Carciofi al forno (baked artichokes)

A delicious platter of stuffed artichokes, what can be better after a day in the sun !
I love carciofi (artichokes) because of their texture and moreover, their odd form, much like a prehistoric plant that has managed to exist over the thousands of years, evolved and finally found its plate !


YOU'LL NEED:
(serves six)

- 6 artichokes (large, deep purple in color)
- 3 lemons
- 6 thinly sliced prosciutto di parma (do not use bacon or ham)
- 12 oz of mild Gorgonzola (keep at room temp)
- 2 T spoons cooking cream (panna da cucinare)
- 3 t spoons chopped thyme
- 3 t spoons chopped parley
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 1 t spoon ground black pepper
- 1 T spoon good balsamic vinegar
- 4 T spoons breadcrumbs
- 3 T spoons olive oil (extra virgin)

PREPARATION:
- You will first need to trim your lovely artichokes, pick one up and hold it a eye level and just look at this wonder ! Set down and carefully trip off the stem and the base leaves so that the bottom is flat. Continue to cut about 1 to 1.5 inches the top and with a kitchen shear, cut the pointed tips of all leaves. You will also want to tear off (with your hands) the larger outer leaves.
- Prepare a pot of boiling, salted water (with about 1 T spoon of olive oil) and add in the cleaned artichokes, also add the halved lemons to the water along with the carciofi.
- You will need to cook the artichokes for approximately 25-30 minutes or until tender.
- Drain and set aside.
- Open the tops of the artichokes and line the holed center with the thinly sliced prosciutto.
- Now you will need to prepare the stuffing so take out a small bowl and place the Gorgonzola, the cooking cream, thyme, 2 t spoons of parsley, the garlic as well as the salt and pepper and mix by hand.
- In an additional bowl, add together the breadcrumbs and 2 t spoons of parsley with a spoon of olive oil.
- Pre-heat your oven to 400 F.
- Remove the center of the artichokes with a small metal spoon. Now add in your cheese mixture in the center of the artichoke.
- Place the artichokes into a baking dish.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs mixture over the top of the artichokes and drizzle over the tops olive oil.
- Bake until the artichokes topped breadcrumbs are golden and crips (20 minutes circa).
- Transfer to a serving platter.

ENJOY !!

FENNEL SALAD AND DRESSING

MMM MMMMM Good !

Some people just seem to have a fobia with this "F" word, but its just really good for you, me, us and if prepared correctly, Im sure that you cannot, not love it !

I like to prepare the dosage for two people that way all you need to do is add ingredients according to the extra mouths.

(serving 2 people... about half a serving plate each)

- 1 fennel bulb along with the fronds
- 1 T spoon lemon and orange zest (be ever so careful to avoid the white portion just below the colored skin as it is what makes the bitterness)
- 1 lemon squeezed
- 1 T spoon good balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 T spoon toasted pine nuts per person (thus two)
- 1/2 cup fennel fronds chopped
- 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 1 t spoon salt and black pepper

PREPARATION:

- I personally use my food processor and use the medium shredder blade. But first cut the top and bottom off the bulbs leaving a clean bulb, cut in half and remove the core. Then shred.
- Remove the above from your processor and add some lemon juice in order to avoid discoloring of the fennel.
- Toast pine seeds (medium heat) with no oil in your skillet, just until golden.
- In a medium bowl, add the lemon and orange zest, the lemon juice, the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper and mix together.
- Pour the above onto the fennel and mix, add the tomatoes and then the toasted pine nuts, toss and serve.

This is a great salad or even side dish for any meat or even fish. You can add a table spoon of Greek yogurt for some additional thickness.... try both.

ENJOY!

ONION FRITTATA

This little dish is fantastic because its full of flavor and is perfect with a glass of dry white wine at any party or just for late night munchies !

YOU'LL NEED:
(serves 6)
- 10 eggs
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup while milk ricotta cheese (drained)
- 3 cut basil
- 4 minced sage leaves
- 1 t spoon minced rosemary
- pinch of kosher salt
- pinch of ground pepper
- 4 T spoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onions

PREPARATION:
- In a medium bowl, add in the eggs, parmesan cheese, herbs, salt, pepper and whisk together and then set to one side.
- In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil and add in the onions and saute until soft then turn the heat down to very low (I like to add in a t spoon of balsamic vinegar to the onions).
- Add in the the egg (etc) mixture to the onions and then spoon in the ricotta cheese and mix well.
- Cook in an 8 inch oven pan and bake for about 10 minutes. Place on platter and serve warm.

ENJOY !!

RICOTTA CHEESECAKE

The ricotta cheesecake has very little to do with the typical cheesecake eaten in the US.
My very good friend Daniela (in Florence) passed this dish to me and its one of my favorites, so lets do it....

YOU'LL NEED:
(serves 10)
- 30 oz whole-milk ricotta
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 T spoon unsalted butter at room temp.
- 3 T spoons unseasoned breadcrumbs
- 2 egss
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 2 T spoons matzo meal
- 2 T spoons lemon juice
- 3 T spoons lemon zest
- 2 t spoons vanilla extract
- pinch of kosher salt
- Powdered sugar
- 8 inch diameter pan, 2-3 inches high

PREPARATION:
- In a large strainer place the ricotta and let drain well.
- Preheat oven to 350 F and grease the 8 inch springform pan with butter.
- In a small bowl, add in 1 T spoon of sugar, the breadcrumbs on the buttered pan.
- When the ricotta is drained, put it into your food processor and let it mix well for about 30 seconds or until it is smooth, add in the creamm cheese and mix again for another 10 seconds or so then add in to this mixture the rest of the sugar followed by the eggs, matzo meal, lemon juice and zest, vbanilla extract and salt. Turn processor on for about 1 minute.
- Pour the above into the buttered pan.
- Put the newly born cake into your oven and bake until golden brown (roughly 60 minutes) then let set on rack to cool. Don't worry if it falls some as this is unavoilable. Put the cooled cake in the fridge and let chill.
- Dust powdered sugar over the top, serve cool.

ENJOY !

GOAT CHEESE FILLING FOR RAVIOLI & WALNUT SAUCE

We all know how to make ravioli (if you dont then go check out my older posts here on this blog and if you are still having issues, contact me !)

I picked up this savory dish (referring to the filling and sauce) from a friends restaurant in Mugello, Italy..... Its pretty easy and just simply buonissimo !

YOU'LL NEED:
(serves 4-6)

THE FILLING
- 1.5 cups of goat cheese (crumbled)
- 1/2 cup of minced basil (fresh please)
- 3 t spoons minced garlic
- 1/2 cup of finely chopped toasted walnuts
- 1 T spoon lemon zest (minced is suggested)
- 1 t spoon black pepper
- 1 t spoon salt
- 1.5 T spoons extra virgin olive oil
- dash of nutmeg

THE SAUCE
- 1/2 cup chopped and lightly toasted walnuts
- 4 T spoons butter
- 1/4 cup chopped shallots
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1.5 cups cooking cream
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/3 cup chopped basil (fresh of course)
- dash of red pepper flakes
- pinch of salt

PREPARATION

- Start off by placing a large bowl in front of you and add in the toasted walnuts, the goat cheese, olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, nutmeg, pepper, salt and mix.
- You will need to have prepared your long (1 meter is good) pasta sheets on a work surface, you will need 3. Make sure that your surface is dusted with flour.
- With a t spoon, you will want to place spoon full of the above mixture approximately 2.5 inches apart and approximately 1/3 up from the bottom edge of your pasta sheet.
- With an egg yolk and a T spoon of water, wash over the edges of the pasta sheets.
- Fold over the top portion of the pasta sheet so that it meets the bottom edge.
- With an expresso cup or your hand you will need make a seal around each of your filling balls, you need to make sure that the air is out of the newly born ravioli (this is important so that they will not just remain on the top of the water when cooking them)
- Cut your ravioli the size you prefer, some like more pasta dough around the edges, others little. You can dust them with cornmeal to avoid them sticking together, when dried you can freeze for a rainy day or just place in the fridge for tonights dinner.

THE SAUCE
-In a large saucepan or skillet, melt 3 T spoons of butter and medium heat and when melted, add in your toasted and finely chopped walnuts and let cook for about 5 minutes until they are slightly browned. Remove from your saucepan and put aside.
- Now add in 1 T spoon of butter, the garlic, shallots and cook on low heat for about 3 minutes.
- Add your dry white wine and your cooking cream to the above (butter, garlic, shallots) and turn up the heat to medium and cook until your new sauce has thickened, this will take about 5-7 minutes. Now, add in the basil, salt, pepper and take off the heat and cover.
- Bring to a boil in a kettle salted and oiled (1 T spoon olive oil) and carefully add in your ravioli until the rise to the top which wont take more than 4-5 minutes. Drain ever so carefully and transfer them to your sauce pan and stir so that they are completely covered by your dreamy sauce.
- Plat the ravioli (4 or 5 per plate) and sprinkly with grated parmesan cheese and serve!
ENJOY

CANNELLONI PASTRY SWIRLS

Now this is a hot dish which you can serve as a main course or as a wonderful antipasto or great party food...... its delicious.

The filling as any cannelloni type dish is essential and its components or better, the proper mixture of components will make it or break it.

YOU'LL NEED:

- 2 Pastry Puff sheets (You can make them yourself but I just feel that if you can buy them, you'll have more time to cook !
- 4 large red peppers
- 1 large sweet white onion
- Italian parsley (the flat stuff), about a bunch
- 14 artichoke hearts (you can buy whole artichokes and then clean them which i find very soothing to the nerves OR you can buy them frozen which are fine and will save you about 30 minutes of cleaning and steaming)
- 14 oz ricotta cheese (if not the good stuff, then fine but you will want to add an egg and a dash of salt to it.
- 2 eggs (one for the ricotta and one for your topping for brushing on the top of the canelloni prior putting to sleep in the oven !)
- Balsamic cream or vinegar
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (roasted... do it yourself by heating on medium heat in a saucepan, dont burn these babbies!)
- Oregano
- 1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese (grated)
- 1 t spoon salt, 1 t spoon black pepper
- 1 T spoon nutmeg
- Extra virgin olive oil

PREPARATION:

- First, take out a medium size saucepan, add about 2 T spoons of olive oil, smashed & cut garlic cloves. When garlic is golden, then add the chopped parsely and rosemary and then wait a couple of minutes then add in the artichoke hearts and cover on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the balsamic cream or vinegar, about 1/8 cup warm water and cover and stir often for about 15 minutes.
- While the artichokes are doing their thing, wash, clean and cut your peppers in slices, any size as well as the large white onion.
- Place the peppers, onion and rosemary in a medium mixing bowl, add about 2 T spoons of olive oil, 1 T balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and mix well with your clean hands.
- On a cookie sheet, add the pepper and onion mixture and bake for approx. 20 minutes on 375 F.
- While all this is going on (make sure you are mixing the artichokes as well as turning the peppers on the cookie sheet from time to time), in a small saucepan on medium/high heat add the walnuts and let them heat up for about 10 minutes BUT do not let them burn.
- You will probably want to take the artichokes off the heat at this time and let set. Now in another medium size bown, add the ricotta cheese, an egg, 1 t spoon salt and pepper and 1 T spoon of nutmeg and mix well. Then add in the gorgonzola and mozzarella cheese and mix well.
- I hope you have a food processor ! Add in the artichoke mixutre, peppers, the walnuts and use the pulsate option, you dont want a creamy mixture but you want to see the pieces! You may want to add a dash of olive oil to this.
- Add the above mixture to your cheese mixture and blend all together with your favorite wooden spoon.
- Now here comes the fun ! Your pastry sheets should be removed from your freezer about 30 minutes prior to this point (so i advise you do this when starting this dish), open them on a slightly floured wood surface (cutting board is fine) and roll out your sheet which will add about an inch to each side of the sheet.
- Approximately an 1.5 inches from the top edge of the pastry sheet, you will need to place your mixture (peppers, arthichoke, walnuts, cheese mixture) on the sheet, about 1/8 or less in thickness over the entire pastry sheet, leaving about an inch from the side edges and 2 inches from the bottom. You should have enough to cover 2 pastry sheets.
- Carefully roll the pastry sheets from the fartherest or top end, back down to you. With your butter/egg brush (I have my own brush that i use for only brushing butter or egg), you will need one egg for your wash and place it in a small bowl plus 1 t spoon water and brush the top side of your rolled cannelloni.(I advise that the seam be on the bottom side of your cannellone. With a very sharp knife, you will need to just cut into the cannelloni just enough to cut through the first layer of pastry dough, make about 8 diagonal slices so that when the dough starts to puff it will not only look good but it will be much easier to cut the swirls when cooled after the baking.
- Heat your oven to 375 F and place your newly born cannelloni pastry swirls on the parchment paper which just happens to be on your cookie sheets and bake for about 20-25 minutes.

You can prepare a similiar swirl with my salsa verde (spinach pesto sauce) which is absolutely scrumptious !

ENJOY !!!!