Ciambellone
Ciambellone or Italian Easter Bread is a ring shaped cake is lightly sweetened and flavored with lemon zest and sometimes dried fruit. Romans like to serve it for Easter breakfast.
INGREDIENTS
4 Cups Unbleached Flour
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ Cup Sugar
½ Cup Milk
¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
½ Cup Softened Butter
½ Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Egg
Powdered Sugar For Dusting
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the flour on your work surface creating a well in the center. Alternating, add the dry and wet ingredients to the well. After each ingredient is added mix well with your fingers or a fork. Add more flour if needed to make the dough workable. Knead the dough until it is smooth. Shape the dough into a ring. Beat the egg lightly with water. Brush the top of the ring with the egg wash. Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes until golden brown. If you want your ring to be perfectly uniform then you can use a springform pan with the center insert. This will allow you to have a picture perfect ciambellone. Dust the ciambellone with powdered sugar or you could use colored sugar as a topping. Serves 8
Spiced Pound Cake
INGREDIENTS
1 Cup Butter
1 ½ Teaspoons Ground Nutmeg, Mace or Cinnamon
½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 2/3 Cups Sugar
5 Eggs
2 Cups Unbleached Flour
Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Soften the butter and add the spice of your choice and the salt. Beat for 4 minutes with an electric beater or 8 minutes by hand. Gradually blend in the sugar until fluffy, beating 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Finally, beat in the flour. Turn the mixture into a well greased and lightly floured bundt pan or 9×3 ½ inch tube cake pan. Preheat your oven to 350°. Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out cleans. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Turn out on a wire rack to finish cooling. Serves 8
Cream Biscuits
INGREDIENTS
3 Cups Unbleached Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
¾ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 ¼ Cups Heavy Cream
Move your oven rack to the upper middle position and preheat your oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the cream for 30 seconds until combined. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gather into a ball. Knead briefly for 30 seconds until smooth. Shape the dough into a ¾ inch circle. Dip a 2 ½ biscuit cutter in flour and cut the biscuits into rounds. Recombine the scraps as needed to make 12 biscuits. Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes – rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking. You want the biscuits to be golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Makes 12 biscuits.
Country Ham
From colonial times until the advent of refrigeration, the process of packing hams in salt, smoking them, then hanging them to dry for up to two years was a way Americans preserved meat. These days, quickly brined “city” hams have all but eclipsed this older, slower country style. Or at least they have in the North. But in the South, people still produce and eat country hams, not for preservation but because they’re powerfully porky and incredibly delicious. Use hams aged six months or less for this recipe. Mold on country ham is not a sign of spoilage. It is a natural effect of the curing and aging process. Serve ham on biscuits if you like. Leftover ham is delicious in scrambled eggs, cheese grits or macaroni and cheese.
INGREDIENTS
1 Three to Six Month Old Bone-In Country Ham (13 to 15 Pounds)
½ Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Dry Mustard
2 Teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Move your oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 325° F. Using a clean, stiff bristled brush, scrub the ham under cold running water to remove any surface mold. Transfer the ham to a cutting board and trim off the dry meat, skin and all but ¼ inch of fat. Score the fat cap in ½ inch crosshatch pattern (about ¼ inch deep). Transfer the ham to a roasting pan fat side up. Add 1 quart of water and cover the pan tightly with foil. Bake for 4 ½ hours until thickest part of the meat registers 140° F. Remove the ham from the oven and throw away the foil. Turn the oven temperature up to 450° F. In a medium size bowl combine the brown sugar, mustard and black pepper. Rub over the top of the ham. Return the ham to the oven and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes until glazed. Transfer the ham to a carving board and let rest for 20 minutes. Carve thin slices and serve. Serves 12
Roast Beef Quesadillas
I am always looking for ways to use leftovers. Quesadillas are a tasty way to make use of yesterday’s home cooked chicken, beef or pork.
INGREDIENTS
17 Ounces Cooked Roast Beef (With Au Jus)
¾ Cup Chunky Salsa
1 ½ Cups Sliced Sweet & Hot Peppers
4 Ten Inch Flour Tortillas
¾ Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Fresh Cilantro
In a large skillet combine the beef in its juices with the salsa and peppers. Cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to break up the beef. In the meantime preheat your broiler. For the quesadillas, spoon some of the beef mixture on half of each tortilla. Fold the tortillas over the meat and then fold in quarters. Place the folded tortillas on a foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the cheese on each quesadilla. Broil for 1 minute. You want the cheese just to melt and the tortilla to begin to get crisp. Top with cilantro. Makes 4 servings.
Strawberry Jam
By adding the grated apple, which is a pectin packed fruit, it naturally jells the jam and gives it a pleasant tartness.
INGREDIENTS
1 Pound Strawberries
2/3 Cup Sugar
1 Peeled Granny Smith Apple
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
Hull and quarter the strawberries. You may use fresh or frozen (thaw before using). In a heavy skillet combine the strawberries and sugar. Grate the peeled apple and stir into the strawberry mixture. Cook over a medium low heat. Stir and break up the strawberries until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 15 minutes until the jam has thickened. Stir in the lemon juice. Transfer to a bowl or jar and let cool. Cover and chill for 2 ½ hours until set. Keep chilled and serve within 2 weeks. Makes 1 ½ cups.
Strawberry & Rhubarb Compote
Strawberries & rhubarb were meant to be together. The sweet, juicy berries mellow the tart, slightly astringent rhubarb. While there is nothing wrong with the traditional pie, I decided to make a sweet, jam-like, easy compote that is perfect for serving over pound cake or any cake for that matter. You can also serve it topped with ice cream or stirred into yogurt or oatmeal. The compote will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to one week.
INGREDIENTS
1 Pound Hulled & Chopped Strawberries (3 Cups)
1 Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Pound Sliced ¼ Inch Thick Rhubarb
¼ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 Tablespoons Water
In a medium size bowl, toss the strawberries with ½ cup sugar and lemon juice. Next, transfer the strawberry mixture to a small nonreactive pan. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Cook for 3 minutes and stir often. Remove the strawberries and place them into a small bowl. Set aside. Meanwhile, in another small pan over a medium low heat, combine the rhubarb and remaining sugar, salt and the water. Simmer for 6 minutes, stirring often, until the sugar is dissolved and the rhubarb is almost tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the rhubarb to the bowl with the strawberries and combine. Finally, transfer the strawberry & rhubarb mixture to a medium size pan and cook for 10 minutes over a medium low heat. Remove from the heat and transfer compote to a bowl and let cool for 45 minutes until the compote comes to room temperature. Serve over cake, ice cream, yogurt or oatmeal. Makes 4 cups.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
This cake is moist, tender, golden brown and very velvety. It has all the richness and pure buttery flavor of classic pound cake, but with a delicate tang.
INGREDIENTS
3 Cups Cake Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
4 Large Room Temperature Eggs
2 Room Temperature Egg Yolks
¼ Cup Milk
3 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
3 Cups Sugar
24 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter (3 Sticks)
6 Ounces Softened Cream Cheese
Before you turn on the oven adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Preheat your oven to 300° F. Grease and flour 12 cup nonstick Bundt pan. In a medium size bowl, combine the flour and salt. In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup whisk the eggs, 2 yolks, milk and vanilla. In a separate large size bowl, beat together (by hand or with an electric mixer) the sugar, butter and cream cheese for 3 minutes until fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and very slowly add the egg mixture until incorporated. The batter may look slightly curdled. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Give the batter a final stir by hand. Scrap the batter into a prepared pan and gently tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles. Bake for 80 to 90 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely, for about 2 hours. Serve plain or topped with frosting or fruit. Serves 12
Shamrock Cut Out Cookies
On St. Patrick’s Day everyone is Irish! These cookies are so cute they just might bring you a wee bit o’ luck!
INGREDIENTS
1 Cup Softened Butter
3 Ounces Softened Cream Cheese
¾ Cup Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3 Cups Unbleached Flour
Frosting:
2 ½ Cups Powdered Sugar
2 Tablespoons Water
1 Tablespoon Softened Butter
1 Tablespoon Light Corn Syrup
½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Drops Green Food Coloring
In a large size bowl combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla. Beat at a medium speed for 2 minutes until creamy. Scrape the bowl often. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour. Beat for 1 minute. Divide the dough in half and wrap each in plastic wrap and flatten slightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours because you want the dough to be firm. Preheat your oven to 375° F. Remove the dough from the fridge. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface one half at a time. Keep the remaining dough in the fridge. Roll out to ¼ inch thickness. Cut with a 2 ½ inch shamrock cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool completely on wire racks. When cool frost. Makes 3 ½ dozen cookies.
Frosting: In a small size bowl combine the powdered sugar, water, 1 tablespoon butter, corn syrup and vanilla. Beat at a medium speed until the powdered sugar is moistened. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth. Add additional water if you need to. Tint with the food coloring and beat for 30 seconds. Frost the cooled cookies.
Garlic Bread
Pasta Dishes seem lonely without Garlic Bread which is so easy to make. there are several ways to make
Garlic Bread. The easiest way is by rubbing a cut clove of garlic over the slices of Italian bread
by spreading the bread with butter and heating in the oven.
INGREDIENTS
1 Loaf Italian Bread
1/2 Cup Softened Butter
2 Large Smashed & Minced Garlic Cloves
1 Teaspoon Freshly Chopped Parsley
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Make 1 inch slices into the bread. Do not go all the way through, but just to the bottom crust.
In a small size bowl mix the butter, garlic and parsley together. Put a teaspoon of the butter mixture between each slice.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. Makes 16 to 20 slices.
