Red Wine Cookies

These cookies are easy and delicious!

And they make the prettiest pink batter!

Red Wine Cookies
Recipe from CiaoChow Linda

1 cup dry red wine (the better the wine, the better the cookies)

1 cup sugar

1 cup vegetable oil 

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp. of baking soda

1/2 tsp. of baking powder

4 1/2 c. flour - (start with one cup but keep adding as much as necessary until you get a dough that has a thick consistency and can be easily rolled.)

more sugar for dipping

Place the red wine, oil, and sugar in a bowl and whisk together. Add the baking soda, baking powder, and the flour, sifting it into the bowl at little at a time. Stir with a wooden spoon, continuing to add more flour until it has a stiff consistency.

Gently roll out small pieces of the dough on a wooden board into a narrow "snake" shape - about 6 inches, the thickness of small finger. Then carefully swirl the ends toward the center, into an "S" shape. Dip into sugar and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes.  The cookies should be browned on the bottom and slightly on top.
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Corn Flake Cookies

In a word, these cookies are amazing!  Or would that be four words, "these.cookies.are.amazing"?  Anyway....  light and buttery, crunchy and chocolatey, a little bit of heaven in each bite.  This recipe comes from Ashley at the blog Not Without Salt  passed down from her grandmother.  I wholeheartedly recommend them!

INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
3 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup corn flakes
1 cup quick oats
1 (12 oz) pkg. chocolate chips

Sift the flour, salt and soda onto wax paper. Beat butter and sugars until well creamed. Combine egg, vanilla, milk and oil in a small bowl. Alternately add the oil mixture and the flour mixture to the creamed sugars. Mix until just combined. Stir in the corn flakes, oats and chocolate. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto cookie sheets, 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350* for 12 minutes until golden.

Cheater's Cassoulet

Let me begin by apologizing for not having a nicely propped photo, but it is what it is.  And what it is is an amazingly delicious cassoulet.  Yes, I realize this is mainly a blog about Italy but France is our dear neighbor.  And technically this dish isn't called a cassoulet, it's Duck Breast with White Bean and Sausage -- to which I added some diced homemade pancetta to kick it up a notch.  Although I have never eaten an authentic cassoulet, I would put this recipe up against a cassoulet any day of the week.  Any wagers?

Duck Breasts with White Beans and Sausage  
Recipe from Clyde Common

Serves 4

1 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 boneless duck breasts (1 to 1-1/2 pounds total)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 sausages, about 1/2 pound 

2 small shallots, chopped, about 1/2 cup (you can substitute yellow onion)
1 medium carrot, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Toast bread crumbs. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low flame. Add olive oil to pan, swirl to coat. Add bread crumbs and toss to coat with oil. Toast until golden brown, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a shallow bowl or plate and allow to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Pat duck breasts dry with paper towels and trim off any excess fat. Score skin in a crosshatch pattern at 1/2-inch intervals with a sharp knife, being careful not to slice through the flesh. Season with salt and black pepper on both sides. Heat a 12-inch ovenproof lidded sauté pan over medium-low heat. Place duck breasts, skin side down, in the hot, dry skillet. Cook the breasts until the skin is crispy and most of the fat has rendered, about 10 to 12 minutes. Turn duck breasts and cook the non-skin side for 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.

Pour off all but one tablespoon of the duck fat in the skillet and reserve for another use.  (Roast chicken and roast potatoes are both good uses of leftover duck fat!) Sauté shallots and carrot in duck fat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. This is where I added a small amount of diced pancetta to the pan.  Add sausages to the pan and continue cooking another 5 minutes, turning sausages once. Add garlic and thyme to pan and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add wine and broth to pan, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Add bay leaves and cannellini beans and bring to a boil.

Return duck breasts to skillet, along with any accumulated juices. Cover pan and transfer to oven. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes (or longer, if needed), until an instant-read thermometer inserted diagonally into center registers 125°F for medium rare (unlike chicken, this is perfectly safe—and delicious). I left the dish in the oven to cook for 20 minutes because our oven isn't very accurate.  Remove from the oven. Transfer breasts and sausages to cutting board, tent with foil and allow to rest for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place uncovered pan over medium flame to slightly reduce liquid and concentrate flavors. Taste and adjust seasonings (use a light hand—the duck and the sausage will provide some saltiness).  Sprinkle each plate with a generous amount of bread crumbs (you will have some left over, and that’s fine). Don't skip the bread crumbs, it really adds to the dish!  Enjoy.

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Chocolate-Orange Biscotti

One family tradition that I can't seem to shake is baking cookies for Christmas.  When I was growing up all four of my sisters and I would bake batches and batches of a variety of cookies.  Biscotti wasn't in our repertoire, but it was in my Nana's and every year we enjoyed homemade authentic biscotti.  She also made a rum cake that I never learned to appreciate, but that's a different story.  This year I made a mix of cookies and small breads.  Pictured above are chocolate-orange biscotti that I made this year, so good and so easy!  Especially easy because I cheated and instead of using chopped bittersweet chocolate, I used Nestle's semi-sweet chips.  My secret is safe, right?

Chocolate-Orange Biscotti  
Recipe from Epicurious

Makes about 3 dozen

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 cup pecans, lightly toasted, coarsely chopped
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate, chopped

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl to blend. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add the liqueur and orange peel. Add flour mixture and beat until blended. Stir in pecans and chocolate. Gather dough together; divide in half. Wrap in plastic and freeze 20 minutes to firm. 

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Using floured hands, form each dough piece into 14-inch-long, 2 1/2-inch-wide log. Transfer logs to prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until light golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer parchment with logs to rack. Cool 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. 

Place 1 log on cutting board. Using serrated knife, cut log on diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Stand slices upright on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining log. 

Bake biscotti until dry to touch and pale golden, about 30 minutes. Cool completely on rack. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container.)

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Peach Upside-Down Cake

My in-laws don't eat desserts.  In fact, they're quite particular about everything they eat.  New foods are never introduced.  True Italians, stuck in family tradition.  When we're invited to share a meal, I always like to contribute something though. An appetizer, side dish, dessert -- something! I mean, you can't just show up to someone's home empty-handed.  Am I right? 

Amore always tries to persuade me not to go to the trouble of making anything so we usually just bring a bottle of Prosecco.  And even that, the two of us usually end up drinking ourselves -- not the entire bottle, of course.  In the few years we've been together I keep trying to break them down using my culinary skills, but admittedly I've had more losses than wins.  In fact, to date I've had only two wins.  This is my second win, a Peach Upside-Down Cake!  Yeah for me!   My secret, I used peaches from the family garden to ensure my win.  I could be onto something here!

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup butter, softened, divided

1/2 cup packed brown sugar 

2 cups sliced peeled fresh peaches 

3/4 cup sugar 

1 egg 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 

1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup milk

Melt 1/4 cup butter; pour into an ungreased 9-inch round baking pan (I used what I had, a rectangular pan). Sprinkle with brown sugar. Arrange peach slices in single layer over sugar.

In a large bowl, cream sugar and remaining butter until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Spoon over peaches.

Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm. Yield: 8 servings.

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Insalata Caprese

It was a long hot summer!  Subsequently, the tomato plants in our garden produced like crazy for several weeks.  Big round red tomatoes, horn-shaped tomatoes, black heirloom tomatoes, medium-sized salad tomatoes, tiny red and yellow cherry tomatoes!  All of them bursting with summer flavor.  Then poof!  The plants have already started turning brown, the tomatoes aren't ripening like before and they just don't taste as flavorful.  While in the beginning we were giving tomatoes away, we are now hoarding tomatoes.  This is one of our favorite summer dishes to make with either bounty tomatoes or hoarded tomatoes.  Slice fresh tomatoes and top with a slice of fresh mozzarella, sprinkled with chopped fresh basil and drops of balsamic reduction vinegar, drizzle with your favorite local farmer's olive oil, and don't forget the salt and pepper!  Eat and repeat! 

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Arugula & Bresaula

Thinly sliced bresaula atop a bed of fresh arugula topped with shaved aged parmesan cheese and drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice is a dish we enjoy almost year round.  Add a little salt and pepper and a crisp glass of wine and it's the perfect dish any time of year, but truly best in the summer with fresh arugula from the garden!

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La Bietola

Fresh swiss chard, bietola fresca. Can't you just see the vitamins! (I've included my hand as a reference to show you the size of the leaf.) Now, I was never a fan of this vegetable until I discovered it could be cooked in olive oil with garlic and red pepper flakes. Actually, everything tastes good cooked that way.  Here's how: Cut a few of the largest, most mature leaves from each plant, or alternatively you can find swiss chard in the veggie section everywhere this time of year.  Clean them well but don't dry them!  Cut them into one inch slices including the white stalk. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil into a pan, along with some sliced fresh garlic and red pepper flakes. Place the cleaned chard on top, cover and simmer on low heat until the water evaporates, usually 15-20 minutes.  Remove the lid, add a little salt and pepper and it's ready to eat.  Or, do what I do and continue cooking the chard until it browns and crisps just a little. It's like eating candy, not your vegetables!

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Asparagus Sformato

I considered titling this post "Sinful Sformato" because it's that delicious! A sformato is best described as a savory cheesecake without the graham crust. It's basically ricotta, egg and cheese to which you add whatever vegetable and herbs suit your fancy and the season. Very simple and very easy! I steamed my asparagus, but you could also saute any vegetable in olive oil. In a separate bowl lightly beat two eggs, add one cup of ricotta, a 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, a pinch of nutmeg and salt and pepper. Mix in the lightly cooked, chopped vegetable and pour into a greased dish. Bake until golden and set (approximately 45-60 minutes). Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting.  And try not to eat the whole dish by yourself!

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Carciofi Grigliata

I am a grilling fool. One with a marked propensity or fondness for something, not a simpleton. Anyway, I love my grill pan and researched a bit about how to grill baby artichokes. Cut them in half and boil them in water along with rosemary and garlic cloves for about 5 minutes. Drain and brush them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill them about 5 minutes a side. When they're done give them a squeeze of fresh lemon juice on the cut side and enjoy!

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Buona Pasqua!

An Easter tradition here in Italy is Torta di Formaggio, Cheese Bread.  Be warned, it's a dangerous bread.  Crusty outside and cheesy inside.  Bread filled with chunks of Swiss cheese and laced with grated Parmesan and butter.  I think we ate almost half the loaf immediately after it cooled from the oven. 

350 grams of flour
3 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1 package yeast
100 grams of melted butter
150 grams of cubed Swiss Cheese
100 grams of grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon salt and pepper

Warm the milk and dissolve the yeast into it.   Then I have a dirty confession, I don't really follow any rules and just start mixing everything together with a wooden spoon, except the Swiss cheese which I add at the end.  And as long as I'm confessing, I don't knead the dough either.  Phew, I feel so much better now that I've gotten that off my chest!  Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise about 2 hours.  Grease a loaf pan and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Oh, and Happy Easter!

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Chinese Tea Eggs

Yes, I know Chinese Tea Eggs have nothing to do with Italy other than the fact that I crave ethnic foods other than Italian sometimes.  This post goes out to my nephew Colin who asked me for this recipe so long ago that I'm sure he's forgotten all about it by now....

Ingredients

6 eggs
5 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar
3 black tea bags
4 pieces star anise
1 small stick cinnamon

Put eggs in a medium-sized pot with enough water to cover the eggs. Bring water to boil, then lower heat to simmer for 3 minutes. Remove eggs from heat and allow them to cool a bit before handling (running them under cold water does the trick quickly.) Take the back of a knife and crack eggs evenly all around.

Return eggs to the pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring liquid to boil again, then simmer for 1 to 3 hours, longer for a more intense flavor and color, adding water if level gets too low.  I boil mine no less than 3 hours.  Keep in mind you can adjust the amount of each ingredient to your taste.  I'm thinking of using Earl Grey tea bags next time!

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Pasta al Pastore

I'm sorry I don't have a better photo, but this is all that remained of the Pasta al Pastore, Shepherd's Ragu from our Sunday lunch, a saucy serving spoon and half a container of ricotta.  Not many ingredients and easy to make, it was delicious and went fast.

4 Medium Pork Sausages
125 Grams Ricotta
250 Grams Rigatoni
Grated Parmesan or Grana Padano
Peperoncino

Pour olive oil into a large skillet, and set it over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in the peperoncino, let it toast for a few seconds, then scatter the crumbled sausage in the pan. Cook the sausage, stirring and breaking up any clumps for 10 minutes or so until it is all well browned and crispy. Meanwhile, when the sausage is sizzling, cook the pasta. When the sausage is browned and crisp, ladle about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water into the skillet and deglaze the pan bottom, scraping up the browned bits and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. When the pasta is al dente, lift it from the pot, drain briefly, and drop it into the skillet. Toss the rigatoni and sausage together, then turn off the heat, and stir in the ricotta. Serve immediately with grated Parmesan. Serves 2.
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Sorbetto di Melone

 

Sorbetto di melone, cantaloupe sorbet, so refreshing and so easy! Take one very ripe cantaloupe, cut it into slices, clean the seeds, then cut into cubes (disposing of the rind). Using either a handheld blender or a regular blender, blend the cubed melon along with half a cup of sugar (the quantity of sugar may vary depending on your sweet tooth). Stir in a healthy splash of Prosecco and a healthy splash of Vodka.  You can leave out the Prosecco and Vodka for a non-alcoholic sorbet -- but why would you? At this point, I'm not sure if I would call this a sorbet or perhaps a variation of the Sgroppino. I then poured the contents into a container and put it in the freezer, stirring it about every half an hour until it was somewhere between a slushy and a sorbet. Sorbetto or Sgroppino, whatever you call it, I call it delicious!

Salsa di Mele

I just made homemade applesauce for the first time and it worked! I had some gravenstein apples that after a few weeks in the refrigerator had gotten somewhat soft. I like my apples firm, like my coffee. Wait, that's not the saying. Anyway I've never seen applesauce here in Italy -- not even at Lidl -- and I'm so pleased to be able to make it fresh. Bring on the pork chops!

3-4 pounds of peeler, cored and quartered apples
4 strips of lemon peel
Juice of 1 lemon
3 inches of cinnamon stick
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover and boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes and remove from heat. Remove cinnamon stick and lemon peel and mash.

Olive Tapenade

I was invited last minute, which is very common here in Italy, to join my neighbors for dinner last week. Not wanting to show up empty-handed I decided to create an olive tapenade from some leftover Puttanesca sauce I had on hand. I always thought my recipe would make a nice bruschetta topping and here was a chance to put my theory to the test. I put about 3/4 cup of the sauce into a mini electric chopper and added about 20 small, pitted olives, two anchovies, a tablespoon of capers, a large garlic clove, a drizzle of fresh olive oil and a small squeeze of fresh lemon. Flatteringly, the group declared it was a hit. I thought so too!
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Lemon Biscotti

As a 'thank you' to my mother for having mailed her cookie sheets from California to Italy for me, I baked lemon biscotti for her. I love making biscotti. It's so much easier than regular cookie recipes. No messy, sticky teaspoons and fingers and ball forming. You make the dough, divide it in half, bake, remove and slice, and re-bake! Thus the name, biscotti, which means twice cooked in Italian.  

3 cups flour
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
Zest from 2 lemons

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Divide dough in half and roll into two logs about 12 inches long. Flatten top. Transfer logs to cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Let logs cool down slightly, then carefully transfer to a cutting board and cut crosswise into cookies about 1/2 inch thick. Transfer individual cookies back to cookie sheet. Bake again for about 5 minutes or until just dry. Makes about 40 biscotti. Yum!
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Tuna Sandwich

This open-faced sandwich was sooooo good -- and sooooo simple to make! I titled it "Tuna Sandwich" but there's much more than tuna going on here. I first toasted a slice of hearty bread and then sliced fresh tomato onto the bread and sprinkled a bit of salt on the slices. Then a layer of fresh basil leaves, some buffalo mozzarella, a sprinkling of tuna packed in water (minus the water, of course) and then some finely chopped red onion. oh, and the real clincher is to drizzle e.v.o.o. (how foodnetwork is that?) and balsamic vinegar on top before enjoying.

Pasta Puttanesca

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This is one of my favorite pasta sauces and best served with penne pasta. It's thick, rich and spicy and although I've never tried it I'm sure it would make a good bruschetta topping!

1 and 1/4 cups finely chopped onion
1 and 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
12 Nicois olives, pitted, chopped
1 28-ounce can diced peeled tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 and 1/2 tablespoons drained capers
1 and 1/2 tablespoons chopped anchovy fillets
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Add onion and garlic to olive oil in a large skillet. Reduce heat and simmer until onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, partially cover pot and simmer sauce until thickened slightly, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

When the pasta is al dente, drain and add to the cooked sauce in skillet. Toss lightly to mix.
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Mustard Rabbit

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Yes, rabbit. It's very common to cook rabbit here in Italy and it's very tasty. Of course you can substitute chicken, but it's really not as delicious. The next time I make this -- because this was my first time but I intend to make it often -- I am going to try adding mushrooms. Hmmm, porcini or champignon?

1 rabbit, cut into pieces with bones
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
2 slices pancetta, diced
1-1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup cream
2 tablespoons flour
3-4 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Rinse rabbit pieces under cold water and drain well. Salt and pepper the meat. Generously drizzle olive oil into a pot. Brown the pieces and put aside.

Fry onions and diced pancetta for about five minutes in the same pot the meat was in, stirring frequently. Add the wine and stock and bring to a boil while stirring often. Add browned meat and thyme leaves. Cover with a lid and cook over low heat for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

Add cream and the Dijon mustard. Cook for a few minutes on the stove until the sauce is creamy. Remove about a 1/4 cup and mix in flour (more or less as needed). Stir until mixture thickens. Serve over pappardelle noodles.
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