briciole

regalo di Natale e crostata delle Feste

Christmas gift and a Holiday tart

Che cosa ti ha portato Babbo Natale? (what did Santa bring you?) is the question often asked this time of the year. In the past, I had expressed the wish to have a magic wand. This year, Santa brought me one: Babbo Natale mi ha portato una bacchetta magica.

Here it is, resting next to some of the cards (biglietti) I received as part of the North Redwoods Book Arts Guild Holiday card exchange (this photo album shows them all). They are all beautiful and they make up this year Holiday decor at our house.

On Christmas Eve (vigilia di Natale) I made a crostata with apple, rhubarb and strawberry preserves (conserva di mele, rabarbaro e fragole) and decorated the surface with Babbo Natale shapes (instead of the traditional lattice).

briciole's recipe for crostata di marmellata

Speaking of Babbo Natale, don't you think he could live in this pretty house?

I know, those are not reindeer (renne), but elk (wapiti), there is no snow (neve), and the house is actually the Little Red Schoolhouse in Stone Lagoon, CA. But still, I like to think that Santa would enjoy living here. (The Roosevelt Elk are free to roam and they do, often crossing Hwy 101, which runs nearby.)

In case you are wondering, I am still getting acquainted with my magic wand.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

regalo di Natale e crostata delle Feste

or launch the regalo di Natale e crostata delle Feste audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

tart, dessert

croccanti

a family recipe for a special sweet treat

In the days leading up to the Holidays, my aunt Lucia would bake special cookies and apportion them among family members: my uncle, my father, my cousins. My father visited her before Christmas and brought back the package allocated to our family. I never saw my aunt making the content of that eagerly awaited package, but in my mind's eye I can reconstruct the scene: the kitchen, the table, the fireplace, my aunt and my father chatting. What came out at the receiving end were diamond-shaped torzetti and half-domed croccanti (croccante means crisp, crunchy).

I regret that I did not ask my aunt for any of her recipes. I guess in my mind I thought I had time, until one day, time suddenly ran out. For years I had been making meringues (meringhe) enriched with walnuts inspired by my aunt's croccanti, but I knew they were different. A few years ago, I asked one of my cousins whether a record of the recipe existed. A few days later, I received an email with the list of ingredients and a set of instructions that provided a starting point to develop my own version of the beloved croccanti, a variation on a theme of egg whites (albumi) and walnuts (noci) dedicated to my aunt.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for croccanti

Ingredients:

• 2 extra-large egg whites at room temperature
• 1/2 cup super-fine or granulated white sugar (zucchero)
  
• 8.5 oz. (240 g / 2 and 1/2 cups) shelled walnuts
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) all-purpose white flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) vanilla extract

My aunt started with walnuts still in their shells, and I often buy whole walnuts, because I enjoy cracking them. Shelled walnuts are readily available and also convenient. However, they should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, as they are prone to become rancid, due to their high fat content (including nutritionally-valuable alpha-linolenic acid, ALA, an omega-3 fatty acid).

In her “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”, Deborah Madison gives instructions on how to treat walnuts to improve their flavor when they aren't freshly cracked, and make them less irritating for people who are sensitive to their skins. Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the walnuts and let them stand for one minute, then drain them and absorb the excess moisture with a towel. Finally, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and place them in the oven preheated to 300 F until they have dried out, 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the oven as soon as they are dry.

After you take the walnuts out of the oven, let them cool, then spread them on a cutting board and chop them finely using a knife. At the end you should have about two cups of fragments.

Place two egg whites (I use pastured eggs) in a mixing bowl and let them rest until they reach room temperature. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 F.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Slowly add the sugar to the egg whites and continue beating until it is well incorporated. Sift flour over the egg whites and fold it in with a spatula, using light, slow movements. Add the chopped walnuts in a few batches and fold them into the batter with the spatula, again using light movements. Add vanilla extract and gently stir in.


Line one large baking sheet or two small ones with parchment paper (in this case, a silicone mat is not recommended). Drop the batter on the sheet by spoonfuls (i.e., use a soup spoon to scoop up the batter and let the spatula help you in the dropping phase), leaving 3/4-1 inch between mounds. You should have 24 of them, of 1.5-2 inch diameter.

Bake for about 20 minutes, carefully overseeing the process. Check the cookies after 18 minutes. They are ready when you can pick one up delicately with two fingers without a disappointing structural failure. The bottom should be a light tan color and upon applying a little pressure, the surface should feel delicately crisp. If otherwise, bake for an additional two minutes, then check again. Be careful because it is easy to burn the cookies. Do not touch the cookies when they come out of the oven, but let them cool on the baking sheet. To accomplish this, you may consider closing the kitchen door to prevent the sweet smell to waft out and become an irresistible magnet on other inhabitants of the house.

When you bite into a croccante, you hear the light crackle of the crisp outer layer. Your teeth sink into finely chopped walnuts supported by a framework of egg white and sugar. The latter dissolves and creates a substrate over which the walnut bits dance and overlay their nuttiness on the prevailing sweetness. As you chew, the nuts' crunchiness is slightly offset by a stickiness that encourages slow motion.

This original family recipe, made mostly of white ingredients, is my submission to the White Christmas Challenge on Very Good Recipes. Follow the link to see all the recipes submitted to the event... and also to see that my croccanti were selected for 5th place: Thank you!

White Christmas in Italian is bianco Natale.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

croccanti

Or launch the croccanti audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

White Christmas Challenge, cookie, walnut

pistacchi ricoperti di cioccolato

chocolate-covered pistachios

I cannot honestly say that the package arrived unexpectedly, but its content was unknown until I opened the box and removed the packing material to reveal a beautiful long bar of chocolate 64% cacao content, made by SOMA using cacao beans from Peru (as an aside, the cacao nibs I featured in my most recent post were also from Peruvian beans). I don't know whether Jerry of Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants! read something on my blog that suggested the gift or simply divined it: I was certainly happy to get a food that is an integral part of my daily diet (in moderation, of course).

In the package I also found a glass jar with an elegant label describing an intriguing content: Bacon Marmalade, whose ingredients include, besides bacon, sautéed onions (cipolle), balsamic vinegar from Modena (aceto balsamico di Modena) and spices. In the note accompanying the gifts, Jerry tells me that the marmalade is fabulous as an accompaniment to cheese. If you are curious to hear me describe how the pairing with some of my cheese works, I need to ask you to be patient, since I have decided to postpone opening the jar until a dinner with a friend of ours with whom I would like to share the experience. So, more on this at a later date.

Back to the chocolate, serendipity worked to suggest a pairing with pistachios. A few days before the chocolate arrived, we had received as a gift a bag of pistachios roasted (tostati) and lightly salted (salati). Having previously tasted and appreciated the pairing of chocolate and pistachios, and of chocolate and salt, I thought that putting together chocolate, pistachios and a bit of salt would be an interesting test. I recently made delicious chocolate-covered pecans, so it was easy to apply to pistachios the same technique. Preparation of the nuts involved only shelling and rubbing off the skin. Preparation of the chocolate consisted in finely chopping 3 ounces or so and then melting it according to the directions in this post. (In case you are wondering, a few pieces of chocolate found their way to my mouth while I was chopping it, as a sweet reward for my labor. All right, all right, chopping chocolate probably does not count as "labor.")

I used a teaspoon to make small clusters and deposit them on a tray lined with wax paper (carta oleata). Once the chocolate was completely set, we tasted the clusters and were delighted by the combination of crunch, sweetness and light saltiness of the ensemble.

The special delivery was not unexpected, because last month I signed up to participate to Season's Eatings, an edible gift exchange event engineered by Katie of Thyme for Cooking, the Blog. Many thanks to Jerry for the thoughtful gifts and to Katie for organizing the fun event.

Katie will have a roundup of the exchange some time after Christmas.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

pistacchi ricoperti di cioccolato

or launch the pistacchi ricoperti di cioccolato audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

pistachio, chocolate

granella di fave di cacao

cacao nibs

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

In the beginning there is the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, “a spindly understory tree” which, with very few exceptions, “refuses to bear fruit outside a band of 20 degrees north and 20 degrees south of the Equator.” (Sophie and Michael Coe, The True History of Chocolate)

The fruit of the cacao tree is called a cacao pod (cabosse): It contains almond-shaped seeds, called beans (fave di cacao), surrounded by a juicy pulp. The Coes explain that once the pods are opened, and the beans and their surrounding pulp extracted, there are four principal steps which must be taken to produce the cacao “nibs” (kernels) that are to be ground into chocolate: (1) fermentation, (2) drying, (3) roasting (or toasting) and (4) winnowing. No matter what the level of technology, this sequence has been in force for at least three millennia and still is followed in the modern world.

Soon after the cacao pods are harvested, seeds and pulp are extracted and piled up. Fermentation ensues and lasts several days. “Cacao fermentation is a fermentation of the pulp, not the beans, but it transforms the beans as well… Right out of the pod, the bean is astringent, bitter, and essentially aroma-less… Properly conducted fermentation converts the astringent but bland beans into vessels laden with desirable flavors and flavor precursors.” (Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking).

Once the fermentation is complete, the seeds are dried in the sun, cleaned, bagged, then transported to locations where they will be processed. There, they start their journey to become chocolate by being roasted (to develop their flavor and aroma). Temperature and duration of roasting are the first of the chocolate maker’s secrets and vary based on the bean variety and provenance. The roasted cacao beans are cracked into pieces and then winnowed. The result of the winnowing process is a separation of the cacao nibs from the chaff. The cacao bean husks can be composted, while the nibs proceed to the next step.

The preceding paragraphs are excepted from an article I wrote earlier this year, which goes on to talk about the processing of cacao nibs into chocolate (on this page, you can see a photo I took of "the next step"). In this post, I'll stop here because the protagonists are the cacao nibs themselves.

I remember well the first time I saw a package of cacao nibs by Scharffen Berger on the shelf of a store in Berkeley, some years ago. I wondered what they tasted like and how to use them. Our local grocery store carried cacao nibs in the bulk section, a sign that they have become an item consumed by enough people. I made my most recent purchase of cacao nibs during a visit to the chocolate makers mentioned in the article: Dick Taylor Chocolate.

I no longer wonder how to use them, but maybe you do, so here are some ideas.

Cacao Nibs... are the essence of chocolate (cioccolato). Nibs add crunchiness and subtle chocolate flavor to baked goods and savory dishes. They make a great substitute for roasted nuts or chocolate chips, without added sweetness. [source]

I have added my cacao nibs from my most recent purchase to my homemade yogurt (more on this in a future post) and also to my pasta frolla to make special frollini (cookies). Add some cacao nibs to the dough after the egg and the vanilla extract by distributing them on the surface of the dough-in-progress. You may start by adding 2 tablespoons; then, if you enjoy the result, try increasing to 3 (which is the amount I use).

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for frollini (with and without cacao nibs)

My next suggestion is homemade Bel Paese cheese with cacao nibs. Bel Paese (literally, beautiful country) cheese was created in 1906 by Egidio Galbani and is produced by Galbani, the company he founded. The name came from the title of the 1876 book by Antonio Stoppani dedicated to the geophysical beauties of Italy. Dante and Petrarch had used the expression to refer to Italy. Bel Paese is a semi-soft cow cheese with a mild, sweet, milky flavor. [As an aside, the modern label on the cheese is different from the one it had when I was a child, shown on the right.]

When I made the cheese, following the recipe in Debra Amrein-Boyes' 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes¹, I hit a bump on the road: kind of a long story, which in the end did not impact the ripening of the cheese in the way I feared. The big unknown was how would the cacao nibs interact with the ripening cheese. After six weeks of aging, I cut it and we tasted it: I am pleased by the result. The cacao nibs softened and donated some of their nuttiness to the cheese, while still creating a contrast in texture and flavor.

The big question is: will I be able to reproduce it? Ask me again in a few months. For now, I am enjoying my creation, shown in this photo in the company of a couple of Lavash crackers (a favorite baked good with my husband). I had some for dinner with slices of my pane alla zucca (pumpkin bread).

This is my contribution to edition #314 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week (the last one of the year) by Haalo herself.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

¹ I refer you to the book for the recipe details (some apply to cheese making in general, some to the specific cheese).

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

granella di fave di cacao

or launch the granella di fave di cacao audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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cacao, cookies, cheese

Per i lettori italiani

Il frutto dell'albero del cacao si chiama cabosse e contiene semi a forma di mandorla, chiamati fave di cacao, circondati da una succosa polpa biancastra. Sophie and Michael Coe nel loro The True History of Chocolate, spiegano che una volta che le cabosse sono aperte e fave e polpa estratti, la produzione di granella di fave di cacao (che viene poi macinata per fare il cioccolato) avviene attraverso quattro passaggi: (1) fermentazione, (2) essiccatura, (3) torrefazione e (4) vagliatura. Questo processo viene seguito da almeno tremila anni (certo, con mezzi che sono cambiati nel tempo!).

Dopo il raccolto delle cabosse, polpa e fave vengono estratti e ammucchiati. La fermentatione che segue dura diversi giorni. A fermentare è la polpa, non le fave, ma il processo influenza anche i semi. Appena uscite dalla cabosse, le fave hanno un sapore amaro, astringente e praticamente nessun aroma. La fermentazione converte le fave in contenitori di sapori e precursori di sostanze aromatiche (libera traduzione da Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking).

Al termine della fermentazione, le fave vengono essiccate al sole, pulite, messe in sacchi e trasportate nei luoghi di utilizzo, dove cominciano il viaggio per diventare cioccolato con la tostatura, processo che sviluppa sapore e aroma. Temperatura e durata della tostatura sono il primo dei segreti del cioccolatiere e variano in base alla varietà di cacao e alla sua origine. Dopo la tostatura, le fave vengono frantumate e vagliate per rimuovere il tegumento che le riveste.

I paragrafi prcedenti sono tratti da un articolo che ho scritto qualche mese fa, nel quale poi parlo del processo che trasforma la granella di fave di cacao tostate in cioccolato (su questa pagina, potete vedere una foto dell'inizio di tale processo). In questo post, mi fermo qui, dal momento che la protagonista è la granella.

Mi ricordo bene la prima volta che vidi, alcuni anni fa, una confezione di granella di fave di cacao (prodotta da Scharffen Berger) in un negozio di Berkeley. Mi domandai che sapore avesse e come usarla. Nel negozio dove faccio la spesa più spesso, la granella si trova sfusa, da acquistare a peso, segno che è richiesta da abbastanza persone. Il mio acquisto più recente di granella l'ho fatto presso la fabbrica artigianale di cioccolato descritta nell'articolo di cui sopra: Dick Taylor Chocolate.

A questo punto so come utilizzare la granella di fave di cacao, ma se voi non siete sicuri, eccovi alcune idee.

La granella di fave di cacao... è l'essenza del cioccolato. La granella contribuisce un elemento croccante e dà un sottile sapore di cioccolato a prodotti da forno e piatti salati. È un ottimo sostituto di frutta secca tostata e gocce di cioccolato e non contribuisce zucchero. [origine della citazione]

Ho aggiunto granella di fave di cacao al mio yogurt fatto in casa (maggiori dettagli in proposito in un post futuro) e anche alla mia pasta frolla che uso per fare i frollini. Qui di seguito riporto la ricetta della pasta frolla con l'aggiunta della variante con granella di fave di cacao.

Preparare la pasta frolla con i seguenti ingredienti:

• 85 g burro freddo tagliato a pezzetti
  
• 65-70 g zucchero
  
• 65 g farina integrale per torte
• 70 g farina bianca
• 30 g farina d'orzo integrale (o la stessa quantità di farina di frumento)
• 25 g farina di mandorle
  
• un uovo
• 1/4 cucchiaino di estratto di vaniglia
• 2 o 3 cucchiai (30-45 ml) di granella di fave di cacao

Distribuire la granella sulla superficie della pasta frolla "in progress" dopo aver incorporato l'uovo e l'estratto di vaniglia, prima dell'azione di impasto finale. La quantità dipende dal vostro gusto. La prima volta consiglio di aggiungere due cucchiai, poi magari aumentare a tre (che è la quantita che uso io).

Far riposare la pasta frolla in frigorifero per almeno due ore (io di solito la preparo di sera e poi cuocio i biscotti la mattina dopo. Stendere la pasta frolla fino ad uno spessore di 4-5 mm e ricavare i biscotti. Disporli su una lastra da forno foderata con tappetino di silicone o carta da forno in modo che ci siano diversi centimetri di spazio tra un frollino e l'altro. Mettere in frigorifero mentre si scalda il forno a 175-180 C. Cuocere in forno controllando di frequente che i frollini non diventino scuri. Io metto il timer a 15 minuti e poi seguo da vicino il resto della cottura. Togliere dal forno, trasferire i frollini su una griglia e farli riposare prima di assaggiarli. La ricetta produce abbastanza frollini da fare due infornate.

Il mio secondo suggerimento è formaggio Bel Paese fatto in casa con granella di fave di cacao. Il Bel Paese fu creato nel 1906 da Egidio Galbani fondatore dell'azienda omonima. Il nome deriva dal titolo di un libro del 1876 dedicato alle bellezze geofisiche dell'Italia scritto dall'abate Antonio Stoppani. (Dante e Petrarca avevano usato l'espressione in riferimento al paese.) Presumo che tutti abbiate assaggiato il Bel Paese. Però forse non tutti sapete che l'effigie sull'etichetta di una volta è quella di Antonio Stoppani. (Confesso che nemmeno io lo sapevo prima di averlo letto sul sito della Galbani.)

Quando ho fatto il formaggio, seguendo la ricetta nel libro di Debra Amrein-Boyes 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes, ho avuto un problema tecnico: storia lunga da spiegare ma che alla fine non ha avuto un impatto negativo nel processo di maturazione del formaggio. avrebbero interagito la granella di fave di cacao e il formaggio. Dopo sei settimane di maturazione, ho tagliato la forma e l'abbiamo assaggiato: sono soddisfatta del risultato. La granella si è ammorbidita e ha trasferito parte del suo sapore "noccioloso" al formaggio, nello stesso tempo creando un contrasto di consistenza e sapore.

Sarò in grado di riprodurre quello che ho fatto? Potrò rispondere tra qualche mese. Per ora, mi gusto la mia creazione, che nella foto posa con dei cracker Lavash (che piacciono molto a mio marito). Io ho mangiato la mia porzione con un paio di fettine del mio pane alla zucca.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 314 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, la cui versione italiana è organizzata da Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Brii stessa.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

pane alla zucca

pumpkin bread

The cart in the foreground contains the result of our visit to the Warren Creek Farms pumpkin patch last October. Besides three pumpkins for carving, we chose several other specimens, like the Cinderella pumpkin indicated by the arrow. Since it is partially hidden, I have drawn two arrows to indicate two others that were on display. The original name of this variety of pumpkin is Rouge vif D'Etampes, but Cinderella pumpkin (literally, zucca di Cenerentola) fits it perfectly.

The pumpkin was so pretty, I could not bring myself to cook it. I have a cold room that is perfect for storing squashes, but even there they don't last forever, so one day recently, I decided it was time to bake the Cinderella. I pierced it in several places with a blade and put it in the oven preheated to 375 F for about half an hour to slightly soften it. When the pumpkin had cooled a bit, I cut it in half and scooped out the seeds (a grapefruit spoon is perfect for this task). I did not discard what I had removed from inside the pumpkin (see below).

I put the two pumpkin halves back in the oven, cut side down, until I could easily pierce the flesh with a blade. I took out of the oven the baking sheet and let the pumpkin cool. I discarded the water that was released by the cooling pumpkin. I then scooped out the flesh (again using the grapefruit spoon) and put it in a colander set over a bowl. By the time I was finished with the two big pieces of cooked pumpkin, a bit more water had been released and I discarded that as well. On this page, you can see some photos of the process I somewhat followed. Note the color of the roasted pumpkin in the photos: it resembles that of oranges, and it is lighter that that of canned pumpkin. This has an impact on the color of the bread (more on this at the end of the post).

At this point, knowing that I would use the pumpkin to make bread and also ice cream, I put it in a bowk and processed it briefly with an immersion blender. I immediately froze more than half of the purée and refrigerated the rest until ready to use it. I also rinsed the seeds I had removed from inside the pumpkin and roasted them at 375 F until they were crisp. The seeds (semi di zucca) were larger than those of the pumpkins my husband had carved for Halloween and very tasty. In the part of Italy where I grew up, roasted and salted pumkpin seeds are called bruscolini.

As I write, I have already made this pumpkin bread several times. The photo above shows it accompanying some roasted applesauce. It goes really well with cheese and it is a pleasure to nibble a slice au naturel. The recipe for the bread comes from the King Arthur Flour website. I always halve the quantities to make one braid. Originally, I was worried that the spices (spezie) would be a bit too intense, but that is not the case. I weigh the flours and some of the other ingredients, so my list is as follows:

• 5 3/4 ounces (165 g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (this is not an advertisement: I always use this flour to make bread)
• 4 1/4 ounces (120 g) whole-wheat flour from my grain CSA
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) cinnamon (cannella)
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground ginger (zenzero in polvere)
• 1/8 teaspoon (0.625 ml) ground cloves (chiodi di garofano in polvere)
• 3/4 ounce (20 g) diced uncrystallized candied ginger (zenzero candito; see the Note below)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon instant yeast
• 7.5 ounces (210-215 g) puréed roasted pumpkin
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce / 30 g) melted butter

The original recipe calls also for 1 1/4 ounce (35 g) brown sugar. A few times I used 1/2 ounce (15 g) of honey (miele), but the last time I made the bread, I skipped the sweetener altogether and I liked the result better.

Note: according to this page, the difference between crystallized and uncrystallized ginger is only that the former is rolled in granulated sugar after being candied and the latter is not. I don't like the coating, so I prefer uncrystallized ginger.

Making the bread following the instructions on the KAF recipe page is pretty straightforward. The only thing I did differently is the use of convection baking. Since my oven adjusts the temperature automatically when selecting the convection baking option, I still set it to 350 F. And in my oven, the bread bakes in 25 minutes.

The photos I had of previous realizations of this bread, apart from the one with the applesauce, were not satisfactory. The photo above shows the unsweetened pumpkin bread I baked yesterday, together with some candied ginger: it was made with another one of the pumpkins in the cart at the top, the oblong green one to the left of the Cinderella. Unfortunately, I failed to ask the name of the variety. The color of the roasted flesh is lighter and more yellow, which explains the different color of the bread. When you make your own, consider that the color of the pumpkin will have an effect on the color of the bread.

I am submitting this recipe, bookmarked on the King Arthur Flour website to the December edition of Bookmarked Recipes, an event originally started by Ruth of Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments and now hosted by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

I think this bread makes a great breakfast option, topped with preserves or cheese or used to make French toast, so I am submitting the post to the December edition of Breakfast Club: an event started by Helen of Fuss Free Flavours. Guest-host Krithi of Krithi's Kitchen has chosen Bread as the theme for the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

pane alla zucca

or launch the pane alla zucca audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

bread, pumpkin

fare il formaggio richiede pazienza

making cheese requires patience

As we continue to stir the curds, more acid will develop and the curds will continue to lose whey. [source]

The time devoted to stirring the curds, while slowly increasing the temperature, is a good time to think: the slow, repetitive arm motion leeds naturally to a meditative state. While engaged in such soothing activity, I interrupted my train of throughts to take a few photos.

As I am writing these notes, the curds are in the mold. Later, I will take the cheese out of the mold and place it in a brine bath, then aging will start. In time, I will know the result of my efforts: I must be patient.

This is my submission to week #23 edition of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. Savoring the weekly gallery is highly recommended: it's a very special mid-week treat.

The photo was shot in color and then converted to light sepia.

This post contains the gallery of photos submitted to the event.

salsa di mele arrosto

roasted applesauce

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

A little while ago, a friend of mine gave me a case of apples she had harvested from her tree. In the past, I have used apples with other fruit to make preserves and I was planning to follow the same path, but the amount of apples called for additional ideas. From a corner of my memory, the title of a recipe (ricetta) floated to the foreground and since I remembered also where I had seen it, I was able to retrieve it.

The recipe in question is Judy Rodgers' Roasted Applesauce and the two elements that got my attention were: the author and the word "roasted." I have recently featured a recipe from Judy Rodgers' The Zuni Café Cookbook and several times in the past few months I have talked about my experiments with roasted fruit (for example, here and here).

What happened next is a bit strange to explain: I scanned the blog post introducing the dish and missed the link to the actual recipe. So, besides making some changes based on personal preference (more on these below), I used 500 F as baking temperature and kept the baking dish covered throughout. The result was excellent and disappeared rather fast, so I immediately made another batch. It wasn't until I got to batch #3 that I saw the link to the recipe, read it and realized my mistake in the baking process. So, that batch was prepared according to the recipe. However, in a blind test, a sample of batch #2 scored higher than batch #3, so batch #4 was prepared again according to my misreading. You are welcome to make your experiments.

Finally, I made one Savory Apple Charlotte according to the recipe that comes together with that for applesauce and it was a big success. For it, I used some whey bread with butter and honey (recipe from Dan Lepard's The Handmade Loaf) that would have otherwise been used to make French toast (sorry, no photo of the charlotte).

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. apples (see Note below)
• a generous pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ultra-fine sugar (zucchero)
  

Note: When I make preserves with apples, I never peel them, and I followed the same procedure for this applesauce (which makes the preparation time even shorter). Since they are left unpeeled, organic or pesticide-free apples are strongly recommended. In terms of apple varieties, combine what you have available to get a balanced flavor. For example, the apples I received as a gift were a bit tart, so I added a few sweeter ones to each batch.

Preheat the oven to 500 F. Wash well, quarter and core the apples. If an apple is large, cut each quarter in half lengthwise. Distribute in a 3 qt. (9 x 13 inch) pyrex baking dish or similar baking vessel , sprinkle salt and sugar, and stir briefly. Cover with aluminum foil and seal around the edges. Bake until the apples are soft. I baked them for 30 minutes.

Transfer the apples into a bowl and purée with an immersion blender. At the beginning, pulse and move the blender to start breaking the apples, then reduce them to a fairly smooth purée. Store applesauce in sterilized jars in the fridge. Consume within a few days.

I tried adding a few drops of cider vinegar (aceto di mele) to a sample of the applesauce, as suggested in the original recipe, but did not like the result.

What this recipe gives you is as healthy an applesauce as you can get. It is naturally sweet, creamy, with an intense apple flavor. It can be used in many different ways. A jar of this applesauce has been on our table at pretty much every meal ever since batch #1 was completed, and we have tried applesauce on anything from simple bread (the one in the photo is pumpkin bread) to bean burgers, to French toast to Rodgers' gnocchi di ricotta.

After tasting the first batch of applesauce, I got a copy of "The Zuni Café Cookbook." I believe that a cookbook with even a single excellent recipe is worth having on the bookshelf. I have so far tried three recipes from this cookbook and they all have been a success, so the book now has its place on my bookshelf.

This is my contribution to edition #313 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by Marta of Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

salsa di mele arrosto

 or launch the salsa di mele arrosto audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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apple, sauce

Per i lettori italiani

Qualche tempo fa, una mia amica mi ha regalato una cassetta di mele raccolte dal suo giardino. Avevo intenzione di usarle, insieme ad altra frutta (per esempio, mango), per fare delle conserve, ma da un angolo della mia memoria è salito in superficie il nome di una ricetta e siccome mi sono ricordata dove l'avevo vista, ho potuto ritrovarla.

La ricetta in questione è salsa di mele arrosto di Judy Rodgers. I due elementi che hanno attirato la mia attenzione sono: l'autore e l'aggettivo "arrosto." Recentemente ho parlato una ricetta tratta da The Zuni Café Cookbook di Judy Rodgers e diverse volte negli ultimi mesi ho parlato dei miei esperimenti con la frutta al forno (per esempio, qui e qui).

Quello che è successo dopo è un po' strano da spiegare: ho dato uno sguardo rapido al post che presentava la ricetta e non ho visto il link alla ricetta vera e propria. Così ho usato una temperatura di 260 C e ho mantenuto la teglia coperta per tutta la durata della cottura in forno. Il risultato eccellente è stato consumato rapidamente, quindi ne ho fatta un'altra teglia. Quando mi sono accinta a preparare la terza mandata mi sono finalmente accorta del link, ho letto la ricetta e mi sono resa conto di non averla seguita bene. Quindi la terza teglia è stata sottoposta a cottura come da ricetta. Però alla prova assaggio, la salsa di mele #2 è stata giudicata migliore della #3, quindi la mandata successiva l'ho preparata seguendo il mio "errore" iniziale. A voi raccomando di fare le vostre prove e decidere in base ai vostri gusti, anche per quanto riguarda le altre cose che ho fatto diversamente dalla ricetta originale (per esempio, non ho usato burro).

Per finire, ho preparato una charlotte di mele salata seguendo la ricetta che segue quella della salsa di mele ed è stato un successo (purtroppo non ho una foto della charlotte).

Ingredienti:

• 1350-1400 g mele (vedi Nota sotto)
  
• un pizzico abbondante di sale
• mezzo cucchiaino (2,5 ml) di zucchero fine

Nota: quando faccio le conserve con le mele, non le sbuccio mai. Ho seguito la stessa procedura per fare questa salsa di mele (il che rende ancora più rapida la preparazione). Dal momento che non vengono sbucciate, è bene usare mele bio o non trattate con pesticidi. Per quanto riguarda le varietà di mele, cercate una combinazione che vi dia un sapore bilanciato. Per esempio, le mele che ho ricevuto in regalo erano un po' aspre e perciò ho aggiunto delle mele piu dolci.

Scaldare il forno a 260 C. Lavare bene le mele, tagliarle in quarti, e togliere il torsolo. Se una mela è molto grossa, tagliare ogni quarto a metà per lunghezza. Distribuire le mele in una teglia di pyrex da 3 litri (23 x 33 cm) o simile, spargere sale e zucchero e mescolare brevemente. Coprire con un foglio di alluminio e sigillare tutto intorno, poi cuocere in forno fino a quando le mele sono soffici. Io ho cotto le mie mele per 30 minuti.

Trasferire le mele in una ciotola e frullare col frullatore ad immersione. All'inizio pulsare e muovere il frullatore per rompere le mele, poi farlo andare per ridurle ad un purè piuttosto omogeneo. Conservare la salsa di mele in frigorifero in vasetti sterilizzati. Consumare entro qualche giorno. (Io ne ho messa anche un po' in freezer in un contenitore adeguato.)

Ho provato ad aggiungere alcune gocce di aceto di mele ad un po' della salsa di mele, come suggerisce la ricetta originale, ma il risultato non mi è piaciuto.

Questa ricetta produce una salsa di mele naturalmente dolce, cremosa e dall'intenso sapore di mela che può essere usata in modi diversi. Abbiamo provato ad accompagnare molti cibi con la salsa di mele, dal pane (quello della foto è pane alla zucca), ad hamburger di fagioli agli gnocchi di ricotta.

Dopo aver assaggiato questa salsa di mele, ho comprato "The Zuni Café Cookbook." Con ricette come questa, quella per gli gnocchi di ricotta e quella per la charlotte di mele, è decisamente un libro da tenere a portata di mano. E se visitate San Francisco, potete mangiare da Zuni su Market street.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 313 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, la cui versione italiana è organizzata da Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Marta di Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

una mattina d'inverno al mercato

at the farmers' market on a winter morning

Last Sunday morning, I went to the Temescal farmers' market in Oakland, and, as usual, I had a nice time walking around, chatting with various farmers and filling my bag with goodies.

Butternut squashes dressed up for winter at the Happy Boy Farms' stall

I loved the festive atmosphere of the display. The sun was shining and the temperature very nice, so in fact, no winter accessories were necessary.

Dry-farmed tomatoes looked like Christmas tree decorations

On a colorful note, windy conditions last Saturday gave us this splendid sunset. We could see the Farallon Islands beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, a measure of the clearness of the sky. (For people not familiar with the Bay Area, the islands in front of the bridge is Alcatraz.)

This is my submission to week #22 edition of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. Savoring the weekly gallery is highly recommended: it's a very special mid-week treat.

The food photos were shot in color and then converted to light sepia.

This post contains the gallery of photos submitted to the event.

legumi che passione! numero 41: il riepilogo

My Legume Love Affair #41: the roundup ¹

I just published the roundup of the 41st edition of MLLA, the famous event created and organized by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook which I had the honor and pleasure to host for the month of November.

The roundup is divided into two parts, to make reading easier. For your reference, here are the two links:

— part one
— part two

A beautiful set of legume-centered dishes awaits you. I am sure that you'll be inspired by the recipes presented. Kiran of SUMADHURA is hosting My Legume Love Affair #42 and will be happy to receive your contribution(s) to the event. The deadline for submitting of your legume dish is December 31. You can always find out who is hosting on this page.

¹ A note about the title of my post: legumi che passione! is not the literal translation, but my personal rendition of the original My Legume Love Affair.

legumi che passione! numero 41: il riepilogo (seconda parte)

My Legume Love Affair #41: the roundup (part two)

To facilitate reading, I have divided the submissions I have received into two sets. The roundup of My Legume Love Affair #41 started in this post and continues here.

Make yourself comfortable, then follow me on a journey of flavors, colors, traditions and culinary creativity. For each submission, I will give you the official information (author, blog name and post title) and a brief description or quote that summarizes it.

If reading about all these great recipes has inspired you to participate, My Legume Love Affair #42 just started and is hosted by Kiran of SUMADHURA. The deadline for submitting of your legume dish is December 31. You can always find out who is hosting on this page.

At the end of this portion of the roundup, I reveal the lucky winner of the event prizes.

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Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe shares with us Avocado soy rotis
"The rotis were a fine companion over the weekend... I found these rotis via the last edition of MLLA and hope someone else might discover them in this round up."

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Roshni of Roshni's Kitchen presents Ada Kozhakattai
"This is a variation of ada dosai... The ratio of rice and dal is different in this one." Photos show the process from soaking rice and dals to final dish.

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Princy of Spicy Foood shares Dal Fry And a quick snack!
"When the mood to make dinner is lost, it has to be this easy to make dal fry... And when you do make dal fry, make it a point to try this snack!"

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Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes presents first Mushroom & SoyaKheema Masala
"Wonderful looking protein packed masala prepared with minced soy granules and button mushrooms... gets ready very much quickly and tastes super fabulous."

then Creamy Zucchini & Sprouted Greengram Soup
"I used some leftover sprouted green grams with zucchini to make this super filling soup... I simply served this bowl of healthy and protein packed soup with a slice of veggie pizza..."

and finally Sweet Potato & Red Lentils Soup
The combination of sweet potatoes and red lentils "works out wonder and this soup is totally satisfying and comforting, super filling if served with grilled meats or with a simple sandwich."

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Juli of Bean Basics prepared Red Beans and Brown Rice
"It isn't just my favorite bean recipe though, it is one of my favorite dishes of all time, it's just that good... it has such a wonderful bacon flavor."

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Deepika of My Life & Spice prepared Black eyed pea soup
"We all have our own favorite side to go with this. Baby P will eat this soup with a roti, Anya with a breadstick... I myself love the warmth of this chunky soup by itself."

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Richa of Hobby And More offers Roasted Garam masala chickpeas
"A very addictive protein filled savory snack anyone! ... Put them in pretty pouches and add to your holiday gift box, for a crunchy savory option!"

and also Tempeh and veggies cooked in spicy tomato gravy 
Kadhai /Karahi is an Indian wok, usually made with cast iron or steel and used for shallow or deep frying or high heat dishes! This is a tangy and spicy curry and goes well with vegetables as well...

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Priya of BON APPETIT presents Adai (Crispy Lentils & Rice Pancakes)
"Want a satisfying breakfast or dinner recipe — try this mixed lentils and rice pancake, that’s protein packed, filling and easy to make."

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Valerie of City|Life|Eats prepared Grain-Free Cranberry Sage Dressing
"This dressing has a distinctive savory note amid the sweetness, because of the chickpea flour," which "has a strong savory taste, so be aware of that if you have never worked with chickpea flour."

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Suma of Veggie Platter prepared a number of dishes: first, Greengram Rotti
"Adding a protein punch to the delicious akki rottis, the famous breakfast dish from Karnataka."
 

then Moongdal Laddus
"The laddu mix can be prepared ahead and stored in airtight containers... All you do when you need to eat laddus is adding melted ghee to the mixture and shape it into laddus."
 

then Mixed Vegetable - Soy Chunks Curry
A healthy combinaiton of mixed vegetables and soy to pair with rotis and make into a nice lunch.

and Spinach Dal
"The basic vegetable preparation from South India goes on similar lines. A vegetable is stir fried along with a seasoning and fresh, grated coconut is added at the end."

and finally Spinach - Chickpea Wraps
"These wraps have a chickpea curry + a salad blend filling and are nutritious and yummy. The only thing to remember is to prepare a very dry filling."

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Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook prepared Warm Buttered Black Beluga Lentil and Pasta Salad
"Black Belugas, so named for their remarkable resemblance to Beluga caviar, of a pitch black that fades to a luxurious, shiny sable brown when cooked."

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Simona of briciole presents funghi, fagioli e castagne (mushrooms, beans and chestnuts)
A taste of fall in a dish that includes popular ingredients, including two, mushrooms, and chestnuts, traditionally gathered in the woods (though not in this rendition).

and also fagioli monete del papa (Christmas Lima beans)
After soaking them for 24 hours.. "I decided to give the whole stage to the beans and their bold flavor... with some onion as supporting cast."

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And now the announcement of the winner of Food Photography from Snap Shots to Great Shot by Nicole S. Young and of a Hurst Bean Box (a case of six bags of the winner's choice of Hurst Bean products). I used a random integer generator and the program gave me the number 5. The 5th name in the list of participants to submit an entry (minus the host, the organizer and previous winners) was Shri of Tasty Touch. Congratulations to the winner! Susan will contact the lucky winner to arrange the shipment.

Thank you so much to all who participated and made this edition of MLLA a success!

I believe all the submissions I have received are presented in the roundup. However, mishaps are part of life, so if you find anything missing or in need of amendment anywhere in the roundup, please do let me know.