If you're fearful or just find raw eggs schivo, here's a great tiramisu recipe. Thanks to my friend, Rosanna Sarno who taught me how to make this while we both were living in Central America where you couldn't count on the cleanliness and freshness of food.
Ingredients:
1 16oz (500 gram) container of Mascarpone
1 16oz (500 gram) container of whipping cream (panna da montare in Italy)
2 Tbs sugar
2-3 cups espresso cooled
1 TBS Baileys liquor, or other flavorful liquor like amaretta
1 package Saboiardi cookies (lady fingers)
Cocoa powder
Whip cream with sugar until soft peaks form, add mascarpone and beat to blend well.
In shallow bowl, combine espresso with liquor.
Spread a thin layer of cream/mascarpone on the bottom of a 9X13 glass deep-dish pan.
Dip each cookie into the espresso and place on top of cream
Continue with a layer of cream, a second layer of cookies dipped in espresso and finish with a layer of cream. Sift cocoa powder to cover the top. Put in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Serve chilled.
This makes enough for about 10-12 good size servings.
Photo to follow.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Monday, January 21, 2019
Welcome to Just4Family Cookbook blog!
Hello and welcome!
This Monfiletto family cookbook is a work in progress. I'll be posting as I cook and bake the family recipes myself and take photos of them as they come out of the oven or pot. I hope you'll enjoy taking this journey with me as I document our family history through dinners, desserts and holiday traditions, which I painstakingly try to uphold, under the watchful eyes of my mother Ann and grandmother Rose from above.
All four
of my grandparents emigrated from Italy to America at the turn of the 20th
century. They brought with them all of their recipes -- in their heads and
hands. Nothing had ever been written down. But once they settled in America, something
wonderful was always coming out of the kitchen. It was magical.
Years
ago, my mother wrote some of these recipes down for me and my four sisters. I’m including most of them exactly as she
wrote them. I wrote more of these recipes at the request of my own children,
who prefer measuring ingredients instead of using the eyeball-and-handful
method passed down to me.
Just a note: I've shared our family recipes from time to time and have even been
accused of withholding an ingredient or skewing a measurement to ensure that no
one makes it as well as we do. This is not true! I wrote these recipes to the
best of my ability -- turning eyeball-and-handful measurements into real world
cups and tablespoons. Sometimes you just have to adjust for taste.
Recipes
aside, I learned to make many of these family specialties with my grandmother
behind me, waving a wooden spoon and saying, “That’s not-a-right. Do some
more.” The best advice I can give, for those who want to give it a go -- and
who don't have an Italian grandmother handy -- is to make things a few times,
until you get the consistency right and you're happy with the end product. As
my mother always said, "Practice makes improvement -- no one ever truly achieves
perfection."
And here's the handwritten note my mother put in the cookbooks. (I'm fully aware that she addressed each of us as "My best daughter." )
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or used publicly without express written permission from the author. Marlene M. Nice
Ragu or Bolognese -- a keeper from our time in Italy
After a successful ravioli party, where I made Bolognese sauce instead of the usual gravy with meatballs and sausage, we decided this is a keeper. I created the recipe after reading several recipes in magazines and cookbooks.
Ingredients:
4 Tbs olive oil
1 large white onion finely chopped
1 large carrot finely chopped
1 stalk celery finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2/3 cup of pancetta or guanciale finely chopped
1 pound of chopped beef, seasoned like meatballs (1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp parmesan cheese, 1 tsp parsley, 1 egg -- mix together with hands until well blended)
6 Italian sausage links, meat removed from casing
1 cup dry white wine
2 cans or bottles of tomato puree (I like to use the chunky or rustica)
salt and pepper to taste
Basil (12 leaves of fresh basil or 1 Tbs dried basil)
2 dried bay leaves
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
4 Tbs light cream
Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan or dutch oven. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and pancetta/guanciale and fry over low heat until the veggies soften and the pancetta/guanciale is crisp, about 7-8 minutes. Add prepared beef and sausage meat and cook until brown, breaking pieces apart, about 8-10 minutes. Add wine and let simmer until it reduces by half, about 6-8 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, bay leaves, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring often, until thickened, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and the cream.
Serve over pasta.
Photo to come
Friday, January 18, 2019
The Ravies -- It takes a village
Several years ago, we started the Christmas day ravioli tradition. We love to have them for our main dish for Christmas, but we also love the activity that brings the family together to roll the dough, fill and cut the ravies and of course, the forking -- sometimes viewed as the entry level job but in fact, the most import part of the process -- sealing the raviolis and quality control.
Another reason we do this at Christmas is because you need several people to form an assembly line. So in addition to Christmas, each of us in the Monfiletto-Nice branch of the family has a hand-crank ravioli roller. We use them for parties around the world, bringing family and friends together for ravioli parties.
Here's the recipe that makes enough for about 10 people (and probably a bit left over):
8 cups flour
8 eggs
1 Tbs salt
1 cup warm water
Sift flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the eggs, slightly beaten. Add the water and knead until the dough is smooth and soft. Add more flour as needed. Set aside.
Make filling:
3 pounds or ricotta cheese
3 eggs
1 Tbs salt
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 Tbs chopped or dried parsley
1 tsp black pepper
Mix all together.
Cut the dough into sections and run through the pasta roller to create long strips of dough. Use flour so it doesn't stick.
Drop filling by rounded teaspoons in a line across the dough. Cover with a second strip of dough. Cut circles just bigger than the amount of filling.
Don't forget to fork, fork fork! Press around the edges of each ravioli to seal them, but don't puncture the filling.
Place them on floured trays until ready to cook.
Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add raviolis, return to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes. You'll have to test them to see if they're done.
Drain and serve with the delicious four-hour gravy!!
Note: In Italy, there are so many different fillings for raviolis. In fact ricotta and spinach is considered traditional.
We also like adding a tablespoon of lemon zest (grated lemon peel) to the ricotta and serve them with butter and herbs.
Or fill them with cooked cicoria or pesto.
Recently we added a pinch of truffle sauce to each ravioli as we filled them with ricotta and they were fantastic!
Note: You will likely have leftover ricotta filling after you finish the dough. You have two options -- make a smaller amount of dough to finish it off or put the ricotta in a pie plate and bake it for about 30 mins for a good side dish.
Recently we added a pinch of truffle sauce to each ravioli as we filled them with ricotta and they were fantastic!
Note: You will likely have leftover ricotta filling after you finish the dough. You have two options -- make a smaller amount of dough to finish it off or put the ricotta in a pie plate and bake it for about 30 mins for a good side dish.
Photos to come!
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Zeppoli and Stroufoli -- Add more flour as needed!
When I moved to Pennsylvania, I made stroufoli and zeppoli on my own for the first time, using my mother’s recipes. Now, I'm no chemist but the egg/flour ratio that she wrote didn't look right to me. When I called to ask her about it she said, "When you do it, it will come out OK, you'll see." And, of course, she added, "And double the recipe because it never makes enough."
I put 2 dozen eggs and 8 cups of flour (double her original recipe) in a bowl and mixed it up. It looked too soupy to turn onto the counter and knead so I called her again. She said, impatiently, "Just do it, turn it over and you'll see, it will all come together."
So I did as I was told and the soupy flour egg mixture ran over the counter and down the sides. I was using my whole arms to gather it in the middle of the kitchen island while I poured more flour until I could make dough.
I called her back and told her this and she said, "Well, you know I just estimated the amounts. You have to add a little more flour as needed."
Here's a better estimate of the ingredients and please, if it looks like it needs a little more flour, add it before you turn the dough onto the counter!
Always make the Zeppoli dough first because it has to raise.
Ingredients for Zeppoli:
4 cups flour
3 packages of yeast -- dissolve in 1/2 cup of warm water and let it bubble before adding to the flour
2 Tbs salt
Oil for frying (sunflower oil works best)
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Add more warm water to make a very soft, stretchy, sticky dough. Let it rise about two hours. (While you're waiting for it to rise, make the stroufoli dough and shapes)
Always fry the zeppoli first, because the stroufali dough has eggs in it and ruins the oil.
Heat the oil in a deep saucepan. Put a little COLD oil in a small bowl so you can dip your fingers in. This will keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. With your hands, pick up a small piece of dough -- about a tablespoon full -- stretch it a little and drop it gently into the hot oil. Turn the zeppoli to brown on both sides. Put them in a brown paper bag to absorb the extra oil.
Stroufoli:
Ingredients:
1 dozen eggs
8 cups of flour and ADD MORE AS NEEDED!!!!
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
Mix all ingredients until smooth and ADD MORE FLOUR as needed to make a soft, smooth dough.
Turn it on to the floured counter top (only when you're sure it's dough, not soup) and knead until smooth.
Let the dough rest about 20 minutes. Then, roll strips between your hands and cut into 1/4 inch nuggets. Make sure they're all the same size in honor of Gram! For pinwheels, roll dough out to a thin circle and cut into inch-wide strips, about 10 inches long. Pinch the dough together every inch and then twirl into a circle. You can also make bows by cutting the long strips into 3-inch pieces and pinching the middle.
Put all of the creations on floured trays. After you finish frying the zeppoli, fry the stroufoli in batches until golden brown.
Put it all in a brown paper bag to absorb the extra oil.
To serve the stroufoli and zeppoli:
Mix two parts honey with one part water -- so if you empty a jar of honey into a pot, fill the empty jar halfway with water and mix with the honey. Heat over medium heat and add the stroufoli in batches and boil for a few minutes. Transfer to a serving dish with a slotted spoon. Decorate with colored sprinkles.
Enjoy! Just a note -- we rarely made Christmas cookies but enjoyed the stroufoli and zeppoli instead.
When I moved to Pennsylvania, I made stroufoli and zeppoli on my own for the first time, using my mother’s recipes. Now, I'm no chemist but the egg/flour ratio that she wrote didn't look right to me. When I called to ask her about it she said, "When you do it, it will come out OK, you'll see." And, of course, she added, "And double the recipe because it never makes enough."
I put 2 dozen eggs and 8 cups of flour (double her original recipe) in a bowl and mixed it up. It looked too soupy to turn onto the counter and knead so I called her again. She said, impatiently, "Just do it, turn it over and you'll see, it will all come together."
So I did as I was told and the soupy flour egg mixture ran over the counter and down the sides. I was using my whole arms to gather it in the middle of the kitchen island while I poured more flour until I could make dough.
I called her back and told her this and she said, "Well, you know I just estimated the amounts. You have to add a little more flour as needed."
Here's a better estimate of the ingredients and please, if it looks like it needs a little more flour, add it before you turn the dough onto the counter!
Always make the Zeppoli dough first because it has to raise.
Ingredients for Zeppoli:
4 cups flour
3 packages of yeast -- dissolve in 1/2 cup of warm water and let it bubble before adding to the flour
2 Tbs salt
Oil for frying (sunflower oil works best)
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Add more warm water to make a very soft, stretchy, sticky dough. Let it rise about two hours. (While you're waiting for it to rise, make the stroufoli dough and shapes)
Always fry the zeppoli first, because the stroufali dough has eggs in it and ruins the oil.
Heat the oil in a deep saucepan. Put a little COLD oil in a small bowl so you can dip your fingers in. This will keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. With your hands, pick up a small piece of dough -- about a tablespoon full -- stretch it a little and drop it gently into the hot oil. Turn the zeppoli to brown on both sides. Put them in a brown paper bag to absorb the extra oil.
Stroufoli:
Ingredients:
1 dozen eggs
8 cups of flour and ADD MORE AS NEEDED!!!!
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
Mix all ingredients until smooth and ADD MORE FLOUR as needed to make a soft, smooth dough.
Turn it on to the floured counter top (only when you're sure it's dough, not soup) and knead until smooth.
Let the dough rest about 20 minutes. Then, roll strips between your hands and cut into 1/4 inch nuggets. Make sure they're all the same size in honor of Gram! For pinwheels, roll dough out to a thin circle and cut into inch-wide strips, about 10 inches long. Pinch the dough together every inch and then twirl into a circle. You can also make bows by cutting the long strips into 3-inch pieces and pinching the middle.
Put all of the creations on floured trays. After you finish frying the zeppoli, fry the stroufoli in batches until golden brown.
Put it all in a brown paper bag to absorb the extra oil.
To serve the stroufoli and zeppoli:
Mix two parts honey with one part water -- so if you empty a jar of honey into a pot, fill the empty jar halfway with water and mix with the honey. Heat over medium heat and add the stroufoli in batches and boil for a few minutes. Transfer to a serving dish with a slotted spoon. Decorate with colored sprinkles.
Enjoy! Just a note -- we rarely made Christmas cookies but enjoyed the stroufoli and zeppoli instead.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Me oh my! I love Pie!
I love the little song about pie that Dorothy (Andie MacDowell) sings in the movie, "Michael."
Pie, pie me oh my! Nothing tastes sweet, wet salty and dry, all at one so well as pie!
Apple! Pumpkin! Minced and wet bottom. I'll come to your place every day if you've got 'em.
Pie, me o my, I love pie!
It inspired me to write a book about pies as part of a project for the US Embassy Vienna and a subsequent video on making an apple pie. Here's the link if you want to make a pie along with me!
Anyway, here's the famous crust recipe. This recipe will make the top and bottom crusts for one pie, or two crusts for open pies.
Ingredients:
1 cup (two sticks) butter
2/3 cup white sugar
1 egg yolk
3 cups of all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/4 cup of ice cold water
Mix butter and sugar. It can be lumpy. Mix in the egg yolk. Add the flour and salt and sprinkle the cold water over it. Knead into a crumbly dough. Press about half of the mixture in the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Or you can roll out the dough into a 1/8-inch thick circle and place it in the pan. Crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork. Fill with fruit, top with the rest of the crumbly mixture and bake about 1 hour at 350 degrees F.
For apple pie: Peel, core and slice 8 to 10 red delicious apples (I use these because they don't require much
more sugar.) Put the apples in the prepared crust. It should make a pretty high mound of apples -- it sinks when it cooks. Put dots of butter on the apples. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Cover with the remaining pie crust. Just press the crumbly mixture loosely over the apples to cover completely. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon.
more sugar.) Put the apples in the prepared crust. It should make a pretty high mound of apples -- it sinks when it cooks. Put dots of butter on the apples. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Cover with the remaining pie crust. Just press the crumbly mixture loosely over the apples to cover completely. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon.
Bake! Let it sit for a few minutes after you take it out of the oven.
Enjoy!!!
Look at these two cuties who made the apple pie!
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Bruschetta (Tomato Stuff)
Long before it became trendy for restaurants and party hosts to serve Bruschetta, my Mother was making her tomato salad, which we called, the Tomato Stuff.
This is one of those recipes you have to try a few times to make sure you get the ratio of ingredients right, according to your taste. Also, don't try to substitute ingredients. You have to use fresh garlic and basil, RED onion and real olive oil if you want it to come out right.
The recipe was never written down. We all just made it by sight and taste. But Aunt Carm did write her recipe, which she said is the best. I agree.
Bruschetta Recipe:
5 plum tomatoes -- ripe but not soft. You can substitute beefsteak or other red tomatoes. Take out the seeds and mushy stuff.
5 cloves of garlic (give or take)
1/4 of a medium red onion. (Don't use a yellow or white onion.)
1/3 cup of fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/3 cup of good extra virgin olive oil (Don't use corn or canola oil.)
Chop tomatoes, garlic, onion and basil and put in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste and olive oil. Mix gently. Cut a baguette or Italian bread into thin slices. Serve with the tomato stuff.
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