Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 small Onion finely chopped
• 6 Tomatoes chopped and seeded – Fresh ripe Italian plum tomatoes or solid pack canned tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons or so chopped fresh Herbs: rosemary/parsley and sage or basil Pepper and Salt to taste.

Directions:

1. Warm olive oil and sauté onions until translucent or golden.
2. Add tomatoes with juice and herbs, either the rosemary/parsley/sage mix or basil. Cover and simmer for about an hour. (My mother would “simmer” sauces for 4 or 5 hours over very low heat) Stir frequently.
3. Mix in salt and pepper.
4. (Optional) mash the mixture to get a “fine” texture and cook for a few minutes to reduce.

Ingredients:

* 2 pounds ricotta
* 5 eggs (room temperature )
* 1/3 cup flour (Normal)
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 tsps vanilla extract
* 1 tsp lemon zest
* 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1/8 tsp salt

Method:

* Put the ricotta in a large mixing bowl and blend with a spatula or egg beater until smooth.
* Gradually blend in the sugar and flour.
* Blend in the eggs one by one.
* Blend in vanilla, lemon zest, cinnamon and salt.
* Pre-heat oven to about 300 degrees.
* Butter and flour a 9 inch spring foam pan.
* Pour the ricotta mixture into the pan.
* Place the pan in the middle of the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
* Cool on a wire rack.
* Place in the refrigerator to chill before serving.

Top with your favorite toppings – fruit, whipped cream or chocolate. Add a little Amaretto liquor or strawberry puree to make this dessert even better.

Serving: 8 people

Ingredients:

1 tbl. olive oil
1 small chopped onion
1.5 cups diced winter squash (butternut, acorn, etc.)
3.5 cups chicken broth – or more
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Saute onion in olive oil over low heat about 10 minutes. Add squash and 0.5 cup chicken broth. Cover pan and cook until squash is tender, about 10 minutes. Add rice and wine and cook until wine is absorbed. Add 2.5 cups broth and simmer uncovered until liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Add 0.5 cup broth and stir until rice is tender and creamy, about 5 minutes. Mix in Parmesan and serve.

(Serves 6 as a first course)

Ingredients:

5 to 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 tblsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 1/2 cups short-grain Italian rice, preferably Vialone or Carnaroli
3 tblsp unsalted butter at room temperature
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, + extra to pass at the table
freshly ground pepper
salt

Instructions:

Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan and cook the onion over medium heat, stirring until the onion is golden but not brown, about 3-5 min.

Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon to coat the rice thoroughly with the oil and onion. Turn the heat to medium-high, add about 1/2. cup of the simmering stock, and keep the mixture boiling, stirring constantly. As soon as the stock has been absorbed, add another 1/2 c. of stock and stir until it is absorbed. You may have to adjust the heat from time to time — the risotto has to keep boiling, but it must not stick to the pot. If your risotto tends to stick, put the pot on a heat diffuser. Continue adding stock, about 1/2 c. at a time, stirring constantly and waiting until each portion is absorbed before adding the next, until the risotto is creamy and tender on the outside, but with each grain still distinct and firm. This will take at least 20 minutes, maybe as long as 30 minutes, depending on your pot and your stove. If the grains are still a bit hard in the middle after you have used all but a few Tablespoons of the stock, add boiling water in 1/4 c. increments, stirring it in as you did the stock until each grain is tender, but still has the slightest bit of firmness, and the mixture is creamy.

Remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir vigorously while adding the butter and the Parmesan cheese. This stirring will make the risotto even creamier. Taste and season the mixture with salt and pepper. While continuing to stir vigorously, add the few remaining tqablespoons of hot stock (or boiling water if you’ve used all the stock) to further soften the consistency. Taste carefully once more for seasoning and serve immediately, passing a small bowl of grated Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients:

1 litre of boiling broth or water and cubes to make the broth
1 small size onion
50 g of butter
1 glass of white dry wine
400 g of Arborio or Roma rice (1/2 glass per person aprox)
1/2 tsp of saffron
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
salt as necessary

Instructions:

Have 1 litre or more of clear salted broth made (preferably) by boiling ca 500 grams or more of beef and bones for about 2 hrs or more. Alternatively you can use cubes for an easiest and fastest preparation (but it will not taste the same). Keep the broth boiling in a pot on the fire.

Finely chop a small onion, then stir fry it for about a minute (don`t let it turn brown) with about 50 grams of butter. If you wish, you may also add one possibly-Italian red sausage cut in small pieces, and let all fry for an additional 3-5 minutes at a low flame. This is however a variation of the traditional recipe.

Add the rice (suggested Arborio or Roma rice, definitely not Uncle Ben’s or similiar), and stir. Add the glass of wine and let it dry out stirring continuously. Turn the flame down to the minimum, or just above. Start adding two dippers of the boiling broth until it evaporates, stirring the rice continuously. Then add again two dippers at a time when the rice gets dry, and continue the same way until the rice is ready (about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the rice you are using, taste for consistency). Definitely avoid versing the whole broth at large at once, but keep versing it in small quantities, and stir. Make sure all the broth with the rice has evaporated before serving. Just before taking it off the fire add the grated parmesan cheese and stir well. Add salt if needed. At this point you already have a tasty Parmesan risotto.

For a “Risotto alla Milanese”, add the saffron (in Italy they sell it in small packages of the proper amount) in the end and stir well one last time.

The recipe for Parmesan risotto is the base recipe for almost all the other “risotti” you may prepare. You can add champagne or beer instead of wine, or you can stew peas, mushrooms, asparagi or artichokes (always finely chopped) with some broth just before adding the rice. Or just anything else you may want to experiment with (e.g. with apples or prunes you will make an excellent “nouvelle cousine” risotto, but in this case instead of parmesan you should use cream).

Ingredients:

2 cups (1/2 l) short grain white rice
2 quarts (2 l) chicken or beef stock
8 tblsp (120 ml) butter
2 slices prosciutto, dice
1 small onion, thinly slice
2 cups (1/2 l) shelled fresh peas
1 tblsp (15 ml) chopped fresh parsley
1 cup (1/4 l) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions:

Bring the stock to a boil and keep it simmering. Melt half of the butter in a saucepan set over medium heat; then add the prosciutto. When the ham is very hot, add the onion. When the onion is transparent, add the rice and stir the grains until they are well coated with butter. When the rice glistens, start adding the hot stock a ladleful at a time.

Allow the first ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next, but do not let the rice dry out. Season with salt and pepper and, when the rice is half-done (about 10 to 12 minutes), add the peas. Continue adding the stock and continue stirring. When the rice is almost done (about 25 minutes), add the parsley and Parmesan. Just before removing the pan from the heat, add the rest of the butter. Serve immediately.

Ingredients:

1 lb hot Italian sausage
1 slice finely chopped onion
1/2 green pepper, finely diced
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
dash of pepper
1/4 tsp salt
ca. 1 1/4 cups spaghetti sauce
40 large mushroom caps
oil
mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

Cook Italian sausage, onion, green pepper, garlic powder, and a handful of mushroom stems, finely chopped, in a skillet, then drain fat. (It’s best if you put meat mixture into a food processor with steel blade at this point to give meat a finer texture. Just process for about 5 seconds or less.) Then add bread crumbs, pepper, salt, and spaghetti sauce. Coat mushroom caps with oil. Fill mushroom caps with meat mixture. Cover with foil and bake at 350 about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, then broil until cheese is melted and mushrooms are tender. (Or loosely cover with wax paper and microwave.)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb leg veal cubed
3 tablespoons seasoned plain flour
3 eggs beaten
4 oz / 1 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

Italian Sauce – 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic crushed
1 1/2 lb ripe tomatoes skinned and chopped
5 tablespoons dry white wine
slat and pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Method:

Toss veal in flour; dip in egg and coat in mixed crumbs and peel. To make the Italian sauce heat the oil in a saucepan add the onion and garlic and cook over a low heat until soft. Add tomatoes and wine and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree sauce in a blender or food processor until smooth or press through a sieve. Stir in basil and reheat the sauce before serving. Serve with the veal cooked in hot oil.

(Serves 4-6)