Ciambellone & A Trip Back in Time

My visit today to the medieval Abbey of Casamari in the province of Frosinone was a visit back to the medieval  pharmacies where many of the medicinal herbal formulas were discovered by the Benedictine monks here and brought to the world. The liqueurs and honeys also have medicinal properties to them and they are all produced at the Abbey in a traditional way, all fruits,herbs, plants used are all grown organically by the monks there..a virtual trip back in time.. After Sunday mass (said by the monks in Latin), and a visit to the Abbey's pharmacy and store the open air market beckoned.
The fragrance of freshly made (locally) made ciambellone were almost calling my name. These particularly local ciambellone made with anise seeds and boiled then baked (like  a bagel) are a typical product from  this region, but now they are difficult to find.
 They bring back memories of my grandmother (who made her own delicious version of these for breakfast) telling stories of how she would go to her local town bakery ( in the town of Venafro, Italy) in the morning and get them freshly baked for breakfast... my great aunt (her older  sister)  owned the bakery and was the head baker there.... These locally baked treats have been almost impossible to locate ..so this was a real trip back in time..and an unexpected culinary treat..mmm..a piece of local  cheese with a  hot,freshly baked ciambellone..could not have dreamed of a better lunch...can not even describe the expereince..it was one to be savored....
Here is another version of a classic ciambellone that is like a pound cake, delicious also and a little bit easier to make..while I pull out my recipe for the ciambellone I feasted on today..

Ciambellone Classico

2 cups all purpose flour or cake flour sifted

¾ cup sugar

½ cup melted butter

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt



peel of 1 lemon

extra flour and butter for greasing pan



Work together the sugar and eggs. Blend in flour and melted butter. Work the dough till it is asmooth blended dough and add in the baking powder and salt and lemon peel. Butter and flour a cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Should be golden on top. Remove from oven and cool. You can decorate the top with a dusting of powdered sugar or shaved dark chocolate.

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Herb Cheese Muffins

One of my favorite recipes for winter menus are these herbed cheese muffins..great to accompany dishes or serve as an appetizer or alongside cheese or a salad for a light meal.
This weekend was spent shopping at some of the local farmers markets..my stylish shopping bags were great..I could be stylish and help the environment at the same time. Get $25 off any purchase use coupon code :maria2509 when shopping/..no minimum purchase required
Herb Cheese Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour


½ scallion

4 ounces of fontina cheese (can substitute provolone or asiago cheese also)

tsp of fresh thyme

tsp of freshly chopped parsley

2 tblsps of grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

4 ounces unsalted butter

1 tsp of baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

3 eggs

dash of white pepper

dash of slat



Chop parsley and thyme together. Chop finely. Chop scallion finely and add to the herbs.

In a bowl place in flour, baking powder, soda, grated parmigiano cheese, white pepper ,salt. Mix with wooden spoon. Set aside.



In another bowl, whisk the eggs with a wire whisk. Add to that melted butter, milk. Add in chopped herbs and blend with wooden spoon. Add in the fontina cheese cut into small cubes. Blend with wooden spoon.



Pour flour mixture into egg mixture and blend lightly with wooden spoon. Butter muffin cups and place 2-3 tblsps of muffin mix in muffin cups. Cook for 25 minutes at a preheated oven of 400 degrees.

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.

The Year of the Cookie...

Could this be the year of cookies? With so many cookbooks about cookies being released –everyone from Martha Stewart to…. well everybody has been has been talking cookies.
And there is now doubt why. These goodies go back as long as baking has been documented. One reason is because they travel well. Their origins have been traced to 7th century AD Persia, when the use of sugar became common. By the 14th century they were common in all levels of society throughout Europe from royalty to common street vendors.

Most of us have treasured memories of baking cookies in the kitchen with a relative or a special occasion filled with a particular cookie. But today we have gone ‘cookie crazy’. There are so many varieties that cookies have now become upscale. Why the trend now is to give not only gourmet wines and dressings as gifts but also gourmet cookies now make wonderful gifts.
These delights have become special enough to give as a gift. They have also gone organic. Mnay companies ar now offering pre baked cookies with organic flours, sugar adn butter.
Of course, it is nice to bake a batch of someone’s favorite flavor for a gift or to show our appreciation..but who has the time??? and now you can get mail order cookies shipped to someone special.
What a great idea..cookies as gifts. A thank you gift.. a romantic gift, a corporate gift, a birthday gift…a just to say’ your kindness is appreciated’ gift.
A gourmet cookie is a gift for the taste buds but also for your mind-sort of therapy to make you happy!!
In Italy we call cookies- biscotti and here is a recipe for some..
Biscotti alle Nocciole
2egg whites
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
½ cup ground hazelnuts
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place sugar and egg whites in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Add in
‘flour, and egg yolk. Blend all in well with wooden spoon.
Butter a cookie sheet. Drop dough by the spoonful onto cookie sheet with space between each cookie mound .Sprinkle each cookie with ground hazelnuts. Bake for 5 minutes, then raise oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 5 minutes more. Remove from oven. Makes 6 servings.

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Ciao for now!!Maria
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