Proud Italian Cook

Baking with Fruits of the Season

September 27, 2010 by Marie 26 Comments

When it comes to baking I usually go for the more “rustic style”, nothing long and complicated for me, quick breads, muffins, one bowl whatever. I get excited when I don’t have to pull out my hand held beaters. I don’t own a Kitchen Aid and probably never will although I do like those pasta attachments!

That’s why I love making this cake, Torta di Mele, which is an Italian apple cake. Just grab a big bowl and combine:

2 Cups of flour

4 Eggs

1 Cup of canola oil

1 Cup sugar

2 Teaspoons baking powder

3 Tablespoons Amaretto liqueur

6 apples cored, sliced and tossed in the juice of one lemon

Preheat oven to 325F. Combine all ingredients in bowl and stir until smooth. Pour batter into a buttered 9 or 10 inch spring form pan and place your apple slices all around gently pressing them in as pictured above, then bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Cool and serve at room temperature.

I love Italian plums, when I see them I’m instantly reminded of my favorite aunt and uncle who grew them proudly on their property, they’re much smaller than the standard black and red plums that we normally see, their texture is a little firmer and they hold up great in baking. My friend Stacey calls this recipe, Plum Cake for Dummies, which is right up my easy baking alley!

Italian Plum Cake

For my recipe I used the Italian plums which I sliced in half and pitted, you can use as many as you want filling the whole top of the cake if you so desire. The key to this recipe is the easy batter which consists of;

1 1/2 Cups flour

2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 Teaspoon salt

3/4 cup of sugar

1 egg

1/4 Cup canola oil

1/2 Cup milk

Cinnamon sugar to sprinkle over plums,

1 Tablespoon of sugar combined with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Directions:

Mix the wet with the dry ingredients, I used my hand held mixer, then pour the batter into a buttered 8 inch square pan.

Place your plum halves on top of the batter facing cut side up, I pressed one deep into the batter and then another one directly on top of that, so I used 2 halves per section right on top of each other pressing down a bit.

Sprinkle the plum halves with cinnamon sugar and dot the top of them with 2 tbsp of butter and bake at 375F for 40-45 minutes.

This cake was super moist and great with a hot cup of french roast coffee! This would be equally good using other stone fruits or even apples, why not!

And lastly, for a nice Sunday breakfast that you can prepare the night before and pop in the oven the morning of, Baked Cranberry Apple French Toast.

Wouldn’t you like to wake up to the smell of this baking in your oven? It’s easy, here’s how you do it.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 or 3 tart apples, depending on size, peeled, cored and thinly slice

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 loaf of Italian or French bread, cut into 1-inch slices

3 large eggs

3/ 4 cups milk

1 tbsp. pure vanilla

Feel free to spike it with some rum or Amaretto for extra added flavor!

Directions:

Toss apples and cranberries with brown sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon. In a buttered 8×8-

inch baking dish arrange bread cubes on top. Mix the eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining 2 tsp. cinnamon until well blended. Pour mixture over bread, soaking bread completely. Arrange apple and cranberry mixture all over then cover and refrigerate overnight. Next morning, bake covered with aluminum foil in a preheated 375F degree oven for 30-40 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and let it stand for 5 minutes.

Serve warm, garnish with slivered almonds and serve with maple syrup!

Buon Appetito!

26 Comments Filed Under: Desserts, Fruit, Seasonal Tagged: apples, baked apple french toast, Italian apple cake, Italian plums

Time to Make the Pesto!

September 13, 2010 by Marie 39 Comments

Our basil this year was the best ever! It was so nice to have it available whenever I needed it this summer, but now that the nights are getting cooler I thought it was time to cut it down and make some pesto before it starts to shrivel up because that would be just too sad!

UPDATE!

Since I wrote this post back in 201o I thought it would be nice to do an update on my beloved basil, it is now 2020, ten years later and I’m still going strong with my love for all things basil!

My husband is still the gardener and he’s the one that grows it for me every year. We use to grow it in the ground but now we grow it in pots and the quality and taste seems even better!

I make pesto many times during the season, I also freeze it, recently I bought some cubed silicone ice cube trays which I fill with my finished pesto, when totally frozen I then pop the cubes out and stick them into a container and tuck it back into the freezer. I can’t wait to defrost some to use in the dead of winter!

I personally do not like when pesto starts to turn brown, but years ago I found that just by blanching the leaves into boiling water for less than a minute and then submerging them quickly into ice water keeps their vibrant green color.

It’s been said that you can’t freeze pesto with the cheese in it, I’ve done it both ways and I see no difference, so I freeze mine completed with the cheese.

So after picking the leaves off the branches I wash them first then get a pot of water boiling. When the water is boiling blanch the leaves for less than a minute, then into ice water which you will then squeeze dry.

An excellent tip I got years ago from a fellow blogger was to squeeze the water from spinach using a potato ricer and so I thought why not squeeze the water out of the blanched basil the same way using a potato ricer, and let me tell you it works like a charm!

When I’ve purchased store bought pesto’s in the past I find them way too garlicky or just too oily for my taste, but when you make your own you can add or subtract any of the amounts that you put into it. My advice is keep tasting it as you go along mixing it to get the right balance for you.

I stopped using pine nuts years ago, they’re just too expensive and then there was that whole “pine mouth” thing going around where badly produced pine nuts if eaten would take away your sense of taste and I didn’t want that to happen, so toasted walnuts it is, and you know what we love the flavor!

Good cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano,or even Pecorino Romano I have used, quality olive oil, fresh garlic and toasted nuts is all you need to make a fabulous basil pesto.

Delicious folded into warm pasta, so much flavor! Great with meats, salads, veggies, seafood and sauces, basil pesto is so versatile!

Remember to keep tasting it, you might want to add more cheese, oil, salt, garlic or nuts whatever suits your own taste buds

ANOTHER TIP:

If you have an over abundance of basil leaves like I do you might want to try Lidia’s way of preserving them.

“Pluck the whole leaves and set them in a small paper cup, fill with water until the herb is submerged, then freeze. When frozen solid, pop the block of ice with the embedded herbs out of the paper cup and into a ziplock bag. The herbs, once the ice melts will be fresh and ready to use.”

I hope you will give this a try it was so simple to do and you can pack quite a few leaves into the paper cups, another way to preserve your beautiful basil bounty!

39 Comments Filed Under: Sauces, Summer Tagged: basil pesto, frozen basil, Lidia Bastianich, making pesto, preserving fresh basil

Asiago, Romano and Black Pepper Biscotti

September 8, 2010 by Marie 26 Comments

Savory biscotti, excellent on their own, even better when you’re sipping a glass of wine, also the perfect companion with all your homemade soups, chili’s and salads.

Just like its cousin the sweet biscotti, the combinations you could use here are endless and left only to your imagination!

These are so flavorful and perfect for entertaining, with every crunchy bite you’ll taste the bold flavors of cheese, the spiciness of the black pepper and just a hint of whatever herb you use.

Hard and semi hard cheeses are best, think parmesan, chedder, gouda, provolone to name a few, for nuts you could use pistachio’s, pine nuts, walnuts, almonds or pecans, herbs such as thyme, basil, oregano and rosemary, like I said the possibilities are endless!

Now go and create a batch, here’s the basic recipe. Feel free to switch out the cheese and herbs of your choice, I did!

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup grated Asiago cheese
1 cup grated pecorino Romano
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup thinly sliced almonds

Snipped fresh thyme, not too much

A healthy pinch of cayenne pepper, (optional)
3 large eggs lightly beaten, plus 1 large egg, lightly beaten, for brushing the dough
1 cup whole or 2 percent milk

Directions:

Combine the flour, peppers, baking powder, salt and cheeses in the bowl of a food processor; pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse briefly. Add the almonds but do not process.
Combine the 3 beaten eggs and the milk in a measuring cup, then add to the food processor bowl, pulsing as you pour. Process just until the egg mixture and nuts are incorporated and the dough begins to form a ball.

Turn out the dough onto a large piece of wax paper, patting it into a disk. Wrap the disk in the paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
Position oven racks in the middle and lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator; if it is very firm let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a log about 11 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 3/4-inch to 1-inch thick. Place 2 logs on each baking sheet, spaced at least 1 inch apart. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the tops of the logs with the remaining beaten egg, if using.

Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom; then bake for 15 minutes so the logs are golden on top and springy to the touch. Use a wide spatula to transfer the logs to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes; keep the baking sheets at hand because they will be used to bake the sliced biscotti. (Wipe the paper or liners clean as needed.)

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Working with one log at a time, place it on a cutting board and use a serrated knife to cut crosswise on the diagonal with a slow, sawing motion into 1/3-inch-thick slices, arranging them closely together on the baking sheets as you go. Bake both sheets for 15 minutes (on the middle and lower racks), then rotate them from top to bottom and front to back; bake for 15 minutes, until the biscotti are golden and crisp. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe makes approximately 7 to 8 dozen.

MAKE AHEAD: The dough needs 2 hours rest in the refrigerator, or overnight. The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen in a food storage bag for up to 3 months. Baked biscotti will keep at room temperature for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Recipe adapted from The Washington Post 2009

Buon Appetito!

26 Comments Filed Under: Appetizers Tagged: antipasti, savory biscotti