Italian Wedding Cookies Recipe

I will be catering several weddings this spring, so I came up with my own version of Italian wedding cookies, after many trials, and a few errors to produce a delicate buttery cookie that is made with ground nuts. There are several different types of these cookies which include the Mexican Wedding cookies, often coated with a mixture of cinnamon and confectioners' sugar. The Russian Tea Cakes which can be made with ground hazelnuts, and Italian Wedding cookies which traditionally use ground almonds. All of them are delicious, and each recipe utilizes a different proportion of butter and flour. They are a very good suprise in you mouth, delicate little cookie. I would try all different types, or versions to figure out the one you like best.

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These Italian Wedding cookies are buttery, delicate, and have a wonderful flavor. This is a very easy recipe to make, and they are worth the effort put forth for every cookie and crumble left.

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Italian Wedding Cookies:

1½ cups unsalted butter

¾ cup confectioners' sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups finely ground almonds

4 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste

3 cups of sifted all purpose flour

1/3 cup confectioners sugar for dipping

First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees if you have an electric oven and about 300 to 315 if you have a gas oven. Gas ovens cook much faster than an electric oven depending on the oven. If you have a convection oven I recommend turning the fan off if you can, it will burn the cookies before they are fully cooked.

First you will soften and mix the butter in a bowl, and you will sift and then add the ¾ cup confectioners sugar and salt to the butter. You will then mix the butter, and sugar with salt mixture until it is light and fluffy. You will now add the ground almonds and the vanilla bean paste. You will then add the sifted flour in until it just mixed, you do not want to over mix, or overwork the dough. The cookies will not be very light in texture if you do.

Take about one teaspoon of dough in your hand at a time, and roll it into a ball. You will then place the rolled cookie dough balls on the parchment paper or an ungreased cookie sheet if you do not have parchment paper. You will then bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes. You will want to watch the first batch fairly closely and turn halfway through baking to ensure even cooking. You want to make sure to get them cooked but not too brown. Once the cookies are done you will remove from the oven, and cool the cookies for about five minutes, and then roll in the left over confectioners sugar.

You will then hold these little delicate cookies until you are ready for service.

Italian Wedding Cookies Recipe

Chef Shelley Pogue, a Cum Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and Executive Research and Development Chef, for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA. Shelley is also the desserts editor for BellaOnline.com

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Italian Wines - Amarone Della Valpolicella

This is going to be among a series of articles I am going to be writing about European wines.

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Italian wines have been consistently among the highest quality and highly impressive wines of the world for centuries, and if we want to drink good and memorable wines, we need to become more familiar with them.

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For starters, I suggest an amazingly tasty wine from the Veneto province, called Amarone della Valpolicella. Valpolicella is a grape growing region that produces light and fragrant quality wines using 3 types of grapes, Covina, Rondinella, and Molinara. Amarone, which is a type of Valpolicella is ranked among the highest quality and impressively tasty wines of the region. This wine tickles the senses. It could be considered a sexy wine because it revives the taste buds and re-stimulates the senses.

It is a fruity wine, that carries the taste of black cherry with hints of prune. It is settling in the mouth, and delightfully pleasing. It is dry, warm, and full bodied.

I would take it to friends and family gatherings, and suggest it for any important event, because you can receive nothing but compliments when you serve it. It is by no means an ordinary wine, and should be in any cellar to make it complete.

This wine is ideal with most lamb dishes, especially, stew or braised. Drink it with the Moroccan Couscous and similar dishes that are tomato based like beef and chicken ragout.

This is a wine that brings joy and happiness to the soul, and revives the spirit.

Cheers,

Italian Wines - Amarone Della Valpolicella

Mike Samii,
Cordon Bleu Chef/Author

To obtain our e-book "The Right Wine For Your Food," and get access to a directory of 279 types of food and 80 types of impressive wine to match them, visit us at http://www.tastefullyamerican.com

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Italian Wines - Montepulciano D'Abruzzo

Montepulciano is a beautiful hilly region on Tuscany's southwestern edge, east of the historic hilltop town of Siena, where Tuscany meets Umbria near pretty Lake Trasimeno. The Montepulciano grape is found in numerous regions around Southern Italy and most famously in the town of Abruzzo. The grape is often confused with Sangiovese when used for making Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

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While increasingly enjoyed as a non- blended varietal, Montepulciano is most classically crafted into two style of wines, Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno. Both are blends of Montepulciano and Sangiovese with Piceno typically having a mixture of 85% Sangiovese and 15% Montepulciano while Conero is typically a blend of 15% Sangiovese and 85% Montepulciano.

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This young wine, bottled in the same year it is produced, has an intense ruby red color, with light violet reflections. It features a soft bouquet, considered fruity, and it has a dry, smooth, and well-balanced flavor, with an enjoyable slightly bitter but pleasant aftertaste.

Montepulciano has a fairly intense nose of strawberry and ripe plum fruit, combined with hints of leather and fading red flowers. On the palate it is dry, warm and quite smooth with good freshness. Flavors of Morello cherries, peaches and plums are backed by soft yet persistent sweet tannins and subtle tobacco notes.

The quality of Montepulciano wines produced in Abruzzo has been constantly improving in the last ten years, making Abruzzi, once a backwater in wine making, one of the most interesting realities in the Italian scene.

This wine can accommodate many red meats and game birds. It's over all smooth and balanced taste can please almost every kind of wine drinker.

Italian Wines - Montepulciano D'Abruzzo

Mike Samii,

Cordon Bleu Chef/Author

To obtain our e-book "The Right Wine For Your Food," and get access to a directory of 279 types of food and 80 types of impressive wine to match them, visit us at http://www.tastefullyamerican.com/TheRightWineForYourFood.htm

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Focaccia Bread - It Is One Of The Staples Of Northern Italian Cuisine

Focaccia it is a bread that is made in Northern Italy. You can add any ingredient that you prefer, to make it one of your own recipes. I will give you the list of ingredients that I prefer to use, and the technique to make Focaccia. Then you are off on your own to individualize the recipe for your taste requirements.

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List of Ingredients:

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For the Herb Oil

1 Cup of Olive Oil 1-2 T Basil chopped 1-2 T Thyme chopped 1-2 T Oregano chopped 1-2 T Rosemary chopped 3-4 cloves of Garlic you can add an additional clove/cloves, if you like more garlic 1 T of good sea salt or Kosher Salt 1/2 - 1 tsp of cracked Pepper

To make the Herb Oil for the bread: Combine all of the fresh herbs in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Just let it hang out until you are ready for it, but do not refrigerate.

Ingredients for the Focaccia Dough:

6 cups of Bread Flour 2-3 tsp of Sea Salt 2 tsp of instant yeast 7 tsp of olive oil 2 1/2 cups of water Make sure you water is not too hot between 105 - 115 degrees so it will not kill the yeast

To make your dough:

Combine all of the ingredients, other that the olive oil into a dough mixer. You could do this by hand if you want it will just double your mixing time. Mix until dough is all incorporated and together which will be about 3-5 minutes, and then add a little Olive Oil, just about 3-4 tsp. Then you will continue to mix the dough about an additional 1-2 minutes. You will remove the dough and add to a clean bowl. First you will coat the bowl first with about 1 tsp of Olive Oil, and then you will place the dough ball into the coated bowl. You will the let the dough rest for about 10-15 minutes at room temperature. Then you will punch/push/knead the dough down with your hands in a folded fist manner. You will not actually be punching the bread, it is just the name of the technique. After you do this process for around 1-2 minutes you will do the same thing over. Coat the bowl with about 1 tsp of oil, and this time you will cover with saran wrap and let the dough double in size. You want to keep an eye on the dough so it does not over ferment.

After it has double in size you will preheat your over to 400 if it is gas and 425 if it is electric. You are going to get your Focaccia bread prepped to bake. You will need a half sheet baking tray, and you will need to use some olive oil on the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking, and to help achieve a firm bottom crust. Transfer the dough to the greased sheet pan, do this gently, so it will not start to work the dough. Use your fingertips to start spreading the dough but do not puncture it while spreading. You will eventually work the dough out to the corners of the sheet pan. At this time you will let the dough rest for about 5-10 minutes. Make sure that your dough has not shrunk in, if it has punch it back out at this time. Add your Herb Oil and generously cover the bread. Next you will add the ingredients below.

Ingredients for the bread before baking:

1/2 - 1 cup of Sun Dried Tomatoes julienne strips 1 cup Parmesan Cheese shredded 1/2 cup of Olives that you prefer, I like the Kalamata Olives, but use your favorite

Your bread is almost ready to go in the oven, and this is the last step. Add these final ingredients, or ones you choose, and then put Focaccia Bread into the preheated oven. You will bake for around 8-10 minutes and turn 1/2 way or 180 degrees through the baking process and then cook until done, which could be an additional 10-15 minutes depending on your over. The top and bottom will be crisp, and it will have a slight golden or very light brown color. You will need to remove the bread at this time and add to a cooling rack to keep the bottom of the bread from getting soggy. Cool for about 15- 20 minutes before serving.

Focaccia Bread - It Is One Of The Staples Of Northern Italian Cuisine

Chef Shelley Pogue, a Cum Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and Executive Research and Development Chef, for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA.

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Marinara Sauce, Or "Sailor Sauce" It Is A Simple Italian Sauce Flavored With Tomatoes, Garlic & Herb

Marinara Sauce: This is a really simple sauce, and it is meant to be simple, as most Italian sauces. This sauce is traditionally flavored with tomatoes, garlic, and herbs. The translation of Marinara or "Marinaro" means Sailor, and thus means Sailor Sauce. There are several different variations of this sauce, and they are easy to make, and just as popular. There is a Cacciatore sauce and, a Pizzola sauce which I are at the bottome of this recipe.

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The ingredients you will need: 2 Tbps of a good olive oil 2 cloves of garlic, or as one of my chef instructors would say toes of garlic 4-5 lbs of fresh tomatoes, the best and ripest you can find, cut into 1/2"-3/4" pieces 1/4 - 1/2 c up fresh basil depending on your taste or love of basil, chopped, or chiffonade Salt and Pepper to taste = the level of salt or pepper you want in your sauce

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Lets make Sauce: In a large sauce pan you will heat your olive oil over a medium heat. When the oil is starting to shimmer in the bottom of the pan you will add your garlic and saute for around 15-30 seconds, do not burn your garlic. It will make your sauce taste bitter. You want a very small amount of color, or it to look translucent. Add your tomatoes with all of the juice from them, and stir with the garlic. You will bring to a simmer, which is a very low bubble in the pan if at all. You will stir occasionally to make sure it is cooking evenly, and not sticking to the bottom of your pan. You do not want to burn the sauce. After about 30- 40 minutes you will taste for salt and pepper content, and this is when you will add them to fit your taste. Then you will add your fresh basil and stir. If you want to garnish your sauce on top of your favorite pasta, then save some of the basil, and add after you plate your pasta dish. Some Parmesan cheese as garnish on the top would go well with this sauce if you prefer.

If you would like to put a full meal together. I suggest while your sauce is simmering, add a pot of water to the stove and start over a high heat. Bring the water to a boil, and before you add the pasta you prefer add a generous amount of salt to the water. Add your pasta, and stir to keep it from sticking. While your pasta is in the boiling water you will have about 7-10 minutes of free time to get a salad ready and possibly some garlic toast. I hope that you enjoy this recipe it its very easy, and it is fresh, and much better than a jar sauce. It will show those that matter most, that they are special, and that you cared enough to make a great family meal. Enjoy.

I am going to list 2 other variations of this sauce one is a Pizzola, and the other is a Cacciatore.

This is a Pizzola Italian sauce and will be great for any type of pasta dish. It is very simple to prepare and will be a definate hit for a family meal.

Ingredients you will need:2 T of Olive Oil ,2 Cloves of Garlic , 4-5 Lbs of the freshest Tomatoes you can find , 2 T of fresh Basil for garnish , 2-3 T of dried Italian herb mix= Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Oregano , 1 tsp of crushed Red Pepper flakes , 1/4-1/2 shredded Parmesan Cheese for garnish

Lets make Pizzola sauce: In a large sauce pan you will heat your olive oil over a medium heat. When the oil is starting to shimmer in the bottom of the pan you will add your garlic and saute for around 15-30 seconds, do not burn your garlic. It will make your sauce taste bitter. You want a very small amount of color, or for the garlicit to look translucent. Add your tomatoes with all of the juice from them, and stir with the garlic, and add your dry herbs and spices. . You will bring to a simmer, which is a very low bubble in the pan if at all. You will stir occasionally to make sure it is cooking evenly, and not sticking to the bottom of your pan. You do not want to burn the sauce. After about 30- 40 minutes you will taste for salt and pepper content, and this is when you will add them to fit your taste. If you want to garnish your sauce on top of your favorite pasta, then save some of the basil, and add after you plate your pasta dish. Some Parmesan cheese as garnish on the top would go well with this sauce if you prefer.

The Cacciatore sauce is just another variation of the Marinara sauce. If you have looked at my Marinara recipe the cooking principles are the same, other than a few additional ingredients.

The ingredients you will need: 2 Tbps of a good olive oil 2 cloves of garlic sliced thin, or as one of my chef instructors would say toes of garlic. 1 red and 1 green bell pepper, thin sliced with the stem and pith removed, no seeds. 1 can of slices button mushrooms, or 4-6 ounces of fresh button mushrooms if you prefer fresh ones. 1-1/2 to 2 tsp of dried Italian spice blend which is oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary. 4-5 lbs of the freshest tomatoes you can find cut into 1/2 - 3/4" cubes with all of the juice. 2 T of fresh basil, thin slices or chiffonade. Salt and Pepper to taste = the level of salt or pepper you want in your sauce

Lets make Sauce: In a large sauce pan you will heat your olive oil over a medium heat. When the oil is starting to shimmer in the bottom of the pan you will add your bell peppers, and mushrooms and saute for around 3-4 minutes, do not burn them just lightly saute. Then add your garlic, and saute for around 15-30 seconds. If you burn them it will make your sauce taste bitter, so be careful not to over cook. You want a very small amount of color, or them to look translucent, or tender. Add your tomatoes with all of the juice from them, and your herbs and stir. You will bring to a simmer, which is a very low bubble in the pan, if at all. You will stir occasionally to make sure it is cooking evenly, and not sticking to the bottom of your pan. You do not want to burn the sauce. After about 30- 45 minutes you will taste for salt and pepper content, and this is when you will add them to fit your taste. If you want to garnish your sauce on top of your favorite pasta, then add some of the 2 T. of basil from your ingredients list, on the top of the sauce, on your pasta dish. Some Parmesan cheese as garnish on the top would go well with this sauce if you prefer.

Marinara Sauce, Or "Sailor Sauce" It Is A Simple Italian Sauce Flavored With Tomatoes, Garlic & Herb

Chef Shelley Pogue, Cum Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and Executive Research and Development Chef for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA.

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