Bucatini All'Amatriciana

After that last post on how pecorino cheese is made, it didn't seem fair to leave you without a recipe, and I couldn't think of any recipe more associated with pecorino cheese than this pasta dish.  The recipe is frought with controversy - Romans claim it as their own (it's on the menu of nearly all Roman eateries), but it originated in Amatrice, a town that was once in Abruzzo, but that was annexed in 1927 to the region of Lazio, where Rome is located.

Romans prefer to add onions to the sauce, something that's heresy in Amatrice. Some recipes call for pancetta, but purists will use only guanciale (pork jowls).  Because the ingredients are so few, each one makes a crucial contribution to the flavor. Pancetta has less fat than guanciale and comes from the midsection of the pig (pancia means belly), while guanciale comes from the cheeks (guancia means cheek). The flavor from the fat that's rendered becomes an integral part of the dish, and while pancetta fat is good, guanciale fat is better. That said, if you live in an area where guanciale is impossible to find, I'll give you a perdonanza for using pancetta.

By the way, you'll also see pasta "alla gricia" on nearly every Roman menu too. It's the same recipe as pasta "all'amatriciana" but without the tomatoes.

The traditional pasta used is bucatini - a thick pasta so named because of the hole (buco) down the center of each strand. But it's also not unusual to see the dish served with rigatoni, paccheri or penne either.

One thing you should not substitute however, is the cheese you grate on top. It HAS to be pecorino cheese, not parmigiano, not grana padano. Years ago, I ordered this dish in one of the hill towns outside of Rome, but asked the waiter to bring me parmigiano instead of the pecorino I later learned was the classic topping. Big mistake. "Parmigiano?" the waiter said incredulously to my request, as if I'd just asked him to dance naked in the Roman Forum.  "Sei sicura che vuoi parmigiano?" he asked. "Yes, I'm sure I want parmigiano," I replied. And the service went downhill from there. Something about "When in Rome...." came to mind at that point and from then on, I have always ordered bucatini all'amatriciana with pecorino.

 So please, take liberties and use onions if you like, switch up the fat and buy pancetta if you must, go non-traditional and cook up conchiglie pasta if need be, but don't sprinkle anything but real pecorino on top!

 Bucatini All'Amatriciana

printable recipe here 

Serves four to six, depending on appetites.

1/4 pound of guanciale, cut into lardons
1 28-ounce can tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
1/4 tsp. (or more if you like) red pepper flakes
abundant pecorino cheese, grated

1 pound bucatini pasta

Place the lardons of guanciale in a saucepan on medium heat and slowly let the fat render. The lardons should not crisp up, but should remain a little chewy. Remove the lardons with a slotted spoon, and add the tomatoes, breaking up with your hands or with a spoon. Put the lardons back in, add the red pepper flakes and cook together with the tomatoes, on a low simmer, for about 1/2 hour.

Meantime, when the sauce has cooked about 15 minutes, get the water boiling and throw in the pasta. Bucatini takes a while to cook, depending on the brand. Cook until a little firmer than al dente, then drain the pasta with a slotted spoon or fork and place into the pan with the sauce. Don't worry if a little pasta water makes its way into the sauce. Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce for the last couple of minutes. Serve immediately while it's hot, with ample pecorino cheese grated on top.

Insalata verdissima

Tanti ingredienti accomunati dal colore verde, un sapore gradevolissimo ed originale, da provare! Con questa ricetta partecipo al bel contest di Eleonora del blog " Burro e Miele"

                " Chi mi aiuta a raccogliere l'insalata? "


Ingredienti per 2 persone :


1 mozzarella
1 piccolo porro
100 gr. di uva
1 mela verde
1/2 avocado
succo e scorza di 1/2 limone
olio ev
sale, pepe
basilico

Per prima cosa preparare il condimento sbattendo bene l'olio, il succo e la scorza grattugiata del limone, il basilico, il sale e il pepe. Mettere da parte. Spellare e tagliare a cubetti l'avocado e spruzzarlo con un p� di succo di limone affinch� non annerisca, metterlo in una ciotola ed aggiungere   la mozzarella tagliata a quadretti, gli acini d'uva tagliati a met� e privati dei semi, il porro tagliato a rondelle sottili e la mela tagliata a fettine sottili con tutta la scorza.Versare la vinaigrette e mescolare bene...

Grilled Chianti Butter Italian Style Poterhouse Steak Recipe

My husbands favorite, I have a secret on steak, I only eat the filet side and he loves that I only love the that small little side piece! Why? Because he gets to eat the other side of mine which is the biggest amount, so bonus for my hubby!

1 (2-1/2- to 3-pound) porterhouse steak (2 1/2 to 3 inches thick)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
4 cloves of garlic sliced lengthwise
oregano
garlic powder

Chianti Butter
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), at room temperature
2 teaspoons Chianti or red wine
1 teaspoon kosher salt
First make the butter spread:
Use a spatula, mix softened butter in a mixing bowl until it's spreadable. Add wine and salt and mix until thoroughly combined. Place compound butter on a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape into a log and twist the ends to seal. Place butter in the refrigerator to harden.

Brush steak with olive oil, season well with salt and pepper, make slits into the steak and fill with garlic slices. Sprinkle with garlic powder lightly and oregano.  Heat grill on high till very hot.  Sear steaks on each side. Then lower to medium low heat, cook to desired taste, rare, medium or well done.
Top with a few slices of Chianti Butter.

Bucatini al sugo di triglia, finocchi e pomodori

Un piatto di pasta � sempre gradito specialmente se il sugo � appetitoso ed originale. Questo riunisce sapori inconsueti ma vi assicuro buonissimi...la ricetta potete leggerla qui :

IL BLOG DI CHIARA

Vi aspetto di l� per i commenti......

Grilled Blackened Seasoning for Pompano or White Fish Recipe

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Blacked Grouper is another favorite here in Florida, we just love this in a sandwich, on top of lettuce greens or by itself!

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The grilled Pompano is just bursting with flavor!

6 fresh Pompano fillets or you can use Snook, Mahi, Grouper, Snapper, Redfish
3 sticks of unsalted butter, melted

Blackened Seasoning Mixture:
1 tablespoon sweet paprika

2 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tsp. ground red pepper ( cayenne)

3/4 teaspoon white pepper and black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

Place all seasonings in a plastic large bag and shake till well combined. Unused mixture can be stored in empty spice jar.  In a large pie plate add melted butter and dip each fillet in melted butter on both sides.  Shake seasoning mix generously and evenly.  Place fillets skin side down in white hot cast iron skillet on outdoor grill. Pour one teaspoon of melted butter on top of each fillet. I suggest cooking to be done outdoors because of extreme smoke from skillet. Once skin side has been blackened.

Note if using Redfish and Snook  their fillets must be skinned before cooking and both sides sprinkled generously with seasoning mix.

Tropical White Peach Sangria Recipe

I really know nothing more refreshing than this wonderful drink!

Treat yourself to this, try it at a party or just because your worth it! A delicious fruit adult beverage for the stress in your life or just because it so delicious! Enjoy!


1  bottle dry white wine around 5 cups
3/4 cup peach flavored vodka (or use regular a good brand )
6 tablespoons frozen limeade or lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 pound fresh white peaches, pitted and sliced (canned work OK, but not my first choice)
3/4 cup sliced strawberries
3/4 cup chunk pineapple
sliced limes
sliced lemons
optional green grapes and maraschino cherries
assorted umbrella toothpicks for fruit kabobs garnish


Directions

In a large pitcher, combine dry white wine, peach vodka, lime or lemonade concentrate and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add sliced fresh white pitted peaches, assorted fruits and citrus reserving some for garnish.

Refrigerate sangria until well chilled, at least 2 hours, or overnight to blend flavors. Serve over ice, and use a slotted spoon to include sliced peaches and grapes with each serving.

Pecorino Canestrato Cheese

Pecorino Cheese - It all starts with sheep. And there are plenty of them in Abruzzo.  Drive through the countryside on any given day, and chances are, you're bound to run into a shepherd (replete with a crook), scampering dogs and a straying flock.

But the traditional "transumanza" -  the twice-yearly migration of herds of sheep across hundreds of miles of rocky, mountainous terrain to warmer climes - is gone. These days the shepherd is most likely just moving his flock to a nearby pasture or taking it to a place where a tractor trailor will transport the sheep using a hydraulic lift. 

In Abruzzo and other regions where lamb is eaten more commonly than beef, pecorino cheese (pecora means sheep in Italian) is still made using sheep's milk and little else, albeit with modern equipment.  I was lucky enough to see the process on a trip with four other women during the "Italy, In Other Words" writing workshop I attended in Abruzzo last month.

Thanks to owner Giulio Petronio, we toured the Azienda Zootecnica Gran Sasso, a farm in the countryside near Castel Del Monte. He explained the steps involved in making canestrato, a pecorino cheese that derives its name from the reed baskets (canestri) that were once used to shape the cheeses and impart their design. 

Once a day, the sheep's milk is heated in a large stainless steel vat and mixed with a natural rennet taken from a sheep's stomach. After the milk reaches about 102 degrees Fahrenheit  (39 degrees Celcius), the mixture starts to thicken and lightly solidify.  At this point, Zareb, a Macedonia native in charge of the process, offered us a spoonful. It was like slurping cream in a gel-like state - and not too different in taste from panna cotta.

Next Zareb broke apart the solid milky mass, and we watched as two wire "combs" swirled around the vat, creating clumps of curds.

Zareb grabbed a corregated plastic tube attached at one end to the vat and flipped a switch, guiding the curds into the forms. The liquid whey drained out the bottom, while the curds remained. 

As more of the whey drained away, Zorab returned to fill the forms a second, and a third time.

 Then he squeezed down on the curds, allowing even more of the liquid whey to fall to the bin below. The whey would later be heated again and used to make ricotta cheese (ri-cotta means twice cooked.) 

The cheese needs to cool and rest a bit before it becomes solid enough to be released from the plastic mold into a salt water bath, allowing the cheese to form a rind. But before that, each mold is coded with numbers that identify where it was made and the specific batch of cheese. 

Finally comes the aging, as the cheeses sit in a refrigerated storeroom. Some cheeses can be eaten immediately, and they will have a milder flavor.

The age of each cheese is found on the tags attached to the racks. For instance, this batch of cheese was made on 11-06-13. The first number refers to the year (2011), the second to the month (June) and the third number to the day it was made. Hence, this batch of cheese was made on June 13, 2011, a few days before we had arrived for our tour.

These cheeses were made in April. The few extra months of aging gives them a sharper taste. Mold that forms on the outside adds a unique flavor, but it will be washed off prior to sale. The oldest cheeses are aged no longer than one and a half years.

 Unfortunately, we didn't get to taste the pecorino cheese while we were there. Giulio had to rush outside to tend to a mamma cow who was reluctant to enter the barn, where her newborn calf awaited.

As Giulio wrangled with his cow, we headed to nearby Castel Del Monte for an espresso at a bar in the center of town. 

Turns out we weren't the first Americans to have sipped a cup of Joe here. George Clooney beat us to it, when he was filming "The American" here a couple of years ago.

 After settling in at the cafe, we were surprised to see Giulio drive up in his truck, eager to catch up with us and offer a sample of his canestrato cheese.

 Giulio also sells the naturally-colored sheep's wool to home knitters and to high-fashion houses in Italy, who use the wool to make sweaters and other clothes. 

But for me, the cheese was the prize - golden colored, sharp and nutty-flavored, aged Pecorino.

Thank you Giorgio, and thank you Zareb, for giving us a look (and a taste) at how Pecorino Canestrato is made in Castel del Monte. 

Che c'� di buono oggi ? (18)

Carissimi, rieccoci all'appuntamento del sabato ...oggi vi ripropongo un itinerario che ho pubblicato l'anno scorso, forse molti di voi non l'hanno letto...la Liguria � una regione bellissima e ricca di luoghi ospitali dove si mangia bene, pensateci se volete fare  un weekend di relax....Buon fine settimana a tutti !



Weekend in Liguria...al gusto di Focaccia !


Weekend in Liguria....al gusto di focaccia ! seconda ed ultima parte..

Blackberry Cobbler Shortcake Recipe

Tender cake with berries and cream...a quick perfect summer dessert. Since its a short season for berries, take advantage of these beautiful berries when they are in abundance and make a delicious cobbler, don't miss out on this one!

Adding some whipped cream or scoop of vanillia ice cream while still warm is a perfect addition. Line the bottom of you baking dish with batter, top with berries and more batter. Bake and that's it!

2 cups flour

4 tablespoons baking powder

3/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup blackberries
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon flour
cinnamon sugar optional

In a small bowl toss berries with water, cinnamon, flour and sugar. Set aside.

In another bowl add flour, milk, butter, baking powder and salt, mix all together.

In a small rectangular pan or pie plate, add 1/2 the batter on the bottom of the greased pan. Add berry mixture on the dough batter and top with remaining scattering the batter top with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 400 till golden brown check after 30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Paccheri Pasta and Some Party Ideas

This is the perfect side dish to all your grilling, individual little bundles of cooked Paccheri pasta stuffed with roasted vegetables, cheese and sun dried tomatoes. Tastes best when served at room temperature with a fresh herb, lemon, olive oil and parmesan dressing drizzled all over the top, great to bring to a party or picnic!
Equally as good is the caprese version using sliced tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil all tucked inside with an olive oil and balsamic glaze drizzled all over the top!

Paccheri pasta are large hollow tubes shaped similar to rigatoni only bigger and wider.

I roasted planks of zucchini and eggplant and then tucked in some asiago cheese and a sun dried tomato for mine.

Just cook the pasta according to the package, let it cool, then stuff them with whatever inspires you!

I had some leftover cooked pasta so I decided to stuff the remaining ones using a zip lock bag filled with spinach, ricotta, lots of grated cheese and an egg. Fill them and stand them straight up, side by side until you fill the pan, adding sauce on top and in between.

I have several mini spring form pans which I love to use and often do for an individual take on this dish.

Olive oil and brush with sauce the bottom and sides of your mini spring form pan, I have a 4" pan. I'm sure you could use a larger one if you wanted to, but I think the smaller ones are cuter and they come out looking like a little flower!

And here's something for dessert that will surely have your guests talking! Vodka infused whipped cream! It comes in many different flavors, we had the chocolate and vanilla. It works just like traditional whipped cream, but only for grown ups!

My daughter brought this over on the fourth of July, it was quite a hit!

Extremely good with strawberries or grilled fruits of any kind, top off your cup of coffee with it, or squirt some on a piece of pie. Use your imagination and enjoy!

Buon Appetito!

Ciambella di frittata con pomodoro, mozzarella e basilico

   

La classica frittata assume una forma pi� originale e simpatica, ho usato uno stampo a ciambella ma volendo pu� andar bene  qualunque tipo� Il gusto �Pizza� con pomodoro e mozzarella piacer� sicuramente a grandi e piccini!


Con questa ricetta partecipo al bellissimo contest in onore di Alice Ginevra, la bellissima pupattola di Sabrina e Luca...


Una ricettola per la pupattola

Ingredienti per  4 persone :

8 uova

una manciata di pomodorini

1 mozzarella tagliata a dadini

basilico tritato grossolanamente

sale

Ungere uno stampo a ciambella. Sbattere bene le uova, salarle. Aggiungere la mozzarella , i pomodorini anch�essi tagliati a quadrettini e il basilico, versare nello stampo. Cuocere  15/20 minuti in forno a 180�. A frittata fredda sformare ; si pu� mangiare tiepida o a temperatura ambiente

Shrimp and Chicken Kebobs With Blackberry Hazelnut Marinade Recipe

A simple fresh marinade with fresh berries and olive oil, some garlic and you will love these summer grilled flavors.



Whether its seafood or chicken this marinade is perfect for both.


Grilled to perfection.

Blackberries are in abundance this time of year and just the right sweetness on this combo.

4 chicken breasts
20 raw extra large shrimp cleaned

skewers

Marinade

1 cup of fresh blackberries or raspberries
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of lime juice
1/2 teaspoon each black pepper, garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper and kosher salt
1/4 cup hazelnuts

Mix in a food processor put all ingredients except the meat and fish in the blender till smooth

In two separate bowls marinate the shrimp in one with 1/4 cup of marinade and the chicken in another with 1/4 cup marinade. Save the rest for basting while grilling. Marinate at least two to three hours. Put shrimp on skewers, you can also cut up the chicken and alternate kebobs and make chicken kabobs as well. Otherwise grill chicken and shrimp separately.On a hot grill start cooking the chicken first as the shrimp takes less time. (3 to 4 minutes for shrimps and 5 to 7 minutes each side for chicken.)

Grill till shrimp is pink and the juices run clear on the chicken.

 Serve with  assorted salad greens, topped with blackberries, hazelnuts and a raspberry vinaigrette below:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup pureed fresh raspberries or blackberries

1/2 cup raspberry wine vinegar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

mix all together, pour over greens.