A Recipe a Day..

While working in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Kitchen here in Italy we are working on a new recipe a day.. Todays' recipe is inspired by tartufi (truffles) the mysterious 'fungus'. Tartufi (truffles) are abundant in many regions of Italy certain times of the year.
It has become almost a tradition to leave tartufi in my kitchen as a present ..and what a wonderful present. In Abruzzo here, many people have dogs that hunt for truffles and they leave an extra one or two for me so that I find them in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Kitchen waiting to be used in a special recipe.

Today's special dish:
Risotto with Tartufi & Oysters..You can find it here (titled 'Tartufi, food of the Gods'):
http://www.marialiberati.com/blog2

For more great recipes get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com

Abruzzo

Bordering the Adriatic Sea and speckled with the peaks of the Apennine mountains is Italy’s southern region of Abruzzo. Due to its geography, the region is particularly remote and offers an ideal place to explore Italy’s wilderness.

Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo (the National Park of Abruzzo), with its headquarters in the province of L’Aquila, is a perfect spot to experience Abruzzo’s natural wonders. It acts as a habitat for a variety of animals, including, according to initaly.com, some once endangered species like the Apennine lynx and the Marsican bear. Several tree species compose the forests that grow over most of the park and house these creatures. The fact that there is only a single paved road cutting through Parco Nazionale’s 150,000 acres adds to its sense of seclusion. To really experience the park, a person should either hike at least one of the roughly 150 walking trails—information about them can be found at any of the seven visitor centers available—or bike along any of the countless unpaved roads.

www.initaly.com/regions/abruzzo/parco

Away from the mountains and wilderness, Abruzzo’s other shining feature is undoubtedly its coastline. With nearly 130 kilometers of beaches spotted with resorts, Abruzzo has long been a popular place for both Italians and foreign travelers to spend their summer vacation time.

www.inside-abruzzo.com

For more information about Abruzzo, visit http://www.inside-abruzzo.com/en/.

Good Food + Great Friends = Winning Combination

Just wanted to remind everyone before the week ends that I have heard from one of my good friends, cookbook author-Frankie Imbergamo- in Boston (most of you probably remember him from his appearances in Emeril Lagasse's TV show. His Italian meatball recipe is famous-especially throughout Boston.
He reminded me and sent me best wishes for National Friendship Week. Since great friends are such an important part of enjoying great food-I wanted to wish you all Best Wishes for National Friendship Week!

Here is a link for an article on Frankie Imbergamo:
http://www.northendboston.com/dining-meetchef.htm

By the way the photo above are two bears (Orsi) that are Marsican -a bear from this region ( Marsica-a region in L'Aquila) this picture is from Scanno in L'Aquila and is in part of the famous National Park of Abruzzo (Parco Nazionale D'Abruzzo)..even bears know the importance of good friends!!

Risotto again ...but with Radicchio and Trebbiano

copyright 2007,2008, Maria Liberati, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati
As I am continuing to work on my chapters on risotto (as you have probably guessed with all this mention of risotto) today's favored risotto that we selected to eat for pranzo (lunch) was a radicchio risotto.
Sauteed with radicchio, this risotto has an interesting flavor thanks to the radicchio. It does give the dish a slightly bitter, nutty taste, but the sweet,creamy parmigiano-reggiano cheese added right before serving balances the bitter flavor.



Since I do favor working with white wines in my risottos, I used a Trebbiano D'Abruzzo from a local vineyard here in Abruzzo.
If you'd like to try this delicious but also healthy dish, I am printing the recipe here before it is published.

If you would like to see what a powerhouse of health this vegetable is, here are some great reading sources:


http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/radicchio.htm
http://www.radicchio.com/
and if you want to know about Trebbiano white wine, go to:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebbiano


Risotto with Radicchio
(for 2)
*1 tablespoon extra virgin oilive oil
*2 slices finely chopped onion
*1 cup of arborio or carnaroli rice
*4 cups of vegetable broth
*1 cup of dry white wine
*2 tblsps of freshly grated parmigiano cheese
*1 small head of radicchio, washed and pat dry, and cut into thin strips
(optional- 1 tsp of butter added when finished cooking).
Saute in saute pan- olive oil, chopped onion. When onion begins to turn golden, place in rice and toast for a minute, toss around pan with wooden spoon. Place in radicchio, 1 cup of white wine, stir until liquid is absorbed, then place in 1/2 cup of vegetable broth until all liquid is absorbed and add in more broth. Repeat this, consistently stirring with wooden spoon for approx 18 minutes or until rice is 'al dente'. Be sure all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat.Place in (optional) butter and stir until melted. Place in individual serving dishes, top with freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese and enjoy with a dry white wine.

Buon Appetito..
Ciao for now,
Maria
http://www.marialiberati.com/
Don;t forget to get your copy of the bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com/ and recieve $5 off retail price and free shipping now for a limited time.

Happy New Year from the Mountains of Abruzzo

(copyright, Maria Liberati 2007)

Here's wishing that you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you were able to include some of the special recipes we have included this past month.

I am writing from my office in Italy- high in the mountains of Abruzzo.
The Holiday season still goes on here. While you are waiting to ring in the New Year as we are here as well, we will be celebrating until the 6th of January. This last Holiday is the Epiphany or La Befana and marks the end of the Christmas Holidays.
Here the Holidays are the topic of conversation for everyone for at least 4-6 weeks. I was really tired and not too awake when we landed in Rome. But I really realized I was here when I had to stop at customs to show my passport. No, showing my passport didn't wake me up. The customs officers- there were 3- that had to look at my passport were discussing a recipe that they had for Christmas Eve dinner (Vigilia) as they glanced at my passport- paying more attention to the details of the recipe than the looking over of passports. And unfortunately I did not hear the entire recipe. Although as tempted as I was to ask, I decided it was best not to ask.
Besides, I knew that the sooner I left the airport the sooner we would be having a cappuccino and cornetti at Palombini-in EUR (a neighborhood in Rome) right in front of the 'square coliseum'-that alone is sight for sore tired eyes.
And as I have been continuing this series, here is an excerpt from my upcoming book- The Basic Art of Italian Cooking-Holidays and Special Occasions (to be released in late 2008). This chapter is about our New Year's Eve last year -to bring in 2007.

NEW YEAR'S EVE

(excerpt from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking-Holidays & Special Occasions

copyright, Maria Liberati 2007, art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc.)
Never plan for anything..As all the highways were closed because of icy conditions and two terrible accidents on the A24 highway (the highway that goes from Abruzzo to Rome)–we had to quickly think on our feet to save the festivities for New Year’s Eve. Which we did….
As luck has it we found out this morning that we could not get out of town safely so we had just enough time to grab all of the ingredients we needed to make a 7 course New Year’s Eve fest fit for a king.. for 25 people….

Menu
Primi (first course)
Spaghetti lightly tossed with fresh shrimp and calamari in an ‘aglio e olio’ (garlic and oil) topped at the end with fresh parsley.

Secondi (second course)
Zuppa di lenticchie (lentil soup) with freshly made crostini (croutons)
Served with Cotechino (a type of ham)

Terzo (third course)
Fresh baked salmone

Quarto (fourth course)
Frittata made with fresh escarole and grated parmigiano cheese

Contorni (side dishes)
*Fresh swiss chard- cooked and lightly tossed with olive oil and fresh lemon juice
*Fresh mozzarella

All of this was served with Vino Novello. This is the new wine that comes out about this time of the year. It is called vino novello (new wine) because it is only aged for 3 months versus aging for at least 1 year.

Dolci (desserts)
*Torte di panettone (see recipe in my next blog later this week)
*Artisanal chocolate torrone made here in Abruzzo. (It contains 80% cocoa and hazelnuts grown locally. This is a specialty here in the province of Abruzzo).

Fruit course
Fresh grapes (you must eat at least 12 grapes on New Year’s Eve for good luck).
Fresh apples

To bring in the New Year, Braccchetto D’Acqui was served. It is a sparkling red wine that is delicate and with just a hint of sweetness

Torte di panettone recipe
(Copyright 2005- Maria Liberati)
Many of you who have been at my book signings have savored this torte (cake). We make it around Christmas time because it is made with panettone (an Italian sweet bread made for Christmas). We usually have so much panettone left over and try to think of creative things to do with it. So I came up with this recipe with a friend of mine that is a pastry chef here in Abruzzo. It is really very easy to make but is so yummy they will think you were baking all day.

And as I always recommend in all of my cookbooks- use only the best ingredients you can find for this torte. Since there are only a few ingredients each and everyone is important.


*1/3 to ½ of a pannettone (most gourmet stores carry these now, if you are lucky you may be able to find a fresh baked one as well).
*1- 4 ounce chocolate bar (must be 70-80% cocoa)
*4 large dried figs
*2 cups whole milk
*1/2 cup sugar
*¼ tsp vanilla
*2 whole eggs
Baking paper
1- 8” shallow cake pan
Small piece of solid chocolate to shave into chocolate curls on top
Confectioner’s Sugar

Instructions…
If panettone is a few days old it should be dry. If it is not dry, tear panettone into small cubes, preheat oven to 375-400 degrees. When oven is preheated place panettone cubes on flat baking sheet and bake till begins to turn golden and becomes dry.

Line shallow cake pan with baking paper. Chop 4 ounces of dark chocolate into small pieces. Chop four figs into small pieces. Set these aside.

Cover pan with one layer of panettone cubes. Press cubes gently to fit form of pan. Sprinkle chopped chocolate and figs on panettone cubes. Place another layer of panettone cubes on top, again press gently to cover the first layer and to fit form of pan.

With wire whisk, whisk together 2 cups milk and 2 eggs. Then little by little add in the sugar and whisk and then add in vanilla and whisk for 1 minute or until well blended.

With soup ladle gently pour this mixture over panettone cubes and then gently press down to form panettone and mixture to pan and then let
sit for 10 minutes so all is absorbed. Then place in oven preheated to 375 degrees for 40 -50 minutes.

Top should be golden and all liquid should be absorbed.

When cool, take out of pan by edges of baking paper. Garnish top with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar and chocolate curls shaved from chocolate bar.

Should be kept in refrigerator and best if made the night before.

Serve with Bracchetto D’Acqui sparkling wine.

Tanti Auguri for a safe and Happy 2008!

You can purchase the bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking and still receive $5 off retail price and free shipping at http://www.marialiberati.com/
and portion of proceeds go to Gilda's Club.

Let Summer Recharge Your Life..

Is it just me -or did anyone notice that we are already halfway through the year! So it is time to face facts- those New Year's resolutions that you made way back in January (when the year was so new and fresh) and forgot about-what happened to them, where did they go??

You know the age old resolutions-losing weight, getting organized, exercising more..

Fortunately -Summer is the time of year that allows us to -sort of- regroup- and put together a summer resolution! But make this a fun resolution and one that is easy to stick to. Take advantage of the carefree, lazy hazy days of summer and do something that will recharge you for the rest of the year. (Eating alfresco may be just a memory come November-so do it now!!)

So, since I am guilty too (I must admit) of conveniently forgetting my new year;s resolutions- join me in coming up with some fun summer resolutions to recharge the rest of your summer and keep that charge going for the rest of the year.

There are ten resolutions I have come up with and each week I will share a few with you. My first podcast on July 16th will also be "Top ten summer resolutions or how to recharge your summer!!

My first summer resolution is to eat alfresco whenever possible. So many of us don't take advantage of the beautiful summer weather at lunchtime or on the evening and eating outside. If you don't have your own patio or terrace or backyard- go to a park or lake or somewhere that you can go outdoors and enjoy a casual meal. And really sit and enjoy your meal and the surroundings and nature at its best-even if your in the city-you can see the beauty of the sky above. Remember a casual meal will do-keeping in with the casualness and lazy feeling that summer provides us. Of course not everyone can eat outdoors everyday, but try it even if it's once a week or a few times in the summer. So our first summertime resolution is:

1-Casual meal alfresco (if you need any recipes for your alfresco meal- go to my website-http://www.marilaiberati.com Bruschetta is a great summertime meal we enjoy on our terrazzo in Italy in the summer-so casual but elegant.)

If you don't have an out door terrazzo, envision one. When I am at my home in the mountains of Italy this is my view (the photo at the top of this blog) and even when I am not there I envision the marvelous mountains and the scenery of the village and hearing the our town church bells ringing!

Ciao for now!

Maria

http://www.marialiberati.com/