Proud Italian Cook

Merry Christmas! And the Winner is…

December 22, 2015 by Marie 5 Comments

Just a quick post during this busy week to wish you all a very blessed holiday and a very Merry Christmas! I’ve baked enough cookies, especially those cucidati pictured above and now I’m ready to sit back and enjoy the time with my family and friends.

I’ll be back here after Christmas but if you want to see what I’m cooking up during the week, and especially this week, you can always find me on Instagram.

So without further adieu, the lucky winner of the beautiful Lagostina Risotto Pot is……… CHRIS MARCHESE!!! Congratulations Chris, you’re going to love that gorgeous risotto pot!

I will be contacting you by email to get your address so the company can send it directly out to you.

5 Comments Filed Under: Cookies Tagged: cucidati, italian fig cookies, Lagostina winner

Seafood Risotto

December 12, 2015 by Marie 385 Comments

Since it’s the holiday season with Christmas around the corner and New Years right behind I decided to make a seafood risotto with lobster, scallops and shrimp, why not, it’s the holidays and besides, this would be perfect for any special occasion.

So I took out my special risotto pot which I got as a gift, it’s made of heavy stainless with a wide bottom, but of course any heavy bottom pot will do. I love making my risotto in it.

I got all my ingredients all together, I decided to use Prosecco instead of white wine I thought it would pair well with the seafood and give it an extra special touch. I wasn’t sure if I was going to use parmesan cheese or not, I normally do in all my risotto’s but after it was done and I tasted it I felt there was no need for it at all so it’s your call on whether or not you want to use some.

Also for the first time in my life I broke down a whole cooked lobster strictly because I wanted those claws for garnish on my risotto, when in doubt watch a YouTube, I did and it was easy to figure out after seeing it, I basically just used the tail and claws.

First I got my stock going in a separate pan, I bought some seafood stock and enhanced it with the peeled shrimp shells, after it simmered for a while I strained it real good and I was ready to begin making the risotto.

When all the stock was absorbed I just folded in my chopped seafood and dinner was good to go!

This was by far one of the best risotto’s I have ever made, creamy and perfectly cooked and very impressive!

4.9 from 109 reviews

Seafood Risotto

Author: Marie

Ingredients

Serves 2
1 pre-cooked whole lobster using the claws and tail
8 shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 large scallops
all seafood should be pre-cooked and diced into chunks
1½ quart of seafood stock, either store bought or make your own by simmering water with shrimp and lobster shells, onions, celery, peppercorns and a little thyme, then straining twice.
1 cup arborio rice
2 large shallots
¾ cup of Prosecco or white wine
1 cup of canned or fresh diced tomatoes, drained of wet liquid
parsley
olive oil and butter

Instructions

Cook the shrimp and scallops on a foil lined sheet pan, drizzle seafood with some garlic infused olive oil and a small handful of chopped parsley, roast at 425 degrees until pink and translucent, maybe 10 minutes, let it rest.
Break down your whole lobster tail, removing the shell from the claws so they stay in tact, remove the shell from the tail and cut into chunks, place all the lobster meat into the juices of the cooked shrimp and scallops on the sheet pan.
Place a knob of butter and a good drizzle of olive oil into the bottom of the risotto pot.
Add shallots and cook until they soften.
Add rice, stirring until coated and hot.
Deglaze with the Prosecco or white wine.
When liquid is absorbed then start adding your simmering warm seafood stock, one ladle at a time, stirring until it gets absorbed, then add another ladle full.
Keep flame on medium heat and continue adding warm stock and stirring until absorbed and rice reaches a tender and slightly al dente bite, you'll know when it's ready.
Turn off heat, add another knob of butter, a little olive oil, the drained chopped tomatoes and parsley, then stir to incorporate and finally add in your chopped seafood.
Put the lid on and let it rest for 1 minute.
When plating top each plate with one claw, garnish with more parsley

385 Comments Filed Under: Rice and Risotto, Seafood Tagged: Lagostina risotto pot, risotto, seafood risotto

Rosette Christmas Cookies

December 6, 2015 by Marie 18 Comments

Do you remember rosette cookies? When I was a kid we would have these cookies every year around the holidays and then when I got married I had my very own set of rosette irons they were snowflakes, but somehow they vanished through the years and they’ve been nowhere to be found.

You really don’t see the irons in stores anymore but you can find them online, I ordered my set from Amazon, I thought the tree and snowflake would be perfect for the holidays but there are also so many other shapes available that you could use throughout the year, flowers, butterflies, bunnies, fish, birds, hearts, I could go on and on.

They’re very simple to make, you whip up a batter, sort of like a crepe batter which you can flavor with different extracts, I used vanilla with some added vanilla bean but you can also use, almond, anise, rum, lemon and even orange, whatever you like.

HELPFUL HINTS

Make your batter ahead of time and refrigerate it for a couple of hours or overnight, your cookies will be nice and crispy… Keep your oil at 365 for best results, so you’ll need a candy thermometer… Heat your iron in the oil for about 8 minutes before you start to dip them… They can be stored in an airtight container for months, they can also be frozen and if needed you can re-crisp them in a 300 degree oven.

On the back of the package you’ll find some helpful tips plus a recipe for the batter, but I didn’t care for the recipe they had so I slightly adapted my friend Paula’s recipe which turned out perfectly, not one cookie broke!

Placed on a pretty platter these rosettes would be the perfect addition to your holiday dessert table, don’t you think?

Follow along and see what else I’m cooking up during the week on Instagram, here’s the link.

4.8 from 4 reviews

Rosette Christmas Cookies

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1¼ cup of flour
1 cup whole milk
2 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla or other extract or vanilla bean
oil for frying

Instructions

For the batter beat all ingredients together until incorporated then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight to ensure a crispy cookie.
Place 3 inches of oil into a saucepan.
Heat to 365 and keep temperature there.
Attach iron to the handle and submerge in hot oil for at least 8 minutes.
Lift iron out and blot on paper towel.
Dip hot iron into the batter ¾ up the sides, let it coat the iron but do not submerge, it will not release.
Keep it under the oil for a few seconds as you see it turning golden, then gently shake it a little and it will usually release, if it doesn't just take a fork and gently nudge it, then flip it over until golden brown on both sides.
Lift it out gently and let it drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
This recipe makes quite a bit, around 40