Authentic Delicious Italian Cuisine
My latest article is dedicated to the memory of one of one of the most important voices of the culinary world, food historian Gil Marks, and is all about an all-time Italian favorite: Zabaione!
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If you’re an olive oil fan, be prepared. This year has been described as “The Black Year of Italian Olive Oil,”: in Italy, the weather was truly horrible (I spent the summer there, and can testify); on top of that, there was a rare and extreme infestation of a fruit fly known as the “olive tree leprosy”.
The result is that the olive harvest in Italy is down 35 percent from last year, which means that we should expect to pay much more than usual for Italian olive oil, and to see even more olive oil fraud than last year — cheaper oils imported from abroad being sold as Italian, lower grades labeled extra-virgin, and worse, cut with vegetable oils that have nothing to do with olives.
What’s an olive-oil lover to do? (a good idea, of course, would be trying oils from Greece and those countries unaffected by the issue). If you believe in miracles, you can also pray that your stack will last eight times as long as it normally would, much like in the story of Hanukkah.
An eternal optimist, I still published a whole feature on olive oil, complete with recipes, cooking tips, and ideas for olive oil parings and tasting parties, in the current issue of Joy of Kosher magazine. In the meantime, I wish Italy a gorgeous, gigantic, perfect olive harvest next year!
In the current issue of Joy of Kosher, check out my articles on fancy homemade pastas and on the king of Italian herbs: basil!
hanging fresh pasta to dry
I’m pretty sure I’ve already told you that every year, comes May, I feel quite conflicted between my desire to eat more fresh fruit, vegetables and light fare, and all the temptations of Mother’s Day, my birthday, and Shavuot – plus dozens more excuses…. (just to give you a couple of examples, last year I indulged in a pink meringue cake and a pistachio and cream Swiss roll).
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the chocolate shavings or chips on low heat in a bain marie (double boiler) with a pinch of Sarawak or pink pepper. Tape a very large piece of wax paper to your counter. Pour the melted chocolate on top and spread it into a very thin layer with a silicone spatula. Allow to cool.Wash the strawberries and cut them into small pieces. Whip the cream with the sugar until it forms stiff peaks, and incorporate the strawberries.Heat the blade of a knife over the stove, and use it to cut the chocolate into 16 rectangles.In a baking tray, arrange 4 individual desserts by alternating chocolate rectangles with layers of strawberry cream (for each dessert, 4 rectangles and layers). Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the freezer for at least 1 hour. Decorate with more strawberry, mint and the powdered sugar before serving.
https://dinnerinvenice.com/2014/05/20/chocolate-cream-and-strawberry-frozen-delight/
After one of the longest winters that I can remember, it felt quite exciting to finally put all my winter gear in storage and switch to easy tee shirts and jersey dresses. There was, however, one downside – all the cream, cheese and butter-laden recipes I’d been posting to help you brave the elements, had left a couple of unwanted inches around my waist . Time to go easy on the béchamel, pasta and desserts for a week or so!
Today, I am treating myself to a salad made with red radicchio (probably my favorite leafy vegetable). and the exotic addition of Medjool dates to temper its slight bitterness. Let me know what you think!
Ingredients
Directions
Peel the onions and slice them into quarters or eights depending on the size.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet on low heat (prefer a heavy or non-stick skillet); add onions and thyme, and cook for 10 minutes covered, stirring often. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and cook, stirring until caramelized. Add the balsamic, and cook covered for 15 more minutes, still stirring frequently to prevent the onions from sticking.
In the meantime, cut the washed and dried radicchio into strips and arrange them into individual bowls. Add the warm, caramelized onions, the cheese shavings and the pitted, coarsely chopped dates.
Deglaze the pan with the remaining 1 or 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp water, pour onto the salad (filtering first if needed), and serve!
https://dinnerinvenice.com/2014/05/15/warm-radicchio-salad-red-onion-dates/
