ASSEMBLY
Cover a 10” x 5” bowl or form with plastic wrap so that it completely covers the bowl. It should come down the outside of the bowl enough to fold over the cake at the end.
Cut the cakes in half and cover the bottom and sides of the bowl with the cake. Sprinkle a little rum or syrup over the entire cake. Spread a layer of pastry cream over the bottom of the cake. Place another layer of cake over the cream and sprinkle it with a little rum or sryup. Slice the strawberries or peaches and place them over the cake. Cover the fruit with another layer of cake again sprinkling the syrup or rum. Put another layer of fruit over the cake and another layer of pastry cream and cover the cream with the last layer of cake. This should take you to the top of your bowl. Bring the plastic wrap over the top of the bowl covering the entire top of the cake. Place a plate on the top with a weight, such as a can of tomatoes and put it in the refrigerator overnight.
TOPPING
Place almonds on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown. Watch them carefully as they will brown quickly.
Whip the cream in a cold bowl until the cream starts to stiffen. Add the vanilla and confectionary sugar and beat until the cream forms stiff peaks.
Cover the entire cake with the whipped cream and pat the toasted almonds over the cake. Return it to the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
A Wedding Biscotti Cake: “Torta di Biscotto di Nozze”
Planning starts early for an Italian wedding with grandparents, aunts, cousins all allocated different jobs, including the preparation of the “Torta di Biscotto di Nozze”. This is by far one of the most important jobs of all. Italian weddings tend to be large and huge amounts of biscotti are made by all the members of the future bride’s family. Imagine what the kitchen looks like with everyone having a specific task to perform and making dozens of biscotti for weeks before the wedding!
The bride takes the “Torta di Biscotto di Nozze” and offers them to the wedding guests who fill their napkins and handbags. Everyone including each child gets their share of biscotti to take home. Then of course the critique begins as to which biscotti are the best. OURS are always the best as our family truly are experts in the preparation of this most enjoyable and important tradition.
“Torta di Biscotto di Nozze” is a biscotti wedding cake. It is layers of different biscotti arranged in a pyramid decorated with icing covered almonds called “Confetti” and ribbons. It takes center stage at Italian weddings. Members of the family bring the biscotti together the day before the wedding and arranged and wrape the torta with great fan fair, this is an event in itself. Of course, it is hard not to taste them as you are constructing the torta.
The layers can be placed such as described below, or you can randomly place them making sure that the bottom layers are sturdy cookies that can take the weight of the ones placed on top.
Placing doilies in between the layers helps to stabilize the cookies. If making larger trays another way of doing this is to dip the bottom of each biscotto into confectionary sugar frosting and attach it to your torta construction. This will keep the biscotti from moving or falling. In this case you would not use the doilies except to cover the bottom of the tray.
“Confetti”; candy covered almonds in colors symbolic of life’s events are randomly placed throughout the torta. Confetti arrangements placed on top of the “Torta di Biscotto di Nozze” are saved as mementoes. The nuns of Santa Chiara in the region of Abruzzi are famous for their confetti confections. The colors are traditional and represent the following:
White-Virginity
Green- Engagement
Pink or blue-Children, girl or boy
Silver and Gold-Wedding and Anniversaries.
TRAY ARRANGEMENT
Bottom layer: 2 varieties of firm biscotti such as a sliced biscotti and sesame seed cookie.
Separator doilies
Middle layer: 1 variety placed on a dolly
Separator doilies
Top layer: 1 variety of lighter weight biscotti
And so on.
STORING
Biscotti can be frozen for up to 2 months. The cookies are prepared in advance; frosted and assembled the day before the wedding. Once the biscotti are baked and completely cooled they are placed in freezer bags or plastic containers and frozen. When you are ready to use them you must completely defrosted them before applying the frosting. Place the cookies in boxes in order to transport to the location where the torta will be constructed.
WRAPPING
The tray is then placed on large sheets of cello wrap. It is important to place the cello wrap in both directions so that the cookies are completely covered with the wrap. The cello wrap is then brought up over the biscotti and tied with colorful ribbons.
Bomboniera or small decorative boxes or packets are often filled with the “Confetti” and given as gifts at Italian weddings. Today we often prepare Bomboniere filled with biscotti rather then passing them out.
A Cookie That Speaks To You – Chiacchiere
August 7, 2009
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Biscotti, Desserts, Food-Photography, Holiday Dishes, Switzerland, Travel
Patricia Turo
Everything in Italy has a story and this is no different. Chiacchiere means to chat in Italian. Because I never stopped talking as a kid, my grandmother would always say to me “chiacchiere, chiacchiere, chiacchiere” – meaning chatter, chatter, chatter. When you eat ciacchiere they crackle and crunch as you bite into the fragile, crispy fried pastry making a lot of noise, spreading crumbs all over the place and sprinkling you with confectionary sugar. They are eaten once a year, preceding Lent. Chiacchiere encourages chain eating.
The Venice Carnevale takes place at the end of February and is the most famous in Europe. Carnevale is celebrated with colorful festivals all over Italy. Masquerade balls, entertainment, music, spectacular papier–mâché floats and of course “dolci traditionali di Carnevale”. This deleciate cookie is referred to as ”Fritelle de Carnevale”.
I have found about 17 names so far for this cookie. Chiacchiere is the name used in the region of Lombardy, Cenci in Campania, Frappe in Emilia Romana, Crostoli in Venezia. They are also called Bugle, Strappole, Lattughe to name but a few regional variations. So what is in a name? It is as important as the recipe and those of us who adore this cookie can easily get into a heated discussion about its origins and its name. But the fun part is resolving it with a glass of white wine and a bowl full of Cenci. Like every Italian family, our recipe came from my grandmother, who was born in Avellino, (Campania, Italy). She called them Cenci.
Our version of this cookie preparation is made of strips of sweet dough cut into various shapes and fried in hot oil. They are dusted with powdered sugar once they are cool. They can be formed in a bow, or tied in a knot, or flat pieces of dough fried crispy. Every region, village and family tends to have its own recipe. Some recipes call for Marsala, Grappa or white wine mixed into dough. Some are made with yeast-others not.
Chiacchiere is a tradition at Christmas time in our family and the kids plead to be allowed to help with cutting and creating the bows. I find rolling out the dough with a pasta machine works very well. The dough should be very thin and cut into strips with a pastry cutter. I make a small cut in the middle, take one end and pull it through the hole creating a bow.
Many countries have their version of a fried sweet cookie. In Switzerland they are eaten from December to February and are called “Fasnachtchüechli” or “Chnöiblätz” (dough stretched over the knee). Fasnacht is also carnival in Switzerland.
Enjoy my family recipe, but be careful they are addictive.
Chiacchiere
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 1 hour 12 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes each or until golden
Yield: 6 Dozen
Dry Ingredients
4 cups flour, sifted
1/2 cup confectionary sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
1/4 pound butter
2 tablespoon of Whiskey, Brandy, Sherry or Sweet Marsala wine
4 medium eggs, beaten
FRYING
1 quart oil for frying (Canola oil or peanut oil)
DUSTING
Confectionary sugar
DOUGH
Cream the eggs and butter together. Add the alcohol of your choice and blend. Sift the flour, sugar and salt and slowly add it into the egg mixture. Form the dough and knead until it is smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
ASSEMBLY
Thinly roll out the dough. With a cookie cutter, cut the strips about 3” x 5” long. Make another cut in the center of the strip, about 1”, and pull one end of the dough through the cut forming a bow.
FRYING
In a deep fryer, place a few cookies at a time in hot oil and fry until they puff up and become golden brown. Place them on paper towels to drain or on a cake rack placed over a cookie sheet with a rim. This allows any additional oil to drain out of the cookie.
COATING
Once completely cooled, place a few cookies in a bag filled with confectionary sugar and gently toss them, coating them with the sugar.
STORING
Store in a paper bag. They will get soggy if they are stored in a sealed container.
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International Color Awards
around before baking. my grandma always did this on both her sweet
and black pepper ones.no one ever cuts them and it was driving me
crazy wondering if it was something someone in my family decided upon.
very cool to see others do the same. my great grandparents were from
montefalcone which is near naples.joe
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A Frosted Taralli, Charmel are an Easter Specialty « Piacere – Food & Travel without rules! said this on March 25, 2011 at 10:14 pm | Reply (edit)
Patricia
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Ingredienti6 uova (4 uova intere e 2 tuorli per l’impasto, perchè i due bianchi serviranno per il naspro ovvero per la glassa)
1 kg di farina circa
1 cucchiaino di bicarbonatomiscelare la farina alle uova e al bicarbonato.
impastare e se è troppo molle aggiungere altra farina.
prenderne un pò alla volta e fare delle ciambelle rotonde con i buchi piccoli.
per ogni uovo ne vengono fuori 2 circa.
al lato di ogni ciambella gli devi fare un taglio lungo tutto il diametro della ciambella.
cuocere nel forno già caldo in una teglia unta di strutto a 230 gradi per 15 minuti e senza aprirlo a 190 gradi per altri 5 minuti.glassa:
2 tazze di zucchero
mezza tazza di acqua
2 bianchi d’uovometter a cuocere dentro una casseruola a fuoco basso lo zucchero con l’acqua.
aggiungere i bianchi d’uovo montati a neve fermissima facendoli crescere.
avvolgere le ciambrelle.mangiarle fredde la glassa si asciuga.
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