Winter Dinner, Northern Italian - J & K

 J used this Northern Italian meal description to guide the menu choices!  The meal was really fun and delicious!

Traditional Italian Meal

Meal stage	Description	Dish
Aperitivo	apéritif usually enjoyed as an appetizer before a large meal, may be: Campari, Cinzano, Prosecco, Aperol, Spritz, Vermouth.	Campari & Amaro
Antipasto	literally "before (the) meal", hot or cold appetizers	Bruschetta with White Beans, Tomatoes and Olives
Primo	"first course", usually consists of a hot dish like pasta, risotto, gnocchi, or soup.	Minestra di Pasta e Fagioli
Secondo	"second course", the main dish, usually fish or meat. Traditionally veal, pork and chicken are most commonly used, at least in the North, though beef has become more popular since World War II	Stracotto di Manzo alla Fiorentina
Contorno	"side dish", may be a salad or cooked vegetables. A traditional menu features salad along with the main course.	Asparagus with Gremolata
Formaggio e frutta	"cheese and fruits", the first dessert. Local cheeses may be part of the Antipasto or Contorno as well.
Dolce	"sweet", such as cakes and cookies	Biscotti de Regina and Rum Custard
Caffè	coffee
Digestivo	"digestives", liquors/liqueurs (grappa, amaro, limoncello, sambuca, nocino, sometimes referred to as ammazzacaffè, "coffee killer")	Sambuca

Asparagus with Gremolata, G and L (guests!)

G and L were our guests for the evening.  They made the asparagus with Gremolata.  I've been trying to decide what else I can put Gremolata on ever since, chicken?  green beans?  In any case, it complimented the asparagus very well.

Asparagus with Gremolata 

Source, Rachel Ray.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 pounds thin asparagus, trimmed
• Salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 lemons, zested
• 8 to 10 anchovies, 1 (2-ounce) tin, drained (use 1/2 cup pitted green olives if you do not care for anchovies)
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, a couple of generous handfuls

Method:

1. Cook asparagus in shallow, simmering salted water 5 minutes. Drain, arrange on a platter and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.
2. While asparagus cooks, make a pile of garlic, lemon zest, parsley and anchovies. Finely chop all of the ingredients together to form gremolata.
3. Sprinkle the gremolata paste liberally over the hot asparagus with extra-virgin olive oil. Serve hot or room temperature

Stracotto di Manzo alla Fiorentina (Italian Pot Roast); J and K

This tender pot roast was excellently prepared by J and K.

Stracotto di Manzo alla Fiorentina (Italian Pot Roast)

Source here.

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 4 hours
• Yield: Serves 8. (make 1.5 x)

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 to 4 pound rump or chuck beef roast
• 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large carrot, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 large celery stalk, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium red onion, diced (1 to 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
• 3 cups medium-bodied Italian red wine (we used a Barbera)
• 1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, put through a food mill to remove the seeds

Method

1. Trim some of the fat from the meat. Pat dry with paper towels. Season generously with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, shimmering but not smoking, add the roast and cook, turning it a few times, until it is nicely browned on all sides, 10-12 minutes. Transfer the meat to a platter.
2. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrot, celery, and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are golden brown and begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, 10-12 minutes. Add the garlic, parsley, and sage, and stir until the herbs are lightly colored and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the wine and stir quickly, lifting up the richly browned caramelized vegetables that stick to the bottom of the pan. When the wine is almost all evaporated and thickly coats the vegetables, return the meat to the pan and turn it over a few times to coat it with the savory base.
3. Raise the heat to high, adding the remaining wine, the bay leaf, and the tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, turning and basting the meat every half hour or so, until the meat is very tender and flakes away when pierced with a fork, 3-4 hours. Turn off the heat and let the roast sit in its juices for an hour. (You can also put the pot into a 300°F oven and turn the roast every hour.)
4. Remove the meat from the pot and place it on a cutting board, covered loosely with aluminum foil. If the sauce is too thin, bring it to a fast boil and reduce it until it has a medium-thick consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5. Cut the meat into thick slices (it will probably fall apart), and place on warm serving dishes. Spoon the sauce over the meat and serve hot. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or polenta.

Minestra di Pasta e Fagioli, C and C

This yummy soup was prepared by C and C.

Minestra di Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and Bean Soup)

Found at this website.  No estimates on prep time nor how many this serves provided

Ingredients:

• Olive oil (to saute the vegetables)
• 5 stalks of celery, including leaves, cleaned with thick white end cut off, and then chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots (optional)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 big bunch of Italian parsley, cleaned, stems cut off, and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 3 quarts water
• 1 6-oz. can tomato paste (add more until your desired level of 'red' color and tomato flavor is reached)
• 2 cans red kidney beans (I prefer dark red) ~ if you use fresh beans, they must be soaked in water overnight (you can also use pinto beans or a white bean variety)
• Pasta (in this case I used mini-farfalle), but often 'ditalini' pasta is used
• Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper.
• Freshly grated Parmigiano cheese
• Fresh, crusty, artisanal Italian bread

Method:

1. If using dried beans, cover them completely with water in a pot and soak overnight.
2. Drain water the next day.
3. In a large, heavy 4 - 5 quart pot, saute the onion, carrots, and celery in the olive oil.
4. Add the parsley and garlic and saute for one more minute.
5. Fill the pot with the water.
6. Add the tomato paste/ tomatoes and bring to a boil.
7. Add the kidney beans, reduce the heat just slightly and cook until slightly tender.
8. Bring back to a boil and add the pasta noodles and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes.
9. Remove the soup from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
10. Let stand 5 minutes.
11. Serve in warmed bowls.
12. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
13. Serve with freshly, grated Parmigiano cheese and fresh bread.

THIS SOUP IS BETTER IF allowed to rest for 2 hours before serving; it thickens up nicely.  It is even better the NEXT day when all of the flavors are allowed to marry and blend!  If you choose to do this, don't put the pasta in until the soup is re-warmed and THEN boil your pasta for 7 minutes/until al dente. If you have the pasta noodles in for a long time, they become very large from absorbing the soup liquid.<

Bruschetta with White Beans, Tomatoes and Olives; F & L

F and L did a lovely job starting dinner off  with this bruschetta.

Bruschetta with White Beans, Tomatoes and Olives 

Bon Appétit  | September 1998

yield: Makes about 20

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried Great Northern beans
• 3 plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 French bread baguette, cut into -inch-thick rounds
• 5 to 6 ounces soft fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet), room temperature

Preparation

1. Place beans in large saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Bring to boil. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand 1 hour.
2. Drain beans; return to pan. Add enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Drain and cool.
3. Transfer 1 1/2 cups beans to medium bowl (reserve remaining beans for another use). Mix in tomatoes, olives, 4 tablespoons oil, basil and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Preheat broiler. Place bread on baking sheet. Brush with 2 tablespoons oil. Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Spread with cheese. Top with bean mixture.

Drinks (Before and After Dinner) J & K

J & K served excellent drinks during our Northern Italian meeting. Before dinner we had a spritz (Aperol, soda water, and Prosecco):

 

Aperol Spritz

And After dinner we enjoyed Sambuca (we even set it on fire)! 

Flaming Sambuca

Biscotti di Regina (Queen's Biscuits), Z and K

I found these cookies in a book of recipes that chronicles cookie recipes published in Gourmet magazine, from the 1930s through 2010.  These were from 1955.  They weren't very sweet, with a cake-like crumb.  I used about 1/4 cup of sesame seeds and had several left (I let them dry and used them in something else - sesame seeds are expensive!).

Biscotti di Regina (Queen's Biscuits) 

Gourmet, November 1955

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 5 cups flour 
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 pound sesame seeds

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450°
2. Cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in egg and add gradually milk and vanilla extract.
4. Sift together into a bowl flour, salt, and baking powder. Make a hollow in the center and gradually work in the butter-sugar mixture. If the dough seems too dry, add more milk.
5. Shape the dough into a ball and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
6. Wash and drain well sesame seeds.
7. Break off pieces of the chilled dough the size of walnuts and flatten them slightly between the palms. Roll the biscuits in the sesame seeds and bake them on a cookie sheet 1/2 inch apart in a hot oven (450° F.) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Makes 5 dozen biscuits.

Vanilla Rum Custard, Z and K

I cooked this custard in a 9/13 pan. It was really easy and delicious.

La Tarte (Vanilla-Rum Custard)

From Saveur. 
Take this custard out of the refrigerator about 10 minutes before serving.
Credit: Penny De Los Santo

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 5 tbsp. light rum

Method:

1. Heat oven to 300°.
2.  In a bowl, whisk together sugar, salt, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk in cream and rum.
3. Transfer mixture to a 3-qt. baking dish; set inside a roasting pan. 
4. Put pan on oven rack; pour boiling water into pan to come halfway up sides of dish. Bake until slightly loose in center, 40–50 minutes. Remove dish from pan; chill until set. 

SERVES 8–10