February 11, 2008

Thick hot chocolate


Mangia tanto cioccolato! (Have lots of chocolate) said one of my best friends to me when she knew I was moving to Canada and its freezing winters. And I can't think of anything better than hot chocolate to warm up your spirit during an extremely cold winter day. I love when the hot chocolate is creamy, thick and rich. Almost as thick as chocolate fondue, like the ones you can have in Spain, or the hot chocolate I used to drink every morning during a stay in the wonderful mountains of Valle d'Aosta in Northern Italy. Finally, adding mini marshmallows to this thick hot chocolate is the perfect American twist.

Ingredients (serves 2 big cups)
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 3/4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 Tbsp good quality cocoa powder
1 tsp orange blossom water
mini marshmallows

Mix the milk, the cream and the orange blossom water. Pour this mixture in a saucepan and heat it over medium heat. When the milk is warm, pour in the cocoa powder and the chocolate chips and whisk until the chocolate is melted. Serve with a handful of mini marshmallows.
Posted by Daziano at 10:10 PM | 0 comments  
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February 10, 2008

Prosciutto and Asiago cheese panini


You don't have to use a panini maker in order to make an Italian panini. In fact, you don't even have to grill it because in Italy panino is just the word you use to say sandwich. Actually, I first saw the idea of grilled panini in France, and usually what you really get in Italy is a wonderful local bread roll with cheese and prosciutto or salami. Simple and delicious. As simple and tasteful as my prosciutto and asiago cheese panini, a mixture of Italian flavors with a wonderful crispy cheese focaccia from Liguria, some Asiago cheese from Veneto and, of course, paper-thin slices of prosciutto di Parma from Emilia-Romagna.

Ingredients
1 thin focaccia bread (8")
5 ounces prosciutto
3 diced Roma tomatoes
4 ounces Asiago cheese
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Just cut the focaccia and layer the prosciutto, the cheese and the diced tomatoes. For the tomatoes, remove the seeds first. Add some olive oil, a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. You can eat it just like that, but you can also heat it in the oven at medium high temperature for a couple of minutes until the cheese is melted. Fresh Asiago cheese, also known as Asiago pressato, is made with whole milk so it is really buttery and creamy, and since it is not aged more than 40 days it has a delicate sweet flavor which complements the salty prosciutto and it melts just like heaven!


Posted by Daziano at 2:46 PM | 0 comments  
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January 29, 2008

Grilled Asparagus Pizza


I love grilled asparagus. They are really simple to make and they taste delicious, and by grilling them you are able to get their full flavor without losing any crispiness, and you can't get that by simply boiling them. And prosciutto wrapped asparagus is definitely one of the best ways to taste both prosciutto and asparagus, because of the buttery prosciutto heavenly melting in your mouth just in every bite of each asparagus. And that's exactly what we will use to top my grilled asparagus pizza.

Ingredients
Pizza dough (for one 15" pizza use half of one of these recipes)
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
8 asparagus stalks
8 slices of prosciutto
8 cherry tomatoes, sliced
Olive oil
Salt, pepper

As always, once you're done with the pizza dough, stretch it on the pizza pan. Cut the tomatoes into about 1/4-inch-thick slices and toss them on top of your dough. Add the parmesan cheese, some olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook until the crust turns golden brown (about 25 minutes in a 450°F preheated oven). While you're cooking the pizza, clean the asparagus, chopping off their ends. Marinate with olive oil, salt and pepper for a couple of minutes. Set your grill at medium heat and grill the asparagus for about 5 minutes. I used my panini grill, so it wasn't necessary to grill each side. And, if you don't have a grill, just put the asparagus on a baking dish in the oven for 15 minutes. When the asparagus are ready, let them cool for a couple of minutes and then wrap them using one slice of prosciutto for each asparagus stalk, taking care to not cover the tips. When your pizza is golden brown, take it out of the oven, put the asparagus on top and add just a touch of olive oil before serving.


Tip: Prosciutto wrapped asparagus are not only a wonderful pizza topping but a great starter and a great side dish too!
Posted by Daziano at 8:58 PM | 0 comments  
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January 28, 2008

Elbows Pasta with Saffron


If you like Mac&Cheese you'll love this recipe, even if there's no cheese here! In fact, you'll be surprised with the cheesy texture that this saffron sauce has.

Ingredients
1 pound Elbows pasta
2 tsp Saffron threads
2 tsp peperoncino
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup white wine
1 garlic clove
1/2 stick of butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt, pepper

Melt the butter using a large saucepan over medium heat. When it is melted, add the peperoncino and the shallots and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook for another 2 minutes. Boil the pasta following the label instructions. While you're boiling the pasta, add the heavy cream, the olive oil, the garlic and the saffron threads. Let it reduce and when the pasta is ready just toss the drained pasta over the saucepan, stir and serve! If you want to add a bit more flavor, replace 1/2 cup of the heavy cream with 1/2 cup of chicken broth.

Posted by Daziano at 5:49 PM | 0 comments  
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