italian cooking made easy

Sfingi or St. Josephs Day Zeppole  INGREDIENTS Ricotta Cream Filling One 15 Ounce Container Ricotta ¾ Cup Confectioners’ Sugar 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract ¼ Cup Mini Chocolate Chips 1 Tablespoon Finely Chopped Candied Citron Or Orange peel Dough 1 Cup Water 4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) Unsalted Butter 1 Teaspoon Salt 1 Cup Unbleached Flour 4 Large Eggs Vegetable Oil For Frying Candied Cherries – Cut In Half For Garnish 2 Tablespoons Chopped Unsalted Pistachios For Garnish (Optional) Confectioners’ Sugar In a medium Bowl, whisk the ricotta, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and candied fruit. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. To make the puffs, bring the water, the butter and the salt to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat, add the flour all at once and stir well with a wooden spoon until the flour is completely incorporated. Return the saucepan to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly and turning the dough often, until the doug

Fare la scarpetta is a phrase in the Italian language that’s close to the heart of everyone who has enjoyed a delicious plate of pasta with sauce. Meaning “make the little shoe,” it refers to the small piece of bread used to mop up the last of the sauce on your plate. This end to a meal ritual is vastly popular all over Italy; however, where it originates is still open to debate. There’s one theory that the practice began in Venice, though bread wasn’t usually served with pasta in northern Italy, whereas it was in the south of the country, therefore it is implausible to assume it originated there. In his book about medieval eating habits, Fabrizio Vanni proposes that the act took place following the introduction of tomatoes to the Italian diet back in the late 16th century. Before this time sauces tended to be thicker and more robust; with the introduction of the tomato, sauces became lighter and therefore required mopping up. Another suggestion regarding the origin of la s

Yesterday i had some black rice and swordfish left over from the day before. i decided to recycle the 2 ingredients and create a tasteful  dinner with the following ingredients: 1 onion, half red bell pepper, fresh ginger root, lemon grass, garlic, half coffee spoon chili paste and some salt. I simmered all ingredients in sesame oil for only 5 minutes. then added swordfish (diced, and already cooked)  Then i mixed ingredients with the black rice and let it cook 3 minutes over high flame. Garnish with parsley and soy sauce.  buon appetito.