Tuscan Week Menu

An idea for a Tuscan menu from Toscana Mia cooking classes last week


Apetizer/Starter  Antipasto

Black Olives Crostini  
Crostini alle Olive Nere

http://toscanamiacooking.blogspot.it/2011/12/italian-black-olives-apetizer.html

First course Primo Pasta

Tuscan Spaghetti with  Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes  
                           Pici all' Aglione 

http://toscanamiacooking.blogspot.it/2011/12/how-to-make-pici.html

http://toscanamiacooking.blogspot.it/2011/12/cherry-tomatoes-garlic-sauce.html

Second Course  Secondo 
Balsamic Vinegar Scaloppine Scaloppine all' Aceto Balsamico

http://toscanamiacooking.blogspot.it/2012/03/scaloppine-balsamic-for-poultry-day.html

Contorno
Beans Tuscan Way   Fagioli al Fiasco

http://toscanamiacooking.blogspot.it/2009/01/cooking-cookery-typical-tuscan-cooking.html

Dessert  Dolce 
Panna Cotta with Chocolate and Safron Panna Cotta con Cioccolato e Zafferano

http://toscanamiacooking.blogspot.it/2009/10/panna-cotta-in-tuscany.html 

Black Olives crostini

Pici with Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes

Fagioli al Fiasco

Pici all' Aglione

balsamic Vinegar with Beans

Panna Cotta with chocolate

Panna Cotta with Safron and Chocolate

Tuscan Pheasant

Our neighbor Silvia came with a pheasant, with feathers.
She asked  "Would you like you want to cook it?" I wanted to say "NO, no thanks" for no other reason that cleaning it is  a bit boring, but it was certainly fresh: a special gift!

 And then I cleaned and cooked it ! 

Very good, but if you want to try find this experience find  a place outside  not to have feathers all over.

Simple Tuscan Pheasant

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 1 pheasant  
•  200 g lean bacon 
• 1 branch of sage, 
• 1 sprig rosemary, 
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• black pepper and salt 
• a glass of white wine
• Olive oil 

Once you have properly cleaned the pheasant, stuff it  with chopped bacon, salt, pepper and fragrant herbs.

Coat the pheasant with the bacon and bind  it well .

Put now the pheasant in a roasting pan lightly greased with olive oil and let it bake for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees. During cooking, add a glass of wine.
When the bacon is pretty golden, remove the pheasant from the oven,  cut into four pieces and keep warm.

It ' s also nice to add potatoes   when the pheasant is half cooked   so they’ll that roast well in the pheasant flavour .

How to prepare Roasted Meat on the Stove

Searching for suggestions for an Italian Christmas meal , roasted meat cooked on the stove

Arrosto Farcito Alle Erbe  

900g best end of veal

6 slices  smoked pancetta

Sage , Rosemary,  Parsley 

1 onion

1 glass dry white wine

3 cloves of garlic

70g butter

Salt,pepper

    

Chop  sage,rosemary,parsley and garlic.

Place a slice of pancetta around the meat. Spread the slices with the very-finely chopped herbs and garlic. Brown the onion in the butter in a casserole. Bind the meat and place it in this. Brown the meat, season with salt and pepper and pour on the wine. Let the wine evaporate at a high temperature. Then cook the meat over a low flame for c. 1½ hours. As the meat is cooking, pour on a little warm water so that the sauce does not dry out. Once cooked, unbind the meat, slice it and serve.

Aromatic Herbs in Italian Cooking 1 :Rosemary

Use of herbs and spices is basic in Italian cooking. Let’s start talk about the most important ones we cannot miss in our herb garden or in the kitchen. We’ll forget how to cultivate them or how to use them for medical uses as it would be too long ,only the cooking use.

"An herb is the friend of physicians and the praise of cooks."
- Charlemagne

Besides helping flavor foods when cutting back on salt, fat and sugar, herbs may offer additional benefits of their own. Researchers are finding many culinary herbs (both fresh and dried) have antioxidants that may help protect against diseases .
Pick herbs close to the time you use them to get the best flavor .To extend their freshness, place them in a vase with water, like cut flowers.
For most recipes mince herbs into tiny pieces ,chop with a mezzaluna
A blender would reduce herbs to a paste.

At first we talk about :
ROSEMARY better to be used fresh as desiccated leaves loose flavor. To strip the leaves from a woody sprig, simply hold the stem in one hand and remove the leaves using the finger and thumb of the other hand, pushing against the direction of the growth.
Rosemary's pungent flavor complements fatty meats particularly well, When grilling, toss a sprig or two of fresh rosemary onto the coals to add a wonderfully intense smokiness to your meats.You can use a woodier branch from the plant as to brush oil on grilling meat.
On grilling a lamb it’s compulsory as its aromatic smells eliminates the characteristic sheep smell.
Rosemary in marinades, or as an accent for Mediterranean vegetables.
Great in some tomato sauces. Pay attention not to use too much especially in summer when it can be too pungent .Half a branch is usually enough. In Tuscany it is used even in certain breads and dessert just slightly cooking it in oil and the n using the oil. With oil we mean :Extra Vergin Olive Oil !!!!

And now a Pasta sauce with rosemary:

Penne agli Aromi

Penne with Aromatic Herbs

2 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1 sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of sage
1 bunch of parsley
½ teaspoonful of oregano
½ glass of olive oil
500g peeled plum tomatoes
30g grated Parmigiano
Salt,Pepper

Finely chop the garlic,the onion and all the herbs.In a wide frying pan lightly brown the garlic and the onion in the oil for a few minutes. Then add the chopped herbs and the oregano. Stir the ingredients for a few seconds over a low flame, then add the tomatoes. Mix everything together well, add salt and pepper and cook the sauce for approx. 15 minutes. Add the cream, continuing to mix and let the sauce thicken slightly: then add the pasta and sprinkle with grated parmigiano Stir everything for a few minutes in the frying pan over a medium flame. Serve immediately hot.
Suggestion: do not add the cream and add a peperoncino