Baby it's cold outside.........

Around this time of year, Tony and I have the honor to be involved with a great organization, Taste of the NFL.  They put on a great "party  with a purpose" the night before the Super Bowl.  The evening is all about hunger relief and this event benefits food banks in the SuperBowl city and around the country.  The evening is full of fun, food, wine and football.  35 of the country's best chefs are paired with alumni football players from each NFL team.  Tony was the chef from Indianapolis for 15 years before he passed the torch to Chef Greg Hardesty.  Now Tony is helping in a different capacity, he is a chef coordinator for the event.  A lot of work, but also a lot of fun!  The event is held in Brooklyn on Feb 1 at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal Pier 12. NFL Fans and foodies can gather among an estimated 3000 guests.  

I'm really excited about being involved and be able to travel to New York, but why does it have to be sooooo cold!  Usually the Super Bowl is held in a warmer climate, even Indianapolis was warm (er)! It will still be a great time and for a great cause!  And my girls will be there, yeah!

We are hoping to check out Eataly in New York, Arthur street in Brooklyn and who knows where else we end up...I'll have stories to tell.

Because it is so cold, I found a great recipe to warm your bones....and your sweet tooth

From one of my favorite Chef/authors, Lidia Bastianich

Chocolate Soup

4 cups whole milk

1/4 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar, grated or chopped fine

Peel of 1 orange, in thick strips

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup cocoa powder

Toasted brioche or plain cookies, for serving

Bring the milk just to a simmer in a sloped sided medium pot.  Ladle about 1/2 cup of the milk into a small bowl and whisk in the flour to make a smooth paste.  Whisk he flour paste back into the hot milk until smooth.  Add the sugar, orange peel, butter, vanilla, and salt and bring back to a simmer.

Pour cocoa powder into a medium bowl.  While whisking, gradually pour about 1 cup of the hot milk into the cocoa.  Whisk until smooth, then whisk the cocoa and milk back into the pot.  Bring the soup to a simmer, whisking constantly and making sure you get into the corners of the pot.  Let simmer until thickened about 3 minutes.  Strain through a sieve into a clean pot.  Serve hot in bowls, with brioche or plain cookies for dipping.

Try to stay warm, and hopefully Spring is right around the corner!!

Cold, snowy, ho hum January

PAll the holiday celebrations have come to an end so when the second week of January rolls around, the feeling we all have is.....oh what a long winter we have ahead of us. Especially after the week we have experienced!  

But if you are Italian, February is a great month to look forward to.  It's Carnivale time!

Carnivale , also known as Mardi gras, is celebrated in Italy and many places around the world 40 days before Easter, a final party before Ash Wednesday and the restrictions of Lent.

Carnivale in Italy is a huge winter festival celebrated with parades, masquerade balls, entertainment, music, and parties.  Children throw confetti at each other.  Mischief and pranks are also common during the celebrations.  The foods of Carnivale are rich in fats and sweets. Traditional dishes in most regions of Italy include gnocchi, lasagna or tortelli.  Nowadays, many traditions have vanished or changed, but still common on Fat Tuesday are spoonfuls of small fried dough called Fritelle or Castagnole.  The most famous Carnivale fritters are ribbons of sweet fried pasta and covered with honey or sugar, called Frappole.

After spending three weeks recently in Italy I have learned that everyday is a celebration.

I think that if you are ever fortunate to travel to Italy you will know that life in Italy is so different than life in America.  Italians are so easy going, there is no sense of urgency...they definitely live the beautiful life "la vita Bella". The beautiful life for Italians , traditionally is not a life of luxury, it's a relaxed family centric lifestyle.

A few things I noted during our visit.....

* Eat slowly and enjoy your company.  There is no such thing as a fast meal in Italy.  Dinners are unhurried around a table with family and friends.  Food is natural, local and authentic.

*Drink a little, but not too much.  Italians love their vino, but they don't overdo it.  Wine was always present during meals.  

*indulge a little every now and then.  Gelato, chocolate, cookies, pastries.  They are always around. So why not!

*relax...stop hurrying.  Life is less hurried in Italy. Again, there is no sense of urgency.  There is always tomorrow attitude.

*families tend to stay in the same area! rather then moving around.  Some families have compounds with each family member having their own house and land.

Just a few lessons Americans can learn from Italians.

Pasta of the week: Pici (pronounced Pee-Chee). Pici is a thick, hand rolled pasta like a fat spaghetti that originated from Siena in Tuscany.  In the Montalcino area it is also referred to as Pinci.

My favorite pasta recipe of all time is Pasta Alla Norma.  This pasta dish reminds me a lot of my mom, tomorrow will be 33 years that my mom passed away, but I can still remember the smells of my mom's kitchen and this is one of them.  I miss my mom a lot, but I know she is guiding me through my journey of life, especially the cooking portion.  Thank you Mom for everything you taught me!

This is a pasta dish from Sicily.  The best comfort food, especially from these cold days or nights!

I remember how happy I felt when I knew this was the meal my mom was preparing for us.

This recipes serves 4

 1 Eggplant, peeled and cubed

Salt

1/2 cup olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 can crushed San Marziano tomatoes

Salt and pepper

1 lb Nicole-Taylor's Pici Pasta

1/2 cup grated Ricotta Salata

Cube eggplant and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let sit for 1 hour.  

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a saucepan, add garlic, and cook until golden.  Add tomatoes and salt to taste.  Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat until the sauce has reduced by a third.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, remove from heat, and set aside.

Wash the salt from the eggplant and pat dry.  Heat the remaining olive oil in a sauté pan and fry the eggplant until golden brown.  Remove from pan drain on paper towel and rough chop.  

Cook the Pici pasta, drain and place in a large sauté pan in high heat.  Add half the tomato sauce, the eggplant, half the basil leaves and half the ricotta Salata.  Toss lightly, serve in large dish with the rest of the sauce, Ricotta Salata, and basil.

Enjoy!

 

Happy 2014

Happy New Year and hope that everyone is keeping warm....

With the beginning of the new year, Southern Italians have a tradition of "out with the old, in with the new" so if your traveling to Italy during the holiday season watch for falling kitchenware as you explore! What do I mean by this..Italians, especially Southern, bring in the New Year by throwing out old pots and pans (sometimes even appliances) into the streets.  This act is said to dispel bad luck from the new year...so watch out for those pots and pans.

How many Panettone did you receive over the holidays?  As many of you know, I was raised in a traditional Italian family, so over the holiday season we would have dozens of Panettone packages in our house.  One of the many Italian traditions would be to bring a Panettone and a bottle of homemade wine when visiting friends and family.  Panettone would last for months after that.  After a while, just plain Panettone was boring, so we would try to come up with different ways of serving it.  Below are some of the more common ways to serve Panettone.....

* Slice of Panettone served with a warm cup of coffee, tea or milk

* make French toast using a slice of Panettone, instead of bread.  Serve with a nice syrup

* panettone bread pudding served with a rum sauce

Enjoy that left-over Panettone, brings back a lot of my childhood memories!

As many of you know, Tony and I spent three wonderful weeks in Italy, this fall.  I will be sharing some of our adventures with you in the future weeks.  We learned many things traveling to Italy, but nothing could of prepared us more than the warm hospitality and delicious food that the people of Italy shared with us!  Oh the stories......

Every week we will showcase a different type of pasta that is made at Nicole-Taylor's Pasta Market, along with a recipe we hope you will enjoy.  It's winter, so what a better pasta to begin with, Bucatini.

Bucatini are sometimes referred to as "garden hoses" not only for their hallow, tubular shape but because they are hard to control on a fork.  I love their chewer texture.  Great with a heartier sauce such as meat, mushroom or even carbonara.  Below is a simple recipe for Bucatini All'Amatriciana (this recipe is an adaption from my favorite Mario Batali cookbook "the Babbo Cookbook").

3/4 lb. pancetta, chopped

3 garlic gloves, thinly sliced

1 red onion, sliced 

1 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Kosher salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

1 1/2 cup Nicole-Taylor's Marinara sauce

1 lb Nicole-Taylor's Bucatini

1 bunch flat leaf parsley

Pecorino Romano, for grating

*Boil water, add 2 Tablespoons salt, for pasta.

*Place pancetta, in sauté pan and cook over medium heat until most of the fat has been rendered from the meat.  Remove, discard some fat, leave enough to coat garlic, onion and red pepper.  Return pancetta with vegetables and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until golden brown.  Season with salt and pepper, add marinara sauce, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

*cook Bucatini in boiling, salted water until al dente, about 4 minutes.  Add to simmering sauce.  Add parsley and toss to coat.  Top with Pecorino.  Serve immediately.

I'm excited about all the new projects that we are about to launch at Nicole-Taylor's within the next few weeks.  Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for further information.

On a personal note, I would like to thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers during my recovery from surgery.  The good news is that my surgery was a success and no follow-up is needed!!  I am back at the shop full time, so that makes me very happy, stop by and say hello.  

Thank you all for your support and let's make 2014 a great year....I'm ready to have the Italian in me unleashed!   Rosa