If you’ve never sampled polenta, you don’t know what you’re missing! Continue reading
Italy
Give the Gift that Gives Back!
Available on Amazon, 100% of the profits from The Global Recipe Project Cookbook will benefit not-for-profit organizations which feed people as a central part of their mission. Cooks and food bloggers from around the world have generously contributed to this amazing book. Over 170 recipes from 65 countries are included!
Try your hand at Mansaf, the national dish of Jordan, while reading how and when this meal is traditionally served. Sample a variety of chutneys while exploring the rich spice blends of India. Dine on simple and delicious French dishes such as Croquette Monsieur and Soupe L’Ongion.
Bakers will appreciate clear and simple instructions for classics such as Italian Cannoli and Austrian Apfelstrudel. Feeling adventurous? Amigdalato, a Greek almond pastry, and Kransekake, a Norwegian wedding cake, offer dramatic dessert options for holiday entertaining.
ISBN-13: 978-0998191607
ISBN-10: 0998191604
BISAC: Cooking / Regional & Ethnic / General
Italian Wedding Soup
Teenager wanders through the kitchen grazing for cookies and skids to a halt…
“Oh! Are you making that wedding soup again? Awesome!”
Yes, here at Crowded Earth Kitchen, Italian Wedding Soup falls squarely into the “Awesome!” category. Half-Pint likes any soup made with chicken broth (“yellow soup”), and Pickle-in-the-Middle loves the little meatballs. What’s not to love about little meatballs?
Traditionally, Italian Wedding Soup also contains orzo. Feel free to add a cup or so if you like. I’m sharing this soup with a loved one who is watching their carb intake, so I left the orzo out. The soup is still delicious!
Ingredients (Serves 6 – 8) Continue reading
Easy Garden Bruschetta
Today’s recipe isn’t rocket science, folks – bruschetta is peasant food. Like most peasant food, making bruschetta is a way of taking little bits and specks of leftovers and reimagining them into something delicious! You’ll need small quantities of fresh vegetables, a few slices of not-very-fresh bread, and a bit of cheese. Surely you have all of that lurking in your kitchen, right?
The key to delicious bruschetta is warm toasted bread combined with cold toppings, served immediately. Let’s get started!
I wasn’t kidding – we’re using up leftovers today!
Ingredients (Makes 2 lunch servings)
2 large or 4 small slices of day old bread
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced tomato
1/4 cup diced peppers, garlic, and/or onion (any combination you like)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 ounces diced cheese (I used fresh mozzarella)
A few basil leaves, sliced into thin shreds
Directions
Step 1) Combine diced tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onion, and balsamic vinegar in a 
small bowl. Place in the refrigerator to chill.
Step 2) Cut bread slices into 2 inch strips and place on a baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, coat top sides of bread strips with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired (optional). Broil on a low setting for about 3 minutes. Watch carefully – bread should be toasted but not burned!
Step 3) Arrange bread on serving plates. Top with diced vegetables, diced cheese, and shredded basil. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top, and serve immediately.
Enjoy!
Chocolate Raspberry Waffle Cone Cannoli
Here’s a super easy, amazingly delicious way to incorporate summertime raspberries into dessert! Preparing this dessert takes only a few minutes, allowing you to hurry back outside to catch every precious ray of sunshine before the snow falls again!
Ingredients (Serves 4)
4 waffle cones
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon triple sec
grated zest from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup fresh raspberries
Directions
Step 1) Blend together ricotta cheese, powdered sugar, triple sec, and lemon zest.
Step 2) Using the back of a teaspoon, spread ricotta filling along the insides of the waffle cones.
Step 3) Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top of filling.
Step 4) Fill each cone with 1/4 cup fresh raspberries and serve immediately!
Enjoy!
The Swiss Melting Pot… so much more than fondue!
Tiramisu
Switzer-ly… Ital-erland… where am I?
In myriad schoolbooks and classroom lessons, the concept of the “American melting pot” was drilled into my head as a child. The semantics have changed a bit since then – we hear the word “stew” more often than “melting pot” now, as a nod toward our (slow) move away from forced assimilation. The general narrative, however, is still the same. It’s pretty cool, living in a country chock full of dynamic immigrant groups, but is it really that unique? Is the US unusual in it’s array of multicultural experiences?
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Switzerland is just one of many nations boasting an amazing ethnic stew. One could safely argue that Switzerland embraces its diversity with more gusto than the US, given the fact that the Swiss recognize four national languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. [Monolingual American visitors fit in comfortably, as English is a commonly spoken foreign language here.] While Italian is only the 3rd most popular language in Switzerland, excellent Italian cuisine is at the fore in Geneva. Considering how Italy and Switzerland share a 456 mile border, this shouldn’t be a surprise.
Below, you will find a medley of the Italian dishes we discovered. The moral of the story is, fitting Geneva into your travel plans is an excellent idea!
Al fresco dining at Bains des Paquis
Cappuccino
Spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce and basil
Shrimp Risotto
Pizza Napoletana
Pizza Carciofo
Penne with Boletes
