As  I was reading my emails I couldn’t help but get distracted by the news of an impending special tax in specific States in the USA on Pizza calling it a Junk food.. I didn’t know whether to cry or feel offended or hurt or just disbelief…. How could this food, with such history..and  with healthy ingredients be insulted and called a junk food!

Since when are tomatoes, olive oil, mozzarella cheese, flour- a junk food. It is a healthy food and is a staple in the Italian, Italian-American and now American diet. Junk foods are foods made up of mostly chemicals or saturated fats..not pizza. Pizza is a healhty food and if they need proof,we can show it to them. If you would like to join me in the Pizza is a Health Food   Movement..please write your congressmen and congress women and governors and tell them that Pizza is a Health Food and you are offended that they would  even considering discouraging people from eating this healthy food by putting a special tax on it. If you would like a letter to email to your congressman,please email me at info@marialiberati.com and we will send you a pre made letter to educate your congressmen and  congress women and legislators on the health benefits of this Slow Food!

Editor: Laura D’Alonzo

copyright 2010, art of living, PrimaMedia,Inc

See the Fiorano vineyard here (click the link below):

DSCN1059

Upon hearing “Pecorino,” you may immediately think of an Italian staple- Pecorino Cheese. However, in the Le Marche region of Italy, in a town called Ofida, Pecorino has quite a different meaning.

Pecorino is a crisp white wine made from the Pecorino grape. These grapes are mostly grown in Le Marche, a region neighboring Abruzzo.

 On my last culinary tour through Le Marche, a stop was at the   organic vineyard named Fiorano, I hosted  a wine tasting there  and  sampled  some of this magnificent wine. Walking around the rolling vines and olive groves that make up this vast, but artisan style property, truly makes you feel as though you are a part of nature. Tasting the  organic Pecorino wine enhances this earthy experience, since the wine  is made organically. The wine goes well with so many main dishes, and is not your typical white wine. it goes well with meat dishes since it is more robust than many white wines.

If you like what you see and can taste the wine and olives already you may want to join my culinary your there in October 2010. Email: events@marialiberati.com

Spaces are limited and will include cooking classes and truffle hunting!

For more great recipes to go with Pecorino Wine get your copy of the Gourmand World Cookbook Award winner: The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions

There are those among us who just can’t eat anything without salt….it is the most basic of ingredients and flavors to put into any dish..it brings the flavor alive!

Salt sea is the most natural of those ingredients.

With the spring season just around the corner..thoughts of Tuscan style picnic food abound and salads, soups are not complete dishes without the addition of sea salt or sodium salts.  To host a Tuscan picnic meal or any dinner party where you have guests with varying taste buds-some like more, some like less salt-..have salts available on the table and use only a small amount in the recipes. Everyone will enjoy the meal that way.

But thanks to modern science, for those that have to limit their amount of sodium intake there are many salts out there now,  that have low sodium content. Sea salt has a naturally lower sodium content anyway…but  don’t forget have a lower sodium alternative available on your table… your guests will thank you for it..

So part of your Italian kitchen pantry should always include sea salt and a lower sodium salt..always have on hand for unexpected guests..everyone will always feel welcome at your table and when they say “Buon Appetito”  before they eat at your table (as the custom is in Italy) ..they will truly mean it!

I realized my dilemma there..Macedonia..which is a fresh fruit salad..was the way we always ended dinner at my grandmother’s house when I was younger and my mother did the same..

Not that I am complaining..I love fresh fruit and because of them I am conditioned to always have fresh fruit after my meals…but it has become more than that is almost as I have been conditioned to end a meal this way.

When dinner was over.. nonna (grandmom) would automatically get up from her seat and everyone knew she was going to the little cool wine cellar in back of the kitchen (the kitchen was under the house) and would come out with a bowl of freshly made macedonia..to the “oohs” and “ahhs” of everyone at the table.. since it was much anticipated after a full meal..something sweet but light and something that seemed to help digest the meal…made with whatever fruits were in season. It almost seems that being in Italy I am now conditioned to feel that my meal is not complete without a dish of fresh macedonia.. Dinner was always filled with opera and singing and freshly made plates of pasta,artisan cheeses, freshly made breads, wine and well here in Italy meals are the same..and the feeling that they are not complete without the grand ending of a bowl of fresh macedonia..

In Italy the tradition is to end the everyday meals with fresh fruit and nuts..and that is a healthy habit..but the macedonia..I think I am hypnotized..anyway here is a recipe for a winter macedonia..see if it becomes one of your after dinner favorites..In the meantime, I am going to make the same for lunch today..I can’t help myself……macedonia obsessed it seems…..

Macedonia

(from the winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards- The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:Holidays &Special Occasions)

*1 whole fresh lemon

*1 whole fresh pineapple

*1/2 lb of red grapes-washed

*2 fresh oranges

*2 bananas-peeled and sliced into 1″ thick slices

*4 fresh kiwi-peeled and sliced

*1 tablespoon sugar

Peel and cut fresh fruits into chunks. Place in bowl. Cut lemon in half and squeeze both halves over fresh cut fruit. Sprinkle with one tablespoon of  sugar. Stir, let marinade covered in refrigerator for 1 hour. Serve with a sprig of fresh mint.

Hope to see you on Saturday May 8th at the Borders Store in Warrington,Pennsylvania.

visit me at OpenSky

Get more recipes in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Holidays & Special Occasions

Coming up..a culinary truffle hunting trip to Italy in October 2010

Innamorata

copyright, 2010, Maria Liberati

I am in love with the sun … it gives me warmth

I am in love with the wind… it caresses me

I am in love with life… it makes me laugh

I am in love with flowers.. they make my mind drunk with beauty

But chocolate..I am ‘innamorata‘ ( the Italian word meaning’ to be in love’) with because of infinite  reasons and those of you who have a passionate palate will agree that dark chocolate, hot,cold ,or any temperature.. (containing a minimum of 65% cocoa) is the ultimate in comfort food!

Use some of those winter pears for this Torta Di Pere, that mixes dark chocolate and fresh pears for a scrumptious taste experience!  One bite of this and you can not help but utter  the Italian word  ‘innamorata’ from your lips

Torta Di Pere

(from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions 2009;art of living,PrimaMedia, Inc; winner of the Gourmand Cookbook Awards 2009)

2 fresh pears-peeled, cored and cut into small cubes

5 dried dates chopped

2 tablespoons of Cognac

2 tblsps of unsalted butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 -1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 egg yolks

3 egg whites beaten or whisked till firm

16 ounces baking or dark chocolate (minimum 65 % cocoa)

For decoration

1 fresh pear ,peeled and sliced thinly

1 tablespoon butter melted

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons of pear or apple jelly

In a food processor place in the chopped dates and pears, and Cognac, blend well, do not liquify. In a bowl, place in  2 tablespoons of unsalted butter,sugar,flour, baking powder,egg yolks, fruit from food processor with liquid and whipped egg whites. Blend well. Butter and flour an 8 ” cake pan and pour in the mixture. Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 45 minutes. remove from oven and let cool

Melt baking or dark cocoa in double boiler and use this to  glaze  top of cake. Measure butter and melt, add in sugar. Dip thinly sliced pear in butter and sugar  and  then dip one side of pear slice  in pear jelly  and arrange as a  decoration on outside of cake with pear slices placed all around, stuck to border of cake. Place in fridge till chocolate  glaze is hardened and become……. innamorata …..

Get more recipes to make any day a Special Occasion in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions

Visit me at OpenSky

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

I think we should make the ‘Day after Valentine’s Day’ a  Day to celebrate!! … boxes of chocolates are still there to be enjoyed.. half opened bottle of  Prosecco still in the fridge waiting to be finished..so there… you have  some of the makings for one special meal-Prosecco and chocolates.

So celebrate..the “Day after Valentines’ Day” ..as a special Occasion.. Tonight’s meal is Farfalle with Gorgonzola cheese served  with Prosecco (left over from last night’s dinner) and chocolates for dessert..and to keep things warm..and light- chocolate truffle coffee for an after dinner drink.

Farfalle (bow tie pasta) in Gorgonzola

Copyright 2009-2010 from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards

4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese

1 tablespoon +  ½  tblsp butter

3 tablespoons cold milk

1 lb of farfalle (bow tie) pasta

4 tblsps of  pasta cooking water

Place gorgonzola in saucepan with butter and milk, melt over low to medium heat. Add in pasta cooking water to thin sauce. Cook farfalle till al dente. Toss pasta  in Gorgonzola sauce. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley. Serve with a glass of  Santa Margherita Prosecco.

For more recipes and menus to make any day a Special Occasions

visit me at OpenSky

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

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Finding commercial kitchen parts has always been a challenge and in the restaurant biz we always seem to need a replacement part at some inopportune time..you know when reservations are filled to capacity and something important breaks down and no one on staff can be spared to get out to pick up a part.

But now shopping online  at Partstown.com has  is now available to  the commercial kitchen kitchen parts industry and a few clicks at your desk and your part can be on its way in 24 hours.  Partstown.com seems to have discovered how to meet the needs of today’s quick paced restaurants by providing a solution for a quick and convenient way to get important parts and not take away time from what you should be doing..running your restaurant.

But my favorite feature of Partstown.com is that you can find almost any manual for commercial restaurant equipment and find them quickly..for those of us that do what we do best -cook-but are not technically savvy..this makes things so much easier to find exactly what you need and quickly. I love this because you can usually diagnose the parts you need yourself or have one of the restaurant staff do this easily by being able to pull up the exact manual for that equipment..   and you can do it right from your computer.

If you need Frymaster parts, look up the manual for your frymaster, deduce what it is you need and just click to the part and order..wow..makes things so simple for a busy resturant ..so simple that almost anyone can deduce what part you need. What a website!!  I loved it..it makes my job easier so I can have more time to think of what I need to think about..preparing the food.

Pitco parts couldn’t have been simpler to find..somethng highly technical made into something relatively easy. Almost any staff person at a restaurant can figure out what replacement part is needed by just looking up the equipment manual and then the part number.

 Instead of replacing these items you can repair and keep them ..thanks to partstown.com Ordering parts for commercial restaurant equipment couldn’t be easier..

Each region and city in Italy has their own flavors and tastes to discover..and on a recent trip there I had a flavorful experience discovering the tastes that give Genoa its’ flavor…and secrets of it’s world famous pesto.

In Via San Bernardo, parallel to via Giustiniani, a small metal sign in a miniscule window is the front of Drogheria Torielli. But be careful, if the sun is very strong, you may miss it since the glare of the metal sign on the window will hide this little shop. But it’s name is known by gourmets throughout all of Italy. Why?? well it is here that you will find the best zafferano (saffron) both from Abruzzo and Sardinia. An assortment of the best coffee and teas and 200 types of medicinal herbs exotic and local and any spice you can imagine. Each spice is kept in a large glass jar.

The fragrant odor that fills the air is made up of thousands of different scents and you feel as if you are in a pharmacy instead of a spice shop. Many fo these spices are found in the artisan produced chocolates of Viganotti. It is there that a master chocolatier utilizes apparatus from the ‘800’s to produce sublime chocolate bars and chocolates Chocolates that are crunchy, soft, filled with nuts from Piedmont, covered with dark chocolate, filled with creams made from old artisan recipes and more. Eve nth shop itself has remained in some of its’ original style with its old wooden shelves and counter and the air filled with the smell of sugar, cocoa.

Pesto is a famous dish from Genoa,  with basil, grown famously there, it’s principal ingredient. And the microclimate of Genoa as well as the soil there is perfect for growing basil, but it is also the years of experience of the basil growers in Genoa that produces a  basil of superior qulaity.

This Pesto recipe is similar to that which is used for official tasting courses while in the Province of Genoa and is considered the official Pesto recipe of Genoa, sort of their secret recipe… however I have substituted ingredients that are more easily available for those which are local to Genoa which would be difficult for someone to acquire if not located in close proximity to Genoa. Also the original recipe is done in a pestle and mortar not a food processor as indicated here:

*1 large handful of Basil leaves only (stems removed)

*3 garlic cloves

*1 tablespoon of pinoli nuts

*2 tblsps of Parmigiana Reggiano (Aged for 24 months) grated

*1/2 tblsp of Pecorino Sardo

*pinch of sea salt

*7-8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil ( I recommend an artisan extra virgin olive oil-Badia a Coltibuono)

Remove leaves from stems of basil. Wash and dry gently. Finely chop the garlic. Finely grind the pinolli nuts. Finely chop the basil. In food processor, place in basil, garlic, pinoli nuts, cheeese. Place in olive oil a little at a time. If the pesto is too thick add in a bit of water to thin out.

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene….

Maria

Visit me at OpenSky

For more recipes get the book that won the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards as teh Best Italain Cuisine Book in America 2009- The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions

Eating healthier means eating foods that are closer to the source using freshly prepared foods..but if you don’t have the time to do that you can easily order online  for a healthy meals delivery..and voila!! to your door a freshly prepared,healthy for you..no work on your part..well the only thing work you have  is to narrow down your choices of which healthy meal to order..your stomach and your body will thank you for it..and if you order for your family they will thank you too!

You can also tone up and trim down in a healthy way..no chemical laden shakes or bars or supplement..you can lose weight  by eating healthy meals ordered easily online with a diet delivery service no need to think about measuring portions what type of foods you should eat, how to keep the meal healthy but lower in calories and fat..with a diet home delivery it is all done for you..losing weight organically couldn’t be easier..and just think of all the time left for exercising or doing other things you enjoy.. a healthy way to get in shape..no stress on your body..no stress on you..

One of my first loves is food..but I have been known to have a fondness for Fashion and when in the kitchen-a home one or a professional kitchen-I am perplexed with a dilemma..wanting to always look ’smashing’ in the kitchen but wanting to make the food look and taste ’smashing’ as well…not as easy to do as it looks on TV

The other day my better half  commented, as I was lovingly preparing the risotto  ‘a deux’ “La Befana, but Christmas is over” (La befana is the good Christmas witch)..I realized I was taking the comfort of my home kitchen too lightly..baggy sweater, baggy comfy pants..baggy apron..hair pulled back in a frizzed out ponytail…ahhhh!! what have I done….so today I set out to find a solution to the fashion in the kitchen problem..ambiance has everything to do with food..and the cook is part of the ambiance…

Just in time for Valentine’s Day..apron elegance has beautiful stylish aprons so you can add some  style to any kitchen..

How  to accomplish both?…after all you should look just as smashing as your food tastes..

With these aprons..I will never be mistaken for La Befana..but maybe cupid or well someone else that is sweet and sassy…

For recipes and menus for Valentines’s Day

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene

Maria

visit me at OpenSky