Berries Berries Everywhere

It's strawberry season in Sicily as well as in San Diego - walk through any farmers market, check out your local farm stands and you will find them in abundance, from gigantic specimens to delicate little berries. In the March issue of Bon Appetit, I was pleased to find a recipe for a berry ricotta cake...I decided to use a combination of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. The end result - a moist, fluffy cake, streaked with sweet berries. INGREDIENTS: Nonstick vegetable oil spray 1½ cups all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder ¾ teaspoon kosher salt 3 large eggs 1½ cups ricotta ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted 1 cup frozen raspberries or blackberries, divided PREPARATION: ACTIVE: 15 MIN TOTAL: 1 HOUR 35 MIN Do Ahead: Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9”-diameter cake pan with parchment paper and lightly coat with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk eggs, ricotta, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth; fold into dry ingredients just until blended. Then fold in butter, followed by ¾ cup raspberries, taking care not to crush berries. Scrape batter into prepared pan and scatter remaining ¼ cup raspberries over top. Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50–60 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes before unmolding. Do Ahead: Cake can be made 2 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped.

Lemon Ricotta Muffins

Ricotta - probably the most popular ingredient in Sicilian desserts.....think poundcake, cheesecake, cannoli's, Cartocci, and the most famous of all  - Cassata- made with sponge cake, soaked in rum and fruit juices, with layers of ricotta and topped with a marzipan shell.  Decadent, don't you think.?

In trying to start the year off in a somewhat healthier way I opted for a Lemon Ricotta muffin - light and fluffy -great for breakfast or any time -minus the rum and marzipan.

Adapted from Giada De Laurentis' Everyday Italian

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar or more as needed for sprinkling
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/3 cup thinly sliced almonds
Directions
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter, and lemon zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be thick and fluffy).

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and then the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar over the muffins. Bake until the muffins just become pale golden on top, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve warm.

World Nutella Day

It's World Nutella Day and since I am an obsessive nutella eater, I thought I would share one of my recent recipes - the top layer calls for chocolate chips and butter melted, but since I had this gigantic jar of Nutella in my cupboard, it was obvious what ingredient I HAD to use. Don't forget the sea salt! 

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookie (twix) Bars 

 COOKIE LAYER 1/2 cup granulated 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups flour 

 CARAMEL LAYER 10 oz plastic wrapped caramels, unwrapped and roughly chopped {I used those Fleur de Sel caramels from Trader Joe’s– fabulous!} 2 tbsp heavy cream 

 CHOCOLATE LAYER 12 oz. dark chocolate chips Or 1-1/2 cups nutella tbsp butter flaky sea salt

 

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 15 x 10″ glass baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Cream together the soft butter with the granulated sugar and powdered sugar until fluffy. Then, add the vanilla and salt. Mix in the flour until you have a soft dough then press dough into the bottom of the baking dish. Prick holes all over the dough using a fork then bake for 35 minutes, until golden brown. After baking, remove crust and let cool while you make the caramel layer. Melt together the chopped caramels with the cream in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Once melted completely, pour caramel over cookie crust, smoothing with a rubber spatula. Set aside. Melt the chocolate chips with the butter over low heat, stirring constantly. Pour the chocolate over the caramel layer, smooth with a spatula, then immediately scatter flaky sea salt all over the top. Set in the fridge for an hour to cool completely before slicing. To slice cookie bars, run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen then gently take the entire large “cookie bar” out of the pan and place on the counter. Using a HOT knife (keep the knife in a mug of hot water), cut into bars. The hot knife is key here — be sure to wipe knife with a paper towel between slices. total time (includes cooling) — 2 hours   

Arancia Rossa

With similar climates, Sicily like San Diego is known for its citrus and one of the most colorful is the Blood Orange, with its deep red juice. It's great in a winter salad with arugula and sliced fennel, makes a lovely Mimosa, works well in a marinade for fish, and pairs nicely with chocolate in baked goods.

I was looking for a mini cake recipe and found this one at decor8blog.com

Blood Orange Tea Cakes

4 oz. unsalted butter, softened

3-1/2 ounces caster sugar

Finely grated zest of 1-1/2 half small blood oranges

1 egg

1/4 c. Flour

1/2 t. Baking powder

1/3 c. Strained orange juice

METHOD
Grease and flour 3- 6 mini bundt tins. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Sift the flour into a small bowl and mix together with the almond meal. Set to one side. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, orange rind and caster sugar until light and fluffy. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg then gradually mix into butter mixture. If the mixture starts to look curdled, add a spoonful of the flour mixture. Add the remaining flour mixture into the batter alternating with the orange juice to make a soft batter. If the batter looks too thick add a little more juice. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and bake the cake in the oven for 25 30 minutes until the top is lightly golden and cake is cooked when tested with a skewer. Leave the cake to cool for about 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack. When the cakes have cooled completely, ice with the blood orange icing.

BLOOD ORANGE ICING
15 g (1/2 oz) softened unsalted butter
1/2 tsp finely grated orange rind
1/2 cup sifted icing sugar
1-2 tablespoons blood orange 

Cavolfiore & Carciofo

Apparently Sicilians cook a lot with cauliflower and artichokes. After making Cauliflower and Ricotta Al Forno on Christmas Eve, via my friend Janie at Panini Girl, I was looking for a quick comfort food recipe and found it on Full Belly Sisters.

Macaroni-n-Cheese-n-Cauliflower-n-Artichokes - Serves 4-6 

 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil  

 2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bag frozen artichoke hearts, rinsed, thawed, and drained 

1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized pieces 

2 cups (about 6 ounces) multi-grain or whole wheat penne, uncooked

1 cup creme fraiche

2/3 cup grated sharp white cheddar cheese 

2/3 cup grated fontina 

2/3 cup grated or shaved Parmesan, separated 

Salt and pepper, to taste 

Red pepper flakes (optional) 

Fresh  herbs for garnish

 Preheat the oven to 375°F. Heat the EVOO over medium heat and saute the garlic. Add thawed artichokes for a few minutes, until they show some caramelization. Season with a bit of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using). Boil a pot of salted water for the pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Add the cauliflower into the water during the last couple of minutes of cooking. Drain when the pasta is almost done. In the meantime, put the creme fraiche, cheddar, fontina, and 1/3 cup of Parmesan into a bowl. Stir to combine well. Add the artichokes and the drained pasta and cauliflower to the cheese and cream mixture. This is a good time to taste the mixture and to adjust your seasonings. Add more salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, if necessary. Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish (I used a lasagna pan). Top with the remaining 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese. Bake for 25 minutes, then broil for a couple of minutes to brown the top. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn! Let stand for about five minutes.

It's Time to Start a New Blog

New Year - new blog why not? I haven't posted on Cucina Cara Mia for 2 years - you know how life gets in the way - my newest obsession is Sicily. I am still cooking and baking, and baking, but really want to visit the homeland of my mother's parents..

So, I will start with images of places to visit in Sicily...