photo credit: zoyachubby

I serve this simple Italian stew with polenta and it always gets thumbs up around our house.  I think it is named Italian stew because it contains fennel seed and rosemary.  I think the best Italian sausages are the ones that use fennel.  Fennel is native to southern Europe, so it is not surprising that Italians use it in sausage, meatballs, meatloaf, marinara sauce, etc.  Fennel is a member of the parsley family.  It was so popular with the Romans that the men took it to maintain good health and the women took it to control their weight.  Fennel seeds are sweeter and less pungent than anise seeds.

If you really like the taste of fennel, you can enhance the fennel flavor by toasting the seeds before including them in your simple Italian stew recipe.  This one is made in the crock pot, but you could bake it in the oven if you’d rather.  Probably two hours at 300 degrees.

First slice up a red bell pepper, a yellow bell pepper and an onion and place them in the crock pot with 4 cloves of garlic, minced.  In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brown up 2 1/2 pounds of boneless pork that you have cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes.  You will probably have to do this in batches.

Place the pork in the crock pot.  Now place a 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes – I like the fire-roasted type – in the skillet along with 1/2 cup of dry red wine.  Boil this up while you scrape up the flavors from the bottom of the pan.  Add a teaspoon of fennel seeds, 1/2 teaspoon of crushed rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.  Pour this over everything in the crock pot.  Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours.  You want your pork fork-tender.

Mix together 3 tablespoons of flour and 1/4 cup of water.  Stir this into the pot at the end of the cooking time.  Turn the heat to HIGH and cook for an additional 15 minutes to thicken your simple Italian stew.  Serve with polenta and wait for the compliments!  Mangia Bene!

photo credit: haldean

When I ran across a recipe for Chocolate Italian Honey Cheesecake years ago, I knew that I had to try this one!  After all, it has one of those marvelous Toblerone chocolate bars in the recipe.  You know the ones – they come in triangular wrapping and the packaging has a picture of the Matterhorn and a bear in the logo.

Well, maybe this should actually be called a Swiss Honey Cheesecake because Toblerone chocolate is only made in Bern, Switzerland where it was made by Mr. Jean Tobler and his son in 1908.  The marvelous Toblerone not only contains the highest quality cocoa beans, but it also contains almonds and honey.  Plus, the powdered milk used in the recipe must come from Switzerland so the quality remains at the highest level.

However, the recipe says Chocolate Italian Honey Cheesecake, so we’ll continue to call it that.  Ricotta cheese is one of the ingredients, too, so that’s where the Italian comes into play.

In your 9 inch spring-form pan, combine 1 3/4 cups vanilla wafer or animal cookie crumbs with 1/3 cup melted butter and press into the bottom and sides of the pan.

Beat together 24 ounces of ricotta cheese, 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 large eggs until smooth.  Heat 2/3 cup of heavy whipping cream to a low boil.  Remove from heat and stir in your 8 ounce Toblerone chocolate bar that you have broken into pieces.  Cool slightly and blend with the ricotta mixture.  Spoon this into your pan and bake your Chocolate Italian Honey Cheesecake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of honey over low heat and stir in a cup of granola cereal.  Spread this over your partially baked cheesecake and return it to the oven for an additional 15 minutes.

Place on a rack to cool before you remove the sides of the pan.  Wrap and chill until it is time to display your masterpiece – Chocolate Italian Honey Cheesecake!  Mangia Bene!

photo credit: LHOON

Chicagoans are proud of their gourmet steak sandwich which they call Italian beef.  Did you know that this sandwich does not – and never did – exist in Italy?

There are many different stories about the origin of this gourmet Italian sandwich, but it is believed to have started in the 1930′s.  One story tells us that an Italian immigrant cook in a restaurant thought the Philly steak sandwich was too bland and started playing around with some Italian seasonings and hot peppers to “kick it up a notch”.  Supposedly, his boss was not happy with his new “concoction” and promptly fired him.  The man then decided to start setting up stands and selling his gourmet Italian beef sandwiches to the public.  It soon became quite popular and it was often served at Italian weddings.  Since the cut of meat used is not very expensive, this made for thrifty fare to serve the guests without breaking the bank.

Here is my favorite version of the gourmet Italian beef.  The day before you will be serving it, take a 5 pound RUMP roast and sprinkle it with half a teaspoon each of garlic powder, fresh ground black pepper and dried oregano.  Roast the beef, uncovered, at 325 degrees for 30 minutes per pound.  Do not overcook this because it will cook again the following day.   Once the roast has cooled a bit, slice the beef as thin as you can.  An electric slicer is fabulous if you have one.

Now, to the roasting pan that cooked the beef, add a quart of boiling water, 4 beef bouillon cubes, 4 teaspoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce, 16 cloves of garlic that have been minced in the processor and 4 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce.  At this point I like to throw in about 8 peperoncini peppers.  Simmer this for about 20 minutes and adjust for salt.  Place the meat in this mixture, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Reheat everything the next day and serve your gourmet steak sandwiches on sturdy, crusty rolls!

Watch Chef Ed make his fabulous Italian beef here!

Mangia Bene!

photo credit: badlyricpolice

There are many traditional Italian cookies, but it is believed that the lovely pizzelles are the oldest.  The name comes from the Italian word pizze for round and flat.  Pizzelles are thin, waffle-type cookies made with a special pizzelle machine.  Long ago, a family would have an iron with their family crest on it that was held over the fire to bake.  How glad they would have been to have a pizzelle machine where you can make one in under a minute.  Today’s machines usually have two different designs for the front and back – usually a floral pattern for the top and a waffle pattern for the bottom.

Every year in the Abruzzo region of Italy, pizzelles are a big part of the “Feast Day of San Domenico” – also known as the “Festival of the snakes”.  The story goes that back around 700 B.C. the area was so infested with snakes that the people banded together and rid the area of the snakes.  When the task was completed they all ate pizzelles at their celebration.

Traditional Italian pizzelles are sometimes referred to as wedding cookies, since the bride and groom would pass them out to the guests at their wedding.  Although this tradition still exists in some areas, you will most often see pizzelles at Easter and Christmas time.

Traditional Italian pizzelles are not overly sweet.  There are many varied recipes, but the anise ones seem to be most favored.  Here is a recipe that will give you lovely pizzelles.  Beat 3 eggs with 3/4 cup fo sugar.  Add 1/2 cup of melted, cooled butter and a tablespoon of vanilla or anise extract.  Sift in 1 3/4 cups of flour and 2 teaspoons of baking powder.

That’s all there is to it.  Just place a heaping tablespoon full in the middle of your hot pizzelle machine, close the lid, and in under a minute you will have a gorgeous pizzelle.  I sometimes make chocolate ones that my friends just love.

These are very pretty wrapped in colored plastic wrap with a festive bow – makes a terrific gift!  Maybe you would like to try these traditional Italian cookies this holiday season!   Watch Dede make these on CBS!  Click here! Mangia Bene!

photo credit: stu_spivack

Chocolate Italian Souffle Cakes are surprisingly easy to make, yet they always impress dinner guests who can’t imagine making them themselves.  You must be sure to use a good quality chocolate, as that is the star of the Italian dessert.

The very best chocolate I ever tasted was a bar of chocolate that my good friend brought back from Perugia, Italy.  It was so creamy and had the tiniest little bits of chopped hazelnuts throughout.  It was heaven on earth.  That was some years ago, and I still have the wrapper.  The artwork on the wrapper is so gorgeous, and every time I run across it in my “junk” drawer, I smile.  Perugia is the chocolate mecca of Umbria  and they are best known for their Perugina Chocolate Factory that produces chocolate hazelnut truffles called Baci - translates to “kisses”.

Would you like to visit a Chocolate Italian Fair?  Each January there is a FREE chocolate fair in Florence where you can meet all the wonderful chocolate masters of Tuscany and sample their incredible homemade chocolates.

This Chocolate Italian Souffle recipe comes from Cinzzetti’s Italian Market Restaurant.  If you are lucky enough to live near Denver or Kansas City, you must visit this amazing place.  You will find every kind of Italian specialty food imaginable and a fabulous restaurant in an “Italian”  villa!  If you would like to learn more, click here.

In the top of a double boiler, put 8 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate and 8 ounces of diced butter.  Stir until all is melted and combined.  Whip 6 eggs with 4 ounces of fine baker’s sugar (or regular sugar) until light and fluffy.  Mix in an ounce of sifted flour.

Very gently, but thoroughly, fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped eggs.  Try not to lose the volume of the whipped eggs.

Spray 12 ramekins or muffin tin cups with non-stick spray and pour in your batter.

Bake at 325 degrees for 9-12 minutes.  Serve immediately.  I always serve mine immediately, but the recipe says you can make them ahead of time and reheat them at 325 degrees for 2 or 3 minutes.  That sure would be less stress for the cook, but I wonder if they would be as good.

Maybe you will consider making these Chocolate Italian Souffles at your next dinner party.

Watch one of my favorite chefs – Mark Bittman – make them here!

Mangia Bene!  Happy New Year!

Italians know that the really good zucchini are usually not very large – not more than 1 1/2 inches across and no longer than 6 inches.  If one can find zucchini with the flowers still attached, they have surely found the freshest around.  The skin should be very bright in color and have a glossy skin.

Before using the zucchini, the Italians soak it in a basin of cold water for about ten minutes.  It is then scrubbed under running water until it feels clean and smooth.  The ends are cut off and they are ready for some gourmet Italian dishes.

When I ran across Zucchine fritte all’aceto – Fried Zucchini with Vinegar – I was intrigued.  First cut the cleaned zucchini into sticks about 1/4 inch thick.  Sprinkle these with salt and set them aside on paper towels for half an hour.  Then blot them all with clean paper towels to remove as much liquid as possible.

Have vegetable oil about 1/4 inch deep in your hot pan.  Lightly dip the zucchini in flour and slide them into your oil.  Don’t do to many at a time.  You don’t want them to steam, but fry.  Turn them as they brown.  When nicely golden transfer to a deep dish with a slotted spoon and immediately sprinkle with 2 or 3 tablespoons of good wine vinegar.  You will hear them sizzle.  Bury two cloves of smashed garlic amongst the zucchini sticks and season with black pepper.  Serve at room temperature.  If you don’t want an real strong garlic taste, you can remove the garlic cloves after five minutes and you will have a milder version.   This is just one of the many dishes Italian chefs have created to use their favored Spring zucchini!

photo credit: specialkrb

Cooking gourmet with a simple “spaghetti ajo e ojo” is a simple, but wonderful treat!  AJO is garlic and OJO is oil.  You will sometimes see this dish called “aglio e oilio” – which means the same thing.

This is actually one of the quickest, easiest and tastiest gourmet Italian dishes you could ever prepare!  It is said to have originated in the shanty towns around Rome way back when.  This dish is often enjoyed late at night by the people of Rome when they are craving a little something before bed.

Make the dish truly gourmet with a good quality olive oil.  Maybe use that special bottle you received as a gift and you’ve been saving for “something special”.

Put your spaghetti water on to boil.  While you are waiting, start your dish.  Put 1/2 cup of your good olive oil, 2 teaspoons of very finely chopped garlic, and 2 teaspoons of salt in a very small saucepan.  Now we are going to cook this over very low heat while stirring very frequently to keep the garlic from burning.  This mixture will become a rich, golden color.

Once your spaghetti is cooked al dente, drain it and put it into a warm bowl.  Now add your garlic oil sauce and toss rapidly to coat all the strands of spaghetti.  Give the dish 8 or 9 twists from your black pepper mill and add 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley.  Add another tablespoon of olive oil.  Toss again and serve immediately.

You may see spaghetti ajo-ojo-peperoncino on an Italian menu.  This is the same spaghetti gourmet with red pepper flakes added instead of – or in addition to – the black pepper.  Once you’ve made it, you can surely vary the ingredients as you like.  Maybe you want to add some Parmesan?  Go ahead.  I often throw in some anchovies.  The important thing about this gourmet Italian delight is not to skimp on the olive oil.  It is so good for you and it makes the dish what it is!

photo by Dominick Hundhammer

Everyone has heard of Italy’s incomparable Gorgonzola cheese being used in cooking gourmet dinners.  This is primarily made with cow’s milk and it is a wondrous creamy, piquant cheese that originated around 879 in a little town outside of Milan named … You guessed it!  Gorgonzola!  Today Gorgonzola is a suburb of Milan.

Although the cheese dates back to the 9th century, it wasn’t until about 200 years later than that greenish/blue mold was introduced to the cheese making process quite by accident.  The green veins are actually penicillum glaucum.  Really, the mold in gorgonzola is more green than blue.  The London Stock Exchange is lined with green marble and they refer to it as “Gorgonzola Hall”.

When cooking gourmet Gorganzola sauce, you can try substituting domestic Gorgonzola or some other type of blue cheese, but you must try to find the best quality Gorgonzola that you can.  I found a site online that has been winning some very impressive top awards in international cheese competitions.  They are out of Denmark, Wisconsin and their specialty is creating Italian cheese within the United States. If you would like to learn more about them, click here.

In your heavy pan that will be big enough to hold all the pasta, put 4 ounces of gorgonzola, 1/3 cup of milk, 3 tablespoons of butter and 2 teaspoons of salt.  Turn the heat on to low and mash the gorgonzola with a wodden spoon and mixing everything together.  Cook for about a minute until it is nice and creamy.  Stir in 1/4 cup of heavy cream.  Add your fettuccini that has been cooked in boiled, salted water and toss with the sauce.  Then add 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and mix it into the pasta.  Serve directly from the pan since this must be served as soon as it the dish is finished.  I always serve have a little extra bowl of grated Parmesan cheese on the table, and of course some good rustic Italian bread!    You’ll be cooking gourmet gorgonzola cheese sauce again after you taste this, I’m sure.

Watch Chef Jay Washington make his delicious version for you right here!

Mangia Bene!

photo credit: Ash-rly

Italian desserts are ALL wonderful, but the cool, silky, melt-in-your-mouth Gelato is in a class by itself.  Gelato actually IS an art form!  The technique was actually perfected by a Sicilian in Paris back in the 1600′s.

So what is the difference between ice cream and gelato?  One difference is that gelati (the plural) are made at a much slower pace than ice cream.  It is all of the air that is whipped into ice cream that makes it so fluffy.  Gelato is churned slowly so very little air is incorporated into the final product.  Gelato usually contains about 25% air, while ice cream can have as much as 50% air!  Since the gelato is churned slowly, the air bubbles are tiny, thus creating the soft, creamy texture.  No stabilizers or thickeners are used in the process. This addictive Italian dessert also includes more milk and less cream than ice cream, and often contains more egg yolks.
So you see that surprisingly, gelato has less fat than ice cream, despite its remarkable intense flavor!

photo credit: tee.kay
If you visit the city of Florence, you will notice that the people there rarely eat in the streets.  They do, however, make one exception to the “rule”.  You guessed it!  Gelato is everywhere!

Gelato comes in dozens of flavors.  Since hazelnuts are so popular in Tuscany, you will find Gelato de Nocciola very popular in that region.  Other popular flavors include Stracciatella (chocolate chip), Cioccolato (deep, dark chocolate), Crema (vanilla), Pistacchio and Foro Di Latte (plain).

One of the nice things about the Gelato Experience is that you can get lots of tastes in one serving!  Even a small cup or cone can have three flavors and the larger ones often have five different flavors to tingle your taste buds.

Do not think that you are going to be able to conquer this Italian dessert and come out with results equivalent to an Italian gelateria.  That won’t be happening.  Like I said, it is an art form.  You can actually buy gelato makers for home use, although they are a little on the pricey side.  The word “gelato” actually means frozen, and these machines need to be at a minimum of -4 degrees to produce good results.

I did, however, find a cute site where the person claims he made a pretty darned good gelato with his ice cream maker.  If you would like to see how he did it, click here!

If you would like to see gelato being made professionally in New York, click here!

Mangia Bene!

We know from a poem that dates back to the 1500′s that Panzanella goes back many centuries.  Now, tomatoes had not been introduced way back then, but when they came along, they were quickly utilized in Panzanella and today you will not find it without tomatoes.

To make Panzanella, you need good crusty, very stale rustic bread and it should be salt-free.  The bread should be anywhere from a day to a week old.  Do not use any bread that has preservatives in it.  The bread should be sliced thickly and allowed to dry completely.  This is a wonderful fresh Italian summer salad that takes very little effort to put together.

The main components of the salad are olive oil, red wine vinegar, red onion, tomatoes, cucumber, basil … and of course, the bread!  Although i prefer it without, many recipes are starting to inlcude pieces of mozzarella cheese in the salad.  It is thought that this may have started in honor of the Italian Flag – red, white and green.  With or without the cheese, it is just a refeshing gourmet Italian delight!

I happen to love red wine vinegar, so this is one of my favorite Panzanella recipes.  It comes from La Vecchia Bettola – a charming trattoria on the outskirts of Florence.

Fresh Italian Stale Bread Salad: Panzanella

Put 4 cups of water and 1 cup of red wine vinegar in a bowl.  Add six slices of 2 or 3 day old coarse rustic bread, preferably unsalted, and let it soak for 15 minutes.

Now drain well and squeeze all the the excess liquid from the bread and crumble into small bite size pieces in a large salad bowl.

Add a head of romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped and a red or sweet onion that has been halved and thinly sliced.  Next add a cucumber that has been peeled, cored, seeded and thickly sliced.  Now take 3 of the best tomatoes you can find – I like the Ugly tomatoes for significant flavor!  Coarsely chop the tomatoes and add to the bowl.  Throw in a few handfuls of fresh basil leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/4 cup olive oil.  Toss this very well.  In the Tuscany region, this step is done using your hands.  Judge the consistency for yourself and add a little more oil if you like.  Wonderful served with a Chianti or other brisk, young red wine!

See how gorgeous this is and how to make it right here!

Mangia Bene!

It has been estimated that there are over 600 varieties of olives around the world – each with its own unique characteristics and uses. Tuscan Olives are all about oil. The two main varieties are moraiolo and correggiolo, although frantoio, leccino and pendolino also find their way into Italian cuisine in the form of some very nice olive oil. Try to look for estate bottled olive oil for superior quality, such as Tenuta di Capezanna which is made from about 60% moraiolo olives, 30 percent frantoio, 5 percent leccino and 5 percent pendolino olives.

While having a lovely meal with my husband today at Carrabba’s – (get the Johnny’s special if they have it) – he was asking me if in Tuscany, they make the olive oil out of green or black olives. When an olive starts out on the vine as a green fruit, it is just waiting for the ripening process where it begins to get darker and darker. The olive orchard masters go out amongst the lovely almost blue-green trees and pick some olives. These seasoned masters of their art rub the olives roughly between their palms. When they smell the “nose” of the olive oil that will be expunged, harvest season will begin.

Large wooden rakes are used to harvest the olives. Crates and crates of olives are then rushed to the mill to be processed into oil within 36 hours. The olives are first washed and then cut up into a pulp, using one of a variety of methods. This “paste” is then “whirled” to separate the oil from the water and the solids. After filtering, the oil is sent to a nearby orciaia – an storeroom just for olive oil.  It will then rest in terracotta urns for a number of days before this is bottled for use in fine Italian cuisine throughout the world!

Mangia Bene!

Dating back to its peasant origins, there are many versions of this wonderful recipe, but the ingredients always found in Ribollita are stale Italian bread, cannellini beans and lots of marvelous vegetables, and some recipes call for the addition of sausage or prosciutto, but those are optional, of course. Since there is bread in the soup, it is very filling. If you go to Tuscany and try this delicious example of cooking gourmet Italian foods, you probably don’t want to order bread to go with it. You may get a few strange looks! Another traditional ingredient for this soup is cavolo nero, which translates to “black cabbage”, although it is really an extraordinarily deep, dark green. It is a close relative to kale, so kale can surely be substituted.

True Tuscan Ribollita actually takes THREE FULL DAYS ot make. On the first day, you make a huge pot of minestrone and eat it on that day. Refrigerate the leftovers overnight. The second day, the soup becomes even more enticing. You layer the remaining soup iin a baking dish with about a pound of stale crusty bread and top with thin slices of red onion. Now bake it in the oven and serve. Now, if there are any leftovers on the third and final day, reboil the soup, stirring often so that the break breaks up in the soup. This soup should be thick enough to eat with a FORK!

You now have made Ribollita and you have an economical, satisfying dish! Be sure to drizzle olive oil over each serving.
If you like to venture into the world of cooking gourmet Italian foods, you might want to search the different recipes for this classic, comforting Tuscan soup.

Watch Ribollita being made right here!

Mangia Bene!

Let’s think about what we hear these days about healthy eating. We hear about Omega-3 having numerous benefits for the human body. These little gems are primarily found in oily fish. Italians eat large amounts of sardines and anchovies which have wonderful Omega-3 content. We are told to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. The Italian diet is loaded with these, too, in salads or cooked. Does any country have more ways to cook eggplant than Italy? Did you know that fruit is a basic component of almost every Italian meal – especially in their wonderful desserts.

You’ve surely heard of all of the health benefits of garlic and olive oil. Hello, Gourmet Italian food!!! Just loaded with both. Red wine has suddenly hit the list as being beneficial in small quantities. Chianti, anyone? But what about the pasta? Pasta bad! Dieticians tell us that a decent diet requires carbohydrates – and one can now buy low-carb pasta in just about any grocery store!

But what about that wonderful bread! Did you know that Italian bread has a significantly lower salt count then American bread? Also, their breads, such as ciabatta and foccaccia, are quite dense, giving more of a feeling of fullness so one eats less of it. And guess what they eat with their bread in Italy? Not butter! They soak it in the magical olive oil!

For years there has been lots of buzz and books about the Mediterranean Diet. And Italy is where? That’s right! Right smack dab in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea! So if you love gourmet Italian food, go ahead and indulge once in a while and take advantage this marvelous gourmet Italian food without feeling guilty about it! Mangia Bene!

photo credit: stu_spivack

Gourmet Italian chefs use a tremendous number of tasty cheese in almost every course they serve.  Cave paintings tell us that people have been making cheese since about 5000 B.C..  Since ancient sheep, cows and goats only gave milk part of the year – right after they giving birth each Spring – by the middle of Summer their milk had all dried up.  In order to preserve this milk so that they could eat it in the fall and winter, too – they made it into cheese.

Cheese is made by adding a little rennet to milk and then straining out most of the liquid so that the solid mass remains.  In modern times, rennet from the stomach lining of a calf or any of a variety of vegetables – including the wild cardoon – are used to coagulate the milk and bring about the separation of the curds from the whey.  Have you ever heard of the wild cardoon?  Many gourmet Italian cheeses are started with this unique vegetable that is almost indistinguishable from a globe artichoke and only the heads of the blooming cardoon are used.

Since Italy produces hundreds of different cheese, it is interesting to note that different regions of the country rely on different livestock for the milk to begin the cheesemaking process.  In northern Italian regions such as Piedmont, Lombardy and Liguria, the terrain is better suited to cows – so this regions gourmet Italian cheeses are primarily started with cow’s milk.  Central regions such as Umbria, Abruzzo and Tuscany, as well as southern regions such as Campania, Sicily and Sardinia, have long been the workplace of shepherds, so here sheep’s milk cheeses are the stars of the show.  Goat’s milk cheese and water buffalo cheese are also made.  You will find many buffalo milk cheeses in Italy’s southern regions.

It is not difficult to make your own yogurt or ricotta cheese, but making aged cheese is considerably more difficult.  Our hats are off to Italy for being one of the world’s leading cheese producers!  After all, cheese is almost always one of the stars of the show when making gourmet Italian food!

If you would like more information on making your own cheese, check out my favorite cheesemaking forum here!

Mangia Bene Frommagio!