Bleeding Espresso

Or stuffing or dressing depending on where you’re from.

Thanksgiving is absolutely my favorite holiday. It’s all about giving thanks and eating–two of my favorite things. And while I *like* turkey, for me the stars of Thanksgiving are the side dishes. Love them.

I love my mom’s filling the most–so much that it is my first contribution to La Buona Cucina Americana.

If you don’t know what this is, read Judith in Umbria’s description here.

Essentially we Americans are tired of the trash-talking (pun intended) about our cuisine. Contrary to popular stereotypes (often involving Golden Arches), Americans do shop at markets, slice and dice fresh ingredients, and otherwise make real homemade meals.

Through La Buona Cucina Americana, we are sharing some of our favorite recipes in English and Italian so our Italian amici can try them out too.

So far we’ve had:

Mary’s American Style Shepherd Pie

Judith’s Chicken Pot Pie

Barb’s Scalloped Potatoes

Sara’s Barbecue Baked Beans

And now, straight from my mom’s cucina:

Thanksgiving Filling

• 1 stick of butter
• 3 carrots, peeled and shredded
• 3 celery stalks, chopped finely
• 1 large onion, chopped finely
• handful of parsley, chopped finely
• 1 loaf stale bread, in chunks (sliced bread is fine)
• 2 cups hot water
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Melt butter in large pan and add carrots, celery, onion, and parsley. Sauté for about 10 minutes.

3. In the meantime, make sure the water and broth are heated and grease a medium-sized baking dish with butter.

4. When carrots, celery, and onion are soft, pour water and broth into pan.

5. Add bread cubes, which should look something like this:

6. Mix with wooden spoon until all bread is moistened, but don’t overmix.

7. Pour mixture into baking dish, and bake in oven for about an hour, a little longer to get an even crunchier top.

8. Let sit for about five minutes after you take it out of the oven before serving.

Notes:

• I bake mine in the oven because I like an uber-crunchy top, but you can also use this as a traditional “stuffing” by stuffing this inside the bird of your choice; just let it cool off before you do so.

• Some of you may be wondering where the sausage is. My mom doesn’t make hers with sausage, so I don’t either. P–like a true Calabrian–asked if I would include it next time, and I will because I’m a good fidanzata.

Ripieno tradizionale per tacchino per il giorno di Ringraziamento

• 110 g di burro
• 3 carote pelate e grattugiate
• 3 gambi di sedano tritati
• 1 cipolla (bianca o gialla) grande tritata
• prezzemolo tritato q.b.
• 600 g di pane secco a cubetti
• 250 mL di acqua calda
• 250 mL di brodo (vegetale o pollo)

1. Preriscaldare il forno a 180°C.

2. Fate squagliare il burro in una padella grande e aggiungete le carote, il sedano, la cipolla, ed il prezzemolo. Fate appassire per una decina di minuti.

3. Nel frattempo, assicuratevi che l’acqua ed il brodo sono caldi e imburrare la casseruola.

4. Quando le carote, il sedano, e la cipolla diventeranno morbidi, aggiungete l’acqua ed il brodo.

5. Aggiungete i cubetti di pane.

6. Mescolate con un cucchiaio di legno solo fino ad umidire il pane ma non troppo.

7. Versate il composto nella casseruola. Infornate per circa un’ora, qualche minuti in più per una crosta più croccante.

8. Fate riposarlo per circa 5 minuti prima di servirlo.

Annotazioni:

• Io lo cucino al forno perché mi piace una crosta croccantissima ma potete usare il composto anche come un ripieno tradizionale. Lasciatelo raffredare, quindi usatelo per riempire un tacchino, un pollo, ecc.

• Forse state cercando la salsiccia nella ricetta. Mia mamma non la usa quindi non la uso neach’io. Il mio fidanzato P–come un vero Calabrese–mi ha chiesto di aggiungerla e la prossima volta lo farò perché sono una brava fidanzata.

Buon appetito!

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Even though there have been small celebrations all week, today really begins the Pasqua (Easter) festivities around here. They won’t finish until late Monday afternoon, so I won’t be back blogging until Tuesday.

But you know I wouldn’t leave you without at least some suggestions of what to do to fill your blog-reading time, right?

Want to experience what I’ll be doing this weekend?

1. Check out Pasqua in Calabria for a description of our day long procession on Sabato Santo (Holy Saturday) and the magical Easter Sunday meeting between the Madonna and Jesus.

2. Then see the photographic evidence in Pasqua in Calabria: The Photos.

3. And if you’re curious about why the fun in Italy continues on until Easter Monday, check out last year’s Pasquetta activities in Still Celebrating.

4. If you’re looking for traditional Calabrian Easter cake, check out Calabrian Cuzzupe.

5. And if you happen to be interested in one of my favorite childhood holiday memories, check out Deno’s Easter Eggs.

And now a very important announcement:

Have you noticed the new widget over in my sidebar? Looks like this?

Here’s the deal. Our philosopher in Umbria, Judith of Think on it!, is stufa of hearing that American food is characterized over here in Italy as unhealthy at best and downright poisonous at worst. We Americans know we eat “real food” and that it’s not all sweets and McDonald’s right?

Well it’s time to show the Italians “La Buona Cucina Americana.”

So Judith, Mary of The Flavors of Abruzzo, Barb of Barb and Art Live in Italy, Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy, Cherrye of My Bella Vita, Judy of Over a Tuscan Stove, and I are going to be taking turns sharing real American food and recipes each Friday.

In the words of our fearless leader Judith:

Some friends and I are going to begin publishing weekly recipes for old fashioned American food, food like grandma used to cook and perhaps like you still cook, if you happen to be American. So what’s new about that? There are innumerable food bloggers in the USA pouring out magnificent food of every description as made in the USA. Yes, that is so, but they don’t do it from Italy and in Italian!

That’s right folks. All recipes will be in English *and* Italian so that Italians can stop by and enjoy some down home American food–so tell your Italian friends!

Mary is kicking off things today with American Style Shepherd’s Pie, and next week will be Judith’s turn with Chicken Pot Pie.

Mmm. I’m getting hungry…and homesick!

If there’s anything you’d like to see featured in La Buona Cucina Americana or if you’d be up for the challenge of sharing your American recipes in Italian (with ingredients available in Italy), leave a comment here!

I hope the Italians are ready for us.

Buona Pasqua to those celebrating–and buon weekend to all!

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Happy St. Joseph’s Day! And to my dad, Happy Italian Father’s Day!

Perhaps you’re confused. That’s OK. You can read all about the Festa di San Giuseppe in last year’s post: Fava Beans and Cream Puffs. There you’ll also find a photo of my great-great-grandfather a.k.a. the reason I ended up in my charming village.

Auguri Papù and to all Josephs, Giuseppes, and dads out there!
[Edited: also to Giuseppinas, Josephines, and any others celebrating!]

Also, if some of you happen to remember St. Joseph’s Day altars from childhood but are missing them right about now, check out Vee’s mother’s *amazing* display as well as this Virtual St. Joseph’s Day Altar. If you don’t have any idea what I’m talking about, read about this tradition here and here.

Now . . . it’s time for zeppole.

Or as we say around here, zippoli.

As I noted in last year’s post, this word means many different things depending on where in Italy you are. This is a common phenomenon, and in fact, just last night I read a similar sentiment in Laura Schenone’s The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken: A Search for Food and Family:

“Prescinsêua cheese may mean one thing in the city, but to some contadini in the country it may mean something completely different.”

So, in that vein, some of you know zeppole as cream puffs, but there ain’t no cream in the Calabrian version. In fact, there are anchovies.

How’s that for una sorpresa if you’re expecting cream?

I have a very vague memory of my grandmother [perhaps] making these with anchovies when I was small, but the ones I remember best were simply coated in sugar while they were still hot.

Ah . . . zeppole memories . . .

Waiting patiently at my grandmother’s hip (seriously I was that high, or low I should say as she was under 5 feet tall) for these to cool down ever so slightly to dig in. She never got even near a platter-full before one batch was already gone. They’re that good.

Unfortunately for my recipe repertoire though, my grandmother didn’t make her own dough in her later years when kneading wasn’t possible; she always bought fresh dough from the *best* local pizzeria and bakery.

Indeed, she’d pick up the dough early Friday morning (during Lent especially), make pizzas throughout the day and then fry these babies up just as we were finishing up on the pizza. I cannot tell you how much I miss walking into that house on Friday afternoons after school.

MAMMA MIA . . . CHE PROFUMO!

So I went to a few sources for a recipe:

(1) P’s mom; (2) my friend Alida from nearby Isca sull’Ionio who I met in Philadelphia (she brought homemade biscotti to our first in-person meeting!); and (3) my dear friend Mary Amabile Palmer’s cookbook Cucina di Calabria: Treasured Recipes and Family Traditions from Southern Italy.

Between these wonderful women (grazie mille!), I am tasting exactly what I remember swiping off paper towels as a child. And now you can enjoy them too.

Zeppole con Alici o Semplice
(I Zippoli Calabrese)
Fried Dough with Anchovies or Plain

• 1 package active dry yeast or 10 g of fresh yeast
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 3 cups all-purpose or “00″ flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Splash of white wine
• 1 small jar or can of anchovies
• vegetable oil for frying
• confectioner’s or regular sugar for dusting (if making plain version)

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water.

2. Put salt and flour in a mound on your working space, a wooden board if possible, although I use something like this like my grandmother used.

3. Make a well in the center and gradually add the dissolved yeast, remaining water, and wine pulling flour into the liquid as you go.

4. Knead for between 5 and 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and “bella morbida” as my suocera kept saying–quite soft. If you’re used to making pizza, you may have recognized these ingredients; just make sure the dough here is softer than for pizza.

5. Put dough ball in oiled bowl, cover it with a towel, and put in a dry, warm place to rise for about 2 hours.

6. After the dough has doubled in size, take it out, and knead it for another few minutes. Then put it back in the bowl and allow it to rise again for another couple hours. This will make for fluffier zeppole, but if you don’t have time, just let it rise once. They’ll still be good.

7. In the meantime, if you’re using anchovies, prepare them by removing them from their container and draining oil. Cut them in two pieces so that they will fit into a pocket of dough that will end up being about the size of the palm of your hand once folded over.

8. Heat oil over medium heat.

9. Pull off small chunks of dough about golf-ball size, flatten, and stretch into a rectangle. Place anchovy or two inside and fold over, sealing edges well. If you’re making the plain version, simply stretch to dough to the size of the palm of your hand.

10. Fry in hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes, turning zeppole so they are lightly brown all sides.

11. Remove from oil with slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.

12. If you are making them without anchovies, dust them with sugar while they’re still hot–and if you’re like me and actually like the anchovy-filled ones with sugar as well (ssh–they think I’m very weird here for this), go right ahead!

Note you can also fill these with lots of other things. Raisins, for example, are delicious inside and then I recommend dusting with confectioner’s sugar.

Buon appetito!

42 Comments »

Today is the day when the Irish all over the world celebrate the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick.

Italia’s day is coming soon (Wednesday for San Giuseppe to be exact), but far be it from me not to join in the festivities with my Irish brothers and sisters.

After all, I may be just a wee bit Irish as I had a great-great-grandmother by the name of Maggie Kennedy.

I’m not into the green beer thing, I’m afraid, but I will offer up some vino for the occasion; how about a fabulous red from Vino & Co. in Palermo, Sicily?

I personally can’t think of a better excuse to take an empty 5-liter jug and head to a filler station like this one.

This was just a few minutes from our hotel, but unfortunately, Cherrye and I didn’t plan ahead and bring a container large enough–no regular old plastic bottles allowed.

But back to the green-themed day, I also found this page for those of you in need of some last minute party supplies that will also make you laugh as you’re browsing. The faces on some of these models are just hilarious.

And, I guess, effective because a lot of this stuff is actually sold out. Go figure.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to those celebrating!

Visit more Irish dogs here and here.

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* Have you joined The Ultimate Blog Party? See my welcome post here! *

Today is March 8, a day to celebrate women around the world (except, ironically, in the United States where the whole thing started).

For more on how International Women’s Day is celebrated in Italy, read my post from last year: Love Thursday: Celebrating Women.

I couldn’t let the day pass without giving my fellow women some mimosa, the international symbol of the day. As I wrote last year, the mimosa around here blooms too early to still be around for La Festa della Donna, but this year, P thought ahead.

He brought me some mimosa for Valentine’s Day, climbing to the top of the tree (as told to me by witnesses) for what he insisted were the best, and now these are actually hanging to dry:

Yes, because I’m so classy, I displayed them in an old Brasilena bottle on the fireplace.

And why yes, that *is* a vase just behind them. I’m classy *and* a bit ironic apparently. And a lot paesana.

But don’t they just look at home in the bottle?

Happy International Women’s Day fellow women!

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