Last Cake of the Year: Grand Marnier & Olive Oil Cake

I think 2010 was the year that I became a baker, or at least I've learned that I enjoy baking!I used to claim I was a "non-baker", however, I think I turned out some pretty damn good stuff in the past year (if I do say so myself).Here is my last cake of the year.......not to worry, there will be plenty more in 2011.Always on a quest for the best olive oil cake, I came across this lovely recipe

Petto di faraona in peverada

La  faraona in peverada � un piatto classico della cucina veneta. Ricordo di averlo mangiato una sola volta, tantissimi anni fa, in un famoso ristorante di Treviso e da allora mai pi�....Ne ho serbato un ricordo cos� bello che ho cercato di riprodurlo , ho usato solo il petto di faraona , forse pi� gradito anche ai bambini. Sono molto  soddisfatta del risultato , � un piatto dei giorni di festa e in questo periodo dell'anno la faraona � pi� reperibile nelle macellerie....Con questo piatto  auguro a tutti voi un fine 2010 pieno di serenit� e di buoni propositi(da rispettare...) per l'Anno Nuovo, a presto, un abbraccio a tutti voi , auguro a tutti un 2011 veramente speciale!

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Ottolenghi Sweet Potato Gratin

Simple and delicious. This makes a beautiful presentation and can be prepared in advance.Did I mention that I love sweet potatoes? Sans marshmallows, please (ugh).Rich with vitamin A, and they need no butter, sour cream or salt for flavor.This recipe is from the beautiful cookbook Ottolenghi and would make a nice addition to your New Years Day buffet.It's an interesting combination, because you

Leek and Chestnut Soup

As much as I enjoy sandy beaches and mild climates, I�d be hard pressed to give up the four seasons, even with all the shoveling required after the recent snowfall here in New Jersey. There�s something warm and cozy about a pot of soup on the back burner and bread baking in the oven that doesn�t feel quite the same when the thermometer is hot enough for gin and tonics and grilled steaks. No, for now, I�ll put up with the shoveling and keep warm in the kitchen.

Obviously if you don�t like chestnuts, you won�t like this soup. But if you do�.. well, you�ll love this soup. I wish I could tell you where I got this recipe, but it was handwritten on a paper placemat tucked among the scores of recipes I�ve collected over the years. I adjusted it somewhat in any event, so it�s not exactly the same as the one I wrote down.

If you have ever roasted chestnuts, you know how pesky it is to dig the meat out. Well, I�ve just been clued in to a very easy way to slip the buggers from their shells, and it doesn�t even involve making the traditional little �x� on the shell. Click here to view a video from Philip Rutter, founding president, The American Chestnut Foundation showing you how. It lasts about 15 minutes, but it�s very informative.

But to give you the idea in a nutshell (sorry, couldn�t resist folks), what you have to do instead is slice the raw chestnuts in half, then drop them into boiling water.

Leave them in for only a couple of minutes, then take them out and work with them while they�re warm. They�re harder to peel after they cool. Take a small spring-loaded pliers in one hand (actually mine weren�t even spring-loaded) and hold the chestnut in the other. Use the pliers to grasp the shell and squeeze - the meat should loosen immediately. Some of them may break into small bits, but in general they�ll come out so much more readily than the traditional method of cutting an �x�, roasting them and getting frustrated when most of it falls apart.

At this point, the chestnuts won�t be cooked, but you can proceed with this recipe and they�ll cook in the broth. If you want to eat them as a snack, just pop the peeled chestnuts onto a baking sheet and roast in the oven for another 15 minutes or so, depending on how large they are. Be careful not to leave them too long, or they�ll dry out quickly and become hard as a hockey puck since they won�t have their protective coating.

Chestnuts are also sold in jars and in foil bags already fully cooked, and you can probably use those instead if you like. Naturally, the ones you buy fresh are going to taste the best. Take it from this little squirrel friend outside my kitchen door, who seemed to like his chestnut well enough to hoard it under the snow. Hope it�s still waiting for him when the snow melts.

Leek and Chestnut Soup

Printable Recipe Here

• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 1/2 cups sliced leeks (about 3 medium leeks)
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 pound chestnuts
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup white wine (or sherry)
• salt, pepper to taste
• heavy cream (optional)
• sour cream

Melt the butter and saut� the leeks, carrots and chestnuts for about 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, wine, salt and pepper and continue to simmer on low heat, partially covered, for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the chestnuts are fully cooked.  Put everything in the blender to puree, then reheat, adding cream if desired. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Technorati Tags: chestnuts,leeks,leek and chestnut soup,Phillip Rutter,The American Chestnut Foundation

Crab Stuffed Shrimp

No plans for New Years Eve? That's OK, stay in and make this for dinner and ring in the new year at home. Baked shrimp generously stuffed with a delicious blue crab filling all sitting pretty in a champagne cream sauce, every bite is decadent! Perfect for a big party or just dinner for two.

What I like about this recipe is that you can prepare all 3 components in advance. I cleaned and cut my shrimp the night before and placed them in a container in my fridge ready to be stuffed making sure my shrimp was free of all moisture by blotting them with a paper towel.

The filling was also made the night before and placed in a separate container as well as the cream sauce which heats up beautifully when ready to use, I call this stress free cooking!

By cutting the shrimp on the inner circle you'll create the perfect platform to place your mound of stuffing on top. I used about one tablespoon of filling for each shrimp.

You can serve this with a little pasta on the side, something small like orzo or even some rice, I promise you that is all you'll need because the shrimp and crab are really the stars here just remember to swipe each bite through the champagne sauce!

And be sure to have a glass of your favorite bubbly beside you. Cheers!

To Prepare the Shrimp:

Make sure your shrimp is completely dry with no moisture, padding it with paper towel. Remove shell but leave the tails on. Along the inside of the curve take a sharp knife and cut along the length being careful not to cut all the way through. Take out any vein you see and then open like a book and press lightly to flatten.

Crab Filling:

For 3 lbs. of large shrimp I used a little less than a pound of wild caught, fully cooked, blue fin crab, it comes in a can and it's pasteurized. Worth every penny!

For the filling my suggestion is to taste and add things as needed to your own personal liking, since the crab is already cooked you'll have no problem doing that. Here's what I added, you could use more or less.

2 cloves of smashed garlic

fresh parsley

1 teaspoon of Dijon

Tabasco sauce

celery finely diced, 2 small stalks

onion or scallions finely diced 1/2 of a medium onion or a few scallions

1 1/2 rolls of smashed crackers ( Ritz )

melted butter, 3 0r 4 tablespoons

lemon juice and lemon zest

salt and pepper

Saute the diced celery and onions in 1 tablespoon of butter, then add in everything else, the mixture will hold together nicely and you will be able to mound it on top of your shrimp easily.

Place stuffed shrimp on a parchment lined sheet pan and then spray or baste each one lightly with olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. Bake at 375F for 15 or 20 minutes until pink and the stuffing is warmed through.

After they're baked set them in a shallow pool of champagne cream sauce and garnish with parsley and a lemon wedge.

Champagne Cream Sauce:

1 1/2 cups of white champagne

1 1/2 cups of cream

2 0r 3 shallots diced

Saute shallots in a dab of butter, pour in the champagne, let it reduce and then add cream and whisk until thickened.

New Years Eggs Stuffed w/ Chicken Liver

If you are not a chopped liver fan, this may not be for you, but since I am, this will be on our New Year's Eve Menu.I put chopped hard boiled egg in my Grandmother's Chopped Liver Recipe, so this was just another way of presenting them. Here you use the hard boiled egg half as your serving vessel, and puree the yolk in with the liver and cooked onions in the food processor.This recipe comes

Best Orange Chocolate Bourbon Bread Pudding

Whenever I see a stale baguette on my counter, I think "bread pudding".This really is the BEST bread pudding I have ever made, and the easiest.I like to make bread puddings in loaf pans, because I like to slice them like cake, it makes it easier for serving. And if you line the loaf pan with parchment paper, you don't have to grease the pan, and you can just lift it out. Oh, I am just so

Broccoli gratinati all'Emmenthal

Ho cominciato ad apprezzare i broccoli da poco tempo, sono stati una piacevole sorpresa e da allora li faccio spesso nelle maniere pi� diverse. Oggi ve li propongo come contorno sostanzioso, quasi un piatto unico, la besciamella arricchita dall'Emmenthal li rende particolarmente saporiti . Pu� essere un modo per recuperare della verdura lessata che � avanzata; io avevo dei broccoli ma possono andare bene anche finocchi, cavolfiori o carciofi lessati

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Chicken Breasts w/ Fennel, Tomatoes & Olives

I swear I made this in between the holiday feasting and a blizzard last night as a quick and healthy meal.It is good for any season, and we loved it over couscous. This recipe from French chef Eric Ripert is a keeper.Since it is winter, I adapted the recipe. I used canned tomatoes instead of fresh, omitted the basil garnish, plumped the raisins in water instead of wine, and used slivered

Cake con gocce di cioccolato

E' un semplice cake arricchito con gocce di cioccolato, rester� morbido per giorni se lo avvolgerete nella carta di alluminio . Pu� avere mille varianti ,usate quello che avete in casa : pezzetti di frutta disidratata o fresca, frutta secca tritata grossolanamente....

Ingredienti :

55 gr. di burro morbido
55 ml. di olio di mais
60 gr. di gocce di cioccolato ( o  altro)
115 gr. di zucchero semolato
65 gr. di zucchero di canna
2 uova grandi
340 gr. di farina
1/2 bustina di lievito
230 ml. di latte
una generosa grattatina di noce moscata
1 pizzico di sale
1 cucchiaio di estratto di vaniglia



Preriscaldare il forno a 200� e ungere lo stampo da plumcake.Nel robot sbattere bene il burro insieme all'olio e ai due tipi di zucchero, aggiungere un uovo alla volta e arrivare ad una consistenza spumosa.Unire il lievito, la noce moscata, il sale e la vaniglia. Setacciare la farina e aggiungerla al composto alternandola al latte, amalgamare bene. Aggiungere a bassa velocit� le gocce di cioccolato, dovranno solo amalgamarsi bene con il resto dell'impasto.Versare nello stampo fino a 3/4 ed infornare per circa 45 minuti. Sfornare e lasciar riposare prima di toglierlo dallo stampo

Merry Happy!

Happy Holidays from Our House to Yours!Love, Stacey

Cherry Almond Biscotti

These were supposed to be pistachio ginger biscotti (my standard), but I was out of candied ginger and pistachios! I think a Trader Joe's run is in my near future.What I did have were raw almonds and dried Bing cherries. I don't even remember why I bought them. This is a non traditional biscotti recipe because it uses olive oil. Real biscotti has no butter or oil and the dough is really tough

Buon Natale a tutti !

Questa foto  rappresenta il mio Natale, quello di casa mia. Ho confezionato questi buffi coristi tanti anni fa, Marco era piccolissimo e ,approffittando dei momenti in cui dormiva, ho utilizzato quel che avevo in casa : del cartoncino rosso per la veste,qualche carta pizzo da torte per le mantelline , palline da ping pong e stoppa per i capelli.Negli anni tante testoline si sono staccate e le ho amorevolmente sistemate, la stoppa si arruffava e cadeva e dovevo rimpiazzarla con altra ....Quasi come le persone che nel corso degli anni invecchiano anche loro mostravano i segni del tempo.Chi li ha cos� ben fotografati � Max, l'autore delle splendide foto del mio Men� della Vigilia apparso su Donne sul Web...ha saputo cogliere la loro fragilit� fatta di carta e lo sguardo estatico .Ho scelto i migliori per le fotografie in realt�  questi tre fanno parte di un coro di una dozzina di elementi tutti di altezze diverse.Cantano ad occhi chiusi e solo guardarli mi rimanda indietro nel tempo a quando Marco, con le sue piccole manine tentava di acciuffarli per giocare...Non sapevo pi� dove collocarli per metterli in salvo,erano in costante trasloco da un luogo ad un altro, sempre pi� in alto per non essere raggiunti.Adesso, tanti anni dopo � lui stesso che li sistema vicino al presepe. Questo � il mio Natale,quello che condivido con tutti gli amici che passeranno a trovarmi a casa e qui nel mio blog, amici italiani e di ogni parte del mondo che giorno dopo giorno sono sempre pi� numerosi....Auguri affettuosi a tutti voi,possiate passare un Natale pieno di gioia e d'amore ....

From My Kitchen To Yours...

Ok just one more cookie! At the last minute I caved in and made some Cucidati, I wasn't going to make them at all this year but I was slightly coerced by my brother-in-law and husband who were giving me a guilt trip.


Cucidati are traditional Italian fig cookies very popular at Christmas time consisting of a tender dough that wraps around a thick and flavorful filling of figs, raisins, almonds, orange peel and a few other things that are laced with brandy and warm spices.


On a cold winter day my house quickly warmed up with the scent of cucidati baking in the oven. I don't know what I was thinking, it just wouldn't be the same without a few of these gracing our table!

In the end I made two people very very happy that day, and isn't that the
real reason why we cook anyway?

Here's my favorite recipe.

I want to take this time to wish each and everyone of you a most delicious holiday filled with lots of love and happiness!

From my kitchen to yours,

Marie

Cod Fish Cakes

Salted cod, or baccala, always makes an appearance in our household on Christmas eve. When I was growing up, it was always served crispy and hot after being floured and fried in deep, hot oil. After I got married, I started preparing it by dipping it in a beer batter first before frying. Then after a camping trip to Canada�s Gaspe Peninsula decades ago, where my husband and son caught enough codfish to feed the whole campground, I came up with a different dish, almost identical to this codfish recipe.

So there we were in the Gaspe and I had tons (well, more like ten pounds) of Codfish to deal with. We gave out lots of it to fellow campers, but kept a few pounds for ourselves. I wanted to try something other than the codfish and onions I had already saut�ed for dinner one night but I hadn�t exactly brought my cache of cookbooks to search through.

Lo and behold, in a nearby museum was a display of what life was like in that region for early settlers. Codfish has been an important food source and export there for centuries. (For an interesting book on the fish, read �Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed The World� by Mark Kurlansky.) A cookbook was included in the museum display and I took a peek, coming across a recipe for codfish cakes, using mashed potatoes, eggs, parsley and a few other ingredients. I wrote down the recipe quickly and have used it year after year since then.

Last year, my father found the following recipe in the Philadelphia Inquirer. He made it and brought it to our house on Christmas Eve. It�s really the same recipe I found in Canada, but it calls for balls, rather than the flat �cakes.�  The oval shape is much easier to eat as finger food, making it perfect for any get-together, not just Christmas eve.

The trick is to get out there and buy that baccala. Today. At least if you want to serve it for Christmas eve. Baccala looks pretty unappetizing in the markets, stiff as a board and dry as can be. But after soaking in water for a couple of days (throwing out the water and adding new water a few times each day), the flesh becomes more like the fresh cod you buy in the supermarkets. Except it has that salty flavor that you get only from baccala.

These can be made ahead of time and reheated in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until heated through.

 

Recipe from The Philadelphia Inquirer,

Anthony's Codfish Cakes

Printable Recipe Here

Makes 35-40 cakes or 10-12 servings

1 pound salt cod

3 to 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped parsley, plus more for garnish

Dash of hot pepper sauce

2 to 3 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil for deep frying

1. Soak the salt cod in water for 18 to 36 hours, stored in the refrigerator. Change the water several times, and check the cod by tasting a bit. You want it to be rehydrated and still salty, but not inedibly so.

2.   Drain the fish from the soaking water and rinse it. Put fish in a 5-quart pot with the potatoes. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 15 minutes. Remove fish with a slotted spoon and let cool a little. Leave potatoes to cook until you can pierce them with a fork.

3.   Mince the cod. Peel and mash the potatoes. Combine cod and potatoes in a bowl with onion and parsley, hot pepper sauce to taste and eggs. Season with salt and pepper to taste, keeping in mind that the fish is salty already, and mix thoroughly. Make sure the mix is not too dry; if it is, add an extra egg.

4.   Heat a 2�-quart pot with about 5-6 inches of oil to about 350 degrees. Shape cod mixture into flattened egg-shaped cakes. Lower a few in the pan and fry them in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. If not serving right away, they can be stored on a rimmed baking sheet and reheated in the oven before serving. Transfer hot cakes to a platter. (They're also great at room temperature.) Garnish with parsley.

Technorati Tags: codfish cakes,baccala,Christmas Eve,fish,Gaspe Peninsula,Mark Kurlansky,Codfish cakes,A Biography of The Fish That Changed The World

WOW Spinach Gratin

Did you ever try a new recipe, and after you take the first bite, you say "WOW!"? Well, on this occasion I did such a thing. This definitely has the WOW factor. This recipe is definitely worthy of Christmas dinner, along side a turkey, a whole filet of beef or stuffed pork loin, and my favorite way to enjoy it was with a fried egg on top, for breakfast.The recipe says to most definitely use

Best Broccoli Salad

I am always looking for new ways to use fresh broccoli in salads. I love broccoli, especially in the winter months, when the fresh produce selection around these parts is slim.I remember a cold broccoli salad back in the 90's that had shredded cheddar cheese, raisins, mayo and bacon. It was a strange combination, but it was great picnic fare, though the rest of the ingredients kind of negated

Good Ideas: Individual Potato Gratins

Here is a great idea. Instead of making a huge casserole size potato gratin, make individual ones. You can assemble them in the morning, and bake them an hour before dinner. They look pretty, and there are less rules involved.I made just 2, because I had 6 small yellowfin potatoes left. You can use any herb you like, and you don't have to measure a thing. It's all about the layering.I like

Neve a Venezia...

Tetti innevati lungo il Canal Grande....Questo � stato il primo approccio con  Venezia a poche ore dalla nevicata, la foto � stata scattata dal Ponte degli Scalzi, di fronte alla stazione....

E' stato bellissimo girovagare senza meta con i doposci ai piedi , queste  sono  le foto che ho scelto di  condividere con gli amici del mio blog.....Tanti di voi non sono mai andati a Venezia,spero con queste foto di incuriosirvi al punto di farci un pensierino....

Un Albergo un p� defilato, tranquillo affacciato su un Campo

Campo San Simeon Profeta innevato,una vera da pozzo e il bacio di due innamorati sullo sfondo,non � romantico?

Barconi coperti di neve, il sole illumina questo rio nascosto....

Campo San Giacomo dell'Orio....Sto andando verso le zone pi� centrali

Due piccoli Babbo Natale si arrampicano sulla persiana....

Due turisti infreddoliti in giro in gondola....

Uno dei campi pi� grandi e conosciuti di Venezia : Campo San Polo...

Battaglia a palle di neve dei bambini intorno alla vera da pozzo...

Qualche vetrina natalizia lungo il percorso che da Campo San Polo porta a Rialto...

Parole sante....

Qualche libro interessante su Venezia

Il variopinto mercato di Rialto, non so i prezzi dalle vostre parti, qui sono questi...

Mi sono fatta tentare dai fondi di carciofo, a Trieste non riesco a trovarli  cos� grandi e gi� pronti...

Per la serie "Ombre e cicheti venexiani , in giro per bacari " vi consiglio un'altro posticino... Enoteca "Al volto"

All'interno una vastissima scelta di cicheti e vini, anche qui c'� solo l'mbarazzo della scelta...

Il soffitto � letteralmente ricoperto di etichette di vini

AL VOLTO

Ancora in giro a passeggiare

Voglio salutarvi con la stessa  ultima immagine scattata nell'altro reportage...Stavolta non � sera  e  protagonista �  la neve che � stata il filo conduttore della mia piccola fuga veneziana...

A presto.....

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