Back from Italy and Dreaming in Pasta

Don't you just want to devour every last strand of this carbonara, then scrape up all of that lovely sauce from the bowl with a big piece of crusty bread?

Me, too.

All over again.

I'm back from the honeymoon, and have lots of great eating to report! In the next few posts I'll detail my favorite dishes from Italy. We dined our way through Rome, Ischia, Capri, Positano, Ravello, and Amalfi. I'll be dishing which spaghetti carbonara reined supreme and why, and divulging the eclectic pizzas toppings we encountered, from french fries to prosciutto and everything in between. I'll share how we made homemade gnocchi and ravioli, my new love for lemon cream sauce, and why I am not a huge fan of dining on scary looking fish. 

Stay tuned. I can't wait to relive every last bite as I share these delicious travels with you!

m + M Wedding Biscotti

Our friends Mindy and Mark (m + M) are getting married next weekend! Congrats, you two!

Matt and I can't make their wedding because we'll be on our honeymoon (our wedding is just three days away!), but we could at least be there in spirit by baking some celebratory biscotti for m + M to serve to their wedding guests.

The great thing about biscotti is that it keeps for weeks. This helped us avoid the freshness issue that might have been caused by baking this tasty treat in advance. This recipe is my Nonna's, which was passed on by her childhood friend from Italy, Lucy. With a festive twist on tradition, I brushed each end of the biscotti in melted dark chocolate and dipped them in chocolate and colored sprinkles.

This recipe is wonderfully simple. With only six ingredients, it begs experimentation with your favorite add-ins or toppings (nuts, dried fruits, various chocolates, etc.). Crunchy, mildly sweet, and fabulous dipped in coffee, Matt and I have been transported straight to our Italian honeymoon every morning as we've indulged in the extra ends of the cookie loaves that didn't make it into the batch for m + M.

We love m + M for many reasons, one of which is a shared love for food and cooking. Thanks, m + M, for the chance to be a culinary part of your special day!

Lucy's Biscotti (Nonna's recipe)
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
2.5 cups flour, plus 1 extra cup for adding in
2 1/3 t. baking powder
1 t. lemon or vanilla extract
3/4 cups sugar

Directions: Preheat the oven to 365 degrees. In a large bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. In another, mix the sugar, eggs, oil and flour. Combine all the ingredients together, then add enough flour until the batter is just no longer sticky and pulls away from the sides. Form a relatively flat, long loaf and place on a floured baking sheet. Bake about 25 minutes, or until the loaf is just baked but still soft. Cut into 1/2 inch wide cookies, turn each cookie on its side, and bake for another 5-10 minutes per side or until crunchy and golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

To chocolate dip, melt chocolate in a double boiler. Brush one side of each end of the biscotti in chocolate and pour 1 T sprinkles over it. Place on a wax paper then refrigerate until the chocolate is firm.

Memorial Day Weekend Pre-Recipe: Greek Orzo Salad

I've been on a wedding-planning-induced blogging hiatus. I miss PumpkinProse, and will be glad to get back to it with a hungry tummy and the time to do so. It will be June 13th by the time we're married, back from our honeymoon, and done with this haze of nuptial craziness.

On Memorial Day weekend, when everyone else is breaking out their grills and filling the air with the mesmerizing aroma of charred burgers, M and I will be walking down the aisle!

By the time we join normal humanity again, we're going to be long overdue for a BBQ. I can't wait! So I want to share with you one of my favorite sides for an outdoor barbecue or picnic. It's a cool, crisp, and brightly colored Greek orzo salad. Full of fresh vegetables, tangy hunks of feta cheese, and oh-so salty kalamata olives, it's a side that everyone is going to gravitate to.

It's so loved that I have to make huge quantities of it, like this. It's gone in a flash.

I hope you have the chance to make this before I do, and especially on Memorial Day weekend. On May 29th, while I'm wearing a wedding dress, everyone else will be prepping for barbecues! Even though Memorial Day weekend will look a bit different for me this year, I plan to make up for it quickly when I return. Thanks for hanging in 'till I do. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do!

Ingredients:
1 lb orzo
2 pints cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced in half-moons
1 jar sliced kalamata olives, drained, juice reserved
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 lb fresh feta cheese, cubed

Dressing: Whisk 1 T. Dijon mustard, juice and zest of 1 lemon, 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Directions: Cook the orzo according to the package directions. Drain well and rinse until cool. Toss with the remaining ingredients, then toss with the dressing. If necessary, add more olive oil and red wine vinegar to taste, as well as 1 T. at a time of the kalamata olive juice. Season with salt and pepper. Serve cold or at room temperature. Tastes great the next day, too!

"Secret Ingredient" Double Carrot Cake

I just went to a party where we had to guess the "secret ingredient" in the cupcakes. I felt something long and squishy go down my throat and thought, "oh! Chopped up Gummy Worms!" I proceeded to wolf down the rest of my cute little chocolate cupcake with hot pink frosting.

Later I found out that the secret ingredient was Sauerkraut.

Good thing the baker of these cupcakes is so talented and lovely, because I felt seriously violated. I despise Sauerkraut. I can't lie -- the idea of it hidden in chocolate made me nauseous.

I can assure you that the secret ingredient in this carrot cake isn't even remotely creepy or totally wrong.

It's carrot baby food. I first got the idea from my future sister-in-law, who mentioned a great recipe for carrot cake that uses baby food. A couple of years later (this Easter) I used the idea to create my own carrot cake recipe. I call this Double Carrot Cake because it's got twice the carrots, both pureed and shredded.

The recipe ended up being healthier than your typical carrot cake, since the baby food replaces almost the entire cup of oil normally called for. I also swapped out a low-fat cream cheese for a full-fat in the frosting. It's a small difference that helps lighten the cake while remaining completely undetectable.

When M tasted a bite he said, "this is the best carrot cake you've ever made!" We were on our way home from Massachusetts, and he'd been behind the wheel for 5 hours. We had driven there to apply for our Marriage License. The occasion (and our fatigue) called for cake. I dug out the tupperware and spoon fed him a big hunk as he drove. It was safe, I promise.

I know M isn't marrying me for my carrot cake, but if you bake this layered-beauty it might just lead to success in the love department. Cake definitely helps move a relationship along.... It's one of those innocent little helpers.

Regardless, the use of carrot baby food makes this cake extremely moist and lends a bright, beautiful orange color to the layers.

It also creates a depth of sweet carrot flavor, with a generous hint of nutty spice, that is far more present than in most other carrot cakes. Together with little hunks of juicy pineapple and raisins, and loaded with thick cream cheese frosting, it's perfection.

I can't believe I wouldn't try carrot cake until I got to college. I thought that vegetables had no place in dessert. Now I know that sauerkraut has no place in dessert, but carrots? Yes, please.


Double Carrot Cake

Cake
2 1/3 cups sifted all purpose flour (sifted, then measured)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup raisins
¼ t. fresh ground ginger
3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar

1 T. coconut oil
2 4-oz. jars carrot baby food, poured into a measuring cup and enough vegetable oil added to equal 1 cup
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups finely grated peeled carrots
2 8-ounce cans crushed pineapple in its own juice, well drained

Frosting
1 8-ounce package ceam cheese, room temperature

1 8-oz. package light or low-fat cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 T coconut oil

1 t. vanilla extract

1 cup toasted coconut

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup flour with the coconut and raisins and toss. Sift together 2 cups flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl.

Using electric mixer, beat sugar and oil in large bowl. Beat in the carrot baby food. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in the coconut and raisin, then carrots and crushed pineapple.

Divide batter among pans. Bake until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 1 hour, then loosen the edges by running a knife around the pan. Turn out onto racks and cool completely. Meanwhile, make the frosting.

For frosting:

Beat cream cheese and butter together in large bowl until smooth. Then beat in powdered sugar, then the coconut oil and vanilla extract. 

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over top of cake. Top with second cake layer, flat side up. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over. Spread thin layer of frosting over top and sides of cake. Chill cake and remaining frosting 30 minutes to set the frosting crumb layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake, then decorate by pressing the toasted coconut into the sides. Keep the cake chilled, but let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

Bunny Heads and Buttery Braids

Hello!

Aren't these bunny heads friendly and cute? Don't you just want to eat their ears off? 

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. I was at home for a week for Easter break, busy learning my Grandma's Easter baking tricks and traditions. These bunnies and braided loaves are what my Grandma is famous for when the holiday rolls around. Everyone waits to receive their own special bunny face. They're best toasted and slathered in butter....

I am eating one right now. I need a smiling, cute face made out of sweet raisins. Today was my last day at my internship, where I counseled high school students, and since I am feeling a bit down about it ending (will miss the students immensely) I needed a little pick-me-up. More on that later, but this bread is the perfect pick me up for everyone, even those who don't need one.!

My grandma makes at least a bunny, if not a loaf, for everyone she knows. Her recipe uses 6 pounds of flour. She made this recipe twice, two days in a row. If loaves are love, my grandma has a lot.  

Though she's been making these long before 1974, she finalized the recipe by writing it down that year. On the dark yellow, tattered recipe card she wrote, "1974-- Good." Yes, these are good. 

Also, there were no directions, only ingredients. She makes this by memory, so following along with her was crucial to learning how she does it. Have I mentioned that she is 90 years old? I could barely keep up.

We mixed the dough in the giant bucket and let it rise. We had lunch. We drank tea and played Scrabble. For the first time in my life, I won. Only because Grandma whispered helpful hints to me, but whatever. 

Once the dough has risen once, we tore off groups of three hunks at a time to make braided loaves, or single hunks for bunnies. 

Then the hunks get rolled into long pieces and either braided or twisted like this. My grandma was patient with me when my bunny-head making skills were lacking. I was too anxious about getting them right, so they were coming out all sorts of funny looking. She reminded me to relax and just have fun with it. Reason No. 9,317,328 I love her.

Then they get their three little raisin eyes and nose pressed into their faces.
They are covered with a towel and left to rise again. 

Once ready for baking, they are covered with an egg wash.

And when they are out of the oven and cooling, you'll want to sneak one hot off the rack. Like I mentioned above, toast them up, slather them in butter, and enjoy every bite of this flaky, rich treat.

Grandma LaRusso's Easter Loaves
1974 -- Good

1 cup water, warm
2 packages yeast, frothed in the water
3 cups milk, frothed over medium heat
3 1/2 sticks salted butter
2 cups plus a little bit sugar
1 T. salt
1 dozen eggs
one box golden raisins
6 lbs flour

1 egg + 1 t. water for egg wash

Add the yeast to the cup of warm water and allow it to froth and rise. Meanwhile, warm the milk over the stove and when it just froths, turn off the heat and stir the butter in until melted, then the sugar, salt, and raisins. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and pour into the warm milk mixture, stirring as you pour.

Add the 6 cups of flour to a large basin and make a well in the center. Once the egg and milk mixture is barely warm, pour into the well and knead the dough until smooth and comes away from the sides of the basin. Add more flour if necessary. Cover with a towel and let rise for a few hours, until puffy and soft. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently use a serrated knife to cut off palm sized pieces of dough. Roll each piece of dough into a long tube between your palms, about 8-10 inches long. Loop each ends of the dough over each other to form two little bunny "ears" and a round bunny face. Press three raisins into the face to make eyes and a mouth. Place them on parchment on a baking sheet and cover with towels and allow to rise again for a couple of hours. You can also use three tubes to create a braided loaf.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Brush the bunnies or loaves with the egg wash. Bake 25-30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes then remove to a cooling rack. Eat toasted with generous amounts of butter.

Quick Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

I am calling this "quick" kale and sweet potato soup because you should make it, quick, before the weather gets too warm and we don't want soup anymore, and kale and sweet potatoes and lentils all get replaced by melting gelato and feta-cucumber salads and hot dogs.

This soup is a love. It's going to give you a big hug of healthy, filling, yummy goodness. The kale and lentils are earthy, while the potatoes and tomatoes balance them with flavors both bright and sweet The leftovers make a lunch you'll count down until noon for, and M and I didn't even mind having this soup as a repeat dinner oh, about three times, since I made such a big pot. I paired it with big hunks of toasted Irish Soda Bread slathered in butter.

So go ahead, quick, and catch those cool nights while they're still lingering. And who knows, this soup is so good for you it may do the double duty of helping prep for bathing suit season. It's just a thought.

Kale and Sweet Potato Soup: adapted from Real Simple Magazine
1 T. olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized peices
About 1 lb kale, washed, leaves removed from stems and cut into rough strips
1 cup brown lentils
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
Crumbled feta cheese for topping

Directions: Add the oil to a large stock pot and heat over medium. Add the onions and saute until soft and translucent, then add the tomatoes and cook 3-4 minutes. Add 6 cups water. Bring to a boil and add all remaining ingredients. Cook until the lentils are soft and fully cooked, about 25 minutes. Serve with cheese for topping.

Everyone should Blackout on their birthday

 

This cake didn't take forever to make, it only looks like it did!

M requested this chocolate truffle cake for his birthday. I renamed it Dark Chocolate Blackout Cake. I didn't know that it was going to end up having four layers, using pounds of chocolate, and weighing as much as a small child. But I am glad to know. This cake is heavenly.

The cake batter is very liquidy, but I promise it turns out so right. That liquid is what makes every layer  practically oozing with richness and moisture. I baked two rounds of cake, then carefully sliced each round into two thinner rounds. The four layers were then sandwiched with a double recipe of thick dark chocolate truffle. 

But I wanted my cake to have a perfectly smooth exterior. Check out all those layers above, looking like tiny chocolate shelves. I would  need to fill them in. The extra truffle came in handy -- it was like working with the most decadent molding clay. I used it to fill in all the nooks and crannies until each level was even  on the outside with the next.

Finally, the whole cake was enveloped in a thick dark chocolate ganache and spread evenly until smooth. 

 

The entire cake was placed in the fridge to set for 30 minutes. 

When it came out, that ganache was not going to budge. Perfect.

I stared at it -- it was huge. There would simply be no way that M and I could take on this cake alone. So I invited all our friends over instead. It was way more fun and tasty that way!

I definitely can't wait until another birthday rolls around, because this birthday blackout cake is at the top of my list. It's impressive, unbelievably decadent, and completely baker-friendly (all levels, I swear). Now we're enjoying the small quarter cake that was left over. I've been getting a little crazy with my slices. One I drizzled with warm peanut butter and another I topped with gelato, but believe me, this cake needs nothing but a fork!

Dark Chocolate Blackout Cake: adapted from Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts

Ingredients:

For the cake:

4 oz. dark chocolate 

8 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
2 sticks butter, room temp
2.5 cups water

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar 

1 1/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

For the truffle layers:

8 oz. baking chocolate

4.5 cups confectioners' sugar

12 T. butter, room temp.

1/2 cup whipping or heavy cream

For the ganache:

8 oz. dark chocolate

1/2 cup whipping or heavy cream

Directions:

Grease two 9" round cake pans and preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a heavy 4-quart saucepan over low heat, heat the dark and baking chocolate, 1 cup butter, and 2.5 cups water, stirring often until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly while you combine the rest of the cake ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the warm chocolate mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add this gradually to the chocolate mixture, beating until it is smooth and well blended.

Pour batter into cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack 15 minutes, then carefully remove from pans and cool completely on the rack. Meanwhile prep truffle mixture. Over low heat, melt 8 oz. baking chocolate, stirring frequently until melted. Cool slightly, then stir in the butter, confectioners' sugar, and whipping cream until it is smooth and well blended. Reserve about 1/2 cup truffle mixture in a separate bowl.

Next, make sure your cake is completely cool. Then carefully run a knife around the outer edge of each of the cake layers, as centered as possible, to mark the path of the cut -- each layer will be cut into two thinner layers. Then, gently use a sawing motion to begin to slice through the center of each cake layer. Carefully remove the layers from each other and set aside. You should have four approximately 3/4-1" cake layers.

Place wax paper over your cake dish, then carefully place your bottom cake layer on top. Spread 1/3 of the truffle mixture from the main pan (not reserved) over the cake layer, smoothing gently, but firmly, and pressing down to make it go to the outer edges. Place another cake layer over this, and repeat until there are 3 layers of truffle and 4 layers of cake assembled. Now, use the reserved 1/2 cup truffle to spread around the outside portion of the cake layers where they do not meet up flush with eachother, as in the photo above. Smooth as well as possible.

Prepare the ganache. Heat the dark chocolate and heavy cream, stirring until melted, smooth, and thick. Pour over the top of the cake and smooth all around the outer edges, until cake is smooth and completely covered. Place in refrigerator until glaze is set, about 30 minutes. Decorate as desired.