OLE! A MEXICAN DINNER IN ITALY!

Much as we LOVE Italian food, we sometimes want something different. Some nights I'll fix meatloaf with mashed potatoes, or roast a large chicken with stuffing (and wish I'd brought back some cranberries!). One of the tastes we miss the most here in Italy is Mexican.....chips and salsa, refried beans, fajitas, tacos. Yes, some of the ingredients are available here, but for the most part I need to plan ahead.

Sometimes the convenience foods and mixes we take for granted in the states are a blessing when you live in another country. I bring back a mix for salsa: just add tomatoes and green onions and let sit until the flavors mix....fantastic! I also bring back seasoning mix to make fajitas...grill some peppers, onions and chicken, add the seasoning packet, water, and ole! it's fajita time! Of course the one key ingredient we need to complete our Mexican feast is cheddar cheese, and thanks to our friend Nedra we have two nice chunks. Friends Jill and Larry left us a large bag of tortillas, and thanks to Jane we now know about the dried refried beans that cook up quickly and taste really, really good. It's time for Mexican night!

Whenever we have Mexican food we always call Wendy, knowing how much she loves spicy and/or Mexican food. She was finally able to get away from work the other day to join us for chips and salsa, refried beans, and chicken fajitas. Our English friend Janine also joined us, and I wondered how she'd react to our version of Mexican food. She loves spicy stuff, so I wasn't too worried.


Everyone agreed that this dinner was a success -  we'd all had THRRE fajitas each, in addition to the chips and salsa! Maybe the sign of a successful dinner party is when your guests groan as they get up from the table! We've now satisfied our Mexican tooth, at least until we return to the states in December. Thanks to all who helped make this meal possible, and thanks to our friends for sharing it with us!

IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN!

Cooking remains very seasonal in Italy, or at least here in Umbria. Despite larger and larger refrigerators in the average Italian home, despite supermercatos filled with fruits and vegetables every day of the week, many Italians still prefer to do their shopping at weekly outdoor markets or take what's fresh from their own garden. Yes, we have lettuce and tomatoes all year round, carrots, onions, zucchini, but every casalinga (housewife) knows that these things are best eaten in their proper season.

In today's modern world I wouldn't dare guess how many people still put up their own fruits and vegetables, but it's a common practice in this area. Years ago when my kids were small and I was a stay-at-home mom I used to can tomatoes in the summer, make jam from fresh strawberries, etc. Now canning tomatoes seems like way too much trouble, but I do freeze green beans since they aren't easily found (even canned) during the winter.

In the fall I look forward to the arrival of pumpkins....not to carve for Halloween decoration, but to roast and freeze for cooking with throughout the winter. Now I will confess that before I lived in Italy my use of pumpkin was limited to canned pumpkin once a year for Thanksgiving, and the only time I ever bought a whole pumpkin was to carve it into a jack o'lantern!

It wasn't that I didn't know that the pumpkin puree in the can came from the inside of a pumpkin, but I just didn't have the awareness....I just never realized how much better fresh pumpkin was...or what I could do with it besides make the traditional pie. I'm sure there are many ways to use fresh pumpkin, but now I have two dishes that are staples for my cold weather cooking: pumpkin soup and a delicious pumpkin/sausage quiche.

Last week I bought 2 nice sized pumpkins from one of the local farmers. These pumpkins are a different variety than those used for carving. The pumpkin is much thicker and meatier, and carving them can present a problem. The first cut is the most difficult, but once I have the pumpkin cut in half I can scoop out the seeds the carve each half into more manageable pieces. I then place the pumpkin pieces into an oiled pan and roast them in the oven. Not only does this make the pumpkin easier to remove from the skin, it also enhances the flavor, so it's a step well worth the time.

If you've never tried using fresh pumpkin, now might be the perfect time to visit your local farmer's market and buy one to cook with along with one for carving. Remember...they ARE different!

AMARETTI

This past weekend we enjoyed just another wonderful feast with friends at Angelino and Peppa's. The place was packed when we arrived, and the only open table was the one we'd reserved. Our mixed antipasti was followed by coltello...something from the inside of the pig, I don't even want to know what it is...but it was tasty, and accompanied by freshly made, hot-off-the-griddle torta al testo. Next came the pasta dishes. First, lasagna, light as a feather, made with peas and zucchini and parmesan cheese. Next was the dish we'd specifically requested for our friends - fresh tagliatelle with porcini. The fragrance when this is served, gently lifted out of a huge bowl and placed on your plate until you say basta! is intoxicating! Okay, I was starting to feel full, and really, just another bite or two of the pasta with porcini and I would have been satisfied, but of course the end was nowhere in sight!

Cinghiale (wild boar) was next, gently roasted and served in it's own juices. More hot torta al testo helped us sop up every last bit of juice. After the cinghiale came the grilled meats...grilled over an open fire in the kitchen's huge fireplace....goose, pork and sausages. Oh yes, and skillet-fried potatoes! Oh my! And of course some spinach, or maybe it was chicory, but whatever, it was delicious as usual. And last but not least came the salad, just lettuce and tomatoes dressed with oil and vinegar, the perfect palate cleanser after the meat.

Of course coffee, or café, completes every meal in Italy...or at least it signals the beginning of the end. Following the coffee we enjoyed limoncello and grappa, and our waitress, a familiar face from San Venanzo, laughed when I told her we'd be having our dessert (dolce) at my house. She said we should let them prepare a dolce for us, but I told her mine were better...that we as Americans know our sweets! I invited her to drop in sometime and take the test!

Okay, by now you may be wondering why the title of this post is "amaretti". I started to write about the dessert, but somehow I couldn't resist reliving the wonderful meal that preceded it! So now, on to the dessert...filled peaches and amaretti (almond cookies).

Unless you're going to buy the cookies, and WHY would you want to do that when you can make them fresh?, you'll need the recipe for amaretti. A Google search turned up numerous recipes, but most of them called for almond paste. I don't know if almond paste is available in Italy, but even if it is, I like to keep things simple when I can. So I searched more recipes, and eventually found one I really liked on the blog CHOCOLATE SHAVINGS. It called for grinding the almonds first, and as an added bonus, used a little cocoa powder! (This recipe was orgininally posted on a different blog, CREAM PUFFS IN VENICE, and it's a family recipe)

I was quite pleased with the recipe, and froze about half for another day. Here is it, with thanks to both felow bloggers for sharing the recipe:

Amaretti Cookies Yield: 50-70 cookies

1-1/2 pounds almonds, finely ground
2 cups granulated sugar (plus 1 cup extra sugar to roll the cookies in)
1 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa
4 eggs
3 tablespoons of almond extract

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Position oven racks so that one rack is at the bottom of the oven and the other rack is in the middle of the oven; line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the ground almonds, sugar and cocoa. Add the eggs and almond extract and mix until well combined. Using a tablespoon or your hands, scoop out enough of the almond mixture to form a ball that is roughly 1-1/2 to 2 inches in size.

Roll each ball in the cup of granulated sugar and place on cookie sheet. Make sure that there is a visible layer of white sugar on each amaretti. Press down the center of each cookie with your thumb to create an indentation in the center (this helps with sugar crackle on top of the almond base).

Bake cookies on lower rack for 10 minutes and then move to middle rack for an additional five minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container. Cookies will keep for up 10 days.


I have to admint that I had only about 2 ½ tablespoons of almond extract, so I used vanilla extract to make up the difference.

I made the cookies the night before so they'd have time to cool completely before I had to crush them to fill the peaches. Here's that recipe:


Pesche Ripiene Baked Amaretti Peaches 6 servings

7 peaches
8+ crumbled amaretti cookies
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 350º

Wash and dry 6 unpeeled peaches. Cut each peach in half, remove the stone and carefully scoop out most of the fruit. Skin the 7th peach and place the peach flesh in a large bowl along with the flesh of the other 6 peaches. Mash with a fork.

Add sugar, cocoa, crushed amaretti, the egg yolk and mix well.

Place the peach halves in a buttered baking dish, close together. Fill each half with the peach/amaretti mixture, dot with a pat of butter and bake for about 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This was the perfect dessert after the huge lunch we'd eaten....light, refreshing and not too heavy. I put a plate of more amaretti cookies on table for a little crunch. Give these recipes a try when you're looking for something a little lighter or if you're like us and just love anything made with peaches!

AND THE COOKING CONTINUES....

Yesterday we invited our friend Craig to lunch. Although I already had the menu planned, I knew as soon as I got up yesterday morning that I’d made the right choices. It was definitely cooler, so my menu of warming pumpkin soup followed by grilled sausages and another new recipe, a PUMPKIN SAVORY TART, courtesy of another blog, MSADVENTURESINITALY, would be just right.

The soup had been made on Tuesday, so all I had to do was gently reheat it, then add a little cream right before serving. The pumpkin savory tart had sounded so yummy when I read it on Sara’s blog, and it lived up to my expectations.

I’d roasted the pumpkin in the oven to soften it so that the rind could be more
easily removed, but I hadn’t cooked it all the way through so that it could finish cooking as per the recipe directions. Even so, I found that it took a little longer than the 15-20 minutes listed. Eventually I covered the skillet to finish cooking the pumpkin, and the next time I make this tart (and there WILL be a next time!) I’ll cover the skillet after a few minutes.

Because there’s no Crisco in Italy, I treasure my Crisco sticks (so easy to bring when I come back from the states!). Saving my Crisco stash wasn’t really the main reason I decided not to use it for my pie crust though. When we first arrived here other expats had told me I could use strutto as a substitute for shortening, and I’ve used it several times. The first time I used the strutto though, the true nature was evident as the pie baked and the unmistakable scent of pork wafted through the house. In the states we’d call strutto LARD, and after that first use I knew that strutto would be good for crusts used for savory tarts and quiches, but maybe not quite right for that lemon meringue pie!

This pumpkin tart seemed to be the perfect excuse to use a strutto-based crust, so that’s what I made. I had plenty of time to make the crust while the onions and diced pumpkin simmered in the skillet, and once the tart was in the oven the house was filled with warmth and wonderful aromas! Here’s the recipe:

Pumpkin, Pine Nuts and Pancetta Savory Tart

500g pumpkin, roughly cubed
100g smoked pancetta, chopped
3 eggs
1 small yellow or white onion
Handful pinenuts
Parmigiano
Savory pastry sheet (such as for a quiche)
Milk

In a small frying pan, cook the chopped pancetta until crisp. Take off heat.

Preheat oven to 350F (180C) Place the savory pastry dough in a 9” pie pan.

With 1 T. of the oil from the pancetta, chop the onion and sauté. While the onion is cooking, roughly cube the pumpkin. When the onion starts to turn translucent, add the pumpkin chunks. Cook about 10-15, until the pumpkin will break down easily with spoon but is not mushy. Mix in pancetta until evenly distributed.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a splash of milk until frothy. Grate in a small amount of parmigiano and mix, adding fresh ground pepper.

Spoon half of the pumpkin mix into the baking pan. Pour egg mix over, and then spoon the rest of the pumpkin mix in. Sprinkle a handful of parmigiano and some pine nuts on top, and bake for about 40 minutes

Oh, since I had some cream on hand I used that instead of the milk to beat with the eggs.  And you could also use sausage instead of pancetta....

I’d been itching to try the apple pie Jerry had posted…it adds orange zest and a bit of orange liqueur, and to say that it smelled heavenly while it baked would be an understatement! I used Granny Smith apples, which turned out to be just a little too juicy….I should have added a little flour or cornstarch to the apples, but I’ll know better for the next time.

Perhaps I used just a bit too much zest, but I thought the orange flavor was too sharp, and in the future I’ll cut it back a bit, or maybe just serve the pie with a really good vanilla bean ice cream. Try it for yourself…..

Apple Pie With a Kick

For the filling:
6 or 7 apples, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. finely grated orange zest
2 tbsp. Grand Marnier
1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
9” Single Pie Crust

Combine all the filling ingredients (except the butter) in a bowl and mix well. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Dot the filling with the butter and then put the pie in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375º

For the crumb topping:
1 cup flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces

While the pie is in the refrigerator, mix all of the topping ingredients together, rubbing the butter into the flour/sugar mixture until you have a very crumbly topping.

Once the pie has chilled, sprinkle the topping evenly over the pie.
Bake the pie in the centre of the oven on a baking sheet to avoid any spills. Bake for 70-75 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

So….are you inspired to bake up some warming comfort food this weekend?

SWEET GIFTS

I didn’t bake as much over the holidays as I did last year. Last year was our first Christmas in Italy, and I was excited about it. When I’m excited, I cook. I also cook when I’m sad, depressed, nervous, or bored. Anyway, my baking frenzy last Christmas was the result of being excited, of trying to bring a bit of my familiar holiday traditions to Italy.

This past Christmas wasn’t quite as happy for me, since I kept thinking about how eight of us had gathered last year for what we declared would be the first annual Christmas dinner. Sadly, it was the first and last. The loss of friends, both literally and figuratively, was on my mind a lot.

I did bake cookies though….cut-out sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies, and I made bourbon balls because they’d been such a hit last year. I also tried a new recipe for microwave caramel that was amazingly simply and amazingly good. I probably ate as much caramel as I gave away!

The main reason for making the treats was so I could give them as gifts. “Nothin’ says lovin’ like somethin’ from the oven”….remember that phrase from years ago? For me it still rings true, and I wanted to make cookie trays for several friends.

I also wanted to give my friends who don’t bake the opportunity to have something home-baked quickly and simply. For this reason I searched out recipes for cookies mixes.

If you’ve ever been to a church bazaar you’ve seen these mixes. They’re usually sold in a quart jar with a patch of gingham fabric on top, secured with a bit of twine or raffia.

Chocolate chip cookies were first on my list, since several ingredients aren’t found in Italy, therefore real, American-style chocolate chip cookies are a treat! I also decided to search for a recipe using the dried blueberries I’d been given, figuring I’d never use the blueberries myself.

I’m going to give the chocolate chip cookie recipe as written, but I’ll tell you about one variation I made. Because vanilla extract isn’t found in Italy, I used a powdered vanilla that I’d found in the states. It’s measured the same as the liquid vanilla extract, and seems to work fine. My friend Cristina says that one bustina of vanillina here in Italy will be the equivalent of one teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Jar

INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
dash baking soda
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Mix salt, baking powder and soda with flour. Layer ingredients in a 1 quart jar in any order. Cover lid with a fabric circle and tie with a ribbon, if desired. To the ribbon attach a card with the following recipe and instructions:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cookie mix in a jar
1 cup butter (225 grams)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter in a mixing bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg. With a wooden spoon, stir cookie mix into creamed mixture until well blended.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake in preheated 350°F (175ºC) oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies.


With the dried blueberries I decided to make this blueberry scone recipe:

Blueberry Scones Mix in a Jar

These are delicious warm from the oven with butter and jam; a perfect breakfast food.

2 cups all purpose unbleached flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp dried lemon peel

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup shortening

1 cup dried blueberries

Stir together flour, sugar, milk, baking powder, lemon peel, and salt. Cut in shortening using a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in berries.

Layer into a 1 quart canning jar, tapping gently on the counter between layers to settle before adding the next. Add additional dried blueberries to fill in small gaps if necessary. Stores at room temp for up to 6 weeks, or freeze for up to 6 months.

GIFT TAG DIRECTIONS:

Place jar contents in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 beaten egg, 1/4 tsp vanilla and 1/4 cup water; stir just until moistened.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and quickly knead gently for 12 to 15 strokes or until nearly smooth.

Pat to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into desired shape and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush with milk. Bake at 400ºF (200ºC) for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly and serve warm.

NOTE!!!! I've changed the recipe from "1/2 cup vanilla sugar" to now read: "1/2 cup sugar". To make the scones I've changed the directions, adding 1/4 tsp vanilla to the other ingredients. I'd never heard of vanilla sugar before this recipe, and when a friend emailed me to ask about it, I decided to simplify things.

The friend, Marguerite, also asked about substituting raisins for the blueberries. Why not?! Personally I'd love to try this recipe with craisins! Marguerite was also kind enough to send a picture of the scones as the came out of the oven....

Of course you don’t have to give these mixes away! You could make them for yourself, either all at once, or you could prepare the mixes ahead of time and just pull them out of the pantry instead of grabbing a boxed mix. One nice advantage of these mixes, in addition to the convenience, is that they’re also great to use with kids, since much of the preparation has already been done.