Things I love in the kitchen

Do you remember when our mothers and grandmothers used the very noisy pressure cooker on top of the stove? Things have changed since then, this beautiful electric pressure cooker will cook your beens in a very short time. I have had this for over a year now and I love it!

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

www.bedbathandbeyond.com

Shop for Cuisinart Pressure Cooker at Bed Bath & Beyond. Also shop for Slow Cookers/Rice Cookers,Kitchen Electrics. Cuisinart’s 1000 watt state-of-the-art pressure cooker allows you to create delicious dishes while locking in flavors, vitamins and nutrients of your meat and vegetables. Features Fing…

Pumpkin cake with bourbon glaze

Here we go my first pumpkin cake of the season.

Everybody loves this cake and  they  always ask me for the recipe.

I can’t believe how easy this is, it will really take you 10 minutes to make.

The bourbon syrup is fantastic and brings this simple cake to another level.

Happy fall!

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 12×18 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, cloves and black pepper . Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Spread batter into prepared 12×18 inch pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Bourbon Syrup

1/2 c butter

1 c sugar

1/2 c bourbon

Melt butter with sugar in a small heavy saucepan; whisk in bourbon. Bring to a boil; boil, whisking constantly for 3 minutes.

You may drizzle the syrup on top of the warm cake.

truffled egg salad sandwiches

Sweet little things perfect for a party or a Sunday afternoon. 

INGREDIENTS

• 8 eggs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoon cream fresh
• Truffle salt, to taste
• 8 slices white sandwich bread
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 teaspoons of chives

PREPARATION

Fill a pan with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Gently lower the eggs into the water and cook for 9 1/2 minutes. Drain. When cool enough, peel the eggs. In a bowl, mash the eggs, then add the olive oil, cream fresh and mayonnaise and continue mashing until smooth and pale yellow, fold the chives. Season to taste with truffle salt.

Remove the crusts from the bread. Toast the slices, then cut in half diagonally. Rub each piece with the garlic clove, then spoon on the egg salad.

Rose petals and pistachio ice cream bonbons

 It is believed that in ancient Greek or Roman days foot runners brought snow from Mount Etna to Taormina or Catania to be flavoured with nuts or berries and honey. It was a treat reserved for aristocrats. In the ninth century the Arabs introduced sugar cane, and this revolutionised Sicilian cooking. Before the ninth century local honey was used to sweeten Sicilian ices and sorbets. Sicilian gelato (ice cream), as it has come to us, is probably an Arab invention based on sorbet made with cane sugar, though its earliest origins, like that oftorrone, are clearly Roman.

From ( Best of Sicily  magazine)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups heavy cream
• 6 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoons dry rose petal
• ¼ cup crushed, raw, unsalted pistachios

Method:

Heat the cream, milk and rose petals over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until the mixture is just below the boil. In a small bowl beat together the egg yolks, honey and vanilla until the mixture is smooth. Add about ¼ cup of the hot cream mixture to the yolks stirring vigorously so the eggs won’t scramble. Add warmed yolk mixture back to the heated cream, whisking constantly over low heat until the mixture thickens slightly,  3 to 5 minutes. Strain the mixture and cool completely in ice water bath.

Pour the cooled custard into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s directions. When finished churning , remove the ice cream and fold in the pistachios, mixing well to distribute evenly. Freeze ice cream until ready to serve.

For the Bonbons

3/4 lbs chopped chocolate (bittersweet, milk and/or white, separated)

2 TBLS vegetable oil

pistachios and rose petals for decoration

Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and place it in the freezer for an hour.

Working quickly with a melon baller, scoop the ice cream into twelve ½” round balls. Place the balls on the frozen sheet pan about 1” apart. In the ice cream gets too soft as you are working, return it to the freezer. Stick a sturdy toothpick in the center of each ice cream ball, making sure it stands up straight. Place the pan back in the freezer and freeze until very hard.

Melt the chocolate and the oil in the microwave. Stir until the chocolate is completely smooth and shiny. Pour into a small bowl and let cool slightly.

Using the toothpick as a handle, quickly dip the ice cream balls in the chocolate, turning to coat evenly. Let the excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Set the bonbons on the sheet pan and return to the freezer until the chocolate shells harden, at least 5 minutes. If you wish, spread the cookie crumbs on the sheet pan. Transfer pan to the freezer until they are ready to serve. The bonbons can be made a day or two in advance.

Sicilian bread

Baking bread must be done with love and patience.

Making bread is a magical thing, sharing the  bread  that you have made is even more wonderful  and magical.

I hope you try this recipe during the cold winter months and fill your home with the wonderful smell of bread.

1 ½ cups warm water (115F)

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

3 ½ cups semolina flour

1 ½ teaspoons salt

Sesame seeds

Combine ½ cup of water, the yeast and ½ cup of the flour in a stand mixer. Stir to dissolve and allow to proof for 20 minutes.

Add remaining water, salt and as much of the remaining flour as needed and mix on medium speed to create a ball of dough that is just slightly tacky and winds around the dough hook. Let dough rest in the mixer for 5 minutes, then mix again on medium speed for 3 or 4 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl; cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise. When risen, punch down and place in a plastic container or bag and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the dough from refrigerator and transfer it to a bowl, cover and allow it to come to room temperature.

Lightly flour a work surface and knead the dough for about 4 minutes, then shape into a 10 inch round and place on a parchment lined baking sheet or baking peel. Cover and allow dough to rise until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Place the stone in  the oven and heat it 30 minutes prior to baking the bread. Score the top of the dough with a lame, razor or sharp knife. Brush the top of the bread with water and sprinkle the sesame seeds evenly over the top.

Transfer the dough off the peel directly onto the stone with the parchment paper. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the bread is nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped. Half-way through the baking, pull away the parchment paper from the dough.

If baking on a baking sheet, place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 25- 30 minutes or until the bread is nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped.

Jam tart

One of the first dessert that I ever prepared was a tart. In Italy this is one of the most loved dessert, perfect for breakfast or with a cup of tea in the afternoon.

 

2 1/4 cup unbleached flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 ts salt

grated zest from one lemon

1 3/4 sticks of butter cold and cut into small cubes

1 egg and 1 yolk

1 1/2 cup apricot jam

in the food processor place the dry ingredients, including the lemon peel, and pulse 4 times.

Scatter the cold butter over the flour and pulse about 12 times.

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and with the machine running add the liquids and mix until the dough comes together.

Form a  ball and wrap in plastic and with a rolling pin make a 1″ thick disk, refrigerate for 30 min.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, divide it into 2/3 for the bottom and 1/3 for the top strips.

Roll the larger piece of dough on a lightly floured surface and transfer in a buttered tart pan.

Fill the tart with the jam and spread into the crust evenly.

Roll the rest of the dough and cut 1″ strips with a pizza cutter or knife and place the strips onto the tart criss crossing them.

Brush the top with a little cream or egg (beat the egg in a small bowl with a fork) and bake for 30 to 40 minutes in a preheated 375° F oven.

Olives my way

It is not a secret that I love olives. I watched my grandmother prepare olives for the winter  with salt and water ( salamoia) so that they would lose their bitterness.

My favorite snack at a open market was always a small paper cone filled with olives, ( I am Sicilian after all ).

In this photo I have Cerignola olives with french lavender, piccoline with tarragon,Castelvetrano olives with lemon and cinnamon, mixed olives and capers berries with harissa, black olives with orange peel.

For your next party have a olive bar, and serve vodka or gin martini with it!

 

Pasta with swordfish and eggplant

This is a lovely Sicilian dish, mint and eggplants are a wonderful combination.

All of these ingredients bring a beautiful balance of flavors and colors.

Ingredients

• 1 pound  pasta penne or rigatoni
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon od red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 4 Japanese eggplants,  cut into small cubes
• 1 pound swordfish steaks, skin removed and  cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• salt
• 1/4 cup Sicilian or Iranian pistachios chopped

Directions

In a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 1/3 cup olive oil, add the eggplant and cook until tender and golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the eggplant from the pan and set aside. Season the swordfish cubes with salt and pepper.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

Using the same pan, over medium-high heat, add the 2 remaining tablespoons of olive oil and cook the swordfish until opaque, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes without burning the garlic. Add the white wine and cook until almost evaporated, about 2 minutes and add the tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes longer and turn off the heat. Add eggplant, cooked pasta, and the mint to the pan. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the salt. Stir to combine and top with the pistachios