Torta Caprese

a.k.a Flourless Chocolate Cake

Adapted from Food Lovers Odyssey

9 oz good quality dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I didn't have dark chocolate, only semi sweet.  So I decreased the amount of sugar to 1 cup.)
1 cup butter
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp almond extract
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cups ground blanched and toasted almonds (see instructions below)
6 eggs, room temperature

Preheat an oven to 310° and line the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan with parchment paper.

Slowly melt the chocolate and butter over a double-boiler.  In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk together the melted chocolate mixture, the cocoa powder, almond extract and sugar until combined.  Add the ground almonds and whisk until combined.  Add the eggs one at a time, adding each egg after the first has been incorporated into the mixture.

Pour the mixture into the spring-form pan.  Make sure the mixture is level and smooth on top.  Bake for 50-60 minutes.  Cool and serve with chocolate spirals or shavings and powdered sugar.  Serve with gelato or whipped cream.


Almonds
Blanch:  Boil some water and add desired amount of almonds.  Let almonds sit in water for 30 seconds.  Drain almonds and place on paper towels.  Pinch the almond at the fat end and the almond should pop right out!  Get the kids involved.  It was lots of fun!

Toast:  Heat oven to 350°.  Place almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Bake for 5 minute intervals stirring in between, until almonds are blonde to light brown in color.  They will smell divine!

Grind:  Pulse almonds in blender until somewhat fine in texture.

Pasta al Olio

A simple dish of cooked and drained pasta, usually spaghetti or farfalle, tossed with a few tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper and maybe a bit of basil or Italian seasoning.  If you want take it up a notch, add some sauteed onion, garlic and crushed red pepper and cook until onion is carmelized.  Fantabulous!!!

Pot Roast alla Napolitano

2 1/2 - 3 lb pot roast
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
1 small carrot, shredded
5 medium carrots, 1" chunks
1 small onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cups water
16 oz penne pasta

Combine all ingredients except pasta in slow cooker.  Cook on high 5-6 hours.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Remove roast and carrots to serving plate.  Serve sauce over pasta.

Tuscan Soup

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

12 oz Italian sausage
8 cups water
2 tbsp vegetable broth powder
2 tbsp onion soup mix
4 large potatoes, cubed
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and chopped
8 oz penne pasta

Brown sausage in frying pan.  In large pot, combine sausage, water, broth powder, soup mix and potatoes.  Cook on medium heat until potatoes are just tender, about 20-30 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente.  Drain.

Add spinach and pasta to soup.  Continue cooking until spinach is lightly cooked, about 5-10 minutes more.

Sausage Alfredo Pasta

This is far from healthy but it was so good!  I'm going to make it again sometime, but with better ingredients.

12 oz Italian sausage
24 oz farfalle pasta
1/4 cup butter
2 packets Alfredo sauce mix
5 cups water
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, brown and crumble sausage in a large saute pan.  Drain sausage on a few paper towels.

Melt the butter in the saute pan over medium-low heat then add the Alfredo sauce mix.  Add water and whisk together.  Continue whisking until sauce thickens.  Add the mushroom soup and mix to combine.   Add sausage back into pan and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Garlic Bread

1 loaf french bread

1/2 cup butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp dried basil

3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

2 tbsp olive oil

salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350F.  Cut bread in half lengthwise.  Mix butter, garlic, basil, Parmesan and olive oil in a small bowl.  Add salt until it tastes almost too salty.

Spread butter mixture over the two halves of bread.  Cut bread into 2-inch slices.  Don't cut all the way through the crust.  Place bread halves on cookie sheet.  Bake about 10-15 minutes; just until butter melts and bread starts to lightly brown.  Move bread under broiler and broil until nice and crispy.

Mushroom Pizza

Makes 8 servings

3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 cup fresh spinach, rinsed and dried, cut lengthwise into ½ -inch strips
8 oz shredded mozzarella
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 12-inch pre-baked pizza crust

Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, mix together oils. Brush onto crust. Scatter spinach over crust, top with mushrooms and cover with cheese. Bake 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are crisp.

Basic Pizza Dough

Makes 2 thin 15” crusts

4 cups Napton flour, plus extra for counter (or all-purpose)
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dough enhancer
1 3/4 cups water, warm

Mix flour, yeast, and salt together in large mixing bowl. Add oil and water and mix until dough comes together and looks shaggy. Increase speed and mix 10 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled, 1-1 1/2 hours.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Place baking stone on rack and heat oven to 500º.

Turn dough out and cut into two even pieces. Stretch and shape dough on a piece of parchment paper.

Spread a thin layer of sauce over dough, leaving a 1/2” edge of dough uncovered. Sprinkle with cheese and desired toppings. Lightly brush the edge of the dough with olive oil.

Slide parchment paper and pizza onto baking stone. Bake for 8-13 minutes or until crust browns and cheese is golden in spots.

Authentic Napton Pizza

I got this recipe from Forno Bravo. The real Napton pizza recipe. We finally got the real flour the other day, so now we are trying to get the perfect Pizza Napoletana. We've tried it twice now and the first time did the dough pretty well, and the second time got the sauce. Now we just need to get them both to turn out at the same time. We have enough flour for about 200 pizzas, so we should be able to get it right at some point! I learned (even though it actually says IN the recipe not to use a rolling pin) that you don't want to use a rolling pin. It really makes it come out wrong. And I also learned that having a pizza peel is a VERY helpful thing with an oven this hot. Good luck!

Dough
500 gr Molino Caputo Tipo 00 flour
325 gr warm water
2 tsp salt
2 tsp active dry yeast

Sauce
1 can (28 oz) San Marzano tomatoes
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp of salt
1 tsp of oregano

Mix water and yeast together in large mixing bowl. Let proof 10 minutes. Add salt and flour. Mix slowly for 2 minutes, fast for 5 minutes and slow again for 2 minutes.

Cover dough and let rise 1½ -2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Punch down, knead out bubbles and cut into 4-5 portions. Form into balls and let rest for 1 hour.

Flip dough over so soft bottom faces up. Gently shape the ball into a flat disk, then pull and stretch with fingers. Try to keep working in a circle to keep the thickness of the dough consistent, avoiding thick and thin spots. At the point where it cannot get thinner without making a hole, put your pizza on a floured work surface, and use your fingertips to work out the thick spots by pushing the dough to the outside. Make dough about as thick as a credit card and about 10" in diameter. (The more you handle the dough, the tougher it becomes. Don't use a rolling pin, which is hard on the dough and will give you a thin, but tough pizza. By not being over-handled, the pizza will be both crisp and delicate.)

Preheat oven to highest setting (525º-550º). Place pizza stone in oven while heating. In a saucepan, mash tomatoes with potato masher. Add remaining sauce ingredients, mix until combined and heat until heated through. Place pizza dough on a flour-dusted pizza peel. Spread just enough sauce to lightly cover base (dough should show through), a handful of chopped, fresh mozzarella and a drizzle of olive oil in circular pattern.

Place in oven. Turn pizza 180º after about 90 seconds. Bake another 45-90 seconds. The perfect pizza is bubbling on top with completely melted (and possibly slightly browned) cheese, has a brown outer crust. The crust is crunchy on the outside and soft and delicate on the inside. Throw on some fresh basil and sprinkle with more olive oil.