recipes for girls

I hope everyone makes these at home…I know I will. It will remind me of Florence and palazzulo 1 xoxox

1. Marinated Sweet peppers-

I used to make these for you guys before dinner…since we didn’t have an oven I put them on the stove top, but it’s easier to roast them in the oven!

- 3 large yellow and red sweet peppers
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (I’ll abbreviate this evoo from now on. Just easier)

Put washed sweet peppers on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil without cutting them. Roast on all sides under the broiler (this is an oven setting- it’s like an upside down fire…just check your oven.) Then close in the foil for 20 minutes outside the oven so they can finish cooking in their own steam. If you don’t wanna do this just put them in a dry pan over high heat and cover them until they black on all sides. When they’re done, still cover in the foil for 20 minutes)

Meanwhile, prepare the marinating sauce by finely mincing the fresh parsley and garlic. Mix with salt and evoo.

Then open the peppers, let them cool, and remove the top, skins, and seeds. Tear into strips and salt them. In a bowl or a casserole dish, layer the peppers and the marinade. You can also garnish with some black olives. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours- even though we used to eat them right away. It will still be delicious!

2. Tiramisu! This was the best one I tasted in italy. Make it!

- 3 egg yolks (the yellow part)
- 3 tablespoons of sugar
- 9 oz. of mascarpone cheese (look for it near the cream cheese in the grocery store…or u can use cream cheese if necessary)
- 3 stiffly beaten egg whites (when u separate the eggs, put the egg whites in another bowl and whisk with an electric whisk…they’ll turn white and stiff after about 4 minutes)
- 10 oz. plain cookies- like the ones Corey used to eat all the time. Just plain, cheap biscuity cookies
- 6 cups of espresso coffee (u can use instant)
- Cocoa powder

Whip the egg yolks with the sugar until light in color. Gradually add the mascarpone cheese, beating all the time. In a separate bowl whip the egg whites until stiff, and then fold GENTLY into yolk mixture (don’t just whip carelessly- take the mixer and actually fold the whites in. otherwise it will deflate) Dip the cookies into the cooled espresso, and then layer in a bowl with the egg mixture and then cocao powder (just a sprinkle.) So you put cookies down, then egg mixture, then cocoa powder, then repeat. Decorate the top layer with cookies and then some cocoa. Refrigerate overnight and then EAT!

3. Chickpea soup

THIS WAS SO GOOD. Make it.

- ½ lb. dried chickpeas (I’ll explain how to make it with canned chickpeas later)
- Fresh rosemary
- 2 garlic cloves
- Red pepper flakes (spicy- optional!)
- 14 ½ oz. of stewed tomatoes (I’m not sure how many American cans this is. But it’s 14 ½ oz.)
- 6 handfuls of small pasta- (look for the tiny tiny ones you’d see in minestrone or Italian wedding soup) she called it ditalini pasta.

First prepare the dried chickpeas. Try to use a pot with a thick, heavy bottom. Put the beans in the pot with 4 times as much cold water as it takes to cover them. Don’t add salt yet. Then cook them over low heat, with out moving them, for as long as it takes. It may take between 2 and 4 hours. Just taste them after a while and you will know when they’re done!

When the beans are ready, tie up a branch of rosemary with string. Sauté the rosemary with 2 cloves of minced garlic and some pepper flakes in evoo in a large pot. Before the garlic starts to color, add half of the chickpeas (with the water they cooked in!) Take the other half and puree them in a blender. Then add them to the soup, along with the stewed tomatoes. Salt everything. When it starts to boil add 6 handfuls of pasta. Keep boiling water on the side to add if needed. Then cook the chickpea soup on low and stir often. When the pasta will done, the soup is done. Serve with a drizzle of evoo on top!

**Also- if you want to used *canned chickpeas, just skip the part of cooking them…just drain the chickpeas and add water instead (the juice that comes in the can with the peas is gross, and has tons of sodium, so use water instead.)

4. Crostini toscani. Tiff and alison’s fave!

- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 stalk of celery
- 1 clove of garlic
- ½ pound of chicken livers
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (find it grocery stores)
- Crostini bread

Mince the carrot, onion, celery, and garlic together. Sauté these veggies in olive oil on medium heat until golden brown. In the meantime, clean the livers and cut them into pieces. Sear the pieces in hot olive oil for a few minutes to dry the juices. Then chop them finely.

When the veggies are golden, add the chopped chicken livers and brown for a few minutes. Then add some water, just enough to cover and a ½ a buillion cube (the stuff you make chicken stock with- what tiff bought for the thanksgiving gravy!). Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes. Chop the capers and add to livers, along with the anchovy paste, then cook for 3 more minutes.

Serve on slices of toasted bread.

5. Pappa al Pomodoro- Tomato Bread soup yummy

- 7 oz day-old bread (sourdough is good)
- - 2 buillion cubes (chicken stock cubes)
- 2 cans (14 ½ oz) of stewed tomatoes
- 4 cups water
- ½ evoo
- Salt
- Fresh basil
- 3 garlic cloves
- Red pepper flakes

In a heavy-bottomed pot, or a crock pot, add all the ingredients above before putting it on a stove top. The bread should be broken up a bit and the garlic and tomatoes chopped. Cook on low, covered, stirring often so that the bread dissolves. Cook for about an hour or until the garlic is soft and the bread has become a thick soup. Be care that it doesn’t stick! You may have to add more water if too thick. Serve with a drizzle of evoo.

6. Sundried tomatoes spread – you can eat these whole (like we did) or chopped up!

- sundried tomatoes (1 or 2 cups, however many u want)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 2 cloves of garlic sliced
- Red pepper flakes
- Oregano
- Evoo

Bring 2 cups of water to bill with the bay leaf. Place all the sun dried tomatoes in the pot and boil for 3 minutes on the stove. Turn off and let set for 15 minutes. Then drain well. Arrange the tomatoes in layers with remaining ingredients inside a glass jar or dish. Use enough evoo to cover, otherwise the air will dry out the tomatoes. Just before serving, blend in blender. Serve on toasted bread!

7. Sweet Fake Salami

Make this. It tastes like cookie dough.

- 9 oz simple cookies (or teddy grahams)
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup melted butter, cooled
- Cocao powder
- Powdered sugar

Crush the cookies by crumbling in a bowl. You must have some pieces and some cookie dust. This actually took a while…take the bottom of a bowl and push down on all the cookies until you have little bits of cookies and lots of dust! Then in another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until it’s light and fluffy. Mix in the cooled melted butter. Stir in the crumbled cookies. Add as much cocao as u like, depending on how dark you want your salami.

Hold aluminum foil in your hands (like gloves) and shape the dough into a cylinder similar to salami. Again, this will take a while, but keep working the cookie dust into the egg mixture and eventually it will form a dough. Roll into a salami roll, close in the foil, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Then remove the foil and pat it with powdered suigar to give it that aged-salami look. Cut into slice and voila!