Roasted olives with fennel

Once you taste roasted olives, you'll wonder why you haven't roasted them before.

Ingredients:

20 tablespoons of black olives and green olives
4 tablespoons of dried (or fresh) fennel flowers or dill flowers
4 tablespoons of  peperoncino  (Italian peppers)
8 teaspoons of  fresh oregano
olive oil

Preparation:

Make 2-3 small cuts, with a knife in the pulp of olives and then soak one hour and 30 minutes in cold water. You should change the water every 30 minutes. Drain the water and let the olives dry (or drying them with a towel).

Lay the olives in a pan and place it in oven at a temperature of 100 °C until olives become wrinkled. Before 5 minutes to be ready, add the fennel flowers and mix well.

Remove from oven and let cool. When cool, put into a jar with peperoncino and oregano and then cover completely with olive oil. The olive oil should cover the bottom of the jar. Cover and store the jar for at least 24 hours before serving.

Roasted eggplant with mint

The recipe is easy and quick to prepare. This roasted eggplant with mint is a great addition to your menu.

Ingredients:

12 mini eggplant
4 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of fresh mint leaves 

4 tablespoons olive oil

5 tablespoons white wine vinegar
salt
freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Wash eggplant and cut into slices. Spread the slices out and sprinkle both sides generously with salt. Use 1 to 2 tablespoons of salt for a medium sized eggplant. After salting, place the slices in a colander and allow the slices to stand for 1/2 to 1 hour. Place the colander in the sink or in a bowl during the standing time so moisture can drain. Once the slices have sat for the appropriate time, wipe the salt from the slices with a paper towel. Do not rinse off with water because that will cause the eggplant to absorb moisture back into it. Pat the slices dry with paper towels.

Cut garlic into long strips and place two of rounds of garlic in each eggplant slices. Make a sauce of olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper, mixing all in blender. Add mint leaves in the sauce and mixing.

Lay the eggplant on a sheet pan and toss with the sauce. Place in oven at a temperature of 180 °C for 30 minutes. You do not need to flip them during roasting.

Transfer eggplant to a plate and drizzle with the pan juices.

When do you carve the meat cooked at oven....?

The meat should rest outside the oven for 10 to 15 minutes before you carve it. Carve the meat exactly when you want to serve, if carve it before serving, the meat loses juicy and it become dry.

Bassano del Grappa

I read an article on honestcooking.com "On the Italy Food and Wine Trail: Bassano del Grappa" and I remembered Bassano.....  I liked the post about this great city and I want to share it with you, so please click on the following link:

http://honestcooking.com/2012/05/14/on-the-italy-food-and-wine-trail-bassano-del-grappa/

Where is Bassano del Grappa? It is a city in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy.
Bassano has been famous for its asparagus at least since the mid 1500's: a receipt from 1534 lists asparagus among the delicacies purchased for a banquet. Asparagus tasting is almost a religion in Bassano, everyone has something to say about the correct way to serve it. 

  
You have to go there and taste asparagus "the Bassano way"!

Foto's van mijn

Parmigiano-Reggiano - how is made an Italian legend...

Parmigiano-Reggiano (also known in English as Parmesan) is one of the oldest and most popular Italian cheeses. 

The oldest testimony of the origin and quality of Parmesan Reggiano goes back to the Renaissance ... Boccaccio talks about it in his Decameron where Maso describes to Calandrino the town of Bengodi. Frate Salimbene also mentions it in his "Chronicles" from the 15th century and Francesco Serra cites it in the first Italian dictionary of synonyms published in 1656: "the names of the cheeses derive from the places where the best examples are made. For example, there is Parmigiano, which takes its name from the place and from its high quality". A curious testimony, referred to by various biographers, states that Molière, in later years, nourished himself mainly with Parmesan, a confirmation of the modern recommendation of this cheese for children and the elderly due to its high nutritional value, its digestibility and its wealth of calcium and phosphorus that are easily assimilated.

In the archives of Reggio Emilia and of Parma, especially in the records of exported goods, there is mention from the 16th century of shipments of Parmesan Reggiano to all parts of Europe and there is also mention of a complicated legal question that arose in 1536 regarding the fact that some cheese-makers of the Veneto region tried to make Parmesan, thus creating the oldest precedent of falsification.

The only difference between a Parmigiano-Reggiano of the XIII century and one today is in quality control.  The milk cows from the typical zone of Parmigiano-Reggiano are fed exclusively on forage coming from pastureland in the selected zone. Highly scented and rich in vital food, the forage is the first element which distinguishes this cheese.

The transformation of milk, as in a ritual, follows with precision ancient and unchanging rules.The milk placed in the cauldron, is heated to the correct temperature.The cheese is formed with the addition of a whey starter and rennet, two absolutely natural elements. Nothing else is added.  Once the curds have been broken and cooked, the resulting mass, removed from the cauldron using a large piece of material is placed in cylindrical wooden shapes which, as well as shaping the cheese give it the first branding mark.

The form thus obtained is placed in a bath of salt water where, as a result of the saline solution, it eliminates excess water and absorbs a small amount of salt.  Common table salt is used and this is the only element added to making the cheese.

The form of cheese is then taken to the spectacular maturing stores where it will rest for up to 24 months. Half way through this period, at around 12 months, inspectors from the Consortium check the form: if it presents all the characteristics of suitability it will receive the firebrand mark.

In the meantime the cheese continues to mature. Unlike other cheese the total absence of preserving agents does not block the natural process of transformation within the cheese. 

 

Almost as though the milk has continued to live in another dimension... This allows the cheese to reach maturity with a wealth of substances, aromas and scents of incomparable quality.  At the moment the cheese presents itself in forms of between 33-35 kg, a hard cheese, uniform, finely grained (hence the nickname ‘grana’), lightly straw colored, with an exquisite and unmistakable taste and scent.

More details about Parmigiano-Reggiano on:

http://www.parmigianoreggiano.com 

http://www.museidelcibo.it/parmigiano.asp 

Carnival in the Netherlands

"Carnival in the Netherlands is also called "Vastenavond" or "Vastelaovend(j)", and is most celebrated in Catholic regions, mainly the southern provinces North Brabant and Limburg. Dutch Carnival is officially celebrated on the Sunday through Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday. Although traditions vary from town to town, some common characteristics of Dutch Carnival include a parade, a "prince" plus cortège ("Council of 11"), a farmer's wedding (boerenbruiloft), and eating herring (haring happen) on Ash Wednesday. One variant of Dutch Carnival is known as the Rijnlandsche Carnival, which can be seen in the province of Limburg. The province's capital of Maastricht holds a street Carnival featuring elaborate costumes that resemble some South American and Venetian influences. Intentionally amateurish marching bands ('Zaate Hermeniekes' or 'Drunken Marching Bands') traditionally perform on the streets. The oldest-known Dutch Carnival festivities date from 1385 in 's-Hertogenbosch. They are depicted in several paintings by 15th-century painter Jheronimus Bosch. During the three days of the Carnival, 's-Hertogenbosch changes its name to "Oeteldonk", which means "Frog Hill." This name changing tradition is common in and around North Brabant."(1)
 (1) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://carnaval.eropuitinlimburg.com/

Risotto alla Milanese

Today I will talk about risotto... I will teach you to cook a famous Italian recipe “Risotto alla Milanese”

A brief history of risotto...... in the fourteenth century rice was cultivated on a large scale only in the region of Naples. Thus, due to the close relations were between Aragon, Visconti and Sforza, rice found an ideal location to its cultivation in the Po river plain. During the Renaissance gradually, rice replaced rye, barley and millet for its ease of preparation and nutritious power. Its diffusion across Italy gave origin to hundreds of recipes which contain components of different local cultures. But the founder of all risotto is the Milan risotto, also called saffron risotto.  It makes reference to risotto around the year ‘500 with this name “Lombard rice" and consists of boiled rice combined in layers with cheese, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, cervellata (typical salami from Milan, colored yellow with saffron) and breast of capon. In early ‘900, also the wine appears as an ingredient for Risotto alla Milanse. The story goes that while an artist was preparing the dye to colour the window glass of the cathedral (Il Duomo di Milano), his apprentice, by accident, poured some saffron powder into the nearby pan of rice. Only at the end of 1700 we find Risotto alla Milanese prepare almost like nowadays.


Risotto alla Milanse

Ingredients – for 4 persons

400 grams risotto/rice (plump, medium grain rice that contains a lot of starch, the types Arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano are traditionally best)
1.5 liters of stock/ broth (beef or veal)
1 glass of dry white wine
50 g butter (a good rich butter is best)
40 g of beef bone marrow
40 g Parmesan (24 months)
1 medium onion (finely chopped onion)
0.5 g of saffron pistils

Preparation

Make sure your stock/ broth is simmering before you begin. It's important that the temperature is as high as possible, without letting the stock/ broth boil. The surface of the stock/ broth should just be moving a little. A large thick pot is best for the risotto.

Finely chop the onion and sweat it very gently in 30 g of butter (keep the remaining butter for later). This is known as a soffritto in Italy. Sweat over a medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the beef bone marrow and continue cooking for another 3 minutes, breaking it with the spoon while stirring. When the onion is soft, add the rice and stir until it is completely coated with the fat. Keep stirring and sweat the rice for a minute or two. Cook until the rice has a transparent look.

Add the wine and keep stirring and let the wine evaporate (it will probably take a couple of minutes). A hot pan will cause the alcohol to evaporate more quickly (and create a nice dramatic effect), but make sure you don't burn the rice or the soffritto.

As the wine cooks away you will see the remaining liquid getting thicker as it's absorbing the starch from the rice. When it’s more or less gone, add beef stock/broth (the stock is kept simmering in order to stay hot), stir once, and let sit on medium-low flame without stirring until next ladle is needed (stock/ broth is slowly absorbed by rice). Do not add too much stock/ broth. The stock/ broth, should be added at the rate of a couple of ladlefuls at a time and when this is absorbed, add more stock/ broth. The rice should never be submerged in stock/ broth. 

Half-way through, “melt” a pinch of saffron in a ladle-full of boiling broth, and add to the risotto.  Keep stirring until all the rice is uniformly colored (golden yellow) and if the stock/ broth is absorbed, add more stock/ broth.

Carry on in this way for about 15 minutes (this time depends on the type of rice you are using).  During this stage, do not leave the pan alone and stir regularly (gently).

After 15 minutes taste the rice every minute until the rice is cooked “al dente” (this means that the rice is tender outside, but still slightly firm to the bite in the centre).  At the same time, the tasting will tell you if you need to adjust seasoning with salt. Regular but gentle stirring is required for the last minutes in order to avoid the risotto sticking to the bottom of the pan. In these last minutes, if the stock/ broth is completely absorbed, you can gradually add a bit more (say a half ladle at a time) because at this final stage you do not want the risotto becoming too watery.

When the rice is perfectly cooked "al dente", turn off flame and add the Parmesan cheese and all the remaining butter (cut into pieces) and stir for few seconds until its completely melted.

Cover the pan with a lid for about 1 minute and allow the risotto to rest before serving it.

Buon appetito!


Tips

- think of risotto as a way of making stock edible with a fork: the quality of the stock you use is the most important factor in the quality of your risotto;
- a common mistake in making risotto is to add too much of the extra ingredients. The star of the dish is the rice, and only very little else is needed;
- the stock have to be hot.

Oven Baked Turkey Stuffing

My Oven Baked Turkey Stuffing recipe, which I think would be a great idea for winter dinner.

Ingredients:
1 x 5 or 6 kg oven-ready turkey
150 ml. dry white wine
400 grams sweet chestnut (or you can buy sweet chestnut already cooked and peeled)
275 grams butter
10 tablespoons  breadcrumbs
2 onions
5 celery stalks
2 tablespoons brandy
200 ml. chicken soup
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcester sauce
few threads of fresh rosemary
bay,  ground pepper and mustard
coarse salt, ground pepper

Choose a large pot enough to fit in it the whole turkey. Put 1 teaspoon of salt per liter of pot. Pour 2 liters of cold water into the pot and stir until the salt dissolves, add bay leaves, mustard seeds and pepper to taste. Immerse the turkey in the salt water bath, if it does not cover with water, pour cold water until the turkey is covered and then put a weight on top (a plate heavier). Let it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, during which the turkey returns several times.

Meanwhile, wash, dry and peel the chestnuts. Using a firm, sharp paring knife, make a crisscross cut on one or both the flat side and the domed side of each chestnut. Place the chestnuts into a large saucepan, and cover them with water. Cover the saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat just slightly to medium-high, and boil the chestnuts gently for about 45 minutes.
Peeling chestnuts

Have a bowl handy for the peeled chestnuts and another for the shells. Take out three or four chestnuts at a time and put them on a small dish or bowl in front of you. Cool them only slightly–they peel more easily when they are quite hot.

Using your paring knife, take hold of the shell close to a crisscross cut, and removes the shell with a pulling motion. You will also need to remove the brown inner skin as well. Be prepared for a little tug-of-war. Sometimes the inner skin is a bit stubborn. If it is too resistant, the chestnut may need to be cooked a few more minutes.

As the chestnuts cool, they become a little more challenging to peel. It’s best not to fight with them. Just put the pot back on the burner and heat them up for a few minutes so you can finish the task with ease. Just be sure there is enough water in the pot to cover the chestnuts. The job can actually be fun if you can convince your family to participate in the peeling project.

Chop 1 onion and the celery. Melt 100 grams of butter in a saucepan and add onion and celery cook over low heat until the vegetables are soft. When vegetables have softened, draw the saucepan from the heat and let the vegetables cool and then add chestnuts.

Add breadcrumbs and brandy, salt and pepper to taste and mix composition, adding chicken soup with a tablespoon (one by one), being careful with the mixture, which it should be wet, but not pasty.

Remove turkey from water and then dab dry with kitchen towel, until the turkey is dry well. Rub the fresh pepper inside the turkey cavity (salt is not needed; turkey has sufficient salt from brine).

Stuff the turkey with the mixture. Place about two-thirds in the neck end between the flesh and the skin, then tuck the neck flap under the bird's back and secure it with a small skewer. Place the rest of the stuffing in the body cavity and then put the large peeled onion into the body cavity. Do not stuff the body cavity as it affects the cooking process. 

Sprinkle the turkey with salt (but little salt; turkey has sufficient salt from brine) and pepper then spread a decent layer of softened butter all over the bird. Wings are attached near the trunk with sticks of rosemary, add some threads of rosemary and place the turkey so prepared in a tray.

Pour white wine into tray and cover well with aluminum foil. Place in a pre - heated hot oven at 190 Celsius degrees for 2 – 2 and 1/2 hours, until the turkey meat is done.  Pierce the thickest part of the leg with a skewer then press the skewer against the leg to see if the juices run clear without any trace of pink – if the juices are clear, the turkey is cooked. After this time, remove the turkey from the oven, uncover it and discard any excess aluminum foil. Baste with the juices from tray and cook the uncovered turkey for a further 30 minutes; once the meat of the turkey has browned you can push it down into the tin to allow the breast to get a final browning. You can also give the legs a little tweak – if they feel like they've got some 'give' in them, then the turkey is done. Remove turkey from tray to platter and cover it loosely with foil and allow it to rest for about 45 minutes before serving – it will be fine at kitchen temperature.

Put the tray on heat, pour balsamic vinegar and chicken soup and let it to boil. Stir well on the bottom of tray to loosen any sticky residue from the roast. Add 1 tablespoon of Worcester sauce. Strain the sauce from tray through a sieve and serve it warm with roast turkey with a garnish of your choice.

You can enjoy a slice of turkey, sprinkled with steak sauce, with sauteed peas and sweet potato puree with onions and celery and a cranberry sauce.