Pizza Rustica
Pizza Rustica (Italian Easter Pie)
Filling
2 cups cooked, smoked ham, cubed
2 cups cooked Italian sausage, sliced
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, cubed or shredded
1/2 cup chopped parsley
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 cup Ricotta cheese
3 eggs, uncooked
Salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste
Mix all chopped ingredients in large bowl
Place uncooked eggs and Ricotta cheese in blender container and mix on medium speed for about 1 minute
Add to the chopped ingredients and combine well
Crust
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups hot tap water
Place flour and salt in large bowl
Combine hot water, oil and yeast in measuring cup with a fork
Add to flour and mix well
If dough is dry, add water as necessary
If dough is too sticky, add flour, one tablespoon at a time
Knead until dough forms ball
Leave in the bowl in warm place to rise until double in volume
Punch down before rolling
Divide dough in half and roll to fit a large pie pan or 15-inch pizza pan
Place one circle on bottom of pan
Top with the filling, pressing out all air pockets
The pie will look too full
Top with remaining dough
Trim around pan with knife leaving about 1 inch extra all around
Press edges to seal and tuck sealed edge in all around pan
Prick top with fork several times to make air holes
Bake in a preheated oven at 400 deg F for 20 minutes, then reduce oven temp to 350 deg F and bake an additional 30 minutes
Serves 6 to 8
Cannoli Hope
Cannoli Hope
Posted by LladyRusty at recipegoldmine
com on 1/29/2002, 1:47 pm
Source: WQED Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Magazine – by Chris Fennimore – wqed
org
My Aunt Amelia (actually my grandmother’s sister) joined our family almost every Sunday for dinner
Since she didn’t contribute to the making of the meal, she “did her share” by jumping up before anyone else to start the dishes and by bringing with her a box of pastries from the pasticceria near her house
After the table was reset for dessert, the white twine around the box was ceremoniously cut and we gathered around to see what constituted that week’s assortment
There might be a rum-soaked baba or some sfogliatelli with their crispy layers and cheesy filling
But I had my heart set on cannoli
For my young palate, there was nothing more pleasing or satisfying than that gossamer smooth cream, infused with the flavors of candied orange and chocolate bits, encased in the crunchy, bubbled shell
One day, my mother decided to make a batch of cream puffs
For the filling, she sweetened ricotta cheese with confectioners’ sugar, flavored it with rum and vanilla, and mixed in chocolate bits and chopped candied orange peel
I couldn’t resist dipping in a spoon and having a taste
That is the moment that destined me to love cooking
It was exactly the same cream as in the cannoli from the bakery!
I realized that it was possible to make the foods you love to eat
It sounds so simple — and yet it was a revelation filled with power
If you can make it, then you can make as much as you want, whenever you want
Mom made her cream filling several times a year for special occasions
We even bought her a set of the wooden dowels used to shape the cannoli skins for deep-frying
Since I’d just as soon have my cream served in a bowl with a spoon, I’ve forsaken the difficult-to-handle dough for the tubes and fashion them instead from pizzelles
Hot off the griddle, they can easily be shaped into tubes, crunchy cups or cones and you don’t have to wait for your Aunt Amelia to come over for dinner
Pizzelles
1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)
3 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Ricotta Cream
2 pounds ricotta
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon rum or brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup candied orange peel, chopped
1/4 cup miniature chocolate bits
Pizzelles: Have ready a wooden dowel about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter
I cut up a wooden dowel into 5-inch lengths
Heat your pizzelle maker according to manufacturer’s directions
Melt and cool the margarine
Beat the eggs and sugar until light yellow and fluffy
Add the vanilla, and gradually stir in the melted margarine
Sift together the flour and baking powder
Add to the liquid mixture slowly while stirring, until the batter is even
Drop a teaspoonful of batter onto the pizzelle iron and cook about 30-40 seconds
Repeat until batter is used up
When you remove the pizzelle from the iron, wrap it around a wooden dowel and allow to cool until firm
Remove the dowel and store tubes in an airtight container until ready to fill
After filling, if desired, dips ends into about a 1/4 cup of chopped nuts (we used pistachios) or chocolate jimmies
Ricotta Cream: Put the ricotta in a strainer over a bowl and allow to drain in the refrigerator overnight
Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar, rum and vanilla extract
Pass the mixture through a fine sieve or a double layer of cheesecloth
Stir in the finely diced orange peel and the chocolate bits
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve
Servings: 48
Stir-Fry Chicken & Broccoli
Stir-Fry Chicken & Broccoli
1 pound chicken breast strips
2 Tbspvegetable oil
4 cups vegetables (broccoli florets,
pepper strips, sliced water chestnuts)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 Tbspsoy sauce
2 Tbspcornstarch
2 tpss brown sugar
1 tps garlic powder
3/4 tps ground ginger
Stir-fry chicken in hot oil in a large skillet until browned
Add broccoli, pepper & water chestnuts; stir-fry until crisp-tender
Mix broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, garlic powder & ginger; add to skillet
Bring to boil; boil one minute
Serve over rice
Serves 4