easy romano rigatoni

just put this together as i try to use up what i actually have in my kitchen!! it's a jazzed up version of the roman dish, spaghetti cacio e pepe, which uses pasta, romano cheese and black pepper.

romano rigatoni
water
2/3 cup rigatoni
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 cup onions, diced
pepper
1/3 cup diced tomatoes, seasoned with basil and oregano (i used some from a can of italian seasoned ones)
1/4 cup juice from the canned tomatoes
1 tbsp heavy whipped cream
romano cheese, grated


heat a small pot of water on high. when it boils, add the pasta and cook per instructions.

meanwhile, heat a skillet on medium-low. add olive oil, garlic, and onions. when the garlic starts to sizzle, add tomatoes and juice. liberally season with pepper. stir for 3 minutes. then add 1/8 cup romano cheese, let melt, and mix together.

by this time, the pasta should be cooked. strain, and pour pasta into a serving bowl. pour the sauce over pasta and top with a sprinkling of cheese. enjoy! serves 1.

six layer tiramisu

the first tiramisu i tried was in cinque terre, italy, with my study abroad travel buddies. in such a rugged, open natural park, my remembrance of the food is, similarly, straightforward, classic, and for that reason simply stunning. tiramisu is just that: elegant without being pretentious.

for one of our reunion dinners, i decided to try and whip up a quality serving. most recipes are made for a cake-style dessert. why not modify them into cute little individual servings?

traditionally, this italian dessert uses ladyfingers, mascarpone (a sweet, creamy cheese), and rum and coffee flavors. my take on tiramisu uses a brick of angel food cake instead of ladyfingers (because i can't find any at the grocery!), less rum and flavored coffee. this recipe also needs to be made a day early for the flavors to chill, merge, and develop.

--> three parts of tiramisu
typically, there are three major aspects of the dessert: ladyfingers soaked in rum and coffee; a custard made of mascarpone and egg yolk; and a thick whipped cream. it's typically sprinkled with cocoa. wikipedia tells me there is a little controversy over the origins of the dessert, but a friend of mine revealed the origin of the name, "tirami su" to mean in italian "pick me up," which it certainly does! the original recipe allegedly used honey as an ingredient, so let's see how that goes-- why not!

six layer tiramisu
6 egg yolks
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup almond milk
1 pound mascarpone cheese (found in the specialty cheese or italian food section in the grocery store; the brand i used was sold in tubs by the half pound)
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup coffee (divided) (this means actual brewed coffee! so just order a basic cup of joe somewhere and bring it back to your place to go. any blend is good, i ordered a crème brûlée flavor, but make sure there's not a lot of creamer or milk added on)
1 + 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream
2/3 tsp vanilla extract
angel food cake (i used a "brick" sized cake)
1 tbsp rum
1 tbsp amaretto
unsweetened cocoa powder
12 clear plastic punch cups
foil

part A: mascarpone custard (allot an extra hour for this to chill!)
whisk egg yolks, sugar, and both milks together in a medium sized saucepan until blended.
heat over medium. stir constantly and bring to boil.
let boil gently for one minute, then remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes or so.
cover and chill in a plastic tub in the refrigerator for at least an HOUR.
after chilled, pour into a bowl and whisk in the mascarpone, honey, and 1/4 cup coffee until smooth.
refrigerate until you have completed the other parts.

part B: whipped cream
beat cream and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
--> try your best to time this JUST SO. when you get a sudden feeling of resistance from the cream, stop the beater and check the peaks. just lift the [turned off] beaters straight up from the mix. if there are literal peaks that stand on their own, congrats! if they are rounded or melt back down, you need to beat them some more.
set to the side or in the fridge until part C is complete.

part C: cake base
in a bowl, combine the rest of the coffee, rum, and amaretto.
slice and dice the angel food cake into one inch squares. i used about 7 squares per cup, so try for 90-100 just to be safe.
put the squares in another bowl, and pour the coffee sauce on top. the squares should soak up most of the liquids, but if not, stir them around to make sure everything is evenly coated.


now...time to layer! (note that what's listed first is what's on top!!)
(*) a pinch of unsweetened cocoa powder
(6) a spoonful of whipped cream, spread
(5) a smaller dollop of mascarpone custard, spread
(4) 3-4 squares of angel food cake
(3) a spoonful of whipped cream, spread
(2) a large dollop of mascarpone custard, spread (see above photo for a dollop)
(1) 4 squares of angel food cake

let chill in the fridge for a day, covered with foil or saran wrap. should make about 12 servings. then serve and enjoy!

*recipe modified from here. i changed some ratios, added honey and amaretto, and made this a layered, individual serving recipe.

**make it your own: add almond extract, hazelnut syrup to the whipping cream and more amaretto instead of rum; add some seedless raspberry jam to the custard or raspberry syrup to the whipped cream; use maple syrup instead of honey.

lemon basil tortellini salad

this pasta was a merger of two food experts, italy and greece. tortellini, the great stuffed pasta, hails from italy and is often served with cream sauce or soup. i have always liked tortellini, even by itself, but my love forever deepened when i discovered its comforting properties brought out by a ham and cream sauce on a rainy day in venice. on the other hand, the marinade for the chicken is inspired by a sunny day riding an ATV in santorini, greece, using major greek food ingredients (garlic, oregano, lemon).

how do we put them together? by merging! adding the traditional italian seasoning of basil into the marinade gives the chicken some depth, and sharing some lemony love (and olives) with the pasta brings out tangy flavors alongside the vegetables. and of course, a heaping dose of olive oil, which is adored by both countries.

lemon basil marinade
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2.5 tbsp basil leaves, chopped
1 tsp oregano, chopped
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon

mix ingredients together in a large ziploc bag or plastic tupperware container. shake, and set in the fridge for at least 2 hours before cooking. to cook, drizzle a small amount of olive oil into a skillet on medium heat. cook each chicken breast in the oil for about 7 minutes each side, until lightly brown and fully cooked through. no lie, i threw these things together and this chicken was perfectly delicious!

tortellini salad
1 family size package of 4-cheese tortellini
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup of olives, cut into small slices
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp basil, chopped
juice of one lemon

bring a pot of water to boil. add tortellini and cook for about 7 minutes (follow package instructions).

meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat. add garlic, and when the garlic sizzles, add the onion and bell pepper pieces. cook for about 6 minutes. pour veggies and oil into a large bowl, and add the rest of the ingredients. stir well. add the cooked/strained tortellini and the chicken from above (cut into bite sized pieces) if you made it earlier.

with the chicken and veggies, this is enough for 6-7 people. i served it with the fruit and nut salad (see following post!) and easy to make what i call "banilla" cups.

banilla cups (aka banana pudding + vanilla wafers)
no-cook banana pudding mix
milk
heavy whipping cream
mini vanilla wafers

follow the instructions on the pudding box, but instead of using all milk, use half milk and half whipping cream. whisk until it reaches a pudding-like consistency. use small clear plastic cups and layer with wafers and pudding! chill in the fridge until ready to serve. one small box of pudding should make enough for 5-6 servings.

biscotti

i love biscotti. usually i really enjoy baking sweets but don't often eat a lot of them...i like to give them away. but biscotti to me are nice and toasty and go well with coffee or hot chocolate. and, they're not too sweet. so i don't always give them away. :) they can also have a great variety of ingredients like the following:

white chocolate chips

macademia nuts

 

almonds

--> feasting fact: BISCOTTI

the name sounds like biscuit...and it is like a biscuit, although think of the Britishy hard style biscuits in this case. they are "twice-baked" cookies although i like to cook them...thrice. haha. basically you cook the whole slab of dough once as a cookie, and then you cook the sides to make the cookie harder and crunchier. i just like to make things even so i cook them on each side for a shorter period of time. the longer you cook, the crunchier the biscotto. (biscotto is singular; biscotti is plural)

white chocolate macademia biscotti

1 cup butter

1.5 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup amaretto liqueur

4 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup almond slivers or slices

preheat oven to 325 degrees. spray two pans with nonstick cooking spray.

in a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. beat in eggs, vanilla and amaretto.

separately, stir flour, baking powder and salt. add to larger bowl.

add the "toppings": nuts, chocolate chips, and almonds.

divide dough in half. roll each into a log and set in the middle of the pan. (see below for size)

  

bake 20 minutes until light brown. let cool for and cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. (see below) let cool for a few minutes, then arrange slices on their sides and cook for 6 minutes. then flip each piece to its other side and cook for 6 more minutes. the cookie should be light golden brown.

here is how i sliced the bread after it's first jump out of the oven. see how it's slightly diagonal? simple enough.

  

--> feasting fact: mix and match!

you can make this recipe your own by adding different combinations of ingredients. pick two or three of the following, then follow the basic recipe above!

almond slivers or slices (1 cup)

butterscotch chips (1 cup)

cherries, dried (1 cup)

chocolate chips (1 cup)

cinnamon, ground (2 tsp)

cocoa powder, unsweetened (1/2 cup)

cranberries, dried (1 cup)

hazelnuts, chopped (1 cup)

macademia nuts, chopped (1 cup)

orange (1 tbsp orange zest + 2 tbsp orange liqueur or orange juice)

pine nuts (2/3 cup)

walnuts, chopped (1 cup)

white chocolate chips (1 cup)

you can also melt some chocolate and either drizzle it over the cookies or dip the end of the cookie into it. let cool and enjoy! this recipe makes about 30 biscotti cookies.

*this recipe is modified from one of my favorite sites yet again!