Italian Food

Lamb Chops with White Beans and Wine Sauce There are a lot of good food bloggers out there, and like all of you, I have my favorites that I have followed loyally for years. One foodie that I’m so glad to have found among the plethora of food bloggers is LeaAnn, the talented author of “Cooking . . . On The Ranch”. This is one busy woman that I respect for her ability to write, photograph, and prepare delicious recipes for her food blog on top of working full time in her profession! So when I asked her if she would consider writing a guess post for my blog while I’m traveling, LeaAnn’s kindness and generosity shined through, despite her demanding schedule. “Hello everyone and thank you for allowing me to share a little piece of myself here at La Bella Vita Cucina with Roz. It’s truly is an honor that she invited me. My name is Lea Ann and I am the home chef and photographer behind Cooking…On The Ranch. I enjoy all kinds of food, but like to focus on perfecting my skills with authentic Mexican and recipes that reflect the flavors of the West. My tag line reads “Western Flair, Rocky Mountain Air… Let’s Cook”. Growing up on a farm in the middle of Kansas, I learned to cook from my my mother and my two aunts. They were incredible home cooks who not only taught me skills, but taught me that the kitchen was a gathering place and the foundation for celebration of food and family. They’d bring our families together several times a week and fill the table with platters of meat, casseroles, breads, pasta salads, steaming bowls of vegetables, cakes and pies. I decided to start my blog four years ago to share family recipes and memories and also how these influences have shaped my own style of cooking. I live, work and play in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. What is now a master planned community, was once a 90,000 acre working cattle ranch. Amidst the sea of houses in the Denver urban sprawl, sits Historic Highlands Ranch Mansion. Once complete with windmills, barns, and bunkers, it’s still a working cattle ranch. This property was featured in the television mini-series “Centennial”, about pioneers heading west and settling along the Front Range of Colorado. Pioneers who decided to stake a claim in Colorado, carved out large parcels of high plains grassland for cattle ranches. These established ranchers didn’t take a liking to sheep ranchers arriving from Wyoming. Cattlemen saw sheepherders as invaders destroying public grazing lands, which was shared on a first-come, first-served basis. Sheep wars were exceptionally violent and lasted until after the turn of the century. The Wild West has become more civilized these days and Colorado is proud of both its lamb and beef, which we think is the best in the land. Raised with plenty of sunshine, fresh mountain air and with a variety of nutritious grasses and grains makes for tender entrees. fresh lamb chops This recipe, Lamb Chops with White Beans and Wine Sauce, is inspired by Restaurant Kevin Taylor one of the most highly recognized restaurants in Colorado. As fancy-schmancy as this recipe sounds, it’s really quite easy, but should be saved for for a leisurely Saturday afternoon project. If you don’t favor lamb, a nice tenderloin would work well. The dark elegant sauce that surrounds the white beans is the star of the meal. Let’s make it first.” Print Wine Sauce with Thyme (for the Lamb Chops) What You Need:1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 shallots, peeled and thin sliced 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and thin sliced 2 tomatoes, diced 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves 1 tsp whole black peppercorns 1 cup Red Wine 2 cups Veal Demi-glace (I buy mine from a speciality market, frozen) Salt and PepperInstructionsHeat a medium saucepan over medium high heat and add

Recipe here L & B x

Many thanks to all who illuminated my week by contributing their images to edition #84 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event. And a big thank you to Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook who created the event and to Cinzia of Cindystar who is now organizing it. Enjoy this week's show! Rosa of Rosa's Yummy Yums: Port And Cheese Straws Make Jack A Happy Man Sandra of ...indovina che viene a cena?: Fried Flowers Claire of Chez Cayenne: Tomatoes and Garlic Meena of Encourage Spice: Empty Bowl Haalo of Cooking Almost Anything: Merinda Pomodori Cinzia of Cindystar: New Old Props Julie of Stregatto cuciniero: Tarte au Fromage Frais et aux Pruneaux Rekha Vengalil of Food0licious Pictured: Princess Cake Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook: Time to Entertain Usha of Sizzling Indian Recipes: Fresh coconut, Hemp Hearts & Chia Seed Ladoos Simona of briciole: sign at the farmers' market handmade pezze rigate I hope you like the page divider I have used in the post. I downloaded it from this page. As of today, Priya of The Humpty Dumpty Kitchen is accepting submissions for edition #85 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event. You can send her your contribution to pickwickcorner AT gmail DOT com. On this page, you can find out who is hosting the event. And if you are interested in hosting a gallery, contact Cinzia at casacortella AT tin DOT it. I do hope I have not left anybody out of the roundup. If you find that, notwithstanding my best intentions, I actually have omitted a photo , please send me a note. Arrivederci a presto!

with the first pink rose from my garden I have sometimes thought about the menu of my own small café. I don't believe it will ever exist outside my imagination, but I enjoy adding to the list something that I think would go well there, like these scones — or the ones with red beet, apple and pistachios I made recently. I love scones, I always have, from the day, many years ago, when I tasted my first one during my first visit to the UK. They are flavorful and not sweet, nourishing and versatile. They prefer to charm you with their flavor and texture rather than polished looks. I could bake a batch every day. When I do bake a batch, I feel like the day starts on the right note. The theme of opening a café is present in the book we are currently reading in our Cook the Cooks Club: The Color of Tea by Hannah Tunnicliffe. I wish I could find an elegant way to say this, but I didn't like the novel — and I don't like macarons, which feature prominently in it. The scones were inspired by the novel in the sense that they were a reaction to it: unadorned, crisp outside and tender inside, a bit rustic, a bit surprising with their nuanced flavor of carrot punctuated by the small pieces of candied ginger, simply irresistible. Scone are traditionally served with tea and without roses, but I was too excited about cutting the first pink rose of the season from my bush not to share it here. Today's scones start with two pounds of freshly harvested small carrots, which I prepared using this simple yet lovely recipe by Lynda of TasteFood with a couple of minor adjustments (see below). The result was very much appreciated at the table. As I was putting away the leftovers, I thought about using some to make scones. The morning after, I had to solve the problem of turning the roasted carrots into a form suitable for scone-making. After some deliberation, I decided to chop them and add them to the food processor after the butter had been cut into the flour. It worked and the scones were a success, so the following week, when I found more carrots in my CSA share, I was ready to repeat the sequence of roasting followed by scone making. As an aside, this time I had a smaller amount of carrots, so I added to the pan a mix of baby turnips (rape novelle) and radishes (ravanelli), a great duo of root vegetables (I will soon share a recipe featuring them). Ingredients (see my earlier post for additional information on the original recipe and the ingredients; overall, I halved the quantities): 3 ounces (85 g) leftover roasted carrots, chopped 3 1/2 tablespoons (1.75 oz.) unsalted browned butter (or 4 tablespoon unsalted butter and no ricotta) 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour + 1 tablespoon cornmeal + 1 tablespoon teff flour + enough all-purpose flour to make 1 cup OR 1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour 1/2 cup (65 g) whole-wheat pastry flour 1/4 cup finely chopped uncrystallized candied ginger (zenzero candito) 1/2 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 3/8 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon ultra-fine or granulated sugar 1/2 tablespoon ricotta or plain kefir cheese or cream cheese 1/2 cup (120 ml) homemade kefir; original recipe alternatives: buttermilk (latticello), plain yogurt or sour cream (low-fat or non-fat is fine) How to roast the carrotsThe evening before I baked the scones, I prepared the carrots using this recipe with the following minor adjustments: I used thyme leaves rather than whole sprigs I used only 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar I did not add the sugar in the last step Since my carrots were more like toddlers than babies, I cut the bigger ones lengthwise and/or crosswise, and it took me some 25 minutes to get them to the tenderness I desired. You can, of course, choose your favorite method for oven-roasting carrots. The morning after, weigh the amount of carrots needed for the scones (making sure to incude a nice amount of thyme leaves) and chop them. Set aside. golden mix H

I am so in love with Sicily- and the Sicilians. It is an island full of passion for life. I am constantly charged with energy. Volcanic soil? Sea Air? Perhaps the fabulous food? I have made some fabulous friends that are also passionate about food and share their "Secrets" with me, which I think share with you! Sicily feeds my soul. Food, wine, architecture, ruins, sea, sky, craziness, energy, beauty. Each trip I take, I discover more and more, making new friends along the way and creating new dreams. This Fall I will come back during the olive harvest, probably for two weeks of classes and touring. Dates have not been finalized, but after October 12. If you would like to be on the mailing list for the trips, please write to me divinacucina at gmail.com

Traditional Hawaiian ‘Char Siu Manapua’ stuffed bread Sticker shock warning! Eating half-way decently on the island of Maui is expensive indeed. Really, if you can find a good value anywhere on the islands for anything, not just food, you’d be a lucky soul! Food products that non-natives normally look for in the markets are mind-blowing, outrageously high priced. How about a pint of potato salad for $10.00? Is that insane or what? I mean, what kind of potatoes were used, for Pete’s sake? When my husband and I visit Hawaii we carefully plan our spending for one of the most enjoyable activities on a vacation: eating the local foods, whether in a restaurant or in a mini-kitchen! We always spend our first morning enjoying a breakfast of macadamia nut and banana pancakes with coconut syrup. For this tropical treat we get up early to stand in line for the 14-table only Gazebo restaurant where you dine al fresco overlooking the beautiful Napili Bay with Molokai and Lanai islands in the horizon. A perfect morning aloha moment! With full tummies, we jet straight to the grocery store for ingredients to cook in our lodging unit. We bring our bonus cards for the stores that we shop at to save at least 10%. After all, every little bit helps when eating in paradise! When traveling, to figure out how to eat a bit more affordably, we also try the native cuisine! Besides saving some dough, the food will be authentic in traditional and local ingredients. One traditional local cuisine that is so unique in itself is from Hawaii! Hawaiian food is comfort food and perfectly reflects how the local natives create delicious foods out of inexpensive ingredients and how they have defied the expense of foods marketed to tourists and the wealthy new residents. Long before food trucks became trendy, they’ve thrived on the islands with ‘plate lunches’, shave ice, and other tropical specialities. One Hawaiian food that caught my eye is the Manapua, a tender steamed bread stuffed with a Chinese BBQ or roast pork filling. It can also be prepared with beef pot roast which is my husband’s preference and vegetables for those who prefer not to eat meat. Steaming versus baking is another element that makes this dish so unique: the texture is perfectly soft, fluffy and tender! the tender bread is filled with Chinese pork Print Hawaiian Char Sui Manapua: Steamed Buns Stuffed with BBQ Pork What You Need:Bun Dough: 1 package dry yeast 3 Tbsp. lukewarm water 2 cups warm water 1-1/2 Tbsp. cooking oil or shortening 1/4 cup sugar 3/4 tsp. salt 6 cups sifted flour 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil Pork Filling: 1 cup water 2 Tbsp. cornstarch 2 Tbsp. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 2 - 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced 1 pound char siu, diced Few drops red food coloring, optionalInstructionsTo prepare bun dough: Sprinkle yeast over 3 Tbsp water and allow to stand until yeast softens. To remaining water, add oil or shortening, sugar and salt, stirring until melted or dissolved. Cool and then add yeast mixture. Place flour in a large mixing bowl and add most of the liquid. Begin kneading. Add remaining liquid to make a very heavy dough. Continue mixing until you have a smooth ball that is beginning to show signs of long strands on the outside, indicating that the gluten has fully developed. Remove dough from bowl and rinse out bowl. Pour sesame oil into bowl, return dough and turn it around until covered with a thin layer of the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double in bulk -- about an hour in a warm room. Placing the dough in the refrigerator and allowing it to rise there, 3-6 hours, develops the flavor. Proceed with the filling or gently deflate the dough and allow it to rise for a second time, which will further enhance the flavor. To prepare filling: In a pot, sti

What you need: 350g Linguine or Spaghetti 1 courgette sliced into matchstick pieces 1 clove garlic 170g bag of frozen prawns or fresh if you’re lucky enough to have access to them.. 2 tbls of olive oil 1 Tub of RIF Creamy Tomato Sauce bring a pot of water to the boil, add salt and cook your pasta until al dente… add your olive oil to a pan and crush your garlic clove and cook over a low heat for a couple of mins.. add your courgettes and cook until softened (about 7-10mins) add your prawns and cook for a couple of mins…  add your RIF Creamy Tomato Sauce… Simmer for a couple of mins until heated…  add your cooked pasta… serve and enjoy…

I dare you to eat just one of these amazing homemade beet chips. They are just downright addictive. This is healthy snack food that you can feel good about eating. They are super easy to make and only take about an hour in your oven. You don't even have to be a beet lover to love these chips. I've had a couple of people try them who loved them and were totally surprised to learn they were beets. I was slicing beets for a raw beet salad one day on my mandoline and was thinking about how it was like slicing the apples for my homemade apple chips. I wondered if I could make chips out of these, too. So I sliced a bunch farily thinly and tossed them with some olive oil, sea salt and pepper and roasted them slowly in the oven. I did several batches over several days, experimenting with the oven temperature and the cooking time until I was totally happy with them. The technique for making these kinds of chips is to slow roast them in the oven on a fairly low setting for a long time, dehydrating them. You draw out the moisture in the vegetable or fruit, which concentrates the flavor. You end up with an amazing flavor. You just have to try it. the stems on the beets make a great "handle" to hold as you slice them Slicing them on a mandoline really makes the job easy, fast and the slices uniform. If you don't have a mandoline, get one. You don't have to buy a really expensive one - they have become very popular and you can even buy a little handheld one. I have a nice stainless steel one, but I do use mine all the time. I love slicing things on it. One thing I learned from cooking several batches is that, unlike the apple chips, the beets cook up faster. You also do not need to flip them, like the apple chips. I tried flipping them halfway through the cooking time and then not flipping them, and it didn't matter. The cooking time will depend, of course, on the beets you get - how fresh they are, how large they are, how much moisture they have, etc. A convection oven will draw out the moisture even better and you will be able to make three pans at a time. If you don't have a convection oven, you will have to rotate the pans. So there are a lot of variables. Make a batch and see how your oven performs. Watch the beets - they will start to really darken and even burn a little if you let them go too long. Also, I made both red and yellow (or golden) beets. They are both delicious, but I did prefer the golden beets. I think the flavor was just a little different and they had less moisture, so they crisped up a little better. If you've never bought golden beets, try them. I love them anyway raw on salads. Homemade Beet Chips for a printable recipe click here You really can use any sized beet you like and make chips out of them. They shrink a lot in size, so bigger beets will make a nice size chip. The seasoning is totally up to you - adjust it the way you like. I like a lot of pepper on mine. If you have a convection oven, you can make 3 pans of these at one time. Ingredients: 2 large beets 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper Instructions: Preheat the oven to 300° F. (or 275° F for convection oven). Line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper. Peel the beets. Slice them to about 1/16" inch (1.6 mm) thick, at the most. Toss them in a large bowl in the olive oil and salt and pepper. (If you have time, you can wait for 30 minutes or so after this step - especially with the red beets, the salt will draw out some excess moisture). Lay them on the baking sheet, just barely touching. Bake for about one hour until the edges are crisped up and most of the beets have dried out. Because you will have different sized slices from the same beet, you will have some smaller chips and some larger chips. This will let you have a little bit of variety in the crispiness of the chips and you can decide how you like them for your next batch. Rem

experimenting on the kneading board I am determined: One day, I will invent a new pasta shape. As an intermediate step, I have created an innovative variation of an existing pasta shape called fainelle. I decided to give my pasta a different name, because it is made quite differently from the inspiring one (see details below).1 According to my source, the "Encyclopedia of Pasta" by Oretta Zanini De Vita, fainelle are typical of Foggia (Puglia). The word fainella in dialect refers to the fruit of the carrob tree (in Italian, carruba), to which the pasta shape resembles. I was not able to find a reference to it outside of the page in Zanini De Vita's book, so the idea I have is based on the drawing and the text on that page. Fainelle belong to the strascinati family of pasta shapes and are made with a sferre: "A typical knife of Puglia used to make many types of pasta. It has no handle, so it can also be used horizontally to make long strascinati." To approximate the shape, I decided to roll the dough with one of the pieces of dowel I had purchased during my experiments to make garganelli. I realized that using a mini rolling pin meant my pasta would not be a type of strascinato. (A sferre is now officially on my wish list.) The result reminded me of a patch made of cloth, in Italian pezza. I made a couple of pezze and then the presence on my working surface of my gnocchi board gave me the idea of rolling the pieces of pasta dough on it to get a ridged surface and pezze rigate were born. Then I thought about a variation: instead of placing the cylinder of dough parallel to the board grooves, I placed it a bit angled and as a result the ridges on the surface of the pezza came out oblique. You can see my hands at work on both versions in this short video:   Based on Zanini De Vita's description of the flours used for this pasta shape, I decided to make a blend of whole-wheat flour and semolina flour. I could have used farina di grano arso, also mentioned in the book, but I wanted to vary. first batch of pezze I am reading a cookbook for an upcoming review that is all about using flowers in the kitchen. I had some calendulas (calendule) I had obtained to make one of the book's recipes and I added some of their petals (petali) to the pasta dough. with calendula petals Pezze rigate are probably not the best choice to show off the use of flowers in the kitchen, but it was an interesting experiment and I will certainly work more on the idea. Ingredients for the pasta: EITHER 25 g / 1 oz. stone-ground whole-wheat flour + 75 g / 2.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality OR 100 g / 3.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality 50 g / 1.75 oz. warm water (I recommend weighing the water) A pinch of salt How to make the dough and shape pezze rigateMake a dough with the pasta ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. Let the dough rest, well wrapped to avoid drying, for half an hour or so. Shape the dough into a thick roll, then cut it into 5-6 pieces and shape each one into a roll about 3/8 inch (1 cm) in diameter. Cut each roll into approximately 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) long pieces, then place each cylinder on the gnocchi board with the long sides either parallel to the board's grooves or slightly angled. Run the mini rolling pin — a piece of dowel of 3/8 inch (1 cm) or 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) in diameter — over the piece of dough 2-3 times to thin it and "stamp" it. The resulting pezza rigata will be about 2 inches long. Lay out to dry ridged side up on a surface lightly dusted with flour.  Repeat with the other pieces of dough. Lightly dust the gnocchi board as needed to prevent the dough from sticking too tightly when you roll it. ready for the fork

"I am a serious fellow" From my most recent visit to the Temescal Farmers' Market. If you are curious about the name Tomatero, you can read about it on this page. No tomatoes yet from Tomatero farm, but I bought strawberries. We ate some fresh and I roasted the rest to make frittata with roasted strawberries and strawberry lassi. This week, I have the honor of hosting Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event. created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar. Send your contribution at simosite AT mac DOT com, namely your name your blog's name the image(s) (max 500 px wide, either orientation, max 150 kb file size) You have until Tuesday, May 21 at midnight Pacific time to do so. If you are unfamiliar with the event or need a reminder of the rules, you will find the details in this post (and in Italian here). Feel free to use the logo below. If you