Bombolotti pasta with yellow peppers, olives and capers

More one day and this 2011 will be over. Please let me say finally.
The year 2011 will be for ever on my mind as one of the worst of the last 10 years. Exhausting, stressfull, disappointing, inconclusive. And let's stop here.
Nevertheless my horoscope for 2011 have had good weather for my sign. May be it's time to change my zodiac sign. Or read no more horoscopes.
So tomorrow night I absolutely have to celebrate.  I will celebrate a bad year that is going over. I will celebrate the new coming year: hoping it will be a bit better than the previous one. Well, it needs no so much to be better than the past one, so it gonna be easy!

Hoping that for you all this 2011 was a very good year and that the new 2012 will be even better!

Here an idea for your New Year Eve dinner:
Bombolotti pasta with yellow peppers, olives and capers.

Enjoy!

What you need for 2:
g 160 bombolotti pasta (mezze maniche)
1 big yellow pepeer
1 tblsp caper
2 tblsp black olives
1 garlic
1/2 glass of withe wine
extra virgin olive oil, salt and oregano to season

Directions:

• wash, peel and cut in slices the pepper
• in a pan put olive oil (at least 4 tblsp), the garlic and turn on the fire
• add peppers, olives, capers, the oregano, a pinch of salt an let it cook for 15 minutes
• in the middle of cooking add the wine and some water if needed
• cook the pasta in salted boiling water for the time it needs (usually 12-14 minutes)
• draina the pasta and turned in to the peppers
• mix all together and eat!

Hanukkah biscuits

Tonigh is the first of the 8 Hannukah days, the Jewish Festival of Lights.
Last year I showed you my sufganiot and this year I want to celebrate with you all offering some Menorah  biscuits. We will eat them in front of our first candle light.

Are your lights ready to be lit?


What you need (for about 30 biscuits):

• 6 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp potato flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• g 150 butter (or margarine)
• 1 egg
• 1g vanilla flavoring
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 lemon zest
• 1 pinch of salt

For the icing:

• g 200 icing sugar
• juice of 1/2 orange
• g 100 dark chocolate
• 4 tbsp milk
• colored gel pens (for me yellow and blue)

 Directions:

• in a bowl mix together all the ingredients with the melted butter
• work the dought until it forms a ball and keep it in the fridge for 15 minutes
• put the oven at 180°C
• from the dought have your biscuits with the stencils (or just cut them as you like)
• let cook in the oven for 10 minutes and let them cold
• prepare the glass mixing the icing sugar with the orange juice (just put 1tbsp and turn until the glass is done)
• spread the glass on the cookies and decor with gel pens or with chocolate (melted with some hot milk)

Very simple to do and so nice to have on your table during all Hannnukah time.

Happy Hannukah!!

Cream and apple tart no eggs and gluten free

When we think about traditional sweets for this time of the year a lot of recipes come up to our minds. Every single village and town in Italy has its own tipical cakes and biscuits for Holiday season. And you are spoiled of choise on which one make for you and your family.
But if you have in your loved ones someone that needs a gluten free cake or a no eggs cake things would be different. Sometimes you can readapt a your grandma recipe, but sometimes the better way is to going on and make a new one. Gluten free and no eggs but that can remeber a sort of holiday taste. Fragrant, tasty and enveloping.
Just what happen with this cake.

What you need

for the base:
g 140 chickpea flour Molino Chiavazza
g 100 potato flour
g 100 sugar
g 150 butter
1 lemon zest
a pinch of salt

for the cream:
1 cup milk
1 tbsp sugar
1tbsp potato flour
1 lemon suice
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla flower
1 big apple
2 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp raisins

for decoration:
icing sugar

Directions:

• knead the dought mixing the two flours, sugar melted butter, lemon zest and salt until to have a smooth ball of dought and leave it in the fridge for 15 minutes;
• in a little pot mix the tblsp potato flour, sugar and vanilla. Add very quickly the milk and boil and turning often the cream. Turn off and let it cold;
• cut the apple in to slices and cover with lemone juice
• take the dought from the fridge, spread it in the pan, put the cream and over the slice of apple and at the end raisins and pine nuts
• cook at 180° C for 35 minutes. When is cold decore with icing sugar

This recipe is for the Molino Chiavazza giveaway: "La tradizione del Natale"

Orange cake

This simple orange cake is exactly what you need for you breakfast.
Fragrant, tasty and soft. Like a lovely hug.
Try it with tea or milk and coffee. The day will start smailing you!


What you need:
g 350 flour
g 100 cornstarch
g 180 sugar
3 eggs
g 125 butter
1 cup of milk
1 orange (zest and juice)
g 15 baking powder
a pinch of salt

Directions:

• in a bowl mix sugar, eggs and salt very well until they double in volume
• add the orange (zest and juice), milk, melted butter
• end with the two flours and the baking powder
• pour in to the mold and cook at 180° for about 45 minutes
• keep in the oven more 5 minute before to take it out

For a sweet wake up!

Saffron and porcini gnocchi

This is not a recipe my dear. This is pure cooking therapy.
If you feel upside down or in a bad mood. If your clock sign 10:00am and the sun come throught you windows but you feel like in the middle of a dark night. Than it's time to knead.
Go in your kitchen, boil potatoes, take flour and go on. The therapy session can begin.

On the worktable squash the boiled potatoes  and your mind start to be lighter.

 Impaste the squashed potatoes to flour and your face get more relaxed.

Make the strips to cut the gnocchi and your eyes start to be happy.

See on your worktable all your gnocchi ready to be dipped in the boiling water and a big smile definitly will appear on your face.

Life is wonderfull and you are happy. Definetly.
Finish the session just eating your plate of gnocchi.
The lesson is done. Thanks for you attention.

What you need for 2:
g 300 home made gnocchi
g 300 porcini
g 1 saffron
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp white wine
1 clove of garlic
salt, hot pepper and oregano to season

Direction:

• in a large pan put the oil, the garlic, the hot pepper and turn to medium heat for 5 minutes
• add porcini, oregano and salt and them cook for 20 minutes
• cook the gnocchi in hot water for 2 minutes (they are done when they float in the water)
• add gnocchi and saffron in the pan with porcini and mix all together

Buon appetito!

This recipe is for the giveaway:

Pine nuts biscuits

Most of my recipes are measured by grams (g) and milliliters (ml). Accurates.

But what I really like are recipes in some alternatives measures. I'm in love with tbsp (tablespoons), cups and glasses recipes.

I don't need the balance. I don't need the exact gram. I don't need to be the perfect women who I am not. Recipes are more simples and anybody can make them, even people who are not so familiar with the kitchen.

More of that my cup will be only my cup and will be different from anybody else cup.

Whoever can repeat my recipe but the result will be different in each kitchen.

Isn't it wonderfull?



What you need:

g 500 flour

1 glass (about ml 100) pine nuts

1 glass sugar

1 glass marsala or limoncello

1 glass sunflower oil

1 tbsp baking powder

icing sugar for decoration

Directions:

• in a large bowl put the flour and the sugar
• add in the middle pine nuts, oil, limoncello and baking powder
• mix all together
• from the dought have little bowls and place them on the oven at 180° for 20 minutes
• when they are cold if you like you can decore with icing sugar

Very very simple, fragrant and crunchy!

Hazelnuts and choco cake

As soon as people know about my cooking passion they always ask me why I cook.

And always I really don't know what could be the answer. The exact answer I mean.

I could say becouse I live with an "always hungry man" and I need to cook.

I could say becouse since I was a little girl I sow my mother cook and bake for a lot of people (relatives and friends) for Holidays, Birthdays or special dinners.

I could say becouse I like to see people become happy in eating my food.

I could say becouse cooking relaxes me or just becouse it makes me happy.

Maybe are all of these together but please don't ask, it makes me nervous!! 

I cook and that's all.

Eat and Enjoy!!

Hazelnuts and choco cake

What you need:

g 150 Kamut flour

g 50 potato flour

g 150 sugar

g 100 hazelnuts + about 10 for decoration

g 100 extra dark chocolate

g 75 butter

3 eggs

a pinch of salt

ml 50 coffee (espresso or moka)

1 spoon of gluten free baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla flavor

Icing sugar to decorate

Directions:

• melt in a wather bath choco and butter until they are fluid
• in a blender mix together hazelnuts, eggs, slat and coffee until they are a cream
• put the cream and the choco fluid in a bowl and add sugar, the flours (kamut and potato), baking powder and vanilla
• transfer in a baking tin and cook in the oven at 180° for 25-30 minutes
• when it's cool place on the plate and deocre with icing sugar and hazelnuts  

With this recipe I enter the Arabafelice "Marthellati!" Giveaway for Pies and Tarts section