Sedano e Crema di Gorgonzola e Mascarpone (Celery with Gorgonzola and Mascarpone Cream)

A good idea for your holiday parties: plastic shot glasses with a cream of Gorgonzola and Mascarpone and a Celery Stick to use as a spoon!

It really takes no time to put these guys together. Get a package of those colorful shot glasses in the party department of any grocery stores. Done? Well, that was most of the effort. Other than that you just mix 1 part of Gorgonzola and 1 part of Mascarpone (or your fav cream cheese). White pepper and a hint of nutmeg. A drop of brandy adds depth to this rich and delicious party idea. Whip it all up in a nice and creamy mixture. Pipe into little plastic shot glasses and top with walnut crumbs or poppy seeds.

 

 

A fresh piece of celery does the trick: to be used instead of a spoon: the perfect finger-food! It can be prepared ahead of time, but if so, make sure you take it out of the refrigerator long enough for the cream to go back to room temperature or it can get kind of hard. Hope you enjoy this one! I love it

Gnocchi di Patate al Ragu' (Potato Gnocchi with Ragu')

This dish truly was a staple in my family's Sunday reunions!
My Godmother Vanda used to make tons of gnocchi, weekly. She would freeze them and deliver them to her large extended family, which luckily enough, included ours! From what I hear, even if she's in her eighties now, she still does that! I miss her so much, she is such a character!

 

 

To start, potatoes need to be boiled whole and with their skin on. You'll know they're ready when you can easily poke them with a fork.

 

 



Peel your potatoes right after draining them, while still very hot. You get rid of more moisture, that way.

Mash your potatoes right away, seasoned with a pinch of salt, on a flat surface.

 

Add enough flour to be able to roll the dough into thin logs and cut them in small pieces, about an inch or so (it's not like mine are EVER all the same length...;-)   ). My family does not add any egg to the potato dough. You get a much lighter "gnocco" this way, but it's important to work the dough right away, while still warm.

 

This cute wooden tool came from Italy with me when I moved here, but a fork will still do a great job, to quickly roll the pieces of dough onto, and give your gnocchi the classic shape

 

 

There! I finished! Boil your gnocchi in salted water and "fish" them out with a slotted spoon as soon as they come to the surface, draining the excess water. Serve them immediately with your ragu' or your favorite sauce.

 

Buon Appetito!



Gift Certificate for the Holidays!

Give a CUCINAMORE Gift Certificate to your foodie friends and family this Holiday Season for a Family-style Italian Cooking Class!
Give them a chance to experience:
• the WARMTH of the atmosphere in a true Italian kitchen
• the TASTE of authentic Italian food
• the SURPRISE of finding out how easy it can be to make those recipes their own
• the FUN of replicating them in their own kitchen
• the JOY of sharing them with those they love!
Or…forget all about that seasonally appropriate generosity: just be selfish and get one for yourself! :-)

Roasted Squash and Leek Ravioli with Mushroom and Pancetta

An Italian flair to  our Thanksgiving dinner, this year, for these delicious fall-like ravioli:

Butternut squash, leeks, ricotta and Parmigiano in the filling. Sautéed mushroom and pancetta as a savory topping.

Olive oil, garlic and parsley. Simple!

Roasted squash with a hint of rosemary. Once mashed, these will be the base for the ravioli filling. Save some for decorating the dish too!

 

Filling the ravioli

 

Nicholas helps me sealing the pasta. Please don't mind the flour up to his elbow...

 

There, done! Such pretty faces Three to five minutes in salted boiling water and they are ready to go. Oh, you can even make them ahead of time and freeze them!

The contrast between the sweetness of the squash in the filling and the savory topping is really pleasant!

I found that a good Viognier was a great pairing for this dish! Cin Cin! Salute!

Still cooking, still eating, still loving it

I've been away from the blog for a while, but not from food, or from sharing my passion with others, which is what I love to do. As a matter of fact "this" has become my full time job for the past 4 years. I have managed the Cooking Demo department of a beautiful Grocery Store in town and have loved it passionately. It sure has kept me busy, though, having consequently to slow down with all of my other activities, to include my private cooking classes, which I have limited to those upon request of my regulars, versus offering group classes at my house like I used to. I still cook and I still love it. One of the things I have recently rediscovered is bread. I used to bake bread a lot, when I was younger, but I somehow had lost it along the way. It's not difficult, but it does take time, which has become a luxury for me, lately. I am very pleased with the result of this going back to my first love, though. The one you see up there and down here is a nice Ciabatta that I have baked in the house. Love my crusty bread! Now life is taking me away from Texas and therefore from my job. I have mixed feelings about it. I know for a fact I am going to miss San Antonio and all the possibilities it has offered me, but at the same time I am welcoming the excitement of a new turn in my life, and, at least for a while, the gift of time, to use for my family and my food. And possibly to come back to this blog a little more often and share my mood through my food with you.

Picky Eaters? Take Action: It's Never Too Soon!

More on the subject of cooking with children.

I am presently working on some "Mommy and Me" cooking classes.
I have always been a strong believer that when you allow your child to participate to the cooking process for the family meals, chances are you lower your risk of raising a picky eater, with great benefits for everybody involved. It does require a little investment in patience and paper towels, but it pays back big time in so many ways!

Among the many basic concepts that I think my son got out of spending a lot of time in the kitchen with me, is that single ingredients might not be so appealing on their own but they become yummy when combined with something else. So you get a lot less of those "...but I dont' like (this or that)", or "is there any (this or that) in here?" when a plate is presented in front of them.
Like, for instance, onions are not exactly candies, right? But you love the tomato sauce on your spaghetti, which would not be as sweet and tasty without them. Look what we did with spinach, chicken, cheese and eggs the other day! Turned them into this lovely savory pie that we made from scratch, crust included!




I have to say that being able to "create" something with their own hands plays a big role too. My son in particular has always been the "builder". He loves seeing the result of his hours spent with Legos and similar. So give him some labor and let him see the outcome and he'll be as happy as he could be.



At this point pride comes on the scene too: could they ever admit that their creation taste anything less than amazing? There you go..."I made it, I'm eating it, it's the best ever!".
Now change ingredients and recipes as often as possible, and you have a child that has been exposed to a variety of foods and that is not afraid to try new things. Priceless, trust me!

In a Spanish mood

I know, I know...people expect to read about Italian food on here, but what can I do? Summertime makes me think of all the summer vacations I spent in Spain and I loved it every time!

Food over there, needless to say, is very similar to our traditions (they don't call Italians and Spanish "the cousins" for nothing): lots of seafood, lots of bite-size apetizers, lots of vegetables and...lots of time spent at the table enjoying good dishes and good drinks.

So here is an example of a classic, super-simple Spanish-inspired dinner at my house:

We start out with some sort of tapas, such as marinated grilled veggies and olive and almonds pate', both spreaded over slices of crusty bread





Could it ever be a Spanish dinner without a made from scratch Paella? Uh-uh, I don't think so. Here we go:





Yeah, I'm full now and already start to think the world is a better place, but still...how about some dessert? Vanilla ice-cream and berries marinated in a watermelon vinaigrette, maybe?




Just imagine all of the above and a glass of chilled homemade Sangria (don't you even touch one of those pre-made mix in a bottle).

Yeah, there are ways to make the sun shine even if it's late at night or it's cloudy out there...