Meatloaf: More Than the Name Implies

Rustic Italian Torta

I'm not much of a meatloaf lover. This dish while in every way IS a loaf of meat, doesn't remind me in any way of the meatloaf that has haunted me since childhood. If you combine great complimentary ingredients that work well together in other recipes, you'll probably be happy with your creation. I use this combination for hamburgers, and for cannelloni filling. So, to have a 'meatloaf' in my repertoire, I put these same tastes together to form a rustic Italian torta. I line the pan with bread to catch and absorb all the wonderful juices--oh so good on the hamburger, and equally good here! This is one recipe that tastes even better than you think it will. The torta is very moist. After enjoying it for a Sunday supper, or a week night meal, the leftovers become great sandwiches, especially if nestled into a nice piece of foccacia.

Rustic Italian Torta

SERVES 10

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Several half inch slices of rustic Italian bread
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup Pinot Grigio
• 1 cup loosely packed Italian Flat Leaf Parsley leaves
• 1/4 pound hard salami, roughly chopped
• 1/4 pound prosciutto, roughly chopped
• 2 pounds ground veal (I buy veal stew meat and grind it in my food processor)
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (from rustic Italian loaf)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup shredded Parmesano Reggiano
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomato slices in oil
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• Fresh basil leaves to garnish
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

• 
  
• Line the outside of a 10 inch spring form pan with foil. Brush the inside bottom with olive oil, and line the inside bottom with bread slices.

Add remaining olive oil to saute pan over medium heat and cook onions until they are 'blond'. Add garlic and cook another couple of minutes. Then add wine and cook until wine is reduced, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Add parsley, salami and prosciutto to food processor and pulse to chop.

Combine breadcrumbs and milk in small bowl and set aside.

Place ground veal in large bowl. Add ground parsley and meat. Top with onion mixture. Then eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and finally parmesan cheese. With a fork, gently toss to combine these ingredients. Do not over-mix, or compact!

Add half the meat mixture to the prepared spring form pan. Top with half the mozzarella cheese and half the sun-dried tomatoes. Top with remaining meat mixture. Bake for one hour.

Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and sun dried tomatoes. Return to oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, tent with foil, and rest for 10 minutes.

Run a knife around the inside of the pan. Remove sides from pan, leaving the bottom sitting on the foil to catch any stray drippings. With an offset spatula and a large bladed knife (or the largest thin spatula-like things you have), slide torta to serving plate, slice, garnish with fresh basil leaves and enjoy!

Bon Appetito!

Ricchiarelli for The Cookie Crawl

Well, it's official! If they say it on twitter, it must be so: Congratulations to @Annellini Winner of GGM's Cookie Crawl and to @BigButzBBQ runner up.http://www.kitchenrap.blogspot.com Thank you to everyone who voted!! Now we can move on to something else--And my congrats to BigButz!

I am participating in Gourmet Girl Magazine's Virtual Holiday Cookie Crawl!

http://kitchenrap.blogspot.com/2009/11/virtual-holiday-cookie-crawl-rules.html

Pizzicheria de Miccoli

via di città 95, Siena Italy

This wonderful little antica in Siena is where I discovered Ricchiarelli. They are traditional Siennese Christmas cookies, a little like an amaretti macaroon, but softer, with powdered sugar and a little orange zest flavor. Melt in you mouth delicious!

The first time I walked into Pizzecheria de Miccoli I was holding a piece of panforte (another Siena specialty, sort of a dense fruitcake), and Antonio De Miccoli, owner and proprietor, came around the small counter, took it out of my hand, threw it in the trash and sliced me a piece of his freshly made panetone. He said something about what a shame for me to think that what I had been eating was real panetone when it actually tasted like bubble gum compared to his. He was right. And I was forever hooked on his shop, and everything he served!

On that particular day he had just taken biscotti out of the oven and sliced it, ready to return to the oven. I was begging for a taste before he put it back into the oven, but he refused, and made me wait! And while I was waiting he introduced me to Ricchiarelli.

This shop is a food lover's paradise. I've returned each time we travel to Italy. While everybody else visits the Campo, and the Duomo, I hang around Antonio's counter. I've even taken part in his pesto making (Mondays, when basil is in season) in a HUGE mortar. He laughed when I said I used a food processor, and let me take a turn with the pestle.

I've never figured out how much anything costs. When he's really busy, I think he just feeds people until they can't eat anymore, and charges them whatever he thinks appropriate. That includes the never empty wine glass.

I always leave with fresh pecorino, sometimes flecked with black truffle, cookies, porchetta, prosciutto made from cinghaile (wild boar) and a food buzz that keeps me daydreaming until my next visit. I would return there right this second if I could. It's one of those wonderful experiences that IS as good the second, third and fourth time as it was the first.

Thank you, Antonio De Miccoli!

This recipe is a compilation of what I could find on google, and what I could remember!

Ricchiarelli

INGREDIENTS:

1)

8 oz. pure almond paste

Zest from one orange

2)

6 oz. sugar

1/2 cup water

3)

2 oz. powdered sugar

2/3 cup flour

4)

2 ounces powdered sugar

2 egg whites

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking powder

Wafers to put the Ricciarelli on (unflavored edible rice paper will work as a substitute--I used a plain rice cracker)

Place almond paste in mixing bowl with orange zest.

Dissolve the sugar of 2) in the water and heat to obtain a thick syrup--about 275 degrees.

When a drop of the syrup pressed between the fingers which are then separated forms threads mix it into the almond paste, together with the powdered sugar and flour of 3). Add a tablespoon or two of whole milk, if needed to form soft dough.

Let this dough rest covered with a damp cloth for about 8 hours.

Whip the whites to soft peaks with the vanilla and sugar 4) and incorporate this mixture into the dough along with the baking powder.

Drop the dough onto the crackers, dust with more powdered sugar, and bake at 320 degrees for about 15 minutes. Don't let the cookies brown.

Buon Appetito! and Buon Natale!

Tarallini--Wine Crackers From Your Kitchen!

An ambitious undertaking? Not at all! You can make your own crispy, savory specialty crackers with very little fuss, especially if you have a friend who will join you to form the Tarallini--that's the time consuming part! My dear sister-friend from Canada was here for a visit and we had lots of catching up to do, so we chatted as we rolled.

These are little Italian crackers that are rolled into shape, boiled briefly, dried, and then baked.

Tips: I perused and tested several recipes, and the one thing I found for sure: some recipes suggested a shorter drying time, but drying overnight produced a much crisper cracker after baking. We also began making the crackers very small, but the medium size, with a nice hole in the middle are the most pleasing to me.

You can flavor the Tarallini to your own taste. I added one-half cup Parmesan Cheese to each recipe, along with rosemary, and smoked paprika. The possibilities are endless.

Finally, the amount of flour and water needed changes, but it's very easy to determine by the consistency of the dough, and then adjust as you go.

Tarallini

2 cups all purpose flour, or more

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 T sea salt

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. minced dried rosemary

1 tsp. yeast

3 1/2 oz. extra virgin olive oil

3 1/2 oz. white wine

5 oz. water, more or less

In the bowl of a standing mixer, add all your dry ingredients, and whisk to combine.

With dough hook in place, slowly pour in olive oil and wine while mixing on low speed. Stop and scrape down dough.

Add water slowly with mixer on low speed, and when dough comes together into a nice ball, isn't wet, but soft and elastic, you're done! Don't worry if you have to add a little extra flour to find you right texture.

Remove dough, shape into a log, cover with saran wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Cut about an inch off log, roll into long 'snake', cut into 4-5 inch lengths, roll each length around your finger and press to connect. Repeat with all dough.

Have a large pot of water boiling on stove, and add a handful of dough rings to boiling water. Let them cook just a couple of minutes. They will float to the top.

Remove with a skimmer, and dry on counter covered with dish towels or cloths overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place parchment paper on sheet pan. Add dried Tarallini to pan, and bake each pan for about 20 minutes, or until crispy and golden.

Enjoy with wine, cheese and fresh fruit.

Bon Appetito!

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Drunken Prunes Marsala and Amaretti

I've made gnocchi before, but never Sweet Potato Gnocchi. This is a great recipe, and the sauce, while extremely easy, compliments the pasta perfectly. I watched Ron Suhanosky from "Pasta Sfoglia" prepare this dish on the Martha Stewart show. If you follow the link, there is also a video, which is helpful, and re-emphasizes the ease of this dish.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/sweet-potato-gnocchi-drunken-prunes-and-amaretti?autonomy_kw=sweet%20potato%20gnocchi

A couple of tips: this dish comes together very quickly (literally minutes) and can be made for guests, just before dining if you have the gnocchi prepared and ready to cook, and the dried prunes chopped; from start to finish, cooking the potatoes, and making the gnocchi takes tops an hour and a half (while the potatoes are cooking, you'll have about an hour to do something else); you need to get the rice flour even though you only use it to dust the gnocchi because the texture of the rice flour keeps it from sticking together; a potato ricer prepares the potatoes to the right consistency so they easily mix with the flour and egg to form very light gnocchi; and remember--use gentle hands!

Ingredients:

Serves 4-6

2 cups coarsely chopped pitted prunes

1 cup dry Marsala

2 T unsalted butter

Sweet Potato Gnocchi*

6 small amaretti cookies, crushed, or 3 double packages

Grated Parmesan

Directions:

Prepare gnocchi as directed below.

Add prunes and marsala to a medium skillet. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately remove skillet from heat and set aside.

Fill a large pot with 4 quarts water; season with 2 tablespoons salt and bring to a boil over high heat.

Add butter to skillet with prunes and Marsala and return to high heat; cook until butter is melted.

Add gnocchi to boiling water; cook until gnocchi rise to the top. Continue cooking 1 minute more. Add ½ cup of the pasta cooking water to skillet with prune mixture. Using a wire-mesh skimmer, transfer gnocchi to a warm, shallow serving platter. Pour prune mixture over top.

Garnish with crushed amaretti and grated parmesan, and serve immediately.

*Sweet Potato Gnocchi (for 2 ½ lb.)

(I half this recipe using one medium sweet, and one medium russet potato, one cup flour, still one whole egg, 2 T maple syrup and ½ tsp. salt and it makes four+ generous servings. I make the same amount of sauce as called for in original recipe, and it's not too much.)

1 ½ lb. Sweet potato

1 ½ lb. Russet potato

2 cups all purpose flour

1 large egg

¼ cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp. Coarse salt

Rice flour, for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap sweet potatoes in parchment paper-lined aluminum foil. Bake until easily pierced in the center with a fork, about 1 hour. Let cool to touch.

Place russet potatoes in large pot, and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until easily pierced in the center with a fork. Drain, and let potatoes cool to the touch.

Wrap both sweet and white potatoes in a clean kitchen towel and rub to remove skins. Pass potatoes through a food mill fitted with a medium-hole dish, or through a ricer, into a large mixing bowl.

Spread flour on a clean, dry work surface. Place potatoes on top of flour. Add egg, maple syrup, and salt. Using your hand and a dough scraper, mix together ingredients on work surface until combined to form a dough. (This will be a very moist dough. Sort of fold everything together, and don't over-handle.)

Gently form dough into a 10-by-8 rectangle. Let rest for 2 minutes. Work quickly while dough is still warm.

Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with rice flour. Cut the rectangle into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 1 inch thick rope.

Cut each rope into one-half inch gnocchi.

Gently roll each gnocchi between your fingers and the tines of a fork.

Store gnocchi on a rice flour-covered baking sheet until ready to use. Dust with rice flour.

Gnocchi can also be frozen up to 2 weeks. To freeze, place them, dusted with rice flour, in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, place them one on top of the other in an airtight container. To thaw for cooking, place gnocchi in a single layer on a baking sheet in the refrigerator for not more than 1 hour before cooking. Continue cooking according to recipe directions.

Prepare-Ahead Holiday Meal: Manicotti

2009 Chickie Award – And the Winner is….

The 2009 Chickie Award contest featuring top recipes for 2009 has selected its winner:

Manicotti with Red Sauce submitted by Annelle Williams of Annelle’s Table from Martinsville, VA.

Hosted by The Food Wine Chickie

Over the river and through the woods—it's time for family and friends and lots of company. Whether you're hosting a Thanksgiving get-together, or you're going to be the guest, here's a suggestion for easing the work load. You can prepare this dish now, freeze, and serve anytime. Our family holidays consist of more than one day, and certainly more than one big meal, and I'll bet yours do, too!

This Manicotti recipe has been part of our holiday menu for years. The 'noodles' are similar to crepes, and can be prepared much earlier and refrigerated or even frozen. I usually make them while my sauce is cooking. (Save the parchment paper squares that you stack between the crepes and reuse them.) The crepe 'noodles' are quick, easy, and give the dish a great flavor and texture.

Omit the Italian sausage from the sauce, and you have a delicious vegetarian main course. Give it a try: serve it yourself, or deliver it as a frozen hostess gift. I promise you'll be happy with the results!

Manicotti with Red Sauce

Sauce:

One-fourth cup extra virgin olive oil

One and one-half cups finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 lb. Sweet Italian sausage

One-half cup red wine

6 cups diced tomatoes with juice

1 small can tomato paste

1 cup water

2 T chopped parsley

2 tsp. salt

1 T sugar

1 tsp. Dried oregano

1 tsp. Dried basil

One-fourth tsp. Pepper

One-fourth tsp. Red pepper flakes (optional)

2 heaping T basil pesto

Manicotti:

6 eggs, room temp.

One and one-half cups all-purpose flour

One-fourth tsp. Salt

One-fourth tsp. Pepper

One-fourth tsp. Dried Thyme

One and one-half cups water

Filling:

2 lb. Ricotta

1 lb. Mozzarella, diced

One-half cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

2 eggs

1 tsp. Salt

One-fourth tsp. Pepper

1 T chopped parsley

Pesto (optional)

Garnish:

1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Add olive oil to large sauce pan over medium heat and saute onions and garlic 5 minutes. Add wine and reduce a little. Add sausage, and brown. Mix in rest of sauce ingredients. Bring to boil, and reduce heat. Simmer mixture, covered and stirring occasionally 1 hour. Add pesto, and check seasoning.

For Manicotti, in medium bowl, combine 6 eggs, flour, salt, pepper, thyme and water. Whisk just until smooth. Let stand half an hour or longer—even over night in frig. Slowly heat an 8 inch non-stick skillet. Pour in 3 T room temperature batter, rotating skillet quickly to spread batter evenly over bottom.

Cook over medium heat until top is dry and bottom is not brown. Turn out on a wire rack to cool.
Continue cooking until all batter is used. As the manicotti crepes cool, stack them with waxed paper or parchment between them. (You can make a day or two ahead and store in frig.)

For filling, combine ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, the eggs, salt, pepper and parsley. Stir well to combine.

Remove sauce from heat and blend with immersion blender.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spoon one and one-half cups sauce into each of two medium sized casserole dishes, or line one dish with foil to freeze, and prepare exactly the same. Sometimes, I make three small casseroles, two to share with the kids, and one for us. You'll have plenty of sauce!
If using pesto, spread a scant teaspoon of pesto on manicotti crepe before adding cheese mixture.

Spread about one-fourth cup filling down the center of each manicotti and roll up.

Place eight rolled manicotti seam side down in single layer. Top with five more. Cover with 1 cup sauce.

Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan Cheese.

Bake, uncovered half an hour, or until bubbly.

To freeze: line baking dish with large piece of heavy duty foil. Assemble as before. Fold foil over to seal and freeze in dish. When frozen, remove dish and replace foil wrapped casserole in freezer. To serve, unwrap, place in baking dish, and let stand for 1-2 hours to thaw. Bake, covered 1 hour, until cooked through and bubbling.

Buon Appetito!!