Recipes

This Risotto is a perfect Fall/Winter dish with it’s creamy butternut squash and earthy mushrooms. It can be a first course, or become a satisfying main course with the addition of a simple salad and a glass of wine. Risotto was a major part of our food groups growing up, and I’m still in love with it and its many variations. My father comes from the Northern part of Italy where the carbs came from rice and polenta, and thus became prominent in our household. When I started cooking on my own, I realized that there were endless ways to fix rice using the “risotto” technique. There seems to be something for every season. In the Spring there are asparagus, peas and prosciutto, artichoke hearts in early Summer, seafood and lobster stock, saffron, and the list goes on and on. What is critical is the process, using the correct short grained high starch rice, using an excellent stock, and taking your time. Remember, it’s a bit like a soufflé, in that it’s meant to be served as soon as it’s finished cooking. It waits for no one.

This Panettone recipe, of all my Father’s recipes (so far that is) has taken the longest to develop. To my recollection, he never made this while we had our family bakery in Northern California, but did make it during his apprenticeship in the 1930’s. Several versions appear in his journal. Some had the dough resting overnight in the refrigerator, some had three risings, others had two. There were small changes in the amounts of butter and sugar, but none were overly sweet and none had nuts. So, for home use, I find this to be the easiest, and can be made in a day. The extract – Fiori di Sicilia can be found in some specialty stores, but you can also find it on Amazon. It is an important component in this recipe if you want that hard to detect aroma and flavor you find in top quality imported brands. Another important ingredient is good quality peel. You may find very fine orange, lemon and citron at Italian delicatessens, or again, on line. I do apologize for the lateness in posting this recipe. If you don’t have time to make it this season, I hope you give it a try for the next. Try it toasted, or as French Toast. It’s wonderful!

A festive roll cake with rich chocolate flavors, creamy mocha filling, topped with dark chocolate ganache and candied sliced almonds. It’s impressive to look at and not too difficult to make. It does involve several steps so you need to set aside at least a couple of hours to allow for cooling of the cake, the chocolate ganache and assembling. This recipe will easily serve 10, and is perfect for Holiday dinner gatherings.

Peppermint is such a great Christmas flavor, and this roll cake not only uses peppermint extract but peppermint candy canes. The cake is light and airy. The filling has a depth of flavor with the addition of the Mascarpone, while the White Chocolate Ganache is sweet and rich. The crushed candy canes sprinkled across the top, add a festive touch and a nice little crunch. Roll cakes are fun to make and can be easily changed by using different fillings and toppings. For instructions of how to make a cake into a “roll cake” go to the post “How to Make a Roll Cake” in the Tips & Techniques section of my website.

These chocolate hazelnut biscotti incorporate two very popular Italian ingredients in making sweets. Hazelnuts, (Nocciola in Italian) and chocolate. Used together, the flavor is hard to beat. The word “Biscotti” actual means biscuit, but the verb “biscottare” means to bake twice. However, the word “biscotti” has come to mean, even in Italy, these twice-baked delights that we have with coffee or sweet wine. My recipes originate in the Northern part of Italy and tend to be a bit less dense. You won’t have to dunk these in order to eat them. This recipe makes about 5 dozen little two inch long biscotti, so you may want to wrap and freeze some of the logs to bake at another time. They do make excellent gifts and will keep for several weeks either in a zip lock bag, or air tight glass or plastic containers.