Cocktail Meatballs with Saffron Sauce for a Spring Soiree

Cocktail meatballs are such a staple for cocktail parties and happy hour events. They pair so well  with those dry martinis, dry white  wine, or Champagne or Prosecco.  Try this Italian version of these little gems made wtih a saffron sauce.
Cocktail Mini Meatballs with Saffron Sauce (Polpettine allo Salso di Zafferano)
from the award winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition, copyright  2011 art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati
Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 slice bread without crust
• 1 thinly sliced garlic clove
• ½ cup peeled, chopped, and shelled almonds
• 1 teaspoon freshly chopped parsley
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 envelope saffron
• Serves 6.
• 1 pound ground beef or soy substitute
• ¼ cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 1 chopped scallion
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
• 1 large egg
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup flour
• Juice from 1 lemon
In a bowl, mix ground meat or substitute with breadcrumbs. Add in garlic, scallion, pars ley, beaten egg, pinch of salt, and pinch of nutmeg. Mix with hands until ingredients are well-blended. If mixture is not firm enough, add in extra breadcrumbs until firm. Form mix into small meatballs. Each ball should be the size of a walnut. Place meatballs on large dish, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. For the sauce, place extra virgin olive oil in a sauté pan and heat. Add in slice of bread, garlic, and almonds. Heat until bread is brown and garlic is golden, then remove. Place in food processor with parsley, pinch of cloves, wine, vegetable broth, and saffron. Pu ree. Place in sauté pan and heat for five minutes, stirring with wooden spoon. Remove meatballs from refrigerator. Heat olive oil in separate sauté pan. Roll meatballs in flour, then fry in heated olive oil until golden. Place on plate coated with a paper towel. Place meatballs in sauté pan with sauce and cook 15-20 minutes. Add in lemon juice and serve.

Baba Ganoush-a Healthy Dip

copyright 2010 art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc
Guest Post By: Karly Berezowsky



Baba Ganoush is an old world dish made predominately out of eggplant is a refreshing and simple dish to make with origins in the Middle East. It is still eaten today by the Turkish, Armenian, Greek, Romanian people, along with many of Mediterranean origin. Eggplant or aubergine is a popular ingredient in many Italian dishes as well, so this might be something worth trying out. This dish is especially superb for a vegetarian or for someone who is just trying to eat a little healthier.


One may describe it as an eggplant dip. Some people pair it with pita bread; but it is good enough to eat right off of the plate.


The list of ingredients is as follows:

1 pound of eggplant

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 handful fresh parsley, minced

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons lemon juice



Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Prick eggplant with a fork and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Bake the eggplant until it is soft inside, for approximately 20 minutes. Let the eggplant cool. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, drain off the liquid. Scoop out the pulp and place into a food processor. Process the eggplant until smooth and transfer to a medium bowl. On a cutting board, mince garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt together with the flat side of a knife, until it forms a paste. Add the garlic-salt mixture to the eggplant. Stir in the parsley, tahini, and lemon juice. Season with more salt, to taste. Garnish with additional parsley.



For more great recipes get your copy of the Award Winning Book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition winner of the Best Italian Cuisine Book in the USA by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards

Celebrity Chef Maria Liberati & The Basic Art of Italian Cooking are touring the USA and Canada, upcoming appearances schedule:
Sept 11 & 12-Hudson Valley Wine Fest-Rhinebeck, NY, Dutchess County Fairgrounds. Maria will take center stage at 2 PM on both days and share recipes, stories from her new award winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition recipes. Maria will be signing copies of the latest book throughout the weekend event.
For more info email: events@marialiberati.com

Cuisine of Bologna, Italy: No Baloney Here!

Guest Blogger: Emily Whalen

copyright 2010 art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc


To the American public, the word “B-O-L-O-G-N-A” will conjure up pictures of sausages and hot dog commercials. But long, long before Oscar Mayer was a gleam in his mother’s eye – and even now, the word “Bologna” means something very different and bigger in regards to food than just an American sausage. It refers to a city – a city long renowned for its' cuisine, hospitality, and culinary tradition. So much is this the case that one of its nicknames is “la grassa” or Bologna the Fat. Bologna is a prosperous and ancient city in Northern Italy, nestled between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains. Even before the Romans, ancient Celtic tribes and Etruscans began to settle here, build home for their families – and grow food and cook.

The fertile valley it’s located in makes it the ideal spot for fresh delicious foods. The surrounding fields are lush with grains, vegetables, and of course grapes to make Italian wine. For centuries, visitors have remarked on the produce that has flourished here and the abundance of fowl and meat. Sausages are only one of the many foods Bologna is known for – and in fact- there is no sausage going by the name of “bologna” or “baloney.” That name is an American invention, and the sausage is a refined version of mortadella – a ground-pork sausage that originated in Bologna. Cured pork meats are an important local industry in Bologna and the surrounding area of Emilia-Romagna. In addition to mortadella, you’ll find prosciutto and salame.

Ready to hear about some mouth watering foods? Bologna recipes and culinary practices have been passed down through families through the ages, making for some delicious eats! For snacking, there’s crescentine – fried pizza dough that goes perfectly with those local sausages or some cheese. The meats are also used in the famous meat-based Bolognese sauce – which is usually just called “ragu” in the city. You’ll see spaghetti Bolognese all over Italy, but don’t be fooled! Residents of the city claim the sauce actually makes a tastier pairing with other pastas, especially tagliatele. The cooks of Bologna are expert in rolling out perfectly even, smooth dough for this rolled pasta. The pasta is a truly local dish – it’s said to have been created five hundred years ago at the wedding celebration for the Lord of Bologna’s daughter!

But what some say are the best symbols of Bologna’s cuisine are the tortellino and lasagna. With these dishes you have the flavorful fillings, the delicious pasta, and the history and the legends – tortellino is said to have been inspired by a beautiful lady’s bellybutton! In fact, these three ingredients do seem to represent what’s best about Bologna cuisine – fresh, rich, and local ingredients; skillfully rolled pasta, where that skill has been passed down through the years; and the rich history and long tradition which has kept Bolognese food as renowned today as it was five hundred years ago.