October 23, 2019

It’s been way over a month since I last wrote.  After leaving Tuscany for Calabria on August 31st, my plan was to continue to post about my new adventures at the Italian Culinary Institute.  As it turned out, I kept myself pretty busy and couldn’t quite find the time to post.  Knowing that my time was limited, I chose to spend as much of it as possible in the kitchen, which usually meant 12-plus hours per day, six or seven days per week.

There were some exceptions, like the Saturday I went to Maria’s house to make passata with her.

Maria works at the Institute, ostensibly as a dishwasher.  In reality she does much more.  Her wisdom and advice are frequently sought out by Institute staff on matters related to local food.  Maria assists in the kitchen during the meat-curing (salumi) courses.

Although I make passata at home, I’m self-taught.  It was exciting for me to see (and assist with) it being done in a traditional manner.

But first I had to find Maria’s house.

Join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!

Maria only speaks Italian.  My Italian is not good enough for anything resembling a real conversation though I can certainly manage restaurants, supermarkets, and food vendors well enough to get by.

Mariana, Chef Juan’s wife, chatted with Maria and told me that I should meet Maria at the Padre Pio mural.  Maria lives in the town of Stalettì, which is up the mountain from the Institute.  The directions were easy enough:  Go up.  When you get to Padre Pio, stop and wait for Maria.  If you get to the center of town, you’ve gone too far.

Up I went.  It was obvious I had gone too far when I hit a spot vaguely resembling a piazza onto which streets converged from many sides.  There was a fussball table sitting in the roadway and a group of older guys congregated in front of the local bar.  (Remember that a “bar” in Italy is traditionally a Coffee Bar.)

I mustered enough Italian to ask them where Padre Pio was.  They told me to go back in the direction from which I came and that I couldn’t miss it.

Luckily Maria was in her car on the roadside waiting for me across the street from the GIANT Padre Pio STATUE.  I saw the statue on the way up but completely ignored it as I was looking for a mural.  Something got lost in translation.

Maria made a U-turn and I followed her down a side lane that opened led to a small farm with wonderful views of the mountains beyond.

Follow us on your social media platform of choice
         

Maria’s son, Nicola, was standing outside cutting tomatoes.  Maria introduced us then immediately began to cut tomatoes, too.  I opened my knife roll, got out my paring knife and began to cut tomatoes.  After all, there were six cases to cut and process.

We cut them in half, removed the core and dropped the halves into a bucket.  The cores were saved for the pig which will become Sopressata ‘round about January.

The tomato halves went into a big cauldron set over a wood fire.  Maria simmered them, with salt and some basil, until they were soft enough to go through an electric food mill.  The resulting liquid was put back into the cauldron and cooked until it was the right consistency.

I’ve seen many videos and recipes for making passata that remove the seeds and jelly.  This definitely makes the process faster because extra liquid is removed at the beginning.  However, the jelly has a high concentration of naturally occurring glutamates that really enhance the flavor of the passata.  Like Maria, I always include the seeds and jelly.

Maria put the passata into jars, sealed them and put them under a blanket to cool slightly.  This is where a bit of controversy exists.  The USDA says it is never safe to can tomatoes or tomato puree at home without adding an acid, such as citric acid, because many tomatoes are not acidic enough to be canned safely relying on their own acidity.  The Italian Ministry of Health disagrees and provides directions for canning tomatoes in a boiling water bath without the addition of acid.

In practice, many Italians simply put the passata into jars, seal, and cover the jars with a blanket to allow them to cool slowly.  No boiling water bath is used at all.  While I’ve eaten many jars of passata that were canned this way, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Maria made about 100 jars the day I was there.  It wouldn’t be unusual for a family in Southern Italy to put up 300 jars of passata, essentially one per day for a year.  If you’re making less, as is almost certainly the case, freezing the passata works well.

If you find yourself with some vine-ripe tomatoes, especially plum tomatoes or a meaty heirloom variety, give this recipe a try.

Sunlight in a Bottle: Passata (Tomato Puree)

Maria puts some fresh basil in with the tomatoes as do many Italian cooks. After going through the food mill, there are no flecks of basil to be found. Adding basil, however, is completely optional. Maria makes large quantities of passata and uses and electric food mill. For smaller quantities, up to several gallons, a hand-crank food mill works well. The passata will keep in the refrigerator for three days. It freezes well. If you choose to can it, you can find a link to recommended directions for canning in the Recipe Notes section, below.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• vine-ripe tomatoes preferably plum or meaty heirloom tomatoes
• salt
• fresh basil leaves optional

Method

 

1. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Remove the core and any hard, white pith. If you are using heirloom tomatoes rather than plum tomatoes, you may need to quarter them depending on size.
2. Put the tomatoes in a heavy-bottomed pot.
3. Heat gently until tomatoes release some liquid.
4. After there is liquid in the bottom of the pot, increase the heat to bring the tomatoes to a boil.
5. Add one basil leaf for each pound of tomatoes, if desired.
6. Continue to boil, uncovered, until the pulp is soft enough to go through a food mill, approximately 1 hour.
7. Put the tomatoes through a food mill, discarding seeds and skin.
8. Add ½ teaspoon of salt per quart of pureed tomatoes.
9. Return the tomato puree to the pot and continue to boil until thick and saucy.

Notes

You can find recommended directions for canning tomato puree here.

Copyright © 2019 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

July 3, 2019

It’s a Sunday morning in June.  I’m on the East Coast; Fire Island, New York to be exact.  I’m one-third of the way through a three-week stay on this slip of land south of Long Island.  To the north of Fire Island is the Great South Bay, which separates it from Long Island.  To the south is the Atlantic Ocean.

Whenever I’m here, I seem to channel my childhood as far as cooking goes.  I find myself turning (though not exclusively, mind you) to the foods I grew up eating and loving.  A few days ago for dinner I made Italian (OK, Italian-American) sausage with peppers and onions.

Today I’m making my mother’s long-simmered Southern Italian Ragu (or Sugo or Tomato Sauce…or, because I’m in New York, Sunday Gravy).  Growing up, we NEVER called Tomato Sauce of any sort “Gravy!”  It was usually just “Sauce,” which we all knew meant mom’s or Aunt Margie’s or Aunt Mamie’s or some other Italian-American woman’s slow-cooked meat-and-tomato-based sauce for pasta.  And we NEVER EVER used the word “Sunday” as a modifier for “Sauce!”

Join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!

Sauce was Sauce, it was sacrosanct.  It wasn’t better or different or more elaborate because it was being made on Sunday.  If by some chance it were to be made on Thursday (which it usually wasn’t) it would still be made the same way.  To be sure, there was some variability in the meats that were used.  In my family’s version there were always big pieces of pork, preferably bone-in.  There could also be sausage (preferably hot), meatballs, and occasionally (and just for the cook) one chicken thigh (to “sweeten the sauce” as my mother would say).  Other than that, and the occasional appearance (or not) of an additional aromatic, like a small amount of minced onion or a hot pepper, the rest of the process was invariable.

I’m making Sauce today because, well, it’s Sunday and I’m on the East Coast, and because I LOVE it.  If I could, I’d find an AM radio and tune it to a station playing Polkas (Is that even possible?).  Aunt Mamie always did that on Sunday (despite being of Italian descent).  It’s one of those experiences from childhood that has had an outsized impact on me for some reason.  The memory is quite simple:  summertime, doors open , Aunt Mamie cooking, and her big green box radio sitting on a white enamel-topped free-standing kitchen cabinet near the door to her porch blaring out polka tunes.

Many of my fondest memories are in the summer with the doors open, what can I say?  It’s not like Aunt Mamie didn’t tune to polkas in the winter but that’s not what comes to mind!

I’m also making Bread Pudding today.  One of those comfort-food desserts that I really enjoy.  I know I’ve mentioned this a time or three, but all of my favorite foods are carbohydrates.  All of my favorite desserts are based on moderately complex carbohydrates (flour and rice, usually) without lots of extra fat (like butter) and without being overly sweet.  Bread Pudding and Rice Pudding are near the top of the list.

Follow us on your social media platform of choice
         

Neither would be considered fit for company but I’m foisting the bread pudding on our dinner guests today with the option of some heavy cream poured on top.  I can always do a run to the store for gelato if I have a last-minute change of heart.  And, it would be a “run.”  There are no cars on this part of the island.  There are some motorized carts that ply the boardwalks that crisscross the community, providing the only means of navigating the town.  The carts are mostly used by contractors, businesses, trash pickup, the fire department, and the EMS.  Although a few residents use small carts or electric scooters to get around, the rest of us walk and use wagons to cart things that are too heavy to carry.

It’s a pretty idyllic place to spend part of the summer.

It can also be an exciting and unpredictable place.  Sunday afternoon an intense storm hit Long Island and Fire Island.  Trees and power lines were downed.  The storm put an end to internet service for more than forty-eight hours.  That’s the reason that this blog is getting posted a few days later than planned.

Meanwhile, I’m eagerly anticipating the arrival of the next urge to cook something from my childhood!

Bread Pudding

If the raisins or currants are not absolutely fresh and soft, cover them with hot water to plump up before adding them to the mixture. It is best if the bread is a few days old so that it has lost some of its moisture.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 35 minutes mins

Servings: 8 people

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 7 cups 3/4 inch bread cubes such as French, rustic Italian, or Challah
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar white or firmly packed brown
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon preferably freshly ground
• 2 3/4 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup Rum or Brandy or more milk
• 1/2 cup raisins or currants optional
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg optional
• butter to dot the bread pudding and grease the baking dish

Method

 

1. Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.
2. Add milk and rum to the egg mixture and whisk to combine.
3. Butter a three-quart ovenproof covered dish.
4. Toss the bread cubes and raisins if using. Put the bread into the buttered dish. Pour milk and egg mixture on top.
   
5. Grate nutmeg over the top. Dot lightly with butter.
   
6. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature 30-60 minutes.
7. Bake at 350°F, covered, for approximately 60 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until brown on top.
   
8. Serve warm or at room temperature. Pour a little heavy cream on top if desired.

Notes

Copyright © 2019 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

June 13, 2019

Basic Tomato Sauce isn’t sexy or exciting.

It’s a foundational ingredient that makes cooking a lot of other dishes much easier than they would otherwise be but, honestly, until a few months ago I never bothered to make it to have on hand.

That was a mistake!

That doesn’t mean that I didn’t have tomato sauces of various types in my freezer.  I almost always do but they’re fully prepared special-purpose sauces like my mother’s long-simmered Southern Italian Ragu or my mother-in-law’s Salsa Friulana.  If I needed a basic tomato sauce as the starting point for another sauce, I just did it in the moment.

That all changed as part of attending the Master of Italian Cuisine course at the Italian Culinary Institute (ICI).  We made a basic tomato sauce (dubbed Simple Tomato Sauce by Chef John) by the gallons…ok, by the liters!

It keeps well.  It freezes beautifully.  It can be used in its own right as a sauce for pasta or meat or fish.  Having it on hand allows you to whip up really tasty pasta sauces much more quickly.  Give my recipe for Lupara a look, for example.

Join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!

Having foundational ingredients on hand has become more important since I returned from Italy.  In an effort to fully integrate what I learned, and to expand my knowledge even further, I’ve been cooking dinner every night that we’re not otherwise engaged.

As an extension, this month we started something new as a way to catalyze learning more about Italian Regional Cuisine.  We randomly select a Region of Italy by pulling a slip of paper out of an antique coffee jar.  Most of the meals for the month need to be from that Region.  This month’s Region is Piemonte.  July’s Region is Molise.

I start by researching the foods of the region.  Waverley Root’s The Food of Italy is a big help but so are the introductions to many Italian regional cookbooks that I own.  Once I have a grasp of the traditional raw ingredients and the classic preparations of the region, I start to curate a list of dishes I want to make.  I go through my Italian regional cookbooks as well as Italian-language food websites to find multiple renditions of the dish then decide on how I will make it.

The dishes that I plan to make go on my calendar days in advance and get readjusted based on new ideas or ingredients from the market.  Sometimes a dish requires purchasing hard-to-find ingredients, like anchovies cured in salt (of which there is an 800 gram tin sitting in my kitchen right now) or amarena cherries preserved in syrup (1000 gram tin plus a smaller jar from a different company).

The Piemontese have a knack for putting anchovies into almost everything except dessert.  And if it doesn’t have anchovies, the dish probably has a bottle of Barolo, like the braised beef that I made a few days ago.

After cooking my way through Molise in July, I’ll be going to Italy for August and September.  In August I’ll be learning traditional Tuscan dishes from Great Aunt Fidalma.  September will find me be back at ICI for an guided independent study on food preservation.  I’ll resume cooking my way through the Regions of Italy in October.

Follow us on your social media platform of choice

Now that I’ve been convinced of the benefit of keeping foundational ingredients on hand, I’m upping my game.  In addition to Basic Tomato Sauce I’ve started keeping infused oils.  Currently, in squeeze bottles next to my stove, I have garlic oil and rosemary oil.  Sometimes I use these to provide a little extra squirt of flavor on a finished dish.  Sometimes I use them as I start sautéing ingredients.  At this moment, I also have some mint oil on hand that I made to drizzle on a risotto with fresh peas.

I am eagerly anticipating our fall harvest of hot peppers so that I can make peperoncino oil, which is sometimes called Olio Santo (Holy Oil) in Calabria.  Does that give you an inkling of the significance of hot peppers in the cooking of Calabria?

Although Olio Santo can be used within a few days of being made, it is better to let it age for a year.  That means I’ll have to make an extra-large batch in the fall so that I have a fully aged stash to hold me until the oil from the 2020 harvest of hot peppers is ready in 2021!

I modified the ICI recipe for Simple Tomato Sauce just a bit to make it my own.  I’ve changed the name to Basic Tomato Sauce.  That’s the version I’ve posted here.

Basic Tomato Sauce

This makes enough sauce for about 1 kilogram (2-plus pounds of pasta). Most often this sauce is used as the base for other sauces. You can make it in larger quantities and freeze it for future use. While I prefer to pass the tomatoes through a food mill to remove the seeds and the occasional hard bit of tomato, you can skip this step. Just add the tomatoes to the sautéed vegetables, mashing them with a potato masher, and proceed as written. Since this sauce cooks quickly it is especially important that the vegetables be very finely diced.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Servings: 1 quart (plus a bit more)

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 3 1/2 ounces onion finely diced
• 3 1/2 ounces carrot finely diced
• 2 ounces celery finely diced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 35-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes preferably San Marzano
• salt to taste
• black pepper freshly ground to taste

Method

 

1. Sweat the onion, carrot and celery, with a large pinch of salt, in the olive oil until soft and the onion is golden, without browning, approximately 15 minutes.
   
2. Meanwhile, pass the tomatoes through a food mill.
   
3. There should be very little residual in the food mill.
   
4. Add the tomatoes to the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.
   
5. Simmer, partially covered approximately 15 minutes.
6. Cool slightly and blend with an immersion blender or jar blender. Adjust salt and pepper.
   

Notes

Copyright © 2019 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

May 29, 2019

A Lupara is an 8mm sawn-off shotgun favored by La Cosa Nostra.

It’s also the name of a pasta dish.

I learned to make lupara at the Italian Culinary Institute.  It was among the first pasta dishes demonstrated during the early days of the three-month course.  Made with short, cut pasta, like rigatoni, this rendition pays tribute to the shotgun for which it is named.

Join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!

This dish makes use of a Basic Tomato Sauce, just tomatoes and a few aromatics cooked briefly.  You can make the tomato sauce in large batches and freeze it or you can make it as needed.  Although the sauce can be used on its own in some dishes, it is deliberately not aggressively seasoned.  This allows it to be used in a variety of preparations, with some final additional flavoring, without the sense that the same sauce is being used over and over.

I know this seems a little out of order, but I will publish the recipe for the Basic Tomato Sauce next week  For my first blog post since returning from Italy, I wanted to feature a dish that grabbed my attention.  This one did.  It’s got a great story and a great flavor.  Basic Tomato Sauce is good but it isn’t captivating (unlike a pasta dish named after the “Mob’s” favorite weapon!).  Basic Tomato Sause is meant to play a supporting role in most situations and that’s just not the type of recipe that I wanted to start with.

This version of Lupara is intended to be spicy but spicy means different things to different people.  There are two ways to build spice into this pasta.  You can use one or both of them.  The first method is to add dried, ground red pepper (peperoncino piccante in polvere, in Italian) during the final assembly of the pasta.  The other is to add thinly sliced fresh hot pepper (peperoncino fresco) when sautéing the sausage.  Getting authentic Italian peperoncino, powdered or fresh, is difficult in the States.  You can substitute Cayenne pepper for the ground one and a variety of long, red (always red!) chile, such as Thai or Cayenne, for the fresh.

Follow us on your social media platform of choice
         

This recipe also calls for fresh porcini mushrooms.  These can be a challenge to find.  Feel free to substitute thinly sliced portobello mushrooms.  Though the flavor won’t be exactly the same, the dish will still be yummy!  If you are lucky enough to find fresh porcini, I suggest buying a heap, thinly slicing them, and freezing them.  They can be used in all sorts of cooked dishes, especially Trifulata which will hit the blog in the near future…as soon as I can find fresh porcini!! (You might notice portobello mushrooms in the pictures.)

This recipe requires a small amount of sausage.  It’s not a major player though it does add a nice meaty background note to the sauce.  Pick a good quality Italian-style sausage, sweet or hot.  I think that sausage with fennel seed adds a nice flavor but that’s a matter of personal taste.

Buon appetito!!

Lupara

A lupara is an 8-gauge sawn-off shotgun associated with La Cosa Nostra (the “Mob”). Rigatoni resemble the barrel of a lupara. Adjust heat level to your taste. If you can’t find Italian powdered peperoncino piccante, substitute Cayenne pepper. For a different type of heat, add some thinly-sliced hot red chile when sautéing the sausage, instead of, or in addition to, the powered chile. If you can’t find fresh porcini, substitute portobello mushrooms. It is really important to use a very good quality Italian rigatoni, preferably an artisanal variety that is thicker than the usual boxed rigatoni to get the most benefit out of sautéing the pasta. If you want to make half as much pasta, freeze half the sauce. The recipe for Basic Tomato Sauce will be posted next week.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Servings: 8 people

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

Sauce

• 1 batch Basic Tomato Sauce
• 5 ounces Italian-style sausage casing removed and crumbled
• 1 1/3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 5 ounces fresh porcini thinly sliced
• 1 1/3 tablespoons butter
• 5 ounces dry wine red or white
• 5 ounces vegetable or chicken broth
• 4-5 leaves fresh basil chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Assembly

• 2 1/4 pounds imported Italian rigatoni preferably artisinal
• 4 cloves garlic crushed
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Peperoncino piccante to taste (ground red pepper)
• 3 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano cheese freshly grated

For serving

• extra virgin olive oil
• Pecorino Romano cheese freshly grated
• fresh basil cut in chiffonade

Method

 

Sauce

1. Using a heavy-bottomed pot, sauté the sausage in the olive oil until colored.
   
2. Add the porcini, butter, and fresh peperoncini, if desired, and sauté 5-7 minutes. During this time, the sausage should brown much more and the mushrooms should give up much of their liquid and take on some color.
   
3. Add the wine and evaporate completely over high heat.
   
4. Add the broth, partially cover, and simmer until completely evaporated.
   
5. Add the Basic Tomato Sauce, basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 10 minutes. Reserve.
   

Assembly

1. Bring three quarts of heavily salted water (according to the Italians, it should taste like the sea) to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, sauté the garlic in the extra-virgin olive oil until light brown. Drain and reserve the oil.
   
3. Cook the rigatoni just until it no longer has a crunch in the center but is still far from done.
   
4. While the pasta is cooking, put the sauce in a large sauté pan and bring to a simmer along with peperoncino piccate to taste.
   
5. Drain the rigatoni, saving at least one quart of the pasta-cooking liquid.
6. Add the rigatoni to the sauce and increase the heat to medium to medium-high. Add pasta-cooking liquid, a ladle at a time, stirring the pasta frequently to finish cooking.
   
7. After adding a ladle or two of the pasta-cooking liquid, add the cream. Continue adding pasta-cooking liquid as needed until the pasta is just al dente and coated with a thick sauce.
8. Off the heat, mix in the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, cream, and the reserved garlic oil. You may need to thin with a little more pasta-cooking liquid as the cheese will thicken and emulsify the sauce.
   
9. Divide the pasta among serving bowls. Garnish each with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and sprinklings of Pecorino Romano cheese and fresh basil chiffonade.
   

Notes

Here's my recipe for Basic Tomato Sauce.

Copyright © 2019 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

January 2, 2019

Cotechino is not a food I grew up eating.  It entered my food canon through my husband’s family, Northern Italians all!

Over the years we’ve melded together our different family traditions.  Although there’s some variability from year-to-year based on travel plans and invitations to the homes of family and friends, our usual sequence goes something like this.

Pasta Ascuitta on Christmas Eve harkens back to my childhood when Christmas Eve dinner was a groaning table full of seafood at Aunt Margie and Uncle Joe’s house.  Pasta Ascuitta was only one of many dishes, including Baccala cooked in Tomato Sauce with Green Olives, Braised Stuffed Calamari, Breaded and Fried Cod, Spicy Mussels in a Garlicky Tomato Sauce, and on and on and on.  Mostly, now, we have a quiet Christmas Eve dinner with my in-laws at which we serve Pasta Ascuitta and call it quits!

That means somewhere else over Christmastime we have to fit in Baccala since it is a favorite of my in-laws.  This year we had it several days before Christmas.  I bought the baccala at Eataly in Los Angeles (on the second of my two trips to secure a visa for my three-plus months in Italy that start in early January).  It was truly the best baccala I have ever had.

Join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!

My family didn’t have any specific traditions for what was served on New Year’s Eve but New Year’s Day always saw Pork, Sauerkraut and Sausage with Dumplings.  That meal, repeated in one fashion or another in most homes in Johnstown, PA, pays homage to the original German founders of the town.

Somewhere around New Year’s Day my mother-in-law would make Cotechino with Brovada.  Brovada is turnips that are fermented in grape pomace left over from crushing and pressing grapes for wine.  Since Brovada is unobtainable (in my experience) in the United States, my mother-in-law would pickle turnips in red wine vinegar to create a reasonable substitute.  The turnips are peeled and shredded before cooking.  Brovada ends up tasting remarkably similar to sauerkraut.

Before Frank and I started spending New Year’s in Palm Springs, we would host a New Year’s Eve dinner at Villa Sentieri at which we served Cotechino as the appetizer course.  Although Cotechino is typically served with Brovada in Friuli, it is served with lentils in most of the remainder of Northern Italy.  I always opted for lentils for the New Year’s Eve dinner, leaving my mother-in-law to make it a second time with Brovada.

Many of our traditions got up-ended this year.  For Christmas Eve dinner we had Cotechino with Sauerkraut!  My mother-in-law did not make Brovada this year and said she preferred to have the Cotechino with Sauerkraut rather than Lentils.  I used the sauerkraut portion of my recipe for Pork with Sauerkraut.  It was a great combination.  I also made Dumplings just because everything is better with dumplings.

Follow us on your social media platform of choice

That means we didn’t have Pasta Ascuitta on Christmas Eve for the first time in I-don’t-know-how-many years!

Even though we didn’t host New Year’s Eve dinner this year, I was assigned the task of making the first course for the dinner hosted by our friends John O’Malley and Bob Reddington in Palm Springs.  I jumped at the chance to make Cotechino with Lentils.  The Cotechino came from Eataly in Los Angeles, and like the Baccala, was excellent.

As I’m writing this blog on the first of the year, and contemplating what to make for dinner today after a holiday season marked by over-consumption and with no time to recover before leaving for my three months in Italy on January 7th, I think we may just have Spaghetti with Garlic, Oil and Red Pepper.  Pasta Ascuitta will need to wait for another year!

Cotechino with Lentils

The lentils make a wonderful dish on their own without the cotechino. The lentils are better if made a day or two in advance and refrigerated. For added flavor, let most of the broth evaporate during the first 30 minutes then add enough of the cotechino cooking water, skimmed of fat, to make the lentils loose but not soupy. If the broth has salt, it may be necessary to reduce the amount of salt called for in the recipe. Save the fennel fronds to garnish the cotechino, if desired.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Servings: 12 people as an appetizer

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

For the Lentils

• 1 pound green lentils
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 carrots finely diced or chopped in a food processor
• 1 large fennel bulb diced
• 1 onion finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 8-9 cups chicken or vegetable broth preferably unsalted
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground, plus more to taste

For the Cotechino

• 2 cotechino sausages approximately 2 1/2 pounds total
• water to cover
• fennel fronds minced for garnish, if desired

Method

 

For the Lentils

1. Cut off the stalks of the fennel before dicing.
   
2. Reserve the fennel fronds for garnishing.
   
3. Sauté the carrot, onion, fennel, and garlic in the olive oil in heavy-bottomed Dutch oven until the vegetables begin to soften, approximately 15 minutes.
   
4. Add the broth and bay leaf. Boil gently, partially covered, for 15 minutes.
   
5. Meanwhile, rinse and drain the lentils.
   
6. Add the lentils to the broth. Bring the lentils to a gentle boil, partially covered, and cook approximately 30 minutes, adding salt and pepper after the first 15 minutes.
   
7. If making the lentils in advance, remove them from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
   
8. When ready to serve, bring the lentils to a gentle boil with enough of the cotechino cooking liquid, or water, to loosen them but not make them soupy. Cook until tender but not mushy, approximately 10-15 minutes longer.
   
9. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

For the Cotechino

1. Prick the sausages in several places using a pin. If the holes are large the casing may split during cooking.
   
2. Put the cotechino in a large pot, cover with cold water, simmer, covered, approximately 2 ½ hours.
   
3. Mince the fennel fronds while the cotechino cooks.
   
4. The cotechino is best served piping hot as soon as is it removed from the cooking liquid.
   
5. Slice the cotechino.
   
6. Plate several slices of cotechino on top of some of the lentils and garnish with minced fennel fronds, if desired.
   

Notes

Copyright © 2019 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

December 26, 2018

OK, I’m going out on a limb again posting another Sri Lankan recipe.

Whenever I do that, fewer people open the email and even fewer look at the recipe.  Sri Lankan food just doesn’t garner the interest (among my readers, at least) that Italian food does.  Interestingly (or not, perhaps) my cousin’s Marinated Pasta Salad from two weeks ago got the largest response ever!

Although a majority of my recipes are Italian, I am reluctant to post ONLY Italian recipes.  There are just so many things that I like to cook…and therefore want to share…that I want to keep my options open.  What happens, if for example if I choose to post only Italian recipes and then want to post my recipe for Bourbon Brown Sugar Apricot Jam?  That most certainly is NOT Italian.  (But it is so, so good!)

Join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!

One possibility, I guess, would be to focus this blog on Italian food exclusively and to start a second blog that includes all the other foods I like to cook.  The majority of that food would end up being Asian with a smattering of Western Cuisines.  Bourbon Brown Sugar Apricot Jam would be just as out of place there as it would in an exclusively Italian-food-oriented blog. (And, I’m not sure I could keep two blogs going.)

Here’s my request:  Use the comment feature to let me know what you think about the options, or even come up with alternative suggestions, for how to focus the blog.  I plan to continue posting while I am in Italy for three months but that would be a great time to redesign the focus of the blog, if need be, and start fresh when I return.

As for the Fish Croquettes, these are actually called Fish Cutlets in Sri Lanka but croquettes would be a more common term in the West.  I think you’ll find that they go really well with cocktails and, if you didn’t tell anyone they were Sri Lankan, nobody would be the wiser.

Follow us on your social media platform of choice

Over the next few months, I will post a few more of my favorite Sri Lankan recipes.  When I started doing this in the late summer, my plan was to post enough recipes for my readers to be able to put together a credible Sri Lankan meal, not that every dish I posted would need to be included but that I would have posted enough of an assortment of recipes to provide a good basis for selection.

I am going to follow through on that plan in the coming months.  Upcoming recipes might include Beef Smoore, Devilled Cashews, Ghee Rice, Pol Sambol, Pork Badun, Beet Curry, Fish Curry, Pickled Lime, Pumpkin Curry, Tempered Cabbage and Peppers, and Wattalappam.  If you’ve got a favorite that you want me to post just let me know!

The blog will be an interesting juxtaposition over the next few months as I chronicle my culinary experience in Italy interspersed with Sri Lankan recipes.

Sri Lankan Fish Croquettes

Although Tuna is a traditional fish used for cutlets, almost any type of fish will work. Good quality frozen tuna can be used in place of fresh. Curry leaves can be found in many Asian markets. There really is no substitute for them in terms of taste but if not having access to curry leaves is the only thing preventing you from trying this recipe, use another fresh green herb such as basil, thyme, or oregano. These may be served warm or at room temperature.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 6 hours hrs

Servings: 50 croquettes

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

For the croquettes

• 14 ounces small red-skinned potatoes
• 1 1/2 pounds tuna or bonito preferably skinless
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground, or to taste
• 2 onions chopped
• 3 small green chiles more or less to taste
• 20 curry leaves fresh (see headnote for options)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 eggs lightly beaten
• breadcrumbs to bind

For dredging and frying

• 4 eggs
• salt to taste
• black pepper freshly ground to taste
• flour
• fine dry breadcrumbs
• vegetable oil for deep frying

Method

 

1. Peel the potatoes. Cut them into pieces approximately ¾ inch on a side.
2. Put the cut potatoes in a steamer basket. Sprinkle with ground black pepper to taste.
3. Steam the potatoes over boiling water until tender, 15-25 minutes.
   
4. Put the cooked potatoes into a mixing bowl.
5. Cut the fish into strips approximately 1 ½ inches wide.
6. Put the fish in the steamer basket. Sprinkle with ground black pepper to taste.
7. Steam the fish over boiling water until fully cooked and flaky, 10-20 minutes. If the fish has skin, remove it after steaming.
   
8. Put the fish on a plate to cool.
9. Coarsely chop the green chiles
   
10. Grind the onions and green chile in a food processor.
    
11. Sauté the ground onion mixture, curry leaves, and cumin in the oil until the onion is soft but not brown, 6-8 minutes.
12. Coarsely mash the partially cooled potato.
13. Add the fish to the potato and mash again. The mixture should not be completely smooth but there should not be any really large chunks.
14. Add the onion mixture and salt to the mashed potatoes and fish. Mix well.
15. Add the eggs and then enough breadcrumbs to bind the mixture. The amount of breadcrumbs needed will vary based on the moisture content. Use your judgement and opt for making the mixture a little loose rather than overly stiff.
16. Refrigerate, covered, for several hours for the breadcrumbs to fully hydrate.
17. Taste and adjust salt (and chile if you wish).
18. Divide into 50 portions. Shape each into a slightly flattened oval shape.
    

Final Assembly

1. Season the flour with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
2. Beat the four eggs lightly and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
3. Dredge each croquette in flour, then dip in the beaten egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs.
   
4. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least one hour before frying.
   
5. Deep fry the croquettes at 350°F to 375°F until golden brown.
6. Drain on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.
   

Notes

Curry leaves have an alluring flavor that isn't really comparable to any other herb.  I recommend that you try to find them.  You will probably have extra left.  I suggest adding the whole fresh leaves to eggs before scrambling.

Copyright © 2018 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

December 19, 2018

I remember it clearly!  My love affair with Pizza di Patate began May 1992 in Rome.

All of my most favorite foods are carbohydrates:  pasta, bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, pierogi, soft pretzels, and homemade bread, among them.  The favorites among my favorites, though, combine two different carbohydrates in the same dish:  potato gnocchi, bubba (and its relative, potato pancakes), potato pierogi, homemade bread rolls stuffed with mashed potatoes and rubbed with olive oil and garlic, and, of course, potato pizza.

When I first tasted potato pizza in Rome it immediately entered the highest level of my carbohydrate pantheon.  I knew at some point I would need to learn to make it as I had never had anything like it in the States.  I still haven’t unless it’s come out of my pizza oven, though there is a new breed of Roman Pizzerias cropping up around the country dangling the possibility that one, serving pizza di patate, might settle in near where I live.

May of 1992 was the month my (now) husband and I were to celebrate our fifth anniversary.  I had been discussing with John Bowker, a friend, Anglican priest and the dean of Trinity College, Cambridge, England, coming to the UK for our anniversary.  John had offered to perform a wedding ceremony (still not legally binding, of course) following the Anglican rite in the Trinity College Chapel with the Trinity College Choir there to sing.

After much thought, we decided against going to Cambridge for the ceremony.  Although a few of our friends might have attended, we felt that most would not and we wanted to be surrounded by friends on that day.

Join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!

We opted, instead, to have a ceremony performed at our house by John Fortunato, a friend and Episcopal deacon.  We had a calligrapher record our vows on parchment and signed by everyone present (in a nod to Quaker tradition) as an affirmation of our commitment to each other.

On our 25th anniversary, in 2012, we were actually married with 52 of our friends in attendance.  The wedding and reception were held in a private dining room at Del Posto in New York City.  But I digress…

In the early 1990’s Frank, my husband, and I were working full time but also attending Loyola University of Chicago studying for MBA degrees.  Loyola decided to offer MBA classes for the first time at its Rome campus in May 1992.  We jumped at the chance, leaving for Rome the day after our commitment ceremony.  We treated the trip like the honeymoon we had never had though by then we were very experienced world travelers.

Follow us on your social media platform of choice

A pleasant walk from the Loyola Campus (located in an old convent in Monte Mario) was a small shop that sold prepared Roman food and a dizzying array of pizza by the slice (pizza al taglio).  Most nights we went there for dinner then went back to our dorm room to study.  The shop had a few stools lined up along a narrow counter on one side but every patron, except us, picked up food to go.

After a few days, our routine became clear to the shop owners.  As soon as we walked through the doorway, without asking a question, one of them reached for a bottle of local red wine and handed it to us.  We then ordered from the food on display and sat at the counter enjoying a wonderful meal.

Theirs was the first pizza di patate that I’d ever had.  I ate it all over Rome on that trip.

It took me at least five years to try to make it, and at least another five years to perfect it.  Now that we have a wood-burning oven in Santa Fe I almost always make at least one potato pizza on pizza nights (which don’t happen nearly often enough!).

Pizza di Patate (Potato Pizza)

I first tasted this in Rome in 1992 and fell in love with it. There are numerous variations, such as using potatoes that have been shredded on the teardrop shaped holes of a grater or topping the pizza with cheese. This simple version is my favorite. Making the pizza in a rectangular pan most resembles Roman pizza al taglio. The dough can be divided to make two round pizzas approximately 12 inches in diameter. See the Notes section for instructions on making the dough in a bread machine as well as directions for making the dough in advance. You can use bread flour if you wish but the dough will be really springy from the gluten making it a bit more difficult to stretch out. If using bread flour it is really a good idea to refrigerate the dough as described below.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 5 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

Dough

• 3 teaspoons active dry yeast or 2 packets
• 1 7/8 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup olive oil plus additional for oiling the dough and pan
• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 5 3/4 cups all purpose flour

Topping

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic crushed with the side of a chef’s knife
• 2-3 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
• 3-4 medium russet potatoes
• Coarse sea salt

Method

 

1. Warm the bowl and dough hook of an electric mixer with hot water. Drain and dry.
2. Add the warm water and yeast to warmed bowl. Blend briefly.
3. Allow the yeast and water to sit until creamy, approximately 10 minutes.
4. Add about half the flour and mix to combine.
5. With the motor running, add salt and drizzle in olive oil. Mix to combine.
6. Add the remaining flour.
7. Mix approximately 8-10 minutes after all the flour is added. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky.
8. Place the dough in an oiled bowl or container. Oil the top of the dough. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise until doubled.
   
9. Meanwhile, make the flavored oil. Sauté the bruised garlic in the oil over medium-low heat until light golden. Do not allow the garlic to turn brown.
   
10. 
11. Allow the oil to cool for a few minutes. Add the rosemary. The oil should be warm to release the flavor of the rosemary but not so hot that the rosemary begins to sizzle.
    
12. Allow the oil and rosemary to sit at room temperature to cool. When cool, remove and discard the garlic.
13. When dough has doubled, punch it down to remove all air pockets.
14. Using olive oil, oil an 11x17 inch rimmed baking sheet.
15. Press the dough into the pan. Allowing the dough to rest for five or ten minutes midway through pressing it into the pan will allow the gluten to relax making it easier to shape the dough.
16. Brush the dough lightly with some of the flavored olive oil.
17. Cover the dough with an inverted rimmed baking sheet and allow it to rise until doubled.
18. Meanwhile, scrub the potatoes and slice into very thin slices. A mandoline is best. If so, set it for 1/16 inch.
    
19. 
20. Cover the potato slices with cool water to remove excess starch and to keep them from turning brown.
    
21. When the dough has doubled, dry the potato slices thoroughly and put them on the top of the dough in a single layer that is slightly overlapping. You may have potato slices left over.
    
22. Brush the top of the pizza with the remaining flavored olive oil and sprinkle liberally with coarse sea salt.
    
23. Bake at 425°F for approximately 25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and have golden edges and the dough is golden brown on the edges.
    

Notes

The dough can be made, with good results, in a bread machine on the dough cycle.  Though I don’t add sugar when making the dough by hand or with a mixer, the shorter rise cycles used by a bread machine work better with sugar.  Put the ingredients, above, into your bread machine following the manufacturers directions adding 1 tablespoon of sugar as well.  When the dough cycle is finished, press the dough into a pan, as described above, or refrigerate as described below.

If I have time, I prefer to make the dough a day or two in advance. After it has risen as described above, put the dough in an oiled container with a tight-fitting lid. Oil the top of the dough and refrigerate. Remove the dough from the refrigerator at least 5 hours before you plan on making the pizza. Punch down the dough just before making the pizza and proceed as above.

Copyright © 2018 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

December 12, 2018

After driving a circuitous route for two days (I’ll explain why in a minute), I got home to Santa Fe from Palm Springs last Wednesday to a surprise.

My husband and I had plans to attend the holiday party for the Department of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico, where he is Associate Professor, on Friday.  The surprise was that the party was a potluck and we had to bring a dish.

So, there I was on Wednesday evening, exhausted after two days of driving, with no prior knowledge that I had to produce a dish for a Friday event, coupled with the logistic challenge that I had to leave home around noon on Friday and ultimately make it to the party in Albuquerque by 7:00 PM with a dish in tow that I could neither refrigerate nor heat up!

It didn’t take long before I settled on my cousin Angie Catanese’s Marinated Pasta Salad.  This is a recipe that I’ve been making for about 45 years and it never fails to please.  It has so much stuff in it besides pasta that it’s almost a misnomer to just refer to it as a pasta salad!

Join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!

I went grocery shopping on Thursday morning, assembled the salad Thursday afternoon, and the rest is history!

You might also enjoy my cousin Angie’s recipe for Pickled Hot Peppers.

Now, for an explanation as to why you haven’t heard from me in two months and what will be coming up for the blog…

In early October I went to Palm Springs to complete recipe testing for the Trio Restaurant Cookbook.  One can’t really test recipes for a cookbook at 8,000 feet in elevation so I spent five weeks in Palm Springs testing and finalizing over 125 recipes for the cookbook.  I had intended to continue posting to the blog during this time but very quickly found it impossible to fit in anything other than grocery shopping, recipe testing, and note-taking!

I got back to Santa Fe a few days before Thanksgiving then, less than a week after Thanksgiving was back on my way to California to go to the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles to apply for a visa.

In early January I am going to Italy to attend a three-month intensive course in Italian cuisine geared toward professional chefs at the Italian Culinary Institute.  Because I’ll be in Italy more than 90 days I need a visa.

Follow us on your social media platform of choice

My visa appointment was Friday and I was planning on spending the weekend in Palm Springs then driving back to Santa Fe on Tuesday.  The consular official said my visa would be ready by Tuesday so, rather than trust my luck (and my passport) to FedEx, I decided to drive back to Los Angeles to retrieve my passport.

It took me 3 hours and 45 minutes to drive the 122 miles from our home in Palm Springs to the consulate!  I got my passport in about 5 minutes then did some shopping at Eataly, conveniently located across the street from the Italian Consulate.  (I’d love to know who was responsible for securing THAT location!)  I then reversed course and started the drive back to Santa Fe, passing within a few miles of our home in Palm Springs where I had started the day.  I spent the night in Payson, Arizona then finished the drive Wednesday (which is when this story began).

While I’m in Italy I will most likely be posting fewer recipes than usual.  I hope to chronicle some of my experiences at the Institute and pass on some tips and pointers on Italian food.  I hope you’ll stick with me during that time.  When I return, I’ll be back to my regular schedule of posting recipes.

Oh, and by the way, judging from how the pasta salad disappeared at the party, I think it was a hit!

Angie’s Marinated Pasta Salad

There is so much “stuff” in this that it could easily be the basis of a light meal with just some bread and cheese. Angie’s original recipe called for shells but other types of medium-size pasta work just as well. In fact, I think the cavatappi are especially nice given their unusual shape. If you are making this when tomatoes are at their peak, use three medium-sized tomatoes in place of the cherry and grape tomatoes. You can use 2 cups of purchased Italian salad dressing instead of the homemade dressing if you’re so inclined, though the flavor will obviously be somewhat different.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 17 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Servings: 24 people

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

Salad Ingredients

• 1 pound dry pasta such as shells, farfalle or cavatappi
• 1 cup diced sweet red onion
• 2 Bell peppers diced (red, yellow and/or orange add a nice color contrast)
• 1 pound multicolor cherry and grape tomatoes diced
• 3 stalks celery diced
• 1/4 pound Genoa salami diced
• 1/4 pound pepperoni diced
• 1/4 pound Provolone cheese diced
• 1/3 cup chopped oil-cured olives

Dressing

• 1 1/3 cups olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dry basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1 pinch dry rosemary crushed
• 1/4 cup minced parsley

Method

 

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients and set aside.
   
2. Cook the pasta in abundantly salted water until just cooked but still slightly al dente.
3. Meanwhile, cut-up all the ingredients.
4. Onion
   
5. Bell pepper
   
6. Tomatoes
   
7. Celery
   
8. Genoa salami
   
9. Pepperoni
   
10. Provolone
    
11. Oil-cured olives
    
12. When the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse in cool water to stop cooking.
    
13. Stir the pasta and diced onion into the dressing. Allow to cool to room temperature.
    
14. When the pasta is cool, stir in all remaining ingredients.
    
15. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

Notes

Copyright © 2018 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

October 3, 2018

I apologize for the “radio silence” for the past few weeks.  I was traveling in Europe and did not have a reliable internet connection.  I was planning on keeping up my regular posting schedule, and I had everything with me that I needed (having cooked and photographed all the dishes in advance) but it just wasn’t realistic to upload pictures at a snail’s pace.

Today’s recipe is a bit of a departure from what I usually post.  It’s an adaptation of a recipe from David Lebovitz, the only food blogger that I regularly follow.

How I found out about David, and this particular recipe, is curious.

Join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!

In mid-2016 my business partner, Melinda Orlando, and I sold the health care consulting business that I founded in 1994 and that we built together.  We brought our two long-term employees, Joe Kohberger, who celebrated his 20th anniversary with The Mihalik Group this year, and Zorina Granjean, who celebrated her 15th anniversary this year, to Santa Fe for a weekend along with their spouses.

It was a time devoted to enjoying each other’s company, exploring good food and drink in Santa Fe, and a way for Melinda and I to say “thank-you” to Joe and Zorina for all they did to make The Mihalik Group successful.

During one of our conversations, Zorina mentioned a recipe for a cherry aperitif that she got from a food blog that she followed.  The really interesting part is that the aperitif didn’t actually contain cherries but cherry leaves!

Based on Zorina’s recommendation, Rich DePippo and I whipped up a few batches in 2017 using leaves from his cherry trees.  Truth be told, as much as I like infusing alcohol with different botanicals (see my recipe for Limoncello, Melinda’s Drunken Prunes, and Liquore al Lauro for examples), I would never have tried this recipe based on cherry leaves rather than cherries and cherry pits.

That would have been a mistake!

Follow us on your social media platform of choice

It’s a great pre-dinner drink served over (lots of) ice, with or without a twist of citrus peel.  It’s not very alcoholic but it’s very flavorful.  Plus, it’s a cinch to make (assuming you can get a fistful of cherry leaves).

It’s very good made with just cherry leaves but adding one of the other botanicals changes its character.  The cherry flavor is still there but the aperitif becomes more complex.

Don’t use expensive wine or vodka.  Pedestrian alcohol works quite well.  In fact, I usually use red wine from a Trader Joe’s box.

Cherry Aperitif

If you’re not into the metric measurements, just toggle to the American ones. Select an inexpensive fruity red wine such as Merlot or Shiraz. Boxed wine is perfectly fine. I prefer to add only one additional botanical per batch so that I get the distinct flavor of cherries along with the added ingredient. If you come up with any good combinations, or other botanicals to add, please post a comment.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 27 minutes mins

Servings: 1.1 liters

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

Basic Ingredients

• 15 grams cherry leaves approximately 50-60 leaves
• 1 liter fruity red wine such as merlot or shiraz
• 125 milliliters vodka
• 100 grams sugar

Optional Botanicals (use only one per batch)

• 12 whole black peppercorns
• 3.25 grams dried culinary lavender
• 1 whole vanilla bean split in half
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick approximately 8 centimeters or 3 inches long

Method

 

1. Combine all ingredients in a large jar with a tight-fitting lid.
   
2. Swirl the jar to completely dissolve the sugar.
   
3. Keep the jar at room temperature but out of direct sunlight.
4. Swirl the jar daily for seven days.
5. Strain and discard the solids.
6. Pour the aperitif into bottles with tight-fitting lids.
   
7. Refrigerate the aperitif several weeks before using.
8. Serve over ice with a citrus peel, if you would like.

Notes

Copyright © 2018 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

September 5, 2018

In September 1972, at the age of 17, I went from the small town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania.

Little did I know how much my life was going to change, nor how sheltered I had been growing up in Johnstown.  There were a few trips to Florida and California by car, and a portion of every summer spent in Atlantic City, but other than that my life mostly revolved around the family and happenings within a few hours’ drive of Johnstown.

A few weeks before I left for college, I got a note from Jon Rikoon who was to be one of my roommates.  Jon lived on Long Island.  I don’t think I’d ever been to New York at that point.

Another of my roommates (we had a three-bedroom, four-bed dorm “apartment”) was Chip Fleischmann, as in Fleischmann’s yeast.  The fourth roommate only lasted the first semester and I simply can’t remember his name.  (He kept to himself mostly.)

Join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!

Early in freshman year, Jon started dating Gail Milgram.  Gail spent a lot of time in our apartment and she and I became very good friends.

Gail’s relationship with Jon didn’t last beyond freshman year but our friendship did.  We saw a lot of each other throughout our undergraduate years and for a few years thereafter while I was in medical school.

Our friendship remained strong.  In fact, at one point early in medical school Gail and I had to temporarily stop spending time together as her boyfriend at the time was jealous of our relationship.  Needless to say, he didn’t last!

Gail and I were in infrequent contact after my first couple of years in medical school.  In fact, years could go by without contact but, somehow, we always managed to reconnect.

As the years did, in fact, go by, Gail officially changed her name to Goldie.  She also became a rabbi.

A few months ago, out of the blue, just after I decided to post a recipe for the Jewish Apple Cake that (the then) Gail taught me how to make in college, I received an email from her.

Follow us on your social media platform of choice

She was in Europe for the summer and we set up a time to chat by video conference but her internet connection did not cooperate and we were unsuccessful in our attempts to chat.  We’re planning another attempt at video conferencing when both of us are in the States later this fall.  I’m looking forward to catching up with her.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy what is now, officially, Rabbi Goldie’s Jewish Apple Cake!

Rabbi Goldie's Jewish Apple Cake

It is best to bake this cake in a plain, shiny aluminum pan. A dark pan will overcook the outside before the center is done. Don't add the sugar to the apples before you are ready to pour the batter into the pan or it will pull a lot of liquid out of the apples.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs

Servings: 12 people

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil preferably corn oil
• 5 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 2 large apples
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts optional

Method

 

1. Grease and flour a 10" tube pan with a removable bottom.
2. Sift together the flour and baking powder.
3. Peel the apples, cut them in quarters and remove the core.
   
4. Slice the apples crosswise into 1/8 inch thick slices.
   
5. Mix the apples and cinnamon and set aside.
   
6. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream oil and 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons sugar.
   
7. Add eggs one at a time beating after each addition.
   
8. Add 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon orange juice and vanilla. Mix well.
9. Add flour and baking powder mixture and mix well.
   
10. Add 5 tablespoons of sugar to the apples and mix well.
    
11. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan.
    
12. Top the batter with half the apples.
    
13. Top the apples with half the walnuts, if using.
    
14. Add the remaining batter and top with the remaining apples and walnuts, if using.
    
15. Bake at 350°F for approximately 1 hour 40 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
16. Cool for 10 minutes on a rack. Remove from pan and cool completely.
    

Notes

Copyright © 2018 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!