Perugia,Italy..a Sweet City....

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm cooking school held in a beautiful resort near Orvieto Italy..recently took some of our participants on a tour of the medieval city of Perugia..the city well known for it's chocolate and many other treats. Follow our visit to Perugia here:

http://www.gomestic.com/Cooking/Perugia-Italy-and-Its-Sweet-Treats.126185

and here is a recipe of one of their traditional sweet treats:

Ciarimicola
Ingredients:

1 lb flour
3 egg yolk
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
Lemon peel of ½ lemon
2 egg whites
¼ cup alchermes liqueur
1 packet yeast
Multi colored sprinkles
Grate lemon peel. Place flour, sugar. ¼ cup softened butter, lemon peel. Blend well. Add in alchermes and blend in. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup of warm water, add into dough. Blend into a smooth dough.

Form the dough into a ring. Place on a pan that has been buttered an dusted with flour. Bake for 40 minutes. Beat egg whites into stiff peaks. Remove ring from oven. Place whipped egg whites on top. Bake for another 2 minutes. Remove from oven, cool and sprinkle with colored sprinkles.

Don't forget to follow ouradventures in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking kitchen here in Italy at httpp://www.marialiberati.com/blog2
and http://twitter.com/marialiberati


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

Join our cooking classes in Italy or in the US. To register or get more info email us at events@marialiberati.com
Here is more info
In the US-The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm cooking school will be at various Whole Foods Markets in the US starting in February:
Feb 8-Jenkintown, Pa Whole Foods Markets
Feb 18-Whole Foods Market, Marlton, NJ
Feb 19=Whole Foods Markets, Philadelphia,Pa
Feb 26-Whole foods Markets, Princeton, NJ

Mangia Bene,Vivi Bene
Maria

Where did Carnevale start & sweet treats....

On my short trip to Venice,besides being overcome by all the beauty..I could not help but wonder what came first Halloween, Mardi Gras, or Carnevale.
Whatever came first..the most important thing-besides the beauty and colors of Carnevale is the food. I have been posting recipes and sightseeing tips and here are more..http://marialiberati.com/blog2/?p=486
Also check out this post at http://www.marialiberati.com/blog2
If you can't visit Venice bring Venice to your kitchen table..

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

Christmas Memories, part 1

My Christmas memories are very special ones. They are made up of vivid sights, smells and sounds.
*Sights-of family and good friends, brightly decorated presents and wrapping and bows and colorful table decorations, large tables spilling over with food
*Smells of great foods cooking on the stove and baking in the oven.
*Sounds- laughter, clanking of bowls and whirring mixers, oven timers, singing Christmas Carols-(in Italian and English), happy chatter, wine and champagne bottles popping and toasts of glasses clanking.
The most precious gifts that I received during the Holidays are these memories to treasure. Memories that I can relive, if only in my mind or through some faded photo.

There is one material gift that I do remember out of all of my Christmases- a sled. You see we lived in the city of Philadelphia- not exactly great space to ride around on a sled. But my parents always dreamed of building a house in the country and taking us out of the city- (which they did) and a place where we can go sledding with open fields and hills.

. After all the presents were opened, Mom insisted that we get ready to go to nonna’s house for our family Christmas Day dinner . But my father couldn’t budge until he took me on my first sleigh ride-‘city style’. What a great memory, and luckily I have a photo to prove it- my Dad pulling that little sled along the sidewalk, through the driveway and the peaceful quiet of a crisp snowy day. When the cold was too much we began heading towards home, but “pull me again Daddy”, I chanted. Of course my doting Dad headed around the block again, and again that day. Nothing could stop him, but Mom, who finally came out to find us. That winter was a special one, filled with memories of many snowy days and many sleigh rides with my father.

Here is hoping you have a special Holiday made up of many
Sights
Smells
Sounds

And I want to leave you with a taste of Christmas. This is a recipe I created to use up all that leftover Panettone. it was featured in the Holiday issue of tastes of Italia Magazine.This is a scrumptious version of bread pudding.

Panettone di Natale

*½ of a large panettone-cut into small cubes
*2 cups of milk
*1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract
*Dark chocolate (70-90 % cocoa) broken into small pieces or chopped.
*4 dried figs, cut into small pieces
*1/4 cup dried cherries
* ¼ cup raisins
*1 fresh lemon rind grated
Powdered cocoa for dusting on top

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Break or pull apart panettone into small cubes.
Place one layer of panettone cubes in an 8 inch round or square glass or ceramic baking dish. Cover with, chopped chocolate pieces, chopped fig pieces , then cherries ,then raisins. Cover this layer with remaining panettone cubes.
In seperate bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar. Pour liquid over panettone cubes. Gently push down on top to be sure liquid soaks into all layers, Let sit for 10 minutes then bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until firm and golden on top. When cool, dust with powdered cocoa and serve.