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Ricotta-Punch Abruzzo Ice Cream
One of the saddest casualties of the digital age is surely Gourmet magazine. Of course now I am kicking myself for having discarded all my old issues. I know there must be literally thousands of jewels forever lost to me. However, I remembered a recipe for Ricotta Ice Cream that I had seen in the magazine years ago. Thank heavens that recipe made it onto the digital archives. I used it as a starting point for this ice cream, making a few changes, including adding Punch Abruzzo instead of the rum originally called for.
This ice cream is rich, but not heavy, and the bittersweet chocolate is a nice foil for the citrus and sweet fruitcake notes of the Punch Abruzzo. Punch is one of my favorite liqueurs. I write about it and mention it so often, people ask if I work for the company. In case you too are wondering, the answer is no, I do not work for them. I just love the stuff. Read the remainder of this entry »
My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino with Janet Fletcher
A Book Review
My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy’s Undiscovered South
I have mentioned it before. I am a cookbook addict, an avid collector. I love the genre, and my shelves are overflowing. Positively, absolutely overflowing. The truth is the books have begun a slow walk across the library floor, down the hall to the side of my bed. Ask anyone who knows me, and they’ll tell you. It is only fitting that the books have made their way to my bedside since cookbooks are my preferred bedtime reading. But with all those books I have had to become highly selective with my purchases. This one, however, was the proverbial no brainer. As soon as I heard that Rosetta Costantino had written a book on the cooking of Calabria, I knew I had to buy it. Ms. Costantino was born in Calabria, and at the age of fourteen came with her parents to the United States. She and her family live in Oakland, California where she teaches cooking. Her book was released late last year. I apologize to you all for keeping it to myself. Its 416 pages are filled with the food and culture of Calabria, all from the very personal viewpoint of Ms. Costantino. This collection of recipes, reminiscences and cultural background will have you reaching for your Post-It Flags. Read the remainder of this entry »
Tomato Jam
Crostini with Ricotta and Tomato Jam
Well, I walked out into my garden yesterday morning and I started picking Juliet tomatoes. And I picked. And I picked. By the time I finished I was astounded at the morning’s yield from one plant. And in just a couple of minutes. Astounded, I say. There were four and one-half pounds! First off I reflected on how pleased I was with the yield from my one very productive Juliet plant. Then I got practical. I thought about what I was going to do with them. Ovoid, red, firm and juicy, they are one of my favorite tomatoes. I could eat them out of hand. I could make my favorite eggs for breakfast, Cheesy Eggs, that is. See my older post on the subject. I could share them with neighbors. Or I could do what any cook does in August when faced with abbondanza such as this. Make jam. Yes, indeed. Tomato jam. If you have never had it, stay with me. Tomato jam is sweet, the very essence of tomato. Over the years I have seen many recipes. Some call for nothing more than tomatoes and sugar. Others call for the addition of citrus juice and or zest, red wine vinegar, cinnamon, cumin, chiles de arbol, jalapenos, cloves, ginger, bay leaves, and that is just for starters. Remembering a post about Sicilian Tomato Jam from Judy of Divina Cucina and another from Deborah of Italian Food Forever, I got to work. One thing I love about cooking is looking at another’s work and building upon it. So here with sincere thanks to both Judy and Deborah is my version of Tomato Jam.
Mom’s Sauce
Angela Barra Crocetti
We called her Mom. Her full name was Angela Barra Crocetti. She was my paternal grandmother, and woe betide the individual who addressed her as such. It was Mom. Period. And her husband, Gaetano, well, we called him Pop. That’s just the way it was. Mom was born in Fernwood, Ohio in 1898. My grandfather, Gaetano Crocetti was born in 1894. He left his home town of Montesilvano in the region of Abruzzo, Italy and traveled to Naples in 1913. From there he boarded the Hamburg to sail to the United States of America, arriving at Ellis Island in September. Sponsored by his brothers, he went to live in Steubenville, Ohio, and in 1914 he married Angela Barra. Their firstborn, Guglielmo (William), my father, came into this world in 1916. And his brother Dino followed one year later. Mom was a terrific cook and a terrific grandmother. Uh oh, there’s that word again. She came to visit us, it seems, every day. I remember her driving up in her white Cadillac carrying an impossibly huge buff leather pocketbook. Now that was the treasure chest.
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