Holiday Candied Fruit Biscotti

Candied fruit are made by cooking and soaking fruits in sugar syrup. The fruit is saturated with sugar which conserves it. They have been prepared by many cultures worldwide for centuries. Depending on the amount of sugar absorbsion, the fruits can last for years.

Candied Fruit

In Italy they are commonly used in desserts such as Spumoni, (Sicilian ice cream), Panettone, (a sweet bread commonly made at Christmas), preserves, Florentins, Cassata, (a Sicilian cake), gelato, tarrone, and biscotti.

Candied Fruit Tarrone

Cassata

Baskets of candied fruit are traditionally given during Christmas. This time of the year you can find stands in Christmas markets all over Italy filled with all sorts of colorful candied fruit selections.

Candied Fruit Gifts

We make candied fruit biscotti as part of our Christmas biscotti tray. These biscotti are colorful and are also very pretty in a Torta di Biscotto di Nozze (Italian wedding biscotti cake). It needs no frosting and is very easy to make.

Candied Fruit Biscotti
Napolitano

Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes @ 375º F
Yield: 5 Dozen

Dry Ingredients
2 cups sugar
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup of walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup candied fruit, chopped

Wet Ingredients
6 eggs
2 teaspoons anise extract
2 sticks butter

DOUGH
Cream the eggs and sugar, and add the butter and extract and beat until smooth. Gradually add the flour and baking powder. Fold in the nuts and chopped candied fruit. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Chopped candied fruit

Sticky dough

ASSEMBLY
Form the dough into long cylinders about 12” long. Place the loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Teflon mat.

Biscotti loaf

BAKE
Bake at 375º F for 20-25 minutes. Remove them from the oven and slice the loaves diagonally when cooled. Place the slices on their side and return them to the oven. Bake for another 2 minutes on each side.

Cooked loaves

Double baking

Unglazed Candied fruit biscotti

Panettone Bread Pudding

During the Christmas Holidays, Italians present Panettone to friends and neighbors as Christmas greetings. Stores and markets are stacked with colorful boxes of Panettone and restaurants have baskets filled with Panettone cups wrapped in colorful foil to give to their customers. We shop at a market in Como where they are baking Panettone day in and day out trying to keep up with the demand. It has become so popular that today you can find it year round, however not in the quantities seen during Christmas.

We have often received so many boxes of Panettone that we couldn’t possibly consume all of it. I freeze it and also make French toast, but my favorite is Panettone bread pudding. I use to make it the day after Christmas for a dessert, but I like to make homemade Panettone, so we now have it whenever I am into the mood to make it.

Panettone is eaten at anytime of the day and also with a glass of wine after dinner.

Panettone would make a great Christmas or New Years Day dessert.

Panettone Bread Pudding

Recipe Summary
Cook Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour @ 350 degrees F.
Yield: 8 Servings

Ingredients
6 cups homemade or store bought Panettone

Custard
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sauce
4 tablespoons Whiskey
1 cup confectionery sugar
1 1/4 sticks butter, softened (2 tablespoons for greasing the baking dish)

Other Things Needed
8” x 8” baking dish

CUSTARD
In bowl beat the eggs, milk, cream, sugar and the vanilla extract and set it aside.

ASSEMBLY
Grease the baking dish with 2 tablespoons butter. Remove any dark sections of the Panettone and discard them. Cut the Panettone into square chunks and put them into the baking dish. Pour the custard over the top and move it gently around making sure that all the chunks are covered with the mixture. Place it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight. It is very important that it has absorbed the custard otherwise the inside of the Panettone will be dry.

Place the pudding in the middle of the oven and cook for 45 minutes to an hour. After 45 minutes test it with a skewer, if it comes out dry and the top is a golden brown it is done. You might have to cook it for another 10-15 minutes.

Cool to room temperature before cutting.

SAUCE
Melt the butter and the confectionary sugar in a double boiler continually stirring. Remove from the heat and add whisky. You can use Amaretto if you prefer, but if you don’t want to use alcohol, serve it warm with crème anglais.

STORING
Keep the Panettone bread pudding refrigerated.

Note: You can also add chocolate bits and/or roasted almonds to the pudding.

Homemade Panettone
http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/panettone-a-traditional-sweet-bread-is-a-symbol-of-christmas-greetings/

Past Holiday Post Gift Ideas

Torrone
http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/torrone-a-delicious-chewy-candy-fit-for-a-wedding/

Ciliegie Sotto Spirito
http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/the-spirit-of-cherries-ciliegie-sotto-spirito/

Crocante con Mandorle
http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/italian-recipes-for-a-holiday-gift-package-brocante-con-mandorle/

Lemoncello
http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/lemoncello-sorrento’s-liquid-gold/

Glugg
http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/glugg-spiced-wine-for-holiday-greetings/

Pasta Roll for an Elegant Dinner

A Pasta Roll is a beautiful way to begin a Holiday dinner. It takes a little effort but serving such a lovely dish will impress your guests.

My mother made this pasta dish and I rediscovered it when I stayed in Bologna for a month. I took a cooking course during that time, but this was not one of the dishes we prepared. It was recommended that I try Bologna’s pasta rolls. I was there for exactly that to learn and experience everyday life and all the marvels of Bologna. As in many regions of Italy, Bologna is said to have the best food in Italy. The pasta rolls were about double the size of the recipe I have posted and mainly made with a Bolognese filling. I think this recipe is not only delicious but is lovely for a Holiday or celebration.

Rullo della pasta

Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: Pasta Roll, 20 minutes
Yield: 4 Servings as main course, 6 servings as a first dish

Dough
Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
A pinch of salt
A pinch of baking powder

Wet Ingredients
2 eggs
Tepid water

Other Items Needed
Cheesecloth, 1 large piece or if you don’t have a big enough pan, you can make the pasta roll in 2 pieces. You will then need 2 pieces of cheesecloth.
Kitchen string

Place the dough ingredients except for the water, into a food processor with the dough attachment. Process until the mixture looks like corn meal. Add a little water and when a ball has formed, remove it and knead it for 10 minutes. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel until you are ready to roll it out.

Spinach Filling
2 packages spinach cooked and drained
4 tablespoons chopped onions
4 tablespoons Portobello mushrooms
1 tablespoon creamed butter
4 tablespoons Mortadella (an Italian cold cut that can be found in the deli section of most supermarkets)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (mix with the spinach)

Cook the spinach for just 1-2 minutes and squeeze out all of the water. It should be absolutely dry.

Sauté the onions and the Mortadella in the butter for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms at the end for an additional minute. Allow the mixture to cool.

Cheese Filling
1 lb. Ricotta
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg yoke
Salt to taste

Mix all of the cheese filling ingredients until it is well blended.

Assembly
Roll the dough out to 10”x16”. Spread the cheese mixture over the dough leaving about 1” around the edges. Spread the spinach mixture over the cheese layer. Fold the side edges in and roll it length wise similar to a jellyroll.

Place the roll on the cheesecloth and roll it securing the ends with kitchen string. Leave a little room at the ends for the dough to expand. Place the pasta roll in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
In a pan large enough to hold the pasta roll, boil salted water. Turn it down to a gentle boil before placing the pasta roll into the water. Cook for 20 minutes.

Remove it from the water and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Remove the cheesecloth. Warm the plates in the plate warmer section of your oven if you have one or turn your oven on to 180 degrees. Put a layer of sauce on the plate, and cut the pasta roll into 1” slices placing them on top of the sauce.

Note: Since the pasta roll is 10”x16” you need a poaching pan. If you don’t have such a pan, you can make the pasta roll in 2 pieces. If you have a casserole dish large and deep enough you may be able to use it if it can be put on top of a stove burner.
Note: Cheesecloth can be found in your Super Market, it may be called gauze. It is usually called cheesecloth in kitchen specialty stores.

Tomato and Béchamel Sauce for Pasta Roll

Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes, 4 minutes for béchamel sauce
Yield: 4 Servings as a main course, or 6 as a first dish

Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
1/3 cup each chopped carrots, celery and onions
1 lb. can kitchen ready tomatoes
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 tablespoon sugar

Sauté the carrots, celery and onions until the onions are slightly soft. Place the remaining ingredients in the pan and cook for 1/2 hour. Salt to taste.

Béchamel Sauce
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup warm milk

Melt the butter over medium heat and add the flour stirring constantly until it becomes a paste. Add the warm milk little at a time blending it into the paste. As the sauce becomes thick make adjustments adding more flour or milk depending on the consistency of the sauce. It should be a thick white sauce.

Mix the two sauces together when using this recipe for the pasta roll and place a layer of the sauce on a warm plate, then placing slices of the pasta roll on top.

Glugg, Spiced Wine for Holiday Greetings

Every year on Christmas Eve, we gathered at Uncle Vic’s house for our traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner. As family and friends arrived, he would greet them with a cup of his famous Glugg. The aroma of Glugg filled the house with the wonderful scent of spices. Coming in from the cold New England winter and greeted with a warm cup of Glugg instantly made you feel that you were home. With the fire glowing in the fireplace and the family gathered around snatching a piece of fried fish, the festivities began.

He always had the biggest Christmas tree that he cut down himself. Covered with old antique ornaments and everyone’s gifts stacked under the tree, we could hardly get into the living room. The house was open to anyone who didn’t have a place to go and filled with fun as each person arrived bring their homemade biscotti as everyone gathered around to see them being added to our dessert table.

He handmade all the ornaments that were placed outside and inside the house. Christmas was his time to give his family a memorable evening. We carry on this tradition to this day, passing our traditions to our children and remembering those who taught them to us.

The original recipe came from a friend of my uncles and over many years he tweaked it and made it his own. My uncle has long passed, but his daughter and granddaughter continue this tradition and we toast Uncle Vic every Christmas Eve with his famous Glugg.

Uncle Vic prepared bottles of Glugg and presented everyone who visited during the Holiday’s with a bottle to take home. This recipe is best started a few weeks in advance as you want the spices to meld together creating a rich aroma.

The effort of preparing a homemade gift to present to friends is a special way saying Happy Holiday’s and this spicy wine really hits the spot on a cold snowy night.

Uncle Victor’s Old Fashioned Glugg

Recipe Summary
Cook Time: 30 minutes on high, 10 minutes on medium heat
Yield: 2 1/4 gallons

INGREDIENTS
2 oranges sliced
3 oz. dried prunes
1 lb. seedless raisins
6 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon whole cardamom seeds
12 -14 whole cloves
1 large can frozen grape juice
Sugar (optional)
1 gal. Port wine
1 gal. Rose wine
1/2 gal 80-100 proof grain alcohol (80 proof vodka may be substituted)
1 quart cranberry juice (optional)

OTHER THINGS NEEDED
Cheesecloth approx. 24” by 24”

COOK
Place the orange slices, frozen grape juice, raisins, prunes, cinnamon sticks, cardamom seeds and cloves in a large saucepan. Add just enough water to cover. Boil the mixture until the raisins are plump with liquid; about 30 minutes on high. Add small amounts of water as the water reduces from boiling. You may also add some Port wine to enhance the taste of the fruit if you plan to use it to compliment a dessert or ice cream.

Let the fruit mixture cool and then place the cheesecloth in a large strainer to cover the inside and overlap the top. Carefully pour the mixture through the cheesecloth to remove sediment. This will have to be done a few times until the liquid is clear of sediment. Set aside the fruit.

Return the liquid to the large saucepan. Over medium heat, add the Port and Rose wines and the vodka and stir. Taste to see if it needs more sugar and add according to taste. You can add the cranberry juice if you like a more tart flavor. Heat the mixture until it is warmed through; approximately 10 minutes.
DO NOT BOIL.

Your Glugg is ready to be served. Enjoy!

TIPS:
• Glugg can be reheated anytime
• Save empty wine and liquor bottles for storage of leftover Glugg.

NOTE: Left over fruit may be turned into a delicious Holiday preserve.