Cotechino Con Lenticchie

Cotechino Con Lenticchie

I thought I would make this infamous Italian New Years Eve dish for my family this year. It turned out great and hopefully I will reap great rewards this year. It is a simple and delicious dish.

Place 6 cups of water into a large sauce pan bring to a boil and stir in a table spoon of course salt.

Once the water is boiling add 8 ounces dried lentils, 2 whole peeled garlic cloves and 12 fresh sage leaves.

Let these ingredients boil for about 25 minutes or until tender. Then drain in an appropriate colander.

Once the lentils are drained place them in a large bowl and marinate with 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and some balsamic vinegar. I say some because I used about a 1/4 cup but it should be to taste. You may like a little less. Also add fresh ground pepper and course salt to taste.

Thoroughly mix the lentils and set aside. Fill a large sauce pan half way with water. Remove packaging from cotechino sausage. It was a challenge to find this particular type of sausage. The better Italian delis carry them. Take your paring knife and poke small holes in the sausage. You could use 2 sausages if you like. They are very good. Place the sausage in the sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boils this sausage about 1 1/2 hours.

Remove the cotechino sausage from the pan. Remove the casing and slice into 1/4 inch slices. Places slices on top of lentils on a large platter or dish.

This dish will bring you money and luck in the coming year!

Happy New Year!!

James Bond Martinis "Nobody Makes Them Better"

James Bond Martinis

I have been making these martinis for maybe 2 years now and I have a small following. Anyone who has tried my martinis usually comes back for more. I started with a basic recipe but over the course of drinking them I have tailored them to what my family likes. You may want to make them a bit dryer and that is ok, just add one more measure of gin. I like them extra dry but that is just my preference, more gin less vodka.

If you want to be Daniel Craig Authentic you will need Gordon's Gin but on the spur of the moment gin will work. I use 2 measures gin, 3 measures vodka and 3 measures Kina Lillet. The only place I have found the Kina Lillet so far is Bevmo. The one in San Bruno is a good one. Joe Silva's daughter works there and she will help you make the right selection. She is a very helpful nice lady.

Ok, fill your shaker with ice.

Add 2 measures of gin, 3 of the Grey Goose Vodka and 3 measures of the Kina Lillet. Then close the shaker and make sure you sake it. He likes it "Shaken not stirred" remember!

Ok, you're almost there. Now get 2 martini glasses and spear 2 martini olives with toothpicks. These olives can be purchased at Bevmo also. They are pitted green olives marinated in light vermouth. These olives are a must and really finish off the martini with a fine silky touch. Pour the martini into the glass and wella! "The James Bond Martini".

Enjoy and Happy New year!!

Torta Di Riso

Torta Di Riso

This dessert has been a  favorite in my family for as long as I can remember. My grandmother used to make it mostly for the holidays. It is well known in the Lucca and Pisa area.

The Crust (la pasta) is not just a vehicle for the filling but has a rich sweet flavor of it's own. The rice filling just adds to it. It is a bit complicated to explain but eating the crust is more like eating biscotti than a plain pie crust. You will have to try it for yourself. It goes great with coffee after a holiday meal. We like it for breakfast.

For the crust you will need to take 2 1/2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder and sift them. I sifted them the old fashioned way and it took some time.

Set this aside and take 1 stick of sweet butter and half a cup of sugar and mix them in a mixer until light and fluffy.

While this is mixing you will need to grate the rind from one lemon. Also you will need 1 egg plus 1 yolk. Once the butter and sugar are fluffy pour in the eggs, lemon rind, one teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of rum.

Once the wet ingredients are mixed in you will mix in the siffted flour and baking powder.

Once the ingredients are well blended cover the dough and place it in the refrigerator for about an hour. This pastry dough can also be made the day before and will keep for at least a day in the refrigerator.

While the pastry dough is resting it is time to work on the filling (il ripieno).  Take 1 and 3/4 cups of milk and a 1/2 cup of arborio rice in a heavy sauce pan on high heat bring to a simmer not quite a boil. Be careful here not to boil over. It can happen very quickly. Cover and lower the heat, cook for 20-25 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when rice is firm but tender stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar and let cool.

While the rice is cooling you can prep the rest of the ingredients for the filling. You will need 2 and 1/2 ounces of grated semisweet chocolate, 3 table spoons finely chopped candied citron a grated zest of 1 orange and a 1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts. If you have one of the new zester tools now is the time to use them. It makes grating the orange zest and chocolate much easier. Be careful when toasting the pine nuts. They will quickly go from lightly toasted to burned.

Now that the rice is cooled you will add the rest of the ingredients. Stir in 1/4 cup of the toasted pine nuts, 3 tablespoons of the chopped candied citron, 2 eggs beaten, the orange zest, 2 1/2 ounces of the grated chocolate and 2 table spoons of rum.

Mix all the ingredients for the filling to an even consistency and set aside for about 1 hour. Now it's time to remove the pastry dough from the refrigerator and roll it out to about 1/8 of an inch. You will want to separate the dough in half and place the half on a floured surface. Flour the rolling pin as well. Place this roller dough on a buttered 12 inch pie tin or glass baking dish. You should have some dough hanging over the sides. Once the dough is in the dish place the filling on the dough. You will then take a knife and scallop cut the dough around the dish then fold over the scalloped dough on to the filling.

You will now roll out the second half of the dough and use this rolled out dough to cut the lattice that covers the torta.

I had some crust left over so I took some apricot and grape jam, placed it in the center of the rolled out left over dough and I made a crostata. The crostata added another dimension to this dessert.

Once the lattice was done I baked it in a preheated 325 oven for about 30 minutes. You do not want to overcook it so when the crust starts to turn a light brown the torta is done, like wise for the crostata.

Buon Appetite