Cocktail Americano

Cocktail Americano

The cocktail Americano is a gentle introduction to the unusual, bitter taste of Campari. A true classic cocktail, it was first served in the 1860's at Garspare Campari's bar in Milan, Italy. The Americano was originally name the Milano-Torino because of the origins of it's ingredients, but was later renamed because of its popularity amongst American tourists during prohibition. This cocktail with it's acquired taste, was also the first cocktail ordered by James Bond in the first novel (or the manner in which it was ordered) overshadowed the Americano in the books and movies.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Campari
• 1 oz Vermouth
• Club soda
• Lemon twist or orange slice for garnish

Preparation:

1. Fill a glass with ice cubes.
2. Build with the Campari and vermouth.
3. Top off with club soda.
4. Garnish with the lemon twist or Orange sliced.

Strawberry Caipiroska

Strawberry Caipiroska

1. Ice
2. 2 ounces vodka
3. 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam
4. 1 heaping cup strawberries, hulled
5. 1 tablespoon sugar
6. In a cocktail shaker, muddle all but 1 of the strawberries with the sugar until juicy, add the jam. Add enough ice to fill a rocks glass and top with the vodka. Shake briefly to chill, then pour into a rocks glass. Garnish with the reserved strawberry.

Polenta with cheese and sausage antipasto

Polenta with cheese and sausage antipasto 

One package of pre cooked polenta
Emmental cheese
Your favorite sausage
Nutmeg

Slice the polenta in small squares.  At the top of the polenta squares add the sausage, cheese and then the nutmeg.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

Cherry Thyme Prosecco Cocktail

Cherry Thyme Prosecco Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 bottle of Prosecco or sparkling white wine
• 1 (10-ounce) can of whole cherries (not pie filling, but canned/jar cherries)
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme
• lemon

Instructions

1. Drain the cherry juice into a saucepan. Put the cherries in a jar for later.
2. Simmer the juice and thyme over low heat for about 5 minutes. Take off the heat and let cool.
3. Pour the cooled juice over the cherries.
4. Put about 1 to 2 Tablespoons of the cherry juice in the bottom of a champagne glass. Add one cherry to the glass. Pour the Prosecco over the cherries. Garnish with a small sprig of thyme. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice in each glass. Someone told me once, that lemon is to cocktails as salt is to food. It enhances the flavor. It really makes a difference here.

Caponatina Siciliana

Caponatina Siciliana

Ingredients:

* 1 eggplant (in small cubes)

* 1 onion, chopped

* 3 cloves of garlic, sliced

* ½ yellow bell pepper (in small cubes)

* ½ red bell pepper (in small cubes)

* 4 sticks of celery (in small cubes)

* 2 tomatoes, chopped (in small cubes)

* 1 cup of olives (pitted, in half)

* 2 Tbsp of capers

* ½ cup of balsamic vinegar

* Fresh mint or parsley - a few sprigs

* 2 Tbsp of raw (brown) sugar

* Olive oil (apprx ½ cup)

* Salt & Pepper to taste

Recipe of Caponatina Siciliana:

In a big (heavy bottom) saucepan, heat a few spoons of olive oil and lightly brown the onions and the garlic over medium-high heat.  Add the eggplant, peppers, celery, and capers reducing to a medium temperature (add olive oil if dry).  After 10 minutes add the tomatoes and turn the heating on high (the tomatoes will help "clean" the bottom of the pan).  After 5 minutes add the balsamic vinegar and capers.  Turn the heating off and add the mint, raw sugar, salt and pepper.  You can also add some chilli pepper flakes if you like spice.  Add remainder of olive oil to pan.

Storage of Caponatina Siciliana:
Jar in a sterol mason jam-jar (best for longer shelf-life), or any cleaned and sterilized jar.  Remember to add the caponata slowly to reduce the amount of trapped air and add olive oil to the top, refrigerate.  For the longest shelf-life, follow proper jarring procedures and heat-sealing.  **Prior to serving, remove from refrigerator and spoon into serving bowl, drizzle a little olive oil on top and a little fresh parsley.

Suggestions of use of Caponatina Siciliana:
As a dip with crackers
As a pasta sauce, adding a little tomato sauce
Pasta salad sauce (farfalle, penne, fusilli, any short pasta)

Pepperonata

Peperonata

Ingredients

            5 tablespoon(s) olive oil (good quality)

            1 large onion(s) (thinly sliced)

            1 clove(s) garlic (thinly sliced)

            1 pinch of saffron

            1 pinch of dried chilli flakes

            1 red peppers (de-seeded and sliced into strips)

            1 yellow pepper (de-seeded and sliced into strips)

            1 pinch of sugar

             ½ cup of white vinegar

             Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat 5 tbsp of the olive oil in a wide, shallow pan. Add the onion and fry gently for a few minutes, until it is soft and transculent. You don't want to color the onion.

Add the sliced garlic, chilli flakes and saffron and fry for 1 minute. Add the sliced peppers to the pan, and stir everything together until it is well mixed. Fry for 3-4 minutes until the peppers are just starting to soften.

Add the pinch of sugar, and the remaining tbsp of olive oil. Cover, and cook over a gentle heat for a half an hour, taking the lid off for the last 10 minutes or so to allow the juices to thicken.

Manjar de coco - Brazilian coconut custard

Manjar de coco - Brazilian coconut custard 

For the pudding

3 cups whole milk


½ cup of condensed milk

8 tbsp sugar


2 cups coconut milk


5 tbsp corn starch


1 Bundt cake pan, lightly greased with canola or any flavorless oil

For the sauce

1 ½ cup pitted prunes
6 tbsp sugar


1 & ½ cups water


2 cloves


2 inch cinnamon stick

Mix pudding ingredients together in a pan. Set heat to medium and cook pudding until it thickens to a polenta consistency. Lower the temperature to minimum and simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring it at all times. Transfer mixture to greased Bundt cake pan. Cover with greased plastic film. Let it cool. Turn it upside down onto a nice platter. Refrigerate.

Place dried plums, cinnamon, cloves, sugar and water in a pan. Cook until prunes are soft and the liquid turns syrupy. Discard cinnamon stick and cloves. Let cool. Pour over pudding.

It can be served chilled or at room temperature.

This is super simple and a popular dessert that Brazilians adore.

Caipirinha

Caipirinha

50 ml(1⅔ fl oz) Cachaça

½ lime cut into 4 wedges (or tahiti lime, but not green lemon)

2 teaspoons crystal or refined sugar

Place lime and sugar into old fashioned glass and muddle (mash the two ingredients together using a muddler or a wooden spoon). Fill the glass with crushed ice and add the Cachaça.

A wide variety of fresh fruits can be used in place of lime. In the absence of cachaça, vodka can be used, making a Caipiroska.

Pheasant Sauce for pasta (Ragu bianco di Faraona)

Wondering what to do with a pheasant that you hunted? How to cook a pheasant?

Pheasant Sauce (Ragu bianco di Faraona)

1 cooked and pulled pheasant

1 chopped onion

1 chopped carrot

1 minced clove of garlic

1 cup of dry white wine

1 cup of pheasant broth (the water that you used to cook the pheasant)

1 Tbsp of Dijon mustard

1/4 cup of orange juice

3 Tbsp of butter

Rosemary and Thyme

Salt & Pepper to taste

In a big saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic with butter with a little olive oil. At a low heat, add the pheasant until the skin gets crispy.  Turn the heat on high; add the wine, mustard, broth, juice, herbs, salt & pepper.  Let the sauce reduce and sauté the already cooked pasta in with the sauce.