A truce, a birthday and english soup

Okay Texas- I'm calling a truce. Since we'll be living in Texas for God know how long, I need to make peace with the state. I guess it's not that bad- out of the month and a half we've been here we've had sunshine every day. And yes, its hot, but its not too humid, so it feels good.

Besides the weather, Texas has a lot to offer. It is the biggest state in the union, so there's so much to do and see. We've been to Dallas a few times, and are looking forward to trips all around the state. So I guess Texas and I can be friends. Whew- our little feud was getting tiring.

Now that that's out of the way- I had a recipe for you ( or y'all as the Texans would say).
Yesterday was Gian Luca's birthday and to celebrate, I made his favorite dessert Zuppa Inglese.

Zuppa Inglese translates to "English Soup" and the only reason I can think of for the name is that this dessert is like an English Triffle and is sometimes served in a bowl.

Originally created to use the scraps from a cake, Zuppa Inglese is layers of cake, cream, chocolate, coffee and Alchermes, a spicy, sweet liquor from Italy.


It's almost impossible to find Alchermes here in America. I actually just googled it and no one sells it. It's not even imported and there are no recipes to make a bath-tub version either.

Last year, for Gian Luca's birthday I drove to all the best wine shops in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, asking everyone who I talked to about it. No one had ever heard of it, and back then, I didn't know what it tasted like, so my only description of the liquor was that it was bright red. Upon hearing this, people in the first two stores led me to the Campari, which is bitter and wonderful but nothing at all like Alchermes. I gave up in frustration and made Tiramisu instead.
This June, when we went to Italy, Gian Luca's mom bought us a bottle to take home. If you're interested in getting a bottle you apparently have to do the same. Or ask a friend who's going to Italy.
If no one you know is going to Italy any time soon, you can still make the Zuppa Inglese because the rest of the ingredients are delicious, even without the Alchermes. And if you want the beautiful splash of red color- just fake it and use grenadine.

Zuppa Inglese can be made with either Savoiardi ( Dried Lady Fingers) or Pan di Spagnia ( yes, translated that means "bread from Spain"- what an international dessert!). It was impossible for me to find the Savoiardi here in Texas, so I opted for the Pan di Spagnia, which I can easily make at home.

Basically Pan di Spagnia is Italy's version of Angel Food Cake, though you don't have to bake it in a tube pan or hang it upside down on a bottle ( I never understood the need for that!). My mom's version of Pan di Spagnia ( see recipe below) is make in a 9 inch spring form pan, which makes it easy to remove.

But even if you break the cake, or, if like me, you don't cook it long enough and the center turns out a bit raw, it's not big deal. Zuppa Inglese is made by layering pieces of cake with cream, so feel free to cut, tear, or rip off big hunks of your freshly baked Pan di Spagnia.

The cream in Zuppa Inglese is Crema Pasticchiera- Italian Pastry cream, which can also be used in a variety of desserts like Italian Rum Cake, or cream puffs. Its lemony and not too sweet, perfect for a Zuppa Inglese.

Besides the cake and the cream, all you need is a little chocolate powder or chocolate chips and a nice strong double shot of espresso.

My husband was on to something with this one. Who wouldn't love a dessert that combines Liquor, Cream, Chocolate and Espresso?
Happy Birthday Gian Luca!




Zuppa Inglese:
Zuppa Inglese can be made as one large Trifle, or in individual glasses, as I did. This recipe makes enough for six people and can be kept in the fridge for one day.

Pan di Spagnia
5 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking powder


1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan with wax paper. Set aside
2) In a large bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar until soft yellow ( about two minutes)
3) In a different bowl, beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
4) Sift together flour and baking soda.
5) Alternate folding the egg whites into the yolks, adding a small bit of flour after each incorporation. Repeat until all the egg whites and flour have been added.
6) pour into prepared pan and tap the pan against the counter a few times to settle any air bubbles.
7) bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.


8) For the Crema Pasticchiera recipe click here

9) Once you've made your cake and cream, and the cream has chilled for at least an hour, take half of the cream and place it in a separate bowl. Set the rest aside.
10) depending on whether you like dark or semi-sweet chocolate, you can either add coco-powder to the cream, stirring until incorporated, or you can melt 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and stir that into the cream. I actually did a mixture of both.
11) Brew a double shot of espresso and add a shot of hot water to weaken it a bit.
12) Cut the cake into cubes and begin layering you Zuppa Inglese like so: Cake, coffee poured directly on top, a drop of Alchermes ( or grendine), plain crema, and chocolate crema. Repeat as necessary.

When it rains...

Whoever invented the saying, " when it rains, it pours," must have lived in our apartment in Texas. If you've been reading this blog, you know that the Lone Star state and I don't really get along too well, and my last week proved that things were not getting any better.

It all started last Thursday when I left the apartment for a mere 10 minutes to go the laundry room and throw a load of wash in the machine. I returned to find a small lake in the middle of my apartment floor. I thought we had just left the state of 10,000 lakes, but apparently, I was wrong. Though I couldn't locate the source of the leak, I cleaned up the mess and called maintenance. Little did I know this would be one of the 17 phone calls I'd make over the next six days, or that the bucket full of water that I wrung out of rags would be the first of many that we'd have to deal with.

Yes, that's right, our apartment flooded for six days before management finally called a plumber.

At a certain point during day two of the floods, I needed to bake a cake to bring to a friend's house for dinner. Since I couldn't exactly leave the apartment, lest a plumber finally show up only to be locked out of the place, I had to make do with what I had in the kitchen. I found some flour, sugar, butter and nectarines. Since we still don't have internet in our place (don't even ask) searching for a recipe on google was out.

Naturally I turned to Martha, and found a delicious looking recipe for a skillet cake in the August issue of Martha Stewart Living. I don't have a skillet but the recipe said I could use an 8-inch cake pan instead.

Since I was using a cake pan, I forgot that this cake is called a Skillet Cake for a reason, and as I prepped the ingredients, whipped the butter and sugar, and sliced super thin slices of nectarines, I never once pondered the name. I had never made or eaten a skillet cake, so I was blindly unaware that it is to be served in the skillet. It makes sense, I know, but Martha also forgot to mention it in her recipe ( tisk tisk). So when the beautiful plump cake had completely cooled I thought it appropriate to try to flip it out of its pan. After all, I certainly didn't want to bring a luscious cake to someone's house in a cake pan. That would be like dressing a Van Gough painting in an Ikea frame.

I slipped a plate over the cake and inverted it. Nothing happened. I tapped the bottom of the pan one, twice, three times. No luck. The cake wasn't budging. I should have stopped there. But no, I was determined, full of frustration from my floor and the phone calls which had been ignored, and the way that management was treating us. So I flipped the cake upside down on a plate and whacked it, causing the center to fall out in big crumbs.

Then I understood why it is called a Skillet Cake. You're not supposed to take it out, instead, you're supposed to serve it right in there. I was so mad at myself that I wanted to scream or cry or at least, call Gian Luca and have him tell me it was no big deal.

Then the floor started flooding again. And as tears rolled down my face, I realized there was nothing I could do so I took a piece of the cake in my hands and ate it. At least it tasted good.

Plum Skillet Cake
Photo and Recipe Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Serves 4

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for skillet
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for skillet
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Coarse salt
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 2 ripe medium plums, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch ovenproof skillet (preferably cast-iron); dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk.
2. Pour batter into prepared skillet, and smooth top with an offset spatula. Fan plums on top, and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Summer Muffins

Sorry for another post without pictures but we still haven't gotten this internet fixed!

I love reading, always have, always will. And I especially love reading in the summer ( chalk it up to all those lazy mornings on the beach).
Last summer I started a tradition of reading food memoirs* because they're fast, usually fun, and easy to enjoy when your feet is in the sand. And even though we're not near a beach this year, I still picked up a nice food memoir to enjoy by the pool. Though this one was not all about the food.

You may know Paul Deen from her food network shows but trust me, you do not know the real Ms. Deen until you've read her book It Ain't All About the Cookin'
In it, she shares her rags- to- riches story in her famous comforting tone. Really, the more I read the more I felt like I was sitting at Aunt Paula's table drinking a cup of coffee with her. (After reading, you'll want to call her Aunt Paula too).

Paula Deen's tale is not only inspirational, its also full of recipes.

Now I'm not a big fan of cooking southern food, and we all know Aunt Paula is the queen of butter and mayo. If you read my blog you'll know that I'm not a butter or mayo queen, so I am hesitant to try most of her recipes.

But when I came across her recipe for "The Best Damn Blueberry Muffins You'll Ever Eat" I had to give them a try.
Well Aunt Paula didn't lie. They really are the best: moist and cakey, with lost of juicy fruit and a crackly sugar topping. Perfect for a summer brunch.

Give them a try and let me know what you think.


Paula Deen's Blueberry Muffins

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick melted butter
1 egg ( lightly beaten)
3/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup brown or white sugar

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12 cup muffin pan.
2) In a large bow, combine the flour, baking powder and sugar. Set aside.
3) In a smaller bowl, combine the butter, egg, and milk. Mix well
4) Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring until all the dry is incorporated.
5) Gently fold in the blueberries, careful not the break them.
6) Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each one 2/3 of the way full.
7) Bake for ten minutes.
8) Remove muffins and top with brown or white sugar. Return to oven for an additional ten- twenty minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
9) Let cool in pan for ten minutes before turning out.
Enjoy with a nice tall glass of milk.


*send me your recommendations. I need a new book to read!

A re-vamp

This is just a quick note to say that I've re-vamped my other blog Cipolliness. Please take a look and let me know what you think!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a fabulous summer recipe, and ( hopefully) a picture too!

Learning to Love

My mom makes a mean gnocchi. Seriously, people line up for them at my brother's restaurant and there's major drama when we run out. I've seen it. Now, as I understand the demand for the gnocchi- ( they are the most fluffy and light pillows of pasta you'll ever taste), I have a confession to make: I'm not a big fan. It's nothing against the gnocchi, I just prefer dried pasta to fresh ( with the exception of lasagna which I'd eat everyday if my metabolism allowed it).

Consequently, my husband loves gnocchi. I think they're his # 2 pasta choice ( second only to pici) and I'm fairly certain they're the only fresh pasta he has ever made (and he's made them on more than one occasion). Really, he is so happy smashing those potatoes up and rolling them with flour to make dough- it's a sight to see. I love my husband, and would do anything for him, so I make the little devils and lovingly eat them, dreaming of penne or capellini with each bite.

And since we've moved to Texas, I've done a lot of dreaming, as in daydreaming about strolling through the streets of Rome or lounging on the beach in Stone Harbor. And again, its not that I mind Texas, its just that I miss NJ and even ( gasp!) Minneapolis ( one year ago I never thought I'd say that). And yes, I know that probably by this time next year I'll be loving Texas just as much as any other place I've ever lived, but right now, its just okay.

As is always the case when you move, it takes a certain amount of time to adjust. And the other day I was just about at my melt-down point. We live in a beautiful apartment which is so different from any apartment I've ever lived in because it is nestled in a super-community of condos and apartments all of which are snuggled right up next to each other. The benefits are great- the kitchen is beautiful, we have not one but two pools, and the grounds are amazingly green, even in this terrible heat. The downsides are little things, like cable and internet that just don't work ( this post has been a two day effort due to varying wireless service), which all seem to add up when you are constantly on the phone trying desperately to remedy the situation. Which is exactly where I was on Thursday.

After spending one hour on the phone with the internet company ( apparently not only the internet service is slow) I'd about had it. So I decided to make homemade pasta. I realize that sounds funny, but people are comforted by all sorts of things, and my biggest comfort is making things by hand. Since we needed to have dinner, I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and whip up some pasta. When I saw the five pound bag of potatoes untouched in my kitchen, I decided gnocchi were on the menu.

And soon I was smashing the potatoes ( and my frustrations) through a ricer and rolling them out with flour and an egg yolk. Frankly, it was fun, and I was happy knowing that Gian Luca would be pleasantly surprised when he come back from work.

As the gnocchi was cooking I made a quick sauce by heating some extra virgin olive oil and garlic and tossing in some slices of fresh tomato. I finished it off with some basil from my garden ( another benefit of Texas).

Just as I was loving life, the sink decided to regurgitate someone else's food ( ah the joys of apartment living). The entire sink clogged and up floated a straw and a plastic knife ( how is that even possible?). Luckily it didn't overflow, so I didn't break my stride. I just turned my back on that sink and focused on the stove.

When Gian Luca came home he was so happily surprised by the gnocchi, that I don't think he minded the fact that after dinner he'd be plunging out the sink.

And as we were eating I realized that I really did enjoy the gnocchi- I wasn't dreaming of anything else this time. And if I could learn to love that pasta, surely I could learn to love the great state of Texas. It might just take a while, but I'm hanging in there.

* sorry there are no pictures for this post- the internet is too slow to upload them. :)

Graziella's Potato Gnocchi
Serves 2-4

4 russet or Idaho potatoes
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup grated parmiggiano cheese
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg *

* optional

1) Boil peeled potatoes in salted water until soft.
2) Mash hot potatoes through a ricer or food mill into a large bowl. Let cool slightly.
3) Add egg yolk, salt, nutmeg, cheese and flour. Mix well and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface.
4) Knead into a ball of dough. The mixture should be soft and pliable. If it is too sticky add a little more flour.
5) cut 1/16th of the dough and roll into a rope about 1/2" thick. Cut the rope into 1" pieces.
6) (This step is optional) Make an indent with your thumb or the back of a fork ( of the dull side of a cheese grater) into each gnocchi ( this will allow sauce to coat the gnocchi.
7) Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to boil. Add gnocchi.
8) When they float to the surface cook them for an additional minute then remove with a slotted spoon or strainer.
9) serve with your favorite sauce.

The gnocchi are best served fresh, but the uncooked gnocchi can be frozen for up to one month.

Enjoy!

Along the Way

Yesterday was one of those miraculous days where I effortlessly crossed off all the things on my to-do list. And I had a lot to do. Since moving to Texas I feel like I've been running a mile a minute trying to get things all in order. But now that I have a second to breathe, I'd like to share a very important topic with you all. BBQ.

Now I know what you're thinking, and trust me, I'm not converting to Texas cuisine just yet. In fact, we don't even have a BBQ in our apartment. But since we did just drive 1,400 miles south, I figure I need to pay tribute to some good old cookin'. And that's just what we did in Memphis.

Some people might think its strange to plan your travel route based on food, but I'm sure none of you reading would think we were weird for doing so. Especially when the reward is world famous BBQ. And the stop is technically along the way. Yes, I'm talking about Charles Vergos' Rendezvous BBQ. Some of you may have seen the restaurant on TV or read about it in a travel magazine, and I'm here to verify that it was THAT good.
We planned our trip to make it there by 5 since they don't take reservations and there's always a wait (I and since we still had 2 hours of driving to do after dinner). We were lucky to get there when we did, because just minutes after we were sat, the line grew and eventually was wrapped around the block.
The ribs are the most popular item, so we both went right for them, and in about five minutes we were served the famous dry rubbed ribs. I was surprised by the lack of sauce, but as the menu says, the ribs are so good, you don't need sauce. They weren't lying either. Those ribs were so good Gian Luca ordered a second order.

And as we got back into our car for the rest of the drive, we felt happy and fully welcomed to the south.

A month without cooking

Hello blogger friends. It's been a while.
And as you can see from the title of this post, I've been out of the kitchen for a while too.. but all for good reason.
Gian Luca and I have been in transit; a few weeks ago we moved out of Minneapolis and took off for Italy. After two incredible weeks with family and friends we landed in New Jersey to stay with my parents. We're here for another week, most of which will be in Stone Harbor, helping out at my brother's restaurant Ristorante Luciano ( I promise I'll post pictures soon). Then its off to Texas.

Since I've been out of the kitchen, I only have two little photos from our trip to Italy.

The first is of Montepulciano, Gian Luca's home town in Tuscany, where we spent the first part of our Italian vacation with his parents and friends. From there we traveled to Prato for our friends' wedding, then to Pienza, San Quirico d'Orcia, and finally Siena.


Then we hopped on a midnight but to go down to Salandra, my mother's hometown in Basilicata, where we spent four days with my family.

The second picture is from Matera, a city in Basilicata famous for i Sassi, homes carved out of the mountainside.
I promise I'll be back in the kitchen soon! Ciao ciao!