There are just some things you just don't forget about growing up. I remember getting off the train on 3rd avenue in Manhattan as a child and walking over to my Uncles bakery on 2nd avenue. My grandmother, (who worked that window better than a patrol officer), would fill our bags with sugared donuts and black and white cookies on a Saturday morning. For a child, it was as if we had found a pot of gold. By the time we arrived at our destination (Nonna Maria's house, on 1st avenue ), our stomachs were full and our bags almost empty. Nonna Maria would quickly suggest walking up and down the 5 flights of stairs. The stairs up to her top floor apartment on 1st avenue and 116st. seemed endless. Work up a new appetite? Mission Accomplished.
Nonna Barbara would always wrap up pound cake for me to take over to Nonna Maria's house. That little white box wrapped up in Peppermint string (red and white). It was the same little prize each time, over a 5 year period. Nonna Maria would always be so excited, as if she was seeing it for the first time. She had received her very own pot of gold. Great the next morning, after sleepovers at Nonna's house.
Please excuse me, I need some Kleenex.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoons Mascarpone Cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 egg
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3 tablespoons milk
One teaspoon vanilla extract
Method:
Sift together your dry ingredients and set aside. Set your chocolate over some hot water and melt. Whisk in your 3 tablespoons of milk and set aside.
Cream together your butter and sugar. Add your beaten egg, sour cream and Mascarpone cheese. Slowly add in your dry ingredients. Divide your batter in half. Add your vanilla extract to one half and gently fold in the chocolate to the other.
Grease your loaf pan (medium, 9x5x3) and line with parchment up the sides. You may have to use some butter to cut and place your paper accordingly.
Gently pour in some vanilla batter. Then swirl in your chocolate alternatively. Bake in a preheated 325degrees F oven for 40 minutes. Insert a knife or toothpick to check if it comes out clean and is done.
Let cool on a wire rack.
Buon Appetito!
Just because Broccoli Rabe is out of season,
doesn't mean you can't have Pasta with Broccoli . This recipe serves
6.
Sauté about 1/2 pound of pork in a little olive oil. Add 1/2
cup wine and cook until evaporated. Remove from pan and
set aside. Sauté some garlic, add additional oil if necessary. Put
your pasta water to boil, add salt, then about a pound if Broccoli
florets. Cook until Broccoli is soft. Sautéed garlic in several
tablespoons of olive oil, drain Broccoli directly Into the pan. Cook
until broken down and soft. Add the browned pork back to the pan. Cook
your pasta, drain, reserve some cooking water. Toss and serve! How
easy is that? Buon Appetito!
Special Note: This method of cooking above is referred to as "a occhio." With your eyes or senses. Much in the style of experienced Home Cooks in Italy. Getting a "feel" for the kitchen is an important fact when one is learning to Cook Italian.
I had my neighbors drop in tonight unexpectedly and a good Home Cook knows how to feed a crowd. Buon Appetito!
