Torta Della Nonna Con Pignoli

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year !

This is a traditional cake made by grandma's.

 It is a wonderfully delicate pie.

For the dough place in a food processor:

1 cup of butter
3 1/2 cups of AP flour
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
4 teaspoons of almond flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 teaspoon of Meyer lemon zest.

Then you will just pulse until incorporated. Then press the dough into a 12 inch tart pan. You will have more dough then you need to bake as cookies or you can freeze for another tart. Now set aside.

For the filling place 6 egg yolks, 1/2 cup of sugar, 3 teaspoons of vanilla and five teaspoons of AP flour into a small bowl. Mix well with a whisk. Now heat up 2 cups of whole milk in a sauce pan. Just heat until scalding. Gradually add it to the egg mixture whisking all the time. Now place the mixture back into the sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Now place a piece of plastic over  the mixture and refrigerate till very cold.
The pastry shell needs to be refrigerated too.
Now preheat the oven to 350 degrees and pour the chilled mixture into the pie shell. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of Pine Nuts and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.


Cool and then dust with a little powder sugar.

A toast to all with a little Vin Santo or Moscadello di Montalicino.

Sables De Noel

I recently purchase Jacquy Pfeiffer book The Art of French Pastry. Jacquy began with an apprenticeship in Strasboug, Alsace at the famous Jean Clauss Patisserie. I have attached a link of some of their work.

http://www.bing.com/images/searchq=jean+clauss+patisserie&qpvt=jean+clauss+patisserie&FORM=IGRE.

He is one of the top ten pastry chefs in America. An now teaches  at the French Pastry School.



But, he can remember a time when the Sables De Noel were tied up with a ribbon to the family Christmas tree for decoration. The tree was actually lite by small candles that were held to branches with a clip base. On Christmas eve, their family would light the candles, taking care not to set the house on fire.

His mother during the war had nine brothers and sisters. She talks about the piece of heaven in those cookies, a mandarin orange and a piece of chocolate. I hope this recipe will create some of those same memories. It is such a simple recipe for children. Make up the dough ahead of time. It can be place in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.

2 1/3 cups of flour (1/2 AP & 1/2 cake flour)
1 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
7 ounces of butter
2 teaspoons of vanilla
3/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons of sugar
3/8 teaspoon of sea salt
1 extra large egg beaten and then (4 teaspoons of the mixture removed as egg wash)

You must swift the flour, almond flour, salt and cinnamon. Now in a mixer beat the butter, vanilla and sugar together. Add the egg and mix. Now add in the flour mixture. Just mix until it becomes a dough. Now divide the dough in half and roll out into 1/2 inch thick circles.

When you are ready to make the cookies preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Roll out the dough to 3/16 of a inch. Cut out the cookies into assorted cookie cutter shapes. Brush the tops of the cookies with the egg wash. You now must let the cookies rest for 10 minutes. Then you will apply a second coat of egg wash. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Watch your oven temperature. Side with a lower temperature if they are cooking to fast. The low oven temperature will allow all the water to evaporate and the cookies will be very flaky. The cookies last for about one month. Jean suggest you use a chop stick to make a whole to hang on the tree.

 

 

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

I was meeting up with my daughter in Seattle.

She was running late in traffic and we were to
meet at a local restaurant. While I was waiting, one of the waiters suggested I try their soup. It was so wonderful that it got me excited to try my own version. The following  is my attempt to replicate.

Heat six tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan. Add in two chopped leeks, 1 head of cauliflower that has been flowered, 1 cup of diced celery and fry for a few minutes. Now add in 2 bay leaves, 1/8 teaspoon celery seeds, 4 cups of brown chicken stock, a pinch of white pepper and smoked paprika. Bring down to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes. The vegetables should be soft. Now add 5 tablespoons of basmati rice and two cups of water and simmer for another 15 minutes. Now add 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cups of minced chives. You will now puree the soup in a blender and pass through a fine sieve.

For the garnish you will heat two tablespoon of butter in a small frying pan. It is your choice for garnishes. You can saute shrimp, shitake mushrooms, crab... I added shitake mushrooms and chipotle chile pepper to top the soup. It is really delicious.

Anisbroetli

3 cups of flour

2/3 cup of corn flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 tablespoon ground anise seeds
1 tablespoon of anise flavoring
4 large egg whites
2 cups of sugar

Sift the AP flour, corn flour and baking powder in a bowl. Now add in the ground anise seeds and set aside.

In a double broiler add some water and bring it to a light simmer. Place the sugar and eggs in the top of the double broiler and bring to 105 degrees. Remove from heat and place in a mixer. Mix until the mixture is cool. Now add the rest of
the ingredient.

Roll out the dough on  lightly floured surface to a scant 1/4 inch. Now place a mold over the dough an press in. Cut the cookies out and place on a baking sheet. You will now let the cookies set for three hours before baking.

When the three hours are up bake the cookies in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes. Do not let the cookies take on any color. They will become very white.


This will be fun for all you google fans. On the side of my web page is a translate icon. You can find out what this says by the click of a button.

Anisbrötli

Springerle (in der Schweiz Anisbrötli oder Springerli genannt) ist ein traditionelles Festtagsgebäck aus einem Anis-Eierschaumteig. Es wurde sowohl an kirchlichen Feiertagen (Ostern, Pfingsten und Weihnachten) als auch zu familiären Festen (Hochzeit, Taufe) mit jeweils passenden Motiven gebacken. Sie gehören wie Spekulatius zum Bildgebäck. Springerle sind in Süddeutschland, Teilen von Österreich, der Schweiz, im Elsass und Ungarn bekannt. (In lothringischen Rezepten für sogenanntes "Pain d'anice" finden sich dieselben Zutaten- und Zubereitungsangaben, jedoch werden dabei keine Model Diminutiv von Springer, kommt entweder von einem beliebten Motiv, einem Reiter (Springer) oder, was sehr viel wahrscheinlicher ist, vom Aufspringen (Aufgehen) beim Backen. Beim Backen wächst der Teig auf die doppelte Höhe, dabei bildet sich am unteren Rand ein „Fuß“.

mehr verwendet.) Der Name, der süddeutsche

Dies ist ein Auszug aus dem Artikel Anisbrötli der freien Enzyklopädie Wikipedia. In der Wikipedia ist eine Liste der Autoren verfügbar.

Punjabi Garam Masala

Over the years, I have made huge quantities of this spice blend. It is great for meat, chicken, seafood and so many other preparations. It is much better to make your own then to buy the spice blend in an Indian market. The quality of the spices and the toasting will make a classic blend that any East Indian would appreciate.

This makes a large amount, you can half or even quarter the recipe if you like.

40 black cardamom pods, seeds removed and shells tossed
6 sticks of whole cinnamon crushed with a rolling pin
2 tablespoons of whole cloves
1/2 cup of black peppercorns
1 cup of cumin seeds
1 cup of coriander seeds

I roast the spices in a large frying pan over medium high heat. You do not add any oil to the pan the spices are dry roasted. You must stir and shake the pan all the time to get a even roasting. Do not walk away from the pan or the spices will burn. The spices will begin to smoke and release a wonderful warm fragrance in the cool fall weather. This will take about 7 to 8 minutes depending on how hot your stove runs. The important thing is that the spices are dark brown and smoking. You do not want them to burn. Remove from the heat and place in another pan to cool.

Then simply grind the cooled spices with a spice grinder until they are a fine powder. Store in a air tight container and in a cool dark place.

 

Pan Asian Green Beans

This dish can be made in minutes and is really healthy, if you substitute the traditional pork, for ground turkey. Do use ground thigh meat for your ground turkey. The later is to lean for the dish.

The green beans in winter are not, as sweet as they are in the summer, so do add the sugar to the recipe. I love Ichimi Togarashi which is a red pepper mix from Japan, but you can substitute red pepper flakes for the Togarashi.

Amber colored, aromatic, and pleasantly rich tasting, ShaoHsing rice cooking wine is the most important ingredient in many recipes for Chinese cooking. Use it in any marinade, soup or sauce.

Living in my neighborhood you get the opportunity to visit all the lovely ethnic grocery stores. They will help you find the Togarashi and Shaohsng Huadiao wine.

1 tablespoon Shaohsng Huadiao wine or a dry sherry
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of corn starch
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil with a high smoking point
1 pound ground turkey thigh meat                                                                                        
1 pound of green beans tops removed and left whole
3 garlic cloves mined
1 tablespoon of minced ginger
3 green onions cut for garnish
2 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil

In a bowl mix up the sauce that includes the sugar, soy sauce, corn starch, black pepper, Shaohsng Huadiao wine, sugar, water and togarashi. Set aside.

Heat a wok or very large frying pan until the oil is smoking. Add the green beans and cook until they have brown spots all over them and are wilted a little. Now turn down the heat a little and add the ground turkey. Crush the turkey meat and cook until all the pink has been remove. Now add the garlic and ginger and cook until they are no longer raw. Now add your sauce and cook until the mixture is well incorporated. Serve this dish with steamed basmati rice. You are going to have the best home take out.

Rissotto

This is a classic risotto from the northern part of Italy where everything can be used in making risotto. Just remember that a good stock is one of the keys to a successful risotto. Another is to have the stock be very hot when you add it to the rice. I like to eat risotto on a plate. This is a "peccato mortale". Italians will always serve risotto in a bowl. Whups !

4 cups of brown chicken stock
1/8 cup olive oil
1/8 cup butter
1 small onion diced
1/4 cup dice celery
1/3 cup diced carrot
1 clove garlic minced
1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano shaved
3/4 cup dry white wine
4 mushrooms diced
1 slice of 1/4 inch thick deli ham diced
1 tablespoon minced parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cup of Carnaroli rice

Heat the stock over low heat and keep it warm next to a sauce pan you will use for the rice. Now, in the sauce pan for the rice, heat the oil and butter over medium high heat. When sizzling add your diced onion, carrot and celery. Saute until the vegetables are about to turn brown. Add the garlic and stir for a minute or two.

 Now add the rice and cook stirring constantly until it turns translucent. You will now add the wine to the sauce pan.












Cook until all the wine has been cooked into the rice. Now add your mushrooms and 1/3 of the warm stock to your sauce pan. Stir until all the stock has been absorbed. Now repeat this step two more times.


Now your rice will be fully cooked and you will add the cheese, ham and parsley. Season with freshly ground pepper and minced parsley.
 

Pasta Alla Norma

According to tradition, this pasta will only turn out, if you are listening to the beautiful Bellini aria
Norma. A glass of wine from Catania his birthplace is in the mix too. The opera starts out deep in the forest within a sacred grove, the Druids gather around an alter and pray to their god for strength against the Roman armies. The high priest, Oroveso, leads them in their prayer. After they have said their prayers, they leave the forest. Moments later, Pollione, the Roman, arrives with his centurion, Flavious, telling him that he no longer loves Oroveso's daughter, Norma (even though she broke her vow of chastity and gave birth to two children). Pollione has fallen in love with one of the virgin temple priestesses, Adalgisa. When the bronze temple ....

2 eggplants about 1 1/2 pounds
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 pinch of red pepper flake1 small onion minced
4 large tomatoes peeled and diced
ground pepper
1 pound of rigatoni
1/2 cup basil torn
1/2 cup grated ricotta salata

Traditionally the eggplant is seasoned with salt, garlic, and left to dry in the sun. Will as we do not have the pleasure of the warm Mediterranean sun; slice the ends of the eggplant and remove the skin. Cut the eggplant the size of your rigatoni and place in a colander over a bowl. Sprinkle with kosher salt and leave for a couple of hours. Then rinse with cold water and drain for another hour.

Heat a large frying pan with one tablespoon of olive oil and cook eggplant for about 10 minutes until golden brown. While frying the eggplant, place a large pot of boiling water over high heat. Salt the water until it tastes like sea water. When the water comes to a rolling boil; you will cook the rigatoni for about 10 minutes.


Now remove the eggplant from the frying pan and drain on paper towels. Add the remaining oil to the frying pan and add the onion. Cook until the onion has some color. Now add the garlic and pepper flakes and saute for a minute or two. Now add the tomatoes and decrease heat and simmer.

Now pour the drained cooked pasta into a large serving bowl and top with tomato sauce, eggplant, basil and grated ricotta salata.

Please note that you can use any kind of grated cheese. Smoke mozzarella, Parmigiano Regiano and Pecorino Romano are all good. I added smoked mozzarella & capers to mine. Although these are nontraditional.

Now turn up the music and find out what happens to Norma.

 

Peanut Butter & Apricot Jam Banana Bread

Warning this is not a low calorie recipe, but a really tasty banana bread recipe ! It is also a great use for all those over ripe bananas. I used raw peanuts and lightly toasted them to add to the batter. I found this recipe in a Better Homes & Gardens Fall Baking Magazine. I tweaked it like I always do; with ingredients that I like. Great for a cold fall winter snack and for kids that are not allergic to peanuts.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and then toast 1/2 cup of raw peanuts and set aside to cool. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

In a mixer blend 1 1/2 cups of ripe bananas, two eggs, 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of melted butter, 1/4 cup of peanut butter and 1/4 cup of the roasted peanuts chopped.

In a separate bowl, whisk 2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger.

Now make the streusel nut topping. In a bowl mix 2 tablespoons of flour, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and 3 teaspoons of very cold butter. Mix until the mixture is a coarse crumb. Now add the remaining nuts. Set aside.

Now add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in your mixer. Mix only until it comes together and then add it to the prepared pan. Take the 1/3 cup of apricot jam and swirl it into the batter and top with the streusel mixture.

Bake for about one hour. A wooden toothpick into the center should come out clean. You will  need to cover the loaf pan with foil about half way through to prevent over browning of topping. The recipe says to wrap the loaf and let stand overnight.

 

Red Curry Prawn Rice

You must cook shrimp shell on in this dish. The stock & shrimp will get the wonderful flavor from the shells. Just remove the vain by slicing through the back to remove.

Red curry paste has lemongrass, red chili pepper, galangal, kafir lime and Thai ginger in it.

Galangal root is also known as blue ginger, and is part of the ginger family. Galangal's flavor is a little bit different from regular ginger and I encourage you to try it; as it helps Osteoarthritis.

Serve this dish with sliced limes on the side.

1 1/3 cups of basmati rice soaked in cool water
1 1b extra large raw shell on Key West Pink Shrimp
1 large onion diced
1 clove of garlic minced
2 1/3 cups of chicken stock
1 teaspoon of Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt to taste

Heat the butter and olive oil in a thick Dutch oven on medium high heat. Add the diced onion and sauté for 12 minutes and then add the minced garlic. Cook for a minute and then add the shrimp shell on with vain removed. Now add the ground spices and shrimp paste. Cook the raw flavor of the spices out for a minute or two. Now add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the drained basmati rice and bring up to a boil. Cover the rice, turn down to very low and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the rice. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Granny Smith & Cranberry Bran Muffins

I like moist bran muffins. Adding shredded tart apples adds a lot of moisture to a healthy muffin. This muffin recipe has 1 and 1/2 cups of wheat bran. The added tartness of the dried cranberries makes this a tasty healthy choice in the morning.

1 1/2 cups of unprocessed wheat bran
1/4 cup of room temperature butter
1/2 cup of boiling water
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

3/4 cup of light brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 granny smith apples grated
2 tablespoons of dried cranberries
sliced almonds to top muffins

Mix the boiling water and the wheat bran and let stand until cool. Now in a mixer cream the butter and brown sugar. Mix  in the egg and now add in the bran mixture. Add in the dry ingredients and the  vanilla & buttermilk. Then stir in the grated apple and dried cranberries. Fill a muffin tin with the batter and top with sliced almonds. Bake the muffins in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Les Etapes De La Recette Du Gateau Basque Tradionnel

 Basque cake is a combination of cake and pie encasing thick pastry cream or black cherry jam which usually comes with a topping of sour cherry sauce. This is a translation of a traditional recipe in French. I love Google Translate!

Préparation : 40 minutes

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cuisson : 30 minutes
 Cooking time: 30 minutes
Température 180° // Thermostat 6 Temperature 350° / / Gas 6

Ingrédients :
Ingredients:
- 200 grammes de beurre fin - 3/4 cup of butter 
- 4 jaunes d'œufs et 2 œufs moyens (55-65) - 4 egg yolks and 2 medium eggs (55-65)
- 200 grammes de sucre cristallisé - 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 400 grammes de farine type 55 - 3 3/4 cup of cake flour
- 3 grammes de sel de Bayonne - 1/2 teaspoon of salt Bayonne (Kosher Salt)
- 8 grammes de poudre à lever (levure chimique 1/2 sachet) - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup jam & 3/4 cup pastry cream to fill the cake

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and keep at hand.
Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until smooth. Add the eggs & egg yolks and beat another 2 minutes or so, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. The mixture may look curdled, but that's OK. Then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in two or three additions, mixing only until they're fully incorporated into the dough.
Place a large sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper on your work surface and put half of the very soft and sticky dough in the center of the sheet. Cover with another piece of plastic or wax paper, then roll the dough into a circle just a little larger than 8 inches in diameter. As you're rolling, turn the dough over and lift the plastic or paper frequently, so that you don't roll it into the dough and form creases. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
Put the dough on a cutting board or baking sheet and refrigerate it for about 3 hours or for up to 3 days.
When you're ready to assemble and bake the gateau, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350. Generously butter a 2-inch high, 8-inch round cake pan.
Remove the layers from the refrigerator and let them rest on the counter for a couple of minutes before peeling away the plastic or paper. Fit one layer into the pan — if it breaks, just press the pieces together. If there's a little extra dough running up the sides of the pan, you can either fold it over the bottom layer or cut it so that it's even. Spoon some of the jam or pastry cream onto the dough, starting in the center of the cake and leaving one inch of dough bare around the border. Add more filling if you don't think it will squish out the sides when you press down on it with the top layer of dough. (I find that 3/4 cup is usually just the right amount, but if you're using a very thick jam, you might want a bit more.)

For the Pastry Cream Filling
500 ml/ 1 pint full cream milk
1 egg and two egg yolk
2 tbsp dark rum
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
100 g/ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
50 g/ 8 tbsp plain flour, sifted

Prepare the cream filling. In a saucepan, bring the milk to soft boil with the vanilla seeds. Add the sugar, whisk for 30 seconds. Add the sifted flour gently, whisking away to avoid any lumps for 2 minutes. You can take the saucepan on and off the heat a few times. Add the egg and yolks, one at a time, whisking away until the cream has thickened, about 2-3 minutes (low heat). Take off the heat. Finally, add the rum and mix well. Set aside to cool completely.

Moisten the bare ring of dough with a little water and then top with the second piece of dough, pressing down around the edges to seal it. If you'd like, you can work your finger between the top dough and the edge of the pan, so that you tuck the dough under a little. Because of the softness of the dough and the baking powder, even if you only press the layers together very lightly, they'll fuse as they bake. And, no matter how well you press them together, it seems inevitable that a little of the filling will escape.

Brush the top of the dough with a egg glaze and use the tips of the tines of a fork to etch a cross-hatch pattern across the top.

Bake the cake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it rest for 5 minutes before carefully running a blunt knife around the edges of the cake. Turn the cake over onto a cooling rack and then quickly and carefully invert it onto another rack so that it can cool to room temperature right side up.

 

Banana Cream Pie with Crystallized Ginger

Sitting on my counter is the just perfectly ripe bananas for something. I was reading my numerous cooking magazines and thought why not banana cream pie. Most recipes go for the Betty Crocker style. I thought why not add candied ginger and freshly grated nutmeg to the pastry cream.
Oh, my it really kicked it up several notches. This recipe is a spin off of a Bon Appetit's recipe.
You will need a prebaked pie shell. I always use my grandmothers recipe of never fail pie crust. It is one of my earlier posts.

After the shell has cooled paint the shell with 2 ounces of melted bittersweet chocolate and 2 teaspoons of oil. Let chill completely. The pastry cream is very easy. For my mother's day I received an electric hand blender. It makes quick work of whipping cream and mixing the pastry cream. I like a sauce pan with rounded corners too.

For the pastry cream: 3 large egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, a pinch of salt, and 2 cups of whole milk are added to a sauce pan. Whisk until well incorporated. Place on the stove and bring to a rolling boil; whisking all the time. Remove from heat and add 2 teaspoons of vanilla, a lot of freshly grated nutmeg and 3 teaspoons of crystallized ginger. Cool until lukewarm and then add three sliced bananas. Refrigerated until cold.

For the whipped cream I added 1 pint of cream into a bowl. Whipped until thickened and then added powdered sugar and vanilla to taste. Whip your cream until well set.

With a piping bag add the whipped cream to the cold pie. Then toast some sweetened coconut and top pie.