Traditional Venitian Bussolai Cookies

Ring-shaped cookie typical of Burano island in Venice, Italy

Don't forget there are only 48 hours left for your chance to win a set of silicone baking mat from Kitchen Executive Chef. On Wednesday, I will announce the winner, selected randomly through PromoSimple. Here is where you can enter:

And here is one more recipe I made using my silicone mats. These cookies, traditional from Burano island in Venice, could not miss from my list of dessert recipes.
They are made from simple ingredients, sweet dough and lemony aroma. A bit crunchy on the outside and a bit chewy on the inside. Like the biscotti (or cantucci) these are great cookies to have for breakfast with your cappuccino or milk. Or for snack with your afternoon tea. Or, as a true Venetians, after dinner dipped in a delicious glass of sweet wine!
This recipe is simple and quick to bake. But, no matter how good and original you can make these bussolai, there is nothing like enjoying one of these cookies from a pasticceria in Burano, eating while strolling around the picturesque pastel-colored houses down the canals.
Ingredients: to make 8-10 cookies, about 3 in in diameter           Printable Recipe

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 lemon, zest
• pinch of salt, 1/8 teaspoon
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour

Preparation time: About 45 minutes

Directions:
Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a double boiler.

Step 2: Blend the egg yolks with the sugar until nice and fluffy.

Step 3: Stir in the melted butter.

Step 4: Blend in the salt, vanilla extract, and lemon zest

Step 5: Mix in the flour.

Step 6: Make doughnut shape cookies. Start by rolling long pieces of dough,  about 7 in long, 3/4 in thick. Close them in a circle, making cookies that are about 3 inhes in diameter (before baking). Place the cookies on the silicone mat over a baking sheet. No need to grease!

Step 7: Bake for  about 20 minutes. They should be removed when only the bottom (not the top) is golden.

Enjoy :-)

Savory Prosciutto and Spinach Pinwheels

Delicious pick-up bite for your next party: crispy, cheesy and so yummy!

Here is a fabulous idea for a tasty stuzzichino, as we would  call it in Italy, something delicious that will for sure tickle your appetite!
These savory prosciutto, spinach and cheese pinwheels made with puff pastry are a fabulous way to start a night of entertaining, or can also be a fun afternoon snack for the children. You can't go wrong with these pick-up bites, whether you  want to wow your guests or hide those spinach in your kids' snack. Crispy, cheesy, and so yummy! These are very easy and fast to prepare. They take no more than 20 minutes to bake. And as you might have guessed, I used my new silicone baking mat from Kitchen Executive Chef.
You can now win a set of these mats too, by simply entering here:

Ingredients: to make about 12 pinwheels                                            Printable Recipe

• 1 puff pastry sheet, defrosted
•  about 3 large slices (2 oz) of prosciutto (I used prosciutto di Parma)
• a handful of fresh organic spinach
• about 1.5 oz of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• about 3 oz of fontina cheese, or other mild cheese, shredded

Preparation time: About 30 minutes, plus 40 minutes defrosting time for the puff pastry

Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Unfold the pastry sheet on parchment paper or lightly floured surface. Place one thin layer of fresh spinach

Step 2: Add one layer of prosciutto.

Step 3: And one layer with fontina and Parmesan cheese.

Step 4: Roll up and seal the edge by rubbing it with some water and pressing down with your fingers.

Step 5: Cut in slices, about 1 inch wide. I ended up with 12 pinwheels.

Step 6: Place the slices onto the silicone baking mat. Bake for 15- 20 minutes or until golden.

Serve hot, warm or at room temperature... anyways delicious!!

Enjoy :-)

SUPER EASY-PERFECT FROSTING

I've decorated cakes for decades and I've tried a ton of basic vanilla frosting recipes. Today's frosting is BY FAR the fastest, easiest and tastiest vanilla frosting I've ever used. It is light, fluffy, super easy to work with and it TASTES REALLY GOOD!!

BASIC VANILLA FROSTING
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup UNSALTED butter (see important note below)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (not imitation vanilla)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1-4 tablespoons cream  (milk will work in a pinch)

IMPORTANT NOTE: This frosting will taste terrible if you use regular salted butter; well, maybe that is a little misleading. Let's just say I DISLIKE this frosting when regular salted butter is used (it just tastes weird). So, use UNSALTED BUTTER !!

With an electric mixer (I like my stand mixer with the whisk attachment for this), beat the ROOM TEMPERATURE unsalted butter + sugar + extracts + 1 tablespoon of the cream until well mixed. If it seems dry, add another 1-3 more tablespoons of cream (1 tablespoon at a time) and  once you get the spreading consistency you want...beat it for a couple of minutes more, or until light and fluffy.

That's it!! It's so easy and pipes well through a bag and tip or spreads well with a knife. Sounds too simple, but try it, you'll love it.
 

ENJOY !!

Coconut Macaroons

A perfect summer treat: crunchy and chocolaty on the outside, chewy and soft on the inside. 

Today I'm in the mood for something tempting and deliciously sweet. Which means: Let's bake!!
I have been baking A LOT recently, especially after I got my new silicone mats from Kitchen Executive Chef. These mats are just perfect, no greasing and no sticking. And they are super easy to clean.
So, guess what is today?!? Time for one more chance to win a set of silicone baking mats. Many thanks to Kitchen Executive Chef:

And here is the recipe for this super easy, fast, and oh-so yummy coconut macaroons: crunchy and chocolaty on the outside, chewy and soft on the inside. In every bite you find the sweet and nutty flavor of the coconut, together with the bitter-sweet taste of the chocolate. Sinfully delicious summer treat!!
You can also try them with nutella ... check out at the end of this post! Once you try these, I'm sure you wish you'd made more :-)


Ingredients: to make about 16 macaroons (1.5 tablespoons each)  Printable Recipe

• 2 egg whites
• 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• 7 oz, about 2.5 cups of sweetened flake coconut
• one cup of semi sweet chocolate
• 1 tablespoon whipping cream

Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes to cool down

Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In  a large bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy.

Step 2: Add the sugar, the vanilla and almond extract, and the pinch of salt. Beat some more.

Step 3: Add the coconut and fold with a spoon until just combined.

Step 4: Scoop the batter onto your baking sheet, covered with a silicone baking mat. I used a  1.5 tablespoon scoop. Make sure your scoops are nice and compact.

                                                  

Step 5: Bake for 17-20 minutes until lightly golden, turning the baking sheet around after about 10 minutes. Let the macaroons cool down, for about 30 min.

                                                 

Step 6: Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water, mixing the chocolate with a spoon, and stirring in the whipping cream.

Step 7: Dip the bottom of each macaroon and drizzle the chocolate on top. Let cool in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or more before serving. I know... soooo hard to wait :-)

If you don't have chocolate handy or you'd like to experiment, you can also use nutella. Just make sure you warm it up just a little bit (in the microwave or a double boiler) so that it's easier to sprinkle on top. This is what you get! Buonissimi!!

Spaghetti all'Amatriciana

Traditional and classic Italian spaghetti with spicy crushed tomatoes, savory pancetta, and fresh, sweet basil.

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend.
After all the time spent cooking and barbecuing for your 4th of July party, and after (over?)indulging yourself with the delicious food you made (I know... we all did!!) here is a quick, simple and light pasta recipe for your dinner tonight.
The spaghettia all'amatriciana is a very traditional, truly Italian pasta dish. It's a perfect combination of spicy crushed tomatoes, with the scent of fresh and sweet basil, and the fragrant aroma of saute' pancetta. This pasta is super delicious and always welcomed at my dinner table.
There are several, somewhat similar ways to prepare these spaghetti. Some use guanciale and other pancetta; some have chopped onion, other do not; some cook it with spaghetti, other with bucatini ... Well, this is how I like it:


Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 oz of pancetta, cubed
• 1 (or more!) peperoncino - hot pepper 
• crushed tomatoes (I like the canned San Marzano whole tomatoes, and I crushed them)
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 3 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• some leaves of fresh basil
• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 12 oz of thick spaghetti, as usual, I use Barilla 
• salt to taste

Preparation time: no more than 30 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the spaghetti when it boils. In the meantime, prepare the sauce. In a large skillet, saute' over medium heat the olive oil with the peperoncino, the pancetta and the chopped onion for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is softer and the pancetta slightly golden.

Step 2: Add the crushed tomatoes, the white wine and salt to taste. Be careful not to add to much, the pancetta can be quite salty.  As soon as it starts to boil, lower the heat and simmer  for about 15 minutes.

Step 3: When ready, drain the pasta, add it to the skillet with the sauce, also mixing in the Parmesan cheese and the basil leaves.
Note: It's always a good idea to add the basil at the end, because cooking it in the sauce for too long might remove some of its flavor!

Serve immediately - Buon Appetito!

SWEET BABY RAYS BARBECUE SAUCE CLONE

We love thick and sweet barbecue sauce, and our favorite (for years) has been Sweet Baby Ray's brand.  Recently, I did an panic-internet search for something similar to SBR barbecue sauce because I had one of those "I forgot my grocery list on the kitchen counter again" days at the market and dinner was planned around grilling.

Well, I found this recipe on a ton of web sites, all crediting www.halfbakedharvest.com, so I thought I would give it a try and we were thrilled with the results.  I hope you like it too.



Bacon wrapped Shrimp coated with

BBQ Sauce and Baked

 

 

1  1/4 cups regular ketchup
1  cup dark brown sugar (gives much better flavor than light brown)
1/4  cup molasses
1/4  cup pineapple juice
2  teaspoons hickory liquid smoke
2  1/2 teaspoons ground dry mustard
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2  teaspoon garlic powder (not salt)
pinch of cayenne pepper
1  1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (not fine table salt)
1 teaspoon black pepper

Put everything into a saucepan and whisk it together. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to slow simmer and simmer 5 to 15 minutes, depending on how thick you want it to be.

You can use this immediately or store in fridge for a week or so or portion it out and freeze it for future use. 

NOTE: If you don't have kosher salt, you can use regular table salt, just use LESS, since kosher salt and table salt measure very differently.





 Happy Grilling!!

Risotto with Smoked Salmon and Zucchini

Here is an easy way to make dinner: with a perfect combination of flavors in this one-dish entree'

Today I want to share with you a secret. Actually, a secret and the recipe for the risotto with salmon and zucchini I made last night.
Since I started this blog only a few months ago, many of my friends have been questioning my eating habits. The question I heard the most is, how can I be eating all this pasta, cookies, and cakes and be so skinny?!? Well, I do eat everything I cook and bake. And I love pasta, and make it for dinner at least 3-4 times per week, or more?! And I definitely have a sweet tooth... I cannot resist a good dessert: a crumbly slice of apple tart next to a deliciously creamy ice-cream, a bigne' filled with perfectly sweet patisserie cream, a spoonful of to-die-for tiramisu... I  think I should really stop here, my list is very long!!
So, what is my secret?!? Unfortunately I don't have a miracle pill or a magic trick that makes me burn off fat! But here are a few things that I do:
I exercise regularly and I really enjoy the work out I do. I love to be outdoor and I love the beach. So, right now that the kids are not in school, I run/jog for 30-40 minutes down to the beach, about 4 times a week. While during the school year, I play tennis twice per week, beach volleyball once per week, and I run or hike when I have the time. So one secret (not so secret really!) is to find a work out that is fun for you and do it as often as you can!
The second thing I try is to limit my portions. For example, the plate of risotto in the picture above... that would be a little too much for me! What I eat is probably 2/3 of that food! Followed by lots of veggies or fruits.
Last but not least: I think it's extremely important to eat homemade and balanced meals made from fresh and healthy ingredients.  And as I said many times, it doesn't take long to cook a healthy meal from scratch, even with a busy schedule. The risotto I made last night only took about 30 minutes to prepare. And it's an easy entree that combines rice, with salmon and zucchini! An simple way to include fish and veggies in one dish!  My kids absolutely loved it :-)


Ingredients: serving 4

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 zucchini, cubed
• 4 oz of smoked salmon
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 2 cups of stock (fish or vegetable)
• 1.5 cups of arborio rice

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: Saute' the onion for a couple of minutes in a few tablespoons of olive oil.

Step 2: Add the zucchini cut in small cubes. Season lightly with salt. Saute'  for 4-5 minutes.

Step 3: Stir in the rice. Saute' for one minute before adding one cup of stock.

Step 4: Let the rice cook for about 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally and adding stock (or water) when needed. Add the smoked salmon cut in strips. And cook for about 5 more minutes, or until the rice is ready. Adjust with salt if necessary.

Step 5: When the rice is cooked al dente, add one tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of parsley. Stir well, cover the pan, remove from the flame and let sit for 3-4 minutes. This will make your risotto rich and creamy.

Serve immediately. Enjoy!