September Schedule
Tag: cookinitaly
Fig & Walnut Jam
INGREDIENTS:
1lb peeled black figs
3 tbsps granulated sugar
3 tbsps fresh lemon juice
Lemon peel
1/2 tsp grated ginger
4 tbsps walnuts, broken in pieces.
TOOLS:
1 knife and 1 bowl
Juicer
1 deep stainless steel saucepan
1 serving spoon to stir
2 sterilized glass jars with their lid
Clean towels to let the jar sit overnight
STEPS:
. Mix all the ingredients, except the walnuts, in a bowl and let them sit the fridģe for a couple of hours.
. Put them in a deep stainless steel saucepan.
. Turn on the burner on low.
. Let it simmer for 40 minutes, stirring once in a while.
. Take out the lemon peel, add the walnuts, stir and turn off.
. Pour immediately the hot jam in the 2 glass jars, close very well the cap and put the jars upside down among pieces of fabric to keep it warm and safe.
. After 24hrs, the jars are vacuumed and ready to be stored in a dark cabinet, for no longer than 2 months.
When you open a jar, keep it refrigerated and eat the jam within 10 days.
Enjoy it with buttered toasted bread or with soft cheese. It’s perfect for baking. .
Scallops au gratin
Recipe:
. Take out the scallops from the shell ( or you can buy them frozen without the shell);
. Bread in a mix made with fine breadcrumbs (use cornmeal instead if you are GF), finely chopped garlic, a dash salt, very finally chopped parsley, a dash of white pepper and Extra Virgin Olive Oil;
. Put back 5 scallops per shell, drizzle some EVOO and bake at 200°C for 5 minutes.
Eat right away, otherwise they will become chewy. Do not reheat.
That was easy!
About DRESSING
DO YOU KNOW?
What’s called “Italian dressing” or “Italian seasoning” in America, it’s not actually an Italian recipe.
Traditionally lettuce or what we call “insalata mista” (lettuce, sliced carrot, tomatoes) is served with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, white or red wine vinegar, salt and sometimes pepper.
Balsamic Vinegar is a recent introduction to Italian tables, more common in the North of Italy. I noticed that if you are in north Italy, the ingredients used to dress lettuce or what we call INSALATA are less flavourful. I really don’t know why.
My dressing’s ingredients for tomatoes are: EVOO, garlic, salt, parsley and basil mixed with sliced tomatoes in a bowl and let it sit 1 hour in the fridge.
My lettuce dressing is salt, EVOO, white wine vinegar, sometimes mixed with plain regular yogurt and some nuts.
Spring Fruits & Vegetables Are On The Menu For April & May Classes!
Welcome Spring!
It’s warm outside and the sun is shining longer! Spring is flourishing and we are excited to spend some time outside, even if just in our yard or balcony.
While we are waiting patiently for better times, here is my NEWS:
- Spring Break Children Classes were a success! Thanks to all the children who had fun cooking with me from Italy and from Germany.
- April 6th is World Carbonara Day, so I have scheduled 2 “Spaghetti alla Carbonara” Classes for you to sign up for.
- April 11th is National Asparagus Day! I have scheduled an entire Asparagus Week!
- May 19th National Strawberry Day! Find out what sweet surprises I have in store! Maybe a Strawberry Tiramisu? Email me to find out!
- New Prices: My prices have never risen since I began this adventure, however due to covid and higher operating costs I have had to slightly increase prices to continue offering my services. I promise you the value and quality has not faltered!
- Vouchers and gift cards can be bought all year long.
- Private classes no longer have the same price of weekly scheduled cooking classes. New rates include: BASIC fee for a private cooking class is 50€, (discounted to 40€ for military ID holders), and then is 35€ each participant joining, (military ID holder discount applies as well, which is 25€ per participant).
- Method of payment for private cooking classes: when we set the class, I will send you an email with the link to pay via Credit Card.
- All scheduled classes will have the same price, unless it’s specified. It is 30€ per participant (discounted to 25€ for military ID holders).
- Method of payment of cooking classes in the calendar: You will find the button to click and pay with PayPal on my website, in the notes you can notate your class choice or send me an email on which class you are attending. I will email you the ingredients list and the Zoom link to the desired class. If you prefer direct credit card payment, email me the name of the cooking class, and the method of payment for the cooking classes. I will send you the link for paying with your credit card.
- I need your feedback and input: Would you be interested in subscribing to recorded cooking classes that you’d be able to directly access at your convenience? You would have access to 8 cooking classes a month for 3 months paying a discount of 35% off, saving money and giving you the ability to download the cooking classes for availability on your computer or device! Please send me a quick email (teresacolors.chef@gmail.com) to let me know your thoughts on this.
Teresa
Tunafish balls with Green Olive Pate and Ricotta Cheese
I experimented a new recipe and I madeTunafish balls with Green Olives Pate courtesy of Frantoio Bonamini
Tuna fish balls with Green olive pate
RECIPE
Ingredients: 4 tbsps canned tunafish in EVO, 4 tbsps Ricotta Cheese, 2 tbsps Green Olive Pate, 1 egg, 2 or 3 tbsps breadcrumbs in the mix, more breadcrumbs to roll the tubafish balls, Extra Virgin Olive Oil to spray on the balls before baking.
Mix very well all the ingredients with a spoon and then make balls as big as a wallnut.
Preheat at 200°C the oven and bake for about 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
Gorgonzola Cheese
. It’s a soft cheese being produced for 1200 years.
. It is a DOP cheese, certified and guaranteed by European Community.
. In the past it was known as Stracchino di Gorgonzola – Stracchino, name of a soft cheese, from Gorgonzola – produced in Gorgonzola, a town on the outskirts of Milan, or also as Stracchino Verde – Green Stracchino – due to the greenish color of the cheese’s marbling.
. It is produced in between Piedmont and Lombardy Regions, in the North West of Italy. The Province – County – of Novara, in Piedmont Region, is the one with the highest number of cheese farms producing Gorgonzola cheese, with about 65% of the total cheese farms.
. It is produced with raw whole cow’s milk, selected molds and lactic ferments.
. Gorgonzola cheese is creamy and soft and there are two types: the Gorgonzola Dolce type has a particular and characteristic flavor, slightly spicy; the Gorgonzola Piccante type has a more decisive and strong flavor whose texture is more marbled, consistent and crumbly.
. As foreseen by the production disciplinary, Gorgonzola Dolce ages from a minimum of 50 days to a maximum of 150 days; Gorgonzola Piccante ages from a minimum of 80 days to a maximum of 270 days.
It is produced only with milk from stables located in the area of origin of the cheese itself.
. It is considered the king of Italian blue cheeses and about 30% of the production is exported, mostly to France and Germany, but also to North America and to some Asian countries.
. To fully enjoy the creaminess of sweet Gorgonzola, it is best to remove it from the refrigerator at least half an hour before eating.
. The guarantee of authenticity is the “g” brand printed on the background of the foil that wraps the cheese.
Cook in Italy with Teresa 