We had our first Holiday Dinner last weekend. It was a lot of fun preparing the food and intermingling with our guests, life long friends, when they arrived. Our guests have dined extremely well on both sides of the Atlantic, and it was our intention to add to their dining experiences.
Our Guests
The meal was prepared to delight the palates of three Tuscans, one Piemontese, one Parmigiano and three Neopolitan Bronx chicks.
When our guests arrived, we greeted them with hugs and kisses. In a flash, we handed our guests their drinks. We meandered into the living room to chat. In the middle of the room was a table with a tray of hors-d’oeuvres consisting of six cheeses, sliced soppressata diavolo, Hot Soppressata
I have made shrimp cocktail a million times and I do not have a formal recipe. So we are going to wing it. First and foremost not to overcook the shrimp. Simply bring a pot of water with lemon juice to which we add a branch of Basil, branch of parsley and a few branches of thyme and let come to a boil with peppercorn, lemon, salt. Add clean, peeled and deveined shrimp to the rolling, boiling water. Allow the water to boil until the shrimp are pink. Immediately drain the pink shrimp into an ice bath and shock them.
Shrimp Cocktail
Different folks prefer different dressings with their shrimp. My favorite is cocktail sauce, when it is prepared to perfection. Once again, for the recipe, we must wing it. To make the sauce, you need eight ounces of a thick ketchup, to which you add two tablespoons of horseradish, a couple of squirts of hot sauce, the juice of half a lemon, a couple of squirts of Worcestershire Sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Mix all the ingredients to amalgamate all the flavors.
To serve: places the sauce in a decorative cup or small bowl. Place the bowl in the middle of a large pretty platter and surround the bowl of cocktail sauce with the shrimp. Garnish with thin slices of lemon and serve.
Our Primi Piatti, pasta dish was meat filled green ravioli dressed with a light tomato sauce. A dish my mother often made and I enjoyed for a lifetime. The recipe may also be found in the cookbook I authored, The Cooking of Parma. For the spinach pasta, click to Food Wine Italian. Meat filing: Our ravioli is filled with meat and spinach or another green. Made from excess Staccato e Verdure-pot roast and vegetables. If there is a little cooked chicken or veal it lends a delicate touch. Like Nonu Augustino, I prefer the potted beef. After the antipasto we paired our food with a Cannubi Barolo 2000. Fabulous pairing!
Meat Filled Spinach Ravioli
For the Ravioli
1 recipe spinach pasta, 4 tablespoons butter, 1 medium onion, 1 teaspoon basil, 1/4 teaspoon Thyme, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 lb potted beef, 1/2 cup chopped vegetables from cooked pot roast(If Available), 1/4 cup meat broth or pot roast sauce, 4 oz. cooked chopped spinach, 1 /2 cup of ricotta or 1/4 cup of stracchino or other soft cheese, 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1 egg, Salt & pepper to taste
Heat butter in a sauté pan. Add chopped onions to hot butter. Cut potted beef into pieces the size of walnuts and add to onions. Add vegetables cooked with the pot roast. Blend in basil, thyme and bay leaf. Mix all ingredients well. Add meat broth, cover and cook for ten minutes. If beef mixture is dry add a little extra broth to dampen.
Remove from fire, cool a little and chop ravioli mixture in meat grinder or food processor, prevent mixture from becoming pureed. Put mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add four ounces of cooked chopped spinach, add soft cheese, egg and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
Roll out pasta dough square and paper thin, two pages thin. Half fill pastry bag with stuffing. About 1/2 an inch in from the sides and 2 inches from the bottom of the rolled dough, drop about 1&1/2 teaspoons of filling onto the dough, one inch apart. Make one row at a time. Paint edges and in-between filling with egg washes and pull the bottom 2 inches of the dough over the filling. Press dough, between the mounds of filling together; press ends together, seal around filling. With ravioli zigzag cuter, cut between each little mound of stuffing and obtain 1&1/2 inch raviolis. Repeat until all the dough is used. Save any excess filling for veal birds.
Opened Beef Tenderloin
Our entrée was Rosa di Parma with a side dish of roasted vegetables. I was first served Rose di Parma in Europe’s Food Capital, Parma, Italy at a dinner in my honor. I was awarded first prize for international journalism. The cookbook that I wrote, The Cooking of Parma, was awarded the Maria Luigia “Duchessa di Parma” International Journalist first prize.
This beef tenderloin 2 to 4 lb Chateaubriand Roast entrée is one of Parma, Italy’s great dishes, and it is a new wave Italian dish. I prepare both the original Rosa di Parma and my own improvised mini Rosa di Parma. The Photos illustrate the Original Rosa di Parma, and the recipe is for Mini Rosa di Parma.
Mini Rosa di Parma
Serves 4
4- 5 ounce filet of beef tenderloin steaks (Tournedos) , 1 large clove garlic cut in half, 5 sprigs of fresh rosemary, 8 slices of prosciutto, 1/4 Lb. wedge of parmigiano-(optional), 1/3 cup flour for dredging, about 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 stick, butter 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1/3 cup dry red
Filled Beef Tenderloin
wine, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 2 optional tablespoons heavy cream, Salt & pepper to taste
To open the filet steak like a book, from the middle of the thickness of the steak, slice almost to the end of the steak and open. Rub the inside of the garlic on the opened meat. Remove the leaves from 2 of the sprigs of rosemary and chop them then sprinkle the chopped rosemary over the open meat. Slice slivers of Parmigiano-Reggiano and lay them down on the sprinkled rosemary. Cover the cheese with a slice of prosciutto, sprinkle with a little pepper and close the book. Secure the book closed with toothpicks.
Heat the oven to 450 degrees. F. A convection oven is good for Rosa di Parma.
To sear the meat, heat an ovenproof saute pan and barely cover it with the oil. Lightly dredge the meat in the flour and carefully add the mini Rosa di Parma to the hot pan. Quickly brown the tournedos on
Tied and Ready to Cook
both sides and remove them from the pan. Drain off the used oil, add the butter to the pan, add a sprig or 2 of rosemary, the balsamic vinegar and the red wine; return the meat to the pan and place the pan in the hot oven and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.
To serve, put the cooked meat in a dish, add the parsley to the meat juices, if you wish stir in the cream, and pour a little of the juice over the meat. The Rosa di Parma may be served over caramelized onions and green beans or sauteed chard, Garnish with stems of rosemary.
Roasted Vegetables: Again, there isn’t any formal recipe, so we shall wing it. The roasted vegetable platter contained mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, yellow peppers, orange peppers, and red peppers, and small multi colored tomatoes. The vegetables were all bite size. They were dressed with a little red wine vinegar, oil, salt and pepper, a little balsamic vinegar, fresh chopped basil, sage and rosemary. Mix the vegetables well with the dressing and place them on aroasting pan. Roast at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes. All the vegetables should be al dente.
Veggies Oven Ready
Yum-Yum Good
We topped the meal off with two desserts, coffee and assorted liqueurs. The desserts were Semifreddo Tuttifrutti and Torta di Maraschino, which is a creamy, cherry flavored cake.
Tuttifruitti Semifreddo & Torta di Maraschino
Semifreddo Tuttifrutti, is an almost frozen Tutti Frutti dessert that is my creation, however I am sure that there are other versions as well. Furthermore, it is similar to frozen cake filling that I have been making since I was 19 years old. The way I make semifreddo is with an egg base similar to zabaglione.
Semifreddo Base
4 large eggs, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup sweet wine such as Moscato Possito, 1 tablespoon liqueur such as Sambucca or Strega
For the whipped cream
1 cup heavy cream, 3 table spoons confectionery sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract , 1 teaspoon fruit extract 1/3 cup finely diced or chopped candied fruit mix. Put all the ingredients for the base in a mixing bowl, stir vigorously over a double boiler. Be careful not to make scrambled eggs and do not allow the mixture to foam. This is the same procedure used for making zabaglione. The egg mixture should triple in size and if you have a candy thermometer it should register about 140 degrees-no higher. When you have a nice creamy consistency with the eggs, transfer the mixture into an ice bath and stir occasionally until cold.
For the whipped cream: Whip the cream to soft peaks, add the vanilla, fruit extract , confectionery sugar and whip to stiff peaks. If you over whip you will have butter.
Fold 1/3 of the cream at a time into the base mixture. When you fold the last third into the base also fold in the candied fruit into the base. Place the mixture into a freezer proof container and place in the freezer for 24 hours or longer.
To remove the frozen desert from the container, dip the container in hot tap water for ten seconds and turn it over. It should easily slide out of the container. Place on a decorative plate and serve.
Torta di Maraschino
I came across this fabulous cake in a small expresso shop in the city of Parma, Italy. From my first bite my thought was “ the best Boston Cream Pie I every tasted”. My second though was “ This is not at all like a Boston Cream Pie”. I knew immediately that I had to duplicate it when I got home. I asked the lady proprietor the name of the cake and she said to me, Torta di Maraschino. It is flavored with maraschino liqueur. I have made one minor alteration. I no longer use pastry cream, in place of the pastry cream I use a cream my grandfather created that is still used in Conti’s Pastry Shop. Unfortunately for the reader, the cream will remain a family secret and a Conti Pastry Shop secret. This recipe will have the pastry cream used in Parma, Italy.
12 to 16 slices
1 recipe Pan di Spagna, Spanish Bread – Classic sponge cake, 1 recipe Crema di Pasticcera, Pastry cream, Sweet sherry to wet the cake, 1-6 oz jar cherry preserve
PAN di SPAGNA – Spanish Bread – Classic sponge cake
1/2 lb sugar or 1 cup sugar, 6 large eggs, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 LB flour or 1 & 3/4 cups cake flour (2 cups all purpose may be substituted), Zest of one (1) lemon, 1/4 teaspoon salt
To make the cake: Put the sugar and eggs in a mixing bowl. Beat the eggs to soft peaks, should become about 4 times in volume. As the eggs are beating, sift the flour into a bowl, grate the lemon onto the flour, and mix in the salt. Slowly pour the vanilla into the beaten eggs. With a spatula, gently and slowly fold the flour into the beaten eggs. Simply sprinkle 1/4 cup of flour over eggs, like a light snow fall, and gently fold. Repeat the process until all the flour is evenly incorporated into the eggs. Gently put the batter into the dusted spring pan and bake. Bake for 30 minutes, and test with a long toothpick. Stick the toothpick in the middle of the cake. It should come out clean.
For CREMA di PASTICCERA- Pastry Cream
1 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt , 3 tablespoon cornstarch, 2&1/2 cups milk, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract Zest of 1 lemon and the zest of 1 orange , 4 extra large eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
To make the pastry cream; Put the cornstarch into a mixing bowl. Add a 1/2-cup of milk, stir, with a spoon, to dissolve the cornstarch, and whisk in the eggs. Mix the remaining milk and sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the milk to the scolding point and lower the heat to keep the milk warm. Whisk the egg mixture again and slowly mix it into the hot milk. Cook the mixture until the whisk leaves lacy lines in the pastry cream. Remove the cream from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Poor the pastry cream into a heat proof glass dish, cover cream with buttered wax paper, cool and store in the refrigerator.
To make two layer cake, Slice the top third (1/3) of the cake off and slice the bottom in half. Now you should have three equal portions of cake.
Sprinkle the bottom 1/3 of the cake, on both sides with the sherry. Top the wet bottom layer with the strawberry preserve, cream over the preserve. Repeat for second layer. Sprinkle the top layer with the sherry. Place the last layer of cake on top. Place the cake in the refrigerator to set. While the cake sets make a chocolate ganache.
Crema Ganach Chocolate Topping
1/3 cup of heavy cream, 1 stick of unsalted butter, 2/3 cup cocoa, 3 cups confectioners powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla
In a small pot, place the heavy cream on the stove over medium heat. Mix the sugar and cocoa in a bowl. When the cream scalds, close the fire, mix in the butter and the vanilla. Wait 5 minutes and mix the cream into the sugar mixture. Whip the cream, sugar, and cocoa smooth. Pour the ganache over the cake, and with a spatula spread the chocolate over the top and around the sides. Decorate the cake with candied cherries.
Fine china for the finest table place settings with a gourmet dinner.
This is an excellent choice for everyday dinnerware or entertaining.
Copper cookware distributes heat evenly to the food; click on the cooper cookware to purchase.
Ligurian Extra virgin olive oil is a delicate a full flavored extra virgin olive oil
Excellent Italian rice
Potato Starch
Fresh Porcini
Mushrooms
You must log in to post a comment.