New Year's Day started off with a real bang from the fireworks in the piazza at 12 midnight and and lots of food ..of course!! You know I am in Italy. New Year's Eve began with one dinner of (for good luck) lentil soup, frittata di carciofi (Italian omelette made with artichokes), stuffed zucchini and peppers, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, fresh fruits and panettone.
The second dinner began at midnight.. it was a buffet not to be believed.. from lasagne, to roased vegetables and roasted chicken to any seasonal fresh fruits to panettone, pan d'oro and torrone but some wonderful Christmas specialties local to this region-Abruzzo- ferratelle or you may know them as pizzelle and sbriciolana (a cake I had heard about and never tasted). The top has cake crumbs on it that are arranged like bits of wool and the name sbriciolana means 'bits of wool'. Then of course champagne,prosecco, braccheto d'acqui...all popped opened up at 12 midnight..
Check back soon for a recipe for sbriciolana, it is now one of my favorite cakes..
The economy & its' problems have hit somewhat here in Italy too. Less people opted to go to organized dinners in expensive restaurants.This year was marked by dinners held in small neighborhood halls and family homes and the buffet courses were all home cooked..but no one really noticed the economy with all the delicious food to be had..as I looked around I realized that even if for one night we all felt rich!-With all this exceptional food, excellent wines & champagne ,great friends and family around...how could one help but not feel rich..Rich with good friends and family and thankful to have great food that we could all share with each other.
And today we have so many of these riches to enjoy for New Year's Day dinner..
Although I will be glad the long week of festa is over, I feel like screaming to anyone that will listen at the many hosted dinner events....PLEASE STOP FEEDING ME!! I can't eat anymore!
But then that artisan chocolate torrone is set out in front of me and I am under its' spell..
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Special Life, Special Times, Special Recipe...
It wasn’t a life that would impress kings or queens or heads of state but it was a beautiful simple one- filled with children and a husband and grandchildren and food and cooking and lots of it!! I would like to dedicate this blog to a special aunt who passed away yesterday.
She was an inspiration to all of us. At 90 yrs old she was still cooking the Christmas Eve dinner on her own- all 7 fishes. The day before she died she had all her supplies ready to make the ‘calzones’ for a special day that is approaching on March 19th-St Joseph’s Day.
These are a special sweet calzone made with the paste of chickpeas, honey and cinnamon. Each year,my aunt made them with tender loving care-peeling the chickpeas first then mashing them in the food processor. Then mixing, mixing and then comes the dough and the frying and all the time to make these delights.
They were sort of like her recipe for life-simple but yet special and long in the making.
And if she left one special memory on this earth-other than her children and grandchildren- it will be those calzones. Something the family is sure to remember and sorely miss year after year.
Unfortunately, we won’t have any calzones for St. Joseph’s Day this year in my family but in memory of her wonderful life I would like to post the recipe. Hopefully right now St Joseph is thanking her for all the wonderful calzones she made in his honor..
http://www.roangelo.net/valente/stjoseph.html
Calzone di San Giuseppe
Dough:
1 lb flour
3 eggs
water if dough needs more moisture
Filling:
1/2 cup honey
1 lb of chick peas (pureed)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon oil
Oil for frying
Make dough like pasta dough & roll out with rolling pin or in a pasta machine. Place chick pease in processor and puree. Then add in cinnamon oil, sugar, honey. Proceed as usual for preparing calzoni. Cut dough into circles using a the rim of a water glass. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center, fold circle in half. And crimp edges with fork. Fry in hot oil till brown. Remove and dust with powdered sugar.
She was an inspiration to all of us. At 90 yrs old she was still cooking the Christmas Eve dinner on her own- all 7 fishes. The day before she died she had all her supplies ready to make the ‘calzones’ for a special day that is approaching on March 19th-St Joseph’s Day.
These are a special sweet calzone made with the paste of chickpeas, honey and cinnamon. Each year,my aunt made them with tender loving care-peeling the chickpeas first then mashing them in the food processor. Then mixing, mixing and then comes the dough and the frying and all the time to make these delights.
They were sort of like her recipe for life-simple but yet special and long in the making.
And if she left one special memory on this earth-other than her children and grandchildren- it will be those calzones. Something the family is sure to remember and sorely miss year after year.
Unfortunately, we won’t have any calzones for St. Joseph’s Day this year in my family but in memory of her wonderful life I would like to post the recipe. Hopefully right now St Joseph is thanking her for all the wonderful calzones she made in his honor..
http://www.roangelo.net/valente/stjoseph.html
Calzone di San Giuseppe
Dough:
1 lb flour
3 eggs
water if dough needs more moisture
Filling:
1/2 cup honey
1 lb of chick peas (pureed)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon oil
Oil for frying
Make dough like pasta dough & roll out with rolling pin or in a pasta machine. Place chick pease in processor and puree. Then add in cinnamon oil, sugar, honey. Proceed as usual for preparing calzoni. Cut dough into circles using a the rim of a water glass. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center, fold circle in half. And crimp edges with fork. Fry in hot oil till brown. Remove and dust with powdered sugar.
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