Food of the Mediterranean

We traveled to Italy, Malta, Greece and Turkey. Here are some foodie travels.

We had lunch outside the Vatican day one. I have to admit the pasta was dry, not much sauce and al dente. I had the linguine with asparagus and cambria. Jim had spaghetti with meat sauce  I was fatigued from an over night flight and not that hungry. The red wine was mellow and very good.

 The next day we went to Tuscany. It was a good foodie day, and we were well rested!
First stop was San Gimignano:

 The pizza was wonderful. I tried a bite of Jim's and really wished I had gotten a slice for myself.

 I had to peak in the kitchen of the bakery. This man had no idea how much I wanted to spend the day watching him knead. I didn't tell him for 3 reasons. 1) He didn't know I existed 2) I didn't speak Italian 3) Our tour driver was ready to move on.

 Jim bought a slice of pepperoni...yum!

Pork roasting - I imagine that tasted pretty good....

 We moved onto the winery in Sienna Torciano Winery

 Mama's Lasange Lasagne with Truffled olive oil

 Luigi and Heather~~~~

 The fresh fruit and markets of Sienna

 We found a little cafe in downtown Rome. Nice relaxing evening.

Pasta Making

So I have a pasta machine I've only used once. My friend Jeanne and I planned a day where we just pulled out some pasta recipes and played. We had a few recipes. We started with a basic flour, egg, water combo. 1cup flour, 1 egg, 1 Tbsp. of water. We ended up adding ?4 Tbsp. water. We thought this was the hardest. Kneading, even with a Kitchen Aid mixer/ dough hook was tough.
 Then we tried Semolina flour, egg, oil and water. Then flour, sour cream, chive and water. Finally we did Italian seasoning, 1/4 cup sour cream and 1cup flour. The sour cream was by far the easiest to work with.

We were confused what the order was on the pasta machine for the dials from thick to thin. Level 1 is where you should start and we felt level 6 was way too thin. We liked levels 4 or 5 for thickness.

Fettuccine was easiest to make, so we started there.

The drying rack came in much handier than I anticipated.

You can see the sour cream and chive on the right, the semolina in the middle and the flour on the top left row.

It cooked up in 5-7 minutes. Some of the chives came out (I used frozen, not dried. next time- dried herbs!).

We also tried some spaghetti. It was very thin, but very good. The most important thing to remember is NOT to was the pasta machine, not even a damp cloth. It was rust and ruin. Just let it dry and brush/shake.

LEMON BARS (Page 77)

Crust:
1 c. flour
5 egg yolks divided (1 in crust, 4 in curd)
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 c. sugar

Curd:
3/4 c. sugar
3 oz. fresh lemon juice
zest of 2 lemons, divided (1 in crust and 1 in curd)
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 T.
powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 9 pan. Combine flour, 1 stick unsalted butter, 1/4 cup sugar, zest of 1 lemon and 1 egg yolk, in a bowl until a dough forms. Press into the pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden. Decrease oven temperature to 300 degrees. While crust is baking assemble curd. Lemon curd: In a heavy saucepan, place zest of 1 lemon, 4 egg yolks, 3/4 cup sugar, 3 oz. lemon juice and 4 T butter.

Whisk over medium heat until slightly thickened. The mixture actually
changes color (becomes lighter). Do not boil. Strain over a bowl. Pour over a warm crust. and return to oven for 10 minutes.

Allow it to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before cutting.
Generously sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Note: Nice light dessert is good anytime of the year!

SAUSAGE, CHEESE, AND ROASTED RED PEPPER CALZONE (Page 46)

1 1/2 c. warm water 105-110 degrees
1 envelope dry yeast
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 c. flour, divided
1 lb. red onion, sliced thin
1 large red bell pepper
4 sweet Italian sausages, castings removed
12 oz. ricotta cheese, drained 1 hour
3 c. mozzarella cheese, grated
3 tsp. dried oregano
2 T. olive oil
Corn Meal for dusting
Option: 2 cloves crushed garlic in 4 Tbsp. butter, melted
Pour warm water into a large bowl and stir in yeast. Let stand about 5 minutes until
yeast dissolves. Mix in salt and oil. Add 3 3/4 cups flour (do 1/2 cup at a time),
stirring until blended. Transfer to a floured surface and knead dough (you may not
need all of the 1/2 cup reserved flour for this). You want it smooth and elastic, but not
sticky. Rub inside a large bowl with oil and place dough in the bowl. Flip the dough
over (oily side up) and cover with saran wrap in a draft free place for 1 hour, 15 min.
The dose has risen when 2 fingers indentations remain. Filling: Place a red pepper on
a baking sheet and set the oven to broil. Roast the pepper until all of the sides are black. Transfer to a bowl and cover with saran wrap for 10 minutes. The steam will help shed the skin. Peel, seed and slice into thin strips. Set aside. In a large skillet, heat olive oil, over medium high heat. Cook red onions until brown (25 minutes.) Remove onions to a bowl and cook sausage, breaking it into small bits, until done. Set aside. In a bowl, mix together the mozzarella, ricotta and oregano. Season to taste
with salt and pepper. Place oven racks in the top 1/3 and bottom 1/3 of the oven.
Preheat to 400 degrees. Brush 2 cookie sheets with olive oil and dust with cornmeal.
Punch down the dough. Knead on a floured surface for 1 minute. Divide dough into 4
equal portions,shaping each into a ball. Roll each into a 9 inch round. I transfer it to
the bake sheet before assembly.) Spread 1/3 cup of the cheese mixture over half of
each round, leaving a 3/4 inch border. Place 1/4 of the onions, another 1/3 cup cheese
mixture, 1/4 of the sausage, 1/3 cup of the cheese mixture, and 1/4 of the peppers.
Fold dough over forming a half circle and seal edges firmly, so nothing leaks out.
Pierce top of calzone a few times with a sharp knife so steam can escape while
baking. Repeat with 3 other calzones, 2 per bake sheet. Bake 15 minutes, reverse
sheets and bake 15 more minutes, until golden brown. Makes 4 HUGE calzones.
Note: You can be creative with the fillings. I recommend making sure everything is
cooked going into the calzones. 4 calzones can easily feed 8 people. I'd also consider
adding garlic flavored melted butter to brush on as it comes out of the oven.
Note #2: I doubled the dough and the cheese filling. I made 4 circles of dough, wrapped them up and divided the cheese mixture by 4 and put it in baggies. Then a freezer bag. Now when my son wants a calzone in college, he just needs to buy a jar of roasted red peppers and fry up sausage/ onion. Stuff and bake.

Aunt Olive's Christmas Fudge (Page 85)

2 1/2 c. sugar                               
1/2 c. sour cream                           
1/4 c. whole milk                           
1 T. corn syrup                                
1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla
2 T. unsalted butter
1 c. walnuts (or pecans)       
1/3 c. green candied cherries, chopped
1/3 c. red candied cherries, chopped

 Note: You use the cherries that you see out around the holidays, usually near the
produce area. I thought they would have a fancy name, but the container simply says
"red cherries", NOT maraschino cherry! Some people call these "candied cherries".

Line a 8 x 8 pan with quick release foil, leaving some overhang on the sides, for removal. Mix the first 5 ingredients and stir over medium heat until it boils. Stir no more. Cook until soft ball stage. Remove from heat and add vanilla, butter, nuts, and both cherries. Beat until no longer "glossy". Pour into pans. The fudge will whiten slightly as it cools.

This makes an adorable "Christmas" fudge.

Here it is after it has cooled. It is less translucent:

Corn and Wild Rice Soup

 Corn and Wild Rice Soup
12 c. (or more) of chicken broth, divided
1 1/4 c. wild rice (Gourmet house suggested)
2.5 lbs frozen corn (4 cups + 1 cup,divided)
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
12 oz. FULLY COOKED smoked sausage, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 c. chopped onion
1/2-1 cup heavy cream (optional)
Chopped fresh parsley or chives

Bring 4 cups chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add wild rice, reduce heat and simmer (covered) until almost tender, about 40 minutes. Drain and set aside.(You undercook it a bit here- it will cook longer in the soup)

Blend 4 cups of corn with 2 cups of broth in a food processor until a thick almost puree forms. Set aside. Heat the oil and butter in a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add sausage and saute until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add carrots and onions. Saute until the onion is soft. Add remaining 6 cups of broth and simmer (reduce heat to low) and cook for 15 minutes. Add cooked wild rice, corn puree,plus 1 cup whole corn. Cook 15 more minutes. Stir in the cream (optional). Thin with extra broth if desired. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped chives or parsley.
Serves 12
Notes: You can freeze this (before adding the cream! Thaw and then add the cream when ready to eat.)Wild rice is a grass and  harvested by hand.Don't spend a lot and rinse before using.

Butternut Squash Pizza

1 Boboli-type ready made pizza crust (Or make your own)
1 small butternut squash- peeled
olive oil
salt & pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup mozzarella (I would use 1 cup), grated
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese (again I'd use 1 cup), grated
20 sage leaves minced (You can freeze sage leaves fyi)
1/2 lemon juiced (You can freeze lemons too)


Heat oven to 400 degrees.

 Slice off the top and bottom of the squash, Cut half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Slice crosswise into 1/4 inch pieces. Place on a cookie sheet. Brush w/ olive oil and sprinkle w/ salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes (until lightly browned and tender to touch).

 Turn up oven to 450 degrees!

Brush pizza dough with olive oil. sprinkle on minced garlic. Then sprinkle the cheese evenly over the crust. Arrange the butternut squash. (Play- make a circle or spell something....have fun).

Bake (on a stone if you have it) I use a cookie sheet or nothing. Bake at 450 degrees 10-15 minutes or until the cheese melts and just starts to brown.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with minced sage leaves and lemon juice. Cut. Eat