Proud Italian Cook

AFFOGATO!!

June 10, 2008 by Marie 58 Comments

Affogato in Italian means “drowned”, and in this case it’s cold vanilla gelato being drowned by pouring freshly brewed espresso all over it. Add a splash of Amaretto, and you have a wonderful ending to a great summer BBQ.

It’s like having your coffee and dessert all at the same time!

Simply brew up some of your favorite espresso, I happen to like these two, and would normally use either one.

But I just so happen to have one last bag of this coffee that I have been holding on to since our trip to Italy, I decided to finally open it up and use it, I just loved the look of the bag, and the fact that I bought it in Florence.

My espresso pot is a cherished gift that I got from a very special Aunt, a family heirloom that she gave to me because she knows how much I love coffee. I love it, and I thought it would be perfect to feature it in this post.

I don’t know how old it is, but I do know it makes a perfect espresso. When I first received it from her I kept it all packed up and stored away, then I thought, why? I want to enjoy it and use it, so I pulled it out and have been using it ever since!

The recipe calls for gelato, but unfortunately once you try the real thing nothing compares.

I saw this and thought I’d give it a try, sorry Ciao Bella you’re not worth the $$$$!

A good quality vanilla ice cream would work just as well.

This is definitely an “Adult” version of an ice cream float, just scoop some good ice cream in a coffee cup, splash a liqueur of your choice, “drown” it with your hot espresso, and garnish with some whip cream. (optional)

I promise that once you try this, you’ll soon be craving an Affogato!

Enjoy!!

58 Comments Filed Under: Desserts, Drinks Tagged: affogato, espresso drink, gelato, heirlooms

WINE, FOOD, FUN! …A little more of my vacation

June 7, 2008 by Marie 24 Comments

Since I took so many pictures of my recent trip I thought I would share a little more with you.

This was a tour we took in Sonoma of the Benziger family winery, they have been written up in Wine Spectator magazine because of their Green standards. Their estate is one of only a handful of vineyards in North America to be certified Biodynamic. Biodynamics is a holistic farming approach that goes a step beyond organic farming, it requires close attention to the varied forces of nature influencing the vine, along with the elimination of all chemicals.

We took a tram tour up into the vineyards where we learned how geography and weather influence their farming practices.

The Benzingers are leaders in Biodynamic and sustainable winegrowing.

Benzinger’s 28,000 square foot wine cave that stores around 4000 barrels. We learned how different types of oak influence the aging and flavors of wines.
When the tour was over we got to sample their Biodynamic and other award-winning wines.

A visit to DEAN & DELUCA in Napa. Epicurean excellence at it’s finest!!!

Chocolate anyone??

I’ve never knew or seen, so many different kinds of salts.

Parmigiano- Reggiano! the “Queen Mother”, …. I would have loved to tuck her in my suitcase!

Rows and rows of delectable olives!

Any kind of paste you would need, pistachio and almond, the smell was amazing!

Crepes with Nutella, who wouldn’t love that!

Add some fresh strawberries and banana, sheer bliss!!

I Picked these up at a beautiful farmers market set up right on pier 39 in San Francisco. Beautiful golden red Rainier cherries, if you haven’t tried these yet, and if they are available near you, please go out and get some!!

Ruby red, sweet and delicious Bing cherries

The most gorgeous strawberries not one of them blemished!

And finally, those are seals that were sleeping all at the same time, what a sight, what a day, what a trip!

24 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: biodynamic wine growing, farmers market, organtic wine, wine tour

GRILLED VEGETABLE POLENTA TART

June 3, 2008 by Marie 40 Comments

Polenta, you either love it or hate it! I love it, but I also realize that you have to flavor the heck out of it. Please don’t ever buy those round flavorless tubes, the ones that you can cut a slice off. And on the flip side you really don’t have to stir for hours and hours to make a good polenta. (although if you have the patience it’s delicious). Me,I don’t have patience, so I like using the instant kind, it’s readily available, it’s quick, it tastes great, and it comes out nice and creamy. It cooks up in no time, and right at the end you stir in all your herbs, cheese and other goodies.

In this case, I poured the creamy mixture that was flavored with fresh basil, grated Romano cheese, (lots!), pitted kalamata olives, some olive oil, salt and pepper, into a 10′ tart pan. When it cools it moulds perfectly. You can even add sun-dried tomatoes, it’s so good but I didn’t have any on hand at the time. The key is flavor it up!

This makes a great presentation on a cake stand, and is great as a lunch, appetizer or side dish.

The sky’s the limit on what kind of veggies to put on it, whatever you have on hand, or all of your favorites, I used zucchini ribbons, portabella mushrooms, onions, and red peppers. It cuts perfectly into wedges, just finish it off with shaved Pecorino and a drizzle of your favorite EV olive oil.