I’m a promoter of having gelato over ice cream because of some health and taste benefits.   Don’t get me wrong, I still like regular ice-cream (Turkey Hill for example – Natural line), but gelato truly is a class in an of itself.

A Brief Overview of Gelato

Regular ice cream can have up to 50% air content.   That explains why it’s so light and airy.  Gelato on the other hand has considerably less air content because it doesn’t mix in additional air during the mixing process.  Hence why gelato makers like the one I write about here advertises it’s air tight lid, which can’t be opened while the machine is running.

In addition, gelato uses whole or 2% milk rather than cream.   This makes it a lower calorie dessert than ice cream.

Retailers like Talenti are Catching On

Talenti Gelato

I was in Martin’s (also known as Giant) the other day shopping with my husband and we were checking out the ice cream aisle.

When we were leaving empty handed (no good sales on the good brands), I decided to check and see if anyone sold gelato, and sure enough there were actually two brands that sold it!

The first brand was Talenti and the ingredients list was fairly decent.   Unfortunately they included additional chemicals and even included soy lecithin which knocks out people who are intolerent to soy.

I really wish they could do what Turkey Hill did with their All Natural Ice Cream line and keep to the basics – cream, non fat milk, sugar, vanilla and vanilla bean (for the vanilla ice cream).

For their Mint Chocolate Chip:  Cream, nonfat milk, sugar, chocolate chips, oil of peppermint.

Why can’t others do this too?

Gelato ingredients on the Talenti version called, Mediterranean Mint:  milk, sugar, cream, chocolate, dextrose, natural flavors (whatever that means), fresh mint, vanilla, guar gum, soy lecithin (that stinks for people who can’t have soy).

To be fair, Talenti isn’t too far off – it could be worse.  I looked at Martin’s store brand

Simply Enjoy Pistachio Gelato

called Simply Enjoy and  the list was much worse.  I didn’t take a photo, but when I do I’ll update this post.

For that reason, I passed on it and purchased Talenti.

My opinion of Talenti’s Mint gelato

The first thing I noticed was the texture.  My spoon slid right into the gelato.   I noticed the density of the gelato, but like I said the texture was smooth so it was a great balance.

The mint flavor was fairly mild and I’m glad it wasn’t overpowering like some are.  Nor was it overly sweet, unless I eat too much – as I’m doing now while I’m writing this.

My conclusion is that gelato is going to become more popular here in America.   Soon you’ll see retailers offering specialty gelato next to regular ice cream, most likely marketed as a healthier version.  I compared my gelato nutritional facts with another similar ice cream and Talenti’s came out ahead.  Less fat, less sodium, less sugar.

I’d recommend Talenti’s gelato, but I’ve only tried the Mediterranean Mint.  I’ll try the Belgian Chocolate next and hopefully I’ll be equally impressed.

What I’m not impressed about are the extra ingredients that keep it from being a pure gelato.

Liz

So when I was asked by The Harvard Common Press if I was interested in taking a look at a new book they were publishing called, Tomatoes & Mozzarella – it was an easy yes.

Anyone who likes tomatoes and mozzarella will truly enjoy this book .  But let me explain why.

The book has a beautiful cover which instantly makes you start thinking about your next trip to the store so you can get started with some of these recipes.

Tomatoes & Mozzarella

The book includes recipes not only from Italy, but from other countries such as France, Spain, even some places here in the US.

When I first agreed to read the book, I thought all the recipes would be from Italy (after all this is an Italian website).   So when I realized this was not the case I was bit disappointed until I started looking at the pages and reading the recipes.

To give an idea of what you can expect, one of the recipes is called Deviled Tomatoes.   Instead of using hard boiled egg as the “bowl”, they use small plum tomatoes to house the chopped ingredients – one of which is hard boiled eggs.

The Deviled Tomatoes are then topped with sliced small mozzarella balls.  How ingenious! I can guarantee this one is a perfect appetizer that will get tons of raves.   Too bad I’m not writing this in the summer -but hey – who cares when you make it!

Catalan not Roman Garlic Bread

Catalan is in Spain so when I saw the recipe for Catalan Tomato Bread, I had to find out what makes this different from an Italian bread?

The concept is the same – toasted thick artisan bread, rub garlic on bread, sliced tomatoes on top along with mozzarella, and a drizzle of olive oil along with a dash of salt…. and here is the added ingredient… a drizzle of red wine vinegar.

Most Italian garlic bread recipes that I’ve seen don’t come with the red wine vinegar.   Not saying it can’t be done, in fact I plan on testing it out myself with a loaf of bread we have in the freezer.

Marinated Artichoke Salad

I chose this recipe because A) it’s Italian and B)it is similar to a combo of two recipes I have (my anti-pasto recipe and my cannellini bean salad recipe).

It’s basically an antipasto which is really hearty and served on top of lettuce leaves which I think is a great idea!   I’d omit the capers, but that’s just me.

The Healthy Parisians

When I think of French food I think butter and more butter.   But one of the recipes, Tomato Lentil Salad really stood out to me.   Not only is it not smothered in butter (burro in Italian), but it really is healthy.

Ingredients include lentils, water, thyme, bay leaves, garlic, white onion (less pungent than red or yellow onion), tomatoes, pesto and shredded mozzarella.

It is simple enough to prepare and you probably have most of these ingredients around if you have an Italian filled pantry or refrigerator.

Unique

This book is unique – that’s the only word that really comes to mind.  I say that because it has such a wide variety of recipes.  For example, you wouldn’t think that a tomato and mozzarella book would include a tomato jam recipe.   This one does.

What about Basil scones?  This one does.

How about a Southwestern layered black bean salad with smoked mozzarella?  This one does.

I have not tried too many recipes from this book to be honest.   Not because I don’t want to – trust me I want to try them all!   I’m just sayin’ I can’t vouch for all of the recipes yet.

Great for Vegetarians or as Meatless Alternatives

The book is not vegetarian but there are a lot of meatless recipes here.   Since my husband has recently given up meat for the past 2 months I’m left with trying to find good recipes that fit the bill.

This book does that.

For example, the Wild Mushroom Macaroni and Cheese is a good choice for us.    It’s hearty and still fills the stomach.

The book offers more than boring recipes, it offers a variety of creative recipes from various regions and offers a ton of ideas how to use tomatoes without getting sick of them.

This past summer a friend emailed me with a problem.  She told me she had a huge number of tomatoes that had come out of nowhere and she had no idea what to do with them all!   I don’t think I was much help – told her pretty much just make a lot of sauce and freeze it.

I wish I had this book back then because I know it would have been a huge help for her.  So if you know someone who grows a lot of tomatoes each year or just really like tomatoes and mozzarella – this book is very much for them!

You can order the book from Amazon here if you want to take a look at the inside of the book to check it out.   If you’re total is over $25 (the book is less than $15) you get free shipping.

We hate admitting it, but most of us are spoiled when it comes to espresso. We just walk in to some coffee shop, put in our order, and whine when it takes the barista longer than twenty seconds to press our double-shot into that little ceramic cup we all love because it makes us feel like we’re giants.

A Bit of Espresso History

Making Espresso

But espresso is much more than just some dark, bitter liquid we hurriedly throw down to help us power through some boring afternoon business meeting.

It is a caffeinated (or decaffeinated) work of art from its brewing to its presentation, and has a history to which we can all relate: it all started with an overbearing, micromanaging boss that felt his workers were taking too long during their coffee breaks.

In the late-19th / early-20th century in Milan, Itay, Luigi Bezzera wanted more production out of his workers, who – just like us – would take coffee breaks throughout the day.

Thinking they spent too much time bringing water to a boil, adding the ground and roasted beans, and cooking the liquid until it “smelled right,” he developed a steam-driven beast of a machine (the Tipo Gigante) that used water and steam forced under high pressure to yield what we know of today as “espresso.”

(To be honest, though, Bezzera’s machine was actually a takeoff from Angelo Moriondo’s original espresso machine patent, but hey…)

By forcing the water through finely ground coffee beans, he cut those coffee breaks down considerably, and production at his plant skyrocketed. He essentially caught lightning in a bottle, and from there, espresso gained worldwide popularity.

Today anyone can make espresso right in their own homes using smaller espresso pots that are used over a stove (like a tea pot).  These are called stove top espresso makers and  can be easily purchased online at places like Amazon.

The Evolution of Espresso to Espresso Drinks

As espresso bars became “the thing” in the increasingly urbanized areas, it was again tampered with, as its bitter flavor was too much for many people to handle.

Thus, the cappuccino was born, adding the sweet creaminess needed to curb the rather pronounced raw flavor (the latte didn’t arrive until the 1950’s, in Berkeley, California of all places).

Latte

When espresso is properly brewed, its signature reddish-brown crema develops like a foam at the top.

The crema is water capturing the coffee’s oils, so the lighter the crema, the fewer the captured oils. (Now, this could be due to the brew time of the espresso or the roast itself, so try not to get mad at your barista if it looks a little pale.)

The Crema

This crema is unique to espresso-making because it is the only method employing the pressure necessary to extract those otherwise insoluble oils from the bean. Oil is fat, and fat is where all the flavor is: thus, the intense flavor of the espresso shot.

Crema is the base by which the quality of the shot is judged, sure, but because it contrasts nicely with the stark white of milk foam, those brewing it developed something called “latte art.”

While pouring the milk and its foam, the barista can actually pour in designs ranging from Christmas trees to hearts to fruits. Good latte artists develop unique followings, and if you ever get your hands on a latte made by one, sit back and admire it for all its worth. It really can be quite impressive.

So the next time you go in and want to order a triple, non-fat, grande mocha drink, resist the temptation, and just order a double shot of espresso. It has less caffeine than a typical cup of coffee, and more quickly gives you what you really want: a burst of energy.

The Role of the Italian Government and Parmigiano-Reggiano

Parmigiano-Reggiano

It is the king of Italian cheeses, and its salty, slightly nutty components are so often imitated that the Italian government has stepped in to declare that anything not from the North-Central regions of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardia cannot call itself real Parmesan cheese at all.

If that last fact caught you off-guard, we’ve got some more cocktail-party-impressive trivia about this unassuming wheel of yumminess you may find interesting.

Are Paremesan and Parmigiano-Reggiano the same thing?

First of all, it’s not properly called “Parmesan,” but “Parmigiano-Reggiano,” named after the Parma and Reggio Emilia regions of Italy in which it has been produced using roughly the same recipe for over 700 years.

Yup: the Parmigiano-Reggiano you eat today is the very same cheese King Charles V and Napoleon himself ate way back when. Parmegiano-Reggiano is the good stuff; “Parmesan” is what the French dubbed it, and what got carried over into our lexicon.

No, the real deal is inspected by a master grader with the Italian Consorzio Parmigiano-Reggiano at twelve months of age. This highly scientific inspection involves this guy going around to all the cheese rounds and thumping them with a hammer.

That’s it. That’s the test. He listens for impurities… in cheese. And you thought there was fluff in your job?

At any rate, if the cheese round (each and every one of them gets inspected, by the way) passes this test, its rind gets branded with the Consorzio’s logo, letting the buyer know the cheese they are about to take home has gotten the seal of approval from the entire nation of Italy.

The Italian Region of Parma and Pig Feed

Now, for some really fun trivia: the Parma region producing the cheese is the same Parma region that produces the world-famous Prosciutto di Parma ham.

Only quasi-impressive knowledge at the surface, sure, but traditional farms producing Parmigiano-Reggiano kept their pigs close by their cheese bins, and would feed them the leftover whey from the vats of curd they’d make during the process.

So, leftover protein from great cheese derived from grass-fed cows under scrupulous restrictions going to feed pigs under identically strict observation? No wonder that pork is so succulent.

The Role of Salt

Salt

Lastly – and perhaps even most surprisingly – is the fact that the only additive allowed in real Parmigiano-Reggiano is salt.  That’s it.  And all of the salt added is absorbed by the cheese in the first twenty (20) days of curing.

There’s no crazy-sounding, hard-to-pronounce methyl-xantha-whatever; just salt. Try reading the back of that green bottle you shake over your pasta, and your tongue will get cramps.

Genuine Parmigiano-Reggiano costs you a bit more than some of your other options, but since its flavor is so unique and intense, you don’t need as much of it as you would the lesser stuff.

And if you add paper-thin shavings of it into a hot cream or tomato sauce, it will melt right in; the other stuff just floats.

Parmigiano-Reggiano is in the pantheon of great foods that both identify a cuisine and a culture.

It is never manufactured with quality as an afterthought, and each maker does its best to outdo their competition – every wedge or wheel you buy is guaranteed top quality, a representation of the facility that made it.

You’re essentially buying pride… that tastes delicious.

My husband however was very excited and insisted that I make it.   So I looked around and based on other recipes and created my own Ricotta Pie recipe based on what I thought was appropriate.

I posted it online about a year ago or so and to be frank, had forgotten about it until a reader named Luke emailed me about the recipe.

He was making it for his church group’s Thanksgiving lunch.   Instead of recapping the

Ricotta Pie by Luke

email I’ve included it below along with a photo he was kind enough to take.

“I had a grand luncheon. The pie was well received…..  I told my tablemates about the desserts I brought (pumpkin pie  a la Libby’s; a Hazelnut and olive oil
cake –from La Cucinna magazine; and a ricotta pie).

One of the ladies at  my table raced off to get the ricotta pie saying saying her grandfather used to make it….gotta remember all of the group is over 65.

She said the pie brought back memories….

I am 72 and have baked 5 desserts in my whole life—3 in the last 2 days.  I
look for simple recipes…not many steps…

Thanks for your recipes….Next time I will let cool for 2 hours (your video)
and use just a few strawberries as they infuse the pie with a pleasant flavor..today’s
coverage may be too much for my taste…need to experiment some.”

Testimonials like these make my day – actually my week.  I’m proud that Luke chose to make my recipe and I hope you give it a try as well!

Thanks Luke!

Sincerely,

Liz
www.simpleitaliancooking.com