Freshly Baked Focaccia Bread with Green Olives

Incredibly soft homemade focaccia bread with green olives.

Who knew that simple fresh bread could taste so good?!

Here is another great recipe for focaccia bread. As you might remember I've posted how to bake focaccia with rosemary before. This recipe is very similar, but no rosemary, and the added flavor of delicious green olives.
As I said many times, what you bake is only as good as the ingredients you use. So make sure to buy flavorful olives. Not those plain ones that come in a can. If the olives don't have much taste, neither will your bread. I bought mine at my local Whole Foods. For sure more expensive than other places. But I really love their salad bar, because of the large selection of olives: Sicilian, Cerignola, Spanish, Greek, and so many others to choose from. This time I picked my favorite green Sicilian pitted (yes, please!!!) olives, that tasted amazing in my bread.
I made this focaccia to serve with appetizers the other night for some guests. I served a plate of prosciutto di San Daniele, and burrata cheese. Next to some bruschette with organic colorful cherry tomatoes that I bought at the market. I cooked the focaccia right before dinner was supposed to start, so my guests were welcomed at the dinner table by the amazing aroma of  freshly baked bread ... and yes, garlic too! From the bruschette.
From the compliments I received, I can say that dinner was a hit. From start to finish. And my kids said that the focaccia was their favorite part. The focaccia AND the meringue cups that I served at the end. Dessert is always their favorite. Mine too :-)

Ingredients: to make a 9x12 in bread

• 1 medium russet potato, about 5.5 oz, 180 gr
• 2.5 cups (400 gr) of bread flour
• 1 package of active dry yeast (3/4 oz, 21 gr)
• 1 pinch of sugar
• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (divided)
• 1 cup (4 oz, 115 gr) of green olives
• 2 teaspoons (12 gr) of salt
• 10 fl oz (300 ml) of water
• coarse sea salt

Preparation time: 4 hours (20 minutes preparation time, 40 minutes cooking time and 3 hours inactive)
Directions:
1. Boil the potato by placing it in a pot with cold salted water. It should take about 20 minutes from when the water boils to be fully cooked. Test with  a fork for readiness.
2. In a large bowl add the flour, yeast, sugar, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the riced potatoes (rice when still hot).

3. Dissolve the salt in 10 fl oz of warm water. Add to the bowl. Mix with a spoon first, until most of the flour is absorbed.

4. The dough will be quite soft and sticky. You can work directly on the bowl, and knead with your fingers. Or move it to the counter and knead with your palms.

5. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Keep it in a warm place. As I do for my pizza dough, I place it in the oven (turned off obviously!). Let the dough rise for about an hour and a half.

6. Line a 9 x 12 in baking pan with parchment paper. Place the dough on the paper, and flatten it down with your fingers. Add the olives, and pushed them down with your finger.

                                             

                                             

7. Drizzle with one tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with some sea salt. 

                                             

8. Put the pan back in the off-oven, and let the dough rise for another hour and a half, or more.

 

9. Remove the pan from the oven, and preheat to 400 degrees. Bake the focaccia bread for about 25 minutes, until slightly golden on top. Cut in squares and serve warm or at room temperature.
Buon appetito!!

Homemade Ravioli with Spinach and Ricotta Cheese

Homemade ravioli filled with fresh ricotta cheese and organic baby spinach

If you are looking for an easy-to-follow recipe to learn the art of making stuffed pasta, 
you've come to the right place

Last week I posted my recipe on how to make basic homemade pasta. Today I'm using that recipe to prepare handmade ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese.
As I said for the tagliatelle, making stuffed pasta is actually easier than you might think. All you need are a rolling pin, or pasta maker, a ravioli cutter, about two hours of your time, and some passion... or as we say in Italian, some "voglia di fare" (willingness to do it!).
Even if making ravioli can be a bit time consuming, it's really rewarding. Freshly made ravioli, filled with organic baby spinach and delicate ricotta cheese are simply amazing.
So when you have some free time, and feel like experimenting something new, here is a great activity for you. Maybe your kids can join in the fun too!
With this recipe you can make around 45 ravioli, 2.5 inches in diameter, serving at least 4 people.
For the sauce, I suggest drizzling the ravioli with sage infused melted butter and sprinkled with lots of fresh grated Parmesan cheese. This way the sauce will not take away any of the ravioli delicate flavor. Buon appetito!

Ingredients: to make around 45 ravioli, 2.5 in diameter, serving 4
for the pasta:

• 400 gr flour
• 4 eggs

for the stuffing:

• 10 oz (280 gr) of fresh organic baby spinach 
• 8 oz (225 gr) ricotta cheese (I used whole milk)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup (25 gr) of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg grated
• salt

Preparation time: about 2 hours
Directions:
1. Prepare the dough  following this recipe.

2. For the stuffing: cook the spinach in boiling water until tender. It should take only a few minutes.
Drain the spinach and try to squeeze as much water out as you can.

3. Chop the spinach and add to a large bowl, with the ricotta cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese, nutmeg and a bit of salt. Mix well.

4. Divide the pasta dough in two parts. Keep the half that you are not using in the plastic wrap.
Roll the dough in a thin layer, about 1/8 of an inch, or as thin as you can. When you roll, always make sure the pasta doesn't stick to the counter. Move and rotate the dough as necessary.

5. Cut the dough halfway. Using your cutter and starting from one end, measure and mark (do not cut) the distance between the ravioli, on half of the dough only. You should be able to get 20-22 ravioli. Place about one teaspoon of filling on the pasta in the middle of each of the ravioli At this point you should used only half of the ricotta/spinach filling.

6. Place the other half of pasta, and press down around the filling with your fingers. You want to get most of the air out so that your ravioli will seal nicely.

7. Cut the ravioli using your cutter. Set aside on parchment paper lightly floured. Make sure the ravioli don't touch each other or they will stick together.

8. To cook: bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the ravioli for a couple of minutes after they start to float. This time is based on how thin/thick you made the pasta.Taste before removing the ravioli from the water. Serve immediately with your favorite sauce.

Enjoy!

PERFECT CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

There seems to be two main variations of cream cheese frosting. One is more cheesy than sweet and the other is way more sweet than cheesy. Personally, I don't care for either.

Today's recipe is a magical blend of both styles of cream cheese frosting. It is VERY smooth and VERY creamy, it has the flavor of a GREAT cheesecake but it definitely has some sweetness too....it's just perfect, AND it pipes well !!



(2) 8 ounce packages full fat cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup UNSALTED butter  (room temperature)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 cups powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and the UNSALTED butter together with electric mixer (on high) until smooth and creamy.

Add the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar,(add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating until smooth between each addition.

Scrape down interior of the bowl and give it one last mix...that's it!!

This is the perfect frosting for that red velvet cake you've been wanting to make.



ENJOY !!!

EASY ANGEL FOOD CUPCAKES

Slight variations of this easy angel food cupcake recipe are all over the Internet, but look no further, todays post is DELICIOUS!!!

Even my picky-picky husband ate several of these this afternoon and he is NOT known to be big on snacking (so that is quite the thumbs up at our house).

The cupcake is super moist, ultra light and fluffy and definitely going (immediately) into my "make again soon" recipe box.

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons caster sugar(divided)(see note below)
1/2 cup CAKE FLOUR  (no substitutions)
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 egg whites (at room temperature) (see note below)
2 1/2 tablespoons warm water (not hot)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1   tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350° and put paper cupcake liners in your cupcake pan (makes 18).

Sift together 1/2 cup castor sugar (reserve the rest) + 1/2 cup cake flour + salt and set this mixture aside. (*Make sure you use only 1/2 cup of the castor sugar in this step)

With electric mixer and a large bowl (I use my stand mixer), beat the egg whites, warm water, vanilla, lemon juice and 1/4 cup of the reserved caster sugar. Beat until its very foamy, then while the mixer is still going, sprinkle in the reserved final two tablespoons of caster sugar and beat on high till stiff peaks form. If you are using a hand mixer, this can take as long as 5 minutes, but I had stiff peaks in only 2-3 minutes with my stand mixer.

After egg white mixture reaches stiff peaks, turn mixer off and use a spatula to GENTLY FOLD IN the cake flour mixture (about 1/3 of it at a time).

Divide the batter (it will look like meringue) evenly between 18 cupcake papers. Stack the batter high above the top of the cupcake papers.

Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or till top is light golden. Remove from oven and cool in the pan. When they are completely cool to the touch  when you hold your hand against the underside of the cupcake pan.....then you can frost or top with whipped cream and berries.

NOTE:  If you do not have caster sugar(which is fine sugar but NOT powdered sugar) you can make it by putting it in the food processor for about 15 seconds. Just make sure you measure it AFTER it comes out of the food processor.

 

NOTE: To get "room temperature eggs", I put mine in a bowl and then cover them with (almost) hot tap water and let them sit for 15 minutes.

 

NOTE: Make sure you stack the batter in a well rounded mound above the top of the cupcake paper. When you first take them out of the oven, they will look tall, but they collapse as they cool so that the final cupcake is even with the top of the cupcake paper.

 

 

ENJOY !!!

Savory Mushrooms, Sausages and Potatoes Tart

Savory tart with mushrooms, sausages, potatoes, and cheese. 

A deliciously sinful combination

This savory tart has it all: a crispy and buttery crust, melted cheese, wholesome savory mushrooms, sinfully good sausages, and hearty potatoes that make it all look so elegant and yummy. Sounds perfect right? And it tastes even better than it sounds.
This dish is great for a hearty brunch or a fun dinner, next to a big green salad. Perfect for these cold winter days.
To make the recipe really quick, mistakes and mess free, I used frozen puff pastry. I like to always have a package of Pepperidge Farm dough in my freezer, just in case.
All you need to do is thaw the dough, turn on the oven, follow this recipe and soon you will enjoy a delicious aroma that will make your whole kitchen smell amazing.

Ingredients: to make an 11 inch pie

• 1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed (I use Pepperidge Farm)
• 2 medium potatoes ( 15 oz, 425 gr)
• 12 oz (340 gr) of ground sausage
• 1 garlic clove
• 8 oz (225 gr) of mushrooms
• I tablespoon of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 6 oz ((170 gr) provolone cheese (shredded or sliced)
• 2 oz (55 gr) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• flour to sprinkle on the counter
• salt

Preparation time: 1 hour
Directions:
1. Thaw the puff pastry for about 20 minutes, if you haven't done it yet. Peel the potatoes and cut in thin slices. Place in a pot, cover with salted water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 6 minutes and drain.

2. In a large skillet, saute' the sausage broken in pieces with one garlic clove, crushed.

3. Add the mushrooms and chopped parsley and cook for another 5 minutes. Salt to taste (if necessary) and remove the garlic if you'd like.

4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the tart pan with butter and flour (or spray). On a clean counter, sprinkled with flour stretch out the dough to fit into your pan. Cut the edges if necessary, and poke holes with a fork on the bottom of the crust.

5. Make a layer of the sausage and mushrooms. Top with provolone cheese, shredded or cut in pieces

6. Top with the sliced potatoes. Starting from the edges and moving in you can place the slices in circles. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the crust is fully cooked, and cheese slightly golden on top.

Buon Appetito!