A new dinner with Magic & Pasta in NYC, a new haircut and a new house in Italy....

Ciao a tutti!! Tutto bene?! It’s been too long! Last I posted I was exploring Florence and having the time of my life. What has happened since then? To put it more accurately, what HASN’T happened since then? I’ve gotten a haircut. I know that might not seem like a big deal to you but I have always grown my hair for years at a time, even cutting it for Locks of Love Twice. One day in Florence I looked at my hair, almost down to my shoulders and thought “it’s time for a change.” Thinking on it just one day, I marched into a saloon, translated best I could and ended up with a fabulous short, shaggy chin length bob. I figured with all of the big changes I was making in my life this just part of it. What do you think??

Next up was going back to Guardia Sanframondi. Remember I had mentioned I spent some time in a beautiful village in Campania before getting to Florence? Well, I loved it there so much, I actually cut my time in Florence short and returned to continue my journey. What did I do while I was there? Well, I made a ton of wonderful friends, ate some of the best food I’ve ever had and bought a house. Anyhow…..wait, what? A HOUSE, YOU SAY? That’s right. I BOUGHT MY VERY FIRST HOUSE IN ITALY!!!! As you can clearly see, Italy is very important to me. I am very proud of my Italian roots and have always wanted to be closer to what I feel is really my home. In fact, Guardia is just two hours from where my great-grandfather was born in Naples. I will be posting pictures and I will dedicate a whole post to the beauty of Guardia. I have never been anywhere like Guardia. It really is magical and I can’t wait to share this journey with you. Here is my new view...

 

I then returned to NYC and have been cooking regularly, doing private events with Magic & Pasta. Here are some of the dishes I have made for some dinners. In the order that they are shown are my "Caprese Salad" with parmigiana mousse, pesto gelatin and candied baby tomatoes, Polenta Fritti with Mushroom Onion Tapenade and Garlic Rosemary Chicken with Grilled Scallions over Parsnip Puree….

 





 

I actually am hosting one of my stylized ticketed dinners coming up on March 7^th in NYC that I would love to invite you all too….”Aperitivo Italiano.” The menu will include small bites of Aperitivo Style dishes with my own twist, such as Rosemary Fried Chicken with Semolina Pancakes and Spicy Chestnut Honey and Herbed Parmigiana Polenta Bites with Speck. What to see the full menu for this delicious dinner? Then click here, you will also see ticket information. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to comment here or e-mail me at magicandpasta@hotmail.com Here are a few photos from one of my last dinners to give you an idea of the setting...

Until then my friends, I will be spending the day doing some prep in the kitchen and trying to stay warm!!! Ci vediamo!!

Olive Oil Muffins with Dark Chocolate Chips & Almonds and A RECIPE CONTEST!!

Ciao a tutti! I have some really exciting news… I'm a finalist in the Eggland’s Best Your Best Recipe Contest, AGAIN!!! The last time I won my category, can you help me win again? Here’s what you have to do…

Please go to this link- http://www.egglandsbest.com/yourbestrecipe.aspx and take a look at the top of the page at the Breakfast Category. You will see my Olive Oil Muffins with Dark Chocolate Chips and Almonds, click on it, enter your e-mail and click vote! You will have to confirm your vote via e-mail and you can vote once a day until Oct. 31st. I have some really big plans in the near future and this money could really help me out. It would greatly appreciated, as always. Grazie mille a tutti!! Thank you so so much, here is the link again just to be safe: http://www.egglandsbest.com/yourbestrecipe.aspx

In the meantime, I’m sharing the recipe for my yummy muffins again, so if you want to make them and see what you think of them for yourself, please let me know! These are great for breakfast, an afterschool school, dessert…pretty much any time of day that you feel like having one! Buon Appetito!!

 Olive Oil Muffins with Dark Chocolate Chips and Almonds

 

 

 

3 cups of flour 4 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 2 eggs, at room temperature 1 cup of sugar 1 cup of almond milk (you can use regular milk, the almond milk just adds a slightly sweet almond flavor that I like) ½ cup of olive oil ½ tsp. vanilla extract ½ tsp. almond extract 1 cup of Dark Chocolate Chips (you can use regular chips) 1 cup of chopped almonds

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 6 muffin tin pan with non stick spray or you can use muffin liners.

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until combined. Add the milk, olive oil, vanilla and almond extracts. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and gently fold. You do not want to over mix, that will result in a heavier muffin. Fold in the chocolate chips and almonds. Pour the batter into your muffin tins, be sure not to go all the way to the top, just a little bit below. Bake for 30 minutes or longer if needed. You can stick a tooth pick in to make sure they are set. Everyone’s oven is different so baking time may vary. When they are done, let them cool for around 15 minutes in the pan. Then after 15 minute, EAT!!

Potato Gnocchi in Sage Butter with Crispy Potato Skin Petals

 

Ciao a tutti!! I know it has been a while. I’ve been very busy getting ready for my upcoming time in Italy, setting up dinners, events, classes, etc. I am SO EXCITED!!!!! In fact, to say I’m excited is downplaying it. Like last year, I will be journaling a lot of my trip and will be sure to share a lot of pictures, details, recipes, menus and more with you. I look forward to another wonderful adventure.

 In the meantime, I will share with you my recipe for Potato Gnocchi in a Sage Butter Sauce with Potato Skin Petals. I got the idea for the petals because I really don’t like to waste ANY food if it can be helped. So, when I was preparing the potatoes for the gnocchi and I had all the skin left, I thought “hmmmmm, why not fry this in some butter and top the gnocchi with it?” I know, I know, I’m crazy!! Enjoy!!

Potato Gnocchi in Sage Butter with Crispy Potato Skin Petals

 

Potato Gnocchi

 



3 ½ ounce of double zero flour (if you can’t find 00 flour, you can use AP)

1 lb. potatoes

1 egg

Pinch of salt

 

Sage Butter

 

5 tbsp. butter

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

Sage leaves, gently torn (as much or as little as you like)

 

Potato Skin Petals

1 tbsp. butter

Potato Skin

 

Put you potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold salted water. Bring the water to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender, this should take around an hour.

 

 

Let the potatoes cool. Peel them and be sure to set the potato skin aside! Put the potatoes through a rice. Combine the potatoes with flour, egg and salt. Mix by hand or using a fork. Put the dough on a floured surface and divide into 4 portions. Roll each portion into a long log and cut each log into ¾ inch pieces using a flour knife. Press each piece of dough against tines of a floured fork, carefully push with a floured thumb in a forward motion toward the end of the tines and let the gnocchi fall from the fork. You can also use a gnocchi board (which I did, I also made jumbo gnocchi, which of course, you can do too!)

Cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water. Fresh pasta cooks much quicker than dried, package pasta, do DO NOT OVER COOK!! The gnocchi should be tender and cooked within 3-5 minutes.

 In the meantime, while the gnocchi is boiling, prepare a medium size pan over medium heat. Add the butter, salt and pepper. Allow the butter to brown slight and add the torn sage leaves. By this point, drain the gnocchi and add to the pan with the butter sauce. Let the gnocchi sit and heat in the sauce for a few minutes so the butter leaves a nice coating on the pasta. Feel free to add a little pasta water as well, I always do. For the potato skin petals, in another small pan, heat on medium heat. Add the butter and the potato skins. I like to tear the potato skin with my hands and create little shreds. Let it fry in the butter for a few minutes until crispy. Plate the gnocchi and add the potato skin petals directly on top and of course, you must add a sprinkle of parmigiana and a glass of wine. Buon Appetito!!

 

Buon Anno! e Polenta Fritti with Wild Mushrooms

Felice Anno Nouvo!! Happy New Year to my friends all around the world. This year has been absolutely amazing, I am so grateful for the wonderful opportunities that I’ve had. From becoming a Sous Chef with Feast on History to studying cooking in Italy and all of the incredible things that happened while I was there and seeing Paul McCartney in concert. Yes, that is seriously one of the highlights from my year. (For those that don’t know, I am a HUGE Beatles fan) As I mentioned in my last post, I have a lot of very exciting things in the works that I will be announcing over the next month or so, so please stay tuned. Last night I hosted a New Years Eve Party for my family and friends, the pressure was on. Everyone knew I had just returned from studying cooking so I felt the need to really shine!! In fact, a few of my guests told me they had been bragging to their friends about coming to a chefs house for dinner, that brought the biggest smile to my face!

One of things I served last night was my Polenta Fritti with Wild Mushrooms. Polenta Frittii something I enjoyed a few times while in Florence, a deep fried piece of polenta and yes, it is every bit as good as it sounds. Here is my recipe, hope you all like it as much as I do. Enjoy!

Polenta Fritti with Wild Mushrooms

Wild Mushrooms

2 tbsp. butter

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tbsp. minced garlic

3 cups of mixed wild mushrooms

3 tbsp. chopped parsley

In a medium size pan over medium heat, heat your butter, salt, pepper and minced garlic. Let the garlic get a little color, but not too much. Add the mushrooms and cook until a lot of the liquid has evaporated. I personally like the mushrooms a little dry, not too wet, so let them cook for around half an hour. Once they have finished cooked, add the chopped parsley and mix. Serve a tablespoon or two on top of the Polenta Fritti.

Polenta Fritti

8 cups of water

1 tbsp. salt

2 cups of medium grain poleta

2 tbsp. dried Italian seasonings (rosemary, oregano, etc)

1 cup of neutral oil, plus 1 tbsp (I like to use canola or peanut oil for frying)

In a large pot, bring 8 cups of salted water to a boil. Add the polenta and seasonings and mix with a wooden spoon. Oil a pound cake pan and pour the polenta in the pan and spread it so the top of the flat. You can choose to shape and cut them however you like, I pour my polenta in a pound cake pan, let it harden up a little and then slice it almost like a loaf of bread. Cover it and put in the refrigerator for an hour. Once the hour is up, flip the pan over on a cutting board, the polenta should easily come out. Slice the polenta the same way you would slice bread, I like to slice it pretty thin, around ½ an inch. Prepare a large deep pot while the oil over medium high heat. Once it is hot enough, add the polenta, as many as you can get in there. I like my polenta really REALLY crispy, so each piece can take around 7 minutes to get that crunchy. As the pieces finish, put them a paper towel on a wire rack. Top with the wild mushrooms. Boun Appetito!!

You guessed it, more PASTA from school in Florence!

Ciao a tutti!! Another day of classes at Giglio Cooking School in Firenze and boy do we get a lot done in those three and a half hours. Today we made pasta again…but oh boy, this was not just “pasta.” This was real deal homemade stuffed pasta. We had so much fun making the dough, then using the machine to roll it out, making all of the different fillings and stuffing them. Here is a menu of what we made.

Spinach Ravioli filled with Artichoke in a Pecorino and Thyme Sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tortellini in Brodo

 

Agnoloti alla Piemontese (in a butter and sage sauce with thin slices of white truffles)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ravioli al Consomme (stuffed with a meat gelatin) with Zucchini Cream, Carrot Petals and Fried Parsley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The spinach ravioli was stuffed with a creamy artichoke filling, the tortellini was made with a stuffing that had pork, chicken, mortadella, prosciutto, cheese and seasoning, the agnoloti was stuffed with a mix of brasato and roast pork and the ravioli was filled with Broth. These were all just amazing, different techniques, a lovely combination of flavors and textures, just perfect. Ciao ciao for now!

Fried Pizzettes with Spicy Onions and Prosciutto di San Daniele

Ciao a tutti!! Remember I mentioned that I am hosting a Halloween Masquerade Pop Up Dinner? Well, this is one of the recipes that I’ll be preparing for the event….Fried Pizzettes with Spicy Onions and Prosciutto di San Daniele. These are just amazing…sinful and delicious. This is basically fried pizza dough that I top with caramelized spicy onions and some crispy Prosciutto di San Daniele. I used my King Arthur Flour Perfect Pizza Blend for the dough, it creates a fantastic product. I swear by King Arthur products, they never disappoint and there website is a bakers paradise, seriously. You can get step by step instructions for your most delicious baking through their Baking Banter blog or one of over 2,000 free recipes online. Learn more about our flours, our commitment to quality, and why you get so much more with King Arthur Flour. I hope you guys enjoy this recipe just as I much as I do! Enjoy!

Fried Pizzettes with Spicy Onions and Prosciutto di San Daniele

Fried Pizzette

2 cups of King Arthur Flour Perfect Pizza Blend

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. mixed dried Italian seasonings

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. dried active yeast

Warm water, as needed

Vegetable Oil, for frying

Pour your King Arthur Flour Perfect Pizza Blend on a clean, flat surface and shape into a mound. Add salt, dried Italian seasonings mix, olive oil and dried yeast to the flour and mix. Add warm water, just a little at a time, working until you get smooth, dough that is very elastic. Transfer the dough to a bowl and place in a warm spot to rise. While you are waiting for the dough to rise, you can start preparing your onions and Prosciutto di San Daniele….

Caramelized Onions

4 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 medium size onions, sliced
2 tbsp. brown sugar

In a medium size pan over medium heat, add your olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Allow the oil to get hot and add your sliced onions. Cook until they have melted down a bit and are slightly caramelized. Add the brown sugar so it can melt. Now you can prepare your crispy Prosciutto di San Daniele!

Crispy Prosciutto di San Daniele!

3 tbsp. olive oil

8 slices of Prosciutto di San Daniele!

In a medium size pan over medium heat, heat your olive oil. Once it is hot, add a few slices of Prosciutto di San Daniele at a time and allow to cook until they are very crispy, do this with all of the slices. Let the slices drain on a paper towel.

When you have finished the onions and prosciutto and when the dough has doubled in volume, heat a large pan with a lot of vegetable oil. Form balls of dough into small, flat shapes with your hands. Put the dough in the hot oil, browning on both sides. Let them cook on each side for at 3-5 minutes, you can play this by ear, but you should certainly be able to see once they are done. After they are done, drain them on paper towels and top each pizzette with a tablespoon or two of the onions and a slice of the Prosciutto di San Daniele. Buon Appetito!!

Sicilian Braciole

Ciao a tutti!! If you're Italian, odds are..you know what Sunday Gravy is. Sunday Gravy is a rich tomato sauce that the meat simmers in…braciole, sausage, meatballs. There has long been a debate if it's called gravy or sauce...in my family we call it gravy! I know a lot of people who refer to it as both, but for me, it will always be gravy.  This is my Nonna Nettie’s Recipe for braciole, it is a classic Sicilian style made with a stuffing that has pine nuts and raisins…mmmmmm. Enjoy!!

Braciole

2 pounds of flank steak

¼ cup of raisins

2 tbsp. of red wine

8 tbsp. olive oil

3 tbsp. minced garlic

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. pepper

2 tbsp. onion powder

1 cup of bread crumbs

½ cup parmigiana

½ pignoli

4 tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 egg, beaten

Sunday Gravy

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. sliced garlic

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. pepper

1 tbsp. crushed red pepper

2 28 ounce cans of San Marzano tomatoes

2 tbsp. onion powder

2 tbsp. garlic powder

6 tbsp. of fresh basil, torn

Meat juice- Yes, meat juice!! From the pans that you cook the braciole, meatballs and sausage in first, add all of that golden liquid to the gravy!!!!

Start off by pounding that flank steak to death with a mallet, no seriously. You want it thin, but not paper thin. If the piece of steak you have is thick enough, you can also butterfly it. I also use a meat tenderizer (which will really break up the meat) and then pounded it. Now you can start making your stuffing. Soak your raisins in the red wine and just let it sit until you are ready for them. Prepare a medium size pan over medium heat with 4 tbsp. of your olive oil. Add your minced garlic and allow it to get soft, but you do not want it to roast or burn. Add salt, pepper and onion powder. Add your bread crumbs and let them toast a little; you will want to see them get slightly golden. Add your parmigiana and continue to mix it all together. Add the pignoli so they toast slightly, again, you don’t want to burn them though and then add the parsley. Take the stuffing off of the heat and allow to cool for ten minutes. Add the beaten egg and thoroughly combine.

Prepare another medium size pan over medium high heat with 4 tbsp. of olive oil. My piece of flank steak with very big, so I cut it into two. However many pieces you have, you will want to start evenly spreading the stuffing on the meat, then concentrate more on the center and be a little more generous. Start rolling the meat like a jellyroll. Once you’re done rolling, either using kitchen string or tooth picks, close the meat. Add it to the pan to fry and slightly cook. In the meantime…prepare your Sunday Gravy….

Prepare a large pot over low heat. Add your olive oil and garlic; allow the garlic to get soft. Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and the tomatoes. Stir. Add onion powder, garlic powder, fresh basil and the meat juice. Stir again and allow to simmer.

Once the braciole has cooked for around 20 minutes, you can now add the braciole to your Sunday Gravy pot. By now, the pot should be on low heat, so you will want the braciole to cook in there for hours….anywhere from 2-6 hours. Seriously, it’s on low so you won’t overcook the meat. What you end up with will be the most tender, braciole ever!! Melt in your mouth good. When it’s done, served a slice with a ton of gravy and some pasta. Buon Appetito!!