A Taste of Italy: Risotto

A staple of Italy is risotto, which is a soft rice that has a texture similar to porridge. It was first introduced to Italy by the Arabs who brought it to Sicily where rice flourished because of Italy's flat lands, abundance of water, and humidity. The legend behind risotto goes back to 1564, where a young apprentice of the Gothic cathedral, Duomi di Milano, was in charge of staining glass to make it look decorative. People in town teased the young apprentice for using the spice saffron to create a more colorful color for the stained glass windows. As a joke, the apprentice put saffron in his master's rice, but many people ended up enjoying the rice so much that it became a national dish. Risotto has 4 basic ingredients: soffrito (sauteed vegetables), broth (chicken, vegetable, fish, or beef), flavoring (saffron, mushrooms, truffles, wine), and rice (arborio, vialone, carnaroli). To prepare a good risotto, you need to keep in mind these important things. First, don't wash the rice before cooking it, because it takes away the starch that gives risotto it's soft texture. Second, try to make your own broth to give the risotto a richer flavor. Third, cook the rice for 18-20 minutes to get the right texture and add butter if you want. Here is a delicious mushroom risotto recipe from the Food Network website that takes about an hour to make:

Ingredients

8 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1/2-ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups finely chopped onions
10 ounces white mushrooms, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or short-grain white rice
2/3 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
2/3 cup grated Parmesan Salt and freshly ground black pepper, optional

Bring the broth to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. Add the porcini mushrooms. Set aside until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Keep the broth warm over very low heat.

Melt the butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the white mushrooms and garlic. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the porcini mushrooms to a cutting board. Finely chop the mushrooms and add to the saucepan. Saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and let it toast for a few minutes. Add the wine; cook until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of hot broth; simmer over medium-low heat until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook until the rice is just tender and the mixture is creamy, adding more broth by cupfuls and stirring often, about 28 minutes (the rice will absorb 6 to 8 cups of broth). Stir in the peas. Mix in the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

sources:http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/mushroom-risotto-with-peas-recipe/index.html http://www.annamariavolpi.com/page52.html

A Taste of Italy: Gelato (frozen)

Most say that Bernardo Buontalenti, a native of Florance, invented gelato during the 16th century. He served this sweet creation to many nobles, the most famous was Queen of France Catherine De Medici. Later in 1686, Sicilian born Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli was the first to open a gelato cafe in Paris that quickly became very popular in Europe. Today, many Italians pass down their own style of making gelato from father to son. Gelato is a healthy alternative to regular icecream, because it uses all natural ingredients and less air that gives it an intense flavor. Gelato uses the same ingredients as icecream: milk, sugar, air, and flavorings. There are 2 types of gelato in Italy: milk-based gelato made in northern Italy and fruit-water based gelato made in southern Italy. Most flavors are chocolate, lemon, strawberry, custard, panna cotta, and banana. It's a refreshing dessert after a light meal. Here is a recipe to make chocolate gelato:

Ingredients
2 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
2 1/4 cups whole milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup minus 2 tablespoons superfine granulated sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 large egg yolks

Coarsely chop chocolate. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan bring milk, cream, and about half of sugar just to a simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add cocoa powder and chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Have ready a large bowl of ice and cold water. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat yolks and remaining sugar until thick and pale. Add hot chocolate mixture in a slow stream, whisking, and pour into saucepan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until a thermometer registers 170°F. (Do not let boil.) Pour custard through a sieve into a metal bowl set in ice and cold water and cool. Chill custard, covered, until cold.

Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, 1 to 3 hours. Enjoy!!!!

sources: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Gelato-101903 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelato

A Taste of Italy: Gnocchi

Until the mid 19th century, Italy was made up of city-states (separate kingdom) that occupied the peninsula and even today their government is made of many political parties. The first great ruler of Italy was Charlemagne who brought Frankish culture into Italy and gave power to the Church of Rome. Italy has become a very diverse culture with many cultures over the past who mixed their traditions with Italian customs. Jewish people came during the period of the Roman Republic, then Germanic tribes after the fall of Rome. Then during the 17th century, Austrians ruled Italy's biggest cities, Sicily, where many other cultures have already invaded. Today, each of Italy's regions are different, but linguistically the majority all speak Italian. Food customs, as it is in many countries, are the same, where any guest who visits will always be offered great hospitality and food. Food is a time to catch up with friends and family. Italian cuisine varies on each region, in the north, meals tend to be lighter and in the south, there is richer and heavier cooking. A favorite comfort food of many Italians is a dumpling called gnocchi that has been around since Roman times. Gnocchi can be made with potato flour, wheat flour, spinach, ricotta, or cheese. Gnocchi is pretty simple to make, but to save time, people can buy gnocchi at any local supermarket in the international foods aisle or frozen aisle. Here is a recipe to make a delicious tomato sauce gnocchi (if you don't want to make from scratch, buy frozen gnocchi in any Italian or local supermarket and boil in water):

Gnocchi (potato based)
Ingredients
3 pounds russet potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg, extra large
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup canola oil

Boil the whole potatoes until they are soft (about 45 minutes). While still warm, peel and pass through vegetable mill onto clean pasta board.

Set 6 quarts of water to boil in a large spaghetti pot. Set up ice bath with 6 cups ice and 6 cups water near boiling water.

Make well in center of potatoes and sprinkle all over with flour, using all the flour. Place egg and salt in center of well and using a fork, stir into flour and potatoes, just like making normal pasta. Once egg is mixed in, bring dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed. Knead gently another 4 minutes until ball is dry to touch.

Roll baseball-sized ball of dough into 3/4-inch diameter dowels and cut dowels into 1-inch long pieces. Flick pieces off of fork or concave side of cheese grater until dowel is finished. Drop these pieces into boiling water and cook until they float (about 1 minute). Meanwhile, continue with remaining dough, forming dowels, cutting into 1-inch pieces and flicking off of fork. As gnocchi float to top of boiling water, remove them to ice bath. Continue until all have been cooled off. Let sit several minutes in bath and drain from ice and water. Toss with 1/2 cup canola oil and store covered in refrigerator up to 48 hours until ready to serve.

Tomato Sauce:
Ingredients

1/3 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove

Add 1/3 cup of tomato sauce and simmer in a pan for about 5 minutes. For a delightful addition, add a few slices of porcini mushrooms. Crush the garlic and sprinkle on or add Parmesan cheese, then put into the oven for a few minutes to warm. Enjoy with some fresh fruit juice or lemonade!


sources: http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Italy.html http://www.world-food-and-wine.com/italian-gnocchi.html http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/gnocchi.asp

A Taste of Russia: International Women's Day

One of Russia's most important holidays is International Woman's Day on March 8th. It celebrates the social, political, and economic achievements of woman. The holiday originally began in 1857 with a protest march by textile factory workers in the United States and spread to Russia after the October Revolution in 1917. It marked the achievements of women-workers in the USSR. In 1965, International Woman's Day became a national holiday, where women could take a break from work and maybe from chores, if her husband and children were feeling generous enough. Woman would also receive flowers and small presents from her family. Today, International Woman's Day has lost its feminist flavor and resembles a combination of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. The day before, women bring home bagfuls of presents and flowers, returning late after the now popular corporate parties. The next morning, men crowd the streets, buying presents and flowers and make a big breakfast or lunch. Here is a recipe for a delicious and filling meal perfect for International Woman's Day:

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup beef bouillon or consomme
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup sour cream, mixed with the flour

Brown ground beef in large skillet; add onions, garlic and mushrooms.
Saute until onion is golden brown.
Put in Crock Pot with all remaining ingredients except sour cream and flour.
Stir thoroughly.
Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours (or on High 3 hours).
Stir in sour cream and flour 1 hour before serving.
Serve over hot buttered noodles or rice.

sources: http://www.russianlife.com/article.cfm?Number=1621,

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/print?id=10146

A Taste of Russia: Blini

Blini, similar to a French crepe, is a thin pancake from either white flour, buckwheat flour, cornmeal, but most Russians use wheat flour. In Russia, blini was eaten during pre-Christian times to honor the birth of the new sun, because of the round shape of the blini. Blini was also eaten to honor the dead. Today, blini is still eaten during the week of Maslenitsa (also known as Butter or Pancake Week) as the last week of dairy and egg products before Lent to follow with the Orthodox Church. Blini gets a lot of it's flavor from the different toppings. Some toppings can be sour cream, caviar, butter, honoey, fruit preserves, or smoked salmon. Here is a simple recipe to make a blini that is perfect for a small lunch or breakfast:

Ingredients

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 buckwheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast (not rapid-rise)
1/4 cup warm milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg, separated
Toppings of choice

In a large bowl, mix flours, salt and instant yeast, and make a well in the center.

Pour in milk, mixing until smooth. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Stir cooled melted butter and egg yolk into batter. In a separate bowl, whisk egg white until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter. Cover and let stand 20 minutes.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Drop quarter-size dollops of dough into pan without crowding. Cook for about 1 minute or until bubbles form and break. Turn and cook for about 30 seconds. Cover blini and keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with toppings of choice: red or black caviar, smoked salmon or other fish, chopped hard-cooked eggs, minced red or white onion, sour cream or creme fresh, chopped dill and lemon wedges. Enjoy with some coffee, hot chocolate, or for those who are old enough some vodka.

sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_cuisine,
http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/noodlesdumplings/r/blini.htm

A Taste of Russia: Kvas

Kvas is the most popular drink in Russia, especially during the summer time. During the 19th century, peasants drank kvas very often, some say even more than water. Kvas is also known as "bread drink", but can also be added with fresh fruits and herbs during the spring time. It is usually made with rye, wheat, or malt flour that is boiled in water, then baked in an oven for 24 hours. Then the bread is dissolved in water for 2-3 hours and gets bottled. Kvas has a slightly alcoholic flavor, because of the way the bread is fermented, but the alcohol content is so small that children can drink it. Since the early 16th century, Russians have been drinking kvas for its unique sour taste and high vitamin B content. Today many street vendors sell kvas everywhere in Russia and if you can't buy it in Russia, you can have it shipped over to your home. If you want to try kvas, here is a website that sells it at a very cheap price:
http://www.russianfoods.com/showroom/product01422/vendor003E7/default.asp

Or you can try making it at home (good luck!):

Ingredients

1 lb stale black bread or 1 lb stale pumpernickel bread
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves or 1 tablespoon dried mint leaves
2 tablespoons Active dry yeast
1/4 cup luke warm water

Oven must be preheated to 200 degrees.

Cube the bread and then spread on a cookie sheet and place in oven for 1 hour.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and drop in the bread.

Remove from heat, cover with a towel, and allow to sit at room temperature for 8 hours.

Strain through a fine sieve and press the juice from the bread.

Sprinkle the yeast and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in the cup of lukewarm water and stir to dissolve the yeast completely.

Set aside in a warm place covered by a towel for approx. 10-12 minutes or until. mixture doubles in volume.

Add the mint leaves, and remaining sugar, stir well, then re-cover with the towel and set aside for 8-12 hours more at room temperature.

Again strain the mixture through a fine seive. Pour into a 1 gal. container, add the raisins, cover the top with plastic wrap, secure with a rubber band, and place in cool NOT cold, spot for 4-5 days or until the raisins are floating and the sediment has sunk to the bottom.

Pour off the clear amber liquid and rebottle in a clean jug or bottles. Refrigerate until ready to use.
You can enjoy kvas with a meat and vegetable dish or by itself.

sources:http://ask.metafilter.com/64513/Kvas-recipe,
http://www.traditional-russian-food.com/Kvas.html

A Taste of Russia: Pelmeni

A Russian national dish and favorite is pelmeni. Pelmeni is a type of dumpling that can be filled with different meats like pork, chicken, and beef. To give it a spicy flavor, people add black pepper and onions. Pelmeni originally came from northwestern China, where the Mongols lived and spread to Siberia, then eventually reached eastern Europe during the 16th century. In the past, hunters made pelmeni to take with them on long-hunting trips for the winter. Pelmeni is a very non-perishable food and a light meal that can be eaten for lunch or a snack. Most Russian or Ukrainian supermarkets carry frozen pelmeni that can be boiled in chicken broth. Russians make pelmeni by boiling and sometimes frying then boiling, then they are topped with sour cream, melted butter, spicy mustard, or vinegar. Here is a recipe to make pelmeni, make sure you have a couple hours to make them:

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
1 egg
1/2 pound mixed ground beef, lamb and pork (by taste)
1 onion, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix ground beef, lamb, pork, onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper; reserve. Mix flour with egg (yolk and egg white) and water; 1/4 teaspoon salt until a soft dough forms. Knead on floured surface until dough is elastic. Divide into 1-inch round pieces. Roll each piece so that they are 1/16 inch thick. Fill each piece with the meat mixture; fold into half-moons. Pinch edges together and connect the opposite sides. Pelmeni can be frozen to be cooked later, or cooked immediately. To cook pelmeni, boil about 1/2 gallon of water; carefully drop pelmeni into boiling water. Boil for 20 minutes. You can different toppings like sour cream, melted butter, spicy mustard, vinegar, or soy sauce on pelmeni. If you have any leftovers, remember these dumplings will taste just as fresh when you freeze them. Enjoy these tasty dumplings!


sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelmeni,
http://www.russiansabroad.com/cuisine/Recipe.asp?ComID=91