Dinner with Jovialfoods

Hello everyone,

Tonight i will be opening the Jovialfoods experience in Tuscany , preparing a gluten-free dinner for their guests,including Shauna Ahern "the Gluten Free Girl" and Chef Danny !

The dinner will have only gluten free natural products - contrary of what you may think, gluten-free can be a pleasure too !

You can have a peek at the menu :

8th March : Women's Day ! Let's celebrate with "Torta Mimosa"

Torta Mimosa

Ingredients :
200g Flour
4 Eggs and 8 Yolks
40g Potato Starch
220g Sugar
For the "Crema Pasticcera" :
55g Flour
300ml Milk
300ml Cream
8 Yolks
Hallf a stick of vanilla
200g Sugar
For the Whipped Cream :
200ml of fresh cream
20g Icing Sugar

Lets start preparing "Pan di Spagna" with the first set of Ingredients :
Mix together the the whole eggs and the sugar,whisk them for at least 10-15 mins (i suggest using a robot if avaliable). Add the yolks and keep mixing for another 5-6 minutes then add to the mixture the flour and the starch previously sieved.
Butter two baking pan (22-24 cm of diameter)  and flour them,put the mixture inside and cook at 180°-190° for 30 minutes; once ready turn them upside down on a sheet of baking paper and let them cool.
In the meanwhile let's prepare "Crema Pasticcera" :
Put the milk and the cream together in a pan and just before they boil stop the fire.
In another pan mix the sugar and the yolks with a wooden spoon then add the flour and the seeds of the vanilla stick that you have already cut.
Add to the mixture the hot milk & cream then whisk all together on the fire,let it thicken up,and when it starts boiling gently take it away from the fire and pour it in a large basin and cover with film,then put in the fridge to cool down.
Let's prepare a liqueour : put 50g of sugar with 50g of Cointreau and 100ml of water to boil then put aside to chill.
Whisk the cream (must be very cold) with a mixer,when it thickens up add the icing sugar and stop whisking,putting the cream in the fridge.
When both the "Crema Pasticcera" and the Whipped Cream are cold,mix them together gently,but save a couple of spoons of whipped cream that we will need later.
Now let's get back to the "Pan di Spagna" : remove the dark cover from both of them,cut horizontaly and split in three parts while with the other one use one half for the same thing and the other  half to make little cubes of about 1cm.
It's now time to put all together :
Let's start putting the first disk and wet it with the liqueour prepared,then add first one of the saved spoon of whipped cream and after the crema pasticcera mixed with the cream. repeat the same procedure over and over until you've used all the disks,then cover with the remaining crema pasticcera and use the little cubes you've prepared first to cover it all using the crema as "glue".

Extra Virgin Olive oil guide presentation by Fausto Borrella

 Just a few more days,then,the 25th of February 2012 in Lucca @ Villa Bottini will be presented the 2012 Extra Virgin Olive oil guide.
The event wil be presented in the suggestive "Salone degli Affreschi" by Fausto Borrella,president of the "Accademia Maestro dell'olio".

Have you ever eat an Italian Flag?

Today it's the 150° Anniversary since the Unity of Italy.
To celebrate the occasion my mother prepared a cake for the event resembling italian flag !

Ingredients for the dough :

250g. Butter
500g. Flour
5 Egg yolks
200g. Icing Sugar
a pinch of salt

For the custard :

6 Egg yolks
500ml Milk
50g Flour
150g Sugar
1 stick of vanilla

Fruit :
about 2 kiwis
about  2 bananas
about 200g of strawberries

Preparations :

Cut the fruits in little slices and then put it to rest into a bowl full of lemon juice (so it wont get dark)
For the dough,whisk together the butter,flour and salt until it's well mixed up then add the icing sugar and the yolks,keep whisking and form a sphere,then wrap it using a plastic film and put it to rest into the fridge while we prepare the custard : put the milk and the vanilla stick (cut the stick and open it to let it spread into the milk) on the fire and as soon as it starts boiling take it away. Whisker the eggs and the sugar,then add the flour,remove the vanilla stick from the milk and then pour it into the mixture of eggs and sugar,then put the whole thing back on the fire to heat gently until it's gently boiling and take it away to cool down.

Take the dough out of the fridge,into a rectangular baking pan  put some waxed paper on it then knead the dough forming a rectangle that you will put into the pan  cook into the oven at 180° until it's golden (about 20 min).
Spread the custard on the cooked dough and then put the fruit on it starting from the left with kiwis,middle bananas and right strawberries.

Enjoy !

My wedding day in Rome - July 10, 2010 -

Finally i'm married with Fabiana in the beautiful church of Santa Francesca Romana and the dinner held in magnificent cloister of the monastery of St. Bonifacio e Alessio on 'Aventino in Rome.Fabiana has organized everything to perfection with style and elegance. Looking for a perfect wedding in Rome? Fabiana is the right person. Look the site 

Menu'

Open bar  Pre-dinner Cocktails:

• Prosecco di Valdobbiadene - Bellini
• Non-alcoholic fruit cocktails
• Soda Gin - Martini - Campari - Tonic - Soda
• Assorted juices
• Pyramids of glass compositions raised fruit
• Fruit cocktail drinks at maracuja
• Fresh tropical fruit cocktails and seasonal run on demand
• Crash campari con margot di fragola e pesca Campari mix with pineapple mousse on top - Crash campari with Margot strawberry and peach

Apetizer:

• Finger food served to arm
• Trays of oysters
• Cloves goat cheese salad with peak hip and salad
• Tuna tartare, apple jelly and salmon roe (bowls)
• Kataifi shrimp paste with curry sauce served in martini glassesBrochette of chicken with herbs and lime served in bamboo boats'
• Roulade of grilled eggplant purple flower with cheese and basil
• Salmon and rocket rolls
• Corner of fried vegetable
• Stuffed zucchini flowers
• Sage, basil and mint in batter
• Mozzarella in a carriage, assorted croquettes
• Milanesine eggplant, sundried tomatoes
• Panzerottini with tomato and mozzarella with ricotta and sage

Buffet Cottage:

• Ham cut with Figs and melon pearls
• Wild boar sausages - salami toscano  - cacciatorino
• Spianata romana - Mortadelline di Campotosto - Coppa aromatizzata
• Sirloin of  Chianina
• Turkey-flavored honey

Cheese:

• Burrata d'Andria Braids and ovoli giant buffalo - buffalo Cherry - butter Andria
• Raschera and bra with pear chutney
• Gorgonzola with lavender honey
• Castlemagno with grapes
• Pecorino di Pienza and pit with honey and lime
• Fresh buffalo ricotta cheese - baked ricotta
• Boules with slices of pears and tomatoes

Variety pinzimoni:

Celery, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, fennel, chioggia, avocado,indivia belga turnips, white turnips, radishes, cherry tomatoes, endive
sauces: guacamole, gorgonzola cheese, with mustard vinaigrette
flavored with white truffle oil, mascarpone and balsamic vinegar

Bread basket of special muffins with olives and rosemary
Variety of Bread - Bread with raisins, sesame, walnut
Small buttons croissants and milk.
Pizza Roman and Genoese


Buffet Siciliano Sicilian Buffet

• Cous cous Trapani Style
• Sarde a beccafico
• Swordfish rolls to Messina
• Eggplant ratatouille
• Chicken kebabs with orange and fennel
• Cherry tomatoes with tuna roe and bread crumbs
• Primu salts to fresh chopped chilliPecorino Ragusa

Meals served to table:

• Sea bass ravioli with a sauce of clams and scallop
• Pici with wilted tomatoes, chopped basil, buffalo, pine nuts and fresh oregano
• Sea bass baked with green olives and tarragon
• Pudding Potato and Eggplant
• Bundles of beans

Buffet of sweets:

• Plates of sliced fruit
• Mousse peaches with peach sauce
• Bavarian passion fruit
• Iced coffee with cream
• Pistachio ice cream with blueberry sauceBaba with caramel sabayon
• Val de Loire Raspberry
• Mint parfait with chocolate sauce
• Small skillet with steamed cream and rosewater strawberries
• Lace cups with small truffles and S. Marzano
• Glasses with dark chocolate mousse
• Wedding cake  stuffed with cream and hazelnut cream

Wines:
 

• Bottega Vinai Pinot Nero
• Bottega Vinai Pinot Grigio Rulander
• Bottega Vinai Muller Thurgau
• San Vigilio Dolce
• Tardij di Verduzzo Vendemmia Tardiva

Open bar  after-dinner Cocktails

Caipiriña - Caipiroska - Mojito
Corner Coffee espressso
Friandises  fruit jelly

Giacomo Puccini's Party at Italian Cultural institute in Wien

Yesterday evening, i organized a Dinner Party at Italian Cultural institute in Wien in cooperation with APT (Lucca-Viareggio) and Festival Puccini (Torre del Lago)

See you soon !

Tomorrow im leaving for Los Angeles to start my cooking classes, i would like to apologize in advance for not being able to post new recipes in the next days.

I'll be back in Italy the 9th of March.

See you soon !

California Cooking Class Spring 2010

Ill be back in California to welcome Spring 2010.  Mark your calendars for the last weekend in February and the first weekend in March.  Click here to download the full cooking class program or visit TravelingNative

Dinner Party at Italian Embassy in Oslo

Yesterday evening, i organized a Dinner Party at Italian Embassy in Oslo. It's very cold!!!

Italian Embassy