Chef2Chef Recipe Club Member Forum: http://forums.chef2chef.net -------------------------------------------------- Hello Recipe Club, This week you will be taken on a Historical and Culinary Virtual Tour of Italy by author Anna Maria Volpi. Her book: The Timeless Art of Italian Cuisine, Centuries of Scrumptious Dining has recently been released and Anna Marie is proud to announce that the book won "The Gourmand World Cookbooks Award" Would you like to WIN an autographed copy? Just click this link to send me your email address and we'll announce a winner at the end of the week. dnelson@chef2chef.net?Subject=rc-drawing Anna Maria Volpi began her culinary education in her native Italy. While still a youngster, she learned how to prepare the traditional Roman dishes by her father, and Sicilian cuisine from her mother. These early experiences inspired in her a deep love of Italian cooking. In a time when eating and cooking habits seem to change frequently, Anna Maria has dedicated herself to the rediscovery and preservation of authentic regional cooking through the study of its history and traditions, and by sharing her knowledge and skills with others. She has taught traditional Italian home cooking in Los Angeles for more than ten years through group lessons, private classes, and special events. She is also an acclaimed guest instructor for the Williams-Sonoma chain of gourmet food and cooking stores, including their popular site in Beverly Hills, California. After you try some of Anna Maria's recipes, you will understand why her friends and family in Italy nicknamed her dolce forno (sweet oven) for her incomparable baking abilities. Visit her site here: www.annamariavolpi.com -------------------------------------------------- All Roads Lead to Rome - The food of the Italian Capital Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a time machine, and to go back in time? Well, stand in Rome in front of the Trajan's Market, located right behind the forums, and imagine yourself in Imperial Rome, let's say around 115 A.D. Apollodoro, a famous architect from Damascus, has created the first "mall" of antiquity—one hundred feet tall, with six floors of 150 specialized shops. In this building we can virtually "taste" the heights Roman civilization has reached. The Romans two thousand years ago, integrating Greek civilization created an empire that laid the foundations of Western civilization. They imported all kinds of foods from all over the known world. Roman ships carried essential food, as well as a variety of spices from as far away as China, to satisfy the Romans' appetite for exotic ingredients. These markets show us the opulence of Rome. They sold here local produce and wine, game from Tuscany, and fish from the Mediterranean sea; but other foods are imported: Salt pickles from Byzantium, oysters from Britain, honey from Greece, dates from Syria and Egypt, onions from Wales, dried fruit from Turkestan, and almonds from Anatolia. And more exotic food and spices: garum from Leptis Magna, silphium from Ethiopia, pepper from India, sumac from Syria, coriander from China, sugar from Persia, mace and nutmeg and cloves from Indonesia, and cardamom from Malaysia, as well as Parthian asafetida, and Sinhalese cinnamon. Roman cooking habits fascinated and influenced generations in the centuries that followed. The fall of the Roman Empire was caused by unstoppable waves of invading people—barbarians who came from as far away as Tibet. They pillaged and destroyed, but they also took with them new cooking customs. It took centuries before some order was restored and medieval peoples could begin rebuilding something that could be called a cuisine. In the centuries that followed Rome's fall, the city's fortune was erratic until the modern city started to take shape under Pope Giulio II. He initiated great urban and architectural works, attracting to Rome the best artists of the Renaissance and the Baroque period, such as Michelangelo and Raphael. In the late 1800s, there was an enormous change for a city that had lived virtually isolated for centuries. After becoming the capital city of Italy, Rome became a true melting pot off different cooking habits. The first turn in Roman life and cooking came after the royal court and the government moved to Rome in 1871. The military servicemen and bureaucrats mostly came from Piemonte, the businessmen from Lombardia. The immigrants brought with them new dishes that eventually entered the Roman culinary tradition: polenta (cornmeal), rice and peas, gnocchi (potato dumplings), and many others. The population grew steadily, until it reached three million citizens with the massive immigration from the south after World War II. How did Rome receive the new wave of "invaders"? The tolerant character of the Romans and the charisma of the city made possible everyone's assimilation. Rome became a city full of contrasts, a city chaotic at times, but with a friendly and conciliatory spirit. In the fifties and sixties, Hollywood discovered Rome, and Paparazzi photographers took photos of actors such as Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Richard Burton, Liz Taylor, or Sophia Loren in front of a plate of Fettuccine all' Alfredo. New generations of inspired cooks would soon create new exciting dishes, high gourmet cooking, but always in the Roman tradition of simplicity. -------------------------------------------------- Recipe Club, Get your own Holiday Presents at Chef2Chef.net GatewayGourmet, we would like to offer you the opportunity to win 6 pucks (1.5 oz containers) of More Than Gourmet's Classic Stock Reductions. Demi-Glace, Chicken Sock, Venison Stock, Veggie Stock and more: http://www.gatewaygourmet.com/chef2chef_special.htm Win a 6-month Salsa Kiss Club of the Month Membership valued at $150! That's one specially selected free salsa and one free gourmet hot sauce every month for 6 months delivered to your door. http://html.chef2chef.net/goto.php?id=374 Register to a copy of the Chef of the Month, Jerry Traunfeld's cookbook, The Herbfarm Cookbook. A must have for your cookbook collection http://marketplace.chef2chef.net/sweep/ What's new at Chef Revival? They have got a new handy and cleanable First Aid Kit, A New Drizzler Kit, The Famous CutRuler, A beautiful new Line Spoon and the "Got to Have" Bonetector! 10 winner's will each receive a set of all of these new items. Register http://ads.chef2Chef.net/goto.php?id=36 Sign up for a FREE Subscription to Food Arts Magazine. The Magazine for the Foodservice and Hospitality Industry. U.S. residents only. http://html.chef2chef.net/goto.php?id=242 -------------------------------------------------- Pasta e Ceci Chickpea Soup ". . . inde domum me ad porri et ciceris refero laganique catinum," (I was given a bowl of leeks and chickpea lasagna at my house), wrote the Roman poet Orace (Satire). Chickpea soup, flavored with garlic and rosemary, is probably the oldest recipe in Roman cooking. 11 oz (300 gr.) dry chickpeas or 2 cans of chickpeas 3 + 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 spring of rosemary 2 anchovy fillets, chopped 2 tablespoon tomato purée Salt and pepper 6 oz. (180 gr.) pasta, short ditali, or spaghetti, broken in 1/2-inch (1 cm) pieces Soak the dry chickpeas in fresh water overnight or as long as necessary to have them tender. Drain the chickpeas when ready to cook. If using canned chickpeas just drain them from the can water. In a large saucepan, put 3 tablespoons of the extra-virgin olive oil, garlic and the rosemary. Turn heat to medium. As soon as the oil becomes hot, add anchovies and stir to dissolve. This step must be done very quickly to avoid browning the garlic and burning the anchovies. Immediately add tomato, chickpeas, and 4 cups (approximately 1liter water). Bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the chickpeas are tender. Add freshly grated pepper. Anchovies can be very salty, therefore taste the soup and add salt only if necessary. Remove the rosemary. Add the pasta and cook for the time indicated by the manufacturer, checking for readiness from time to time. Pasta is ready when al dente (firm but not too soft or overcooked). Transfer to individual serving bowls and top with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Serve warm. -------------------------------------------------- Venison America Premier Supplier of American Farm-Raised Gourmet Game and Specialty Food. http://html.chef2chef.net/goto.php?id=147 -------------------------------------------------- Fettuccine alla Papalina (Fettuccine in the Pope's Style) Fettuccine with Eggs and Bacon An unknown cardinal of modest habits was served this dish in a small trattoria in Rome. The cardinal became Pope Pius XII, and the dish was then dedicated to commemorate this event. 4 oz (115 gr.) butter 1 large scallion, finely chopped 4 oz (115 gr.) prosciutto, diced 3 eggs 4 oz (120 gr.) parmigiano reggiano cheese, freshly grated 2 tablespoons heavy cream Salt and pepper 1/2 lb. (225 gr.) dry egg fettuccine noodles or freshly made fettuccine. Fill a stockpot with water and bring to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, place half of the butter in a frying pan. Turn the heat to medium. When the butter starts foaming add the scallion and prosciutto. Sauté until the scallion is soft. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, half of the parmigiano cheese, and the cream. When the water comes to a boil, add salt and cook the fettuccine, checking for readiness from time to time. In a skillet large enough to contain the pasta, put the rest of the butter and turn heat to medium. When the butter begins foaming, add the egg mix, toss quickly and add the sautéed prosciutto, salt and pepper. When the pasta is al dente, (firm but not too soft or overcooked), drain the pasta and drop it over the egg mix in the skillet, tossing thoroughly. Top with the rest of the parmigiano cheese and serve at once. -------------------------------------------------- Jerky of the Month Club Do you know someone who just loves Beef Jerky? Of course you do, everyone does! Now you can give the gift that keeps on giving. Members of the Jerky of the Month Club receive a new flavor of Jerky delivered right to their door every month for 6 months! After all the Hoopla of the holidays is over, be remembered every month when your present arrives to the member. And Santa will thank you for helping to keep his sleigh load down! http://html.chef2chef.net/goto.php?id=172 -------------------------------------------------- Saltimbocca alla Romana Veal Scaloppine with Prosciutto and Sage Saltimboccas are veal scaloppini prepared very simply by assembling together slices of tender veal, prosciutto, and fresh sage leaves. "The name means ‘jump into the mouth' the idea being that saltimbocca is so delicious that [it] prompts you almost by its own volition to pop a piece of it in without hesitating for an instant," as Waverly Root, famous journalist and food writer describes them. While there are many variations on this dish with the addition of cheese or Marsala wine, we opted for the simplest recipe, as it is cooked in Roman kitchens. 2 oz. (60 gr.) flour Salt 4 veal scaloppini slices, about 1 lb. (approximately 450 gr.) 4 prosciutto slices, approximately 3 oz (80 gr.) 4 leaves of fresh sage 2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons (40 gr.) butter Pepper 1/2 cup (120 cc) dry white wine Put the flour on a large plate and add a pinch of salt. Dredge the veal slices in the flour, so that they are all well covered on both sides. Shake away the excess flour. Place a slice of prosciutto and a leaf of sage on each piece of meat. Secure the three together with a toothpick. In a large frying pan, put the oil and the butter, and turn the heat to medium. When the butter begins foaming, place the meat in the pan, add salt and pepper and fry gently on both sides until light brown. Add the wine, turn the heat to medium high and let the wine evaporate. Place on individual plates, covering the slices with the sauce and serve warm. Scaloppini are very popular in Italy, but in the United States it is quite difficult to find a butcher who knows how to properly cut them. Scaloppini are thin slices of veal cut from the top round, and the slices should be cut across the vein of the muscles so that the fibers of the meat are short and the meat is tender. If they are cut along the vein, as they usually are in the States, the meat curls and toughens while cooking. To help prevent the meat from toughening, make the slices very thin and thump them with a meat pounder. -------------------------------------------------- QUESTIONS, Comments, Technical Support: http://forums.chef2chef.net |
