Fave con la menta

Sitting in the warm kitchen at my sister in law's house on the side of the volcano Etna, having some mixed grill and Cumpari's fava beans from his garden. Cumpari is Sicilian for someone who is kind of related...through someone else, and you don't really have a title like uncle or inlaw to give them. It makes them family. 

Cumpari is my brother-in-law's dad. Has an amazing garden overlooking an old monastery whose bell tower still tolls. He can produce anything in that patch of dirt and can cook it well too.

Fave are broad beans. Huge monster green beans that have a list of wive's tales attached to them. When to eat. When not to. Can you eat fresh. What months. Idk them all but who cares because they're good. Especially with mint. We don't use mint a lot in the states besides for drinks. In Sicily they love it. Big handfuls of it stuffed in the fish you're grilling, or chopped on salads or cooked in soups.

I saw fava beans at the store the other day and couldn't resist. Yes they cost $8 and when were shelled and peeled were only about a cup of them, but wow what flavor! Reminded me of Cumpari.

2 lbs fava beans in their shells...they look like green beans on steroids. 12"long and 1" wide!
1/2 large onion chopped
2 carrots diced
2 med potatoes diced large
Half a head of romaine, sliced
1/4 of mint leaves, chopped up
Salt and olive oil.


In a large saucepan or small soup pot saute the onion and carrot with a tbsp or so of olive oil. Clean the beans while you saute.
Pull off the string of the fava like string beans and remove the 'beans' inside. Discard any black beans but some may have a black line on the end and that's ok.
Then use a knife to slit the side and peel the beans husk off. Yes, you have to peel the beans. Yes its more work than opening a can. But worth it!!

When the onion is done clear and soft, add fava beans and saute 5 minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients, and cover with water. Add 2 tsp salt, cover and simmer for about an hour.
That's it! Drizzle with olive oil and salt or pepper to taste. Serve even cool with toasted bread, or hot in winter. I served it as a side to some Italian chicken I invented for lunch. The Sicilian declared they were exquisite. 

Italian Squash Casserole: Ratatoni?

Sittin here in the 11 am dark of a Texas summer rainstorm and thinking about dinner last night.
We've been scarfing the beef the past few days having hosted friends from out of town. It was the obligatory steak every night Texas thing. After awhile it was more like, "Steak again??"

So last night was veggie night. Made some rice, made my fried cauliflower, and made a yummy squash casserole. It's a version of my Meme's recipe but italianized since I was out of the Meme's-necessary Ritz crackers. The Sicilian said, "No wonder that French chef loved it so much!" Took us awhile to make the Disney Ratatouille connection. Not exactly it but good enough!

This will fill a 9x9 glass casserole dish and serve easily 8-10 people as a side. If you serve over rice it could (and was for us) a great main dish.

Take a really big skillet, like 12" or 14" and slice up into it 2 med onions, a bell pepper, and enough zucchini and yellow squash to fill make a nice mound, probably 3 of each. Drizzle with olive oil, about 3 tbsp, salt it, toss a little, cover and put on med-hi. Leave covered and stir every 5 minutes. They'll cook, might even brown a little, and when cooked tender uncover and let cool a tad.

Preheat oven to 375. Put squash mixture in a bowl, and add
2 eggs
3/4 c Parmesan
3/4 c Italian bread crumbs
1/2 tsp black pepper
Pinch cayenne or red pepper flakes
2 tbsp oregano crushed
2 tbsp basil crushed
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix well and salt to taste. Put in the buttered casserole, and sprinkle with more Parmesan and then bread crumbs. Dot with bits of butter and bake for 30 min or till brown.

Super yum. I like when it has that little cayenne bite at the end...

Hope you like it. Easier than preboiling the squash and works fine. Might add a chopped boiled egg if you like. Would make it even better. Could even add some cut up leftover cooked chicken for a more complete meal.

La Crostata: quick traditional Italian dessert

This dessert removes any excuse you had for not cooking. So easy. Ingredients you always keep on hand. Quick. Yummy.
So I apologize for that.

Preheat oven to 375.
Line a 9" round cake pan with aluminum foil or parchment so it sticks out on four corners--- easier to remove your confection to place on a plate and serve with coffee!

Mash in a bowl with a fork, a stick of butter and 100 grams of sugar. Just weigh it. Grate fine or zest some lemon rind (don't get the white part) and add. Mix in an egg. Add 1 3/4 cup flour and mix in.
Dump out on a floured counter and roll out. It'll stick to the pin and counter. Just flour the pin. It should remind you of sugar cookie dough. When it's about double a pie crust's thickness, stop. Using a knife cut a circle 1" larger than the base of your cake pan. (set it on top.)
Use a spatula to scrape under the circle and roll it up on the pin to transfer to the cake pan. Press in and up sides about 3/4".
Take 1/3 cup of preserves or jam, add a spoon of water or two and mix to make a tad runny. Pour onto crust.
Now use the extra dough to make a lattice, make hearts, whatever. Paint with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake till golden, about 35 min.

In all it shouldn't take more than 15 min to get in the oven. By end of dinner it's ready.

Raspberry, apricot, and cherry are common. Or use nutella, and sprinkle with chopped almonds. YUM.

No excuses for buying dessert. Make it girl!! :)
Buon appetito!

The Good Stuff. Raw Butter

My grandmother used to treat us grandkids. With butter and sugar on bread. And we loved it.

Nowadays we are so afraid of fat that it's actually affecting our health. Google Weston A Price foundation. They've got some amazing studies on there related to fat, ADD and other brain related disorders, bone formation etc. Ok back to butter.

It's so easy. I was shocked. There are a million ways people do it.
Cultured
Washed
Drained
Seasoned
Mine is just plain easy butter.

I put a quart of raw cream in the vitamix blender. You can use another kind but it'll take much longer. But it'll work!
In the V I blend it maybe a minute or 90 seconds. Until it looks like scrambled eggs. Past the whipped cream stage. You'll see bits of butter sliding down the sides while blending.

Then into my milk jar I pour off all the buttermilk I can. Poke the butter a few times with a spatula and pour off any more milk.

I wash my butter. Makes it last longer supposedly. Removes the last of the milk proteins. But optional.
Put some ice in a glass and fill it with cold water. Let chill a minute and dump just the water into the blender. Yes, on the butter. Pulse ten times or if a normal blender blend ten seconds.

Don't save this liquid. Strain it off. You can repeat this until the water comes out clean. I don't. Once is enough for me. Put your new creamy golden amazing butter in a bowl and add some ice water again. Work through it with your hands (this is fun!!) and then drain off all the water. I tip the bowl a bit so that as I work it, the water goes to the other side.

Add 3/4 tsp of good (Real) salt and work in well.

Now take a palm full of butter at a time and squeeze any more liquid out, and set in your mold or dish. Molds can be just making a ball with your hands, a biscuit cutter, or I use a disposable muffin tin. It makes 1/2 cup pieces so I'm ready for baking. Chill your mold, covered or wrapped in Saran or waxed paper. Pop them out and store in the fridge.

Now spread some on your homemade bread and have a glass of buttermilk for lunch. Feels good doesn't it!!

Risotto ai funghi

"Mom, what's for lunch?"
"Theres bread and cheese that dad made...make a sandwich."
"No, how bout risotto? Mushroom or broccoli!"

I can't resist that kind of request. Well maybe I can sometimes. Not today.

Risotto is like pasta. Truly you don't NEED the right kind of rice. Short. Long. Jasmine. Arborio. You can even use brown rice (although it may take you till 2014 to cook it). Yes I can hear all you northern Italian friends moaning, all the way across the Atlantic, but it's true. You can manipulate things enough to be satisfied and have a wonderful meal.

This is my fairly easy risotto, made withOUT bouillon cubes (which are health NO-NOs for msg content and sodium)!! Here goes.

You need three things for risotto. 
Rice, a condiment, and broth.

For your broth put a largish saucepan of water to boil with an onion cut in four, a celery stalk, a carrot, maybe a tomato, and if you have it a few peppercorns... whatever. Let it boil for at least 30 min.  For risotto keep it warm and pick out the veggies and peppercorns. Dump the vegs in the compost when done.

About 15 min into your broth cooking, chop an onion and a couple garlic cloves, and two portobello mushrooms. That's going to be my condiment.  You can sub broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, zucchini, just about any old veg or even leftover roast chicken or a bit of smoked salmon. 

Slice mushrooms about 1/4" thick and then cut into bites. Throw all those into a 4qt saucepan or large skillet with "un noce" of butter. A walnut size piece. About 3 tbsp, and add about three turns round the pan drizzling olive oil too. Each turn round is about a tbsp. Sauté all those veggies on med till everything is wilted and golden.

Now dump in your 3 cups of rice. I like jasmine. I can buy it in bulk. And such an aroma!
Mix up with the butter and oil and veggies, and add another "noce" of butter. You want to toast the rice. It makes such a nice flavor. Don't stir too much. Scrape the bottom and stir, then let sit a minute. Then do it again. Give it time to touch the bottom and cook. (Btw y'all aren't using non stick cookware anymore are you??? Well don't. I use stainless. No worries. No icky scary stuff.) Ok toast about 3-4 minutes. It won't get really brown but it'll start to look dry and brown a tad.

Your broth is done now, and you start ladling it onto the rice. It'll steam and all. I like that part. Put only enough broth in so that once stirred in (scrape the bottom) you still see a slight layer of broth on top. Keep adding broth as it disappears and keep stirring in, scraping up the nice bottom bits, cooking until the rice is nice and al dente. Not mushy. There should still be a little wetness to it. Like there was too much broth. It's ok. Salt and black pepper to taste. Or use red pepper. That works too.

Here's the fun part. Put another "noce" of butter on top, stir in and make that rice all shiny, then stir in a handful of chopped fresh parsley and a nice squirt of lemon juice. Lastly a handful of Parmesan. And let sit for at least 10 minutes. Wow. So wonderful.

This works great with broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, radicchio, all so good. Broccoli, cauliflower and radicchio should be added more toward the last 10 minutes. Cooking time with broth is like any rice, about 20-25 minutes. It's such a good dish, good as a side or a main course. We had it alone for lunch, and for dinner had roasted meatballs, collard greens and risotto as a side. Nice. And no complaints about eating it twice in one day!
Oh if you want to get really crazy, toast some slivered almonds and top it! Or for that matter put them in the collards!

Buon appetito!!

Better-Than-A-Frappuccino Cupcakes

Idk where my 13yo found the recipe but after adjusting here it is. I have to say each component is amazing in itself. We've used each one in various ways the past few days...most having been added to a cappuccino or hot coffee.

It seems labor intensive, and compared to Betty Crocker it is, but a tad of patience makes it worth the effort.

Better-Than-A-Frappuccino Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes (makes 24 cupcakes):

1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sweetened espresso
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp vanilla
3 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons very finely ground espresso
2 teaspoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
3/4 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cup white sugar
4 eggs, yolks and whites separated

Add the espresso to the milk. Add the vanilla and set aside.

Ever read an old recipe?  My grandmother had a huge book of handwritten recipes from the old days.  Problem is, there are no instructions.  When I questioned her about it she said, "Why? Don't you know how to cook?"  She just meant that there are certain basic things you just know.  Mix all the dry ingredients, and separately mix all the wet ones. If you are baking you cream the butter and sugar first.  Easy.  So in that spirit, mix all the dry ingredients:

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, soda, salt, ground coffee and cocoa.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar with the paddle attachment on medium until creamed. It should be slightly fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time.



Add 2/3 of the flour mixture and the sour cream. Add the remaining flour mixture and milk. Beat until smooth.

Scrape all the batter out into a separate bowl and wash the mixer bowl thoroughly.

Switch to the whisk attachment and beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. They will hold a stiff peak but they will still slip around a little in the bowl.
Fold the egg whites into the cake batter gently, folding the batter around until well combined.

Fill cupcake liners with batter and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes (they baked up surprisingly fast).
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For the Coffee Mousse (Recipe from Epicurious)
Halved recipe
7 tablespoons sugar
3 large egg yolks
2 1/2 tbsp water
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder optional
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/4 cups chilled whipping cream
1 tablespoons coffee liqueur (opt)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk sugar, yolks, water and espresso powder in stand mixer bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bowl to touch water); whisk until candy thermometer registers 160°F, about 3 minutes. Remove bowl from over water. Add nutmeg. Using electric mixer, beat egg mixture until cool and thick, about 5 minutes. Transfer out to another bowl.
Beat cream, liqueur and vanilla in mixer bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold cream mixture into egg mixture. Refrigerate if making ahead. 

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Homemade Caramel Sauce (caramel recipe courtesy of Giver's Log)

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup (buy Karo. The other has hfcs)
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cut butter into evenly sized cubes and melt over low heat in large 3-4 quart saucepan.
Once butter is fully melted, add brown sugar, being careful to avoid the sides of the pan. If any stray sugar crystals fall onto side of pan, carefully brush off with a wet pastry brush.
Once butter and sugar are fully combined, add corn syrup and condensed milk. Clip on candy thermometer to side of pan.
Cook mixture on low heat (still continually stirring) for about a minute or two. Increase heat to medium and continue to cook/ stir until mixture reaches 225 degrees. Once the mixture is removed from heat, stir in vanilla extract.

NOTE: If caramel is too thick, simply reheat and add in some heavy cream until combined. This too can be made ahead but don't refrigerate. 
  

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Swiss Meringue Buttercream(aka heaven)
1 cup sugar
4 egg whites
3 sticks unsalted butter (at room temperature) cut in pats
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Heat sugar, egg whites, and salt in a heatproof stand mixer bowl set over a pan of simmering water, whisking until sugar dissolves and mixture registers 160 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Return bowl to mixer, and whisk, gradually increasing speed from low to medium-high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in vanilla. Opt: Switch to a paddle attachment and beat until air bubbles are gone, 2 to 3 minutes more.  This must be done when you're ready to assemble.  Don't try storing this overnight.

Cappuccino Cupcake hollowed out, filled with
caramel sauce and Cappuccino Mousse,
 topped with Buttercream
and drizzled with Caramel

To assemble the cupcakes:

Once cupcakes are cool, core out the center of each one. Using a qt ziploc with corner cut out, pipe a small amount of caramel sauce, then spoon coffee mousse until the center is almost full, and then top with another piping of caramel. Once all cupcakes are filled, pipe swiss meringue buttercream onto each one using a bag fitted with a large star tip. Lastly, use a sturdy ziploc bag with a small hole cut out of it and drizzle caramel on top of each cupcake.

Just amazing. They might seem like small portions but they're extremely rich so small is perfect. Enjoy!!

Easy Italian Homeground Flour bread!

I DID IT!!! After much experimentation I did it. I've been trying to recreate the No Knead Bread recipe using all fresh ground flour for a year and finally did it. What is the trick? Time.

The original recipe is
3 cups bread flour
1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 5/8 cups warm water
Mix, let sit 12-18 hours and bake as in my other post.

I did two things Wednesday and both worked!
Loaf 1
Same recipe, but with 2 cups ground soft white wheat flour and one hard red wheat.
I set aside covered at 10 am Wednesday and baked it at 2 pm Thursday so set aside for 28 hours before rising etc. Was fantastic. The Sicilian said it had a strong wheat taste but truly I loved it, and didn't smell yeasty.

Loaf 2
Many fresh flour recipes have you treat the wheat with apple cider vinegar, so...
3 cups hard red wheat flour
1 5/8 cups warm water
2 tbsp ACV
Let sit 24 hours covered.
Pour off liquid (may be underneath but it's there)
Add 1/2 tsp yeast, 1 1/4 tsp salt and 1/3 cup flour and mix in. Set aside 12 hours covered or till you see it stringing when tip the bowl. I set it 18.
Then bake like the other post. I had to add more flour when I poured it out though. No biggie. Everyone voted it the winner.

Below are the three of the four recipes we tried. And ate. Brown holey is loaf 2. Brown denser is my quick wheat sandwich bread. Light holey is the no knead with white flour just for comparison. Oh and can't forget the golden homemade raw butter that is just unbelievable on it. Had some fresh ricotta from this morning on it too. Carb overload for sure but WOW!

Happy no kneading!!

Easy Italian bread

No Knead Bread. 

Yes you can. And it's amazing. 

Some day after lunch get a bowl and mix it up. Then the next morning bake it up. Your family will probably not leave you alone ever again begging for this crusty bread that sings to you when it comes out of the oven!

Around 1-2 pm
Mix 3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon (yes that little) dry yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 5/8 cups warm water
Mix about 10 times just to moisten everything. Cover with a towel and set aside in a place not too cold. We just put it in the corner of the kitchen counter.

The next morning, flour the counter and scrape your spongy stringy wet dough out onto it. Sprinkle generously with flour and then, with a scraper, fold the dough to the center of itself twice. Like a paper folding in thirds. Don't press. Just fold. Sprinkle again with flour. You're thinking, "there's no way I can pick this up".
Cover with plastic or wax paper and rest 15 min.
Then take a clean cotton non-terrycloth dish towel and flour heavily one half of it, rubbing flour into it. Take the dough and gently pick up, it'll be floppy, and form a ball, tucking edges under all around to create a boule shape. Place on the floured rag, sprinkle the with flour, cover with plastic and fold rag over to cover and rise. Set a timer for 1 1/2 hours. At 1 1/2 hours, put an oven proof pot with its oven proof lid in the oven and turn on to 450. Set timer for 30 min.

When time is up and pot is hot, using hot pads take the pot out and remove the lid. Uncover the dough and with a hand under the towel pick up dough and flip it over into hot pot. Flour will go all over. Yes, it's worth it haha. Peel the towel off the dough where it's gotten stuck and close lid. Put back in the hot oven.

Bake 30 min at 450 then remove the lid and bake 15-30 more minutes or till brown. Dump the bread out onto a rack, check that it's done by thumping the bottom...should sound deep and hollow. 
Cool bread on rack and listen to it crackle and sing to you.

Oh and it goes great with nutella!

Tri-Color Potato Latkes

Another amazing recipe...simplified. Doubled it for my 5 and they were scarfed. I do all the prep with the food processor and it saves me loads of effort. Single recipe is supposed to serve 4-6 people. Ha. ;) The last time I made these it was officially requested that I triple the recipe from now on.

1 zucchini
1 yellow squash--- grate both; lay on a cookie sheet, sprinkle salt and let sit 15 min. Then squeeze by handfuls to get out water and put veggies in a bowl.
1 baking potato
1/2 sweet potato-- grate both, then squeeze like above but without salt
Add in to bowl (don't let sit like the squash)

1 onion grated
2 tbsp olive oil---sauté onion in oil for about 3 min and add to bowl

Add: 1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp matzo or breadcrumbs,
Dash cayenne,
1 tsp garlic powder. Mix well.

Heat a large skillet to med hi. Add 2-3 tbsp oil, replacing as needed between batches. Add a pinch of salt to the oil every other batch. Put in by large 2- 2 1/2"; spoonful globs and gently press to make patties. Don't worry if doesn't look like a patty. Fry 1- 1 1/2 min each side. Drain on an upside down rack with paper towels under it. Flip to get oil off. Serve topped with a small dollop of sour cream, then top with a square of thin smoked salmon, and a tiny dollop of caviar.

Pesce Piccata

Ok so in all my investigating living around Italy, no one I've met has ever heard of Veal Piccata. I introduced my Sicilian family to my version a few years ago and they raved.

My version is with fish. Tilapia, orange roughy, any firm white fish will do. Made it tonight for our cousins and again, even the 2 and 7 year olds ate it all!

Pesce Piccata

White fish fillets
Flour for dredging
Butter and olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic minced.
Capers
Lemon juice
1/2 c white wine
1/2 c water

Have a platter ready with paper towels or paper bags. I love using paper bags for draining fried food.  Don't stick and work great.
In a skillet, heat 3 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp olive oil on med hi. Salt and pepper the flour. Salt the fish and dredge in flour. Fry on both sides till browned and set aside on platter.

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Add two tbsp butter to the skillet, melt, and add garlic. Sauté till golden brown. Add white wine, scrape up the yummy bits stuck on the bottom, and then add water. Cook on medium till reduced by half. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp capers. Cook a few min.
You're thinking at this point, 'I can't put this stuff on my fish. It's all runny!'  Well, here's where the magic happens.

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A few at a time, put the fillets back in the sauce, count to ten, turn over gently using a couple of spatulas, count to ten again, and return to platter. Your fish is warm now, your sauce has thickened, and yumminess reigns. Pour sauce over the fish. Serve with rice or Italian Rosemary roasted potatoes and a quick salad, and don't forget a nice chardonnay.

Arancini--Little Oranges

No they're not oranges. Just shaped like them. And they're amazing.

Italians don't eat much fast food. They eat faster slow food. Their gas stations on the autostrade have delis that sell sandwiches whose ingredients took from 6 months to 2 years to prepare. Quality aged true prosciuttos and parmesans will never be sold in our fast food factories.

Arancini are the traditional portable food of Sicily. It's the land of oranges and it makes sense that they'd look at these delicacies. They normally are balls of saffron rice filled with a bit of stewed meat, a piece of cheese and a sprinkling of peas. Many varieties are available though and I have to say that I prefer those over the traditional.  In Catania there are hole-in-the-wall shops that specialize in dozens of kinds of just arancini.  Our most recent trip ended there one of the last nights.  We had Pistachio arancini and sugo arancini for dinner, and ended with nutella arancini for dessert! Here are a few of my faves...

Mushroom
Pistachio
Smoked salmon and cream
Butter
Tuna
Sugo (meat sauce)
Spaghetti and tomato sauce
Even nutella and hazelnut

They're not hard to do but they take planning. The easiest way is to have the rice done and the filling done. Maybe through the week save bowls of pasta sauce, meatballs, chopped veggies... Then on arancini day just make rice, assemble and fry.  It's a fun dinner party idea as well...DIY appetizers?

Arancini
4 cups cooked sticky rice, any rice that's barely sticky. Maybe cook your normal rice with a tad extra water.
1 cup filling
1/2 cup parmesan
Seasoned bread crumbs (bought or plain, adding parmesan and italian spices)
1-2 Eggs, beaten, adding a little water.
Oil

Filling can be left over roast, chopped and adding some spaghetti sauce and a little chunk of cheese. Can be garlicky chopped spinach, or mushrooms with a squeeze of lemon and some parsley. Make the filling and set aside.

Fill a small 1 1/2qt sauce pan with frying oil to 1 1/2"-2" deep
Heat on med-hi to hi.  Salt the oil like you'd salt food.

Break up the rice and add a handful of Parmesan. If not sticky enough to squeeze into balls add a little egg or water.

Have a bowl with breadcrumbs, another bowl with beaten egg with a bit of water, and your filling. Make an assembly line.

Put a golf ball size amt of rice in palm. Make a well and add a small spoon of filling. Put another spoon of rice on top and smush well to close. Roll in egg then in breadcrumbs.

Test the oil by dropping a few breadcrumbs in the oil.  They should fry immediately.  Watch your temperature, lowering if the arancini brown really quickly and raising if it takes too long to cook.
I fry three at a time in my pan, turning once. Don't overcook but be sure to brown. Drain on a rack over paper towels. Experiment with size and shape.
My favorite is about 2 1/2" inch size.

Make plenty. Pictured are Arancini with funghi trifolati inside. Chopped mushrooms, sauteed in garlic, butter and olive oil, and at the end add salt, squeeze of lemon, and lots of chopped parsley. SQUISITI, fun, and a great base to play with, adding new ingredients, making tiny ones or sweet ones, even cover an olive with rice and breadcrumbs for neat appetizers...sky's the limit!

Slow birthdays

First baby girl is 16. Happy day. How to make a special day? Make a homemade cake. Yes, all those 100-pound gorgeous airbrushed fondant-topped creations have their place in this world, I'm sure, but a homemade cake is remembered with fondness.

For the loving hands that prepared it.

For the desire to have just scarfed it all.

This year's cake was Italian style. Italian birthday cakes are traditionally dry cakes filled with pastry cream, sprinkled with sweetened vermouth, and topped with whipped cream and fruit. We did most of that. Didn't think her friends' parents would appreciate kids coming home with liquor on their breath...

It was the olympiad, so we did the rings. Five cakes. Five fruits. Sprinkled with five juices and filled in with whipped cream. Wow we did scarf it.

Now a side of Jello punch. Almost as good as lime sherbet punch and better for kids. Not health-wise, but for drinkability.

Need:
2x large boxes strawberry Jello 
Three 46 oz cans pineapple juice
24 oz lemon juice
1 oz almond extract
6 cups sugar
6 large plastic containers w lids
6-8 2lt bottles sprite

In a LARGE stock pot heat 13 cups water. Dissolve jello in it.
In another pot heat 6 cups water with the sugar till dissolved.
Mix the two, and add all the juices and extract. Cool completely.
****Because of the huge quantity I usually mix the jello and sugar in the big pot, then measure a third back into the small pot (6 cups or so). Then I add one can pineapple and one cup lemon juice to that, and two cans and two cups to large pot. Then 10 ml extract to small and 20 ml extract to large.

When cool, pour in containers and freeze. 
To use, thaw a container for an hour or more, put in punchbowl, break up with meat fork, and pour 1.5 bottles sprite over. I take one container out every 30 min so I always have some ready. It goes fast!!  It'll serve 50-75 people in small cups.  

Arugula, Rucola, Rocket: Arugula Parmesan Salad

I love Arugula. So do my kids.

We can pass a field or someone's garden and someone will brighten up and exclaim "They have Rucola!".

It's spicy green fragrance is unmistakeable. But who in the world convinced us that the spindly wimpy stick of a green that is sold as 'baby arugula' in stores and restaurants, is the GOOD stuff? It's not.

Real Arugula is a hearty, spinach textured green with a similar stem to leaf ratio. I find it in the organics at HEB in the head lettuce section, but not many other places. It's amazing.

Arugula Parmesan salad

Wash a bunch of Arugula. Trim stems and tear leaves into bites. Place in bowl.
Add thinly sliced red onion strips and toss. For dressing, the perfect one is a light salting with some Real Salt, a sprinkling of dark green olive oil, and about half a lemon's juice.
Toss, and before serving add in shavings of Parmesan. Can't beat it.  
Ok, maybe by choosing a Tropea Red Onion from Calabria Italy's onion region Tropea... Scrumptious and will change your life...or at least your view of red onions.

Don't settle for wimpy Arugula...good Arugula will give you a salad your family will ask for.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

The strange juxtapositioning of contrary flavors, contrary textures, is what makes this the perfect dessert, luncheon salad or just excuse to indulge.
Salty and sweet.
Crunch and creamy smoothness.

This is truly an American obsession. We like things mixed up. In Italy people turn their noses up at our weird foods, then proceed to ask for seconds. And thirds.

There is no Jello in Italy. They don't have frozen strawberries either. I made this dish one Thanksgiving out of necessity.  After all, Thanksgiving tradition in our family REQUIRES it.  Period. My subsequent making-due with what I could find resulted in an all natural mixed berry version. A well-known doctor was our guest. As I explained my dish to the Italians present they all turned up their noses as I'd predicted. The good doctor was brave and tried it, and pronounced it inedible. To which I, astounded, tried to convince the others to at least try it! They didn't. Later the doc cornered me and scolded me for ruining her effort to keep the whole dish to herself! The others had seen her getting seconds and thirds, caught her deception and finished the dish. Too funny.

Pretzel Salad
2c thin pretzels, crushed
3 tbsp sugar
3/4c melted butter
Mix all in a 13x9 glass dish and bake 7-8 min 400 or till lightly browned. Cool completely (or your cream cheese won't spread!)

1c sugar
8oz cream cheese
3 cups whipped cream
Mix and Top crust when cooled.

20-24 oz froz sliced strawberries or other berries
1x6oz strawberry jello and 2 cups boiling water, OR 2 cups currant juice and 3 tsp powdered gelatin

Boil water. Add jello. Mix till dissolved. (OR heat currant juice and add gelatin to dissolve.) Take off heat, add frozen berries. Break up berries and stir till melted and pour over cream cheese.

Cover with plastic wrap.
Chill 3-4 hours. Cut in squares.

One 13x9 recipe will feed a family of 5...because we eat it as a salad and then as a dessert!

Fried cauliflower. Fried?

This is birthday food. As in, specifically requested by multiple persons in my family. Yes, I still get the "can we go to BENIHANA?!?!?!" question, but mentioning either this dish or lasagna, 99% of the time results in "FORGET BENIHANA!!"

It's one of those 'mother-in-law recipes she never thought was that big a deal'...but then again my mother-in-law was Sicilian and only if it was a takes-two-days-long recipe it might qualify as a big deal.

What is slow food? After 20 years of experiencing it from the European side, and growing up with it on the Texan side, I might be getting at the idea.

Yesterday I was home. Really home. No pressing engagements. Few phone calls. And a desire to create something. I saw this desire in Sicily every day. My sister-in-law created variations of old favorites, new fantastic dishes, creams, pastries, pastas and terrines. And she's just your typical Sicilian housewife (per her!).

Yesterday's dinner came together so fluidly and easily and yummily...and it was because of, well, just time. Plenty of it. No rush. Put the cauliflower on to boil, check email. Grind the flour for my batter, reboot laundry. And so on. And so on. That's the trick. Nice and easy.


Cut the leaves off the cauliflower and cut off the florets in baby-fist size chunks.  If they're thick just cut in half. Boil your veg in lightly salted water.  When your cauliflower is cooked al dente, not too mushy, drain and cool a bit. Mix up some batter. Flour, an egg, pinch salt, and milk to arrive at a pancake-batter consistency.  I start with 2 cups of flour and two eggs because we never do fewer than two cauliflowers.  Yes it's that good... You can always make more if you run out of batter.

Heat a little oil in a skillet. I use safflower or sunflower oil. No gmo. And using fresh ground grain, the batter doesn't absorb oil much. Ok so heat the oil on med-hi till ready. Salt your oil as if you were salting the food.  Salt the oil? Yes.  You'll be glad you did.  It melts the salt and perfectly covers each square centimeter of fried creamy goodness. Now prep a plate with paper towels for your yummy treasures.

A few clumps of cauliflower at a time, put in the batter, roll over to cover, and lay in the skillet. Cook till golden and turn, mashing a little with a spatula to make it flatter.  By the time you turn it, the al dente cauliflower will have softened and it'll turn into perfect 1" thick patties.  It'll be a chunk of creamy crisp veggie when done.
They're good hot, warm, or cold the next day. 

  One more little trick? Sure thing.  All those bits of cauliflower left in the bottom of the batter? Just scoop them up with a big spoon and fry them too... Certain persons who will remain nameless prefer those last bits to the nice big chunks of cauliflower!  Never waste.  and after that? Add more flour to your leftover batter, make it nice and thick, add some parmesan and fry that too. It's a fry fest. 

So slow down a little. Take an afternoon to play in the kitchen. Try a dish that takes a little longer but spread it out over a day. It's worth it.

Ingredient list
1-2 cauliflowers
flour
a few eggs
salt
milk
oil

Gadget list:
a skillet
a bowl
a spoon

Quinoa Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Arugula Salad

Wow. That's what. Wow.

Yes I was in the kitchen playing today. Made yogurt. Made flatbread. Made butter. It was fun. While I played, here and there I assembled the ingredients for dinner. 

Throw three red peppers in the toaster oven on some foil at 350. Turn a third-turn every 20 min or so till all crusty black. When done take out and loosely wrap in the foil. Squishing is perfectly ok.

Let em sit.  Maybe watch a rerun of the West Wing.

Some other time during the day throw 2 1/2 cups quinoa and 5 cups water in a pot. Add 2 tsp good salt. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer 15 min. Set aside.


Think I'll have a cappuccino...

Later take half a sweet potato, grated, half an onion, minced, a few sundried tomatoes, slivered, and some chopped spinach....and set aside.  All the actors are on the stage...the stage is set... here we go!

When you're ready, just mix the veggies, the quinoa, and an egg. Make patties on parchment or in round cookie cutters on a sheet pan. Bake at 400 for 20-30 min or till browned.  Parchment is HIGHLY recommended as the quinoa needs to get crusty and will stick, ruining your perfect circles.

Meanwhile those peppers that smell so great,.. Peel off the skins now that they're floppy and throw the pepper flesh in a chopper with a clove garlic and a tbsp capers. Purée till smooth.

Lastly wash some Arugula and set aside. Your vinaigrette is the juice of a lemon, half as much olive oil, and a couple tsp agave nectar, or honey, or even sugar. Whip up and salt to taste. Dress salad.

Serve restaurant style... Smear some red sauce on the plate. Set a cake on the sauce and top with some salad.  Even better cold for lunch tomorrow. And say Ooh La La!!

Ingredient list
a bunch of arugula
3 red bell peppers
2 1/2 c quinoa
half a sweet potato
half a yellow onion
2 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes
1 c chopped fresh spinach
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp capers
juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 c)
olive oil
2 tsp honey, sugar or agave

Gadgets:
grater
knife and chopping board
pot to boil arugula
toaster oven
foil
parchment