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Cappelletti and What Time Is Midnight Mass?
A Vino Aperitivo for the Season
It’s early on Christmas Eve when the phone rings in the parish office, and the caller asks “What time is Midnight Mass?” Honest. Every year at parishes around the world inquiring minds want to know. A friend who was a parish administrator herself said that she fielded dozens of such calls every Christmas. We all chuckled at the goofy question. And every Christmas Eve morning I called my friend at work, put on my silliest, most heavily accented voice and asked the very same question. I could hear the hesitation in her voice while she figured it out, and then she replied “And Merry Christmas to you too, Miss Adri.” It was our very own Christmas greeting.
But Christmas Eve Midnight mass presents its own logistical problems. What do you serve before Mass? We’ve eaten a big feast just hours before, but by the time 10 PM rolls around, as the rest of the relatives arrive for a visit and the drive to the family parish, everyone is ready for “a little something” to tide us over. Somehow when I think of Mass, and what to drink, I think of Italian vermouth – served straight up in a pretty etched glass. But it is Christmas, and that should have you seeing and serving red, the festive kind, crimson with citrus and herbal notes. I know. You think I am talking about Campari, or perhaps Aperol. Nope. Allow me to introduce you to Cappelletti. It’s not the Bridge convention, nor is it Modena’s famous pasta, the “little hats” bathed in capon broth so popular at this time of year. Read the remainder of this entry »
Stuffed Tomatoes Redux – Pomodori Ripieni
More with Fonte di Foiano Pendolino Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Stuffed tomatoes are the quintessential summer dish, and they are easy to put together. They are perfect for any meal, casual or elegant, and are incredibly versatile, moving easily from day into night. Serve them with a crisp green salad and white wine for an elegant lunch or as a starter for a more elaborate dinner. You can use large, medium or small tomatoes, what ever suits your fancy. Read the remainder of this entry »
Garganelli – Maccheroni al Pettine
Emilia-Romagna is the home of world famous sfoglia, rich fresh egg pasta rolled paper thin. From that divine pasta comes garganelli.
Ridged tubes of pasta formed from a square of pasta rolled around a bastoncino (stick), and passed over a ridged tool known as a comb or pettine (PEH-tee-nay), garganelli are one of my favorites, both to eat and to make. Read the remainder of this entry »
Corzetti Stampati agli Spinaci con Gorgonzola
Spinach Corzetti with Gorgonzola Sauce
This is Part 3 of a series – The Corzetti Files
For detailed information and photo essays on how to make corzetti, along with recipes, please delve further into The Corzetti Files:
Edible Art, The Corzetti Files – Part 1
The Intagliatore of Chiavari, The Corzetti Files – Part 2
Corzetti agli Spinaci con Gorgonzola, The Corzetti Files – Part 3
Where to Buy Corzetti Stamps, The Corzetti Files – Part 4
Corzetti Stampati – and a Giveaway! The Corzetti Files – Part 5
Well, it is all about Christmas now, and that means special pasta dishes. In years past I have served filled pastas such as ravioli, caramelle, or sometimes tortellini, but this year I decided to break with tradition and serve corzetti stampati, Liguria’s embossed pasta coins. Also known as croxetti, these embossed pasta circles have a history that stretches back to the glory days of La Serenissima Repubblica di Genova, The Serene Republic of Genoa, an independent state based in present day Liguria. I thought green corzetti would be particularly in keeping with the season, so I decided to make spinach pasta dough for them.
Corzetti are cut using a most ingenious two piece wooden tool, la stampa. The bottom of one piece is used like a cookie cutter to cut a round piece of pasta. The top of the cutting piece and the bottom of the second piece are artfully carved and are used to imprint the pasta coins. Read the remainder of this entry »
Pumpkin Lasagne ai Quattro Formaggi
Pumpkin Lasagna with Four Cheeses
This one needs a Family Tree. So here goes. I have been a fan of Domenica Marchetti for quite some time. Lucky me, I won a copy of her newest book, The Glorious Pasta of Italy from Paula Yoo of Write Like You Mean It. (Great name, Paula. Great site.) I had just begun to give the book some serious reading when David Leite of Leite’s Culinaria included Domenica’s recipe for Pumpkin Lasagne in his Weekly Update. (If you do not already subscribe, sign up for a wealth of information.) And as if I needed any more convincing, Kathy included the recipe in her Food Lover’s Odyssey (another site not to be missed) Top 10 Italian Recipes from Around the Web. See what I mean about the Family Tree?
I had been looking for something different for a first course for Thanksgiving when the Pumpkin Lasagne recipe caught my eye. Lasagna, why not? What surprised me was that the pumpkin puree is in the pasta, not between the layers. By the way – don’t be thrown by lasagne ending with an “e”. The name of this recipe refers to the multiple sheets of pasta known individually as lasagna. The final “a” of Italian feminine nouns changes to “e” in the plural. Mystery solved. Read the remainder of this entry »