INTERNATIONAL: ITALY: 32 Italian Desserts from The PA Melting Pot.

LINK to Italian dessert recipe post

UNITED STATES: The Kitchen episode EASY DOES IT from Foodnetwork

http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-kitchen/episodes/easy-does-it

Easy Does It

The Kitchen is sharing tips and tricks to save time in the kitchen, starting with Geoffrey Zakarian's simple Salmon Stir Fry Cheat Sheet. Then, the hosts test kitchen tools to see if they really save you time, and chef Jordan Andino stops by to share his easy, flavor-packed Chicken Adobo Tacos. Plus, Sunny Anderson's One Pan Pasta with 1-2-3 Alfredo Sauce, Katie Lee's Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread using boxed cake mix, and Jeff Mauro's Banana Bread Biscotti.

ITALIAN-AMERICAN: Pittsburgh does it big!! 24,000 cookies made by December 7, 2013 - St. Rita's Parish - Photos, Recipes and Videos

With her husband in tow, Rita Pratt said that she 

buys about  800 pounds of flour;

 400 pounds each of powdered 

and granulated sugar and 120 dozen 

eggs for the pizzelles, biscotti and knots.

    

Pizzelles came originally from 

the Abruzzo section of Italy 

LINK TO POST GAZETTE Pizzelle Recipe

LINK TO PIZZELLE HOW TO VIDEO

  

  

Biscotti came originally from 

the Genoa (Liguria) section of Italy (first recipe), 

however very popular in all of Italy (variations from 

Catalonia and Tuscany, etc.) 

LINK TO All Recipes.com biscotti recipes

LINK TO VIDEO FOR BISCOTTI FROM ALL RECIPES

    

Knots came originally from 

the Calabria section of Italy

LINK TO Knots' Recipes from Cooks.com

LINK TO VIDEO FOR KNOTS

LINK TO Uniontown Herald-Standard's Article

ITALIAN: Giada prepares 4 recipes - 5 ingredients each - 15 minutes prep time each!!

Ingredients in 15 Minutes

Giada is giving herself a challenge! She coming up with 3-4 dishes each with just 5 ingredients that you can prepare in just 15 minutes.

RECIPES IN THIS EPISODE

• Biscotti-Gelato Sandwiches and Espresso

• Croissant Panini

• Rigatoni with Red Pepper, Almonds, and Bread Crumbs

• Salmon with Puff Pastry and Pesto

TOP RECIPES

HERB CRUSTED LAMB

• Shells with Crispy Pancetta and Spinach
• Balsamic Chocolate Truffles
• Mascarpone and Dark Chocolate Cream in White Chocolate Cups
• Citrus Semifreddo

LINK to Giada's 5 ingredients 15 minutes!!

National Anisette Day from Foodimentary - Recipes and Videos added

National Anisette Day Link

Recipe links below photos

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Making Anisette Cookies for Christmas!  (My note: I like them all year round with coffee, limoncello, etc. )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsKu7T2d0B4

How to Make Anise Tea

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Anise-Tea

Other copy and paste clickable links:

1. Cordial & Liqueur Recipes - Angelfire

   www.angelfire.com/wy/DaBoozer/liqueurs.html‎

   A version of "ANISETTE"~From Italy This is an easy one to make so if there are some licorice lovers out there, give this one a try. 1 ½ tsp. Coriander seeds; 6 tsp.

2. Anisette Liqueur Recipe

   www.stirrednotshaken.net/liqueur-recipes/56-anisette-liqueur-recipe.htm‎

   Find out the correct ingredients and simple instructions on how to make a greatAnisette Liqueur Recipe. Free and easy speciality Anisette Liqueur Recipe.

3. Easy Biscotti - Anisette Toast Recipe - Allrecipes.com

   allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-biscotti---anisette-toast/‎

    Rating: 4 - 11 reviews - 415 cal

   This is the easiest and best tasting Biscotti recipe I have ever made! Received from a co-worker back in 1993, this will make your house smell WONDERFUL!

4. More Recipes Like Easy Biscotti - Anisette Toast - All Recipes

   allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-biscotti---anisette.../morerecipeslikethis.aspx‎

   Easy Biscotti - Anisette Toast. “This is the easiest and best tasting Biscotti recipe I have ever made! Received from a co-worker back in 1993, this will make your ...

   
   

   
   

   
   

Christine's Eggplant Sandwich

 Christine's Eggplant Sandwich

(Finally wrote this down)

Posted this for my friend at Tea&Biscotti through Twitter @TeaandBiscotti

You might want to follow TeaandBiscotti.

I follow different sites because I want to know more and more about Italy and they have really cool photos of food and people and MORE!!  Check it out!! 

http://teaandbiscotti.com/

Made the sandwich today, ate it and forgot to take pics. This is not for the person who likes bland food!!

Recipe for One:

One medium (one in photo above that I took would make Recipe for Two) eggplant. 

1. Peel the eggplant and of course remove the stem.
2. Slice 1/2 inch slices horizontally starting at the top of the plant (where you see the photo of the stem) because as you go down further to the bottom more seeds appear.
3. Put the slices in a colander and load up with salt (the salt removes the juices to make it sweeter; as you go along in the season the juices that seep out will become browner; I use Morton's Lite Salt as I don't eat a lot of salt) and let sit in the colander for 15-30 minutes.
4. Dry the slices off and get the salt off with a paper towel. 
5. Dip in cornbread meal and fry until brown in EVOO or regular oil.  DO NOT put the slices in the frying pan until the oil is hot or the eggplant will be oily and the corn meal will fall off. 
6. Remove slices from oil and drain on a plate covered with paper towels. Let them sit a little; the slices retain the heat!!
7. Toast American Italian bread (you know the kind I mean that is in every grocery store and it really isn't Italian bread) slices (3/4' to 1" thick) OR use San Francisco Sour Dough Bread (toast or not toast).
8. Spread bread (both pieces) with butter (I use my fave low fat).
9. Spread thick slices of low fat Philadelphia cream cheese on top of the butter on each piece OR use provolone or mozzarella slices. 
10. Put the warm eggplant slices on the cheese.  Douse with salt.  Again, I use Morton's Lite Salt. 
11. Douse with Texas Pete or Tabasco.  (I am a transplanted Yankee and when I moved from there we didn't even have Texas Pete so I would have used Tabasco but now I am ensconced in the South so I use Texas Pete which actually has a better flavor)
12. Add a slice or two of sweet onion or red onion on top if you wish.
13. Put top piece of bread on and eat.
14. Messy so have a lot of napkins on hand.  

I always take an acid reducer before I eat this.  NOTE: You can make this same sandwich with SLICED GREEN TOMATOES (and then you might an additional acid reducer) sliced 3/4" (approx) thick.  The cooked tomatoes will do more of a job on your stomach.  This is awesome!  I used to drink with beer but my stomach can't take it so I just drink water.  It doesn't go with wine or lemonade or tea. 

Enjoy. 

*I will pin this, tweet this and facebook this. 

Please, follow me on twitter address @christinewi_ where I post links to my food blog and other items of interest:  food, photography, travel, etc. 

About my food blog at http://www.internationalfoodblog.blogspot.com I like to write about food in context often with food of a country or area of a country, a news event, a soap opera, a horse race:  all focused on food and travel. 

You can find me on facebook and pinterest. 

I have fun!! You need to also!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

About Tuscany 1 Holiday - April 14-22, 2012 FOOD 2

CINGHIALE:
Wild boar sausage served with panini and antipasti.
***** Serve with Chianti classico or sangiovese.

BISCOTTI:
Cantucci (a homemade regional type of almond biscotti)
***** Serve with a glass of Vin Santo (local digestive liqueur) at end of any hearty meal.

Link for "About Tuscany 1 Holiday - April 14-22, 2012 FOOD 1"
http://internationalfoodblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/about-tuscany-1-holiday-april-14-22_10.html

About Tuscany 1 Holiday - April 14-22, 2012 FOOD 1

TUSCAN FOOD that you might find at  "SETTINA DELLA CULTURA: (April 14-22, 2012)

ANTIPASTI:

(1) antipasto toscano (also called “toscano miso”) (see antipasto miso below)

(2) crostini di fegato (a sauce of chicken livers, butter, anchovies, onion, capers & broth which you spread on warm or toasted Tuscan bread)

(3) antipasto miso (cold cuts from area, crostini and Pecorino Toscano cheese)

***** Serve with chianti classico, chianti rufina (ruffino) or Prosecco.

PAPPARDELLE: 

(1) pappardelle sulla Lepre (hare)

(2) pappardelle al pomodoro (tomato) 

(3) pappardelle al Ragu Di Cinghiale (pappardelle al sugo di cinghiale) (wild boar)

***** Serve with (1) Sangiovese (2) Sangiovese or chianti classico (3) Sangiovese or Brunello

BISTECCA ALL FIORENTINA:

(most typical – T-bone or Porterhouse (local beef) cooked on charcoal grill seasoned with salt & pepper and olive oil AFTER removed from grill) 

***** Serve with brunello, chianti classico or sangiovese

 

About Tuscany 1 Holiday - April 14-22, 2012

April 14-22, 2012. Settina Della Cultura or Cultural Week.  Museums, Gardens and other festivities in all of Italy. This is the link for Tuscany or Toscana.  (Cities are Arezzo, Firenze, Florence, Grosetto, Liverno, Lucca,  Massa Carrara, Pisa, Pistoia, Prato, and Siena.

The site below is in Italian. Very convenient if you use Google Chrome is a Translate button at the top of the page.  If you use Google or another search engine be sure you look at each link to make sure it is the same as this link below or you wont' find the correct information:

http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/export/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/MenuServizio/EventiCorrelati/index.html_1894759545.html

Here's another site in English about the Settina Della Cultura April 14-22, 2012.
http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allthingstuscany/aroundtuscany/settimana-della-cultura-culture-week-in-tuscany/

TUSCAN FOOD AND WINE that you might find at the festival (See About Tuscany 1 Holiday - April 14-22, 2012 FOOD to be published 4 10/2012.