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FOR WHO IS IN A COLD PLACE. AND LIKES SOME COMFORT FOOD

 
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katwoman64



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 662
Location: roma, italy

PostPosted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:57 am    Post subject: FOR WHO IS IN A COLD PLACE. AND LIKES SOME COMFORT FOOD

Hi!
For all of you that suffers in a cold place (you too, Tony), hates the dark dreary days and would love some comfort food, here's my recipe for

Mousse au chocolat

It's esy and fast. Only thing, assure yourself to have some VERY fresh eggs.
You need: dark chocolate (not the one with 70% or 90% cocoa), the common, usual type
butter
eggs
The proportions are: every 100gr chocolate, 75gr butter and 2 eggs.

Melt the butter with the chocolate (I favor the microwave, but you can use a pan with some boiling water with the chocolate and butter pot in it OR a very low burner). Melt those and mix, then put it to cool a bit.
Remove the yolk from the eggs.
Take the white and whip it to snow. When a fork can stand by itself into the foam, whip it another bit more.
Put the yolks into the now cool chocolate and mix carefully.
Then add the white very delicately, moving the fork from bottom up, not to break the bubbles of air.
Put in the fridge and wait three, four hours.
That's it. Enjoy with some dry biscuits, not too sugary.

No cream needed, nothing else. It stands alone, in its extreme simplicity.

It's the simplest cholesterol crazy party in the history of food. And it is something to wow the most hardhearted of the guests.

Enjoy!

Kiss
Mimma
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“I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world”

Sadako Sasaki
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suellen



Joined: 22 Aug 2009
Posts: 68
Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 10:16 am    Post subject:

MMMM...sounds great! You must know that I have an addiction to chocolate...

Valentine's day must be full of chocolate around your home.
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suellen
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katwoman64



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 662
Location: roma, italy

PostPosted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 11:42 am    Post subject:

Well
Try it and then tell me.
I am giving you the recipes of what my difficult eaters family likes the most.

It works great for all: money troubles, heart troubles, job troubles, copying machine troubles: better than a woodoo chicken shaking. It makes wonders for your good humour!

And they love this concotion.

About Valentine's, I just hope it will find me fit and trim. Chrismas was such a killer!

I warmly advice to make it a deadline to organise a good helth and care plan: dye the hair, hands and feet, leg hair removal, good make up, new dress and, why not? Few kilos less. And then... Wham, you an surprise all your guests with this fine mousse..........

Kiss
Enjoy life
Mimma
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“I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world”

Sadako Sasaki
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mangosteen



Joined: 07 Dec 2009
Posts: 30
Location: London, UK

PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 4:47 pm    Post subject:

Hi Kat,

Thanks for the recipe! I will try it out and let you know how it works out Very Happy

Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year falls on the same day this year....double reason to celebrate!!!

Ciao,

Mol
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katwoman64



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 662
Location: roma, italy

PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:50 am    Post subject:

Hi Mol,
I gather that lots of the british fellow fans had some firsthand experience of italian food and language.
Now I write down another "comfort food" very well known in the anglosaxon world. Brownies. You think you know it all about brownies? There's always space to be surprised. This recipe was given to me fron an american friend. It was sooo sugary I had to throw it away it. So I tried and tried to what is, to me (and to a lot of other italians), a perfect blend.
Remember not to cook them too much: brownies have to be soft.

Heat the oven to 180°C. Anoint with butter a square oven container with a side of 23cm.
Melt dark chocolate and butter like in the other recipe, but now the proportion is: 300gr dark chocolate per 100gr butter. Mix it well, then add 100gr sugar, 3 whole eggs, 105gr flour, a pinch of salt and few drops of orange blossoms water (it's a food scent) or some grated lemon or orange peel.
Mix it well then add 100gr crumbled walnuts. Put in the oven for about 40min. Let it cool about 15min and cut in squares with a side of about 6cm.

Done? Well, lets pass to the vain stuff! Very Happy

Serve it warm from the oven (you can heat it in the microwave) on a dark dish (if you have black would be perfect) with some cream (or vanilla) icecream (in this case more appropriate than whipped cream) and a sprinkle of powdery sugar on top to decorate...
Well, what can I say? It's the italian in me that shouts to come out.....

Enjoy!
Kiss
Mimma
_________________
“I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world”

Sadako Sasaki
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katwoman64



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 662
Location: roma, italy

PostPosted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:46 am    Post subject:

Hi friends,
back again to give something to help you feeling happy during cold winter days....

Polenta translates as corn meal mush, but it's much more. It's the staple food of the very cold north of Italy, where it still outshines pasta, and can be served in innumerable ways, as a first course, baked, with stews, or even as a bread substitute.

The process is straightforward. You'll need:
1 pound or slightly more of coarsely ground corn meal (you want corn meal the consistency of fine to medium-grained sand, not flour, and if possible stone-ground)
2 quarts (1,5lit) boiling water (have more handy)
A heaping teaspoon of salt
Set the water on the fire in a wide bottomed pot and add the salt. When it comes to a boil, add the corn meal in a very slow stream (you don't want the pot to stop boiling), stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to keep lumps from forming. Continue stirring, in the same direction, as the mush thickens, for about a half-hour/ forty minutes (the longer you stir the better the polenta will be; the finished polenta should have the consistency of firm mashed potatoes), adding boiling water as necessary. The polenta is done when it peels easily off the sides of the pot.

Serves 4.

This is the standard technique, and it does take a fair amount of effort because if you stop stirring the polenta will stick and burn -- enough effort that a company makes paioli (traditional copper polenta pots) that have motorized attachments to take care of the stirring. They work quite well, but you do have to buy one.

My system is way simpler: do you have a pressure pot? If so, put the flour in the almost cold water, stir for 5 min, use preferably the medium sized flour. Close the lid, and wait 20 min from the start of the whistle, on the lowest burner. When you open it, stir and, if you like it softer, add some water.

Now the fun stuff:

Polenta with Pork Ragù. I take some ribs of pork cut in big, meaty pieces, sautè them in a pan with oil, salt and pepper and put aside in a dish. In the meantime in a pot I boil some onion, celery and carrot finely cut, a peeled and crushed garlic clove and a couple of chilly peppers roughly cut in few spoonful of water and oil. When they are soft and pale golden add tomato (a bottle will do). Add the sautèed ribs to the boiling sauce. I sautè some sausages in a pan, and when they are brown on all sides I cut the skin in several places with a fork. I cover and lower the burner and wait that the fat, melted, goes outside, then I drain them and add to the ragù. Let it go on a low burner for at least (I said at least because these things get better the longer you cook them) forty minutes, then control the salt, add if needed (remember that sausages are salty) or add water if the sauce seems too dry. It has to be fairly liquid, because polenta absorbs a lot of it. This sauce goes on the polenta (it is great also on gnocchi) that you can also eat with the sausages and the ribs, as an only dish. The leftover polenta can be cut it in slices and grilled. You can serve it again with the same sauce or with some melted cheese and Parma ham on top.

Polenta is great also with the Porcini Ragù on top (the recipe is somewhere in the forum).

Rich Polenta, or Polenta Grassa: Polenta was and is one of the standard dishes enjoyed in Val D'Aosta, and it helped many families survive the winters back when isolation was a serious problem. Polenta Grassa is something else, however, a rich feast-day dish that the cook started working on early in the morning...
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 90 minutes
Ingredients:
1 pound (500 g) coarse grained corn meal
A quart (1 liter) of whole milk
A toma weighing 1/2 pound or more (depending upon how rich you want it, a brie might work well as a substitute), diced
1/2 cup clarified butter, melted
Coarse marine salt
Preparation:
"...Using equal parts water and milk, with quite a bit of melted butter(we're talking comfort food here, so, don't count the calories: if you are at -45°C, like two days ago in Trentino Alto Adige, I'm sure you can burn them quite easily), and taking care to end up with a polenta that's quite soft. When it was done, they added diced toma (soft goat or cow's milk cheese; one could substitute a brie for it if need be), and then turned it into a big, well buttered copper pot. The pot went over the coals, covered, and when they got home from mass they'd be greeted by a delight with a golden brown crust." The dish, with variations in the cheeses used, is common throughout the Italian-facing Alpine valleys, under a variety of names. Plain polenta isn't something to get excited about, but Polenta Grassa is fit for a King.

The quantities above will serve 4.

This, with a good zesty red wine along the lines of a Dolcetto, and a salad with lots of wild greens, will make a tasty modern-style one-course lunch. In Val D'Aosta it was the beginning of the feast.

Bye bye, enjoy (you hear me, Tony)!
From Italy with Love
Mimma
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“I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world”

Sadako Sasaki
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katwoman64



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 662
Location: roma, italy

PostPosted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 10:22 am    Post subject:

Hi friends,
Has someone ever mentioned you the Fonduta?

This is a simple cheese sauce typical of the Alpine zone between Valle d'Aosta, Piedmont, the french region of Savoy and south-west Switzerland.
Each one of these zones has its own recipe: they differ for the type of cheese and for the presence or absence of vine. I am shy of vine in my cooking, so I favor the Fonduta Valdostana to the others, that is made with Fontina cheese.
The ingredients are Fontina, butter, egg yolks and milk. The trick is to change the viscosity from a stringy cheese into a smooth and velvety sauce. There is a reason why this sauce is an important part of high cuisine. It is considered an “appropriate death” for Truffles and Gnocchi, mainstays of the sophisticated palate.

Ingredients:
1 lbs (454 g) Fontina Valdostana
¼ stick (30 g) Butter
4 Egg Yolks
3 cups of milk (actually the amount of milk required will change according to the pan you soak the cheese in. The exact amount is enough milk to completely cover the cheese cubes)
Fresh ground white Pepper

Preparation:
Cut the Fontina into thin slices and place it into an heavy iron pot with a thick base and cover with the milk. The pot should be large enough to hold the milk and cheese mix. The cheese should be completely immersed in the milk. Cover the pot and let the cheese-milk combination soak for 4-5 hours. Done?
In a separate bowl beat the egg yolks. Cut the butter into slices.
Put the pot on the lowest burner ever and begin to heat it. This is a slow cook, so do not be in a hurry. The secret of fonduta is that the cheese has to melt getting to the right density, without making it clog. To get there it's fundamental that the mix never reaches the boiling point (never over the 60°C), stirring all the time.
Stir slowly with a whisk always in the same direction. Add the butter. Once the cheese has completely melted, add the egg yolks. Continue stirring until the Fonduta Valdostana becomes creamy. The cheese will first melt. It will then cling together in a mass (at 72°C, when you have to remove it from the burner) and finally it will dissolve into the milk sauce. Do not stop stirring and do not be in a hurry.
Remove the Fonduta Valdostana from the cooking pot and pour the sauce into the traditional terracotta pot with its own table burner or, otherwise, in a preheated in the oven terracotta serving dish, so that it keeps warm for the whole meal.
Eat fonduta dipping pieces of toasted polenta or bread kept on the point of long handled forks (mind you, don't burn your tongue!) or you can pour it on top of potatoes gnocchi or, if you are in saving calories mode, on top of boiled vegetables.
Seasoned with a sprinkle of grated White Truffle it's a true delight.

This dish contains 400 kcal per 100 g. Even so, we can balance the calories siding it with fruit (pears!!!!), cooked or raw vegetables in place of bread and potatoes that usually go with it.

The consistency and delicate flavors of the Fonduta Valdostana make most Piedmont wines, such as Barolo, Nebbiolo, Barbaresco and Barbera, the perfect accompaniment.

Enjoy!
Mimma
_________________
“I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world”

Sadako Sasaki
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katwoman64



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 662
Location: roma, italy

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:21 am    Post subject:

Ok Friends,

let's give a try to a rice recipe.
This one is comes from Trentino Alto Adige, that is an Alps region extremely diverse, with Italians, Ladins, and Germans occupying the various Alpine valleys, and this makes for a great deal of variation in the cuisine as well.

Risotto radicchio e speck
Serves: 4‑6

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups (400gr) rice, we favor the Carnaroli, but you go with whatever you normally use
100gr radicchio (it's a crisp, red salad, slightly bitter. You can do also with chicory, but will miss the nice red color)
40gr Speck (the region's prized smoked ham), or, if you can't find it, bacon
1/2 cup (1, small) finely chopped white onion
5 Tbsp. (60gr) unsalted butter
about 6‑7 cups (640gr) vegetable broth
1/2 glass dry white or red wine
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

1. In a large pot, on a low burner, cook the onions in 3 Tbsp. butter until they're translucent being careful not to brown them.
2. Meanwhile, wash and slice the radicchio and speck thinly (we say "a julienne").
3. When the onions are ready add the speck and radicchio and cook it for about 5 minutes. Mixing often.
4. Add the rice, salt and pepper and mix well for 2 or 3 minutes so that the moisture from the radicchio is absorbed into the rice.
5. Add the wine (if red the rice will take a pink color that goes nicely with the radicchio color, if white you'll simply stress the smokey scent of speck) up the flame and continue mixing until it is evaporated.
6. Add about 2 cups of hot broth and reduce the heat to medium. Mix it frequently.
7. Continue adding broth in the same quantity mixing frequently. Continue doing so until the rice is nearly cooked.
8. When the rice is cooked, it should be 15‑20 minutes, mix in 1 or 2 Tbsp. Butter and the Parmesan.
9. Serve the rice and accompany it with extra Parmesan for the topping.

Notes:
2 heads radicchio are about 1 lb. cleaned. Radicchio is a bitter salad so don't be surprised if it seems almost too bitter while cooking. At the end, with the butter and parmesan, the flavor softens considerably.

If you have a pressure pot you can reduce the preparation time to 15 min:

After evaporating the wine pour the boiling broth and close the lid. When the pot starts to whistle, lower the burner and wait seven minutes. Let the pressure out, open the lid, add butter and parmesan and serve well hot.

Wines? Trentino's Teroldego, a red, is superb, as is the Alto Adige's Lagrein. And then there's Moscato Rosa, or Rosenmuscateller, a sweet rose-laced gift from the Gods.

Buon appetito!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kiss
Mimma
_________________
“I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world”

Sadako Sasaki
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mary



Joined: 23 Oct 2008
Posts: 251
Location: Ireland

PostPosted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 5:10 pm    Post subject:

Oh Mimma

Your chocolate recipes sound divine. Tempting us sinners with wonderful food, your a devil woman in disguise. Think if I lived with you I definately couldn't leave wouldn't fit through the doors but at least I'd die a happy woman. Lord lead me not to temptation don't let me read Mimmas chocolate recipes again.

Best wishes from an addicted over fed chocoholic...
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