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

Greek Crostini & the Healthy Mediterranean Diet

We are honored to have as our guest author today-Felicia Mcclinton of MediterraneanRecipes.org with a deliciously healthy recipe for Greek Style Crostini

Greek Style Crostini
8 servings
288 calories per serving

Ingredients




1 lb   of  crusty bread

1 cup  of Greek Kalamata Olives

4 ounces  Greek Feta Cheese

4 tablespoons  Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 clove Garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste



This recipe is perfect for 8 persons and you can prepare it in 35 minutes. It is a very flavorful and sumptuous dish inspired by the Greek feta croutons and black olives. This is also one of the easiest recipes to prepare.



Preparation



Make 1.5-inch thick slices of bread. Place the sliced bread in the oven or toaster. Rub garlic on each slice of bread after toasting.



Meanwhile, cut the feta cheese into small cubes. Cut the olives into quarters or halves. In a separate mixing bowl, mix the cubed feta cheese and olives and season with olive oil. Make sure the toasted breads are still hot before sprinkling the cheese and olive mixture. Serve and Enjoy.

***About the Author - Felicia Mcclinton writes for the blog http://www.mediterraneanrecipes.org/ , her personal hobby blog she uses to help people learn how to make Mediterranean recipes to eat healthy to prevent diseases.


For more great recipes get your copy of the award winning book
The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions
*See you on May 25th at Javits Convention Ctr in NYC at 11 for a pre- book release book signing
*See you at Borders on May 8th at 2 PM for a book signing
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Visti Marialiberati.com

Gastronomy + Astronaut=Gastronaut

copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

I have begun to use a term that "I think'decribes more perfectly what I am
gastronaut

(combine the words gastronomy + astronaut= gastronaut)
 Journeying to obscure towns and places,discovering flavors and guiding to find special foods and flavors that may have been easy to find in the past but now are rare and considered gourmet. Why settle for the everyday tastes at your big box supermarket when you can excite your tastebuds with real flavor..

My favorite tastes for this past week were discovered  in  the town of Offida in the province of Le Marche where they make an excellent, refreshing Pecorino wine  and  a town called Pescasseroli in the national park of Abruzzo where you can find the best Pecorino cheese because the sheep that produce the milk to make this cheese feed off the greens in the unadulterated park there...

More 'gastronautic' adventures to come..
Maria
http://twitter.com/Marialiberati

Suitcase Full of Flavors

copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

Getting ready for a weekend at the beach. A suitcase full of flavors is what I am preparing...so many tastes and foods to cook with at the sea and I don't want to miss any. So I bring some flavors form home to cook with..organic rosemary from our garden..some golden potatoes grown locally..a few preserving jars in case it rains and I decide to preserve tomatoes
The tomatoes of Francavilla..ugly but are perfect for sugo (sauce).. the fresh fish market near home (at the beach) makes any seafood dish possible..

Menu for the weekend will be pasta asciutta (pasta with a freshly made tomato sauce) served with locally produced Pecorino wine. Linguine allla vongole (spaghetti with clams) tiny sweet clams from our local fish market....and served with a locally produced Trebbiano wine...bruschetta for dinner with locally produced mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil..side dish of the potatoes from home roasted with organic rosemary...and a weekend at the beach in the summer always means fresh watermelon for dessert and an evening passeggiata for gelato at our neighborhood gelato bar..can't substitute anything else..

Back to packing..and to make a quick run to our neighborhood forno (oven) to get some locally produced potato bread for a panino to take along for the ride..Not a fan of fast food 'on the road ' places.. A presto enjoy the end of summer weekend......
Get your copy of  the just released....The Basic Art of Holidays & Special Occasions
over 140 recipes ,menus, tips for the Holidays and more...


Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,


Maria
http://twitter.com/Marialiberati

Spaghetti in Rome

copyright 2009, Maria Liberati
Here is a recipe for one of my favorite pasta dishes..brought to mind because I just enjoyed a dish at one of my favorite restaurants in Rome-
Serve with Chianti wine in recipe, dine al fresco as we did in Rome-for an added touch..


La Matriciana

for 4 people

*1 lb of pasta (spaghetti, bucatini,rigatoni)
½ onion
1 clove of garlic
¼ pound bacon (optional), cut into thin strips
3 tblsps of extra virgin olive oil
½ cup of dry white wine (Chianti)
½ tblsp of white wine vinegar
5-6 leaves of fresh basil
¼ of a dry, hot ,red pepper
a pinch of black pepper
2 lbs of ripe red plum tomatoes
¼ cup of pecorino romano cheese freshly grated

Place olive oil in saute pan and warm, place in bacon and chopped onion, hot red pepper, garlic .Saute until onion begins to become golden. Pour in wine and let liquid evaporate. Then add in the tomatoes that have been fileted (seeds removed) and fresh basil leaves.
Saute on medium heat for approx 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
Cook the pasta till al dente. Drain and place in sauce, toss and place in half of the grated cheese, toss. Serve each portion with a pinch of black pepper and more grated cheese.

Asparagus- the fleeting vegetable!

One of the greatest summer vegetables is also one of the most fleeting. Asparagus is available year round if you know where to look and are willing to pay the price, but the season for fresh asparagus in the northeast is a 6-7 week window that must be taken advantage of if not missed entirely. Asparagus is not only delicious but packed with nutrients like potassium, fiber, vitamins B6, A, and C. A perfect side dish or accompaniment to almost any summer dish, these green spears beg to be cooked simply, seasoned well and eaten outside at a summer barbecue.

Green asparagus is the most familiar type to the average supermarket cart pusher, but seeking out farmers markets can yield interesting if not colorful results. Asparagus also comes in white and purple forms which provide even more uses for the summer perennial. Purple asparagus derives its color from additional anthrocyanin which also give color to beets, blackberries and eggplant. Purple asparagus also has a higher sugar content giving it a sweeter taste.

White asparagus is known as a delicacy and is a great deal more expensive than its green and purple cousins. Grown in the dark, the lack of sunlight stops photosynthesis and blocks chlorophyll from forming. Farmers used to just cover the spears with dirt when they first began to pop out of the ground, but this resulted in a sort of blind harvesting that would damage the asparagus. Now they are grown in black polyhouses which allow minimal light through to the actual plant.

My favorite way to enjoy asparagus are simply grilled over charcoal or wood, covered in olive oil, seasoned liberally with salt and topped with parmigiano-reggiano cheese. I use the leftovers the next day for a delicious asparagus frittata.

Grilled asparagus

You will need:
1 bunch asparagus
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 cup freshly ggrated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Begin by cleaning the asparagus. Take each spear in your hand and snap off the root end gently where it naturally breaks. This removes the tough, fibrous part of the plant while leaving the entire edible spear intact. Toss spears in olive oil and place across the grates of a hot grill so they don’t fall between the cracks. Close the lid for two minutes. Take the spears off the grill once they have turned a bright shade of green and are tender but still have a little bit of bite to them. Season with salt, fresh cracked black pepper and top with parmigiano -reggiano cheese.

Asparagus Frittata

You will need:

Last night’s leftover asparagus, approx 1/2 bunch cooked and cooled
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 white onion, small dice
2 garlic cloves minced
6 eggs beaten
Salt and pepper
Parmiginao-reggiano cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut asparagus spears down into 1/2” chunks reserving six whole spears. Melt butter in an oven proof skillet over medium heat and add onion and garlic and sweat until tender, about five minutes. Add the eggs and asparagus. Season with salt, pepper and cheese and bake in the oven for ten minutes or until the eggs are almost set. Place the six whole spears on top of the frittata in a star shape and top with more parmigiano cheese. Finish baking until eggs are completely set, cheese is melted and asparagus on top is hot.


Hope to see you all on June 4th at Foster's Gourmet in Philadelphia for The Basic Art of Italian COoking Shcool Tuscan Picnic dinner. Email events@marialiberati.com for info

Jume 2nd The Basic Art of Italian COoking School goes to the Kenilworth Library in Kenilworth, NJ for a class on Cooking on a Budget with The Basic Art of Italian Cooking. For more info email: events@marialiberati.com

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Summer's Here-Eat Healthy Tuscan style

Now that summer is officially here and fresh veggies are aplenty, here is a health yand delicious recipe, easy too. A great way to eat healthy and delicious, it also uses the Tuscan Picnic spice product I developed in Tuscany, it has been sold in limited markets in the US but has developed quite a following..will soon be in your local market.

Vegetable Ragu-Tuscan style

*6 medium eggplants
*1 red onion
*2 carrots
*3 potatoes
*4 ounces fresh string beans
*4 red ripe tomatoes
*1-2 tsps Tuscan Picnic
*4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Clean and cut all vegetables into chunks, except for string beans. Clean and cut string beans in half.
Place olive oil in bottom of large soup pot with a clove of garlic. Heat for 1 minute, then place in vegetables and Tuscan picnic. Stir. Pour in 1 cup water. Cover. Cook mixture for 45 minutes, uncover every 10-15m inutes, stir and pour in more liquid if necessary. This can also be cooked in crock pot.
This can be served as a Vegetarian second course or as a side dish.


Hope to see you on June 4th at Foster's Gourmet store in Philadelphia for The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Tuscan Picnic class. Email events@marialiberati.com to register or for more info.

ALso I wil be onstage at the Horsham Days event in Deep Meadow Park in Horsham PA. Look forward to seeing you all. Email events@marialiberati.com for info

Get your copy of the bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com

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Maria
http://twitter.com/marilaiberati

Grilling For Your Health

Grilling for Your Health

Done right, grilling can be one of the healthiest ways to cook. While there has been some talk in recent years associating grilling with cancer causing agents, there are steps that can be taken to reduce that risk. The risk is actually associated with the formation of certain cancer causing substances on food exposed to high heat and flame, which can occur with other cooking methods as well.

The good news is that it has been found that the use of certain herbs, popular in the Mediterranean diet, such as basil, mint, thyme, rosemary, oregano and sage, dramatically reduced the formation of some of these substances. These herbs are also commonly found in marinades, which add flavor and reduce the formation of the free radicals that have been associated with an increased risk of cancer, when the meat is exposed to a high degree of heat.

Of course, selecting healthier foods from the get-go can make grilling an even healthier option for your family, and an enjoyable activity in the warmer months of the year. While experts are now recommending a reduction in the amount of red meat in the diet to no more than 18 ounces per week, leaner meats, such as chicken and fish, are also excellent cooked on the grill. You should trim any excess fat from your meat before cooking (regardless of your cooking method, really). Choose fresh meat over frozen whenever possible (one of the key principles of the Mediterranean diet, remember?), and try to avoid processed meats such as hot dogs or sausage.

We know that fish is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, those wonderful cholesterol-reducing agents. Eating three meals of fish per week can reduce blood clotting, boost your immune function and help reduce heart disease.

Vegetables are also an excellent choice for a cook-out. As always, fresh local produce is best and richest in nutrients. Try to slice your vegetables so that the most surface area will be in contact with the grill surface. This will cause vegetables to be the most flavorful.

Do you have any great grilling ideas to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!

May 15th & 16th- Hope to see you at Bethesda Row's (in Bethesda, Maryland)Stylish Events. I will be discussing my bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking and doing a cooking demo eac hday from the book at Bella Italia-the stylish store inside Bethesda Row. Free and open. Email events@marialiberati.com ro go to Bethesda Row for more info..See you then

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