Daddy's Pinoli Cookies

Special note: As many of you have heard, my Dear Father, Rito Cioffi of Scarsdale, New York, passed away from Heart Failure complications on November 18, 2012.  Only a short month ago, he had asked me to make these cookies for him at Christmas.  Strange that I have never made these cookies before.  They  are so readily available in the New York area and my Uncle is in the Pastry and cookie business.  He still insisted I make them.  I promised I would, so here they are.  There is a sense of peace for me  that comes from life's simple pleasures.  He told me that day, they will make us feel better.    Who knew?  These are for you Daddy!    I will be making them again upon my Mother's arrival on Thursday. I can't Wait.  Buon Natale! Merry Christmas!



Ingredients:
8 ounces almond paste Made fresh or available out of can (See previous post on Home Made almond Paste). DO NOT USE THE TUBE VARIETY.
1/2 cup all purpose
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
approx. 8 ounces pinoli loose in a bowl
2 large egg whites
Method:
In a bowl of a food processor, pulse your almond paste a few seconds to break apart. Then add your sugars and pulse. Cover the top of your bowl while you do this for a few seconds. Slowly add your egg whites with your machinue running on low. In a few seconds, notice your mixture softening and creamy. Set aside for few minutes in the refrigerator if it looks to creamy. You should be able to pick it up with your fingers. If yo yu can't, add some more flour. It's very forgiving. Wet your hands some. Using a tablespoon, scoop up some of the mixture. Using your hands, roll lightly and flatten. Pass the cookies in the pinoli. The pinoli will stick to the cookie. Don't worry about the mess. They will not burn if you keep an eye on them. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet / several inches apart. I made about 20, 1-1/2 inch cookies.
Bake in a 300F, preheated oven for 25-27 minutes. The bottoms should be golden, but your tops should be a lighter color. You will also notice a slight crackling of the cookie itself.  Do not worry, let cool and Enjoy!
Pass the Amaretto please!
(Please watch that cooking time, as ovens will vary).
Thank you to Italian Food Forever for the Reminder and a great recipe post that made me give this a test and a try. I have tweeked it just a bit. You know how I love tradition here at Sunday at the Giacometti's. This recipe can be made Gluten free too. Omit the Flour entirely if you like. You will not get a fluffy cookie, but it will still be delicious. Buon Natale! 

Triple Citrus Panettone . . . Fragrant Bread with a Tender Crumb

A few short weeks ago, I was sitting in a dim and cozy restaurant gabbing with my pastry-school pal, Michelle. She'd just handed me about six luscious pounds of thin couverture-chocolate disks that she'd acquired wholesale through one of her mysterious culinary connections. Two big bags of the disks were parked on the table when the waitress came over to greet us. She glanced curiously at the bulging sacks and said, "What's this?"

I think she may have feared we brought our own bag-lunch because, for an instant, she got that wary-waitress gleam in her eye. You know the gleam I mean? Anyway, Michelle, who is smart as a whip and takes no guff from anyone, quipped, "I'm a drug dealer." Then after a pregnant pause she added, "It's chocolate."

The waitress immediately chuckled, smiling in understanding. Chocolate. Of course. We were speaking the universal language.

One of the nicest benefits of attending culinary school has been the opportunity to meet kindred spirits, Michelle being one of them. It was from her that I got the notion to make panettone this Christmas season. (Michelle, you constantly generate good ideas for baking and pastry shenanigans. I love that about you!) 

And, I had another incentive to make panettone this holiday season as well. I received a complementary case of chopped candied fruit a couple of weeks ago from the Paradise Fruit Company of Plant City, Florida. I'm pretty sure I yelped in surprise when I unsealed that cardboard carton only to find all those containers of candied orange peel, lemon peel, citron, and crystallized ginger. I don't know what I thought might be in there, but it wasn't candied fruit.

I opened one of each. They all looked and smelled so fresh. I tried citron first. I'd never tasted citron before, candied or otherwise, and the first thing I noticed is that it's beautifully translucent. Light shines right through.

As I nibbled each variety of fruit, my preconceived candied-fruit notions were blown out of the water. All of the lovely, sticky, little cubes were so bright. The orange- and lemon-peels were so chewy, and the candied ginger was just right--not too peppery, and not at all bitter.

I'm now officially a candied fruit believer, and panettone is the perfect vehicle for quality candied citrus. Many, many thanks to Paradise Fruit for offering me this wonderful sampling. I love it!

About this recipe . . .

The recipe I chose is pretty elementary compared to the more elaborate, old-school panettone versions out there. This is an I-don't-have-all-the-time-in-the-world-but-I-really-want-to-make-panettone formula. Adapted from a recipe in the latest issue of the King Arthur Flour catalog, this citrus panettone begins with a starter that you toss together the night before.

What did I change? Well, the main recipe calls for 1/4 cup of potato flour, but I didn't have that so I substituted 1/2 instant potato flakes; this is a common substitution used in bread recipes, and not to be feared. I didn't have the special flavoring called for (Fiori di Sicilia), so I made my own tiny mixture of vanilla, lemon, orange, and almond extracts. I didn't have one of those traditional paper panettone pans in the correct size (though I drove around metro Detroit looking for them, to no avail!), so I used two high-sided metal cake pans (6" x 3") and they worked out just fine. And, of course, I rewrote the instructions to reflect exactly what I did.

This panettone is slightly sweet with a gloriously tender crumb of the palest yellow. Yum.

Triple Citrus Panettone
(For a printable version of this recipe click here!)

Yield: Two smaller loaves (mine were 4" tall and 6" wide); or one larger loaf

Ingredients for the starter:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/16 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) cool water

Ingredients for the dough:
2 cups (8.5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup instant mashed-potato flakes (I used Hungry Jack brand, natural flavor; alternately, you can use 1/4 of potato flour.)
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 and 1/4 teaspoons salt (I used fine sea salt.)
2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) lukewarm water
2 large eggs, room temperature
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
A couple drops each of orange extract, lemon extract, and almond extract (enough to equal 1/4    teaspoon total)
1 cup mixture of candied orange peel, lemon peel, and citron, all chopped into very small cubes (I used Paradise Fruit brand; it's already cut to the perfect size.)

Make the starter the night before you make the bread dough:
In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and water. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Leave at room temperature, undisturbed, until the next morning. The starter will get slightly bubbly.

Make the bread dough:
Measure all of the dry ingredients for the dough into a large bowl; whisk them together lightly.

Add in the wet ingredients (except for the candied fruit; that goes in last) and stir until well combined combine.

Mix in the candied fruit until well distributed.

Mix by hand for a couple of minutes (I easily did this by hand with a dough-whisk; you can use a mixer with the paddle attachment, on low speed, if you prefer) then dump the dough out onto a floured surface and gently knead it for another minute or two. It should be soft and sticky.

Put the dough into a large bowl that's been sprayed with vegetable spray or lightly oiled with vegetable oil.

Cover the bowl with a sprayed/oiled piece of plastic wrap, and top that with a lightweight dish towel. Let the dough rise in a warmer-than-room-temperature spot for up to 90 minutes, until it's almost doubled (don't expect to see dramatic rise).

Turn the risen dough out onto a very lightly floured work surface. Gently deflate it. If you're making two smaller loaves, divide the dough now with a bench knife or sharp chef's knife. Shape the dough pieces into smooth balls and pinch closed any bottom seams.

Place the dough balls into pans that have been well greased with shortening (I used two 3"x 6" metal cake pans), or into paper panettone pans. Cover the pans with sprayed/oiled plastic wrap and top that with the lightweight dish towel.

Put them in a warm spot and let them rise for up to 2 hours, until almost doubled.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Remove the plastic wrap carefully so as not to deflate the dough and place the pans in the middle of the hot oven (I placed my pans atop a baking sheet to help ensure the bottom of the loaves wouldn't burn).

Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Continue baking for 15 to 20 more minutes, or until the loaves are deep golden all over. If you're baking one large loaf, you may need to bake for 35 minutes longer.

Remove the finished loaves from their pans immediately and cool them completely on a rack before slicing.

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Pane di Nonno (Grandpa's Italian Bread)

It was a ritual for my grandfather to bring to our home every Sunday some Panella bread.  Bakeries on Sunday were always open.  It was a ritual for so many to stop on Sunday morning after church at the Bakery to pick some fresh bread up  before the traditional Sunday lunch.   Not much was available as far as Italian bread was concerned  in the local supermarkets in the 1970's, even in New York.   Local bread bakeries began expanding their territories and delivering to the local markets in the early 1980's.  Not ever locality was included as there was only so much supply to go around.  Most bakeries would run out early on Sunday morning having sold their supply.    We had almost nothing in Scarsdale, New York, except the local bakery, which was french and not acceptable as they did not carry the Panella bread that we were accustomed to having on the table.    My grandparents lived for years on 116th street and 1st  avenue in Manhattan, where Italian bakeries in the 1970's were plentiful.    My grandfather would arrive so proudly, carrying his bread bag,  as if he himself had baked it.  We would never have a bread plate at the family table, but a lovely Sunday tablecloth, cleaned and pressed for the weekly event.  My grandfather would strategically place the sliced bread at the table with such elegance and grace you didn't dare touch it before lunch.   I must confess,  that when he wasn't looking,  I would get myself a piece and run out of the kitchen!
I learned to make this recently quite by accident. I came across several recipes on the subject and this sounded so interesting,   I just had to experiment some and try it.  I had not come across any good bread   livng here in the Deep South.    For anyone who is craving that long lost Italian bread, and who doesn't have the luxury of living next door to an Italian bakery today, its worth a try. I must admit, living in Tupelo, Mississippi has made me just a little more daring.  This will transport you back in time.


Ingredients:
You will need one food processor for combining your ingredients.  It can be combined by hand.  It does not require as much work as you might think.  Fit your food processor with a dough hook.
One Dutch oven with lid, knob removed.
3 cups of good quality unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup  plus approx. 1/2 warm water (warm to touch)
1 tablespoons  olive oil
2 tablespoons of Cornmeal
Cooking time:  One hour
I have tested many bread recipes. This by far gives the best result. It is rather important that you use a heavy cast iron pot to achieve the best result.  i like to use the food processor method for combining ingredients.  It can be done by hand~ This is my favorite as it can be prepared in such a short time and then left to rise in a warm corner of the kitchen while one is out for the day~ While one is preparing dinner it can be placed in the oven and be ready in one hour~
Combine yeast and 1/2 cup warm water in bottom of food processor bowl and pulse to combine.  Bubbles will form.. Let stand 5 minutes.
Add another 1/2 cup water, salt,  flour and begin mixing. add your remaining water. Add your flour and Mix.   You will see that within 30 seconds your flour will begin to come away from the sides of your mixing bowl and sticky ball will form.   If it still looks dry, add your remaining water a drop at a time.  If you are unsure, remove the lid and press the dough.. it should be somewhat sticky.  It should look rather elastic.  Do not worry if a complete ball is not formed.    Place flour on your hands and remove from bowl onto a floured surface.  Fold over 2 to 3 times into a ball.  You should see a sticky and smooth consistency.  Do not worry if its sticky.
Place in a bowl large enough for the dough to double in size~On a paper towel  add some olive oil and brush or gently rub  your bowl with it.  Place your dough in the bowl.  Brush  the remaining oil over your bread dough.
Cover with plastic wrap and towel.
Place in a dark, warm place like inside a kitchen cabinet.  Let rise for 8-12 hours. .The longer the better.  Overnight is good.
Take you covered pot and place in oven at 450 degrees and bake.  You need to warm up the pot you will be placing your bread in.  The lid causes the air to trap and expand your bread while cooking.  If you want the crispy, bakery  texture, this will work~
8 hours later uncover, you should see it double in bulk.  Do not worry about the bubbles This indicates your yeast is active and doing it's job.  Roll out onto a floured surface.  Fold over into a ball again (Should take a few seconds to do).  Let rest on Counter.  Pat down into a flatter
circle about 8 inches round.   Cover  with a towel.
Be careful and remove your hot pan from oven.
Remove the lid.  Be careful as it is very hot.  Sprinkle one teaspoons of Cornmeal in your pan.  Carefully drop your bread in pan. Do not worry if it looks like your pan is much bigger than your bread dough. It should almost fill the bottom of your dutch oven but only be several inches in height now.   Your bread will expand.
 Sprinkle teaspoon of Cornmeal all over your bread.  Place lid back on pan and place in oven.  Make sure your lid is tight fitting as you do not want the air to escape~
30 minutes with lid on.
Remove lid.  You will see your bread has risen some and is light golden.   Let cook approx 30  more minutes without the lid.    You will see the bread turn golden brown.
Remove from Oven. Carefully remove the bread.   Let cool.   Use your fist to Knock on top of the bread.  It should sound hollow almost. You will also hear the bread cracking as it cools down~  A very good indication of Success ~
Enjoy and Buon Appetito~

Sicilian Amaretti Cookies (Almond Cookies)

Get ready~ These almond cookies will take you back in time for sure! Consistency is everything here. I tested three recipes, with slight variations.  I do not think my grandmother or mother were worried to much about exact amounts.  They just cooked.  My mother said I should have added some Pinoli~ hehe I thought I would keep this strickly Sicilian~
This is a great holiday cookie.  You can make it as large or as small as you like.  My first intention was to prepare a small enough cookie to make my chocolate Truffles.  That did not happen until the third try. (That is a future post).  
 Make sure your batter is thick and sticky but not runny. If you need to, add more ground almonds.  If you are using almond flour, add some freshly ground almonds as your batter should look more like cormeal rather than flour. 
Preheat your oven to bake: 350 degrees.   

INGREDIENTS:
5 CUPS OF SLIVERED ALMONDS/ SHOULD YEILD 3 CUPS OF FLOUR.  Grind in your food processor for about 30 seconds or so.  Your ground meal should resemble corn meal.  It is not necessary to sift anything but you can.  I sifted my powdered sugar.  If you see any larger pieces of almonds on the bottom of your mixing bowl, just save those for another recipe.  Be sure you have 3 cups of ground meal.

3 cups almond / meal/ or almond flour
1 cup plus 3/4 cup confectioners sugar/ sifted
4 large egg whites/ whipped to stiff peaks with 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
 In a bowl combine your flour and confectioners sugar.  Whip your egg whites with a pinch of your confectioners sugar and add your almond extract.  Set aside.  Combine your flour/sugar mixture into your egg whites and with a spatula mix gently, a little a time.  Keep going until your mixture is thick, sticky and combined.  It should be somewhat dry.  Do not worry.  This is normal.  If its to runny, add more almond flour.  It must mix and come away from the sides of your bowl.  Do not worry if you are adding up to a half a cup of flour or more.   This method is very dependent on what you see and how large your eggs really are.  This will vary. Do not panic.  It will work.
On a parchment lined baking sheet, use a teaspoon and spoon a helping of your batter onto your baking sheet.  They should be equal to 2 teaspoons, but you can make them as large or as small as you like. Just remember to watch them in the oven.  Continue, two inches apart, as fast as you can.  I actually rolled it in my hands into balls, like you would meat balls. They should hold together.  Be sure and place your hands in some almond flour before handling your cookie batter.  They won't stick to your hands as bad.  You don't want it to be runny or your cookies will be to flat.  They will still be good. This is what happened on this cookie.   Continue and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees or until your cookies are very lightly golden.  They will burn easily so be careful and take care to keep an eye on them.  When you see cracks across the tops, they are done.

BATTER

                             

They must cool completely before handling them.  Give them at least 15 minutes to cool or they will break.   Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top and serve~ Buon Appetito.

Birthdays, Nerf Bullets, and Snow!

Quote of the Day:  The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? J. B. Priestley

It looks like we got about six inches!

 

Minnesota is beautiful after a snowfall.

 

Leo is hesitant to go out, despite his snow camo!

 

I think the first snowfall of the year brings out the best in people. The gals at the coffee shop were wearing their holiday hats and were as cheerful and Christmas elves. Drivers were being cautious. Of course, it was a Sunday, so people weren't in too much of a hurry. The Chef came over on Saturday and in anticipation of the big snowfall, took a look at my snowblower. He thought it might be too gummed up to run properly. We used it just once last year because we had such a mild winter. So, we hauled it over to a nearby shop where they fixed it for $2.00!  Merry Christmas! All it needed was to have some fresh gas run through it.

 

 

We also celebrated second son's birthday this weekend. He's a Pearl Harbor Day baby. He had some friends over on Saturday night, and his auntie Joy baked him a most delicious chocolate cake, from scratch!

 

He's 15, not 10. That's all the candles I had.

 

We spent the snow day, Sunday, indoors rearranging furniture, cleaning, and decorating a little. We found Nerf bullets in every nook and cranny! We still need put up the tree and decorate for the holidays. In the later afternoon, I asked the Birthday Boy to go out and use the snowblower. He went out to the garage, then yelled back into the house, "Mom, come here and look at this!" A kind neighbor had plowed out our driveway! All Zach had to do was shovel the walk and the area in front of the garage doors. Of course, the city snowplow came by around 2:00 a.m. which is great, but it woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep. Also, I'll need to be the first one of the season to use the snowblower and clear out the end of the driveway and the part around the mailbox. Otherwise, they won't deliver our mail. Snow is pretty, but it does create work.

 

Hope all your holiday and winter prep are going well!

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  Do you like snow? What's your favorite holiday song?

 

 

 

 

IWSG December 2012

Quote of the Day:  Words of wisdom from the late Johnny Carson:
I was raised to be humble, but that doesn't really work in show business. You have to have a certain amount of ego to make it. I don't mean, being all cocky, but you have to go out there with a confidence that you are the best. When you go out there, you have to believe that you are great at what you do.

I'm sitting here in my living room, with my cat on my lap, wondering what I have to say to other insecure writers (and artists and anyone who might need a confidence builder), and I'm watching a PBS special on Johnny Carson. He had to believe that he was the best of the best and go out night after night with that confidence. He didn't have room for self-doubt. If he had it, he hid it well.

I heard a professional basketball player say something similar. He said that when he's out on the court, he has to believe that he's the best player out there, then he plays like it.

Do you do your art with that same kind of confidence? Do you say, "This is what I do best. People want to read my words (or see my art, eat my food, hear my ideas, etc.)" You need to. If you can't say it out loud, think it. Write it in your journal or your bathroom mirror. Yours is the first positive voice you hear in the morning. Another way to build your confidence is to truly listen to compliments. Hear what others are saying about your work that builds you up. Keep writing, or making your art, because you don't want to let your followers down.

I've been hearing from fans that they'd like to see another play this spring. I wrote, produced, directed, and acted in my first full-length play last year. I feel pressure to produce something new that is as entertaining, and excitement to do it, as well as the fear of not pulling it off. And, where's the time, for goodness sake?!?!

Mary at the Shante before a performance of "Coffee Shop Confessions"

Will there be a second cup? Double Shot?

It's a mystery.

Go. Create. Inspire!
And, dare to be the best at what you love to do.

(To connect with more bloggers on the list of Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, click on the badge on the right or his blog. We post our IWSG on the first Wed. of each month.)

Journaling Prompt:  Of all your gifts and talents, what do you do the best?

Old-fashioned Girls

Quote of the Day:  Creative Clutter is better than idle neatness. from Pinterest

Creativity takes Courage. Henri Matisse

Creativity is intelligence having fun. Albert Einstein

Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm. Earl Nightingale

I enjoyed finding those quotes on Pinterest this morning!

My first crochet snowflake

 

Since my sister has arrived, we've been to the fabric/craft store about five times. She taught me how to crochet the above snowflake this weekend. I like to knit, but haven't done any crocheting, so it was fun to learn a new way to play with yarn. As we were sitting side by side on the couch, pouring over a pattern we found on 21 Crochet Snowflake Patterns, we were like our aunts and great-aunts who spent their evenings knitting, sewing, and creating things back in the times before tv and computers, facebook and other distractions. It always feels good to make something. It's good therapy, too, time to sit a moment, think, and let your thoughts unravel with the yarn and reform into a new creation.

 

We'll get to the cleaning, furniture rearranging and holiday decorating later this week!

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Have you tried a new craft or hobby lately?