Una Notte in ITALIARachel ~ Tiffany
CUCINA!
Our first gourmet event it was SUCH fun, (and a lot of work! But worthy work!)
Our menu revolved around Italian dishes: Antipasti platter, homemade bread, Panzenella Salad, Maio Rigitoni, Sundried tomato stuff pork, White Chocolate Tirimisu & Polenta cookies!
We had fun creating this evening and can't wait for the next dining event!
The MENU
Cranberry Lime Bellini ~ The Rachel & Tiffany concoction!
Mix:
Cranberry Juice
Sierra Mist
Lime Sherbet
Garnish punch bowl with lime slices
~Antipasti ~ (before meal)
Tiffany’s Italian Stuffed mushrooms
1 package large mushrooms (your choice) washed, remove trimmed stems and chop fine w/remaining mushrooms.
3-4 T. butter or olive oil
3 green onions, whites & partial green, sliced
2 slices white bread, tear into small pieces
¼ cup Italian bread crumbs
3 oz. cream cheese
Sautee mushrooms in 3-4 tablespoons butter, 3-4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Remove from heat and stir in cream cheese until melted. Add extra seasonings to taste: Italian seasoning, garlic/onion powder, parmesan cheese. Fill each mushroom w/heaping teaspoon of filling into each mushroom. Top with Italian blend grated cheese. Drizzle with a little extra butter. Bake at 350* for 25 min. or until warmed through & browned.
Fried Ravioli w/Marinara
Olive oil for frying (bring to frying temp med, med-hi)
1 bag frozen or fresh cheese ravioli
1 cup butter milk
2 cups Italian bread crumbs
¼ c. grated parmesan cheese
Marinara of your choice or recipe below.
Thaw ravioli slightly. Pour buttermilk over ravioli. Coat one at a time in bread crumbs. Fry until ravioli floats or browned. Drain on paper towel & sprinkle with grated parm cheese. Serve warm-Enjoy with warmed marinara sauce!
homemade marinara: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/marinara-sauce-recipe/index.html
Pyhllo Wrapped Asaparagus – Paula Deen
8 or 9 asparagus spears, depending on size
1/2 (16-ounce) package frozen phyllo dough sheets, thawed
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. Unwrap the phyllo and cut the stack in half lengthwise. Reserve 1 stack for later use. Cover the phyllo with a damp towel to keep it from drying out. Take 1 sheet of phyllo and brush lightly with some melted butter. Sprinkle with some Parmesan. Place 2 to 3 asparagus spears on the short end of the sheet. Roll up, jelly-roll style. Place each piece, seam side down, on a baking sheet. Brush with more melted butter and sprinkle with more Parmesan. Repeat until all the asparagus spears are used up. Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.
Pancetta Bites (Italian version of Ramaki)
On a tooth pick, skewer:
1 inch green onion (green part)
1 Kalamata olive wrapped in fresh mozzarella
1 water chestnut wrapped in pancetta (Italian bacon)
(1 can water chestnuts, drained. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Wrap each water chestnut in pancetta, or bacon, and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until pancetta is crispy.)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, approx 2 cups (We used canned artichokes)
3 cups whole-wheat bread, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (we used Albertsons bakery: Sliced Labrea Whole Grain)
3 large, red tomatoes, cut into wedges (We used 1 basket grape tomatos)
1 cup pitted black olives, halved (we used the jumbo size)
3/4 cup chopped, fresh basil leaves (about 1 bunch)
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
Directions
Place a grill pan over medium-high, or preheat a gas or charcoal grill— (We used the broiler oven). Drizzle the bread and artichoke hearts with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the bread and artichokes until golden brown at the edges, about 6 minutes total, turning every 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bread and artichokes from the grill and transfer to a large bowl.
Add the tomatoes, olives and basil to the bowl and toss to combine. In a small bowl stir together the 2/3 cup olive oil, white wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Toss to combine and serve immediately. (We reserved the dressing so that the bread wouldn’t get soggy, great leftovers!)
LORRIE’S BREAD
4 cups warm water
1/2 c sugar
2 T yeast
proof the yeast for 1/2 hour
1/2 c. veg oil
hand full of salt (2 1/2 Tbsps)
Add to yeast mixture and wire whisk til all incorporated
MIX IN: add 2 to 3 cups flour at at time until can’t stir with wooden spoon (up 8-10)
and then sprinkle work surface with flour and and knead & add more flour as needed until it’s smooth elastic (no longer sticky).
Grease bowl and put the dough in and let rise (in oven) for 45 min.
After 45 min. take it out and punch it down
divide into four sections and put into greased bread pans & let rise for 1 hour.
Bake at 350* for 1/2 hour.
“Tuscan dining is simplicity perfected!”
“Maio” Family Rigitoni & Rachel’s Cucina Pane (Italian bread- using her family recipe)
Rigitoni:
Mix in a sauce pan and bring to boil:
1 small can Contadina tomato paste + 1 can h2o
3 small (8oz) can Contadina tomato sauce + 3 cans h2o
2-3 cloves freshly minced garlic
2-3 Tbsp. sugar (cuts acidity)
add to taste: salt, pepper, garlic & onion salt or powder, oregano, basil, thyme.
Grated parmesan cheese (Kraft) Enough to cover surface of sauce.
In a crockpot or large pot on stove, place 4-5 chicken legs or thighs with skin and bone + 3-4 chicken breasts. Pour sauce over chicken. Simmer approx. 4-5 hrs. Skim fat as desired.
Discard skin, bones & shred chicken, return to pot. Cook rigatoni (stove pipe shaped noodles) according to package. Add pasta to chicken and sauce- let simmer for 30 minutes. Garnish with grated Italian cheese blend.
~Secondi~
Sun dried Tomato & Spinach Porco
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 sun-dried tomatoes, diced (we used sundried tomato tapenade, below)
1 (10-ounce) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out (we used fresh)
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese (we omitted the goat cheese, our taste buds for it must need maturing.)
1/3 cup reduced-fat cream cheese (we added 1/3 more cream cheese due to the lack of goat cheese, or you could use mascarpone cheese.)
4 (4-ounce) center-cut pork chops
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Directions
Warm the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook until combined, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the goat cheese and the cream cheese. Stir to combine and set aside.
Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket into the thickest portion of the pork chop. Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the spinach and sun-dried tomato mixture and close the pork around the stuffing. Season the outside of the pork with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.
Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the pork. Cook until golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a side dish and tent with foil to keep warm. Add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as the chicken broth simmers. Reduce the broth by half to make a light sauce, about 8 minutes. Spoon some sauce over the pork before serving.
(We garnished with Italian flat leaf parsley & toasted pine nuts.)
~Dolici~
White Chocolate Tiramisu
White Chocolate Cream :
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces good quality white chocolate, broken into pieces
1/4 cup sugar
8 ounces mascarpone or cream cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup raspberry liqueur (creme de cassis) or raspberry-flavored syrup
16 very thin slices sponge or angel food cake (we used homemade pound cake, recipe below)
4 tablespoons grated bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
8 whole strawberries
Chocolate Leaves, for garnish:
1/2 cup grated semisweet chocolate
8 firm, fresh, clean leaves (be sure they are nonpoisonous or lemon leaves work well- we used clean silk leaves)
6 ounces whole raspberries
4 strawberries, halved
Directions
To make the white chocolate cream: heat the milk over low-medium heat until bubbles form around the edges of the saucepan. Place the white chocolate pieces in a small bowl and pour the hot milk over. Whisk until the chocolate is completely melted.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the sugar into the mascarpone. Set aside. In a small, chilled bowl, whip the cream with the vanilla until soft peaks form (do not overbeat.) Whisk the white chocolate mixture into the mascarpone. Fold in the whipped cream. The texture should be like lightly whipped cream; if it doesn’t “flow”, thin the mixture slightly by stirring in some milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Spoon the liqueur evenly over the cake slices. Place 1 slice of cake in the bottom of each goblet. Spoon half of the cream mixture over the cake slices (about 2 1/2 tablespoons for each slice.) Sprinkle each with 1/2 tablespoon of the grated chocolate. Slice 8 strawberries and place some slices over the chocolate in each goblet. Repeat the cake, cream and chocolate layers. Refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours.
To make the chocolate leaves: line a plate with waxed paper. In a double boiler over low heat, melt the grated semisweet chocolate. Remove the chocolate from the heat. Using a pastry brush, spread the underside of each leaf with a layer of chocolate. Place the painted leaves, chocolate side up, on the prepared plate. Freeze until the chocolate is set. Carefully peel the leaf off the chocolate, handling the chocolate leaf as little as possible. Return the leaves to the freezer if the chocolate is melting.
Just before serving, top each tiramisu with raspberries and garnish each with a strawberry half and chocolate leaves.
ITALIAN SANDWICH COOKIES
The polenta experience
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/italian-chocolate-sandwich-cookie-recipe/index.html
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal or polenta
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 orange, zested
Orange Filling:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick) (we used ¼ c. salted butter and 4 oz. cream cheese)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 orange, zested (we added 1 tsp vanilla)
Pinch salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
To make the Chocolate Cookies, in a large bowl use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy. In another medium bowl stir together the flour, cornmeal or polenta, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and orange zest. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir to combine using a wooden spoon. Place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap. Press the dough into a 1-inch high round. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.
Roll out the dough to between 1/8 and 1/4-inch thick. Use a 1 3/4-inch round cookie cutter to cut out the dough. Bake on a heavy baking sheet for 15 minutes. Place the baking sheets on a wire rack to cool cookies.
Meanwhile, to make the Orange Filling, combine the butter, powdered sugar, orange zest, and salt in a medium bowl. Use an electric mixer to cream the ingredients together.
To assemble the cookie sandwiches, place about 1 teaspoon of the Orange Filling on a cookie. Top with another cookie and press the cookies together. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 day.
Buno Appetito!
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