Archive for the ‘thumbnails’ Category

Pasta with snails alla calabrese

What’s Cooking Wednesday: Pasta with Snails alla Calabrese

I’ve heard snails are a love it or hate it kind of thing. I love ’em and here’s a recipe for snails alla calabrese with pasta.

Read on...

Onion, Oregano, and Thyme Focaccia

Onion, Oregano & TimO Focaccia: O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

OK, raise your hand if you love focaccia! I do! I do!

I had never made it before, though, so I thought this What’s Cooking Wednesday would be a great time to learn, especially since I came across a recipe for Focaccia with Onions. In addition to the thyme (timo (TEE-moh) in Italian) that was listed in the ingredients, I threw in some oregano, because, you know O Foods and all.

What? You haven’t heard of the O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Contest? Check out the details here.

As you can see, my onions were super-cooked when all was said and done, but they’re still really tasty. Note: I used red onions, so they’re not *as* cooked as they may seem. Anyway, I think next time I’ll slice them just a little bit thicker and maybe adjust the cooking temp.

If you have any other suggestions on making focaccia, please do share. Overall, I have to say that this is a fabulous basic recipe from The Italian Cooking Encyclopedia published by Barnes & Noble (with my adjustments below).

Onion, Oregano & TimO Focaccia

For dough:

  • 2 1/2 tbsp fresh yeast or 1 package dry
  • 1 c warm water
  • pinch of sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3- 3 1/2 c flour

For topping:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, sliced
  • Sprinklings of dried thyme and oregano
  • Coarse sea salt

1. Put yeast in warmed medium mixing bowl (swirl around some hot water and then dump it out to warm the bowl). Add warm water, stir in sugar, and mix with fork. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to foam.

2. Mix in the salt and one cup of flour with a wooden spoon, then add in another cup of flour and mix until dough begins pulling away from the sides of the bowl.

3. Sprinkle some flour on a flat work surface and knead the dough, adding the rest of the flour a little at a time. Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is elastic and smooth, and shape it into a ball.

4. Place dough in lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let stand in a warm place for about an hour until the dough has doubled in size. To test if the dough is ready, poke it with two fingers; if the indentations remain, it’s ready.

5. Preheat oven to 400°F.

6. Punch down the dough to release air and then knead for 3-4 minutes.

7. Brush a shallow cookie/baking sheet with one tablespoon of the oil.

8. Place the dough in the pan and spread it to the edges with your fingers. Leave this sit, covered with a towel, for a half hour.

9. In the meantime, heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan on low heat, add onions, and cook until tender.

10. Stir in thyme and oregano and remove from heat.

11. Remove towel from pan and make indentations in the dough with your fingers.

12. Brush oil from the onion mixture on the dough, then spread onions over top evenly. Sprinkle lightly with coarse salt.

13. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, until just turning golden.

14. Cut into squares or wedges, and serve focaccia by itself, as a side dish, or even as the bread of a sandwich. It is best warm or at room temperature.

Buon appetito!

Don’t forget to submit your O Foods recipe by September 30
and/or donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund!

Also, Megan’s Expat Snapshot of Italy Contest is still going on until tomorrow night–just head over to Career By Choice and fill in the blank: You Know You’re in Italy When….


Oatmeal Banana Craisin Muffins

Oatmeal Banana Craisin Muffins: O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Here is a fast, easy, tasty (just like we like ’em!) O Food recipe based on one from Cooks.com.

Read on...

Prosciutto wrapped watermelon with bel paese cheese

What’s Cooking Wednesday: Prosciutto Wrapped Watermelon with Bel Paese Cheese

prosciutto wrapped watermelon with bel paese cheese on flickrWhile looking for something different to do with watermelon for this week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday (go visit all the participants at Shan’s!), I came across the National Watermelon Promotion Board. What? You doubted that one existed?

Well it so happens that our friends at the NWPB have quite a collection of watermelon recipes. Who knew? I picked this one because I *love* prosciutto crudo and melon, but I changed the recommended Brie to a more Italian-friendly cheese, one of my favorites: Bel Paese.

I’m sure Brie is fabulous in this though, so if you can get it, do try it and let me know what you think, OK? And if you can’t get Brie or Bel Paese, just use something soft and mild in its place. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments!

I’m not putting measurements in the recipe since you can make as many or few of these little finger sandwiches as you like. Me? I lean toward many.

I will recommend, though, chilling the watermelon and the cheese before assembling so that everything retains its proper consistency.

prosciutto wrapped watermelon with bel paese cheese (overlooking the ionian sea) on flickr

 

Prosciutto Wrapped Watermelon with Bel Paese Cheese

prosciutto wrapped watermelon with bel paese cheese on flickr

  • Finger-food sized pieces of watermelon cut into rectangles
  • Thin slices of Bel Paese about the same size as the watermelon pieces
  • Prosciutto crudo

1. Place a slice of Bel Paese on top of each piece of watermelon.

2. Wrap each with a sliced of prosciutto crudo. Secure with a toothpick.

3. Serve immediately and enjoy immensely like I did!

Buon appetito!

prosciutto wrapped watermelon with bel paese cheese on flickr

What is your favorite way to enjoy watermelon?
Do you have a special recipe to share?

Fried eggs with red onion and cheese

What’s Cooking Wednesday: Fried Eggs with Red Onion and Cheese

Home of What\'s Cooking WednesdayFinally, finally the ridiculously hot temps have given way to a bit of fresh air and cool breezes! I wore pants yesterday people! And I didn’t sweat!

So does that mean that I marked the occasion with a triumphant return to the kitchen after weeks of cold salads?

Eh. Not really, no.

This week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday is a staple around here because it’s fast, delicious and filling–and although yes, I do have to turn the stove on, it’s only for a few minutes, so it’s not so bad.

Now let me say that I’ve had plenty of fried eggs in my life, but I have never had them as tasty as when P makes these for me. In our house, these are Uova alla Pablo (and yes, these are *our* eggs from our chickens) but you can call them:

Fried Eggs with Red Onion & Cheese

Uova alla Pablo on Flickr

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 eggs
  • One small red onion, sliced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • One slice of cheese (Kraft is good), torn in pieces

1. Heat olive oil in small nonstick frying pan over medium heat.

2. Add sliced onions and sauté for about a minute, until just starting to turn translucent.

3. Crack eggs open over the onions and season with salt and pepper.

4. Let cook for a few minutes. When white is half-cooked, put torn slices of cheese over the yolks and elsewhere and let melt.

5. Once all the whites of the eggs are no longer slimy, remove from heat and serve hot with crusty Italian bread.

Buon appetito!


Michelle KaminskyMichelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived. 

Calabria Guidebook

Calabria travel guide by Michelle Fabio

Recipes

 

Homemade apple butter
Green beans, potatoes, and pancetta
Glazed Apple Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins
Pasta with snails alla calabrese
Onion, Oregano, and Thyme Focaccia
Oatmeal Banana Craisin Muffins
Prosciutto wrapped watermelon with bel paese cheese
Fried eggs with red onion and cheese
Calabrian sausage and fava beans
Ricotta Pound Cake