My favorite part of the day

My favorite part of the day? The happy hour!
In Italy you call it "aperitivo" it goes from 7pm to 9pm, you drink, you eat, chit chat with friends and it is always a good time!
My favorite places are those that serve finger food and appetizers ;)

In America... well, happy hour hours vary from place to place. It's like saying, it's always a good time to have a drink lol
Here are some of my favorite drinks:

MOJITO AT A LATIN BAR

BEER AT BARCADE ( JERSEY CITY)

APEROL SPRITZ AT SKINNERS LOFT (JERSEY CITY)

GINGER LYCHEE  MOJITO AT OFICINA LATINA (NY) 

CHERRY GIN MARTINI AT SATIS (JERSEY CITY)

BLACKBERRY CAIPIRINHA AND CHIPOTLE MEZCALITA MARGARITA AT OFICINA LATINA (NYC) 

And these are just few of them ;)

Oh woow, now that I think about it, I need to take some more pictures to update this post, and it's happy hour time! ;)

I'll be back with more....

Happy Aperitivo! ˆˆ

5 Cheeses Truffles

Happy new year everybody! ^^
What did you eat during the holidays? I'm soo curious!

Well I had a lot good food and I didn't cook almost at all lol I needed a "vacation"and to try new stuff!

Ramen was one of my favorite!

Well today I'm going to finally write the recipe for the cheese truffles that I made for an event one month ago ;)

They are pretty easy to make and the result is very savory!
You need a good mixer!

Ingredients: 

• Fontina or Provolone cheese 50 gr ( 1.8 oz)
• Gorgonzola cheese 50 gr ( 1.8 oz)
• Parmesan cheese 50 gr ( 1.8 oz) grated
• Gruyer cheese 50 gr ( 1.8 oz)
• Ricotta cheese 200 gr ( 7 oz)
• Chives 2 tablespoons 
• Paprika (the sweet one) 2 tablespoons 
• Poppy seeds 2 tablespoons 
• Sesame seeds 2 tablespoons 

Preparation:

1. Cut the crust from the cheeses that have one and start dicing the fontina ad the gruyere cheese.

2. Put them in the mixer until they are finely chopped, add the ricotta cheese, the gorgonzola and the  parmesan. Keep in the mixer for about 2 minutes. the result should be a homogeneous cream.

3. Transfer the cream into a bowl that has a lid and place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, so it will be easier to manipulate the cream. 

4. After the two hours you can prepare 4 small bowls. One with chives, one with poppy seeds, one with paprika and the last one with sesame. Like this.

 5. With a spoon take a small quantity of the cream, ( using the spoon will help you select the same amount of cream every time), and with your hands manipulate the cream to form little balls ( not bigger than a nut).
When you have enough balls ready, roll them in the spices.

6. Reaaadyyyy!! When the cream is all gone and the balls colorful, you are done! Serve them in a large plate or in nice cake cups. 

P.s. Make sure you tell people that this is a savory dish.. I can't tell you how many people tried them and they were expecting it to taste sweet, so their faces went from this O_o  to  ˆ_ˆ lol
I loved their expressions.. and they came back for more ;)

Let me know if you make them! This recipe is great for parties.

December in NY/NJ

Hi everybody!

I haven't updated my blog for a while... well I've been doing a lot of things ;)

I made pizza and calzoni :)

Pollo al forno ( baked chicken)

Fettuccine with pancetta and cherry tomatoes

I tried the Arancine from the Anrancini Bros ( not bad, i have to say, but mine are better lol)

And I tried those cute peanut butter kiss cookies!

 I saw the big Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center 

Made my own Limoncello (with my mom secret recipe, almost gone now, I think I need to make more)

Made my first ornament ;) (see here)

And made some very perfumed soap with a very good friend.

And then my day trip to Mitsuwa!

A Japanese marketplace in Edgewater. I loved that place and I got to try my first and real RAMEN.. soooo gooood! I need to go back there!

ˆˆ

And now it is snowing.. and who knows me knows that I loooove the snow! 

Now it's time to get ready for New Years eve! ;)

Arancina Day

Yesterday was Santa Lucia in Palermo.

Santa Lucia occurs every year, on December 13! I wish I was there!

The importance of this feast is due to a real historical event, happened in 1646, during a great famine, that was hitting strong the city of Palermo, the people started to say prayers to that Saint and a miracle happened: a big ship full of corn appearing in the Port of the city, saving the all citizen from the death.

From that day, every year the feast of Santa Lucia has been celebrated in the city, avoiding almost every kind of corn or flour. So Santa Lucia as also known in town as the Feast of Arancine, or St Arancina, or rice balls.

And for this occasion I'm going to show you how to make your own arancine al burro!

Ingredients:

For 20 big arancine, or 40 small ones

• Arborio rice 36 oz (1kg)
• Onion 1
• Vegetable bullion 2 to make 10.5 cups (2 1/2 liters) of broth
•  Butter 3.5 oz (100 gr)
• Saffron 
• parmesan cheese 9 oz (250 gr)
• Breadcrumb
• Ham 10 oz (300 gr)
• Mozzarella cheese or cheddar 17/18 oz (500 gr)
• Corn oil

Preparation: 

1. Start making the broth, in a large pot pour the water and add the bullion and the saffron.

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2. Now the rice. Put some olive oil in a large pot and the finely chopped onion, add the rice, stir and add the broth when necessary. When the rice is ready add the butter and the parmesan cheese and mix together 

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3. Done that, place the rice in a large serving place to rest and cool down.

4. Cut the mozzarella cheese and the ham in small cubes

5. Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl

6. When the rice is cold you can start making the rice balls. Place a small amount on the palm of your hand (img 3)

Get ready to get "dirty"... look at my hand lol!!! But it definitively worth it!!

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7. In the middle place a cube of mozzarella and some ham. (img 4)

8. With the same amount of rice cover the half that you have on your palm and seal it, trying to give it the shape of a ball. (img 5)

9. Set aside and repeat until the rice is gone. 

10. Roll al the rice balls into breadcrumb and when they are all ready you can start deep frying them.

Make sure you are using a deep frying pan, because the arancine need to be completely covered in oil. 

11. When they get a nice golden brown color place in a large plate covered with kitchen paper, so it will absorb the exceeding oil.

12. This should be the result! 

Buon appetito!!! ˆˆ

Cotolette di melanzane / Breaded Eggplant cutlets

Some good things are happening in this period!
I had my first turkey for Thanksgiving, and it was delicious!

I really want to learn how to make it!

In the mean while.. I made this appetizer a couple of days ago, and I want to share it with you!
As you will notice the quality of the photos is much better than usual and that's thanks to a great photographer, her name is Margie! :)

Cotolette di melanzane / Breaded eggplant cutlets

Ingredients:

• Eggs 4
• Breadcrumb (don't really know how much, sorry I didn't weight it)
• Eggplant 1
• Parmesan cheese 2 spoons
• Corn oil
• Parsley
• Salt

Preparation:
1.Wash the eggplant, clean it and cut it into slices, not too thin. Place the slices in a colander. Sprinkle with salt and cover so the bitter part of the eggplant will drip away with the exceeding water.

2. Beat the eggs with a fork in a bowl, when smooth, add a pinch of salt.

3. In a large plate, prepare the breadcrumb mixed with the parmesan cheese and minced parsley.

4. Dip the eggplant slices into the egg mixture and then in the breadcrumb mixture and set aside.

5. In a frying pan heat the corn oil, when hot, cook the breaded eggplant slices till they turn a golden brown color.

6. Place the slices that are ready in a plate covered with kitchen paper, so it will absorb the exceeding oil and repeat the cooking steps until all the slices are cooked.

7. Remove the kitchen paper and serve!

I hope you like it!

Let me know if you try it! 

Buon appetito ˆˆ

Tarallucci&Vino

http://taralluccievino.net/restaurant/

One of my favorite restaurants in the City!
Italian food of the best quality... and of course, quality comes with a price. Very expensive!

I had a platter or meat "salumi"and a platter of cheese "formaggi" the salumi were:
Prosciutto di Parma, Cacciatorino salami and Lardo Ibérico
the formaggi:
Burrata with truffle oil, Ubriaco al prosecco, Miticaña de Cabra.

Sooo good!

Main course was: Ravioli with porcini mushrooms on a bed of pumpkin vellutata and truffle oil!

And for dessert a glass of Malvasia, a strong wine from Sicily! 

It was a perfect dinner!

ˆ_ˆ

 

Savory Cake

Hi there!

As promised to my good friend Chiara, today I'll make a Savory Cake with vegetables.

The ingredients are:

• Zucchini 1
• Frozen green peas 
• Puff pastry 1 sheet
• olive oil
• Mozzarella or another kind of cheese that you like
• salt
• black pepper
• garlic

Preparation:

1. Let's start with the green peas, you need to sauté them in a pan with a garlic clove and a bit of olive oil. First the oil then the garlic, when the garlic turns lightly brown you will add the green peas, add a little bit of water, enough to cover the peas completely and cover the pan, stir from time to time till the water is gone and the peas are soft but not ready! While the peas are cooking dice the zucchini (img 1,2)

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2. Add the diced zucchini to the peas and cook until they became soft, but not mushy, consider that you have to fill the puff pastry with it and bake it! So you don't want to over cook it! (img 3,4)

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3. Start dicing the mozarella or the cheese of your choosing.

4. Place the puff pastry in a square pan, start filling the puff pastry with the green peas and the zucchini that you previously cooked and add on top the diced cheese as to cover the vegetables. (Img 5)
Fold the sides of the pastry to cover the filling (img 6)

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5. Place in the oven uncovered for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees, until the pastry becomes of a nice gold brown color. And serve warm!

Buon appettitooooo ˆ_ˆ

P.s. I need to apologize for my pots and pens.. they are awful! I'll do better soon! Promise!

Finger food and puff pastry for a lazy day!

Well, I'm back.
Did anyone try the Tiramisu recipe?
I would love to know if you liked it! Feel free to comment.

Anyway, today was one of those days, the kind of day when I don't really feel like cooking (something elaborate..) so I thought about what I used to do when I was in Sicily...

In Sicily whenever I really didn't feel like cooking, I would buy a couple of sheets of puff pastry and make a "torta salata" I think I could translate it with savory cake.
I know, now you are thinking: You buy the puff pastry???? Why don't you make it yourself???
Well the answer is easy, first of all, I was lazy today, second, I have never made it... I hear and read is quite hard to do and I really need to be in the mood for trying it.
But I promise, I will try to make it, and when I do I will share with you the preparation and the result!

So first of all, I had to find a place where they actually sell the puff pastry, it was nearly impossible, but I did it :) I was so happy about it!
Then back home I started playing with it.
And in the end I made some "Pigs in a blanket"as appetizer and "stuffed pockets" as main course, as I said, nothing complicated!

Ingredients:

• Puff Pastry 2 sheets
• Sausage 4/5 depends on how big you cut it
• Prosciutto a couple of slices
• Mozzarella diced
• Flour, to prevent the pastry to stick on the kitchen surface

Preparation:
1. Since the puff pastry is frozen you need to remove it from the freezer and let it stay at room temperature for at least 40 minutes. Until you can unfold it easily.

2. While the puff pastry rests, you can start cutting
the  sausages in small pieces. (img 1)

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3. Start cutting stripes out of the puff pastry. (img 2)

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4. Cut the stripes into small squares, big enough to roll the diced sausage in it, as to obtain mini rolls. (img 3, 4).

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5. Place the mini rolls in a large pan, well distanced because the puff pastry is going to notably increase in size and then cook it in the oven, that you have previously preheated at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.
The result is the one you see on the right (img 7)
I have to admit the they were gone in the blink of an eye ˆ_ˆ
I guess that means they were good!





Now, let's think about the stuffed pockets...

1. Take the second sheet of puff pastry, and cut it in a half. In the lower part of this half sheet place a couple of slices of prosciutto and inside the prosciutto the diced mozzarella. (img7, 8)

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2. Moist your fingers with water, trace the border of the pastry and seal it, try not to leave unsealed parts. With a knife make some cuts on the pastry surface. (img 9)

3. Place the pockets in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes and this is the result!

Buon appettitooooo ˆ_ˆ